Resurrection West,
It’s with a reflective heart I begin today’s eNote. I remember the moment vividly 14 years ago when we all witnessed the tragedy of 9/11. I was serving a church in Orlando. In an effort to offer healing to a grieving community, we planned a prayer service the following Thursday night, like so many faith communities held across our country and the world. Following the service, I sat with two teenagers who felt confused, angry, and sad. I remember praying with them - tears in our eyes as we considered the loss and pain so many were feeling. I’m reminded of the scripture from Isaiah 61:3, which says…
To all who mourn in Israel, he will give a crown of beauty for ashes, a joyous blessing instead of mourning, festive praise instead of despair. In their righteousness, they will be like great oaks that the LORD has planted for his own glory.
I have witnessed, since that day, beauty coming from ashes, praise through the despair, and growth toward God through missions and ministries of the church. I am so grateful that we care for another beyond measure and through that care, become a place of light piercing the darkness. This past Sunday, as we shared in Holy Communion, singing the words of Christ making us new, I felt the redeeming power of God moving. May His work continue in our lives and remind us that no matter what we may face, God is with us!
One way we can be light piercing the darkness is by serving our community through Faithwork each month! Meet in the Sanctuary at 9am tomorrow morning to serve God by serving those in need. There will be time to work on no-sew blankets and pack lunches for those in our community.
I’ve got lots to share this beautiful morning, so please forgive the length of this note! The building committee and our staff team met at length with our architectural and contractor teams just yesterday. We are very close to moving into the construction documents phase after adjusting to our current budget of $3,432,000. This represents all phase 2 building commitments that have come in thus far (an additional 80,000 worth of commitments this summer). Thank you to the hundreds of you who have committed your resources to this important campaign for the future of our mission! We have been in some pretty detailed value engineering and prioritizing, with the hope of keeping integrity of the master plan, and getting the most square footage for our dollars. The committee is doing the hard work to get us where we hope to be! That is shaping out to the following moving forward
Building out the phase 2 in complete, while shelling in the majority of the lower level (to complete in the future). We would have an area at the lower landing of the new stairwell down for elementary check-in and a pass through into our current classroom spaces.
Completing the new narthex area, nursery classrooms, plus the KiDS COR welcome area, and coffee/bookstore space near the entry area (that can also double as an additional class space).
We are now in our fourth month of your three-year financial commitments to this campaign and we will not be borrowing any monies through Phase 2. Thank you for your giving and commitment! This is an exciting time as we continue to grow, worshiping over 900 this past Labor Day Sunday! We are thinking strategically now about adding worship services and other creative ways to make space. All of these efforts are about reaching people and changing lives. Tomorrow morning is our first game of our new Upward soccer program at Freedom Fields and so far I have personally met seven families who are new to RezWest participating in Upward soccer, some of which had never been on our campus before. I was excited to invite them to worship and to consider our church family as their faith home. They were so grateful we are offering this program!
This Sunday we continue “searching or truth” as we move through the Apostle’s Creed. Pastor Adam will be looking at what it means to be the church body – the very representation of Christ upon the earth. We will highlight our special needs ministry we call “Matthew’s Ministry”. KiDS COR and rezlife Sunday school resumes and we have a “story booth” on site, moving from campus to campus, to capture your stories of how Resurrection has impacted you! We are collecting these stories for our upcoming 25-year anniversary. Check it out by the entry way this Sunday and share your story this week before it moves to another campus.
It is my great pleasure to announce that Lynnlea Nelson has just been added to the Resurrection West staff as our Early Childhood Program Director. Many of you already know Lynnlea as she and her family are active members of Resurrection West and through Lynnlea’s service as Interim Director of Children’s Ministries this past summer. In addition to her new role at West, Lynnlea works within the Olathe School District at The Claire Learning Center (TLC). She and her husband Steve have 3 children - Brecken (1st grade), Raelynn (2yrs) and Harper (1yr). Welcome, Lynnlea!!
Check out these many opportunities for mission and ministry together.
Over 130 now signed up for the Revival study - begins this Monday, Sept. 14th
Over 20 8th-12th grade students already signed up for Confirmation!
Wesley Foundation informational luncheon - Sept. 27th
Sacred Steps 5k - coming Sept. 26th
Register your 3rd grader to receive their 3rd grade Bible in October
Serve our partner school here in Olathe
Bless the School Honduras Mission Trip
Get your 25th anniversary t-shirt NOW!
Join our church family at coffee with the pastors - Sept. 20th
Building Better Moms
Saturday morning ladies group
Saturday morning men’s group
UPWARD Basketball registration opens NOW!
Revival! Monday Night Study Begins Sept. 14 – Join us for this 6-week study on Monday evenings at Rez West. We’ll start with a meal and then seek “revival” in our own hearts and minds as Christ’s followers. Great for small groups! Books are available at a discounted rate of $8. To register for Revival, go to rezwest.org/revival. Small groups are designed to build Christian community in a smaller group setting and offer opportunities for fellowship and study. If you aren’t doing life with a small group, consider joining or forming one! Contact David.Robertson@cor.org for assistance.
Attention 8th-12th graders - Grow in Faith in Confirmation - Confirmation is a 9-week class for students in grades 8-12 on Sundays, September 13 – November 22, 1:30-2:45 pm. The class culminates in a profession of faith at a Confirmation Ceremony on Sunday, November 22, where students confirm their faith and become members of Resurrection. Register for the fall session at rezwest.org/students. Contact Rick.Webb@cor.org with any questions.
Resurrection Foundation Information Luncheon - Sunday, Sept. 27th, 12:30-2pm in the lower level Theater Room. Help ensure the future ministry of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection through a planned gift to the Foundation. Information shared at this luncheon will help you determine which type of gift is the best fit for your charitable giving goals and financial objectives. Register for this event at rezwest.org/foundationluncheon.
10th Annual Sacred Steps 5K Run/Walk – Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Leawood campus. All proceeds will go towards education and health in the DR Congo. Sign up at cor.org/sacredsteps.
Register your 3rd grader to receive their Bible coming in October - The presentation ceremony will take place during all 3 worship services on October 18, 2015. You may register your child to attend the service of your choice. All 3rd grade participants should check-in to their regular KiDS COR classroom 15 minutes before service. At the appropriate time, students will enter the worship service together for the ceremony, receive their Bibles along with a blessing, then return to KiDS COR to be picked up by families at the end of service. register your child at rezwest.org/3rdgradebibles
Serve Our Partner School – Ridgeview Elementary students are back to school! Our Backpacks for Hunger ministry provides nutritious food for those in danger of going hungry on the weekends. If you are interested in ways you can support this ministry that is vital to student success, visit cor.org/hunger.
2016 Bless the School Serve Trip – Join our team as we head to Honduras Jan. 17-24, 2016! Our mission will be to share the love of Christ as we teach the teachers English and help prepare the Juan Wesley School for the 2016 school year. For more information and to apply, go to cor.org/honduras. Trip leaders are Dan and Anne Strempke; contact them at annestrempke@aol.com.
Resurrection 25th Anniversary T-shirts - The Church of the Resurrection turns 25 years old this October! You can order a special t-shirt commemorating the anniversary. Shirts are $5 each and come in men’s and women’s cuts and children’s sizes in a variety of colors! Stop by the table in the entry to place your order, or go to thewell.cor.org/shirts for online orders.
Coffee with the Pastors – Sunday, Sept. 20, 2:30-4:30 pm. Are you considering joining Resurrection? Attend Coffee with the Pastors to learn more about the church, get to know our pastors and review membership expectations. Childcare available. Register at rezwest.org/coffee.
Rez West Saturday Morning Ladies fall study, Keep it Shut, begins Sept. 12. Through biblical examples and personal stories, Karen Ehman shares the hows (and how-nots) of dealing with the tongue. Contact Jane McGinnis at jane50mac@gmail.com for more information.
Saturday Morning Men’s Group kicks off Sept. 12 with The Good and Beautiful Life book study ($12). Meet downstairs from 8-9:30 am. Breakfast is catered by HyVee ($5 suggested donation). Contact Allan Henning at anhenning6@gmail.com for more information.
Upward Sports is underway…and it’s time to register for Basketball: Basketball registration is open for boys and girls age 5 through 6th grade for Winter 2016. The goal of this Christian-based sports program is to bring children and adults to know, love and follow Jesus through sports activities. Register at rezwest.org/westsports. Contact David.Robertson@cor.org for more information.
Finally, I wanted to say how grateful I am to serve here at Resurrection West. Each and every week I am overwhlemed with how much God loves this church. It is such a privilege to serve God here. I am in constant prayer for the life and growth of our church. Stories of life change and kingdom impact flow throughout the conversations I witness here. May God continue to move in great and powerful ways and may we continue to serve Him with our whole hearts!
Looking forward to worshiping with you Sunday,
Pastor Jason
Resurrection West Campus
24000 West Valley Parkway
Olathe, Kansas 66061, United States
913-538-7800
For an after hours urgent pastoral care need call 913-314-6058 rezwest.org
Follow on twitter @rezwest
Connect on facebook at facebook.com/ResurrectionWest
Pastor Jason Gant
jason.gant@rezwest.org | The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection West
24000 West Valley Parkway
Olathe, Kansas 66061, United States
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