Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - October 17, 2025

October 17, 2025

Dear Resurrection Family,

We continue our anniversary celebration this weekend with our Serve Saturday and “Raise the Bar Against Hunger” drive, and in worship we’ll turn to the second of three parts of the United Methodist Church’s new vision statement, the idea of Serving Joyfully.

Yes, that’s right, a research study published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s & Dementia found that serving others actually saw an increase in brain volume and slowed cognitive decline. In other research, serving or volunteering has been found to reduce depression and increase happiness. In this weekend’s message, we’ll explore scripture’s calls for us to serve. Jesus defines greatness as serving, and there’s tons of research that says that serving has huge mental, physical and spiritual health benefits. I’ll also share the results of a survey we conducted this week on the experience of our own Resurrection members when they volunteer, serve or simply practice kindness towards others. The survey takes less than 3 minutes, and you can take it by clicking here. It will be a moving weekend in worship as we consider the power of Serving Joyfully.

Invite a friend or family member to join us for this moving, inspiring weekend of worship.

Speaking of serving, this weekend is our Super Serve Saturday in which we’re sending out a massive cadre of Resurrection volunteers to serve our city. I misspoke last Sunday – I thought we had 400 places we were serving, instead we had 400 serving opportunities – we added a few more and we’ve got 579 of you (580 counting me!) who will be out loving boldly and serving joyfully throughout Kansas City. If all the opportunities were full when you tried to sign up, consider the need and opportunity below in our Raise the Bar Against Hunger drive.

We’re still collecting nutritious snack bars for our Backpacks for Hunger program. We’ve got a ways to go to hit our goal. These bars ensure children in our partner schools have nutritious food over the weekends. Thank you to everyone who donated and/or distributed door hangers to invite your neighbors to join in this project. If you haven’t yet (I’ve still not done this with my neighbors), here’s a great way to love boldly this week. Invite your neighbors or co-workers to join you in providing snack bars for kids who are at risk of going hungry over the weekend.

The protein bars we’re collecting are ones that kids would enjoy, in boxes but individually wrapped, and can be purchased on Amazon, Costco, Sam’s or wherever you buy groceries. You can find out more by clicking here. Missions has put together a link for Amazon with a variety of types of bars you can purchase online and have them shipped to your home. Click here and select from among the bars and have them shipped to you, and bring them to worship this weekend.

Here are some examples of kid-friendly bars. Look for bars high in protein, individually wrapped, and that kids would enjoy! Think peanut butter, granola, chocolate chips, etc.!

This month, as we celebrate 35 years, we encouraged a goal for our members to collectively serve 35,000 hours. Those hours include volunteering through the church (teaching Sunday School, ushering, greeting, serving on Serve Saturday, packing weekend snack packs, collecting food, etc.) but it also includes everything you do in serving others on your own, or volunteering with other organizations. The idea is less about 35,000 hours and more about each of us intentionally serving.

If you can take a moment to log your service hours, all you have to do is text the word serve to 913-914-2600, and you’ll receive a link to log your hours. Do this every time you serve this month. Again, any type of serving others in our community counts, whether it’s with Resurrection or another organization, or something you are doing individually like helping out at your child’s school, or caring for a neighbor.

One of the ways we support families and help our youngest members grow in their faith is through our faith walk milestones. Last month, our first graders focused on prayer, joining us for the Lord’s Prayer in worship and then learning more about prayer at a special retreat just for them and their grown-ups. This Sunday, our second graders and their families can participate in a special Communion Retreat where they will explore the meaning of Communion together. Retreat times vary depending on location. You can find your location’s time and register here. If you live outside the KC area, you can email Debbie Covell by clicking here and receive a link to the Communion training video.

Resurrection Recovery is one of the most impactful ministries we have, and I’d like to invite you to join me for a great opportunity with this ministry next Thursday, Oct. 23, in the Leawood Foundry. I’ll be joined by faith leaders from other religious traditions for a powerful panel discussion on “Faith and Addiction.” We’ll share how our faith communities approach addiction and recovery, and how we can all care for our neighbors. This special evening will begin with food and fellowship at 5 pm, and then from 6 to 7 pm, you’ll be able to join the panel discussion. If you’re looking to learn about recovery, to get resources for yourself, a family member or a friend, or if you want to join us, we’d love to welcome you. You can find more information and register at cor.org/next.

Last night I was up late looking for Halloween costumes and kits to decorate my trunk for our annual Halloween Trunk or Treat. Last year, we had several thousand children come through our Trunk or Treat and a lot of adults, teens and kids hosted awesome trunks. The events are happening at all of our locations on either Saturday, Oct. 25, or Sunday, Oct. 26. We still need volunteers to decorate their trunks and distribute candy. Maybe you can’t decorate a trunk, but you can provide candy to share. This is one of our biggest outreach opportunities for kids and families, and it’s an easy way to invite other families, friends and neighbors to join you for a day of fun, games, crafts, and lots of candy. You can sign up here.