Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - March 20, 2026
THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP – THURSDAY: THE LAST SUPPER
This weekend, we will continue our journey with Jesus through the final week of his life as recorded in Matthew’s gospel. We’ll pick up where we left off last Sunday, turning to Wednesday evening when Jesus was anointed by a woman at the home of Simon the Leper – the word Messiah means anointed one, and it is interesting that Jesus is anointed, not by a prophet or a high priest, but by a woman while eating at the home of a leper! That night, Judas will sell him out. And that will take us to Thursday night when Jesus and his disciples shared the Passover meal together, what we know as The Lord’s Supper, the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. After exploring the meaning of this meal, we’ll share Holy Communion together as though we were with him that night. Pastor Scott is preaching this message while I officiate a wedding for a family member in Illinois. Then I’ll pick up the last two weekends of this series: Passion Sunday, focused on Christ’s arrest, trial, and crucifixion, and Easter (see article on Easter Worship below).
PASSING OF RESURRECTION ORGANIST BARBARA EICHENBERGER
Barbara Eichenberger served as our organist at Resurrection from 1994, when we moved into the Wesley Chapel, until she retired in 2018 after 24 years. She continued as our emeritus organist, filling in when we needed an organist, playing concerts and for weddings and funerals from time to time through 2024. I loved sitting near her and watching her work the keys and the pedals. She loved Jesus, and she loved people, and she brought glory to God through her music. We’ll celebrate her life in the Leawood sanctuary on March 26 at 11 am with a visitation at 10 am. She will be inurned in Resurrection Leawood’s new Memorial Garden.
LENTEN CONCERT THIS WEDNESDAY: SPIRITUALS
Our final midday concert for the Lenten season is on March 25, and features Spirituals on Keyboards. Narration by Pastor Cheryl Jefferson Bell will describe the history of spirituals as a Christian music genre and the context behind the familiar spirituals being performed on organ and piano with solos and duets by Resurrection accompanist Kelly Sanford and organist Ray Smith. The concert starts at 12:15 pm in the Leawood Sanctuary and online here. Lunch is available for purchase in the Spring Café before the concert, beginning at 11 am.
EGG-VENTURE NEXT SATURDAY
Invite your neighbors and plan to join us next Sat., March 28, at one of our Kansas City locations for our annual Easter Egg-Venture. This free, family-friendly event includes egg hunts, crafts, and activities for kids of all ages — and it’s one of our favorite ways to welcome our community every year. Egg-Ventures are next Saturday from noon – 10 am at Leawood, Downtown, Overland Park, Brookside, and Lee’s Summit; 2-4 pm at West, Blue Springs and Spring Hill. Liberty’s will be after 10 am worship on Sun., March 29. No registration needed, just show up and bring someone with you. And if you’d like to volunteer and help make it a great experience for everyone who comes out, sign up here.
HOLY WEEK SERVICES AND OPPORTUNITIES
- Resurrection’s Cantabile Choir will perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem Op. 48 on Sun., March 29, at 3 pm in the Leawood Wesley Chapel. This choral masterpiece, known for its gentle, contemplative character, offers a serene meditation on rest and peace, featuring soaring melodies and rich harmonies that have made it one of the most performed sacred works in the choral repertoire.
- Christ’s Passion: His Final Hours is a powerful service that brings together the events of Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. Through scripture, song and prayer, this service guides us through Jesus’ last night with his disciples, his arrest in Gethsemane, his trial, and his crucifixion. Services are on Thursday, April 2, at 6:30 pm at all locations, and also at Leawood and online on Friday, April 3, at 6:30 pm.
- Join Resurrection men for a Good Friday Prayer Breakfast. Men from all locations are invited to gather on April 3 for a morning of reflection, connection, and prayer on Good Friday. We’ll be gathering at six different locations at various times from 6:30 am to 8 am, depending on the location. Find your location and time and register here. At Leawood, we’ll have breakfast, a devotion, and then take groups of men behind the stained glass window!
- Good Friday Prayer Vigil on Friday, April 3, from noon – 3 pm in the Wesley Chapel at the Leawood location. Spend time in prayer as we remember the events of Christ’s crucifixion. This is a drop-in experience; you’re invited to come anytime between noon and 3 pm for quiet reflection and prayer. Every half hour, there will be brief scripture readings and devotions. You can also download a prayer guide here to use on your own.
EASTER WORSHIP SERVICES
On Easter, we will have a total of 32 in-person services across our nine locations, plus 4 online services and 10 televised services. If you have young children, we will be offering children’s interactive services on Saturday morning during Easter weekend (and 3 pm at West). We will also have two services on Saturday evening at 5 pm at Leawood and West. In addition to our regular Sunday morning service times, we have 7 am sunrise services at several locations, and Downtown’s Easter worship services will be at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. The complete list of worship times and locations can be found at resurrection.church/Easter. Share this link with your friends and co-workers who may be looking for a place to worship this Easter.
COMMENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
I want to end with a note about my social media accounts. I’m grateful for all of you who follow me on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn. These are personal accounts, not the church’s, and I share church news, personal news, miscellaneous thoughts, and, more recently, updates related to my possible run for the U.S. Senate. I’m grateful for this way to stay connected with people.
Know that there are 22,000 Resurrection members, but I have 73,000 followers on Facebook, which means more than two-thirds of the people who follow are not part of Resurrection. Some are family and friends. Some are readers of my books. Some are leaders in the United Methodist Church. Some are people who follow from the media. And some follow solely to criticize. A few of these are likely bots – fake profiles designed to generate caustic comments. I typically don’t read the caustic comments. The few that I read are demonstrably untrue or misrepresent my views. If I replied to all of these, that is all I would do all day, so I tend to ignore them.
Please don’t feel you need to respond to mean-spirited posts on my page or accounts (or on your own for that matter!). But if you do reply, please be gracious in your response. I like to remind myself of the timeless wisdom of Proverbs 15, verse 1: “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”
Okay, that’s all I’ve got for today. I love you, Resurrection, and I am so proud to be your pastor!
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.
