Weekly Announcements
Announcements for the week ending July 13, 2025
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Worship in person or online
We worship at Overland Park Lutheran Church (7810 W. 79th St., Overland Park). The traditional service is at 8:30 a.m. in the chapel, and the contemporary service is at 11:00 a.m. in the sanctuary. Education and music is between worship services, 9:45-10:45 a.m. (Labor Day-Memorial Day). Adult Sunday school meets year-round. Services are also posted on our social media pages. Links to those are at the top of this page. We encourage you to worship in the style and manner that is best for you and your family!
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Senior High Camp — July 6-12
Continue to keep our high school youth and adult leader in your prayers, who are at Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Hillside, Colorado. They will return Saturday, July 12. Please pray for deepened relationships with God and each other as they walk together in their faith.
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Fellowship of the Vine — July 15
Salem women and friends are invited for Taco & Trivia Tuesday at Craft Putt (11440 W. 135th St., Overland Park) on Tuesday, July 15. Come for trivia and half-price tacos with your Salem sisters. Meet at Craft Putt at 6:00 p.m. to enjoy dinner before trivia, which starts at 7:00 p.m. Please RSVP by clicking on the link below. All women are welcome to attend! Read more »
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Sewing for God's Child service project — July 19
If you can use scissors we need you! Join the Sewing for God's Child service project group on Saturday, July 19 from 9:00 a.m. to noon at Koinonia Hall to make reusable menstrual pads for women in Guatemala. No experience is necessary. Bring a sewing machine and scissors if you have them. They need old towels and flannel fabric (or old flannel sheets). Contact Katie Lange to donate materials or with any questions.
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Women’s Book Club — July 21
Please join us Monday, July 21 at 4:00 p.m. in Koinonia Hall to discuss "You Are Not Alone" by Greer Hendricks. The Aug. 18 book will be "Mad Honey" by Jodi Picoult. Book club typically meets on the third Monday of every month. Contact Kathy Kostroske if you have any questions.
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Monarch release — July 27
Thanks to the generosity of All Saints Lutheran Church in Blue Springs, Overland Park Lutheran Church is the temporary home of monarch caterpillars. They are in the room off of the sanctuary in a mesh enclosure so that we can all watch them grow and change. By the end of July, we hope to have monarch butterflies to release into the community garden, where the children have planted zinnias (good nectar for the monarchs) and where the gardeners have planted a pollinator plot. On Sunday, July 27, we will gather at 10:30 a.m. to release the monarchs and watch them feed and take flight. There will also be seed packets and take-home materials, butterfly coloring sheets, and supplies for adults and children to create caterpillars or butterflies with egg cartons. All three congregations are welcome to share in the activities and watch the monarch caterpillars transform throughout the month of July.
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Coffee & Conversation — July 29
Come for Coffee & Conversation on Tuesday, July 29 at 9:00 a.m. at Foundry Coffeehouse (inside Foundry Church, 8835 Lackman Road, Lenexa). Contact Joyce Benedict or Mike Kostroske with any questions. Coffee & Conversation typically meets on the last Tuesday of every month. All are welcome!
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Children’s/youth Bibles available
We will be ordering Bibles for certain fall programming participants. Salem provides those at no cost to those children and youth, but if you would like to purchase one for yourself or a gift, please contact the church office. There are three types of Bibles — Spark Story Bible (birth-2nd grade), Spark Kids Bible (3rd-6th grade), and the Lutheran Study Bible (7th-12th grade). Each type costs $25.
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Men's breakfast — Aug. 2
The men's breakfast is not meeting in July due to the Fourth of July holiday weekend. All men are invited for fellowship and breakfast at Santa Fe Cafe (9946 W. 87th St., Overland Park) on Saturday, Aug. 2 at 8:00 a.m. Please RSVP to Greg Beutel at gbeutel@everestkc.net so he can reserve a table. The men's breakfast typically meets on the first Saturday of every month.
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Combined worship and musical performance — Aug. 3
Salem and Overland Park Lutheran kids and friends will perform the musical "The Bigger They Are" during our combined worship service on Sunday, Aug. 3 at 9:30 a.m. in the sanctuary at Overland Park Lutheran Church. (Please note we will only have one worship time that day and Adult Sunday School will not meet.) We hope you will join us as young David trusts that God is with him when he fights Goliath!
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Backpack Blessing — Aug. 3
We will include a backpack blessing in our combined service with Overland Park Lutheran Church on Sunday (08/03) at 9:30 a.m. Please bring your backpacks, briefcases, or lunch bags to worship, as we prepare for a blessed new school year of teaching and learning!
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Noisy offering — Aug. 3
We will have a noisy offering on the first Sunday of every month! Please collect your coins at home and then drop your change in the offering plate, symbolizing the change we want to make in the world.
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Creation Care Team meeting — Aug. 5
Members of all three congregations (Overland Park Lutheran Church, Overland Park Presbyterian Church, and Salem) are invited to attend the Creation Care Team meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom. Contact the church office for more information. They typically meet on the first Tuesday of every month.
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BrickWorks — Aug. 6
Hollis Renewal Center (11414 Kansas Ave., Kansas City, KS) is hosting a BrickWorks sorting event on Wednesday, Aug. 6. There will be two sessions: 10:00 a.m. to noon and 4:00-6:00 p.m. You can sign up for one or both. Attendees will sort through donated LEGO bricks and break apart already assembled LEGO pieces to be donated to the Giving Brick, which is a Kansas City-based non-profit that collects used LEGO bricks, repackages sets, and gives them to children served by CASA of Jackson County. You are welcome to come early or stay after to enjoy a picnic or hike the trails (weather permitting). All ages are welcome. Click on the link below for more information and/or to sign up.Read more »
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Fellowship of the Stein — Aug. 21
Fellowship of the Stein will not meet in June and July. They will next meet at a location TBA on Thursday, Aug. 21 at 7:00 p.m. They typically meet on the third Thursday of every month at a variety of breweries, restaurants, and homes. All men are welcome to attend.
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Red Cross blood drive — Sept. 3
Salem, Overland Park Lutheran Church (OPLC), and Overland Park Presbyterian Church are combining to host a Red Cross blood drive at OPLC on Wednesday, Sept. 3. There is a national blood shortage, and blood donors of all blood types are urgently needed. Slots are available from 1:00-5:00 p.m. Sign up by clicking on the link below. Read more »
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Life Line screening — Sept. 5
Life Line Screening, the nation's leading provider of preventive health screenings, will offer affordable, non-invasive, and painless health screenings at Overland Park Lutheran Church in the parish hall on Friday, Sept. 5 from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. This is a simple, convenient way for you to get preventive health screenings and learn your risk for stroke, heart disease, and other chronic conditions. These painless screenings go beyond your regular checkup to identify dangerous plaque buildup or blockage, a major risk factor for stroke and heart disease. The screenings are accurate and affordable, and will give you valuable information about your health that you can share with your doctor. These four vital screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. Register by calling toll free 1-844-591-7160, text the word "circle" to 216-279-1607, or click on the link below.Read more »
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2025 directory available
The new church directory is now available. Be sure to pick one up at worship on Sunday or at the church office. If you have any changes or if you would like to submit a picture for our next printing, please notify Shari in the church office.
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The Word in Season
The July-August-September edition of "The Word in Season" has arrived. You may pick one up near the bulletins on Sunday mornings or at the church office. Published quarterly by Augsburg Fortress, it offers a daily scripture reading, devotional, and prayer from several different authors. We hope you find it useful in your daily walk with God.
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It's not too late...
If you were not able to offer your commitment toward the 2025 mission and ministry plan this past Sunday, there is still time! Please take the time to prayerfully consider how God is inviting you to share the abundance entrusted to your care. Then, in celebration of the gifts entrusted to our care, please submit your Statement of Intent. You can submit it in the offering plate, to the church office, or by email to the financial secretary. Thank you for supporting Salem in your faith journey. Your commitments impact Salem mission partners and those whom we serve.
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Adult helper signup for middle school/high school
Thank you for offering to help with Sunday school, service, fun, and fellowship for our middle school and high school youth! Please sign up on the dates when you can assist on Sunday mornings and during our special events planned for this fall by clicking on the link below. Please contact Heather Lewis with any questions or ideas! Read more »
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Salem is Officially an RIC Congregation!
Salem Lutheran Church has been recognized by Reconciling Works (formerly Lutherans Concerned/North America) as the most recent Reconciling in Christ Congregation in Kansas. This comes after the congregation officially adopted the following public welcome statement in January of 2015. We, the members of Salem Lutheran Church, affirm the belief that we are all created in God’s image and are called to love one another as God loves us. We are a community that welcomes people of all ages, cultures, economic statuses, ethnic backgrounds, family blends, gender identities, physical and mental abilities, races, and sexual orientations. We seek to provide a safe and caring community where all people can grow in their faith. We encourage you to join us as we develop relationships with each other and discover the depth of God’s love for us all