“Who Are We?”

If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?”

“Who are you? Who is this kid and what’s he gonna do?”

I must admit, in our family, we are big fans of the Broadway show Hamilton.  It mixes our enjoyment of history with Broadway and presents the material in an innovative way.  Not everyone enjoys the show, and that’s fine…we all have different tastes. 

The above quote comes from the second song in Hamilton, and it is part of an exchange between Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, Marquis de Lafayette and a couple of others.  The discussion displays their zeal about the American Revolution and their hopes for what is to come.  Yet Burr seems unwilling to take a hard stance on anything, as he’s worried about upsetting people and giving away too much of his thought process.  Hamilton responds with the question: “If you stand for nothing, Burr, what will you fall for?”  Then the others, trying to size up Hamilton (an unknown at this point), ask the question: “Who is this kid and what’s he gonna do?” 

“Who are you?”  “What do you stand for?”  “What are you going to do?”  These are important questions when meeting someone, deciding who to follow or befriend, joining organizations, or supporting causes.  It’s also an important question about the church in which you choose to attend and participate.  “What does the church believe?”  “What does the church stand for?”  “What does it mean to identify myself and my family as part of this church/denomination?” 

Over the next two Sundays, I am going to attempt to address these questions with an introduction to what it means to be United Methodist.  This first week I am going to spend some time sharing the core beliefs of the United Methodist Church and how they are similar to and different from other churches and denominations.  In part 2, I will share what United Methodists do and the actions and practices that are intended to define who we are as a people, and how United Methodists have lived out our faith in distinctive ways over the years. 

Knowing who you are and what you believe is important for individuals and organizations.  I hope you will join us over these next couple of weeks as we discuss who we are and what we, as United Methodists believe, teach, and live.

Blessings, Chris

Mission

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Vision

Nelson Memorial UMC seeks to be a place where all God’s broken, hurting, and imperfect children discover wholeness and community while experiencing the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ.  We seek to connect with one another to grow in our knowledge and love of God, to encourage each person to live out their unique calling to serve God, and to make a difference in the Boonville community and throughout the world.

Priorities

Developing and Nurturing Faith in Children and Youth

Fostering Growth and Community in Worship and Small Groups

Provide Opportunities to Serve God in Boonville and Beyond

Worship This Week

This Sunday we begin a two-week message series titled “Being United Methodist.”  This series is an overview of the beliefs and behaviors of the people of the United Methodist Church.  This week, we look at the statements of faith of the UMC and cover what we believe as United Methodists.  The scripture this week will be from the book of Acts, Chapter 2, verses 22-24:

Fellow Israelites, listen to this; Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know.  This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.  But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it is impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 

Our services will begin with the song This I Believe by Hillsong United.  Our other songs for the morning include In Christ Alone, Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, and O For A Thousand Tongues to Sing.

Virtual Worship Information

In addition to in-person worship, each Sunday we will live-stream our 10:20 worship service. The service can be viewed on our Facebook Page.  The service will start at approximately10:20 with our Praise Band leading our Gathering Song.  Additionally, we post a recording of our message each week to our website by early Sunday afternoon. 

Announcements

Church Picnic August 28 – Time for Some Food and Fun – The United Methodist Men are hosting our Annual Church Picnic this Sunday, August 28 at 6:00 pm.  We will gather at the church yard.  The Methodist Men will provide the meat and drinks.  Please bring a dish to share and also a (lawn chair or blanket). Feel free to invite friends, family and neighbors to join in on the fun.

KIDS HOPE USA – Did you know that our church is blessed to participate in a really amazing ministry called Kids Hope USA?  For those not familiar with Kids Hope, it is a program that matches an adult with a student in grades 3-5.  They spend one hour a week together doing a variety of things – reading, completing worksheets, playing board games, playing basketball – and most importantly, developing relationships.  Many of the kids in Kids Hope could benefit from having another adult in their life who cares about them (and really, what kid couldn’t use this).  The times are flexible, you can even do it virtually if needed. 

If you are interested in becoming a mentor to a child at David Barton Elementary, you can do two things: 1) talk to one of our current mentors about the experience and difference this makes, and 2) let Debbie Maxwell, our KIDS HOPE Coordinator know that you are interested!

North Central District Kickoff –

Last month we shared that the district our church belongs to, the North Central District of the Missouri Annual Conference, has expanded its geographical boundaries and added more churches.  Coming up on September 10, the District is hosting a “kickoff” event at Central Methodist University.  This event will begin at 11:00 am and include a time of fellowship, campus tours, all kinds of activities for kids (and kids at heart), a tailgate party prior to the CMU football game, and attending the football game together.  Not only is all this happening close to home, it is free for everyone.  Each church is encouraged to have as many people attend as possible.  Registration is requested.  Please register here.  If you don’t already have plans for September 10, please consider joining in this time of fun, friendship, and football!

Becoming a Liturgist – If you are interested in helping in worship through our Liturgist Ministry (being the one up front who reads the Call to Worship and some of the other worship emelents), please let Pastor Chris or Debra know.  The schedule gets updated every few months, and we are putting together the upcoing schedule.  Each liturgist takes a turn once every 6-8 weeks or so (this depends on how many liturgists we have).  Again, if you’d like to participate in this ministry, please let Pastor Chris or Debra know and we can give you more information.  Even if you’d prefer not to be on the schedule but would be willing to be a backup or substitute, that is always needed as well.

Choir is Back – Choir rehearsals for the Methodist Music Makers will be the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm in the Sanctuary. We are always welcoming new singers and hope to see you there!   The next choir rehearsal will be September 6.  Please contact Leah Gumbel for additional information.

Events this week:

Sunday, August 28: All Church Picnic, 6:00 pm, Church Yard

Monday, August 29: TOPS, 9:00 am, Foundations Classroom

Al-Anon, 8:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Tuesday, August 30: First Day of School, Boonville and New Franklin Schools

Wednesday, August 31: Women’s Bible Study, 10:15 am, Lounge

Al-Anon, Noon, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, September 1: Praise Band Rehearsal, 6:00 pm, Sanctuary

Friday, September 2: Al-Anon, 8:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Closing Words of Wisdom:

Believing in him is not the same as believing things about him such as that he was born of a virgin and raised Lazarus from the dead. Instead, it is a matter of giving our hearts to him, of come hell or high water putting our money on him, the way a child believes in a mother or a father, the way a mother or a father believes in a child.”
― Frederick Buechner