Weekly Update from Pastor Adam - September 1, 2023
THIS WEEKEND IN WORSHIP: “DO THIS IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME”
When Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” he wasn’t just talking to his disciples. This weekend in worship, my message, “Do this in Remembrance of Me,” will focus on the purpose and power of Holy Communion. The Lord’s Supper is, for Christians, the most important “meal” we eat. I will be giving you a crash course on the meaning and history of Holy Communion; and, since our kids will be in worship this weekend, I’ll also be speaking to them about the meaning of Communion.
The Lord’s Supper or Holy Communion is also known as the Eucharist from the Greek word for giving thanks. Jesus gave thanks as he broke the bread and offered the wine of Communion. He gave thanks before each meal. This weekend we’ll be giving each household a set of eight mealtime prayers or blessings — some traditional, some that we wrote or adapted, to help enrich your mealtime grace and to help you remember the Lord’s Supper each time you break bread. We’ll also have a set of four children’s mealtime blessings for all of our children in worship.
I believe this weekend’s message will significantly enrich your experience of Holy Communion. We’ll end the service by receiving Holy Communion. If you are in town, join us in person if you can. If you can’t or if you are out of town, join us online or on TV and have bread or crackers, wine or grape juice ready to share in Holy Communion with us.
I remind you that as United Methodists we practice open communion, meaning all are invited to partake. The table of Holy Communion is Christ’s table, and is open to anyone who seeks to respond to Christ’s love and seeks to follow him.
As this Sunday is also a “Worship Together Weekend,” in which we invite children ages 5 and up to join their families in worship, parents may want to have a conversation about Communion with their children prior to worship, but please know that if your children are ready to receive Communion, they are welcome to participate. We will not have regular Sunday programs for children and students this weekend, but childcare is available for children 4 and under at all locations.
SPECIAL MUSIC AT RESURRECTION LEAWOOD THIS WEEKEND
Isaac Cates, our Director of Music Outreach, and two members of his musical group, Ordained, will be providing worship music at the 9 and 11 am services at Resurrection Leawood this weekend. Isaac is an internationally known gospel singer, composer and conductor. He’ll be performing at Carnegie Hall later this year. This will also give you a taste of what you will experience at Affirmations: A Night of Worship coming up on Saturday, September 9, at 6:30 pm at our Leawood location. Isaac will be leading an amazing group of musicians and vocalists from across Kansas City and beyond. Plan to be there, and invite your friends to join you! Here’s a video from last year’s concert.
MAKING AN IMPACT IN OUR COMMUNITY
This week, Resurrection was involved in two community events that could have a significant impact on young people in our community. Yesterday it was announced at the Blue Valley Educational Foundation Breakfast that Resurrection is one of the sponsors of a grant that will fund an initiative to train Blue Valley School District teachers, coaches and activity sponsors in Mental Health First Aid. Blue Valley is piloting this proven effective training which helps equip educators to identify and support students struggling with a mental health issue, and their hope is to help it expand to other school districts. Resurrection will be providing the training to some of our pastors, staff and key volunteers who work with students.
Serving students and families in Kansas City, SchoolSmartKC and Harvesters are teaming up to bring food pantries to a number of district and charter schools in the Kansas City, Missouri school system this fall. There were 28 pantries installed last year and this year, Resurrection volunteers are helping to buy materials and construct 12 more to be up and running within a couple of weeks. Channel 41 filmed a story on this featuring some Resurrection volunteers that will air on the news tonight.
If you are looking for a place where you can serve as the hands of Christ in our community, check out some of the opportunities on our website.
RESURRECTION WELCOMES 238 NEW MEMBERS!
This weekend we welcomed 238 new members to Resurrection at our Coffee with the Pastors. This includes 183 adults and 55 children, 68 households from Leawood, 10 from West, 14 from Downtown, 1 from Blue Springs, 4 from Overland Park, 17 from Brookside and 6 who worship with us online from outside Kansas City. Please take a look at the list of names and welcome those who joined at your location. Click here for the list of new members.
THANK YOU BLOOD DONORS!
Resurrection, you did it again! During the August blood drives at our Leawood, Overland Park, Blue Springs and West locations you donated 968 units of blood! This will help save so many lives in our community! Thank you to everyone who donated and volunteered to help fill this critical need.
LAHAINA FIRE OFFERING
We received a kind note of thanks from a woman who lives in Hawaii who had learned that our congregation sent an offering to support recovery efforts in Lahaina, Hawaii. We immediately reached out after the fire and sent $20,000 from our Disaster Response Fund. We are awaiting word from the United Methodist Church in Hawaii to see what the emerging needs are that are not being addressed in other ways, and will keep you posted.
Her note read, in part,
Our Dearest Church of the Resurrection,
It is with a heavy heart I write this letter to you on behalf of the people of Maui. The devastation of the Maui fires are unimaginable. I’m sure many of you have visited Maui and know the beauty and history of Lahaina, now it is ashes.
The famous 150 year old Banyan tree is our tree of hope. As it continues to grow and rise up through the ashes and thrives. So will our Maui Ohana (family). Your donations will help rebuild Maui and keep them sheltered, clothed, fed and give them hope for tomorrow. Please continue to keep Maui in your prayers.
Mahalo nui Loa (Thank you very much),
Your Maui Ohana and Susan White
She included gifts of a colorful laser woodcut image of native plants of Hawaii and a beaded necklace.
SEASON 2 OF PARENTS PODCAST AVAILABLE
Have you checked out our With Parents Podcast lately? Season 2 is available now for viewing and listening at www.resurrection.church/parents. Tune in and share with your friends as Jason Gant, Pastor of Kids and Families, interviews therapists, performers, authors, and more. Season 3 will be released next month.
CLASSES, GROUPS AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT PROGRAMS BEGIN THIS WEEK
We had a huge kick-off this last Wednesday for small groups! It was so exciting. It is not too late to sign up to join a small group for the fall. This is a chance for you to grow in your faith while making new friends – it is a powerful way to enrich your life and faith. For the complete list of programming by location, visit cor.org/next.
VESPERS THIS TUESDAY NIGHT
This Tuesday, I’ll be back online live on Facebook for Vespers. Vespers is an evening conversation about faith and life that I lead from my home. I plan to share some of what I’ve had to cut from this weekend’s sermon, for time, about important meals in the Bible. Plan to join me from 7:30 to 8:15 pm Central on my Facebook page here.
LAST CHANCE FOR A SNEAK PEEK AT RESURRECTION LEAWOOD BUILDING PLANS
This past two weeks each of our locations have been hosting dinners for our leaders and all who are interested in future building plans at each location. These are part of our Generation to Generation campaign to prepare great spaces for children and youth. For those of you at Leawood, I thought I’d tell you a bit more about what we’ve done and invite you to join me a week from tomorrow for our last gathering.
We start with food in the Student Center, getting to know others around the tables. I then take you through the needs and opportunities we have to create terrific spaces for our student ministry, our counseling ministry, an outdoor recreation space including pickleball, inclusive playground, pavilion and more. We’re also proposing building our permanent chapel and not only doing this without debt, but paying off the Leawood mortgage to redeploy our current debt service for mission and ministry. After sharing all of this, we actually walk through the spaces, getting a sense of what the renovated and new spaces will look like, ending outside in what will be our permanent chapel as we sing and receive communion.
It was deeply moving and I’d love for each of you to experience this. Next Saturday, September 9 at 9:30 am is your last chance. Click here to sign up to join me and our other pastors.
On this Labor Day weekend, considered for many the last weekend of summer, I hope you’ll find time to relax and spend time with loved ones. A national holiday since 1894, Labor Day is unique in that it does not pay tribute to a person or memorialize an historic event, but is dedicated to honoring the contributions U.S. workers have made to our country. In honor of Labor Day our offices will be closed on Monday, September 4.
Worship with us this weekend, and then enjoy your day off on Monday!
Adam
PS: Don’t forget to check the list of new members so you can welcome them personally this weekend!
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.
