Here I Raise My Ebenezer

1st Sunday of Advent
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say that Sunday was a wonderful day of worship for our community of faith: beautiful handbell music, Craig Estep singing the Godspell favorite – All Good Gifts at 9:30, a moving announcement from Paul Craig (see below), and so much more. If you missed being with us, please click here to worship and listen to my sermon, Never Forget to Remember.

Our Community Thanksgiving Service at Morning Star Lutheran on Sunday evening was special as well. Thank you to the many volunteers singing and doing so much to build commonality across denominational lines. These are days when my heart does backflips that I get to be your pastor.

The following words from I Thessalonians are so appropriate for these days: “Rejoice always. Pray continually. Give thanks in every situation because this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”

As we enter these days of giving thanks with loved ones and friends, consider these words from John Wesley, in his commentary on 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18: Thanksgiving is inseparable from true prayer: it is almost essentially connected with it. He that always prays is ever giving praise, whether in ease or pain, both for prosperity and for the greatest adversity. He blesses God for all things, looks on them as coming from him, and receives them only for his sake; not choosing nor refusing, liking nor disliking, anything, but only as it is agreeable or disagreeable to his perfect will.

On behalf of the clergy, staff community, and lay leadership of Matthews United Methodist Church, I wish you and your loved ones a Happy Thanksgiving!

Video Devotional

If you’ve been in worship when the congregation sang Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, you probably scratched your head when you got to the second verse: “Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by Thy help I’ve come; And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home.” So what the heck is an Ebenezer?

Let’s talk about it this week in my devotional, titled Here I Raise My Ebenezer.

Transitions

On Sunday, the one-and-only Rev. Paul Craig announced his retirement from the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church and hence, his departure from us on January 31, 2025. Pastor Paul will preach for us three times between now and his retirement: December 8, December 29, and January 26. I declare the month of January Paul Craig Month! Here is Paul’s statement for us in Sunday worship:

“This morning, I want to share with you that I am approaching my 68th birthday next April, and my wife, Laura is about to celebrate her 65th birthday. As a family, we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first granddaughter by December 10th. Our two adult children live 30 minutes apart, one in Durham and the other in Cary. At some point, we would like to relocate and live closer to all of them. After many conversations and prayers, we made a couple of decisions that I want to share with you. As of January 31st, I will be retiring as one of your pastors and beginning a retired relationship with the Western NC Conference of the UMC.

As I am preparing to embark on this new chapter of my life, I find myself reflecting deeply on the almost nineteen-year journey we have shared. Serving alongside you has been one of the greatest privileges and joys of my life. Together, we have walked through seasons of growth, challenges, and triumphs, always striving to fulfill the mission God placed before us to Reach, Teach, Praise & Serve. What a journey it has been!

Thank you for your prayers, your patience, and your partnership. In many ways you have been my spiritual family. Your encouragement has sustained me, your laughter has uplifted me, and your faith has enriched me in ways I can hardly express.

As I step away from this role, I carry with me cherished memories of our time together. Please know that my prayers will continue to follow you, and a huge part of my heart will always be here with the church we love. I leave you with this reminder from Philippians 1:6: “Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” I have no doubt that God will continue to work powerfully through each of you and this ministry. May you always feel His presence, trust His guidance, and remain steadfast in your calling.”

Pastor Paul sharing the news of his retirement, effective January 31, 2025.

So much more about Paul Craig in the days ahead.

 

Update on General Fund Giving for 2024

We are continually amazed at the generous nature and giving spirit of our Church community, especially during times of great need, such as hurricane relief, capital campaign, etc.  To ensure that we can continue the outreach and ministries of our church, we are humbly asking you to dig a bit deeper. To meet our tithing goal, we need to collect $458,800 between now and year-end. We know the opportunities to give are limitless and we are truly grateful for everything you bring to our church family.

Together, our giving makes the transforming work of the church possible. As we head toward the end of the fiscal year, I want you to be aware of the financial position of our church. MUMC makes God’s love real right here in our community and around the world in tangible ways. Please consider helping to close the gap between now and December 31 so that we can continue to fulfill our mission to Reach, Teach, Praise & Serve.

Update on Beyond Hospitality

This Sunday, December 1, the first Sunday of the Advent Season, I’ll be sharing where we stand after the intensive phase of our Beyond Hospitality capital efforts.

In the meantime, what follows is an update on our first phase efforts with our heating and air conditioning (HVAC) updates system: Our facilities community (led by Del Funderburk) has been instrumental in the work being done with Facilities Systems Services (FSS), our heating & air contractor. The boilers, which are a key component to the heating process, have arrived at the FSS facility and are now being prepared for the installation on our campus. There will be some demo work ahead of the installation to make room for all the new equipment in our boiler room, but we hope that will happen by the middle of December. We are planning for no downtime around the installation process for the Sanctuary and will provide satellite heating for classrooms or auxiliary spaces, if needed. Thank you for your patience in advance of this much-needed improvement on our campus.

Upcoming Events

• Church Closed for Thanksgiving Wed – Fri, Nov 27 – 29.
• Angel Tree – Return gifts THIS Sunday, Dec.1, 12 Noon. Details
• Advent Study: The Christmas Letters – Purchase book here. Hear about the miracle of Christ’s birth from those who first told the story.
  • Monday Morning Women’s Study, 10:00-11:30 am, December 2-23, Led by Carolyn Perlman, Register here.
  • Wednesday Evenings, 7:00-8:30 pm, December 4-December 18, Led by Jessica Fraser, Register here.
• Western NC Disaster Relief: God’s Pod open Mondays thru Jan 6 from 1-3 pm and by appointment by calling the Church Office. New Items Only from this NEW Supply List | Sign Up to Serve | Additional Details
• View all Christmas happenings at MUMC here, including a Community Movie Night, Parents Night Out, Melody Makers Concert, The Light of Christmas Concert, and much more!

This Sunday in Worship

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

In our Spanish-speaking CCH (Centro Cristiano Hosanna) community, Saturday brought a special Thanksgiving gathering with more than 80 people sharing food from nine different Latin nations. On Sunday, Pastor Roldan concluded his Surviving Babylon worship series. This Sunday brings Holy Communion and a new worship series, titled Closer Than We Think from Luke 21:33-36. His sermon title is Let Us Stay Alert.

This Sunday begins the high, holy season of Advent: we light candles, hear ancient scriptural texts, sing familiar carols, give witness to the birth of the Christ Child with our children leading us to the manger, and, of course, the Table of our Lord. Our worship emphasis for Advent is A Baby Changes Everything. You will not want to miss these powerful, holy rituals in the coming weeks of worship. My sermon for the first Sunday of Advent is titled The Urgency of Christmas, as we listen to John the Baptizer preparing the Way of the Lord from Luke 3:1-20.

Advent is also a great time to invite someone to church. The music of MUMC is gorgeous. Maybe you should consider inviting someone who has never experienced an Advent season in a church. Who knows … it may be just what someone in your world needs.

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

A Baby Changes Everything.
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

 

Did you know Brenda Messera was commissioned as an Earthkeeper by The United Methodist Church in an online commissioning service on Tuesday, November 19. Earthkeepers is a training and incubator program that provides a collaborative space for United Methodists to develop and grow environmental projects in their communities. Topics include eco-theology, antiracism, community organizing and project planning. Brenda, congratulations! We are delighted with your leadership to us as an Earthkeeper.

Did you know that MUMC collected 264 boxes for Operation Christmas Child and delivered the boxes to a nearby collection station last week? THANK YOU for helping spread the love of Jesus to children around the world.

Did you know that we had over 75 vendors and 980 visitors at our Arts & Crafts Extravaganza this past Saturday? Proceeds will go to Western NC for Disaster Response, MUMC college scholarships, and various missions in our church and community. Thank you to everyone who made this event a success!!

Did you know that it’s the season of generosity, which means online scams will ramp up? Zander Identity Theft Solutions shares these safety tips:

• DO NOT download email attachments from unknown email senders.
• DO NOT click links in texts from unknown senders.
• DO NOT give sensitive personal information out over the phone. The Social Security Administration, IRS, etc. will NEVER call you to ask for personal or financial information.
• DO NOT fall for a gift card scam. A legitimate business will never ask you to pay for goods or services with a gift card. If you are asked to purchase gift cards for any reason (to pay for a computer or software fix, to fix your mobile device, etc.), it’s a scam. Don’t go through with it!