September 18, 2009
Dear Resurrection Family,
What a beautiful day, and whether it rains or shines, we have a great weekend planned in worship. I'll tell you about it in a moment. First, I have one piece of "breaking news," one story you won't hear or read about anywhere else, and two invitations. So, here's what I'll cover in today's enote:
1. Steven Blair Appointed as a Pastor of Congregational Care November 1
2. Andrew Conard Assigned to be Pastor of Resurrection Internet Campus Nov. 1
3. This Weekend: Fall Fest - Brats, Hotdogs after Each Service
4. New Sermon Series Kicks Off This Weekend: Ordinary Saints
5. 70 People Attending Call to Ministry Lunch This Weekend, $30,000 Raised for Grants
6. Sacred Steps - Don't Miss Out, Register NOW Online
7. Resurrection West Land Announcement This Weekend at West
8. Resurrection Wins Heart Associations FitFriendly Award
9. Rezonate (Evening Ensemble) to Compete in Verizon's National Gospel Choir Competition
1. Steven Blair Appointed as a Pastor of Congregational Care November 1
This week Bishop Scott Jones announced the appointment of Rev. Steven Blair to become a part of our Congregational Care Team. We're really excited for Steven, his wife Holly, and their son Camden Elijah to become a part of our church family and our ministry team. Steven is a graduate of Greenville College and Saint Paul School of Theology. While in seminary he served as pastor of Napoleon UMC, La Harpe, Durham and Terra Haute UMC and for the last five years as the founding pastor at FirstLight United Methodist Church in Gardner. He is a gifted pastor, leader and preacher and we are blessed Steven and his family be joining us. He will be responsible for households in our church family whose last names begin with the letters M through R as Andrew Conard is shifted to focus on our Internet Campus (see below). Steven's wife, Holly, graduated from Blue Valley North with Molly Simpson and also attended seminary. She served as an intern at Church of the Resurrection in the past. Their son, Camden Elijah is 21 months old.
2. Andrew Conard Assigned to be Pastor of Resurrection Internet Campus Nov. 1
Did you know that over 1,000 people per weekend worship with us live, on line? These are home bound, folks who are sick, members who are out of town, members who didn't make it to worship and people who live in other cities. We now have a group of residents at Tall Grass Creek who gathering together to worship using the live webcast every week? We have persons in other parts of the country who want to use our live webcast to start "house churches" or to offer a contemporary worship option in the evenings for their congregations. We anticipate that in the Kansas City area the live web stream will be the entry point for many younger adults who will start worshiping with us online before they ever set foot on one of our campuses. With the appointment of Steven Blair we will focus Andrew Conard's full attention to developing our Internet Campus and ways to use our Internet webcast to welcome new people to faith and to shepherd them.
3. This Weekend: Fall Fest - Brats, Hotdogs after Each Service
It's that time again when our United Methodist Men hold their annual Fall Fest with the most delicious brats and hot dogs grilled on the lawn for us after each worship service, as well as birdseed for sale to take home for the birds. This is in conjunction with our Matthew's Ministry Weekend when we highlight our ministry to children, youth and adults with special needs. The proceeds from the brats and birdseed will benefit Matthew's Ministry and various other Mission opportunities. Plan to come hungry and to stick around after worship for brunch, lunch or supper!
4. New Sermon Series Kicks Off This Weekend: Ordinary Saints
When you think of "saints" what do you think of? Most of us picture Mother Teresa, or someone living a monastic life. But the Bible says that we're all called to be saints. The word means "holy" and the call is not to extraordinary people who will live in a monastery, but to ordinary people who will seek to walk with God in their daily lives. This week we kick off a four-week sermon series called, "Ordinary Saints" which will be focused on practical help and concrete ways for each of us to grow deeper in our spiritual life, to experience God more fully in our lives, to be transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit and to more fully live out our faith in our daily lives. This weekend I'll preach a sermon entitled, "God is in the Details." We're fond of saying "the devil is in the details" but when it comes to Christian spirituality, a deeper experience of the Christian life is found when we consider God in the details of our lives. Bring a friend and plan to be here - each of these four sermons is important as we grow in our walk with Christ.
5. 70 People Attending Call to Ministry Lunch This Weekend, $30,000 Raised for Grants
Last weekend the last part of the sermon was focused on inviting persons in our church to consider whether God may be calling them to ordained ministry. This Sunday from 12:30 to 2:30 we're hosting a luncheon and information event for all who feel God may be calling them to this ministry. We have 70 people registered for the lunch at this point! If you are interested in knowing more about ordained ministry, about seminary, about serving as a pastor, about how to discern God's call on your life, join us for this lunch. You can register by clicking on this link.
In addition to the number of people who expressed an interest in responding to God's call to the pastorate, as a congregation you contributed over $30,000 in a special offering to provide grants to help Resurrection members pursue their seminary degree. Thank you for your generosity and for investing in the future leadership of the United Methodist Church.
If you know someone who is feeling a call to ministry or just interested in exploring and learning more about what is available please forward them the link to the recruitment video we showed in the worship services last week. You can copy and paste this link into an email or forward this eNote and call attention to this link.
6. Sacred Steps - Don't Miss Out, Register NOW Online
Next Saturday, September 26 is our annual Sacred Steps 5k Run/Walk benefiting our missions projects in Sub Saharan Africa. Registration is only $25 all of which benefits our mission projects. The event is a blast - we'll have all kinds of free food, prizes given by Bonefish Grill, Gaslight Grill, Jose Peppers, First Watch and many more, as well as a $150 gift towards running shoes for the first place award winner for both men and women. Even if you can't join us for the run, plan to make a donation to this important mission. You can sign up right now, or donate now, at this link. Invite a friend and join us for the Sacred Steps 5k!
7. Resurrection West Land Announcement This Weekend at West
This weekend at Resurrection West, at the end of each service, we'll share with you the two parcels of ground that your West Campus Development Team and your Campus Council have recommended. We are currently negotiating on both properties and will make a final decision between the two based upon the final negotiated price. Both properties are 28 acres and front on to K-10 near K-7. Resurrection West folks will see photos and a map of each site with an invitation for you to visit each property at the conclusion of worship this weekend. Very exciting! For Central Campus folks interested in seeing the sites, we'll share them on an upcoming weekend at the end of the service. This is a very exciting time for our west campus!
8. Resurrection Receives American Heart Associations FitFriendly Award
Church of the Resurrection was just awarded the FitFriendly Award by the American Heart Association. This is the first time this award has ever been presented to a church. We are one of 15 companies or organizations being recognized in the Kansas City area and 800 across the country to receive this award for promoting wellness in the workplace. We have a great team of folks on our staff who have been encouraging our staff members to better care for their bodies through exercise, eating right and a host of other practices. As our staff live healthier this has a benefit to the church in a number of ways - healthier and more physically fit people tend to be more effective in their work, they are sick less, and they bring down the cost of health insurance.
9. Rezonate (Evening Ensemble) to Compete in Verizon's National Gospel Choir Competition
Our contemporary evening ensemble, Rezonate, that sings every other week in the evening services has been chosen to participate in Verizon's National Gospel Choir competition in St. Louis next week. On Monday Lance, Alison, six band members and the 21 voice ensemble will head to St. Louis to sing in the ScottTrade Center. They'll sing the song, "Let Our God Arise" - they'll share it with us this weekend in our evening services. Congratulations, Rezonate, for being one of only 4 groups to advance to the regional round!
That's a bit of what's happening around Church of the Resurrection this week. I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend as we seek to grow as "Ordinary Saints"!
Adam Hamilton