Church of the Resurrection
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Sabbath: A Taste of Heaven
January 27, 2015
In the fall term this year, the Friday Feast pastorate (a
mid-size
group that meets every term on Friday evenings to feast, worship, and fellowship together) took part in the season of Sabbath that Resurrection has called us into by sharing personal stories of Sabbath engagement.
Each week, a member of the pastorate told of a time when they met the Lord because they engaged intentionally in holy rest. These stories included:
- Al Cedeno telling of how it was in taking a Sabbath time apart that the Lord told him to start the Friday Feast pastorate.
- I shared about finding the Sabbath holy rhythm of life that comes from serving and engaging in the life of the church.
- Deacon Val McIntyre telling about a silent prayer retreat where she learned that any desire we have to pray is a direct gift from the Lord.
- Robb Robins encountering the Lord's presence in the wilderness on camping trip.
- Karen Hansen resting in the Lord's provision through a season of Sabbath caused by a change of employment.
- Helen Wieger contemplating the story of Abraham and Sarah in the wilderness and the manner in which the Lord met them each step of their journey.
- Mark McIntyre singing an original song about meeting the Lord's presence in nature.
- Brandon Burdette teaching on the story of Mary and Martha and inviting us to be Mary and revel in the Lord's presence in this Sabbath season.
- Ellen Richard learning to Sabbath by letting the Lord reign in her whole life, including her efforts to learn how to Sabbath.
I was blessed to give the final teaching for the term, and when I sat down to prepare I began by listing out all of the incredible stories that had been shared over the course of our weeks together. The list I created is the one you see above, and I was struck reading over it by how it tells a story of its own: that of God, waiting eagerly to meet us when we engage in his Sabbath.
This thought led me to contemplate Sabbath as holy time, a moment when we are given a taste of what heaven will be like. In Sabbath, we are invited into God's presence, just as in heaven we will bask in the unadulterated joy of being with Jesus. This is made real to me every Sunday when I meet the Lord in the music, the liturgy, the sermons, and most of all Eucharist. Sabbath days are heaven days, and we are richly blessed at Resurrection to be invited into a season of savoring these holy moments.
Click here to listen to Meghan's teaching on Sabbath: a Taste of Heaven.
Click here to learn more our pastorates and various other groups.
Meghan Robins
A Compassionate Year: 2014
January 20, 2015
What an amazing year it's been! Here are some of the highlights of 2014 in Compassion Ministries:
Keith Hartsell, Abbey Siebert and Diana Soerens moved on to other exciting positions and projects. Matt Woodley was hired in May as the Missions Pastor, and I (Kaitlyn) filled the Missions Manager position in November.
New Compassion Ministry: Replanted
Jenn Ranter started a ministry for families with adopted children or who would like to adopt. Replanted provides parents with an opportunity to hear from others with similar experiences, to pray together and support each other. The 1st annual regional Orphan Saturday Conference brought together 12 expert speakers and over 100 attendees!
In October Church of the Resurrection's narthex welcomed more than 200 people from multiple Chicagoland churches by celebrating the launch of Refuge for Women Chicago, a restoration program for women coming out of trafficking.
In January, Bishop Stewart, Pastor Matt and Diana Soerens joined the throngs of people in Washington D.C. for the annual March for Life. The Sanctity of Life team planned for a series of events in the new year (see here for more details).
Advent Compassion Focus: Good Neighbor
As a church, we decided to work open our doors to our neighbors this Advent by partnering with World Relief. We committed to collecting three Good Neighbor Kits and assembling our own Good Neighbor Team. Due to the overwhelming generous response, we were able to collect four complete kits and donate several extra items to World Relief!
Kaitlyn Wallett