February 15, 2008
Dear Resurrection Family,
I'm writing this e-mail from the YMCA at Winterpark, Colorado, where LaVon and I are joining the senior high youth group on their ski trip. We'll speak at three worship services and lead a "stump the preacher" late night discussion. We'll also enjoy skiing with the youth, playing cards and getting to know them better. While I'm here at Winterpark you're in for a treat in worship this weekend. My friend and colleague Junius Dotson will preach in the Sanctuary services (Rev. Dr. Connie Wilson will preach in the chapel at 7:45 am, while Rev. Molly Simpson will preach at Rez West). All will preach on "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," as we continue in our series of sermons on the Lord's Prayer.
Rev. Junius Dotson is the Senior Pastor of St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Wichita, one of the ten largest predominately African American United Methodist Churches in the United States. Rev. Dotson is an outstanding preacher and is sought after to preach across the country. You'll be inspired and blessed in worship this weekend!
This week I want to celebrate several things with you:
1. 297 Adults and Children Join Resurrection Last Weekend!
2. 44 Tons of Food Donated in Super Bowl Weekend Food Drive!!!
3. Feasibility Study Focuses on Future Needs and Opportunities
4. How Many Signed Up for Missions?
1. 297 Adults and Children Join Resurrection Last Weekend!
Last Sunday afternoon we had one of the largest joining groups ever - a terrific group of nearly 300 people joined the church in the Wesley Chapel at our latest Coffee with the Pastors including 198 adults and 99 children. There was a great excitement among our new members which included long time Christians who described how the church had blessed them, and brand new Christians, or persons coming back to faith. I find my own faith is invigorated when I listen to people tell their stories of how they have come to faith in Christ here, or renewed or grown in their faith here. At each coffee with the pastors we invite persons to profess their faith in Christ, to invite him to be both Savior and Lord, and to commit to 1. worship every weekend when they are not sick or out of town, 2. to be actively involved in seeking to grow in their faith beyond simply attending worship (through small groups, Bible study, etc.), 3. to serve God with their time and talents both in volunteering in some capacity in the church, and serving in the area of missions outside the walls of the church, 4. and to give to God's work through the church in proportion to their income.
Our next Coffee with the Pastors is April 13, at 2:00 pm if you or someone you know is interested in joining the church.
2. 44 Tons of Food Donated in Super Bowl Weekend Food Drive!!!
Each year we hold three different food drives - one on Super Bowl Sunday, our neighborhood food drive in the spring and our corporate food drive in the fall. Last year, between the three food drives we collected more than 75 tons of food. Two weeks ago, in our SouperBowl Food Drive we made a great start to top those numbers. You contributed twenty tons of food and $29,000 cash - enough to purchase another 24 tons of food for distribution to area food pantries - 44 total tons! Our members are sorting and will distribute the food you donated to area pantries. As a part of the drive we have a competition among small groups - the group that brings in the most food, based on the number of pounds per person in the group - joins me in delivering some of the canned goods to an area food pantry and then we have brunch together and spend time discussing the biblical or theological topics and questions of their choice. Congratulations to Jim Oliver's small group that donated 2,310 pounds of soup and other items, an average of 247 pounds per person in the group! I look forward to joining this small group for a morning of fellowship and service. Great job to each of our groups who participated in the food drive challenge!
3. Feasibility Study Focuses on Future Needs and Opportunities
Our church is in the midst of a feasibility study examining possible major capital and missional projects that we may consider funding by means of a special capital campaign to be held next year. RSI Consultants out of Dallas are conducting the study which will include one on one interviews with 60 Resurrection members and three larger focus groups at which members will be invited to complete an anonymous survey giving feedback and input into the process. Over the next two weeks I'll conduct three focus group sessions at which I'll share with you the projects we are currently considering for the future of our church and RSI will solicit your feedback. I'm very excited about these projects. Join me on either Thursday, February 21 at 7:00 pm, or Saturday, February 23 at 10:00 am, or Tuesday, February 26 at 7:00 pm. All meetings will be held in the Wesley Chapel. If you are reading this article, and you care about this church and have an interest in helping shape the future of our church, please join me for one of these meetings. To make your reservations or to ask any questions click here.
4. How Many Signed Up for Missions?
Several weeks ago we had an insert in the bulletin inviting you to indicate your willingness to pray and serve in the area of missions. I was curious how many people actually signed up to do this and so I asked our missions team and I learned that more than 2,400 of you signed up to pray or serve or both in some area of missions! This is truly amazing and reflects a deepening faith on the part of so many in our church. I am so proud of you! We're still processing the forms and then each of you will hear from our missions team in the coming weeks as they share with you opportunities to serve. I am hearing of an increasing number of people willing to do increasingly challenging things in service to Christ. I am very proud of you as a church, for the way you "get it." You understand that serving others is a fundamental part of serving God and living our faith in a way that pleases him.
As I close would you please pause and pray for two things: 1. the students, faculty, administration, and families touched by the violence at Northern Illinois University yesterday, 2. and will you please pray for our youth and sponsors here in Colorado, and pray for LaVon and me and our youth staff, that God will use us to help our youth grow in their faith and walk with Christ?
You are in for a real treat this weekend in worship!
With Love,
Adam Hamilton