Saturday, April 2, 2016

April Fools eNote from Pastor Scott Chrostek for April 1, 2016 of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Downtown of Kansas City, Missouri, United States

April Fools eNote from Pastor Scott Chrostek for April 1, 2016 of the United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Downtown of Kansas City, Missouri, United States


Greetings RezDowntowners,
Happy April Fools Day! I hope this message finds you doing well. I am so blessed to be able to be writing you today as we begin this new season and new month filled with so much possibility. It is an exciting time in the city and within our church as well. We celebrated a great Easter last week in addition to a great result to our capital campaign! It is pretty overwhelming thinking about how God has been moving through this community in ways that are making possible things that haven’t happened in a long time in this city. Thank you for your willingness to respond to God’s invitation to sacrifice, live and love in ways that reflect the heart of God to the world around us. THANK YOU also to all of our volunteers who helped to make Easter services at the Kauffman so welcoming and meaningful! It was an amazing morning, and it wouldn’t have happened without the generous giving of your time. You continue to be the backbone of Rez Downtown—thank YOU!
This weekend in worship, I’ll be preaching live at RezDT, a message on Thomas, someone I refer to as "Missouri's favorite disciple." I’ll be talking about the role that questions play in our life of faith. I am excited to be preaching once again live and in person downtown, so that we can spend some time together reflecting over how God chooses to change the world through unsuspecting channels with unlikely characters like, “Doubting Thomas.” Invite friends and join me at church this weekend as we conclude our look at Transforming the Heart of the City as “A Misfit’s Mission.” There is still time to fill out a Commitment Card! Commitment Cards will be available in the attendance notebooks this weekend in worship. It’s not too late to be a part of building the first new church building in downtown KC in a really long time! As we continue discerning how God is calling us to Transform the Heart of the City, we are urging you to be in prayer concerning how God is calling you to take this extraordinary next step in the life of our church and city. Grand Vision will require a Grand Sacrifice so we invite you to please prayerfully consider your financial commitment to this endeavor and get ready to join us as we celebrate God’s grace by making our commitments to God. Please complete your commitment card and place it in the offering plate or feel free to mail it. You may also complete a commitment card online atcor.org/downtown/commitment.
In the meantime, here are several other ways to get plugged into the life of our church:
The Misfit Mission: How to Change the World with Surprises, Interruptions, and All the Wrong People. This past year I was asked to write a book with Abingdon Press and it has finally arrived. It is available to purchase at the church this weekend ($15) and I am planning to hang around this weekend after worship to sign copies following the evening worship services and the 10:45Sunday morning service.
Join our Wednesday Morning Men’s Group – Each Wednesday at 6:45 am, join other men in the community as they start their day discussing current events and the current sermon series. These meetings take place at 1508 Grand. For more information, contact rdtmensministry@cor.org.
Serve in Honduras Sept. 10-17 with our partner church in El Obraje – Honduras is a beautiful country with beautiful people. On Saturday night we'll host two pastors from Honduras to share with us their experience of the mission and ministry in this great country. They'll encourage us to take a week out of our busy schedules to grow in your faith as you support and encourage our Honduran partners. This team will help build the church both physically (light construction) and humanly (inviting the community to sports and craft events at the church). To sign up, go to cor.org/honduras. For questions, contact Amber Carlson atAmber.Carlson@Glazers.com.
Women’s Breakfast Series – Join us Saturday, April 9, as Pastor Anne speaks with us about how to spice up our prayer life. She’ll share creative strategies and ideas for speaking to and listening to God when our prayer practices seem to be in a rut. Both private prayer and praying out loud will be discussed. We meet from 9-10:30 am at 1522 McGee. Please bring friends and a breakfast item to share. If you don’t have time to grab an item to share, come anyway, as we always have plenty. For more information, contact Michele Janson at mjanson@everestkc.net.
Matthew’s Ministry Family Day Out Downtown – Individuals of all ages with special needs and their siblings are invited to a fun-filled day of crafts, activities and fellowship while parents and caregivers take an afternoon for themselves. Join us for our next event on Sunday, April 10, from 1-4 pm at 1522 McGee. Please register by Wednesday, April 6, so that we may plan accordingly for snacks and volunteers. This is open to the community – you do not need to be a member of the church to participate. For more information and to register, contact Hannah.Murray@ cor.org. If you wish to volunteer for this event, contact Brooke Coverdell at bcoverdell@gmail.com. For more information, visitcor.org/downtown/MatthewsMinistry.
Live & Let Think Class – Start Time has been postponed one week. Now starting on Monday, April 11, 7 pm, Resurrection Downtown will be offering this 6-week study that involves short talks, allows big questions and welcomes all doubts. Learn the art of dialogue as we discuss tough issues of faith, ask questions and find out what others think as we meet in Room 210 at 1508 Grand. Registration is required and limited. Register at cor.org/downtown/liveandletthink. For questions, email Matt.Bisel@cor.org orWendy.Connelly@cor.org.
Do You Consider Resurrection Your Church Home? Have you considered membership and want to know more about what that means? On Sunday, April 17, at1:30 pm, we will be having Coffee with the Pastors. Hear about the history of the church, what it means to be a Methodist and the expectations for becoming a Resurrection member. There is no need to register unless you require childcare. For childcare registration, go to cor.org/downtown/cwp. For questions, contact Shannon.Endicott@cor.org.
Parents Save the Date for Say Your Prayers: Developing a Child’s Faith at Home – Join Pastor Anne, Saturday, April 23, 9 -10:30 am (childcare provided) for a discussion about strategies to foster your child’s faith development at home. You’ll be empowered to initiate spiritual conversations, share your own faith, approach complicated religious questions and engage in prayer with your children. You will also hear from KiDSCOR Director Sarah Brischle about our KiDSCOR programming, so that you can use it as a launching pad for your own conversations about faith at home. Space is limited. Reserve your spot atcor.org/downtown/sayyourprayers. For questions, contact PastorAnne.Williams@cor.org.
Vacation Bible Camp – June 20–23, 5:30-7 pm – Meet the Royals @ Downtown! Royals of the Bible, that is. Registration coming soon! We will learn about wise King Solomon, courageous Queen Esther, young King Josiah and the one True King, Jesus! VBC is for children currently in kindergarten – 5th grade (2015-16 school year). Younger children may attend with an adult volunteer.
Help with Vacation Bible Camp – Evenings, June 20-23 – We are looking for enthusiastic people with a heart to serve the youngest in our church as they learn Bible stories, play awesome games and hang out with us! We will have a Planning Team meeting Wednesday, April 6, 6 pm at 1508 Grand. If you are interested in planning VBC or volunteering to serve during the event or just want more information about VBC, contact Sarah.Brischle@cor.org.
Need Some Extra Spending Money? Love Working with Kids and Helping Them Learn and Worship? KiDSCOR, the children’s ministry for Resurrection Downtown, is looking for part-time staff willing to care for and teach the children during worship services and some weekly evening programming. If you would be interested in this position, contact Sarah.Brischle@cor.org.
I wanted to share one last exciting announcement impacting our downtown community. Starting June 1st we’ll be welcoming a new pastor to our staff team. Rev. Patrick McLaughlin will be joining our team as our new Community Pastor, largely responsible for leading our mission and outreach efforts along with our missions team and for working with Pastor Anne and our Congregational Care Ministers (CCM’s) managing the care concerns within our church community. Patrick and his wife Megan are joining us from Manhattan, KS where Patrick has been serving as an Associate Pastor. Here is a quick note of introduction from Patrick and Megan: Hello new church family! Megan and I are thrilled to begin a new chapter of our lives with you in Downtown Kansas City at the end of May! We have been married since November 2016 and look forward to the excitement and challenges that come with starting a new life together in a new city. We are both somewhat familiar with the KC landscape and though we aren't so sure about becoming Missourians, we feel comfortable so long as we are united under the Royals (and RezDowntown) banner! Scott, Anne, and the staff have already extended wonderful hospitality and have such great things to say about you. We look forward to meeting you in person and joining you in all the ways God is working through you. Feel free to email Patrick and Megan atpastorpatrick@fumcmanhattan.com to offer your greetings!
Thank you so much for being a part of this community, for volunteering, for serving, for giving, for loving, for simply doing the things that God does all so that others will come to see the light of Christ shining through you to the extent that we might together transform the heart of this city! I can't wait to see you this weekend in worship!
Grace and Peace,
Scott
Twitter: @scottchrostek
Congregational Care and Support
If you need pastoral care, call 816-979-1330. (After hours emergencies: 816-875-0267.)
To submit a prayer request, contact Anne.Williams@rezdowntown.org
For more information, visit our website: cor.org/downtown

The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection Downtown
1508 Grand Avenue
Kansas City, Missouri 64108, United States
---------------------

No comments:

Post a Comment