Confession

Trinity Sunday | Graduation Celebration
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say that this past Sunday (5/28) we joined with Christians around the world in celebrating the Day of Pentecost, the birthday of the church, when the Holy Spirit touched the earth and ushered in a fresh experience of God’s presence and power on earth.

On that day, Peter stood before the crowd and preached his very first sermon, referencing the ancient prophet Joel: “In the last days it will be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams.” (Acts 2:17)

Peter’s words cast a vision of a time when all people, younger and older, are captivated by a sense of God’s love, and compelled to share that love with others.

Here at MUMC we want to deepen our resolve to share the love of God to ALL. As I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday, we are living into that statement that was carved in stone in the Gathering Space of our church in 1993. It reads, “Our vision here at Matthews United Methodist Church is to become an all-inclusive Christian community which lifts high the Cross and shares the love of Jesus.” If you missed my sermon from the Day of Pentecost, Does the Church Need to Change in Order to Remain the Same, you can worship by clicking here.

Pentecost Sunday also brought a wonderful group of new households to join us in the adventure of making the vision in stone come alive. I invite you to give thanks for each of these new households as you read their names: Andrea & Todd White, Pam & David Hamrick (Elise and Grant), Holly & Mark Jarrett, Sarah Norton (Max & Bopha), Tony Spicer, Kelly Smith, Melissa & Jeff Taylor, Mackenzie & Steve Miller (Brooks and Georgia), John & Penny Higdon, Janet Dagenhart, Shannon & Dan Davis, Robert Kurt, Sandy & Jerry Smith, Ingle Jenkins (Peyton), Diane Woodall, Darlene Sugg, Bob & Chris Phillips, Allison & Daniel Turner. That’s 18 new households to our community of faith!

This Sunday (6/4), we welcome graduates to our annual time of celebrating their remarkable efforts through the years to deepen their education. As my dad used to tell me, “Don’t let anyone outlearn you.”

Wednesday Devotional

I hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch my devotional for the week titled, Confession.

Listen to the Pete Wright on the UMCOM Podcast

Pete shared his GodStory with us back in early May, which you can watch here. UMCOM (United Methodist Communications) in Nashville picked up on his story and asked if they could feature Pete in a podcast. You can listen to the podcast here.

Thank you, Pete, for your willingness to continue to share your story. We love you, Mary and all the Wright family.

This Sunday in Worship

We invite you to join us this Sunday at 8:15 am (traditional; in person only), 9:30 am (contemporary; in person or online here), 11:00 am (traditional; in person or online here) or 12:30 (Spanish; in person or on demand here).

Our Spanish-speaking community will be continuing the worship series, Practical Apology. His sermon is titled: Nothing to be Ashamed Of from Romans 1:16-20.

In all our morning sanctuary services, Pastor Corey will be guiding us in our celebration of graduates. Her sermon is Jesus Would Say… from Romans 12:2-5 (NLT). She writes, “On this Graduation Sunday, we celebrate the Class of 2023. Many of us have already experienced moments of graduation in our lives, but the reality is we only graduate to the next step, there is no final step till we take our last breath. God has blessed us with the desire and ability to gain knowledge. Upon graduation, the graduate is looking at what lies ahead and seeks to answer many questions concerning what they are going to do with the rest of their life. It’s an exciting time as people move toward their destinies and purposes in their journey. The truth’s that Jesus shares in Scripture are not only foundational for our 2023 graduates, but for each and every one of us as believers.”

I hope you’ll join us on Sunday as Pastor Corey introduces us to the wonderful young people that are a part of our 2023 graduating class.

Then, beginning June 11 in all our morning worship services, we begin a series on high maintenance relationships. We want to offer practical suggestions, wise advice and helpful biblical insights to help us understand and cope with impossible people.

I look forward to seeing you and be sure and invite someone to join you. They’ll be encouraged and challenged by our young people this Sunday.

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

We are better … together.
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that the deadline for our Common Heart Food Drive is this Sunday, June 4? Please place items from the donation list in the carts at Church Entrances. Thus far, we have received 1,084 lbs toward our 5,000 LBS GOAL.

Did you know that the Micah Connection has collected 514 letters for our “offering of letters” for the Farm Bill? Please stop by our table outside Sanctuary Reception this Sunday (June 4) to learn about this project. Letters will be delivered to legislators next week.

Did you know that the Micah Connection is helping St. Francis United Methodist Church provide for two refugee families from Iran? Donations of car seats, clothing and gift cards help these families settle in the Charlotte area. Please contact Amy DeVore (704-815-1985) if you want to help.

Did you know that a Killdeer bird nested & laid laid four eggs in our parking lot median? This protected bird species likes to nest on the ground usually in gravely areas. Cones have been placed around the bird to keep people from bothering it while waiting for the eggs to hatch. Creation care at its best here at MUMC!