A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Dear Resurrection Family,

LaVon and I spent the last five days in Palm Desert, California, with our friends Rabbi Art and Leslie Nemitoff. Rabbi Art is the senior rabbi of Kansas City’s oldest and largest synagogue, founded over 150 years ago. We hiked together at Joshua Tree National Park, took walks, broke bread together and enjoyed terrific fellowship. We had great conversations about our faith, both what we share in common and where we differ, and our work as pastor and rabbi leading our congregations.

I filmed one of those conversations to share with you this weekend – a three minute clip in which Rabbi Nemitoff and I spoke about what Jesus called the greatest commandment, which Judaism essentially considers its creed. It is found in Deuteronomy 6:4-5: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might.” Jews call it the Shema (from the Hebrew of the first word, “Hear!”).

I’ll share a three-minute clip of that interview with you this weekend in worship. You can listen to the entire interview, and see some footage from Joshua Tree, on my Pastor Adam Hamilton Facebook page by clicking here.

This Weekend in Worship: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

This weekend we continue our sermon series Streaming this Sunday by looking at the Gospel message in the movie A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood. Fred Rogers was an ordained pastor and the much-loved host of the public television show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, which entertained children with a message of acceptance and kindness for over 33 years. This weekend Pastor Scott Chrostek will draw on the movie’s inspiring message to help us see the gospel story of the Good Samaritan in new ways.

Pastor Scott has also issued a challenge to everyone worshipping in person this Sunday. Mister Rogers was known for his cardigans and boat shoes. It’s 90 degrees, but cool inside, so dig out your favorite Mister Rogers cardigan and wear it to worship. Pastors at each of our locations will award a Daniel Tiger to the best Mister Rogers lookalike in each worship service. (In case you don’t have a preschooler to enlighten you, Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood is a current animated program for preschoolers ages 2 to 4 that builds on the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood program. The star of the series is 4-year-old Daniel Tiger, son of the original program’s beloved puppet Daniel Striped Tiger.

Share the movie with friends, and then invite them to join you in worship – either in person at one of our five locations or online. Click here for a list of how to join us for worship this weekend online, on television and in person.

Family Movie Night Friday, June 18

Get ready to kick off Father’s Day weekend with a family movie night on Friday, June 18. Each of our locations will show the movie Mitchells vs the Machines at a fun event beginning at 6 pm. This movie tells the story of a quirky, dysfunctional family whose road trip is upended when they find themselves in the middle of the robot apocalypse and suddenly become humanity’s unlikeliest last hope. Go cor.org/events for movie times and details at the location of your choice.

Bring your friends and family to the free movie, then come back to church for worship on Sunday, June 20, where Pastor Scott will be helping us see the gospel message in the movie. We’ll also honor fathers and father figures in worship next weekend for Father’s Day. If you’re worshipping in the Kansas City area, we invite you to join us at one of our five locations next Sunday at 9 or 11 am. We’ll have special treats for all the dads in worship!

Serve Saturday + Summer Hunger Drive on June 19

Our monthly Serve Saturday is coming up June 19. We’ll have hundreds of opportunities to serve in the community in a variety of ways, including helping with a special Juneteenth celebration with our ministry partner, Avenue of Life. Registration is required, and some opportunities fill up quickly. You can go to cor.org/next for a link to register.

As part of our Serve Saturday, we’ll also be collecting non-perishable food for area food banks at a Summer Hunger Drive. Hunger doesn’t take the summer off, and your donations can make a difference for our neighbors. You can drop off your food donations (here’s a list of needed items) at any of our Kansas City locations between 9 and 11 am. You can also give online to the hunger ministry.

Ordination and Commissioning of New Pastors Saturday

This Saturday, five Resurrection staff members will be ordained or commissioned in the United Methodist Church. Claire Saunders Clough and Tino Herrera will be ordained, and Lauren Baker Thomas, Justin Schoolcraft, and Karissa Miller will be commissioned as provisional members.

We will be streaming the Great Plains Annual conference Ordination Service from our Leawood Sanctuary on Saturday, June 12, at 10 am, and we would love for you to watch if you’re able as we celebrate their accomplishments. Here’s the link. I’m looking forward to being at the ordination service and so excited for those being ordained!

At the service, the Bishop and others lay-hands on the ordinands praying that they will be anointed with the power of the Holy Spirit. They are authorized by the Church for their life and work as a deacon or elder. After years of discernment with the assistance of a local United Methodist congregation, district, and annual conference board of ordained ministry; after receiving a master’s degree; and after a period of supervised service in their ministry, candidates kneel before their bishop to be ordained.

I hope you’ll join me in celebrating these pastors and this important moment in their ministry.

Possible Life and Journeys of Paul Cruise in 2023

I’ve been asked by Educational Opportunities to lead a cruise October 20-30, 2023, retracing Paul’s Second and Third Missionary Journeys as found in the Acts of the Apostles chapters 16-20. I’d like to gauge your interest before making a commitment to do this. The cruise would be on the Azamara Cruise Lines, voted top boutique cruise line for 2019 by USA Today. These are mid-size, very high quality ships with only 600-700 sailing. The entire ship would be Resurrection and other United Methodists from across the United States.

The journey would begin in Istanbul, Turkey with a day of sightseeing there before setting sail. We’d see Istanbul, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, the island of Santorini, then to Ephesus before returning to Istanbul. There are many amazing things to see, do and experience in these places. Optional post-tours would be available for visiting Rome or Cappadocia. The 200 spots for the Holy Land trip next February filled in just 60 seconds with 400 on the waiting list. This trip is not the Holy Land and if you could only take one biblical tour in your life, it should be the Holy Land. But for those who like to cruise and who are interested in taking a one-of-a-kind adventure, you can find out more information and let us know if you are interested by clicking here. By doing so you’ll be the first notified if there is enough interest to move forward.

This coming week I’m focused on writing. The manuscript for a book on the Lord’s Prayer is due to the publisher June 25. While several brief prayers Jesus prayed are found in the gospels, it was the Our Father that Jesus gave when he was asked by his disciples to teach them how to pray. It is a profound prayer, but so often prayed with little thought. My hope in writing this book is to help readers to pray the Lord’s Prayer with deeper understanding and to allow this prayer to shape their lives. I would value your prayers as I seek to complete the manuscript.

Praying for you, Church of the Resurrection, as I write this note. And with you, I’m looking forward to worship this weekend as we consider the gospel in the film about Mr Rogers!

Adam