6 • The Harvest • November/December 2011
Winfield church helps make prom dreams come true How to help
By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest
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he people of Grace, Winfield, are working hard to make sure that the high school prom is a memorable experience for girls who otherwise couldn’t afford to go. In the spring the congregation will open for a fourth year a free shop it’s named Prom Dress Express, which seeks to outfit high school girls from head to toe in formal wear donated by parishioners and other. So far they’ve been able to provide formal gowns in a variety of sizes, styles and lengths (some with price tags still affixed), shoes, jewelry, evening bags, perfume, and make-up. The Rev. Betty Glover, the church’s rector, said the shop is set up in a nearby building that formerly housed a Montessori school. Volunteers have created a private dressing room complete with full-length mirror, and dresses are displayed on nearby racks.
Chance to feel beautiful Glover said the shop is open to all girls in the county’s high schools, reducing the stigma to those who need some help. She said the effort brought in a few girls the first year and a few more in the second, with last year’s shop
Prom Dress Express at Grace, Winfield, is seeking donations of these items to share with high school girls next spring: Gently-used, clean, prom dresses in a variety of sizes, lengths and styles Dressy shoes Evening bags Dressy jewelry Make-up Anyone with items to donate should contact the Rev. Betty Glover at (620) 660-5777 or at chaplainbetty@sbcglobal.net The deadline to donate is late January. Pick-ups of donated items also can be arranged by contacting Glover. Submitted photo
Janine Hudson (left) and the Rev. Betty Glover of Grace, Winfield, display dresses that will be available at the church’s Prom Dress Express in the spring. Donated dresses and accessories mean high school girls can attend their prom who otherwise couldn’t afford to go.
drawing more than the initial years combined. “Everything is completely free,” she said, and some of the dresses that girls have selected have been donated back. “That’s a wonderful by-product of the program,” she said. “We give, and they have the opportunity to give back to another young woman.” She said many of the girls who come bring their mothers with
them to shop. “I have loved seeing moms shop with their daughters, without having to worry about costs,” she said. Glover said she really loves this project. “It doesn’t save the world,” she noted, “but it offers a chance for someone to feel beautiful, a chance for a touch of luxury, that otherwise might not be possible.” Glover said the shop again
is seeking donations of gentlyused, clean, prom-style dresses, as well as dress shoes and other accessories. Because Prom Dress Express is open from mid-February through March, they need donated items by late January. Members of the south-central Kansas parish also are willing to pick up dresses from nearby donors, she said.
Some people who don’t have items have donated money to help pay for dry cleaning a few dresses that required it. Glover said they also dream of being able to provide things like gift certificates for manicures or other beauty care services, “things that would make for a lovely evening that otherwise might not be possible,” she said. Anyone with items to donate can contact Glover at (620) 6605777 or chaplainbetty@sbcglobal. net.
Communications survey: we asked, and you answered
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he recent survey of the diocesan communications ministry indicates that people are very pleased with what they see. The survey was offered online and also was printed in the September-October issue of this newspaper, to allow people access to the questions in a variety of media. There were a total of 190 responses, 180 online and 10 in print. When asked which of the communications tools they use, the overwhelming favorite was The Harvest (903 percent), followed by DioLog (66.1 percent), the diocesan website (55.9 percent), the diocesan Facebook page (26.9 percent) and the diocesan Twitter feed (4.3 percent). People expressed a high level of satisfaction with The Harvest, with 60.4 percent very satisfied and 18.1 percent somewhat satisfied. 19.2 percent were neutral about the newspaper, and 2.1 percent said they were somewhat or very dissatisfied with it. The five favorite content areas in The Harvest are news and features about parishes in the diocese (91.0 percent), news and features about people in the diocese (77.5 percent), the “Around the diocese” parish news briefs page (77.0 percent), Bishop Wolfe’s column (65.7 percent) and news about diocesanwide ministries (59.0 percent). The biweekly diocesan e-newsletter, DioLog, also drew praise, with 22.2 percent of people calling its content essential, 45.1 percent very helpful, 12.3 percent somewhat helpful and 0.9 percent not helpful. 18.5 percent of respondents had no opinion about the newsletter. While the majority of people responding use the diocesan website only occasionally (50.5 percent), another 26.9 percent use it at least monthly. Respondents said their top destination on the website was the diocesan calendar (59.4 percent), followed by the news page (47.8 percent) and the bishop’s visitation calendar (35.5 percent). Most people don’t currently engage the diocesan social media platforms. 56.8 percent of respondents said they never use the diocesan Facebook page, with a whopping 84.0 percent never using the diocesan Twitter feed. Of those who replied, 55.1 percent were women, 77.7 percent were lay people, and 70.1 percent were age 55 or older. Only 23 people under age 45 completed the survey. 46.5 percent of the respondents attend church in the Northeast Convocation, 21.4 percent in the Southwest, 18.7 in the Northwest and 9.6 percent in the Southeast. Seven people from outside the diocese also participated.
Photo by Deacon Oliver Bunker
Grace, Chanute, members (from left) Nicki Gladson, Linda Cockrell, Kevin Deware, Kathy Ross and Mary Ann Ross compete to see whose chili will represent the church in the city’s Sixth Annual Battle of the Churches Chili Challenge. Gladson’s chili prevailed. The citywide event is sponsored by the Episcopal parish to raise money for a local homeless shelter; more than $12,000 has been collected so far.
Grace, Chanute sponsors chili challenge
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homeless shelter was the real winner in an ecumenical chili cook-off sponsored by Grace, Chanute. The sixth annual “Battle of the Churches Chili Challenge” took place Nov. 18 at the First Baptist Church, one of the participants. According to Deacon Oliver Bunker, who organized the event, nine Chanute churches participated this year, representing Episcopal, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian and United Brethren traditions. The effort raised more than $3,100 for Faith House, a local homeless shelter. Since it began in 2006, the chili cook-off has collected more than $12,000 for the shelter, Bunker said. Each of the participating churches brought enough chili to feed 50 people, along with crackers and
bowls in which to serve it. The public could sample as many types of the steamy stew as they wanted, at 50 cents each. They then were invited to “vote” for their favorite by dropping money into decorated jars at each church’s table. The church whose chili collected the most money was deemed the winner. That honor went to New Life United Brethren in Christ Church, which not only went away with ecumenical bragging rights for the next year but also with the traveling plaque that denotes the winner. Bunker said the annual event is “a fun and ecumenical way to raise some money for this very important ministry in our community.” And, he added, “a little healthy competition might do us all some good!”