High Steppin’ & Preparations for the Coronavirus

2^nd Sunday in Lent/March 4, 2020
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say that Lent is upon us! I love this holy season. I delight in seeing the purple paraments appear in the Sanctuary. I feel grounded witnessing spiritual practices going on in our classrooms and worship spaces.

Every week around Matthews United Methodist (MUMC) seems to be filled with life and vitality:

• Ash Wednesday 2020 was filled with beauty, awe, repentance and silence. Pastor Paul gave us a great message. You can watch here.
• Providence High School used our Sanctuary for their winter music performance time. Hundreds of young musicians and their families were around. We are a church FOR the community.
• We conducted another MAGI Spiritual Gifts Workshop class this past Saturday with 11 participants! Click here to learn more about this one-day class.
• We concluded our youth community basketball season on Saturday. Over 300 youth participated!

Questions I Hear Jesus Asking
I cherish the opportunity this Lent to focus on the life of Jesus and some of the questions he asked. In our morning sanctuary worship, we are focusing on a number of them. Our first one this past Sunday (March 1) was, “What Do You Want?” from Mark 10:36. You can watch here.

As we take this Lenten journey together, I have a little musical homework for you. A few years ago, I got hooked on a band. The brothers — Seth and Scott, from Concord, NC — play an interesting mix of bluegrass, Indie rock, country and even rap. They don’t bill themselves as a “Christian” band, but their personal stories and artistic leanings are deeply rooted in matters of faith, mostly from a good Methodist upbringing. One of the band members, Bob Crawford, has a regular podcast where he talks theology. I commend the Avett Brothers to you. I invite you to listen and watch their song High Steppin’. Click the video below.

You might watch it a couple of times, and consider the question: “What do you want?”

As you ponder your response, forward this email to a friend. Do them a favor…invite them to journey through Lent with our welcoming community of faith called Matthews United Methodist!

Preparations for the Coronavirus
On Sunday, I gave a statement about MUMC and the coronavirus. You can read it here, or read a more extensive document that outlines the preparations we are making as a church here.

Upcoming Dates & This Sunday (March 8) in Worship
Coming up: The Bible for Normal People on March 25 and April 1, 7 pm in The Commons; Annual Men’s Retreat on April 24-26Prayer for the General Conference of The United Methodist Church (May 5-15; please join me in praying this prayer that I’ve written).

We continue our Lenten emphasis that we’ve titled Questions We Hear Jesus Asking. These are a series of questions Jesus asks on his way to the Cross. This week’s question comes from John 8:1-11 where Jesus asks, “Who Condemns You?” You can read more about the series here.

On this second Sunday in Lent, our CCH community and Pastor Roldan will continue the series, More Than Numbers. He will be teaching from Matthew 28:16-20, and the title of his message: Do Not Leave Your Place.

As always, I’m so excited to welcome you to worship on Sunday. By the way, we have a host of wonderful new members joining MUMC at all of our morning Sanctuary services.

Following Jesus Together,

Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know Paige Duffy & Hunter Ross were married in the Sanctuary on Sunday, March 1!  Paige & Hunter both grew up at Matthews UMC, and Hunter is the son of John & Valarie Ross.

Did you know that over 100 water bottles were given out to spectators and participants during Church League basketball games hosted on the MUMC campus. These water bottles served as an invitation into community with MUMC.

Did you know that our Contemporary Band has a Spotify playlist of their repertoire so you can listen and learn the songs for worship? Follow the playlist for updates and join in worship each Sunday! Click here to follow the playlist!

Did you know Pastor Brad’s parents, Ben and Debbie Hopper, have recently joined Matthews United Methodist? Debbie is a volunteer at Greenway Park Elementary and is working with two children who speak very limited English. Fortunately, she is a former high school Spanish teacher. She describes her experience with these words: “Being a small part of Greenway Park work is a true blessing! My two little students are such a bright spot for me each week.”