Need to Be Seen

Transfiguration Sunday | Global Impact 3 | February 10, 2021
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say what a special Sunday with Kathy Izard, our Global Impact Celebration (GIC) special guest. She challenged us to “Trust the Whisper.” I know you were as moved as I was by her story. If you missed her, you can watch here.

I do hope you’ve had the chance to view WSOC’s outstanding news special this past Monday, February 1 – Talking about Race: Conversations with Five Black Men. This is a remarkable news story produced by our very own Kim Holt. Kim told me, “That seed of an idea sat in the back of my head until God said it was time to take root, and of course His timing was right on. God helped me to find the right men to take part, as well as the right person to lead the conversation.” In the language of our Global Impact emphasis, I believe Kim was listening well. She responded to the whisper, the nudge of God upon her life. Kim also tapped our very own Leaton Harris to be one of the five men. Get ready to learn, grow and to be challenged. Here is a link to this important conversation.

Join Bishop Willimon and some of the oldest churches in Matthews this coming Tuesday (Feb 18) at 7 pm for a live broadcast on our YouTube channel  for our 11^th Racial -Building Community Forum. The topic for the evening will be “The Carolinas’ Last Lynching” as we examine the Bishop’s book titled Who Lynched Willie Earle? The February 1947 lynching of Willie Earle in Pickens, SC and the subsequent trial in Greenville, SC attracted international attention. When an all-white jury exonerated Earle’s confessed killers, it was a national scandal that led to the formation of the nation’s first Civil Rights Commission.

I so enjoy gathering with our Men’s Ministry on the first Saturday of each month. What a vibrant group of men, led by Marshall Edwards, seeking to be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community and around the world. This past Saturday we dove deep into an outstanding child sponsorship program, Compassion International.

Wednesday Devotional

My Wednesday devotional is titled, “I Just Need to Be Seen.”  Please click here to watch.

Lent Begins on Ash Wednesday, February 17

The irony isn’t lost on me that this Lent, we are continuing to fast from our normal way of doing things. A year of masks, social distancing and forced innovation has left us tired and longing for redemption and freedom. In these 40 days leading up to Easter, we bury our hallelujahs and look with hope toward the resurrection.

As we embark on this new season, be encouraged! Church certainly looks different this year, but the beautiful thing about it is we know God shows up in the new and the different. Even better, when we lean into the new and the different we might encounter God in ways we didn’t even know possible before.

During Lent, our Sunday sermon series “The Jesus Way,” seeks to answer the question: What would it mean for the way Jesus lived, died and rose again to become the way in which we follow him? Eugene Peterson’s book, The Jesus Way provides the thematic grounding for our Lenten worship series. Peterson writes, “The ways Jesus leads are necessarily the way by which I follow … Following Jesus is radically different than following anyone else.” Click here for a snapshot view of the sermons leading through Lent to Easter.

Global Impact Celebration (GIC) 2021 Continues through February 14

Here are some ways for you to participate this year in GIC:

• Virtual Mission Trips – You can find the details by clicking: Here for Zoe Empowers.  Here for Belize.
• LOVE NOTE Event – You can click here to register.
• Donation Collection for Charlotte Rescue Mission’s Dove’s Nest & Rebound: February 7 – March 8. Collection Bins will be available in the Breezeway through March 8 for gently used men’s and women’s clothing to support individuals currently in residence at Charlotte Rescue Mission’s Rebound (men) or Dove’s Nest (women). Click here for details.
• Drive-Thru Celebration – This Sunday, February 14, 2-3 pm. Return your Faith/Life Commitment Cards, LOVE NOTES for local partners, and Donation Collection for Charlotte Rescue Mission, and receive Holy Communion — all from the safety of your vehicle. You can click here for details.

Easter Earthquake

In the spring and early summer we are going to embark on a worship series titled Easter Earthquake. In this series we hope to address the difference the resurrection makes in the way we face the critical issues and concerns of our time. So, if you will, please help me by answering the following question: “What are the biggest concerns you have in your life?” I’ve already heard from a bunch of you. What you share is most impactful. Please send me a note, text, email or phone call with your biggest concerns. Thanks!

Children’s Weekday Program Task Force

Lee Goldstein reported to our Administrative Council this week about the work he guides as the Chair of our Children’s Weekday Program Task Force.  The group is gathering information and discussing possibilities for what types of programs would align with the vision and mission of Matthews United Methodist Church to best serve young learners in our community.  The task force is also teaming with the Trustees, United Kids and the administration of the new charter school proposed to meet on the site of MUMC (for the 2021-22 school year) to ensure that the transition of our facilities will meet the near and long term requirements for everyone who is going to utilize our classrooms.

The Task Force is confident it will meet its goal of providing a recommendation to church leaders by the end of August.  Having a recommendation in August will provide enough time for church leaders to make final decisions and implement actions to begin registration in January 2022 for a new program that will begin in the fall of 2022.

This Sunday in Worship

Please join us for online worship this Sunday at 9:30 am (contemporary), 11:00 am (traditional) or 12:30 (Spanish-speaking).

This week our CCH community will gather for worship at 12:30 pm and begin a new worship series, Safe Friendship in Uncertain Times. Pastor Roldan will be preaching from II Samuel 9:1-8 with his message titled, “Trustworthy Friends.”

This Sunday, we will conclude our 2021 Global Impact Celebration in our morning services at 9:30 am and 11:00 am. My sermon will be the third and final one in our series, Listening Well. My sermon is about a God whisper I’ve had recently. Have your candle ready as we do some listening from Matthew 28:18-20. The title of my message, “Are You All In?”

Beloved, please know that if we can be there for you, don’t hesitate to make a phone call or drop me a note.

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

We are in this … together,
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that over 200 people have viewed our 2021 Leadership Connection held on Saturday, January 30 via Zoom? If you missed it, you can view it by clicking here, and access the packet of information here.

Did you know that our Home 2 Home Ministry, in partnership with St. Matthews Catholic Church, packed a 20-foot U-Haul truck with donations, and delivered the more than 50 items to Bertie Count, NC on Saturday, February 6? A caseworker will distribute the items to six families that were impacted by Hurricane Isaias in June 2020. Additionally, nine volunteers picked up donations of nearly 50 items on Friday.

Did you know that Tom Williamson was recognized by the Matthews-Mint Hill Weekly and the Community Shelter of Union County for Ride Again Bicycle Ministry, the ministry he started?  Click here to read the article from the Shelter.  If you have a bike to donate to this worthy cause, reach out to Tom via his Facebook or Instagram page (Ride Again Bicycle Ministry).

Did you know that LuAnn Scruggs is starting a grief support group called Blooming Again? Nearly four years ago LuAnn experienced the sudden, unexpected death of her husband of 32 years, Marvin. She writes, “I have chosen to name the program ‘Blooming Again’ because you are not the same after grief, and somehow you have to dig deep into your roots (just as a sunflower or any flower for that matter), and bloom again. Marvin loved to see sunflowers bloom each year, and my hope is to spread that in some form by allowing others to feel through talking, healing, and breathing in the fresh air, they too, can bloom again.” For more information, please click here.