VOL. 2 ISSUE 4
AUTUMN 2026
THE CALL
We promote the Kingdom of God by living as disciples of Jesus.
Welcome to The Fall Call! Fall is always an exciting time in the life of our Church and school, and we have many wonderful opportunities coming up this season! On the weekend of September 19–20, we officially launched our capital campaign to address many of the needs of our parish. One of the things I am most excited about with this campaign is the opportunity for us to work together as one parish, united in building a strong future for our parish community. Secondly, we will host a Parish Mission October 5-7. Parish Missions are a great way to pray together, deepen our faith, and strengthen our sense of community. I am especially looking forward to having Fr. Richard Gielow, CM, lead us through this special time of reflection and renewal. Then, in early November, inspired by Archbishop McKnight’s call for every parish to be a “Center of Charity and a Sanctuary of Mercy,” and because of the generosity of our own Divine Mercy Cenacle, we will host an evening of reflection on the image of Divine Mercy in conjunction with the installation of the image in our parish. Beautiful things are happening in our parish, indeed!
SCHOOL NEWS
from A Note
stor Our Pa
Hello Good Shepherd Parish! Hi! My name is Xavi Feliciano, and I am the new bilingual receptionist here at Good Shepherd. I was born and raised in Miami, Florida and my family immigrated from Nicaragua over 40 years ago. My husband and I met in college and got married in 2007. As a proud military family, we have moved 10 times in 19 years, finally settling here in Kansas City just one year ago.
Xavi Feliciano our new parish receptionist
Though I began my professional journey with a degree in Human Resources, I dedicated most of my time to raising our family before transitioning into the world of education. Over the years, I have been blessed to work with children of all ages and unique needs. My 12-yearold daughter is currently a 7th grader right here at Good Shepherd and we have truly loved becoming part of this wonderful community.
Capital Campaign Update
Well, our capital campaign, One Flock One Future, kicked off this past weekend. After months of discernment regarding planning, reviewing, rethinking, and redrawing different aspects of the needs of our parish facility, we have turned to our parishioners to help guide the success of our campaign. Our $4.46 Million goal may seem lofty, but given the age of our buildings, these general maintenance items are falling right in line with what is needed to maintain them for now and the future. A lot of times for fundraisers the items needed can appear flashy and appealing. We have some of that like the new entrance for Church offices and a more secured entrance for the school. However, HVAC, parking lot, foundation and others items we often don’t think about until they fail, or we see them faltering. Tending to these items now is a necessity. Our finance and parish councils have weighed in, as well as our facility committee and staff. We feel very fortunate to have Fiat Development partner with us to help us with this three-year capital campaign. They have been working alongside us as we have weighed the needs of the parish and sought input from parishioners, as to how we can help shape our future. So again, as I stated earlier, we turn to you, our parishioners, to help make this a very successful campaign. We ask you to prayerfully consider your pledge to help what comes next for Good Shepherd in our One Flock One Future Capital Campaign. Sincerely, Mike Gomez – Parish Manager
September 12, 2026
SHEP TEM BER
Rain or shine, the fun went on! Our Fall Festival was full of laughter, food, music, and community.
Fest
Prizes d n a s e m Ga
p Band m a w S a z n o K
Mini Golf Fun!
ood! F s u o i Delic
Face Paint ing
Recipe for Fun! Ingredients
Mariachi Estrella KC
A pinch of music A heaping scoop of delicious food A generous helping of games & activities Plenty of community & laughter A whole lot of amazing volunteers
Directions
Mix it all together… and you’ve got one fantastic Fall Festival!
Thank you
Thank you to everyone who helped make the evening so much fun!
More Delicious Food!
SUMMER PROJECTS
From mowing and landscaping to cleaning, power washing, and tackling those big jobs that always seem to find their way onto the list, our amazing volunteers gave their time and talents this summer to care for our church and school. Thank you for rolling up your sleeves and helping make Good Shepherd a beautiful place to worship, learn, and grow!
Good Shepherd Pilgrims Visit Guadalupe Sites It was an amazing experience to journey with 22 others to Mexico to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe. Most of our group were parishioners of Good Shepherd, but we also welcomed several guests who became friends along the way. The pilgrimage was very well organized by Emmaus Pilgrimages, and I certainly hope this will not be our last journey with them. I am already hoping to organize a second pilgrimage to Guadalupe in 2027, and perhaps another pilgrimage somewhere else in 2028. Our entire pilgrimage was centered around the apparition of Our Lady at Tepeyac and how that event changed the history of Mexico—and indeed, the history of the world. We visited the pyramids of Teotihuacán to help us better understand the language and symbolism of the tilma. We took a boat ride through the canals of Xochimilco to gain a deeper appreciation for the culture and traditions of the time. We also visited Girlstown, where we saw firsthand the impact of the Gospel on the lives of real people today. It truly was an amazing journey. One of the greatest blessings for me was the opportunity to spend extended time with so many wonderful people in prayer, conversation, and fellowship. If you are interested in joining a future pilgrimage, please let me know. I would love to share another journey of faith with you! -Fr. Kent
Justice and Service: At the Heart of our Parish Community and Catholic Faith Visiting the Imprisoned: Sharing Hymns of Praise by Elaine Castro Four years ago, during a casual talk with Deacon Marcos, we learned of his ministry at the Lansing Correctional Facility and the upcoming confirmation of several residents. He mentioned how nice it would be if there could be music at the Mass, and a small group of choir members decided to make it happen. On August 11th, we embarked on our 4th trip to the facility. In a large meeting room, individual lockers are assigned to the various religious denominations. It is so touching to see the men go to the one marked “Catholic” and take out statues of Mary, St. Joseph as well as the crucifix and reverently prepare the altar. For me, this setting was reminiscent of Masses in the social hall while our own church was being built. Archbishop McKnight entered the “chapel” and the Mass began. Two men bent over a small basin and received the waters of Baptism at this simple font. Tears formed on many faces as the presence of the Holy Spirit was felt during the two confirmations that took place. We always end with our special “blessing” prayer/song for the men and are then allowed a brief visit with them. Along with words of thanks and appreciation for the gift of music, they always express their wish for us to come and sing more often. For us, it is an honor to perform the corporal work of mercy as we are reminded of Matthew 25:36 “I was in prison and you came to me”
Kicking Off the New School Year A few weeks into the school year, Good Shepherd Catholic School is filled with laughter and learning. Students have reconnected with friends, welcomed new classmates, and settled into their routines. On our first day, we welcomed The Leaven to capture the excitement. Music and bubbles greeted students and families as they arrived, and it was fun to share the day with the wider community. It reminds us that Christ is with us in our classrooms, friendships, successes, and challenges. We hope these words guide our students and staff as we grow in faith and virtue. Over the summer, we installed new flooring in the music room, kindergarten classrooms, middle school science lab, and teachers’ lounge. We also purchased new desks and furniture for several classrooms. Students and teachers are already putting these spaces to good use. We couldn’t have done it without the support of funds raised through Emerald Evening and PTO. We are grateful to our families and parish for their continued support. We look forward to sharing more of what our students are doing throughout the year.
Celebrate Belonging and Believing this Fall!
We l c o m e Ne w P a r i s h i o n e r s !
G a r r e t & Ta r a G r e e n A u s t i n & C h r i s t y H e s s Fa m i l y C o l i n & K a i t l i n C o o m e r Fa m i l y T i f f a n y B a r r i e n t o s & Fa m i l y J a k e & S h e l b y K e n n e d y Fa m i l y C r e s c e n c i o & L i s s e t t e C a n o Fa m i l y M a r g o Wa l t e r s Dylan Paap J o n a t h a n & C o l l e e n H a r t l e y Fa m i l y B r e t t & C h r i s t i n a H i r n e r Fa m i l y To d d H a b i g e r & L o r i Wo o d H a b i g e r Spencer Sone Bill & Janelle Kirchner April Gildo Diaz Kay Juarez N a t e & J a m i e S h a d a Fa m i l y V i c t o r & E l s a M a s c o t e Fa m i l y Francisco Delgado & Kimberly Perez Fa m i l y J u a n M o r e n o & D i a n a C o r i a Fa m i l y Jeanne McCue B r a n d o n & M a r i e l i C o o k Fa m i l y
Karen Conklin Mickie Mettee
Kyle Miaso & Laura Rues-Miaso Family Emiro Benitez & Everlin Castellanos Family Elizabeth Carrillo & Family Abel Medina & Jacqueline Canchola Family Ashu & Taylor Agarwal Family Ivan & Lily Acuna Family Evan & Elizabeth Hodges Roselyn Arreola Alec & Lily DeHerrera Family Malody Lucio & Wilmer Higuera Family Raul Manzanilla & Damaris Munoz Family Edwin Dubon Erika Solis & Family Carlos Melendez & Hilda Cartagena Family Jose Cisneros & Family Luis Rivera & Kymberlin Tzun Family Dailyn Rixtun Monzon & Family N i c k & N a t a l i e A r n o l d Fa m i l y B r e t t & C a r o l y n Wa i t e Fa m i l y
We h o l d d e a r o u r f r i e n d s who have passed away.