Our Upside Down God

First Sunday of Advent
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say this past Sunday was the last Sunday in the Christian calendar known formally as Christ the King Sunday. In 1925, as Fascist nationalism was on the rise, Pope Pius XI instituted the Feast of Christ the King. It was a reminder that Christ reigns above all earthly powers, that His Kingdom will remain regardless of the rise and fall of human kingdoms and nations. It was also a public protest against the authoritarian forces at work in Europe at the time. It is a message we need to hear as we face the rise of authoritarian forces in our own nation and world. If you missed being with us on Sunday, you can worship by clicking here.

Sitting at my desk the other evening, after a long and wonderful day, I finally gave in. I listened to Christmas music for the first time by myself.

I’m usually a careful observer of the Thanksgiving starting line of the Christmas season for myself. This isn’t a judgment of everyone else; rather, it is a self-protecting action that helps me to not be done with the Christmas cheer too soon. I speak from experience because that happened to me one year. I was done with Christmas music by December 19th. That is not a good place to be for a preacher on Christmas Eve!

Yet, this year, amid all the pain, sorrow, toil and frustration of this world, I felt it a good moment to quietly invite in the season. It was raining and quite idyllic sitting at my desk as Bing Crosby sang to me about a White Christmas and Andy Williams told me it was “the most wonderful time of the year.”

I trust that as you enjoyed your Thanksgiving meal, it was with people who love you, eating food that makes you happy, and reflecting with gratitude on how God has been at work in your life. And maybe, today, nearly a week after Thanksgiving, you are beginning to turn your heart towards Christmas. Or … you’ve been there for a month!

Our culture loves to rush us along. It invites us into only brief pauses for gratitude and reflection before fanatical lights and food and fun and activities and business. The thing is, the Advent season, one of anticipation and hope, is not meant to be rushed. It is meant to build a sense of longing for things to be right in our world, to allow the Christ child’s light to dawn in our lives slowly. In this way, the church wages a counter-cultural effort every year to slow down, just a bit, and to reflect on the meaning of the season in whatever way we can.

This year, we’re offered an extra pause with a week between Thanksgiving and the official beginning of Advent. I hope we’re ready to welcome the Child of Christmas in our lives once again.

End of Year Financial Update

Together, our giving makes the transforming work of the church possible. As we head towards the end of the fiscal year, it is important to share this update on General Giving and ask that you continue to prioritize ministry in all that you do. Matthews UMC makes God’s love real right here in our community in impactful ways. Please prayerfully consider helping to close the gap (amount needed is $447,886) between now and December 31 so that we can continue to fulfill our mission to Reach, Teach, Praise & Serve. Please reach out to Debbie Fitts at 704-841-7672 with any questions.

Scam Emails Circulating

We’ve been alerted to scam emails circulating from fraudulent email addresses impersonating me that ask for a response that lead to a request for gift cards or financial assistance.

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, 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 see our complete alert email sent today to learn more.

The Annual Charge Conference

Important work of the church was conducted this past Monday evening with the Annual Charge Conference. The Charge Conference is open to anyone, but the voting members would be your Administrative Council. We gathered to approve pastoral salaries for 2024, elect faithful disciples to service, recognize amazing service, express gratitude for connectional giving throughout The United Methodist Church, listen to a short video from our resident bishop, Ken Carter, and finalize our 2023 membership audit.

• To watch the Charge Conference, please click here.
• To see a listing of the newly elected officers of the church, please click here.
• To read Pastor Chuck’s report, please click here.
• To review the pastoral salaries for the year ahead, feel free to contact Debbie Fitts, our Director of Operations and Church Treasurer, at 704-841-7672.

Wednesday Devotional

I hope you can take a few minutes to watch my devotional for the week titled, Our Upside Down God.

Upcoming Events

• Advent Fair – This Sunday between services in The Commons. Details.
• Community Movie Night – This Sunday, Dec 3, 6-8 pm. Details.
• Melody Makers Community Choir Christmas Concert – Tuesday, Dec 5 at 11 am. Details.
• Jingle Jam Kids & Family Worship – Sunday, Dec 10, 9:30 am in the Gym. Details.
• The Glory of Christmas Concert – Sunday, Dec 10, 6 pm. Details.

View all of our Advent & Christmas happenings here.

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 Matthews Brass will be playing Christmas carols in the Courtyard this Sunday at 9:05 and 10:35, and the MUMC Flute Choir will be playing carols in the Narthex on December 10 at those same hours. Come and enjoy some pre-service Seasonal music.

In our Spanish-speaking CCH community, Pastor Roldan begins his Advent worship series, The Clock is Ticking. This Sunday he is preaching from Matthew 24:6-14 and his sermon title, Let’s Keep the Alarms On.

Upcoming Events • Advent Fair – This Sunday between services in The Commons. Details. • Community Movie Night – This Sunday, Dec 3, 6-8 pm. Details. • Melody Makers Community Choir Christmas Concert – Tuesday, Dec 5 at 11 am. Details. • Jingle Jam Kids & Family Worship – Sunday, Dec 10, 9:30 am in the Gym. Details. • The Glory of Christmas Concert – Sunday, Dec 10, 6 pm. Details. View all of our Advent & Christmas happenings here.

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 Matthews Brass will be playing Christmas carols in the Courtyard this Sunday at 9:05 and 10:35, and the MUMC Flute Choir will be playing carols in the Narthex on December 10 at those same hours. Come and enjoy some pre-service seasonal music.

In our Spanish-speaking CCH community, Pastor Roldan begins his Advent worship series, The Clock is Ticking. This Sunday he is preaching from Matthew 24:6-14 and his sermon title, Let’s Keep the Alarms On.

In our morning Sanctuary services, on the first Sunday of the Christian calendar, the first Sunday of Advent, we begin a new worship series titled Be the Gift. Each year, during Advent, we are called to prepare our hearts, our lives, our relationships, and our world to receive that gift of the mysterious, amazing, life-transforming love of God love made flesh among us in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When we receive the gift from God, we are called to be the gift to others. This Sunday, our scripture lessons will be Psalm 25 and I Thessalonians 2:17 – 3:13 as we learn to Be the Gift of Love.

I hope you’ll invite someone to be with you during our Advent worship this year. We have so many opportunities for you to share the Child of the Manger with others.

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

Be the Gift of Love,
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did You Know that Rev. Bill Roth who recently presented at one of our fall Mental Health Education series events is retiring from Myers Park UMC after 24 years of faithful service? You may recognize Rev. Roth, who is also the father of Errett Roth in our congregation, from the Mental Health video resources we shared during Covid.

Did you know that all 305 Angel wishes were taken from the Angel Tree? THANK YOU, MUMC family, for your generosity!! ALL gifts are due back this Sunday by noon; please attach the Angel Tree tag and place your gifts under the tree.