Investing for a Meaningful and Joyful Life!

Dear Resurrection Family,

This will be a great weekend of worship. One of the highlights will be the presentation of third grade Bibles to more than 300 children. This is always an exciting day for our church as we recognize this important milestone in the lives of our children and encourage and support them as they continue to grow in faith.

This Weekend’s Message

This week, I asked retirees on Facebook what they would tell young adults are the most important things to invest in throughout life for a fruitful, meaningful and joyful retirement in the future. I’ll share with you their top four answers.

We also interviewed a consultant who focuses on helping people prepare for a great retirement – she’s not a financial planner, but a life planner. We’ll look, too, at the financial side of retirement, what we can expect of Social Security, and a model for young adults to start investing early that ensures their needs will be met when they retire. Then, we’ll turn to the words of Proverbs, Jesus, and Paul to discover one of the most important keys to God’s blessings in our lives. My sermon is titled Investing for a Meaningful and Joyful Life.

If you are a teenager or young adult, or you have teens or young adults in your family, encourage them to join you – this message could have a significant impact on the rest of their lives.

Annual Stewardship Focus

We are also in our annual stewardship campaign when we ask those of you who consider Resurrection your church home to make a financial pledge for the coming year. Your pledge helps us plan ministry in the coming year, but more importantly, it is a personal act of worship and discipleship.

In the coming week, you’ll be receiving either an email or letter from me with information about how you can make your pledge to support God’s ministry through the church on our Commitment Sunday, November 21.

You can learn more about stewardship at Resurrection and download some of the financial planning tools I talked about last weekend on our website.

Visit the Stewardship Website →

Blood Drives Coming Up

As we approach the Thanksgiving holidays, we are hosting Blood Drives at four of our locations. This is the time of year, when the need increases, and we are grateful that Resurrection can step up to share this gift of life with our community. This is a very tangible way that we “Love our Neighbors.”

You may not be aware of this, but in the spring of 2020 the FDA updated several blood donor eligibility guidelines that allowed many, who were previously deferred, to be eligible to donate again. If you were previously deferred, there’s a chance you may now be eligible to donate. We encourage you to go online to savealifenow.org/eligibility or call Community Blood Center medical team at 800.688.0900 to check.

Here are the locations, dates and times. Walk-ins are accepted, but save time by clicking on the location to schedule your appointment.

• Leawood – Mon. Nov. 15, 8 am – 8 pm
• Leawood – Tue. Nov. 16, 8 am – 8 pm
• Blue Springs – Thur. Nov. 18, 2:30 – 6:30 pm
• Overland Park – Mon. Nov. 22, 2 – 7 pm
• West (Olathe) – Mon. Nov. 22, 10 am – 7 pm

If you are not eligible to donate, we encourage you to volunteer in assisting with check-in or serving refreshments at the blood drives.

Volunteer at the Blood Drive →

A Month of Thanksgiving and Serving in Our Community

We have several ways you can serve our neighbors in need in the Kansas City area during this Thanksgiving season. If you live outside the Kansas City area, I encourage you to find a place in your community where you can serve.

• Donate to provide Thanksgiving meals and holiday groceries to families in need through several of our local ministry partners. A $10 donation provides a meal for an individual or $50 donation can feed a family this Thanksgiving. Here’s the donation link.
• Serve with a local organization this month. We have a variety of ways you can serve November 20-25. Here’s a link to find opportunities.
• Provide warmth items (coats, hats, gloves, blankets) at our monthly collection drive on Saturday, November 20, from 9 – 11 am at any of our locations. Here are the specific items requested.

Matthew’s Ministry Family Night Out + Care Connection Page

Saturday, Nov. 20, 2021

The Matthew’s Ministry November Family Night Out event on Saturday, November 20, will be their annual “Harvest Ball.” Participants and volunteers dress up for this special night and have a terrific time while their parents and caregivers take a well-deserved night off! To volunteer, you simply come and be a friend, share a meal, do a craft and watch a movie in the Student Center.

Volunteer training starts at 4:30 pm; participants arrive at 5 pm and depart at 8 pm. If you’ve always been curious about our Family Night Out, now is the time to check it out! The volunteer registration link is here.

Caring for our Matthew’s Ministry Families

Families of loved ones with special needs are no different from other families with regards to needing care before and after school, during the summer, or for a dinner out; yet it is exponentially harder for those families to find care because of the makeup of their family.

We have created a webpage to help connect families that need help with care providers. Do you love spending time with children? Do you love caring for individuals with special needs and have a little free time on your hands? Please prayerfully consider applying to be a care provider for families who desperately need your help. Not only will the family be truly blessed by your services, but the joy you will receive from such an opportunity is priceless!

Visit the webpage →

Auschwitz Exhibit Follow-Up

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021

We’ll conclude our study of the Auschwitz exhibit at Kansas City’s Union Station with a debrief and discussion this coming Wednesday, Nov. 17, from 6:30 – 7:45 pm – either in person, at our Leawood location or online. I hope if you were able to see the exhibit, or if you plan to see it in the future, you can join us. Jessica Rockhold, the Executive Director at the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education will lead our discussion.

Register here →

Tuesday Night Vespers

Tuesday, Nov. 16, 7:30 pm

Join me for Vespers this Tuesday night at 7:30 pm on Facebook Live, at my Facebook page: Pastor Adam Hamilton on Facebook. You’ll also be able to view it on my Facebook page or on cor.org/next after Tuesday night. I’m going to begin a two-week focus on the importance of gratitude as we head into Thanksgiving.

Do you work for AMC, Cinemark, or another theater group?

Last week we had over 2,000 people join us at Resurrection to see the documentary, Holy Frit, about the making of the Resurrection Window. Many were folks who don’t go to church. The response was terrific. So far, the film has played in 19 film festivals and garnered ten awards at film festivals across the United States and around the world. Audiences have loved this film.

We’re hoping the film might be picked up for a limited theatrical release before it goes to a streaming platform. If you work for one of the theater chains or know someone who does, please reach out to me through my assistant, Stephanie Hubers, by clicking here. I’d love to talk with someone who might help audiences see the film on the big screen.

Here’s the link to the official Holy Frit Trailer →

I look forward to seeing you in worship this weekend!

In Christ’s Love,

Adam