Back To School Prayer

14th Sunday after Pentecost
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say to SAVE THE DATE for October 20, which is the day we will launch our intensive phase of our dual General Fund and Capital Campaign financial efforts. We’re calling the emphasis Beyond Hospitality. That day we will gather for one worship service at 10:30 am and then we’ll make our way to a splendid lunch in The Commons and Gym. Don’t miss any of it. It will be wildly fun and a day to make lots of memories. We’ve got a bunch of surprises along the way. Stop right now and mark this date on your calendar…you’ll be so thankful you did! Click here for more information.

This past Sunday, we continued our movement through the amazing statements of Jesus in Matthew 5 that are most known as the Beatitudes. During our study, I’ve come to realize that the Beatitudes show the beams and braces necessary to build a character that will house our various emotions within walls of long-term wholeness. The Beatitudes portray life that is conformed to the will and way of God, and for this reason they point to The Good Life … The God Life. God knows us better than we know ourselves; God knows the attitudes that ought to be (be-attitudes) for us to grow into maturity, for us to build characters able to hold us together against the storms of life and the ravages of time. God knows, in other words, what will make us flourish in the long run.

If you were unable to be with us on Sunday, I hope you’ll click here to worship and listen to my sermon, Waging Peace.

On another note, what a weekend for our Sanctuary Choir under the direction of Craig Estep and Kathy White! They spent hours and hours on Friday and Saturday preparing for worship through their annual Choir Retreat. Please be sure to say thank you to our amazing Sanctuary Choir, their directors and leaders who do so much to enhance worship for the people of God called Matthews United Methodist.

Scam Email Circulating

We’ve been alerted to a scam email circulating from a fraudulent email address impersonating me. As we head into fall and the season of generosity, the types of emails that lead to a request for gift cards or financial assistance seem to arise, so we ask you to be vigilant.

Experts share to:

• Delete the email.
• Do NOT reply, forward or engage with the correspondence.
• Never click on suspicious links, files or documents.
• Always verify the sender address is an @MatthewsUMC.org email address or from our secure member portal Realm (@onrealmmail.org), as we have security and checks in place to prevent unauthorized users from using these legitimate accounts.

Staff will not correspond from personal accounts (gmail, yahoo, etc.) or ask for gift cards, discreet favors, errands, birthday gifts or surprises for a group of individuals. Education is the best tool we have to protect ourselves online. Read this Social Engineering Red Flags resource and please be alert all times.

2024 Capital Campaign & Questions We Hear You Asking

If you missed it, please link to the announcement here regarding our fall capital campaign for Sanctuary upgrades and read answers to Questions We Hear You Asking in the complete FAQs.

Q18. If we were to reach our financial goal and possibly go over, how would the money be used?

Our Board of Trustees is already at work preparing for improvements. To be consistent with the spirit of the planned work in the Sanctuary, the Trustees have recommended additional automatic door operators for ease of access. They have also identified additional bathrooms that need improvements to make them accessible to people using wheelchairs. In addition, there are other opportunities to make improvements to accessibility and useability for people to come to the church that are not included in the initial scope of work. The Trustees have also identified a need to update many of the classrooms. Recommended improvements include flooring, painting, ceiling tiles, chairs & tables, and improved storage systems.

Video Devotional

Schools are beginning a new year across our area. It is a time mixed with anticipation, apprehension and the welcome return of routine. It is also an opportunity for us to pray God’s blessings on our students, teachers, families, staff and administrators, along with our United Kids and United Youth.

Pastor Corey will lead us in a special prayer for our students this Sunday, August 25 in all our worship hours, but I have one as well for them today. Join me in offering this prayer for the year ahead by clicking Here.

Matthews United Methodist Church Endowment

I hope you will join us for our Endowment Celebration Dinner on Wednesday evening, September 25 at 6 pm in The Commons, as we commemorate the growth of our Matthews United Methodist Endowment Fund planted by generations past and present, providing a legacy for our future. We are honored to welcome guest speaker Ken Garfield, former Charlotte Observer Editor, whose insights promise to captivate and inspire us.

It’s important to note this event is not a fundraising occasion but rather an opportunity to celebrate the lasting spirit of generosity and support within our church community. Mark your calendars and plan to join us for what promises to be an unforgettable evening. Click here for more information and to make your reservation.

Upcoming Dates

• Celebrating Kathy White – Join us at a reception for Kathy this Sunday, August 25 at 12:15 pm in the Commons.
• Back 2 School Bash – This Sunday, Aug 25 in large parking lot. Kids 3-5 pm & Youth 5-7 pm. Inflatables, food trucks, games & more! $15 per child, $50 max for a family 4+.
• Meet the Pastors Member Interest Gathering – Sunday, September 8, 3-4:30 pm. If you’d like to explore deepening your participation in MUMC with membership, please sign up to be a part of this fun, informative gathering. This will begin our next Disciple’s Path series that will begin that day and then occur on Sunday mornings (8 am), beginning September 15 through October 20 (Joining Sunday). Details
• Join one of our Short-Term Studies this fall, including In The Footsteps of a Savior on Tuesday mornings, Knowing Who We Are on Monday evenings, and The Good & Beautiful Community on Wednesday evenings. Details

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 (CCH) prepares for the beginning of school as well. Pastor Roldan’s sermon for Sunday is from Job 42:1-6, and his sermon title is Beware of Your Blind Spot.

This week, ­­­we conclude our summer series through the Beatitudes. We began our journey eight weeks ago wondering how we could net this elusive butterfly called The Good Life … The God Life. Along the way of discovery we’ve stopped, as if pausing at different lookout points, at each Beatitude of Jesus. Jesus had some specific and often surprising things to say about The Good Life … The God Life, and by staying with him, by looking where he looked and turning where he turned, we have come, I trust, to a place of deeper understanding where we can describe more accurately the flight pattern of this butterfly we would all like to catch.

My sermon for Sunday will focus on a closer look at Jesus’ call in Matthew 5. V. 12: “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” My sermon title is Against All Odds.

I hope you’re keeping an eye out for friends, neighbors, relatives, acquaintances and new folks to our community who may not have a church home. Maybe they are looking to get settled as the school year begins. We have many opportunities at MUMC to help them find community. I hope you’ll invite someone this Sunday.

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

Following the subtle, subversive and sublime Way of Jesus,
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that MUMC members offered hospitality at the Charlotte Pride Parade this past Sunday? They joined other area churches to distribute bottles of water & freeze pops to parade-goers. We had a great turnout from MUMC – sowing seeds of love and enjoying the festivities. If you would like to be a part of Inclusive Grace reconciling ministry at MUMC, contact Kim Layton.

Did you know that Home2Home Ministry helped an Afghan family move into their new house on Saturday? Eleven volunteers showed up with 2 large trucks and 5 pickup trucks full of furniture! What an AWESOME ministry this is for our community and our church!

Did you know that our 17th Community Forum, with Tonya Rivens as our Moderator, was held last night (August 20) at the Mt. Moriah Missionary Baptist Church? A helpful discussion on the ongoing work of racial justice filled the evening. Our 18th Community on Racial Justice will be on February 18, 2025 at MUMC. The photo below features Rev. Larry Whitley from Mt. Moriah, Tonya Rivens, Rev. John Mourtizen from Morning Star Lutheran Church and Pastor Chuck.