Blue Springs, Missouri, United States - The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Blue Springs with Pastor Penny Ellwood for Friday, 2 May 2014Hello Resurrection Blue Springs,
I'm sitting this morning in my "time out" chair with a cup of coffee observing all the new life that has sprung up in my backyard just this week. The lilacs are in bloom and the purple iris have come out. The signs of new life have been all around me this week in some pretty amazing ways. I got to stand in a circle of prayer that included proud new parents, Mary Bernhardt and Jeff Frazee, grandparents Gary (BigDawg) and Barb Bernhardt. Great Grandma Sue and 3-hour-old little Bryn Odette Frazee. She was born at 10:44 am on Wed (Don't worry parents, normally I don't barge into the hospital quite this quickly!) I was at the hospital to pray for Gary as he had a heart procedure later on that day - on the same day his daughter delivered their first grandchild in the same hospital! Sometimes life comes very fast. What a precious image of Grandpa holding this tiny little hand I have now in my bank of memories.
Gary is now home and doing well (He asked me to express his appreciation for all the prayers for this surgery). This procedure will give him new life too. I also had the opportunity in an intimate ceremony yesterday to remarry a couple who were able to restore a relationship that had grown distant. What a testimony to God's restorative creative power and the new life it brings. And what a blessing it is to me to have the opportunity to stand in these important moments. I am so blessed to be your pastor!
This leads me to another opportunity where you can directly offer new life to someone. On Monday afternoon we will be holding our Community Center Blood drive in honor of Sarah Tuttle Inman who has been battling brain cancer. We're a bit concerned about this drive as we have a large team coming from the blood center and so few signed up for appointments right now. We're a long way from the 68 people who joined in on our first drive for Sarah. You could help us by signing up for an appointment and promoting this event by picking up some flyers or a poster this Sunday at church and getting the word out at your place of work. We want to show our support for Sara by rolling up our sleeves and giving this gift of life.
This Sunday Pastor Adam will begin a new series exploring the story of Noah found in the first book of the Bible, Genesis, chapters 5 - 9. If you have a moment you might read it before worship on Sunday. If you saw the new movie, it certainly would have invited some questions about Noah and this amazing story. Over the next 3 weeks we will be exploring what this story meant for the Isrealites then and what it means for us today, beginning this Sunday at 9am and 10:45am. We will also be sharing in Holy Communion at both services on Sunday. Check out and share the promo video for this series here rezbluesprings.org/noah
You'll find more information below about upcoming events:
What says Resurrection Blue Springs to you?
Single Adult Bible Study
Coffee Pizza with the Pastor - Sunday, May 4
Knowing God
Blood Drive
Band of Brothers
Good and Beautiful Life - Part 2
Buliding Better Moms
Mega Faithwork Day - May 17th
What says Resurrection Blue Springs to you? We are working on communicating our particular identity as a campus of Resurrection more effectively. What words, colors, feelings or images say Resurrection Blue Springs to you? Leave your ideas at Connection Point or email them to Heather.Sooley@rezbluesprings.org
Single Adult Bible Study – Being single can be a great time of spiritual renewal, reflection, and growth if you allow it to be. Join us at at the Resurrection Blue Springs campus as we read the Bible and discuss its application to our lives. We will be meeting every other Thursday at 6:30 pm, May 15 and 29. Light snacks provided. Child care available through 5th grade, if you let us know of your needs in advance. Contact Greg Thiel at 816-508-7897, Mary Truex at 816-914-6220 or Wendy Hildenbrand at 816-419-4387 for more information.
Coffee Pizza with the Pastor on Sunday, May 4th, following 10:45 am worship. Are you considering joining Resurrection? Take the first step and attend Coffee with the Pastors where you will explore the beliefs and traditions of the United Methodist Church, get to know Resurrection Blue Springs Pastor Penny and hear about opportunities to serve, connect and grow! Childcare is available. Sign up online at rezbluesprings.org/coffee so we can get a count for pizza.
Knowing God Class Wednesdays at 6:30 pm starting April 30 (6 week course) Explore the good news of the Bible and discover Bible study tools and resources to deepen your understanding of the Scriptures. It's not too late to join. Register here. Books are $7, available at Connection Point.
Sara Tuttle-Inman Blood Drive for Brain Cancer Awareness – We need you to give blood on Monday, May 5, 3-7 pm, in the Resurrection Blue Springs Sanctuary. Book your appointment today at savealifenow.org, enter Sponsor Code: saratuttle. You may also contact Laura Ward at 660-441-1977 or lauratuttle02@gmail.com.
Join the Band of Brothers Men’s Group Tuesdays at 6:30pm starting May 6 – as we begin to study The Good and Beautiful God. Too often Christians may experience a changed mind about God, or even a changed heart toward God, without having a changed life with God. Where is the breakdown between belief and discipleship? Why isn’t the transformative power of the gospel more apparent in the daily workings of our lives? In The Good and Beautiful God, James Bryan Smith helps us discard the flawed narratives of our hearts and replace them with the truths God reveals in his word about himself, the Christian life and his Church. This deep and transformative book will help you discover the narratives that Jesus lived by. Get to know the God Jesus knew and the Kingdom he proclaimed. The Good and Beautiful God book will be available for purchase at our bookstand next week or you can purchase from your favorite retailer. Register here.
Good and Beautiful Life - Part 2 This class is a continuation of the course began last spring. We will be meeting for 7 weeks on Tuesday nights at 6:30 pm beginning Tuesday, May 6th. Class participants should read chapter 7, Learning to Live Without Lying for first class session. Questions? contact Pastor Penny.
Learn, Grow and Serve with Building Better Moms! Enjoy fellowship and fun with moms who can relate to your daily joys and challenges. Relevant discussion will meet you where you’re at as a mom, a woman and a friend. The group will meet each month starting this September during the 2014/2015 school year and include moms with children newborn through high school. Registration opens on Mother’s Day!
Mega Faithwork - May 17th Sign up for one of these opportunities for our Mega FaithWork Day taking place on May 17th! You may wish to Walk for Hillcrest Transitional Housing to raise support for this awesome ministry in Eastern Jackson County. Or you may to wish to garden at St Mary’s Manor in Blue Springs to offer a place of respite and joy to the senior residents that are living there. Or finally, you may want to help prepare the lunch that we are all going to enjoy once we return from our FaithWork at noon. We are asking that everyone sign up so we’ll know how many lunches to prepare. Sign-up sheets are at the Connection Point or online as follows:
Hillcrest Super Hero Walk (Kids & Adults can dress as Super Heroes) – Sign up under the Rez Blue Springs Team. The walk will be at Unity Village at 10am and adult walkers are encouraged to raise at least $50.
Gardeners for St Mary’s – Sign-up and bring your gardening gloves and tools.
Lunch Preparers – Sign-up (Limit 4)
Meet at the church at 9am, unless pre-arranged to meet at your FaithWork location. Then gather back at the church at noon for food, fellowship and celebration.
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday.
Christ is Risen!
Penny
Contact Our Staff:
Church Office Phone: (816)389-8900
Rev. Penny Ellwood, Campus Pastor penny.ellwood@rezbluesprings.org
Mike Ash, Worship Leader/Director of Community mike.ash@rezbluesprings.org
Diane Enlow, Director of Children's Ministry diane.enlow@rezbluesprings.org
Clark Johnson, Technical Producer clark.johnson@rezbluesprings.org
Heather Sooley, Operations Coordinating Assistant heather.sooley@rezbluesprings.org
Lori Wolverton, Nursery Staff lori.wolverton@rezbluesprings.org
Visit us on the web:
www.rezbluesprings.org
www.facebook.com/rezbluesprings
For upcoming and ongoing programs and events at our Leawood Campus, visit www.cor.org.
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