Taken together, these anniversaries and transitions give us a unique opportunity to celebrate God's faithfulness in the past while also discerning where God is leading us next. As we look toward the future, we are asking questions like: How can we best use the gifts, people, facilities, and opportunities God has entrusted to us? How can we become a church that is increasingly prepared to receive, welcome, disciple, and serve the people God is bringing into our community?

 

Beginning August 16, we will spend seven weeks exploring these questions through a worship series called Sing a New Song. For some of you, this building has been your church home since it opened in 1987. You helped imagine it, build it, furnish it, and dedicate it. Others have joined this congregation more recently. Together, we have inherited a church whose story stretches back to 1886 – a story shaped by generations of faithful people who loved God, loved their neighbors, prayed together, ate together, served together, and passed on a living faith to their children.

 

Because of their faithfulness, we have received this church as a gift. Now we have the opportunity to prayerfully consider how we will steward that same gift for the generations still to come.

August 16

Scripture: Psalm 96

Theme: Worship - This psalm reminds us that every generation is called to "sing to the Lord a new song." We give thanks for those who have faithfully sung before us, we continue singing alongside them today, and we invite those who come after us to join the chorus.

August 23

• Scripture: Exodus 14:10-16
• Theme: Trust - The hardest step of faith is often the one taken before we know how God will make a way.

 

August 30

• Scripture: Joshua 5:10-12
• Theme: Courage - Change often brings new opportunities and new responsibilities. The manna ended not because God was finished providing, but because Israel was no longer wandering - they were home. God was preparing them to live faithfully in a new season rather than depend on the provisions of the old one.

 

Sept. 6 (Communion & Labor Day Weekend)

• Scripture: John 21:1-14
• Theme: Calling - The disciples knew something had changed, but they weren't yet sure how to live into that new reality. Resurrection changes reality before it changes behavior. Like them, without intentionality we often fall back into old habits and familiar ways of thinking. The risen Christ invites us to rediscover the purpose and calling that have been there all along.

 

Sept. 13

• Scripture: Matthew 13:24–30
• Theme: Patience/Growth - Not every imperfection requires immediate action. Faithful ministry can still be a little messy. The goal is not to make the church look perfect, but to create the conditions where people can grow. In the months ahead, there may be experiments that don't go exactly as planned, ministries that are still finding their rhythm, volunteers learning new roles, rooms that aren't quite finished, and ideas that need refining. Rather than rushing to fix every imperfection or “pull every weed,” we trust that God is still at work, bringing about a harvest in God's time.
  
  

September 20 – United Women in Faith Sunday

• This Sunday serves as a living expression of many of the themes we've explored throughout Sing a New Song. United Women in Faith will lead worship, reminding us that the work of the church belongs to the whole Body of Christ (Service). Following worship, the women of the church are invited to the UWF Tea in the Fellowship Hall, while everyone else is invited to gather in the Welcome Center for fellowship (and maybe a little football before the Chiefs play later that evening!). After our time together, we will dedicate our newly renovated Welcome Center and playground – two spaces made possible through the faithfulness and generosity of those who came before us. Together, we celebrate God's faithfulness across generations and dedicate these gifts for the ministry and mission still to come.

 

Sept. 27

• Scripture: Revelation 21:1-5
• Theme: Hope -God's promise is not, "I am making all new things," but "I am making all things new." The final chapters of Scripture remind us that God's work has always been one of redemption, restoration, and renewal. As we prepare for our own future, we do so with confidence because the end of the story has never been about building a bigger church - it has always been about God dwelling with God's people.

For more information about participating or leading in worship, please click the following links:

• Sunday Morning Worship Information
• Stilwell UMC's Worship Ministries