Resurrection West,
It’s great to be back home after a fun-filled vacation to the Rocky Mountains, Mt. Rushmore, and the Badlands of South Dakota. Vacation is always a great time to connect as a family, but I miss being with our church family. No worries, because we ran into a few of you along our journey like when I heard from behind me on a hiking trail in Steamboat Springs, “We’ve come all the way to northern Colorado to see our pastor”, or when we checked in very late at night in Keystone, South Dakota only to look over at the next room to see another RezWest family checking in - so cool! We came back to even more excitement as we attended registration night at Mission Trail Middle School with our upcoming 6th grader, Hailey, only to be greeted by multiple members of our church family to guide us along to lockers, schedules, and classrooms. We love being a part of this community and feel blessed to be connected to so many here!
On Sunday, we celebrate our RezWest community with one of our own preaching and teaching - Pastor John Yost. John felt a call some years ago to ordained ministry and it’s been a privilege to walk beside him in fulfilling that call. He is currently serving as a pastor in our missions ministry for Resurrection. John’s role will shift in the coming weeks as he moves to serve God here at West as an Associate Pastor of Strategic Projects, helping us dream even bigger about changing lives, strengthening churches, and transforming the world. We are excited to have John come on board here at West, which is a little strange since he’s always been here (having helped to launch RezWest years ago). How cool is that! Pastor John will be bringing a message on ‘The Harvest’.Jesus speaks about the plentiful harvest before us and John has some experience with ‘the harvest’ having grown up in right here in Kansas. I’m looking forward to God speaking through John and invite your prayers for him now as he prepares to preach and teach on Sunday.
Then on Sunday, August 6th, we will also have a special guest speaker in the three morning services at 8am, 9:30am, & 11am. The 5pm service will be moving off-site to Kill Creek Park for a special worship baptism service on the Kill Creek Park beach at 6pm (it's at 6pm rather than 5pm because the public beach area is open until 6pm). Dr. Mike Graves will be preaching on the sacrament of communion in the morning and then we have the baptism worship service in the evening - so it’s a celebration of sacraments on Sunday, August 6th. Dr. Graves is professor of preaching and worship at Saint Paul School of Theology. He is a profound speaker and teacher. On his bio page he says, “Everything I do in my teaching stresses the vital importance of preaching for the life of the church. Every book, article, and lectionary aid I ever wrote has been dedicated to this one idea, inspiring passion for ministry among the church’s ministers.” We will be inspired by his message as he helps us understand the sacrament of communion and then later at 6pm we will have an evening service celebrating the sacrament of baptism.
And if you’re thinking you couldn’t possibly come to worship twice on one day, remember that worship can be like brushing our teeth?! There are moments when it feels so refreshing and other moments when it feels somewhat routine - but skipping the brushing of our teeth can be detrimental for us and for those around us (as dentists everywhere cheer my theological connection to dental health). Imagine if you missed a few days of brushing your teeth? How about a week? A month? Not good, right?! So plan on coming out to celebrate God’s moving and transformational work through Holy Communion in the morning on Sunday, August 6th, and then again that evening at Kill Creek Park for the 6pm Holy Baptism worship service. You won’t regret it!
We have many already registered to receive baptism that night and room for plenty more (registration details below). For those receiving baptism, you and your family or friends who join you in the water, will be given a keepsake t-shirt to wear in the moment. We will share in praise songs together, then I’ll preach a short message on the sacrament of baptism. We will invite those who would receive baptism and their loved ones into the water. We believe that the power of the Spirit in baptism does not depend upon the mode by which water is administered or the baptized person. It is God's grace that makes the sacrament whole, so we will baptize in three ways, each a form of the washing away of sin, and then celebrate as each believer rises forgiven and cleansed. We will begin with full immersion symbolizing resurrection in Christ (Romans 6:3-5), then move closer the shore (knee deep in the water) for pouring, symbolizing the pouring out of God’s love and Spirit (Mark 1:9-11), and finally (at the shoreline) sprinkling, symbolizing the presence of God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38). This will be an historic evening together and for many a very special day with God - don’t miss it. You can also come early to swim when the public beach is open from 12-6pm. The cost for adults is $5 and $3 for kids. Scharme and I are planning to come with our kids to swim from 4:30-6:00pm and then worship together in a great celebration with our church family! We hope you’ll plan to join us and even if you’ve already been baptized, we will need the church present to cheer and celebrate, and then also have a time of baptism renewal at the shoreline as we mark the cross upon the forehead with water.
Here are some ways you can grow in knowing, loving, and serving God…
- School Supply Drive for Ridgeview Elementary
- Back to School Mega Mission - August 5
- Evening worship and Lake baptism event - August 6
- Back to School Blessing Sunday, August 13
- Men's Fly-Fishing Retreat August 25-27
- Fall Thursday Live
Back to School Mega Mission on Saturday, Aug. 5 - Meet at 9 am in the Resurrection West Sanctuary for prayer, project sign-ups, final instructions, coffee and breakfast snacks. Then, we’ll pack up the supplies and travel to Ridgeview Elementary to sort and organize school supplies, prepare classrooms, make crafts to welcome and support teachers, write encouraging notes to students and help with maintenance and beautifying the grounds. Please bring gardening gloves, yard tools, rakes, shovels and wheelbarrows if you have them. About 11:30 am, we’ll host and enjoy a Celebration Picnic alongside the students and families of the Ridgeview community complete with water play and fun for all ages! We should be all done and cleaned up by 1:30 pm. No sign-ups are necessary. Just come out and serve. Also, feel free to wear any year’s MEGA MISSION t-shirt (extras will be available). For more information, contact chris.holliday@cor.org
Worship and Lake Baptism Event – 6 pm, Sunday, August 6 - Join the fun at Kill Creek Park beach for lake baptism and worship. Evening worship service will be at 6 pmat the beach where we'll share in a moving baptism service together. If you’d like to come early to swim, please feel free to do so. If you’d like to eat, please bring your own meal. Fees to swim are $5 for adults, $3 for children ages 12 and under. If you or members of your family are ready to receive baptism, you can pre-register by going to cor.org/west/baptisms and enter ‘August 6 lake baptism’ on the form. This will certainly be a memorable and exciting night together and a great time to invite a friend. Hope to see you there!
Back to School Blessing – Sunday, August 13 during worship. Our next ‘Worship Together Sunday’ we will be celebrating and praying for the beginning of the school year with a special blessing over all of our children and teens as they begin the new school year.
RezWest Men’s Fly-Fishing retreat Aug 25-27 - Relax, unwind and enjoy the outdoors at the world-class Rockbridge, MO Rainbow Trout and Game Ranch. The trip cost is $145 per person and includes a fishing permit for the trip (meals and gratuities extra). A maximum of 28 spots are available, so register now at cor.org/west/mensflyfishing. Contact gary.schlotzhauer@gmail.com with any questions you may have. You don’t have to be an expert fly fishermen to go - each year beginners signup and are coached and mentored by the more experienced guys - plus time in the evenings to share some great meals, worship, and connect together over the stories of the day!
Fall 2017 Thursday Live – Make plans now to attend Fall 2017 Thursday Live! Session dates: Sept. 7, 14, 21, 28; Oct. 5, 19, 26 and Nov. 2. Morning sessions meet from 9:30-11:30 am, and evening sessions meet from 6:30-8:30 pm at RezWest. Cost varies for each session. Childcare is available. For more information including class offerings, contact David.Robertson@cor.org or register at cor.org/west/signup.
*For a complete list of RezWest activities, go to cor.org/west
Finally, a giant thank you to KiDSCOR Team Summer! It’s been a terrific season with many helping hands, smiling faces and loving hearts who’ve stepped in to serve our kids and families. We hope you know the blessing you are to our church and pray your time giving to our young friends blessed you in return. And don’t be a stranger – we’d love to see you again during the school year!! Fill out the KiDSCOR Volunteer Interest Card today or visit cor.org/west/kidscor to join the crew.
Looking forward to being back in worship with you Sunday,
Pastor Jason
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection West
24000 West Valley Parkway
Olathe, Kansas 66061, United States
West office - 913-538-7800
For an after hours urgent pastoral care need call 913-338-9477Resurrection West Staff
- Travis Morgan - Director of Staffing and Operations
- Chris Holliday - Pastor of Care and Missions
- David Robertson - Director of Community Life
- Lindsay Hefner - Director of Worship Arts
- Yolanda Byers - Guest Connections and Communications
- Rick Webb - Director of rezlife Student Ministries
- Christie Walker - Director of KiDS COR Children's Ministries
- Lynnlea Nelson - Early Childhood Program Director
- Malerie Luttrell - Nursery Coordinator
- Debbie Dietz - Coordinating Assistant to Pastor Jason
- Carol Townsend - Coordinating Assistant for Programs and Ministries
- James Wear - Technical Producer Media and Graphics
- Vince Weston - Facilities Technician
- David Boss - Audio Engineer
The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection West
24000 West. Valley Parkway
Olathe, Kansas 66061, United States
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