Churches say they shouldn't have to pay special assessment for streetcar

From Kansas City-

As voters are deciding whether to expand the streetcar line down to 53rd Street in Brookside, some church leaders along the extension route want to pump the brakes.

Every property within the Transportation Development District would pay a yearly assessment fee to finance the streetcar - whether they're tax-exempt or not.

"I know that the proponents of the funding mechanism say it's not a property tax, but it's based on property value," Rector Stan Runnels said.

For churches and other non-profits, the first $300,000 of market value is exempt from the assessment. But many churches like St. Paul's Episcopal on Main Street own more than one property well above $300,000.  Runnels says his assessment would come out to around $12,000 a year, which would force them to cut from their charity food programs.

More here-

http://www.kshb.com/news/local-news/churches-say-they-shouldnt-have-to-pay-special-assessment-for-streetcar

Kansas City soup kitchen is just like a restaurant

From Kansas City (with video)-

There's a new downtown Kansas City dining experience that's getting a lot of attention.  A culinary team makes the menu and a waiter takes your order.  But it's not a restaurant.

It's the Kansas City Community Kitchen at 8th Street and Paseo, and it's providing free meals to anyone in need.  But it's nothing like a typical soup kitchen.

"We have a baked chicken an oven baked chicken," said one worker at the Kansas City Community Kitchen.  "We have a french fry but instead of being fried, its actually being baked.  We have green beans that have been flavored with a turkey bacon."

All of those items were on the menu at the Kansas City Community Kitchen on Wednesday.  It looks and smells like a restaurant, and there's a friendly staff to take your order.  But the meal is free for everyone.

"We don't want it to be a soup kitchen, for us it's about being a community kitchen so it's about breaking walls and letting people see anyone can be in need," said Beau Heyen at Episcopal Community Services.

More here-

http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city-soup-kitchen-is-just-like-a-restaurant/38427134

Two Episcopal 'servants' moving on from Kansas City

From Missouri-

Who is a minister? What is a bishop? From different ends of the career telescope, two Episcopalians, one a bishop-elect, the other a retiring bishop, see the answer to both questions in servanthood.

After six distinguished years as dean of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral, the Very Rev. Terry White was elected June 5 as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky, where he will be consecrated Sept. 25.

White told me, “Jesus said that he came not to be served, but to serve. Servanthood is at the heart of our call as the baptized community.”

The Rt. Rev. Barry Howe, who retires in March as bishop of the Diocese of West Missouri, agreed that “all are ministers of the church. The laity are to represent Christ in their daily lives” and in the life of the church as servants.

“The bishop is only different in the sense of being the chief pastor in a diocese, to guard the church’s faith, unity and discipline, and to ordain others for carrying out the sacramental ministry of the church.”

As servants, all people in an Episcopal diocese have a part in choosing their bishop. Howe said the process “comes from the people and not from any ‘decree from above.’ ”

Read more:

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/10/2139516/two-episcopal-servants-moving.html#ixzz0wIS7rRTF

‘The happiest community kitchen ever’ is coming to KC

From Kansas City-

Downtown’s homeless people soon won’t have to trek across town for lunch. Instead, they can dine in convenient, Gucci-inspired ambience, thanks to a unique private initiative.

In a combination of self-interest and compassion, the Downtown Council has teamed with Episcopal Community Services to build a new dining facility at 1444 E. Eighth St., scheduled to open in September.

And it’s as chic as any bistro, thanks to the donated talents of Jennifer Bertrand of Olathe, winner of Home and Garden Television’s “Design Star” competition.

“You have all these people, possibly at the worst moments in their lives, and I want to at least improve this place aesthetically,” Bertrand said.

“I’m trying to make it the happiest community kitchen ever and design it like I would for the rest of my clients.”

The 2,200-square-foot dining room, capable of accommodating 96 people per sitting, is decorated in tranquil shades of burnt orange and avocado green, and softly illuminated with indirect cove lighting.

Read more:

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/07/04/2063380/the-happiest-community-kitchen.html#ixzz0so82Gpbo

Former priest missing

From the "You Can't Make This Stuff Up" Department - Kansas City

Authorities searched Monday for a 77-year-old Kansas City man who was reportedly last seen Sunday afternoon fishing on the property of a nudist camp southwest of Topeka.

Lt. Jay Simecka with the Shawnee County Sheriff’s Department said Bruce Rahtjen of Kansas City was reported missing about 5:30 p.m. Sunday near the 5500 block of Indian Hills Road.

After suspending the search effort Sunday night due to inclement weather, water rescue teams with the Mission Township and Shawnee Heights fire departments continued to survey the lake and woods throughout the day Monday, Simecka said. A canine unit with the Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association was also on the scene.

Simecka said Rahtjen, a former Episcopal priest, was last seen wading through water on the property of Lake Edun. Rahtjen’s wife, JoAnn, said Monday that her husband was fishing at a location he had visited for several years.

Read more:

http://www.kansascity.com/2010/06/21/2034171/former-priest-missing.html#ixzz0rZzKBplF

Homeless Center May Help Those Downtown

From Kansas City-

A new community center is expected to be announced at Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and may be a huge help to the homeless population in Kansas City.

The community center, at 8th Street and The Paseo Boulevard, is part of an idea that has been in the works for seven years. Leaders with the downtown council say hunger and homelessness is a real problem in Kansas City and that many people don't have access to services they really need. Some of the homeless are more than 22 blocks from shelters.

To help, the Downtown Council bought a building three blocks away from all shelters and equipped it with both food and emergency services.

Downtown Council members said it was needed.

"A lot of people were being preyed upon if you will in their search for both food and emergency services and by having this just three blocks from all the major shelters, they're gonna be able to get more counseling services, shower, wash their clothes," Sean O'Byrne, vice president of the Downtown Council said.

More here-

http://www.kctv5.com/news/23590740/detail.html

'Candlelight Cuisine' shatters the stereotype of church basement dining

From Kansas City-
Table for two, monsieur?

Almost everything about this cozy eatery says fine dining: the white tablecloths, the candles and crusty French baguettes; the authentic shrimp Creole and bread pudding with bourbon sauce; the Starbucks coffee and an associate Episcopal rector saying grace.

Wait. An Episcopal rector?

But of course.

As much as the food might say otherwise, this is not a pricey Brookside bistro. The 70 or so people who enjoyed a free-will-offering meal here on a recent Sunday evening had just finished a church service upstairs at Kansas City’s St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church.

Dust off the good china, Father, this ain’t your grandma’s church potluck. This is “Candlelight Cuisine,” a Sunday night feast prepared by professional chefs. It proves that food served in the lower level of a church doesn’t have to be lower level in quality.

“What I hear a lot is somebody says, ‘I might as well be in a restaurant,’ ” said the Rev. John Spicer, associate rector at St. Andrew’s. “ ‘This is what I’d get if I went to a bistro in Brookside, much less a church.’ ”

Instead of chili nights, pancake feeds or fish fries, St. Andrews, 6401 Wornall Terrace in Brookside, offers more nuanced fare. For a suggested $5 donation, you get meals like chicken cacciatore, eggplant Marrakesh with couscous, jambalaya, wild game, peach cobbler and coconut lime cupcakes. On a recent night, the chefs changed the menu to Haitian food and gave the donations collected to the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund to help victims of the earthquake in Haiti.

More here-

http://www.kansascity.com/238/story/1707061.html