Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - June 17, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

A couple of weeks ago, LaVon and I took our kids on a family vacation to Arizona celebrating with them our 40^th anniversary. Last week I was in Omaha with 50 of our Resurrection members and clergy for the Great Plains Annual Conference. This week, LaVon and I took four days vacation just the two of us. It was terrific. We’re on our way back to Kansas City today. I’ll be worshiping at two of our location this weekend, Blue Springs at 9 am and West at 11 am, and will be back in the pulpit on July 3. I’m spending the next two weeks making headway on a book on the Gospel of Luke that will be out in time for Lent next year.

FATHER’S DAY WEEKEND IN WORSHIP: WHAT A STORY! JOSEPH IN THE PIT

This weekend we’ll celebrate dads and grandfathers (see below) and we’ll continue our series on “Epic Tales from the Old Testament” by turning to the story of Joseph (not the father of Jesus, but the 11^th son of Israel) focused on how he ended up in prison for a crime he did not commit. Jospeh’s story is a masterpiece of ancient near eastern literature, spread across nearly 20 chapters of the Old Testament. This foundational story of faith, popularized by the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, has a powerful message about unjust suffering, and God’s way of forcing good from the pit’s we experience in our lives. Our location pastors will be preaching in person at each of our locations this weekend, and I hope you’ll join us for amazing worship and one of the great stories from the Bible with a relevant message for today.

CELEBRATING FATHERS AND THE IMPORTANT MEN IN OUR LIVES THIS WEEKEND

As we celebrate Father’s Day, we’ll be blessing dads, grandfather’s and father-figures in our lives both as we pray in worship, and following worship when we’ll have a special treat just for men this weekend. Also, if you’re stumped on a gift to get that father in your life, consider giving him a chance to get away, decompress, connect with other guys and come back refreshed. We are planning a men’s retreat August 26-28 at Table Rock Lake Clearwater Cove Camp. A weekend at this resort-quality camp could be a great gift! Learn more and sign up here.

INVITE A FRIEND TO JOIN US FOR WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND

Invite your family and friends to join you in person at one of our five locations:

• Leawood location at 7:30 am in Wesley Chapel, 9 am in Sanctuary, and 11 am traditional in Sanctuary and modern in Foundry, or 5 pm in Sanctuary
• Downtown location Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Blue Springs, Olathe (West) and Overland Park locations Sunday at 9 or 11 am
• Online at cor.org on Saturday at 5 pm or Sunday at 7:30, 9 and 11 am or 5 pm
• On KMCI Channel 38 television at 8 am or 11 am
• On demand on YouTube throughout the week

TWO NEW PASTORS JOINING LEAWOOD LOCATION JULY 1

We are so excited to welcome our newest Connection and Care Pastors who will join us July 1 at our Leawood location. I can’t wait for you to get to know these two incredible women who will add their passion of caring for people and their enthusiasm to our already incredible team of care pastors. They will be leading in worship, working closely with our Connection and Care Ministers, making hospital visits, and providing care for our congregation in many additional ways.

Rev. Hyemi Lee Jones, left, grew up in South Korea and came to America to study theology at Drew Theological School and Yale Divinity School. Her calling to ordained ministry started as a hospital chaplain. She was later ordained as an elder while serving at Monticello United Methodist Church in Shawnee, KS. Rev. Hyemi is married to Jeremy Jones, with whom she is raising two beautiful children, Connor (8) and Yuna (6).

Rev. Valerie Vogt, right, grew up in California and attended Duke Divinity School and completed her Clinical Pastoral Education residency program at Duke University Medical Center. Most recently, Valerie served as an associate pastor and campus pastor in San Antonio. Valerie loves the ministry of the local church and she feels blessed to have served as an elder in the Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church since 2011. She juggles ministry with being a mom to Caleb (10) and Jacob (6), friend, avid reader, lover of the outdoors and coffee, runner and foodie.

AMAZING LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE COMING SEPTEMBER 28-30, 2022

If you are a pastor, staff member or leader in another church, I want to personally invite you to join us for our Leadership Institute this fall. It is going to be AMAZING! Leadership Institute is two days filled with eight keynote speakers, worship in multiple music styles, as well as time for prayer, rest, fun and fellowship with fellow ministry leaders.

Our guest speakers include, Tod Bolsinger, Executive Director of Fuller’s Church Leadership Center and author of Canoeing the Mountains and several other books. He will be joining us to talk about adaptive leadership. Facebook’s Nona Jones, their Director of Global Faith-based groups, will be there as well. We’ll hear from Jo Saxton (author and podcaster) and Mark Matlock from Barna and WisdomWorks (who will speak on ministry with emerging generations). We’ll learn from Bob Page and Tammy Peterman who will describe the keys to the dramatic turnaround they led at The University of Kansas Medical Center from a struggling hospital more than a decade ago, to one of the top hospitals in the country – their story has serious relevance for turning around struggling churches. I’ll be sharing our best ideas from Resurrection in the last year and a lot more. And we’ll also have over 40 breakout sessions to choose from.

This is a pivotal time for the Church – not just UM churches – as we come out of COVID. Nationally, membership and attendance in churches is at a low for our lifetimes and churches are struggling. At LI 2022, you’ll be inspired, encouraged and equipped. Resurrection’s Leadership Institute begins Wednesday evening, September 28 and concludes Friday, September 30. We’ll have a Pre-Institute Wednesday, September 28. Plan to join us and register now while prices are lowest at our Super Early Bird rate (through July 1)! Here’s the link to learn more and register.

TWO WAYS TO SERVE THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 18

• School makeovers – Join others from Resurrection to bless teachers and school staff in the Lawrence school district with updated staff lounges. Sign up here to serve.
• Serve Saturday has a variety of family-friendly opportunities for you to serve in the community, view the opportunities here, sign up to serve and then just go to your selected serve site. Sign Up to Serve.

COMMEMORATING JUNETEENTH

There are a variety of community events to observe this day of unity, education and celebration; and Resurrection is involved with two events. Both are free, and no registration is required. Join us and bring your friends and families.

Plan to attend a very special community-wide celebration “Building the Beloved Community” on Saturday, June 25, presented by Allies for Racial Justice, a partnership of St. James United Methodist Church and Resurrection. Exhibits open at 4 pm and the program begins at 5 pm in Building A at our Leawood location. The celebration includes Keynote Speaker Reverend Adrienne Denson Ewell of Red Bridge UMC and messages from: Reverend Dr. Emanuel Cleaver III and me. We’ll also have educational exhibits recognizing Black inventors and young entrepreneurs (exhibits open from 4 – 8 pm on Saturday, June 25, and 8 am – 1 pm on Sunday, June 26), a powerful music program led by professional musician Isaac S. Cates, voter information and registration opportunities and light refreshments.

If you are out and about on Saturday, June 18, from 10 am – 3 pm, stop by the Juneteenth Celebration at Prairie Fire (135th and Nall). Resurrection will have a booth at this event that features a parade, activities for kids (including KC Wolf from 12-1 pm), and other entertainment. Resurrection Pastor Cheryl Jefferson Bell will be one of the community speakers.

SUMMER HUNGER STOPPERS FOOD DRIVE CONTINUES

We’re a little over half-way through our summer food drive! Many children and families in our community rely on their schools to provide supplemental nutrition. So, when school is out, families depend more on community resources like the Overland Park Food Pantry, the Resurrection FoodMobile and other pantries we help to support. You still have time to pick up a Hunger Stoppers bag after worship this weekend, fill it with the items on the attached list and return it by June 30! Or, visit cor.org/hunger to see the list of requested items or donate financially.

TUESDAY NIGHT VESPERS

I’ll be coming to you live from the Lake of the Ozarks this Tuesday night for Vespers at 7:30 pm CT on Facebook Live. I’m planning on reflecting on parts of Joseph’s story that are not covered in the weekend sermon. As noted above, Joseph’s story is one of the longest in the entire Old Testament, spread across nearly 20 chapters of Genesis. Check out my Facebook page: Pastor Adam Hamilton on Facebook for Tuesday Vespers. If you “follow” you’ll be notified when I go live. You’ll also be able to view Vespers on my Facebook page or on the Vespers YouTube page after Tuesday night.

Finally, I’d like to thank all of you who took the time to contact your state and federal legislators regarding gun safety legislation. I am encouraged that our elected representatives from both parties are talking about this and working to solutions. I heard from over 100 people via email or letters on this issue, and while we don’t all agree on everything, the majority support working together to keep our schools and communities safe for everyone. I am grateful to lead a congregation where, whether we agree or disagree, we can love one another and come together to worship our God who loves each us of unconditionally.

In Christ’s love,

Adam