LaVon and I arrived in England yesterday and spent the night in Epworth, John Wesley’s hometown, staying at the same inn he stayed at when he preached in Epworth on numerous occasions after his father’s death. His father was a priest in Epworth for 39 years. I’ve attached a few pics below. As you read this eNote, I’m in York, England, waiting for 35 Resurrection youth and young adults to arrive. The young adults have been a part of our Emerging Leader mentoring program, and the youth have been leaders in our student ministry.
The aim of this trip is to mentor these young leaders and help them understand our denominational history and the theological and spiritual ideas and practices of United Methodists that continue to shape Resurrection today, in the hope that it shapes their future leadership of our church. Early tomorrow morning, I’ll be taking them to Epworth as we explore those events, experiences and scriptural principles that shaped the Wesleys and continue to shape Methodism today. In my sermons on August 17, 24 and 31, I’ll be preaching via video from England, taking you on the same journey these young adults will be on this week.
BELONG, a fun event for students entering 6th grade, starting middle school, and their parents, is on Saturday, August 23, at 3 pm at our Leawood location. Designed to help both students and parents get ready for this big transition from elementary school to middle school, students will get to know our student ministry team and make new friends, while parents discover practical ways to support their student during this important time in life. Click
here to learn more and register.
CONFIRMATION, one of our student discipleship opportunities
, is a milestone moment where our 8th graders confirm their faith and become members of the church. Learn more and register
here.
FALL REGISTRATION is now open for all of our student ministry opportunities – Sunday School, Wednesday night Youth Groups, as well as Confirmation and Belong. Check it out and get registered
here.
DISCIPLESHIP: GROWING IN FAITH TOGETHER THIS FALL
As we shared with you in worship last weekend, we are created to be connected in Christian community, to share our experiences and learn from one another. And amazing things happen when we come together. Have you found your group at Resurrection? Fall is a time of new rhythms, and the perfect opportunity to join a small group, a class or a Bible study. I am joining a small group this fall – the group I’ve been a part of disbanded (still great friends) as our group members have moved away or are retired and live in other parts of the country, much of the year. I’m inviting you to do what I’m doing – to join a small group. You can explore all the opportunities on our
website. No matter where you’re at, there is a place for you at Resurrection. Find your place
here.
WORSHIP TIME CHANGE FOR RESURRECTION DOWNTOWN
Resurrection Downtown is making some changes to their worship service times to better meet the needs of the Downtown community. This Saturday, August 9, will be the last 5 pm service. Beginning on Sunday, August 17, worship services at Resurrection Downtown will be at 8, 9:30, and 11 am.
SO PROUD OF YOU! THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS!
Your support of our School Drive is going to make a HUGE difference in the lives of students and staff in our partner schools in the coming year! We received more than $40,000 in financial support, which is a significant increase from last year. And, as you can see in the photo below, our basement is full of donated school supplies that we will be sorting and preparing for distribution. Thank you! I’m so proud of you, Resurrection!
COMMUNITY VOLUNTEER TRAINING: CULTURAL COMPETENCY AUG. 16
If you’re thinking about volunteering on the Bookmobile, at the food pantry, as a tutor, or in our partner schools, we are hosting our Community Volunteer Training focused on Cultural Competency happening next Saturday, August 16, at 10 am at Resurrection Leawood! This workshop is designed to provide you with the skills and knowledge to help create a welcoming and secure environment for everyone we support throughout our partner school ministry. Learn more and register here.
LOCAL MISSIONS SERVE SATURDAY, AUG. 16
As we’ve been talking about new rhythms, I encourage you to consider making service a part of your rhythm this fall. We have a variety of ways to serve in the community that you can explore at resurrection.church/local. One easy way to step into this is with our monthly Serve Saturdays. On the third Saturday of each month, we offer simple, flexible opportunities for you to make a meaningful difference in our community. It’s a great way to try something for the first time or return to a familiar activity and discover how even small acts of kindness can create powerful ripples of positive change right here in Kansas City. Simply scroll through the opportunities, select your spot and sign up here.
FALL KICKOFF SUNDAY, AUG. 17
It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over, but as vacations wrap up and our kids start back to school, we’re excited to kick off our fall programs on Sunday, August 17, at all our locations and online. All of our children and students will “move up” in their Sunday School classes, and after each service, we’ll have special treats and a chance to connect with others and our ministry staff and pastors. I’ll also be sharing a special message with you from Epworth, England, the home of John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, where he spent his childhood. We’ll look at the power of praying parents, perseverance in the midst of tragedy (Susanna and Samuel Wesley had 19 children – not uncommon in that time – and ten of them died in infancy or childhood), and we’ll look at what Wesley learned as a child about building bridges in a politically and religiously polarized world.
UPDATE ON LEAWOOD CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
This week, I did another walk-through of the construction site for the renovated student center at Resurrection Leawood. I thought you might like to see how it’s taking shape. We’re excited to have this space ready for our students later in the fall. I posted this on my Facebook page on Tuesday. Here’s a link. You can also follow the progress on the new chapel with the live webcam, which you can access here.
MY PODCAST THIS WEEK: LOST DOGS, LOST PEOPLE
I had such a strong response to my sermon several weeks ago on God and Dogsthat we divided it up into three 12-minute podcasts. This week, my Making Sense of Faith podcast focused on the story of Maybelle, one of our dogs, who wandered away and became lost on July 4th weekend, and how this pointed to how we humans become lost, and God’s desire to find us and bring us home. I know it will touch you, but I suspect it will touch the hearts of some of your friends as well. You can listen to it, or watch it, and share it with friends by clicking here.
In Christ’s love,
Adam
