Generosity of Spirit

2^nd Sunday of Easter
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say that it was the holiest of Holy Weeks with the grandest of Easter mornings: a donkey leading our processional into the week on Palm Sunday; our deep level partners with Rainbow Express Ministries reminding us Jesus’ final gathering with his disciples on Holy Thursday; the finest Sanctuary Choir in Charlotte leading us in a Good Friday service of Tenebrae; over 2,000 people gathering on our site on Holy Saturday evening to hunt for Easter eggs; and then …

“My Lord, What a mornin’!” Seven worship services telling the story of Jesus and our becoming an Easter people; Pastor Paul, Pastor Corey and Pastor Roldan speaking at Easter Sunday morning services; a butterfly release in the Courtyard and the butterflies actually flew; dozens of new faces to our church; Kim Jones assisting Craig Estep in directing the Hallelujah Chorus; and so much more. My heart is so full. If you missed Maundy Thursday, Good Friday or Easter Sunday worship, you can worship with us by clicking here.

 

One of my favorite traditions we have here at MUMC, and my favorite scene this year, were the dozens of families making their way to our Flower Cross in front of the Sanctuary to place a flower and to make a family picture. Our Flower Cross on Easter morning was stunning.

A very special Thank You to so many of you volunteering through the week as well. Our Holy Week would be infinitely less without each of you: ushers, greeters, musicians, Welcome Center workers, Nursery workers, set-up & take-down workers, helpers at the Flower Cross, registration workers, and so many more. Thank you for giving so much of your time to bless our community.

Devotional

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

Upcoming Events

• Men’s Breakfast – Saturday, April 6, 7:30-9:00 am in The Commons. Details & program info here.
• Feasibility Study FOCUS GROUPS for Sanctuary/Auxiliary Space Improvements – Provide Your Response as MUMC explores facility upgrades & accessibility. Focus Groups begin Sunday, April 21 in Sunday Morning Groups & Classes.
  Focus Groups Open to ALL, No registration required:
  – May 5 at 11:00am in Room 158
  – May 12 at 9:30am in Room 106
  – May 19 at 9:30am in The Commons
  Email Questions@MatthewsUMC.org for more information.
• The 2024 General Conference of The United Methodist Church is coming to Charlotte April 23 to May 3. Click below for resources related to General Conference:
  – Beginner’s Guide
  – Welcometogc.org to register as a volunteer.
  – What to Know About General Conference Proposals
  – The Love Your Neighbor Coalition (LYNC) is hosting an Everybody hospitality space at General Conference at Hilton Garden hotel, where they welcome attendees of all abilities. Click here to purchase & donate supplies for this effort.

At General Conference, representatives from across our global connection will be gathering to vote on important church matters. This General Conference is extremely important to the future direction of The United Methodist Church and its inclusion of ALL people. We invite everyone to be in prayer that the approved legislation of this General Conference can help to move our United Methodist denomination forward with love and grace for ALL people.

With deep gratitude we give thanks that we are a United Methodist congregation that has been rooted in our Wesleyan tradition for nearly 150 years. This tradition has shaped and formed us for good and taught us much about love and grace. Throughout the past months our Administrative Council has determined we want to be a Lighthouse Church where we unanimously chose to remain United Methodist with the hope that the future of the United Methodist Church would be one of full inclusion.

There are many gifts found in the Book of Discipline and our Social Principles that propel us towards deeper faith and social justice, yet we admit we do not agree with the current harmful language regarding human sexuality and the limitations placed upon the full inclusion of LGBTQIA+ persons. We believe our future is one of recognizing the fullness of God’s wide welcome to ALL people.

Therefore, it is my hope that General Conference will do the following 3 vitally important things:

1. Remove ALL harmful and limiting language regarding human sexuality and the full inclusion of all people.
2. Adopt the Revised Social Principles offered up by the General Board of Church and Society.
3. Accept regionalization as the path forward for our continued global connection.

I ask that together we join in prayer for the future of The United Methodist Church and consider ways in which we can be loving agents for positive change in that future.

This Sunday in Worship

We invite you to join in worship 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).

Pastor Roldan reports it was a powerful week for our Spanish-speaking CCH community. Nearly every night they gathered to worship or serve. This week Pastor Roldan begins a new worship series preparing our CCH Community for General Conference. He is titling the series, The Elephant in the Room. His sermon is titled, Purpose that Does Not Change from II Timothy 3:16-21.

Pastor Paul will be preaching for us this Sunday.  His sermon is titled, One in Heart and Mind from Acts 4:32-35. Paul says, “Sunday we will be looking at what was happening with the disciples just after the crucifixion. On Saturday they were in hiding, terrified they would soon be arrested, beaten, scourged and crucified. Yet, only a few days later we see the same disciples telling new believers they have seen Jesus walking around alive! Can you imagine the power of hearing that testimony from an eyewitness? According to Luke, the communities they were forming of newly baptized believers were of “one mind and heart, sharing everything in common with no disagreements.”  If this was true, then what has happened to our faith communities today?” Sounds like a challenging message for us.

In case you didn’t notice, each week I ask you to consider somebody who might really want or need an invitation from you to attend church at MUMC. Someone who’s just recently moved onto your street. A new family you met from school. Someone who’s been going through a tough time lately. A co-worker who’s away from their family. A family member who lives nearby who could use some extra encouragement right now. We want to make sure that, in our community, no one is forgotten, and everyone is invited. As I always say, you just never know the power that your invitation can have in somebody else’s life!

I can’t wait to be with you on Sunday. By the way, have I told you lately how much I love being one of your pastors!?!

And now, during this disconcerting, uncertain, confusing and yet, hopeful week, remember … God does God’s best work in moments like this.

Jesus is on the loose,
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that another season of Room In The Inn has come to a close? Our team of 70 MUMC volunteers served 229 guests over 17 weeks. We offered food, clothing, hot showers and warm beds as we welcomed our neighbors. Our Champion for Room in the Inn, Mike Mattes, remarked, “The guests have told me repeatedly over the season, and especially during our last night, how much they appreciate the services our church provides and how welcome we make them feel . . . Each and every volunteer is critical in making the program a success and the overwhelming support from our congregation is awesome.” THANK YOU to those who served this Global Impact ministry and to Mike for his leadership!

Did you know that the United Youth team joined in Seasoned to Perfection (STP) this past Tuesday?  They provided a wonderful devotion by Rob Hunter and great praise music led by John Woodall and Corey Milliet. Everyone enjoyed great food (prepared by Lena Martin and the STP cooking team).  They finished with ice cream and a service project making hygiene kits for the senior mission trip.  It was great to see all the marvelous intergenerational connections being made!  Thank you for taking time out of their Spring Break to come and make connections with some of our seniors!