Greetings RezDowntowners,
I hope this message finds you doing well. I always love this time of year and not just because of the weather, I mean, one can’t argue about 70 degree days in February! This is awesome! I love this time of year not just because of the weather, but because this is the week that Pitcher’s and Catchers Report for spring training. Every year around this time, I love to celebrate the start of a new season and more importantly the promise of new life that comes with it. Several years’ back, my brother-in-law introduced a poem to me to mark this week and for those of you who get as excited about the return of baseball as I do, please take a look below for the words to a great poem about baseball!
This weekend I'm kicking off a new series of sermons in worship under the title, Breaking Ground: Reclaiming the Foundations of our Faith. As we prepare to break ground on our new building, the first new church building in downtown KC for quite some time, I felt it important to return our focus onto who God is and who God is calling us to be! This of course begins by digging in the dirt, dealing with the ashes on Ash Wednesday, or remembering Christ on the cross. This week we’ll look at the foundational understanding that the primary pathway toward the life you're looking for must first pass through death! I hope you’ll join me in worship this weekend!
In the meantime, here are a variety of ways to get plugged into the life of our church:FaithWork Saturday | February 18 | 9 am | 1522 McGee.
Join us Saturday for our monthly FaithWork serving opportunities. FaithWork provides a meaningful way to introduce yourself and friends to God’s work in the city through our ministry partners. Projects may include anything from painting to serving meals, cleaning up neighborhoods or playing with kids! Our hope is that this introduction to serving will lead you to a journey of deeper faith through individual and small group commitments and relationships with our neighbors and ministry partners. For this FaithWork journey, all you need are some work clothes and a willing heart! Visit cor.org/downtown/faithwork for more information.
Theology, Literature & Race 2.0: Tuesdays: February 21st, 28th & March 7th at 7pm.
Join us as we continue the conversation that started last summer, exploring issues of race through selected essays, dialogue and most importantly, grace. All are welcome, but know that discussions are designed to go deep and will at times feel uncomfortable. Our hope is that you will engage in self-reflection, honest conversations and genuine relationships. Starting Tuesday, February 21st at 7 pm, this 3-week study will take place in partnership with Centennial United Methodist Church and will be led by Rev. Dr. Jeff Williams, Associate Pastor, Centennial United Methodist Church and Professor of Literature at the University of Central Missouri along with Matt Bisel, student of Saint Paul School of Theology. Classes will be held at Centennial United Methodist Church and Resurrection Downtown.Please register for this class at: cor.org/downtown/getconnected. If you have any questions contact Matt.Bisel@cor.org.
Join Pastor Scott in a Conversation About Our New Building. On, Sunday, Feb 26th, at 6:30pm come out to join Pastor Scott as he shares the most up to date information about the building and how you can still participate in building its formation. This short gathering will allow you to see the building plans, about all the many ways we are continuing to build community in the heart of the city, as well as how you can be involved. If you weren’t a part of our Transforming the Heart of the City series last year or if you haven’t had a chance to hear about what’s coming, then we don’t want you to miss this opportunity. It’s not that often that one gets a chance to be part of building the first church in downtown Kansas City in over 80 years but in taking part of our mission to change lives and be a blessing to the very city where we work, live and worship! For questions, contact Kelly.Sisney@cor.org.
Travel to the Holy Land with Pastor Scott. On November 8-17 Pastor Scott will lead a spiritual journey of a lifetime to the Holy Land. On this pilgrimage you’ll have a chance to retrace the life and walk in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. You’ll have a chance to visit the cities and sites we read about in the Bible. It is something we recommend everybody experiences if at all possible. For more information visit Connection Point this weekend to pick up an informational brochure before or after worship. To register or for more info, visit cor.org/downtown/events.
Ash Wednesday Worship: Wednesday, March 1, 7 pm at 1522 McGee
Join us for Ash Wednesday this coming Wednesday for a special service that includes music, prayers, an inspiring message and the opportunity for personal reflection and confession. Ash Wednesday emphasizes two themes: our sinfulness before God and our human mortality — both triumphed through the death and resurrection of Jesus! KiDS COR will be provided.
Men’s Spiritual Retreat (Leawood) “God in Three Persons: Blessed Trinity”
Friday | March 3 | 6:30-9 pm, Saturday | March 4 | 8:30 am – noon
The Christian faith celebrates the belief that God is revealed in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Join us in the Student Center as Rev. Jeff Kirby, Rev. Glen Shoup and Chris Folmsbee lead us in discovering how the Blessed Trinity relates to our lives. See today’s insert for more information. Register at cor.org/men.
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Spring Training Poem: Pitchers and Catchers Report
The day has dawned to hear again
the happiest words in sport
Not "Touchdown!" "Home Run!" "Goal!" or "Score!"
but "Pitchers and catchers report."
"Pitchers and catchers report..."
Such news: Concise, flat, stark, and grand.
It means the game is afoot again,
alive once more in the land.
Oh, it'll snow, and cars will stall,
and sleet will rattle our nights,
And roundball and hockey will drag us through
the play-offs and the fights:
But somewhere than just the mind's eye
now the motions of baseball start;
Maybe it's only playing catch,
but catch is good for the heart,
And good for the soul, and the arms and the legs,
and the head full of off-season talk
About bar fights and contracts, recalcitrant umpires,
and players too eager to squawk
About vicious injustices, real or imagined,
and teams that don't love them enough
Enough! Time to relish, instead of this filler,
returning to all the good stuff.
In Tucson and Phoenix,in Tampa and Lakeland
they're picking up baseballs for real,
And tossing them, happily, into their gloves,
and secretly thinking, "Some deal,"
To be gathered again here to stretch in the sun,
and scratch, and get loose in the grass,
To try not to smile in spite of yourself
at the best of times coming to pass.
It won't stop the wars,
and it won't fill the bellies of children who've lost their relief;
It won't house the homeless or patch up the bridges
or soften the heart of a thief.
Still, we can, in this moment and lifetime of trouble,
clutch words that might offer a sort
Of surcease from the madness that hammers us daily;
hence, "Pitchers and catchers report."
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The day has dawned to hear again
the happiest words in sport
Not "Touchdown!" "Home Run!" "Goal!" or "Score!"
but "Pitchers and catchers report."
"Pitchers and catchers report..."
Such news: Concise, flat, stark, and grand.
It means the game is afoot again,
alive once more in the land.
Oh, it'll snow, and cars will stall,
and sleet will rattle our nights,
And roundball and hockey will drag us through
the play-offs and the fights:
But somewhere than just the mind's eye
now the motions of baseball start;
Maybe it's only playing catch,
but catch is good for the heart,
And good for the soul, and the arms and the legs,
and the head full of off-season talk
About bar fights and contracts, recalcitrant umpires,
and players too eager to squawk
About vicious injustices, real or imagined,
and teams that don't love them enough
Enough! Time to relish, instead of this filler,
returning to all the good stuff.
In Tucson and Phoenix,in Tampa and Lakeland
they're picking up baseballs for real,
And tossing them, happily, into their gloves,
and secretly thinking, "Some deal,"
To be gathered again here to stretch in the sun,
and scratch, and get loose in the grass,
To try not to smile in spite of yourself
at the best of times coming to pass.
It won't stop the wars,
and it won't fill the bellies of children who've lost their relief;
It won't house the homeless or patch up the bridges
or soften the heart of a thief.
Still, we can, in this moment and lifetime of trouble,
clutch words that might offer a sort
Of surcease from the madness that hammers us daily;
hence, "Pitchers and catchers report."
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I am thankful for you all and I'm privileged to serve God with you here in Kansas City. I'm looking forward to this weekend in worship, this new series of sermons, but also to see where God will be leading us in the next few weeks! It is going to be a great adventure of Breaking Ground! Have a great Friday and I'll see you this weekend.
Many blessings and God's Peace,
Scott
Congregational Care and Support
If you need pastoral care, call 816-979-1330. (After hours emergencies: 913.338.9477)
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 Boulevardd
Many blessings and God's Peace,
Scott
Congregational Care and Support
If you need pastoral care, call 816-979-1330. (After hours emergencies: 913.338.9477)
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 Boulevardd
Kansas City, Missouri 64108, United States
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