Beyond Belief
West Meets East At Olathe High School
Sebhnem Heller, who is originally from Turkey, came to the Asian Cultural Festival in Olathe all the way from Omaha. “I got this rare opportunity to know other countries’ culture,” said Heller, who brought her parents with her. “I came here last year and enjoyed the ambiance of the diversity of people and culture here.”…
Rev. Adam Hamilton Strains to Prevent Schism in United Methodist Church
Forgive the Rev. Adam Hamilton, founding pastor of the 20,000-member United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, if his attention seems divided these days. One minute, he’s celebrating the opening of a new $81-million sanctuary — complete with a breathtakingly large stained glass window — at its main campus in Leawood. The next, he’s worrying that…
It Starts With You And Must Engage Others
Walking along the Jersey Creek Park Trail in northeast Kansas City, Kansas, Broderick Crawford can see the overgrown weeds, the fractured asphalt trail and broken benches. “You can’t sit on them without getting a splinter,” he points out. No one could blame him for being angry with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas…
Making Sense of A Tragedy
The Rev. Kelly Isola is chair of the Greater Kansas City Interfaith Council. The comments below were prepared for a vigil held days after the fatal shooting in Olathe. It is with a heavy heart that I stand with you today. The council is deeply disturbed and saddened by these violent acts. We offer our…
A Community Rebounds, Copes After Targeted Murders
Since that bloody Sunday in April 2014, when a neo-Nazi targeted Kansas City’s Jewish community, this area’s 18,000 Jews have been adjusting to the reality that evil forces still want them dead. The three people he murdered — two at the Jewish Community Center, one at nearby Village Shalom — turned out to be Christians,…