Special Guests Speaking at Resurrection this Week
Dear Resurrection Family,
As I begin this note I want you to know how grateful I am for you. I’m proud of your character as a congregation, the way you seek to love God, follow Jesus and live your faith. In today’s enote, I’ll be sharing with you several things I believe you’ll be interested in, including a word about this weekend’s amazing guest preacher, data from a survey of Kansas Citians, and more.
Author Bob Goff Speaking this Weekend
Our closing keynote at Leadership Institute last week was Bob Goff. In addition to his session for our Institute, we asked him to prepare a message for you, our congregation. Many of you are familiar with Bob Goff, but for those who don’t, I want to tell you a bit about him and why you don’t want to miss worship this weekend.
Bob is a New York Times bestselling author – his inspirational books are widely read and include Everybody Always, Love Does and his latest, Dream Big. He was a founding partner of a successful law firm where, as a trial lawyer, he never lost a case. He teaches law at Pepperdine. He launched a nonprofit in 2003 focused on addressing injustice against children and, in this capacity, he’s launched initiatives in Somalia (where he was shot at on ten occasions), India, Nepal, Iraq and Afghanistan (where he started and built a school for girls). He is one of the most sought after speakers in America today because his storytelling, humor and passion touch the hearts of his hearers.
Invite a friend to join you for worship online at cor.org, on demand on YouTube, on television or in person. Don’t miss this remarkable chance to hear Bob Goff!
How are we doing, Kansas City?
Earlier this week I attended an event at which the Barna Research Group shared data from a survey they conducted of Kansas Citians earlier this year. It was fascinating. Among the findings: 71% of Kansas Citians reported being stressed, 62% were anxious, 53% felt burned out and 47% felt lonely. Younger adults were, on average, 15 percentage points higher than these numbers. This is true in families, neighborhoods, the workplace and churches.
There are many underlying causes, but atop the list seems to be polarization/divisions and COVID. Yet, contributing to this sense of malaise, I believe, is our lack of being with people in person. Many employees continue to work from home, we’re not yet back to normal levels of in-person activities, and I believe our lack of being together in church plays some role.
We’re all grateful that we have the technology to link us together, but there is something about being with others in person that is uplifting, humanizing and even healing to our souls. We’re still in the midst of the pandemic, but the number of cases are starting to decline once again. For me, there has been something deeply meaningful, in the midst of social distancing, about worshiping in person and connecting with friends in small groups.
Knowing that so many in Kansas City are feeling a bit down, anxious or stressed, be gracious to one another, and look for ways to encourage and build one another up. And, if you are comfortable getting out, plan to join us for worship in person if you are able. Next week I’ll kick off a new sermon series called, The YOU You Were Meant to Be: Cultivating the Fruit of the Spirit. Among these fruit of the Spirit Paul writes about in Galatians is joy and peace. We could all use more of that.
Conversation with Mindy Corporon
Wednesday, October 13
Over the next couple of weeks, on Wednesday nights, we are having amazing conversations with Resurrection members who have faced unimaginable circumstances and pain and yet prevailed. This Wednesday, I’ll be interviewing Mindy Corporon about her story, and her new book, Healing a Shattered Soul. As you no doubt remember, Mindy’s father and son were murdered on Palm Sunday of 2014 at the Jewish Community Center. Her story is one of healing, resilience, and a determination to, in the words of Romans, “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
Again, you can join Mindy and me in person or online at cor.org/live. Afterward, there will be an opportunity to meet Mindy and she will sign some bookplates. You can order her book from The Well Bookstore.
Serve Saturday and Peanut Butter Collection
Saturday, October 16
Our monthly Serve Saturday is coming up October 16. We have great opportunities to serve at different times and locations throughout the community. You can sign up individually or serve with your family or small group.
We’ll also have our monthly collection drop-off from 9-11 am that day at each of our locations. This month we’re collecting 14-16 oz plastic jars of peanut butter for our Backpacks for Hunger ministry. Please, no glass or larger jars, as they are carried home by students in our partner schools.
Test of a 7:30 am Worship Service
Beginning Sunday, October 17
At all of our locations, we relaunched 9 and 11 am worship services. We also recently relaunched an evening service at Leawood on Sunday night at 5 pm for those who worshiped with us on Saturday and Sunday nights. The morning services at most of our locations are going very well. We’re working to rebuild the evening service – if you worshiped at Saturday or Sunday nights pre-COVID, we’d love for you to join us.
Next weekend we’ll be doing a test run of the 7:30 am service. We’ll try this for four weeks in the Foundry (because of the shift to 9 am service and the number of anticipated worshipers, we are testing this in the Foundry). Being in the Foundry allows 7:30 worshipers to be close to adult Sunday School classes and to the Spring Café for fellowship following worship. The service will have traditional music.
We’ll test this for four weeks to see if we can get a critical mass of people and if we can, we’ll continue this service. If you are an early riser, plan to join us at 7:30 am starting October 17.
Remembering Auschwitz
Wednesdays, November 3-17
We’ve all heard of Auschwitz, the complex of concentration camps in Poland where 1.1 million people, mostly Jews, died during the Holocaust. Many were murdered in the gas chambers. Others were tortured, shot, or died as a result of the inhumane conditions. Kansas City’s Union Station is hosting an exhibit aimed to take you to Auschwitz with 700 original objects and 400 photos from the camp.
The first three Wednesdays in November we’ll be partnering with Union Station to provide a study and conversations built around the exhibit. On Wednesday, November 3 at 6:30 pm, I’ll be interviewing Rabbi Michael Berenbaum of the American Jewish University, a scholar, professor and one-time project director of the United States Holocaust Museum in DC. On November 10 we’ll actually visit the Auschwitz exhibit at Union Stations. Tickets are hard to come by, but we have a block reserved. They are $28 and you must purchase them in advance. You can purchase your tickets here. Then on the third week, November 17, we’ll be back in the Leawood Foundry for roundtable discussions reflecting on the exhibit experience with Jessica Rockhold, executive director of the Midwest Center for Holocaust Education.
The November 3 and 17 sessions will be live streamed so you can join from home. In-person space will be limited, so please register to let us know you plan to attend.
Golf Tournament Auction Supporting Foodmobile
Registration has closed for the Annual Resurrection Golf Tournament on Monday, October 18, but you can still be part of the event to support Resurrection’s Mobile Food Pantry. You don’t have to be a golfer to participate in a special silent auction for a painting donated from Julie and Hal Hanson, of the Jeff Hanson Art Studio. This heavily textured acrylic painting, titled Tuscany Awaits, was created by Julie and Hal for our golf tournament, in memory of their son Jeffrey Owen Hanson.
Jeff was a visually impaired artist who passed away in December 2020, at the age of 27, from a brain tumor. Upon his death, Jeff had generated $7.5 million for charity with his artwork, and his parents are carrying on his legacy and his goal of achieving $10 million in charitable giving by the time he would have been 30. To see the painting, go to the golf tournament website and click on the painting to learn more and submit a silent bid.
Nominations for Resurrection Committees due Monday, October 11
If you are interested in a leadership role at Resurrection, don’t forget nominations are due Monday. We are looking for a diverse group of people who are committed to the mission and ministry of our church to serve beginning in 2022 on our Finance, Trustees, Staff Parish Relations, Foundation and Nominations committees, and as Lay Delegates to Annual Conference.
Learn more and submit a nomination →
Position Open for Lead Director of Finance and Accounting
Finally, I wanted to mention that with Kelly Williams retiring the end of this year we have a position open as our Resurrection Director of Finance. We are looking for someone who is a CPA or has equivalent accounting experience, as well as experience in and passion for church leadership.
Find out more about this important position →
You won’t want to miss worship this weekend, with great music and an inspiring message from Bob Goff. I look forward to worshipping with you!
In Christ’s Love,
Adam
Adam Hamilton
Resurrection Senior Pastor
Reverend Adam Hamilton is the senior pastor of Church of the Resurrection and the author of 22 books. He has been married to LaVon since 1982, and she has been a critical partner in every dimension of Adam’s work. They have two daughters and one granddaughter.
Adam’s writings are known for helping readers make sense of challenging theological questions, exploring the significance of the biblical stories, and equipping Christian leaders to be more effective in their work. He earned his MDiv from Perkins School of Theology and graduated with honors from Oral Roberts University with a degree in Pastoral Ministry.
