Weekly Updates from Pastor Adam - Dec. 30, 2022

Dear Resurrection Family,

Tomorrow night LaVon and I will spend part of New Year’s Eve reflecting on, and giving thanks for, this past year. Here at the church, it has been a remarkable year with so much to celebrate: Attendance grew in worship and most of our programs. We’ve seen many new people coming to faith in Christ. In addition to your ongoing commitments to missions, you provided solar lighting to thousands of Malawians, emergency medical equipment to Ukrainians near the front lines of the war, and hundreds of thousands of dollars of aid through United Methodist Churches in Florida. We conducted the BE Campaign during the recent election calling people to BE Just, Kind and Humble. We opened a sixth location in Brookside. In nearly every area of ministry, we are doing more and being more fruitful than one year ago. And there is so much more. I’m so proud of you and the ways you seek to live your faith. I’ll share a more complete report at the end of next week’s eNote.

SPECIAL NEW YEAR’S DAY WORSHIP THIS WEEKEND

I hope you are planning to make worship part of your New Year’s celebration this year. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism introduced the Wesley Covenant Renewal Service in 1755, and since that time Methodists have gathered on January 1 or the Sunday after to reaffirm their covenant with God in the New Year. Wesley’s journals tell of a large congregation of early Methodists “gathering at 4 am to usher in the new year with the voice of praise and thanksgiving” and God’s presence “strengthening and renewing their souls.”

We’ll worship at our regular times and locations (4 am is a little early!). I hope you will join us on this special day as we worship together, offering thanks and renewing our commitment to God. I’m sharing the Wesley Covenant Prayer at the end of this eNote, and I encourage you to pray this prayer as you begin the New Year.

As an added bonus, worship this weekend and you’ll be on your way to perfect worship attendance in 2023!

CANDLELIGHT CHRISTMAS EVE REPORT

Last weekend we had 27 Christmas Eve Candlelight services across our six Kansas City area locations. This required well over 1,000 volunteers – ushers, greeters candle distributors, lights, sound, video, hospitality, musicians, vocalists, choir, orchestra and bells, people lighting the luminaries, working in the parking lot, security, CART team members, nursery workers and more. At the last service at Leawood, 11 pm Christmas Eve, I saw Dr. Elizabeth Campbell serving and realized that she volunteered at all nine services at Resurrection Leawood. She was likely not alone in that. All of which is to say a HUGE thank you to all who volunteered to make Christmas Eve happen. I am so grateful for, and proud of, all of you who served.

I’m also grateful for our staff who give so much of themselves to make these services happen. I left Leawood at a little after 1 am Christmas morning and the cleaning crew were still working and would do so until 2 am. Many of our staff were at all the services at their location.

We had over 120,000 people join us for Christmas Eve worship (24,325 in person, 16,162 online and over 88,000 on television) as we celebrated the birth of Christ and invited each who were present to be an Ebenezer – a stone of help!

CHRISTMAS EVE OFFERING FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES

Thank you to those of you who gave generously to our Christmas Eve offering. Your gifts will go to support 26 projects serving children and families both locally and globally. I’ll share the final results with you the weekend of January 8 as offerings are still coming in. You can still participate in our special Candlelight Christmas Eve Offering by giving online using this link through the end of the year.

YEAR-END GIVING

This week I went through our giving statements, checking account statements, and others to make sure LaVon and I had fulfilled all of our commitments we had made to the church and to others before year-end. Yesterday we put our last checks in the mail. Thank you to all of you who have fulfilled your commitment to God through the church for 2022. If you are not sure, there was an email that came from the church on December 1 with your giving through October.

To be attributed to 2022 giving for tax purposes, all year-end gifts must either be postmarked by Dec. 31, contributed online by the end of the day Dec. 31, or dropped off no later than 5 pm on Friday, Dec. 30 at the Leawood Location, Building C, South Entrance (enter off Roe). If the building is closed, there is a drop box located next to the south entrance door, but the gift must be dropped off by 5 pm. Again, thank you for your generosity and faithfulness! Everything that happens at Resurrection is a result of your generosity.

WHAT THE TECH?! – THE PROMISE AND PERILS OF OUR DIGITAL AGE BEGINS JAN. 7/8

I’m excited about the sermon series we are launching the following weekend. Technology permeates nearly every aspect of our lives. We know it holds the promise of enormous good, but if misused, it can cause untold pain, spread misinformation, and sow seeds of hate. Digital media can also leave us feeling isolated, anxious, depressed, or addicted. Based on scripture and Jesus’ teaching, we’re going to explore how we can have healthy relationships with technology and unleash the positive promise of technology in our lives, our families and our communities.

During this series, our children and students will study this theme in age-appropriate ways in Sunday School. We are also hosting a Screen Sanity Summit on Wednesday, Jan. 25, from 6-8 pm at all locations and online. Kansas City-based non-profit Screen Sanity and Resurrection are hosting this unique nationwide event that will bring adults and families together to discuss one of today’s most pressing topics—digital health.

This is going to be a great sermon series to invite friends and co-workers to join. Technology is something that impacts everyone, and we often struggle with it. Here’s the link to a video that you can share on your social media or email to them.

WINTER KICK-OFF FOR STUDENTS, KIDS AND FAMILIES AT SNOW CREEK

What better way to kick off the new year than snow tubing down a 700-foot slope at Snow Creek in Weston, MO on Sunday, January 8! This is a churchwide event with sessions for families and students. Here are some details:

STUDENTS: meet at your Resurrection location at 3 pm for transportation to and from Snow Creek where you’ll tube from 4-6 pm. It will be a fun evening of tubing and food with other Resurrection students and friends! Cost is $20 per student. Sign up here.

FAMILIES: pick a session (12-2 pm or 2-4 pm) on Jan. 8, and bring the family. No experience or special equipment is needed – tubes are provided. All tubers must be 42 inches tall and able to go down the hill unassisted. Families will be responsible for their own transportation and following the safety and security guidelines of Snow Creek. Register your family here.

MID-WEEK PROGRAMMING KICKS OFF JAN. 11

Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to be more committed to growing in your faith? Groups at Resurrection are a great way to take the next step. We have new Small Groups, Young Adult Community Groups, Resurrection Students, and Kids’ Programming all kicking off on Wednesday, January 11. You can learn more at cor.org/next.

I’m especially excited about our Young Adult Community Groups. These groups are an awesome opportunity to connect with other young adults, learn from older adult mentors, and find ways to make an impact in our church. These groups meet Wednesdays at 6:45 pm in the Wesley Chapel at Leawood, and you can sign up here.

MAKE MLK WEEKEND A DAY “ON” BY SERVING

Join us for a weekend of serving to honor the legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Jan. 14-16. Children, youth, and adults from all locations are spreading the love of God by serving throughout the city with agencies on the front lines of community service and justice. Individuals, small groups, and families are encouraged to sign up together. Click here to register for MLK Serve Days.

There will also be several opportunities to participate in community events during MLK weekend. We’ll be sharing those on our website here.

VESPERS RESUMES ON JANUARY 3

I’ll be back for Vespers this week, join me on Tuesday, Jan. 3, at 7:30 pm CST on my Pastor Adam Hamilton Facebook page. If you missed any of our Vespers, you can replay them at your convenience on our YouTube channel.

 

2022 has been an amazing year of ministry for Resurrection, and your generosity, commitment, and support have made it possible. I can’t wait to see how God will use our church in 2023!

Happy New Year!

A COVENANT PRAYER IN THE WESLEYAN TRADITION

I am no longer my own, but thine.
Put me to what thou will, rank me with whom thou will.
Put me to doing, put me to suffering.
Let me be employed by thee or laid aside for thee,
Exalted for thee or brought low for thee.
Let me be full, let me be empty.
Let me have all things, let me have nothing.
I freely and heartily yield all things
To thy pleasure and disposal.
And now, O glorious and blessed God,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
Thou art mine, and I am thine. So be it.
And the covenant which I have made on earth,
let it be ratified in heaven. Amen.

Adam