Worship Reopening Update (February 2022)

Rules for in the building worship:

1. Mask Policy: We request that you please wear a mask while you are in the buildi

2. In-Person Meetings/Gatherings: While the Administrative Council will continue to meet virtually for the time being, other ministry groups of the church are allowed to resume in-person meetings in the church. Please make sure to schedule with Dean Manwaring through the church office so we are aware of who is using the building.

3. Sunday School, Nursery and Fellowship update: As a means of care for one another Sunday School will remain virtual through the month of February.

a. The Nursery will remain closed through February (A comfort room is available for parents with young children.)

b.Fellowship time will not resume through the month of February. It is our hope to resume this ministry in March.

 *Special Note: Radio transmission of the worship service is available by tuning the radio in your vehicle to 88.7 FM.

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                                                       Easter Sermon Information

                                                "We Are Witnesses"

And everything changed in that moment. Moment? Event, perhaps. Everything changed with that event. Easter is a new start, a new creation. We didn’t go back to Eden, but the way to the kin-dom of God was opened on that day. This Easter thing. This Resurrection moment, this being alive in a way that leaks into eternity experience. We can’t and don’t want to shake our heads and say, “I guess you had to be there” and sadly wander away. It is too good to keep to ourselves. Too wonderful to hide under a bushel. Too incredible to not share. Because we are witnesses. Bearing witness is more than simply saying we saw it. Saying, with the disciples, “we are witnesses” is not simply a matter of pride, or worse yet, one-upmanship. It is claiming a responsibility, or better yet, an opportunity to be proclaimers. To share the experience, to offer the gift we’ve been given, to announce the kin-dom that has begun to take root in our midst – that’s the Easter transformation and imperative that has taken place. We are witnesses. 

This Easter season series dips into the Acts of the Apostles as a way of examining the witness of the one who first experienced the Resurrection. Their story, as they struggled to find a way to live out the implications of this amazing news, this gospel event, becomes our story as we too seek to bear witness to the Risen Christ and to live that witness daily. The season after Easter is where we consider what it means to walk with Jesus into eternity. But it is not about life after death, or rather not only about life after death. It is very much about life before death, life in the face of death. It is about life and about bearing witness to a life that resembles a kin-dom existence right here and right now. It is this life, this justice and righteousness, this hope and this glory to which we can say with confidence, “We are witnesses.”

May 1: "Who Are You Lord?" Scripture: John 21:1-19 & Acts 9:1-6.

How do we hear the voice of God and how do we respond? This dramatic story of conversion seems to set a standard that not many are able to meet. Yet, we believe that that voice of God comes to each of us and to all of us. Sometimes we hear that voice through the voice of others, but the call can be communal at times as well. 

Last week we stood with Peter, and this week we stand next to Paul as we roots out what it means to be a follower of Christ. This morning we turn to the conversion of Saul to Paul as he gives up his former life of oppression to take on this new walk with Jesus. Despite what we think, being a witness doesn’t always mean speaking, but instead invites us to listen. We are called to be present and attentive, to hear one another’s stories, and then to care for that story as if it were our own. What voices do we need to hear? What voices have been silenced, and do we know the Lord we seek to follow? 

May 8: "Get Up! " Scripture: Acts 9:36-43.

We all have been shaped and cared for by a variety of people, not just mothers. But as we well know, mothering, in our lives, comes in so many different forms. You are invited to join Pastor Ross this Sunday as we celebrate both the seen as well as the unseen people who faithfully serve our community. This Sunday we turn our focus back to the faithful service of Tabbitha, who served all whom she encountered, and while the story of Tabbitha seems short lived, as she suddenly dies, through a miracle life is given to her once more. It is from there that she wastes no time continuing on in the work still to be done. 

Sometimes miracles happen, and those we thought gone are returned to us. More often than not, though, while the miracle in the thread remains, we as humans grow and change and sometimes become something completely new. Who have been those whose lives have touched us by the threads we wear. Join us as we celebrate in all who have gone before us, as we too hear that call from Christ to, “Get up!” 

May 15: "What God Called Clean" Scripture: Acts 11:1-18 & John 13:31-35.

Change is all around us, even in the church. And change is never easy. Our text this week is about a whole new direction for the beginnings of the church. It has to do with who was considered worthy to include and who should be avoided. Peter pushed the early church to go further than they were comfortable with. But in reality it was actually the Holy Spirit that pushed the church to go further than they were comfortable. And that has been the church's story from then on. 

How do we welcome and whom do we include? How do we make space for those who might be different from most of us? What do we do to show that we are open to any and to all? Join us this week as we share the vision of Peter, and how Peter's vision might be that call to the whole church to truly reconsider what it means to welcome all. 

May 22: "Opened The Heart" Scripture: Acts 16:9-15 & John 14:23-29.

If the Third Sunday of Easter was about hearing God's call for the first time, then this week is about carrying on that conversation. God doesn't tap us on the shoulder and then leave us to figure it out on our own. God is a constant presence, guiding, advising, hinting, and strengthening us for the journey of discipleship. But how do we hear that voice? How do we know what God wants to say to us, and how do we discern God's voice in the midst of all of the other voices in our talkative world? Hearing God's voice begins with the faith that God is speaking and then a needed determination to listen. It is through our singing, praying, hearing, and responding to the word of God, that God's calling to us is lived out. Part of following God is not only being willing to live out a life of service to all, but also being willing to patiently listen for God's voice along the way. How might we be opening our hearts to God this Easter Season? 

 Welcome

Eudora United Methodist Church is a growing congregation with a wonderful mix of newer attending younger singles/families and older adults that have been part of the church's rich history.   We're a mission and service-oriented church that is constantly striving to grow in understanding God's love for us and in our response of sharing that love with others.  We experience and share the presence of God's spirit in an intentionally blended music worship on Sunday mornings and in a variety of Spiritual Formation opportunities for all ages.  Various Fellowship Groups also bring the congregation together for fun activities that meet through the  year.

Looking for a new church home in which to grow and share? Come visit and discover your place here!