Dear Resurrection Family,
I got back in town late last night from Minnesota where I spoke to 750 pastors and lay leaders of the United Methodist churches of the state. I gave three 90-minute talks aimed at inspiring, encouraging and equipping them for ministry. I also spent time late Wednesday night with the young pastors in the Minnesota Annual Conference seeking to encourage them.I wanted to share with you how much it meant to these pastors that they had each received a letter from a Resurrection member encouraging them and praying for them and for their churches. One female pastor caught me and showed me the letter one of you had sent. It was a beautiful note. She said, "When I read this, Adam, I cried. I was so moved by its words and by the fact that this person who had never met me was encouraging me and praying for me and the church I serve each day this month." I asked if I could snap her picture to share with you .
Speaking of pastors and Annual Conference, in the United Methodist Church, pastors are appointed to a church by the bishop - rather than being hired by the church like other church staff members. Changes to pastoral appointments are made at Annual Conference and are effective July 1. While our pastors stay longer than average, with 15 pastors serving on our team, there is inevitably a bit of change each year.
Here are the changes we'll see at Resurrection this summer: First, Anne Williams is preparing to move from the Leawood campus to Resurrection Downtown where she will oversee Congregational Care. This will be less than full time as she is preparing to have her baby and the schedule works great for her, and she will be a great blessing to that campus. Nancy Pauls is preparing for a leave of absence as she awaits her next appointment from our bishop, which we hope will keep her within the Kansas City area.
Two new pastors will be joining the Congregational Care team. First, Rev. Dr. E. Doyle Blanton comes to us from First United Methodist Church in Appleton, Wisconsin, where he has served as senior pastor for the past seven years. He received both his master's and doctorate degrees from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. We welcome Doyle and his wife Christie who have two adult children. We are also excited to have Rev. Katherine Ebling join our team following her commissioning as a deacon in June. She is also a graduate of Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. Many of you are already familiar with Katherine because she grew up at our church, and has served as a volunteer leader and as an intern over the years.
Finally, as I announced several weeks ago, we are grateful that Steven Blair will continue serving our church part time, leading our Live Well and Live Forward programs, while he becomes Senior Pastor of Life Bridge UMC, a new congregation in Shawnee. Please take a moment and pray for each of these pastors as they prepare for these transitions.
As I mentioned last week, we have lot of exciting "Destination Resurrection" opportunities for you to worship, learn, serve and have fun on all of our campuses this summer. For example, Resurrection Downtown has a special presentation coming up that you might be interested in. Resurrection member Don Carrell, author of My Dream to Trample AIDS will share his story on Wednesday, June 4, at 7 pm at Resurrection Downtown's McGee location. Don is one of the less than 2 percent of those infected with HIV in 1981 who are still alive. His book contains an inspirational message about love, friends, family, despair, death, grief and faith. It's also a detailed primer on HIV/AIDS prevention and is especially recommended for anyone who is dating, high school age and older.
On the Leawood campus this weekend, you can still purchase tickets for Resurrection Night at the Royals on June 6. You can also sign up to serve at Bless the School June 16-21 or travel with our summer Bookmobile on Fridays. Learn about other Destination Resurrection events and opportunities at cor.org/destination.
I'm looking forward to the sermon series we begin this weekend: W*RK: Not Just Another 4-Letter Word. During the month of June, we will be talking about how the work we do is a calling from God. Resurrection Downtown Campus Pastor Scott Chrostek will be preaching live at Leawood (and Downtown via video), Jason Gant will preach at West, and Penny Ellwood at Blue Springs. This week's message is "Shark Tank, the Apprentice and Dirty Jobs." Here's a link to a fun promo for the series that you can share with your friends. If you are going to be out of town, please join us online at 10:45 am or 5 pm Sunday at www.rezonline.org. It's going to be a great message!
I'm in meetings at Resurrection all day today. This weekend I'm reading through sermon suggestions you sent me last week and then spending time developing the sermon plans and outlines for the next 24 months at Resurrection. It's not too late to offer your suggestions. Simply e-mail your sermon series ideas to Sue Thompson, my assistant, at sue.thompson@cor.org. Here are the categories of sermons you might think about:
Sermons that would be attractive or compelling to your kids/friends/neighbors/co-workers who don't go to church.
Sermons that would help you grow deeper in your faith - sermons on biblical stories, characters, books or themes, or on theological or spiritual questions you might have.
Sermons that would help you pastorally - relational concerns you might have, or things you are personally struggling with that you would like guidance from the scriptures on.
I'm excited about the new sermon series and know that it will bless you as well.
With love,
Adam HamiltonClick on these links for other campus news:
Resurrection Leawood
Resurrection West
Resurrection Downtown
Resurrection Blue Springs
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
13720 Roe Avenue
Leawood, KS 66224 United States
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