Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - January 5, 2024

January 5, 2024

Dear Resurrection Family,

Happy New Year, as I send this first eNote of 2024! As you read this, I’m in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on the east coast of Africa. I’m in meetings today and tomorrow with United Methodist leaders from across the continent of Africa discussing the future of our denomination. I’ll be speaking tomorrow and moderating a panel discussion of three United Methodist bishops from different parts of the world. Below is a photo from the opening session. Most of the participants are General Conference delegates from countries throughout Africa.

On Sunday morning, I will be preaching at First UMC Dar es Salaam and at Resurrection thanks to technology. I recorded the sermon for Resurrection just before leaving for Africa. Please pray for this meeting, that it might be helpful as African United Methodists discern their future, and together we work on a bright future for the UMC.

(By the way, if you’ve ever wanted to tour the British Isles, be sure to read the last announcement at the bottom and respond.)

MY SERMON THIS WEEKEND: MADE FOR LOVE

I’m really excited about this weekend’s message which is why I recorded it from our sanctuary just before leaving for Tanzania this past Tuesday morning. The title is Made for Love, and we’ll look at three big ideas in scripture related to God’s purposes for us as it relates to love. We were made to be recipients of God’s love, to reciprocate God’s love and to reflect God’s love for others. We’ll start off with a little music from the Beatles and the Beat Bugs, I’ll share pics of pets some of you received as Christmas presents and consider what they teach us about God’s love. In the second point of the message, we’ll look at a clip from the original 1985 film The Color Purple and a story about my granddaughter that will illustrate the point. Finally, we’ll turn to the evidence that we were made to love others, and why we are happiest and physically, emotionally, and spiritually healthiest when we do.

Last Saturday, I interviewed Dr. Robert Waldinger, Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, Director of the Center for Psychodynamic Therapy and Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development. He’s also the author of the 2023 book, The Good Life. The Harvard Study of Adult Development followed 756 young adults across the course of their lives, starting in 1938 – the study has been running over 85 years and the researchers found a remarkable amount of data pointing to one key that unlocks happiness and success in life. I’ll share part of my conversation with Dr. Waldinger as he tells us that key!

Invite a friend to join you this weekend! We’ll also be handing out a special gift from Helzberg Diamonds this Sunday in worship, so if you can make it in person, please join us (a button, not a diamond 😊)! Here’s the promo for this weekend’s sermon – post it on social media and share it with your friends! 

CHRISTMAS EVE ATTENDANCE 

I know there are some of you who like to know how many people we had worship with us over Christmas Eve. I literally just received the numbers – the TV numbers are always a week or two delayed. As I noted in last week’s eNote, we had 29,252 across all of our locations, in person, for Christmas Eve, up about 5,000 from 2022. Online was 9,844, our televised Candlelight Christmas Eve in Kansas City was 101,633 and we had 12,674 for our televised Christmas Eve service in Tulsa, for a total of just over 153,000 who experienced the “good news of great joy” with us this year. Thank you, once more, for all you do to make the ministry of the church possible. I’ll share the total from the Christmas Eve offering with you on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.

SMALL GROUPS AND MIDWEEK PROGRAM FOR ALL AGES

In addition to worship, one of the most important ways we grow in our faith and connect with others is through small group studies. We have a variety of opportunities for you to explore, connect, and grow in the coming year. Designed for adults, students, and children, we offer a wide range of midweek opportunities for adults, students and children to help you cultivate meaningful friendships, forge connections, and deepen your faith. Learn more at cor.org/next. For adults, open enrollment for winter/spring small groups begins today, and we have a great mix of online and in-person groups for all ages and stages. Check these out here and sign up today! 

MLK SERVE DAYS JAN. 13 AND 15

I hope you are planning to join us for an amazing day of service on Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. Last year more than 2,000 people served with Resurrection throughout the KC metro to make a difference in our community and honor Dr. King’s legacy of justice and kindness. Sign up here to serve with friends and family for various shifts and embrace this opportunity to love others, practice kindness and do justice!

NATIONAL SERVE DAY RESURRECTION ONLINE WORSHIPERS

If you are a Resurrection worshiper from outside the Kansas City area, we challenge you to join us in serving, and make an impact in your community on Saturday, Jan. 13. Visit cor.org/serve to get some ideas for ways to serve, volunteer in your community, and then share your experience with us here.

OPPORTUNITIES COMING UP

• Letting Go of Stress and Anxiety – Free event with Aundi Kolber, Christian therapist and author of Strong like Water and Try Softer, Wednesday, Jan. 17, 6 pm Resurrection Leawood Foundry and online. Register here.
• Women’s Conference – Friday and Saturday, Feb. 2 – 3, Resurrection Leawood. Register here.
• Men’s Conference – Saturday, Feb. 24, Arrowhead. Register here.
• Heart to Heart Survivors Group – 6 pm, 1st and 3rd Mondays, Resurrection Leawood. Find hope, faith and support with this group of survivors experiencing heart disease. Details here.

VESPERS TUESDAY NIGHT

I plan to be back for Vespers this coming Tuesday and I’ll share a report from my time in Tanzania this week. Join me at 7:30 pm Central Time as I go live on Facebook from my man cave at my home in Stilwell. I did post a Vespers message this week from Tanzania that you can view on YouTube.

THANK YOU TO REV. NEIL BLAIR, RETIRING SAINT PAUL SEMINARY PRESIDENT

At the end of December, Rev. Neil Blair retired as president of Saint Paul School of Theology, a position he served in since 2016. He devoted much of his professional career working with Saint Paul. His role as president was pivotal in helping to give Saint Paul a bright future. I really love Neil, and it has been an honor to work with him. One of Resurrection’s visions is to help raise up future pastors and leaders in the United Methodist Church. It is this work that Neil has championed as President of Saint Paul School of Theology. Thank you, Neil, for having a huge impact in raising leaders for the church!

POSSIBLE METHODIST HERITAGE CRUISE TO ENGLAND, IRELAND AND SCOTLAND IN 2025

We will not be taking any tours of the Holy Land for the foreseeable future, but we are exploring a possible John Wesley/Methodist Heritage cruise and tour of England, Ireland and Scotland in 2025. The dates we are looking at are August 24 to September 3, 2025 (plus two or three days on land before or after). I mention this here to see what level of interest there might be before planning further. The trip would include two days exploring London and a day in Oxford where Methodism began, followed by 10 days at sea visiting Epworth where Wesley was born, baptized and served his first churches, then a day each at Cork, Dublin, and Belfast in Ireland, Edinburgh and the Orkney and Outer Hebrides Islands of Scotland, and more. If you think you might be interested, please let us know of your interest by clicking on this link. If there is enough interest, we’ll continue to have Educational Opportunities explore this. 

These trips are opportunities for learning, worshiping, fellowship and exploring our faith while having fun visiting some amazing places in the world. Those who express interest today will be the first notified if we schedule the trip should you decide to register. Again, we’re just exploring the possibilities at this time.