There Is Nothing You Can Do About It

19th Sunday after Pentecost
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say I was absolutely delighted by our young people and their leaders as they led us in worship for Youth Sunday! Their energy and poise made for a powerful morning. Every other year, we are able to combine their witness with World Communion Sunday. World Communion is an annual tradition where we join with many Christians around the world. It is a beautiful reminder that Christ is the head of the church, one that is more vibrant, resilient, and diverse than we often realize. You can worship with us, hear our young people give witness to their faith, and listen to Pastor Corey’s message by clicking here. These wonderful young people are the legacy of MUMC.

Speaking of legacy, did you know in its basic meaning, a legacy is a gift of money or other personal property that’s granted by the terms of a will – often a substantial gift that needs to be properly managed. But the word is used much more broadly as well. My favorite way to describe legacy is that of planting a new tree. Ecologists advise planting new trees in an area with old trees. The new tree will likely grow roots in the pathways created by older trees and will even likely graft into the larger system of roots from the older trees. This will create a huge interconnected and stronger ecosystem that will allow all of the trees to thrive. That’s legacy: an interconnection across time, with a need for those who have come before us and a responsibility to those who come after us.

Last Thursday evening, we celebrated legacy through our Matthews United Methodist Church Endowment at our Annual Celebration Dinner. It was a lovely evening of beautiful music, stories, testimonies, and inspiring words of hope and vision. Watch our latest Endowment video testimonies by clicking here. A seed planted today can bear great fruit in the future. Contributions to the Endowment Fund to date exceed $600,000! If you’d like to consider making a gift from your end-of-life planning to our MUMC Endowment, visit the Endowment section of our website or contact Sam Hatcher (Chair of our Endowment Committee) at 704-906-2714. We’d love to have a conversation with you about legacy and see how our Endowment could be helpful to you. We are also pleased to share that we just launched the ability to give online to a specific fund within the Endowment.

Dallas Willard was known for saying, “The most important thing in your life is not what you do, it’s who you become. That’s what you will take into eternity.” May God’s Spirit continue to move and work among this church to that end.

Speaking of who one becomes, no one stands out to me any better than my father-in-law, Bill Payne. Early Sunday morning we hospitalized Karen’s father. He had surgery to stop a blockage of his intestines by a hernia. It would have been an intricate surgery for anyone, but for a nearly 96-year-old man? Huge! Please hold him close in your heart.

Just a reminder that we have a need for mattresses through our Home2Home Ministry. If you know where we can find some good mattresses for families in need or to be a part of helping, please reach out to Earl Coggins at 704-244-0552.

The day has finally come! This Sunday, October 8 is a special day of homecoming for Rob and Susan Fuquay. Rob is a former pastor of Matthews United Methodist from back in the early to mid-1990s. You will not want to miss hearing this wonderful couple both Sunday morning and evening. Today Rob is the Senior Pastor of the St. Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. I think Rob just may be the finest preacher in United Methodism. Susan, his wife, is the daughter of the late Bishop Richard Wilke, the founder of Disciple Bible Study. Susan, herself, put together the fast-track version of Disciple Bible Study. Rob will be preaching in all three of our morning worship services, and then on Sunday evening, 6:30 pm in the Sanctuary, they will be sharing with us about The Future of The United Methodist Church. I hope you will make every effort to be with us morning and evening.

Wednesday Devotional

The title for my video devotional this week is There is Nothing You Can Do About It.

Worship in the Gym on October 15

I hope you’ve noticed our upgrades with the Welcome Center. We will join those upgrades with additional work in the Sanctuary and our hallways October 9 through October 20, as additional refurbishment work takes place due to our frozen pipes episode on Christmas Day 2022 that left us with six inches of water in the Sanctuary and throughout our hallways. All things are settled with insurance and we are now preparing for new carpeting and flooring for our main hallways. It will be a fresh new look. All our worship services on Sunday, October 15, will be in the Gym. Thank you for your adaptability for that Sunday.

RISE Anti-Racism Workshop Training

The RISE (Race: an In-depth Spiritual Examination) anti-racism workshop training sponsored by the Metro District of the Western North Carolina Conference will be held at Matthews UMC on October 26 and 27. This workshop is for clergy and lay church members and will help to create a common understanding and language about racism, which is an important step in our work to dismantle racism. If you’d like more information, please click here.

Upcoming Events

• Community Bingo Night – This Friday, October 6, 5:30-7:30 pm. Register by midnight tonight!
• Sunday, October 15 – All worship services in the Gym due to Sanctuary upgrade work.
• Potato Drop – Saturday, October 21, 9:00-12:00. Sign up to volunteer! Details.
• All-Church Gathering – Monday, October 23, 7:00-8:00 pm. Details.
• 5th Sunday Fellowship with Mt Moriah, Matthews Presbyterian, and MUMC – Sunday, October 29, 12:15 at Mt Moriah. Make reservations here by Oct 24.
• Trunk or Treat – Sunday, October 29, 6-7:30 pm. This event is for everyone! Details.
• New Studies: Faithful & Inclusive by Rob Fuquay, A Praying Life & The Lectio Course. View All

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), 9:30 am (Family Worship in the Gym), 11:00 am (Traditional; in person or online here) or 12:30 (Spanish; in person or on demand here).

In our Spanish-speaking CCH (Centro Cristiano Hosanna) worship, Pastor Roldan will begin a new worship series on Biblical Stewardship, preaching from Romans 1:14-22 and his sermon is titled, The Only Necessary Revelation.

Family Worship (9:30 in the Gym) will be an action-packed service for the whole family focused on the virtue of integrity. Music, games, skits and activities will help remind us that we should “Choose to be truthful in whatever we say and do,” based on Proverbs 10:9: “Anyone who lives without blame walks away safely. But anyone who takes a crooked path will get caught.” Join us afterwards in The Commons for coffee/juice and snacks and enjoy a special activity for the whole family.

And this coming Sunday, as mentioned above, Rev. Robert Fuquay will be our preacher in all our Sanctuary worship services. It will be a splendid homecoming for the Fuquays. His sermon title is Expanding Our Circles from The Good Samaritan Parable, Luke 10:25-37.

Perhaps you know of someone in your world looking for a word of hope and connection. Be sure to bring them along with you this Sunday. Rob Fuquay is one of the finest communicators I know, and you will love introducing your friends to MUMC through him. If you can, take the time to find me on Sunday and introduce us. I’d love to make the connection.

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

In the Community. For the Community.
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know our very own Miia Harris (daughter of Leaton & Raila Harris) is starring in Monster High 2 premiering Thursday on Paramount Plus/Nickelodeon? She is very talented young woman!

Did you know that Pastor Jenny Savage is leading a bible study during the month of October at Matthews Glen? The study is titled TRUTHFILLED – The Practice of Preaching to Yourself Through Every Season by Ruth Chou Simons, and is based on Paul’s preaching pattern in his letter to the Colossians.

Did you know that the Society of St Andrews gleaned 23,000 lbs of fresh produce which will be distributed to Common Heart, Loaves & Fishes and other organizations that give produce to those who need fresh food? This work helps the hungry in our community!

Did you know that the Matthews Rotary Club and the Matthews Women’s Club helped us tie potato bags for the Potato Drop to to be held on Saturday, October 21 from 9 am-noon? Thank you to MUMC members and to these community groups that helped prep 5,000 bags for this event!