Friday E-News Bulletin

May 17, 2024

Welcome New Members Joining East Heights UMC at 11:00 worship this Sunday, May 19th

David & Michelle Olson are joining East Heights by transfer of membership. David is coming from St. Stephens Episcopal Church and Michelle, from Tabor Mennonite Church in Goessel. Michelle is a K-5 music teacher in Clearwater and enjoys music, camping, playing games and being outside. David enjoys automotive restoration, restoring antiques, playing games, and being outside.

 Upcoming Events This Week for East Heights UMC

All Young Adults are Invited to our Next Young Adult Meet-up! On Saturday, May 18th we will be doing volunteer work. You may contact Brianna Fibelkorn for information at bfibelkorn@usd259.net

A Celebration of 30 Years of Service for Paige Nelson: We are going to celebrate Paige’s 30 years of service as youth pastor at East Heights! On Saturday, May 18th from 5:30 p.m. – 8 p.m. we will celebrate with an outdoor come and go event at the Rockley’s home! We will have drinks, fun snacks, and yard games. In case of rain the celebration will be moved to Hedrick Hall at East Heights UMC. Please call/text Susan Rockley at 316-371-5572 to RSVP or with any questions.

 Spirit Alive will meet in the Sanctuary from May 19th through June 2nd: We have multiple events coming up in Hedrick Hall. With these events we have decided to move Spirit Alive Worship to the Sanctuary from May 19th through June 2nd. Spirit Alive will be back in Hedrick Hall beginning June 9th. If you have any questions feel free to contact the church office at 316-682-6518

Not too Old for Fun is Inviting You! Not too Old for Fun asks that you join them on Wednesday, May 22nd from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. semi-guided tour of the McCormick School Museum at 855 S Martinson Wichita, KS. We will meet in the south parking lot of East Heights at 9:20 a.m. and leave for the museum at 9:35 a.m. There is no elevator, and the museum is multi-storied. There is no cost, but donations are appreciated. Our lunch destination has not been determined. If you have questions or comments, please contact Judy Oliver at 316-712-1735.

Follow up from Nehemiah Assembly on May 9!

East Heights has been a charter member of Justice Together, a new interfaith justice organization in Sedgwick County.   On May 9 over 1300 people of faith from the community met at Century II.  East Heights UMC had a great showing, and we thank those of you who were able to attend.  We made a great impact with major commitments achieved on our two priority areas: 

Here's what we achieved on mental health: 

  • KS Department of Aging and Disability Services (KDADS) Deputy Secretary Andy Brown and COMCARE Executive Director Joan Tammany agreed to work together to achieve fully staffed and operational 24/7/365 mobile crisis teams throughout Sedgwick County by October 1, 2024 

  • Deputy Secretary Brown also committed to working to secure enhanced funding for weekend on-call psychiatric services by January 1, 2025. 

  • Deputy Secretary Brown agreed to allocate $200,000 for expansion of the Substance Abuse Center of Kansas Intensive Care Coordination program which pairs caseworkers, peer support mentors, and a transportation voucher to people recovering from addiction and mental illness by June 29th, 2024. This expansion will grow the program from serving 15 people currently, to 300 people! 

  • Both COMCARE and KDADS agreed to meet with Justice Together the first week of the month between June and September to keep us abreast of their plan/goals/accomplishments in the pursuit of these agreements!  

Here's what we achieved on homelessness:  

  • Wichita Mayor Lily Wu, County Commissioner Ryan Baty, City Manager Robert Layton, and County Manager Tom Stolz agreed to work together to create a low barrier local ID program that is eligible for employment, housing, and local services to be implemented in 2025, and to agree to meet with Justice Together on a monthly basis during the first year of implementation in order to monitor progress.

  • All officials present agreed to hold a meeting between representatives of the City of Wichita, Sedgwick County,  COMCARE, KDADS, and Justice Together in the next 30 days to determine the funds necessary and work towards a sustainable budget plan using a braided funding approach to fill the gap in the budget for operations and supportive services for the Multi-Agency Center. 

  • This is huge! A local ID and a one-stop-shop for housing and supportive services will change lives and bring us closer to ending homelessness in our community! A mental health crisis response system with 24-7 psychiatric care and a fully staffed mobile component to relieve police officers as first responders to mental health emergencies will save lives and help heal our struggling neighbors! 

There is still much to be done to follow through on implementation of these proposals, and monitoring their progress. We also know that it will take much more than these changes to fix these broken systems. Still, we celebrate this step forward, and we ready ourselves to continue our shared work of doing justice together!  

If you are interested in being a part of future Justice Together work, please contact Dena Davis (ddavis@greatplainsumc.org) or Pastor Kim (kim@ehumc.org).  There is still much work to be done!

Events Coming up Next Week and On At East Heights UMC!

One Worship Service May 26th for Memorial Day Weekend: There will be one worship service on May 26th at 10 a.m. in the Sanctuary. There will be no Sunday School that morning. The church office will be closed Monday, May 27th.

Peace with Justice Sunday Offering Sunday, May 26th: United Methodists worldwide observe Peace with Justice Sunday on May 26th with a special offering that promotes peace and justice through global programs. You can mark “special offering” on your offering envelope. Please make checks payable to East Heights and put “Peace with Justice Sunday” on the memo line. You may also donate online with the link provided under the give tab. East Heights United Methodist Church. Loving God. Loving Neighbor. Serving the world. (ehumc.org)

Fellowship Kids – May 26th: On May 26th from 3-5 p.m., EH Kids will be hosting Fellowship Kids, an event to connect with Wichita area UMC kiddos. It will be a fun afternoon of fellowship and games! Please let Hallie Heard know if you and your kiddos are planning to attend so we can get a head count for our church.

Save the Date: Sale of the Century (our church-wide garage sale) is May 30th and 31st. This sale will benefit the youth! We will be accepting donations in Hedrick Hall on May 28th and 29th. Please contact Paige Nelson at paige@ehumc.org or 316-682-6518 for more information and any questions.

East Heights Summer Reading Program: Did you know that the United Women in Faith has a reading program that can be used as a Summer reading program for children and youth (adults, too!) Last Summer, Pastor Kim’s children both read a children’s book from the 5 focus areas and then were recently awarded a certificate and special gift by the UWF. Check it out this summer, and you might even see some notes about the books from Grace and Kenton! Books may be found in the Chapel entryway, as well as the church library. Oh, and adults can do the program and read children’s books, too!

Sunday, June 2nd, is New Member Sunday: If you are interested in making East Heights UMC your church home and would either like to join on June 2nd or would like more information about becoming a member, please contact the church office at 316-682-6518.

Family Day at the Wind Surge Game: Our youth and their families are planning to go to the Wind Surge game on Sunday, June 2nd at 1:05 p.m. We would like to invite you to join us! ALL are welcome. If you would like to reserve a ticket ($10) or have any questions, please contact Paige Nelson at the church office or at paige@ehumc.org

June 5th – Family Bingo Night! 6 p.m. Join us in the Coffee House for a fun night of Bingo. Your first set of cards is free with more available with a donation. We will also have raffle prizes. All proceeds will go to the Children’s Ministry. If you would like to support the event, we will need prizes (candy, soda, small toys, gift cards, etc.) for both kids and adults, as well as some raffle items. If you would like to volunteer to help during the event or have any questions, please contact Hallie Heard. hallie@ehumc.org

Pastor Kim’s Going Away Receptions: On Sunday, June 9, we will be celebrating Pastor Kim Dickerson-Oard’s twelve-year ministry at East Heights and wishing her success in her new ministry in Derby. All members of the congregation are invited to participate in this farewell in the following ways: 1) Attend one of the receptions for her that will follow each of the three Church services that day. Receptions for the Chapel Service and Spirit Alive will be held in the small Dining Room outside Hedrick Hall and the reception after the Sanctuary service will be in Fellowship Lobby. Refreshments will be served at all three receptions. 2) Write a note or card to Kim, recalling a special memory of her or service she rendered. These can be collected at each reception or brought to the church office during office hours Monday through Friday or by mail. 3) You may also generously participate in a Love Offering for Pastor Kim in any amount, again brought to the receptions or to the church office. If you do choose this option the checks must be made out to Kim – NOT to the church. Pastor Kim has been immensely important to the life of our church, its members, and especially our children. She will be greatly missed. Let’s make June 9th a wonderful memory of East Heights’ caring congregation for Kim!

Children’s Day Out Fall Registration is now open! Come join the fun at Fall CDO! During the school year we fill our time with great crafts and activities mixed with lots of educational opportunities to keep all the children’s minds stimulated. We will offer special events throughout the session, including visits from the Sedgwick County Zoo staff, Therapy dog, and Ms. Anne story time. CDO is open to ages 3 months to 5 years of age during the Fall session and will be offered on Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and we will begin on August 29th. To enroll or for more information please contact the Director, Stacie Savaiano at 682-6518 or stacie@ehumc.org If you wish to sign up please complete the online registration form at www.ehumc.org/children_out.php

It’s Time to Enroll in the East Heights UMC Preschool: Preschool enrollment is now open! We would love to have your children or grandchildren join us! Please see the attachment for more information!

Save the Date VBS! Vacation Bible School is scheduled for July 15th – 19th this summer! Keep watching for more information. If you are interested in helping (in advance, or during the week of VBS), please contact Hallie Heard (hallie@ehumc.org)! Registration is open! You can register your child or volunteer to help here (link is also on our website): https://eastheightsumcwichita.mycokesburyvbs.com/

Upcoming Youth Ministry Events:

o May 19th – UMYF – Sunday Fun Day – Chicken N Pickle from 5 – 7 p.m.

o June 2nd – Family Day at the Wind Surge Game


Steve Spencer
Senior Pastor