Confirmation

7^th Sunday of Easter | Confirmation Sunday
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say it was a splendid day of worship as so many of you returned to the sacred space of our Sanctuary. I’m trusting that it won’t be too long before we open this space up to all with unlimited capacity. In the meantime, you can make your reservations for this week here. If you missed worship this past Sunday, you can watch one of our morning services here.

By the way, did you hear the news that Pastor Brad is now Dr. Brad Hopper? Just this past week, Pastor Brad graduated from Duke Divinity School with his Doctor of Ministry degree. This is a bold, amazing academic and spiritual achievement. His thesis focused on how to better equip local church mission leaders. Thank you, Dr. Hopper, for being a lifelong learner.

Some have asked about why our magnificent Sanctuary Choir has been sharing recorded music and not singing in-person in our worship services. Let me venture a response. Since the Sanctuary Choir is the group most at risk each week in our sanctuary because of the number of respiratory droplets produced while singing, they will continue to wear face coverings until it is safe to sing without them. Advanced recording currently provides the safest means of providing beautiful choral music. The good news: all the members of the choir that are currently singing during in-person worship have been vaccinated. The Sanctuary Choir will continue recording their music for the next few weeks, and will return to in-person singing on June 13.

Friends, we love our Sanctuary Choir and are so grateful for their unbelievable efforts during the pandemic to lead us in our worship.

Wednesday Devotional

I hope you will take the time to watch my devotional for today titled, “Whatever Gets You Through.” Please click here to watch.

Bridge-Building Conversations

Each month our Bridge-Building Conversations group gathers to talk about the assigned book for the month. This month’s book is Inheriting the Land: Jim Crow Meets Miss Maggie’s Will by Gene Stowe. The book is a fascinating portrait of something that took place right here in our own backyard (in Marvin, NC) when two wealthy white sisters, cousins to a North Carolina governor, wrote identical wills that left their substantial homeplace to a black man and his daughter. As soon as the contents of the will became known, more than one hundred of Maggie Ross’s scandalized cousins sued to break the will, claiming that its bequest to black people proved that Maggie Ross was mentally incompetent.

Revealing the details of this case and of the lives of the people involved in it, Gene Stowe presents a story that sheds light on and complicates our understanding of the Jim Crow South right here in our own backyard. By the way, the author, Gene Stowe will be joining the Bridge Building Conversations group for our Zoom gathering on May 26 at 7 pm. Click here info on how to join.

If you’d like to purchase a copy of the book, contact Kim Layton at 704-815-1913.

Also, click here to watch the trailer for the documentary being developed on this amazing local story.

This Sunday in Worship

We invite you to join us for online worship this Sunday at 9:15 am (contemporary), 11:00 am (traditional) or 12:45 (Spanish).

This week, in our CCH community, Pastor Roldan will continue with the worship series, A Church, Well Built. He will be preaching from Acts 4:24-31 with his message titled, Obstacles We Must Overcome.

At 9:15 am and 11:00 am it will be Confirmation Sunday for MUMC as we celebrate our wonderful young people who are making their entrance into the life and ministry of the church. We will have young people professing their faith, being baptized, and joining the church. I hope you join us in-person or online for a hopeful word for the family. My sermon will be a continuation of last week (Families in Crisis) with the title, Generational Crisis.

And now, as always, during these strange, uncertain, tumultuous, perilous, and hopeful days of pandemic remember … God does God’s best work in moments like this.

We are in this … together,
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that Matthews UMC hosted a Community Vaccination Clinic on April 26 and that walk-ins are welcome at the follow-up event for the first or second dose of the Pfizer vaccine on this coming Monday, May 17, from 8:00-11:00 am in the Large Parking Lot?

Did you know that the United Methodist Men gathered on Saturday morning, May 1st, and listened to an outstanding presentation from Rev. Gaston Warner, the Executive Director of Zoe Empowers, one of the finest mission organizations in the world?

Did you know the son of Dale/Mary Webster returns from deployment with the United States Navy in the next few days?

Did you know that our Home2Home Ministry had a wonderful day of service on Saturday, May 1 as they assisted: 2 families referred by Mecklenburg Ministries (20 pieces of furniture); Dove’s Nest apartments (61 pieces of furniture/household items); Charlotte Rescue Mission’s Men’s Break Room (3 couches)? In addition, they picked up 6 pieces of donated furniture from Matthews. This wonderful group has made such a BIG difference in the lives of the people they served, not only with giving their time, but with their giving hearts.