Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - May 6, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

This is Mother’s Day weekend, and we’ll celebrate all the moms and special women in our lives as a part of our worship. As a special thank you for all you do, we’ve created a beautiful journal, filled with encouragement, reflections, prayers, self-care ideas and more. You can get this gift after worship at all our locations, and if you worship online, we’ll provide a link to a downloadable version. We’ll also be sharing information about our Building Better Mom’s ministry and a January 2023 trip to the Holy Land just for women.

This weekend’s message will continue in our series on Five Keys to Relationships that Last – and this weekend’s key is not only essential for romantic relationships, but also for the “care and feeding” of moms, grandmothers and children. I’m looking forward to sharing the message this weekend.

THIS WEEKEND’S MESSAGE: MORE DEPOSITS THAN WITHDRAWALS

We will continue our series on the Five Keys to Relationships that Last by turning to our second key, “More Deposits Than Withdrawals.” Using the metaphor of our heart as a love bank, we’ll look at what 10,094 women and men who took our relationship survey said constitute deposits and withdrawals for them. What do women of various ages, both single and married, say makes them feel loved? What leaves them frustrated? What do single and married men say makes them feel loved? Frustrated? We’ll see how these answers change over time. I’ll share two of the best websites to discover your love languages and love styles. My wife, LaVon, will be sharing some of her thoughts about deposits and withdrawals with a little humor.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this key to happy and lasting relationships – not just marital relationships, but relationships with our parents and children, friends and co-workers. And we’ll see how this idea permeates scripture. Don’t miss this weekend in worship, and invite your friends and family. Whether someone has faith or not, this weekend’s message will speak to them.

Here’s a 30-second invitation that is playing on TV and social media the next few weeks. Post this on your social media and invite your friends in Kansas City and around the country to join us in person or online. These are important lessons that can be applied to all relationships!

Invite them to join you in person at one of our five locations:

Leawood location at 7:30, 9, 11 am (traditional at 11 in the sanctuary, modern at 11 in the Foundry) or 5 pm

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

223 JOINED RESURRECTION AT COFFEE WITH THE PASTORS LAST WEEK

Last week, we had Coffee With the Pastors at each of our locations on Sunday afternoon, and the Thursday before we had an online gathering. A total of 223 people (49 online and 175 across locations) officially became members of Resurrection and committed to continue their faith journey as part of our congregation. One of the things we talk about at Coffee With the Pastors is what we call the five essential practices of the Christian faith – worship, studying, serving, giving and sharing. As we welcome these new members, it’s a good time for all of us to take stock of how we are growing in our faith. Here is a link to the list of new members. Take a look at the names and welcome these new members!

PRAY FOR OUR TEAM HEADING TO POLAND

After preaching the morning services on Sunday, a team of five of us from Resurrection will be leaving for Poland to meet with Polish and Ukrainian Methodist Church leaders and Ukrainian refugees to discern how we, and other United Methodists, can best support efforts to care for and come alongside the millions of refugees who have fled their homes in Ukraine. We’ll arrive in Warsaw on Monday, then spend the next three days visiting refugee centers in Krakow and two towns on the border with Ukraine where up to 10,000 refugees a day continue to enter Poland. Among the things we’re exploring is support for trauma counseling, and we’ll be exploring whether there is a need for volunteers from US churches to come to Poland to provide in person support. It is a quick trip – we’ll be back on Friday. I’m hoping to share my Tuesday Vespers from Poland so check out my Pastor Adam Hamilton Facebook Page. I’ll likely be going live from Poland at a different time because of the time difference, but you can watch it anytime after it posts. See more about Vespers below.

RELATIONSHIP CLASSES COMING UP

As part of this relationship series, our discipleship teams at each of our locations have planned special retreats and classes throughout the month. Click here to see the opportunities coming up at all our locations including marriage tune ups, Enneagram classes and couples’ retreats.

CREATION CARE CELEBRATION CONTINUES

During this month-long celebration of creation, we’re providing ways to care for creating. This weekend, our kids are going to get into the act and help us all think about “planting native.” In KiDSCOR, each child will receive a seed ball – made of clay, soil, and seeds – to plant this spring.

YOUNG ADULT COMMUNITY GROUPS KICK OFF MAY 11

Our Young Adult Community Groups provide a sacred space of vibrant community for young adults in their 20s and 30s. This ministry meets Wednesday nights at 6:30 pm at our Leawood Location. We have a fun summer season planned that we’ll kick off on Wednesday. Here are some additional details.

RECOGNIZING GRADUATING STUDENTS MAY 15

Next weekend, we recognize our graduating high school seniors at all our locations. Each location will be doing something a little different, but at each we will be letting these students know how proud their church family is of their accomplishment. Please register for more details – registration closes today!

FOSTER CHILD MINISTRY IS GROWING!

Mother’s Day reminds us that families come in all shapes and forms. Through Resurrection’s Foster Child Ministry, volunteers help support and encourage foster children and families. If you are interested in becoming a foster parent or volunteering with this ministry, we will have an informational meeting on Thursday, May 19, at 7 pm. Here’s the link to register. If you are currently a foster/adoptive family, let us know how we can support you at this link.

JOIN ME TUESDAY NIGHT FOR VESPERS

Again, I’m hoping to come to you live from Poland on Tuesday for my weekly vespers. Check out my Facebook page: Pastor Adam Hamilton on Facebook for Tuesday Vespers. If you “follow” you’ll be notified when I go live from Poland. You’ll also be able to view Vespers on my Facebook page or on the Vespers YouTube page after Tuesday night.

This week I travelled to Nashville to record small group videos for a book I’ve written for Advent this year on John the Baptist. On Wednesday, I was in Dallas speaking on the spiritual life and on The Lord’s Prayer at Lover’s Lane UMC. Thursday morning I had the joy of meeting with some of the 120 people who regularly worship with us from Dallas. As I write this note, I’m about to land in Kansas City, where I’ll head to the church to record the weekend message for online and television. It’s been a whirlwind of a week, but really meaningful. I loved hearing the stories of people who worship with us online and the impact the church has had on their lives. As I greeted people from across the north Texas area, after my presentation at Lover’s Lane United Methodist Church, it was meaningful to hear from people who had become Christians after reading books I’d written, or people whose churches were strengthened by resources that come from Resurrection.

Part of our vision at Resurrection is to strengthen other churches. Over 15,000 churches have used one or more of our resources from Resurrection. Many adapt the programs and ministries we develop at Resurrection. Churches across the US follow up with first time visitors by delivering coffee mugs to new visitors, have Congregational Care Ministers patterned after our program, their membership expectations are patterned after our five expectations, they use sermon series we’ve developed and much more. Your impact extends well beyond Kansas City. This was part of our vision from the time we began 32 years ago.

I love you, Resurrection, and I’m so looking forward to this weekend in worship and celebrating Mother’s Day!

Adam