In-Person Worship and Updated Service Times

Dear Resurrection Family,

I’m excited about this weekend as we resume in-person worship for those who are ready to return. It was one year ago to the weekend that we moved all worship and programs online (and on television) due to the pandemic. See below for more information about restarting in-person worship and our ongoing commitment to online and televised worship.

This Weekend: The Two Questions Mark Answers

As a congregation, we’ve been focused on the Gospel of Mark for Lent. I’m preaching from Mark, our members are reading Mark, and our small groups are studying Mark. There are two questions Mark is regularly answering in his gospel: “Who is Jesus?” and “What does Jesus ask of his followers?”

This weekend we’ll answer both of these questions as we turn to two of the best-loved miracle stories about Jesus: the feeding of the 5,000 and Jesus walking on water. The sermon title is drawn from a question Jesus asks his disciples: “Who Do You Say I Am?”

Daylight Saving Time Begins Saturday Night

Whether you choose to worship in person or online, make sure that you set you clocks ahead Saturday night so you’re not an hour late!

In-person Worship Resumes This Sunday

It was exactly one year ago that we began worshipping only online to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. There were so many things that we didn’t know at that time, and no one anticipated it would take a year to safely return to in-person worship. Even now, things will be different. We will return to limited in-person worship this Sunday, March 14, at 9 and 11 am at all our locations (Leawood, West, Downtown, Blue Springs and Overland Park). At Leawood, 9 am will be modern music, and 11 am will be traditional.

If you intend to worship in person please fill out this brief questionnaire now, and let us know the location and time you will attend. This will help us estimate attendance and make sure we can maintain a safe worship experience. In-person protocols will be in place that include required masks, physically distanced seating, no large musical groups, and “touchless” processes (no bulletins or handouts and using phones to register attendance). Nurseries will be available for ages 2 and under with reservation online.

I’ve been asked when we will the resume all worship services we had before COVID. Right now we anticipate returning to in-person with 25% of the worship attendance we had pre-COVID. That will build to 50% over the coming months. Our aim will be to add back worship times at each location as attendance grows. Over the next year our Church Council and staff will be evaluating how many services we need at each location and what the right times are for them.

Online and Broadcast Worship Continue (9:15 moves to 9 am)

One of the exciting things in the midst of the pandemic has been the number of new people worshiping with us online and on television. Prior to COVID we averaged about 11,000 people per weekend in person and online. Today we average over 33,000. Some of these live outside of Kansas City, but most are here in our city. We will continue to offer excellent online and televised worship going forward.

Beginning this weekend we are moving the 9:15 am service to 9 am to match our in person worship schedule. So, here is the full schedule of online and televised services and how you can access them:

• cor.org/live Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 7:30 am, 9 am, 11 am or 5 pm Central Time (Note that the 9 am replaces 9:15 for the streamed service to coincide with our in-person services.)
• KMCI Channel 38 at either 8 am or 11 am Central Time,
• On demand on our YouTube Channel,
• Streamed to your smart TV on Apple TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire, or Google TV. (To find the channel, just search for “Resurrection Online” and look for our cross-and-flame logo on a bright blue background.)

Special Television Program on Hidden Bias Airs Sunday Night on KSHB at 7 pm

Scripps Media Company TV stations will air an hour-long special this week in 41 markets across the country. In Kansas City KSHB, Channel 41 will air the program called “Hidden Bias of Good People” Sunday night at 7 pm.

We all have experiences and backgrounds that shape our world views, as well as our daily interactions. This program is an extraordinary effort to raise awareness of our unconscious impulses and the role our inherent biases plan in our actions and decisions. I am grateful for Scripps Media and KSHB’s commitment to this kind of programming that can be transformative. Here’s a trailer for the program.

I hope you will join me in watching Sunday night. Pastor Cheryl Jefferson Bell, our Pastor of Community Justice, was a part of a panel discussion this week with Channel 41 related to this program, and she strongly encourages us to tune in for this program.

Easter Worship Times Set: In-Person and Online

We will have both online and in-person worship on Easter. If you are ready for in-person worship, we will have services at each of our locations at 7 am, 9 am and 11 am on Sunday, April 4. To ensure physical distancing, we have a limited capacity, so reservations are required using a registration link I’ll share next week. Masks are required, and safety measures like touchless services and smaller music groups are in place to ensure your safety. Care for children 2 and under is available during services with reservation.

Beautiful worship services with inspiring music and the same Easter message will be live streamed at cor.org/live on Saturday, April 3, at 5 pm and Sunday, April 4, at 7:30 am, 9 am 11 am and 5 pm. We will have three services broadcast on KMCI Channel 38 on Sunday, April 4, at 8 am, 11 am and 2 pm. Services are also available on the Resurrection YouTube channel and through the Roku, Apple, Google and Amazon streaming services on your smart TV.

Sign Up Now for Serve Saturday on March 20

Our next Serve Saturday event is March 20 from 9 am – noon. Registration is required to ensure proper social distancing. Check out the available opportunities online, decide where you want to serve and register here. Serve Saturdays are also great opportunities to invite a friend to join you and many activities are family friendly.

If you’re looking for other ways to serve, beyond Serve Saturdays, go to cor.org/localimpact.

News Coverage on Drilling Boreholes in Malawi

Just this morning I received my Friday email from the United Methodist News Service. Your work in drilling boreholes (clean water wells) in Malawi, Africa, was featured – a story written by the Director of Communications in Malawi. Here’s the link. For those of you reading the article carefully, the membership number given for Resurrection is off. We currently have actual membership of 23,904 children and adults.

Attention 24 to 35-Year-Olds: Application Deadline for Resurrection Emerging Leader Program

We are launching a new group in our Emerging Leader Program, and applications must be submitted by March 19. The group is limited to 40 young adult between the ages of 24-35. We invite members of Resurrection from all campuses to apply if you have a desire to grow your leadership at church, at home, and in your workplace, neighborhood, and other circles of influence and relationships. During the leadership development program you will build relationships, learn in a mentoring community, study leadership best practices, gain experience walking where Jesus walked, and receive coaching. The highlight of the program is a week-long trip to the Holy Land in February 2022 that I will lead.

Commitment includes a monthly gathering beginning in May and continuing through the Spring of 2022, a willingness to be mentored, and the availability to participate in the Holy Land Trip which will require a week of vacation and ability to cover 50% of the cost of the trip with the church providing a scholarship for the remaining 50%. The application process begins with the written application. If you have questions, please contact Debi Nixon at debi.nixon@cor.org

Finally, I wanted to welcome our newest members, our 2021 Confirmation Class. It was exciting to see 214 of our teens professing their faith in Christ and becoming adult members of the congregation last Sunday. We’re all so very proud of you, confirmands!

See you this weekend, in person, online or on the air!

Adam