Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - July 19, 2024

July 19, 2024

Dear Resurrection Family,

LaVon and I are on day four of vacation, a special 60th birthday trip. I’ve been posting pics on my Facebook page (you can see them here) but letting followers guess where we’ve been. I’ll tell you at the bottom of today’s eNote where we’ve been this week! I also want to thank each of you who sent cards, posted kind words on social media or online, to help me celebrate turning 60. You blessed me!

Below I’ll tell you more about what’s happening in worship this weekend – you won’t want to miss it – and about Vacation Bible Camp this week as we’ve welcomed 1,522 children across all of our locations! I’ve also included something about the recent assassination attempt of former president Trump in a word about politics and the Kingdom of God.

THIS WEEKEND: JESUS AND THE CHILDREN

This weekend, we are celebrating an incredible week of Vacation Bible Camp, kicking off a new sermon series called Imagine If…. Pastor Scott Chrostek’s message will examine how empowering younger generations with hope and purpose can reshape our future.

Throughout this series, we’ll imagine a world where faith unites rather than divides and where every person finds genuine belonging in worship. We’ll be looking at what it means to forge authentic connections with God and each other, igniting change within ourselves, our churches and our communities. I hope you’ll plan to join us for the next three weeks as together we reimagine and actively pursue a life where personal growth, inclusive faith and societal impact intersect.

This is also a Worship Together Weekend! For this special event that takes place every few weeks, we invite children ages five and up to join their families in worship. Childcare will be provided for children ages four and under. We can’t wait to worship with you and your family and will have a special time for children during our worship services this weekend.

1,522 CHILDREN EXPERIENCE AN INCREDIBLE VACATION BIBLE CAMP

We had 1,522 children and over 500 volunteers this week for an amazing week of Vacation Bible Camp across all six Resurrection locations. We also had some families from outside KC doing VBC from home! Our kids spent the week learning about the Golden Rule through Bible stories, music, games and a lot of fun! Thank you to our Kids Ministry staff and the 543 volunteers who made this week possible. But it’s not over yet! Tonight from 5:30 to 8 pm we’ll have a VBC celebration at all locations with games, food, fun and some special surprises! Invite your friends and join us.

 

JOIN THE FUN WITH RESURRECTION KIDS MINISTRY

As any of our VBC volunteers will tell you, serving in Kids Ministry at Resurrection will be the most fun you’ve had all week! You can serve once a month or as often as you like with a team of classroom leaders, and curriculum and coaching are provided by our amazing Kids Ministry staff. Sign up now, or this weekend and be part of helping kids know God made them, God loves them, and Jesus wants to be their friend! Here’s the link.

SUPPORTING OUR PARTNER SCHOOLS

EQUIPPING FUTURES LITERACY EVENT – Resurrection is hosting an important Literacy Event on Wed., July 24, at 6 pm in the Leawood Foundry. You’ll hear from local education leaders, including Dr. Jennifer Collier, the Superintendent of Kansas City Public Schools, on the literacy challenges in our community and how you can get involved to make a difference. Here are more details.

PARTNER SCHOOLS SUPPLY DRIVE – Don’t forget our annual school supply drive runs through July 28. You can pick up a bag with a supply list of needed items at the church doors, or click here to find ways to give financially or by purchasing items on an Amazon wish list to be shipped directly to the church. LaVon and I were heading out of town and could not do our normal shopping for our School Supply Drive, but thanks to our mission team partnering with Amazon, we were able to purchase a ton of school supplies for children at our partner schools while we were on the road. Whether you picked up a sack to fill, or you want to shop with Amazon, I want to encourage you to bless children in Kansas City who otherwise would struggle to have school supplies.

CHANGING THE WORLD – CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING UPDATE

Seven months after our Christmas Eve Offering raised over $2 million, we’re thrilled to share the impact of your generosity. Our missions team has been working tirelessly to transform your contributions into life-changing initiatives both locally and globally. The Mobile Dental Clinic for Swope Health is under construction, and we’ve expanded our food mobile program with two new sites in Kansas City. Globally, we’ve sponsored approximately 2,000 children in low-income communities and improved clean water access by drilling 13 new boreholes in Malawi. These are just a few highlights of the amazing work your donations have made possible. Your donations often fund multi-year initiatives. What I’d really like for you to do is to check out our blog post complete with photos of what you’ve accomplished with your Christmas Eve offering so far. Click here to read the blog post and see photos. Thank you for your continued support in bringing hope and positive change to communities around the world.

ARE YOU AN ESTATE OR FINANCIAL PLANNING PROFESSIONAL? 

If you are a Financial Professional, the Resurrection Foundation would like to invite you to save the date for a special breakfast with me on Wed., Nov. 13, at 7 am. The breakfast will provide valuable insights on guiding your clients through legacy planning, ensuring their wishes are met and their impact endures. You’ll have the opportunity to network with fellow professionals and the Resurrection Foundation Board of Directors, and Attorney Bob Kirkland will share keynote remarks focused on IRA Charitable Giving. CLE and CE’s are available and sponsored by Midwest Trust. Please take a moment to provide your contact information using this link, and we will provide more details about the breakfast and how to register in September.

DON’T FORGET THESE UPCOMING EVENTS

• Serve Saturday tomorrow, July 20, at locations throughout the community
• Young Adult Worship Night, Tues., July 23, 7 – 9 PM, Resurrection Downtown
• Resurrection at the KC Current, Sat., July 27, 7 PM
• Beloved Girls’ Night Out, Aug. 9, 6 PM, Bourgmont Winery
• Car Show and Community Event, Sat., Aug. 17, 10 AM, Resurrection Leawood

POLITICS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD

The attempted assassination of former president Trump underscores how the vitriol and invective permeating our national political dialogue can potentially lead to tragic consequences when taken to extremes. Violence cannot be acceptable to anyone. Our focus, both with our children in VBC and our October church-wide campaign in worship, through our Do Unto Others campaign, is one small way we can emphasize a different and better way.

As the Republican National Convention has been going on this week, I have been following it in the next morning’s news (England is 6 hours ahead of Kansas City time). In the last week or so I had a Resurrection member write to suggest that I should publicly support the Republican party. Another, a follower on Facebook, asked when I would publicly denounce the Republican party. We are a divided lot!

Would Jesus have endorsed either party? I am certain he would not. Last month I finished the final revisions to a book on The Message of Jesus. If I measured the rhetoric and the policies of both parties against what Jesus taught, both come up lacking and each holds positions that are inconsistent with his ethic and vision of the kingdom of God. There are politicians in both parties that I respect, but also some I could never vote for.

Jesus calls us to an ethic of agape, selfless love and service. He calls us to compassion for all, particularly for the vulnerable, the sick, the wounded and the poor (see the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Sheep and the Goats). He calls us to tell the truth and to put the needs of others before our own.

I am praying for former president Trump, that God will heal the trauma of this brush with death and use this experience to positively impact him. I am continuing to pray for the family of Corey Comperatore who was killed, and for those who were injured at the rally. I am praying for President Biden, that God will guide him as he ponders his future in this presidential election. And, I’m praying that God will guide each of us as we seek to discern which of these candidates might lead our nation in the future so that our country looks more like the kingdom of God because of their leadership.

MY ADVENTURES THIS WEEK

On Tuesday, LaVon and I arrived in England as part of my 60th birthday celebration. We planned to spend four days here to rest and enjoy the British countryside before departing, tomorrow, for the next part of our vacation. I’ve been posting pictures this week on Facebook giving hints as to where we’ve been and inviting people to guess (again, click here to see the pics on my Facebook page and follow if you’d like to see the pics this coming two weeks).

Some of you figured out where we were. We stayed in Winchester, England, and took day trips from there. We had high tea at the Lainston House on Tuesday. On Wednesday we took the ferry to the Isle of Wight where we took a boat to see The Needles – a beautiful chalk rock formation off the coast of the Isle.

On Thursday, we visited the Salisbury Cathedral. There we walked this beautiful cathedral and spent a bit of time in prayer. I sat there praying and thinking about the millions who had prayed in this space since it was completed in 1258, and praying for our congregation, hoping that generations and centuries from now Church of the Resurrection might still be a powerful witness to God’s grace.

While at the Cathedral we visited Charter House where we saw one of the four original copies of the Magna Carta that remain (as many as 40 were sent out across England in 1215 when it was drafted). The Magna Carta limited the power of the King, sought to preserve the rights of the church, to ensure speedy justice, and limited the power of the crown for taxation. It also sought to avert a war between the crown and the barons. Both Republicans and Democrats resonate with parts of the charter!

The Magna Carta has also been seen by many as a starting point for ensuring freedom and liberty and a concern for basic human rights. I was struck by a piece of art on display there, created from a poem by a British Sudanese refugee. I thought you might find it moving as well.

Today, as you read this, we’re exploring other small villages and walking trails on the Test River Valley. Tomorrow we’ll head off for the next seven days by sea. Watch my Facebook page for pics and see if you can figure out where we’ve gone!

This Sunday, LaVon and I will be worshiping with Resurrection online. If you are in town, please don’t miss worship in person, but if you can’t be there in person, worship on TV or join LaVon and me online. I’ll not be doing Vespers for the next couple of weeks.

Looking forward to worship this weekend!

Adam

P.S. Check out your location newsletter on Tuesday for more opportunities to get connected with Resurrection. Here’s the link to subscribe.