May 9, 2008
Dear Resurrection Family,
What an exciting weekend coming up at the church, beginning tonight! In today's e-mail I'll give you a quick synopsis of what's happening this weekend, announce the appointment of one of our pastors to a new location, and ask for your help with two different needs – one critical to the community, the other to a new sermon series coming up! Here's what's up in today's e-mail:
1. Auction Tonight: Don't Miss the Fun!
2. This Weekend's Mother's Day Message: The Secret to a Long Life
3. Pastor Nancy Pauls to Lead to Kansas City, Kansas Congregations
4. G.M. Strike and Our Blood Drive
5. Help Me with New Sermon Series on I Corinthians
6. Thank you Golfers, Volunteers, Sponsors!
1. Auction Tonight: Don't Miss the Fun!
Just a reminder, the annual auction for missions is tonight! This is a blast – we'll have a light meal and lots of great items to bid on. The silent auction begins at 5:30 and the live auction begins at 8:00 pm. All proceeds help us build Habitat Houses and a church and edu-care center in South Africa. There are some wonderful items in this year's auction at all price points. I hope to see you tonight!
2. This Weekend's Mother's Day Message: The Secret to a Long Life
This weekend we'll look at God's provision for living a long life as we wrap up our sermon series on the Simple Truths About LIFE. This sermon is not only for those who are parents, or who have parents still alive. If you hope to live a long life, and to live well, you'll not want to miss this message.
3. Pastor Nancy Pauls to Lead to Kansas City, Kansas Congregations
As you may know, this is the season when the Bishop and District Superintendents reassign pastors throughout the United Methodist Church. Every pastor is assigned by his or her bishop on an annual basis. Yesterday Pastor Nancy Pauls received the word that she would be appointed to serve as Senior Pastor of Metropolitan Avenue and University United Methodist Churches in Kansas City, Kansas beginning July 1. This is an exciting move for Nancy – she graduated from seminary hoping to serve in Wyandotte County and she and her husband lived in the Metropolitan Avenue neighborhood for six years just after they were married. Nancy has had a wonderful ministry as a part of our congregational care team and she will be missed. I'll share with you announcements about who will step into her spot in next week's e-mail. Please pray for Nancy as she prepares for this new adventure and call.
4. G.M. Strike and Our Blood Drive
Just a reminder that our next blood drive is coming up on Monday and Tuesday, May 12 and 13. Our drive has become critical for the Community Blood Center because of the strike at the GM Fairfax plant – the Fairfax plant blood drive was cancelled due to the strike. Join us from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm on Monday or Tuesday and give the gift of life.
5. Help Me with New Sermon Series on I Corinthians
Following the current sermon series we'll have two stand-alone sermons, and then I'll begin a new five week series on I Corinthians entitled, "What's Love Got to Do With It?" I'm excited about this series. We'll take you to first century Corinth, which we'll discover was surprisingly similar to twenty-first century Kansas City. We'll invite the entire congregation to read through I Corinthians together. I'm really looking forward to these messages. As a part of the sermons we're going to have a Greek Chorus. A Greek chorus is a classical theatre device aimed at engaging the audience more fully. The chorus is made up of a small group of people who, in our case, will sit on the Chancel, in the background, but who will comment or interact at certain points during the sermon, representing the people of Corinth. We hope to use this device to help bridge the gap between first century Corinth and twenty-first century Kansas City. We are looking for folks to serve in the chorus. You don't need to be an actor. You don't need to memorize a script. Your prep time is minimal. No costumes required; but you'll need to be able to join me for all five services on the weekend you serve in the chorus. Can you help me with these sermons? If you can help please contact Robin Houghton.
6. Thank you Golfers, Volunteers, Sponsors!
Finally, I want to say a big "Thank you!" to all who played, volunteered and sponsored this year's Golf Tournament for Missions. It was a great day and each of you played a key part in raising tens of thousands of dollars to help change the world for families here in Kansas City and for the poorest of the poor in South Africa. Special thanks to the leaders of this year's tournament: Susan Smith, Chair; Connie Carrison, Food Coordinator; Jeff Maher, Sponsorships; Jeff vonSeldeneck, Volunteer Coordinator. I also want to recognized and thank Kent Baker, Event Chair and Treasurer. This is Kent's 10th year leading this event. His generous donation of time and talent is incalculable; and his leadership of this event has had a significant impact on our ability, as a church community, to reach out to the poor and disadvantaged both in Kansas City and around the world. Thank you Kent!
I look forward to seeing you this weekend in worship as we learn the secret to a long LIFE!
Blessings!
Adam Hamilton