We Won…Let’s Eat!

Christ the King/Thanksgiving Sunday
Just these lines, my friends …

… to say that early Sunday evening a parishioner sent me the following note:“Pastor Chuck, just a word of thanks for a wonderful day of worship … I loved every moment of our 9:30 service, but especially the baby (the Baptism of Eleanor Rose Hansen, the daughter of Cale/Allison Hansen), well a baby does change everything. We are so appreciative of being included in the Kingdom that Jesus and so many others have created as Matthews United Methodist Church (MUMC).” I love hearing of people so moved by our times together in worship. If you missed it on Sunday, click here to worship anytime.

Well, Sunday was, indeed, a historic moment for Matthews United Methodist Church with the presentation of a $500,000 challenge gift from the Stuart and Eulene Murray Foundation to Tyleta Morgan and Kathy & Terry Efird (our remarkable lay leaders) for our Beyond Hospitality efforts. The check was presented by Mike Williams, a Trustee for the Murray Foundation. Mike, Leslie and their two children, Lori and Ryan, have been a part of our church family for nearly 20 years. The Murray Foundation Challenge gift put us over our $2 million goal for the campaign. WOW! Thanks be to God!

If you haven’t had the chance to join us in these efforts, please click here to pledge to both our General Fund and our 3-year Capital Campaign efforts. There is so much more that could be done related to the goals of the campaign: accessibility, roof, parking lot, etc. We’re planning for an announcement on the First Sunday of Advent (December 1) of where we stand on our Beyond Hospitality efforts.

On another subject, our bishop, Ken Carter, is a remarkable leader. I’ve learned so much from him through the years. He wrote just this past week on some of our societal pressures:

“There is larger work to do, and some of that is to disentangle patriotism and citizenship from nationalism and fascism. We have not avoided any of this. The Purple Church initiative was not a denial of any of this, but a way of saying we can talk about this in our churches, and in many places this happened. In a divided country the church is one of the last places where the possibility of a conversation across differences can happen … this is because we are united by a greater narrative–Jesus, who teaches us to love God, our neighbor and our enemy.

So, I am in the process of detaching from the fall political processes, but not the deeper and underlying values that are justice issues for me (access to health care, equality, access to public education, etc.) … we need a system of checks and balances because of the reality of our (notice I said “our”) human sin. This is wired into the experiments that are both the United States of America and The United Methodist Church.”

MUMC, as always, please know how grateful I am to be a United Methodist Christian and to be one of your pastors.

Wednesday Devotional

A Rabbi once summarized all Jewish holidays as basically “We Won … Let’s Eat!” I hope you’ll watch my devotional this week by the same title.

Transitions

It is my great delight to share with you the good news that Beth Merchant has joined our church staff community as Global Impact Missions Associate. Her position is part-time (15 hours per week) to assist Amy DeVore with Global Impact responsibilities, especially as they relate to our long-term efforts with disaster relief recovery in Western North Carolina (WNC). The WNC disaster relief efforts have presented MUMC with a whole new chapter of service that God has placed at our doorstep. Beth, coming our way, is a part of our response to this added dimension of service.

For the last couple of years, Beth has given extraordinary leadership to our Global Impact Community. Beth and her husband, Ken (a member of our Trustees), have been a part of MUMC for nearly 40 years.

Please join me in extending to Beth a very special welcome to our Staff Community.

Upcoming Events

• Arts & Crafts Extravaganza – THIS Saturday, November 23, 9:00-2:00. Details
• Community Thanksgiving Service – THIS Sunday, November 24, 5:00 pm at Morning Star Lutheran Church (12509 Idlewild Rd, Matthews) Details
• Angel Tree – Select an angel from the tree & return gifts by Dec.1 (the Sunday after Thanksgiving!) Details
• Advent Study: The Christmas Letters – Purchase book here. Hear about the miracle of Christ’s birth from those who first told the story.
  • Monday Morning Women’s Study, 10:00-11:30 am, December 2-23, Led by Carolyn Perlman, Register here.
  • Wednesday Evenings, 7:00-8:30 pm, December 4-December 18, Led by Jessica Fraser, Register here.
• Western NC Disaster Relief: God’s Pod open Mondays thru Jan 6 from 1-3 pm and by appointment by calling the Church Office. New Items Only from this NEW Supply List | Sign Up to Serve | Additional Details

The Micah Connection

The Micah Connection is our Justice Ministry here at MUMC. It is based on Micah 6:8: “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with your God.” One of the areas of focus is Immigration and Refugees. Leviticus 19:33-34 reads “When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.” If you are interested in the work of The Micah Connection, please contact Amy DeVore at the Church Office (704-847-6261).

Advent Worship Series: A Baby Changes Everything

Is there any way you can drill down through all the rituals and customs and trappings and wrappings and touch the pure wonder of this event that rocked the world? Join in worship during December for our Advent worship series, A Baby Changes Everything. Open yourself and let God do something new, exciting, fresh and unexpected. It may be challenging and even painful. Like Mary, a sword may pierce your soul, but in the end it will turn out beyond your wildest dreams, something dizzyingly and breathtakingly wonderful from God.

View all of our Christmas happenings at Matthews UMC here, including a Community Movie Night, Parents Night Out, Melody Makers Concert, The Light of Christmas Concert, and much more!

This Sunday in Worship

We invite you this Sunday to join us in person at 8:15 (traditional), 9:30 (contemporary), and 11:00 (traditional), or online at 9:30, 11:00 or 12:30 (Spanish – in person or here on demand).

In our Spanish-speaking CCH (Centro Cristiano Hosanna) community, Pastor Roldan concludes the worship series based on the Old Testament book of Daniel, titled Surviving in Babylon, This Sunday, Pastor Roldan will be preaching from Daniel 6:13-22 and the theme is Protecting your Fidelity.

This Sunday is the final Sunday of the Christian calendar year. Traditionally, it is called Christ the King Sunday as well as the Sunday before Thanksgiving Day. My sermon is titled Don’t Forget to Remember from Luke 17:11-17. I think it would be the perfect sermon and Sunday to invite someone to church with you. I know they will capture a glimpse of the heart of MUMC. So, consider bringing along a friend, a neighbor, a relative, someone from work. I think they will be moved by what they see, hear and experience.

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

In the Community. For the Community.
Dr. Charles (Chuck) W. Wilson II

Did you know that choir member Trish Pegram is in the new movie Roof Man with Channing Tatum being filmed here in Charlotte? She started out as an extra after going through auditions and now they have upgraded her to cast. Be on the lookout for the movie!!!

Did you know that we loaded our final box truck to go to Asheville, NC on Wednesday? Thank you to our team of dedicated volunteers who showed up rain or shine to organize and load supplies. Read here for the latest news about our Disaster Relief Collection!

Did you know that Alix Arndt, our United Kids Associate for 4 years – 3rd grade, hand-painted these larger-than-life stamps to emphasize the United Kids November Virtue of Generosity and God’s gifts to us? The stamps were used as the backdrop for Family Worship and are now on display in Room 102 in the Children’s wing.