Village Presbyterian Church (Prairie Village, Kansas)

History

Village Presbyterian Church was founded in February 1949 by Dr. Robert H. Meneilly. Prairie Village was a developing suburb in the 1940s with a high concentration of young families, and no Presbyterian church in the area. Meneilly went door-to-door in the emerging suburb to encourage residents to visit, and begin building a congregation before the building was complete. When the church opened for its first service on Sunday, February 13, 1949, they drew 282 members to the congregation. In a report from Walter Cronkite which was previewed in a 1994 article in the Washington Post, Cronkite described Village Presbyterian as an “absolute perfect example of what is happening to churches all over the United States today in the split between the evangelical right and the more mainstream.”

Membership

In 2013, Village Presbyterian had a total of over 4,789 congregational members, which was significantly larger than the average PC(USA) congregation of 175 members. Located on the edge of the wealthy neighborhood of Mission Hills, Kansas, the congregation regularly donates large sums of money to the church. In 2013, the congregation contributed a total of $4,147,189, compared to the average PC(USA) church’s annual contribution of $243,563. The church reported a total enrollment in their Christian education program of 2,642 compared to the average 99 in 2013. The average worship attendance in 2013 was 1,050.

Traditional

Traditional worship services are regularly held each Sunday at 8, 9:30, and 11 a.m. in the church's sanctuary These services include a sermon, traditional hymns, and church announcements. Sermons are archived with transcripts as well as videos of the service, and saved on Village Presbyterian's website.

"The Gathering"

The Gathering is a contemporary worship service regularly held at 5 p.m. in the church's Friendship Hall. Described as "alternative worship," the service includes contemporary songs led by a live band, the inclusion of interactive media, extended time designated to greet other congregants, and a sermon. The sermons are archived by transcript on the church's website.

Taizé

Taizé worship is held at 5 p.m. on the second Sunday of each month at the church's Meneilly Center for Mission at 99th and Mission Road in Overland Park, Kansas. Described as a "quiet, contemplative worship experience," the service includes "simple songs, silence, and scripture," as well as serving communion.

Youth Department

Village Presbyterian's youth department serves members of the church in middle and high school. The youth department hosts a variety of worship, mission, and fellowship programs each week. Additionally, the department offers a variety of mission and worship-based trips during winter and summer school breaks, including an annual ski trip, a mission trip to the Dominican Republic, youth choir tour, summer mission trip, and annual trip to Montreat Conference Center.

Presbyterian Women

Presbyterian Women are "all women members of the church and women in the community interested in the purpose of Presbyterian Women." The group hosts a variety of events for women in the church, including a Bible study, book club, and a sewing and knitting group. Presbyterian Women holds an annual Advent Candlelight Dinner, and sends out their own newsletter each month.

Music Ministry

Village Presbyterian's music ministry includes six different choirs and an orchestra. The ministry includes an adult choir, a chamber choir, a young adult choir, a "once-a-month" choir, a summer choir, a youth choir, and a youth orchestra. The ministry is headed by Ryan Main, director, Elisa Bickers, organist, and Matthew Christopher Shepard, associate director.

Village Presbyterian Church Food Pantry

Located off-site from the church itself, the Village Presbyterian Food Pantry hosts more than 300 volunteers each month. The pantry serves anyone in the area who completes an application and is near the Federal Poverty Guidelines. The pantry consists of a grocery-store-style area where clients receive provisions like bread, pasta, pastries, produce, and toiletries, as well as a clothes closet in which clients can get necessary items like dresses, shirts, and undergarments.

Dominican Republic Partnership

Doctors and nurses from the Village congregation as well as the Kansas City area make four annual trips to La Romana on a medical mission to provide health care to the impoverished residents of rural bateyes and urban barrios. The church's youth department began an annual spring break mission trip to La Romana in the 1990's to work on construction projects like the Joe Hartman School.

Front Porch Alliance

Front Porch Alliance is a partnership between Village Church and the Ivanhoe neighborhood of Kansas City. Front Porch Alliance provides mentor programs, home repair, and career services to residents of the east side neighborhood. The program was founded in 1999.

Environmental Action Committee

The Environmental Action Committee (formerly the Sustainable Sanctuary Task Force) was formed and renamed in 2007. The committee encourages the church to recycle, buy environmentally responsible products, make sure the church's facilities are maintained in an environmentally-friendly way, and assists in the education of the church about environmental issues. Additionally, the committee assists with the annual Earth Day service.

Construction and rebuilding

Village Presbyterian began reconstruction of the main church space in April 2015. The mission of the rebuild was to install a new organ, make the church's sanctuary more accessible for disabled congregants, and install a new entrance and welcome center. The sanctuary renovation was completed in December, 2015 and the new organ arrived in September 2016. The organ was played for the first time on Nov. 20, 2016 with just 5% of the organ pipes working. The organ is expected to be fully voiced and all 3,800 pipes functioning by late Spring 2016.

Pastors