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Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Reflect Authenticity
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a great kick-off to our “Give Me That Old Time Religion” series we had on Sunday! If you missed it, you can view the streamed 9:30 and 11 am services here. How grateful we are to Teressa Clark, who shared this week’s “Experience of the Holy Spirit.” We pray that our services always reflect the authenticity...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Give Me That Old Time Religion
Dear Fellow Ministers, I hope you are having a great week and will be able to enjoy some downtime over this holiday week when we celebrate our nation’s independence. As our nation celebrates 250 years this year and our church prepares to celebrate 150 years in 2027, it is only natural to look back on our history. And we should!...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Summer Camp Time
Dear Fellow Ministers, How blessed we were to have Rev. Judi Hunt preach for us on Sunday! She is a gift to our church, and we are grateful that she will be serving as our Pastor of Hospitality and Welcome beginning July 1st. Thank you to the many people who helped lead worship while Pastor Susan and I were at...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Cup of Salvation
Dear Fellow Ministers, This week is the Western NC United Methodist Church Annual Conference at Lake Junaluska (access livestream). The theme for 2026 is “Rebuild my Church.” We have close to 20 delegates from our church, including clergy, laity, and Metro District At-Large delegates. We invite your prayers for our shared ministry together. Bishop Ken Carter will lead us as...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Rites of Passage
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a day of celebration we had on Sunday as we honored God and recognized graduates! Pastor Corey preached a great sermon, and you can view the 9:30 and 11:00 am services if you were not able to attend. It is a great reminder to us of the “rites of passage” in all of our lives. We...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: Blessed by Those Before Us!
Dear Fellow Ministers, I am so thankful for the generational ministry of Matthews UMC! This church has a strong gift of people in each generation, and we get to learn from each other. Far too often, people tend to trend towards churches based on a certain age group. I’ve heard these called “cut flower churches” because they look pretty for...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: The Holy Spirit is at Work!
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a blessing Pentecost Sunday was! We had a unique way to hear our scripture, the music was great, and we debuted “Experience of the Holy Spirit” in worship. We are blessed with many voices that are shared each week in worship. Pastor Roldan, our Spanish-Speaking pastor who leads worship at 12:30 p.m. each Sunday in our...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: The Day The Church Was Born
Dear Fellow Ministers, What a glorious Sunday we had last week! 14 young people professed faith in Jesus Christ and joined Matthews UMC (MUMC) through Confirmation. That is a big deal. There was amazing music with the MUMC Orchestra at the 8:15 and 11 am services, Wendi Moskowitz sang a beautiful song, “Come To Me,” and as always our Praise...
Outside the Box,
Outside the Box: How Are We One?
Dear Fellow Ministers, This Sunday, we will get to celebrate several of our young people as they commit to following Jesus! This will be our Confirmation Sunday, and it celebrates the great work done in homes across our church and our Age-Level Ministries offerings. I hope you will pray for these young people who will be making the most important...
