April 13, 2023
Dear Hyde Park Family,
We continue to bask in the glow of resurrection dawn, celebrating the new life and hope given to us in the risen Christ. Our Holy Week and Easter services were stirring and celebrative, as we welcomed over 2,500 to our various services, along with our online worshippers.
Now, just like the first disciples, we move forward anticipating what impact the resurrection will have in our lives. What difference will the good news of Easter have in the way we think, act, relate to others, and how we influence the world?
1. 50-DAY ENCOUNTER
Last Sunday I shared a way you can encounter the resurrection over the next seven weeks, between now and Pentecost Sunday, May 28.
It is called “Love Conquers All, 50 Days of Encountering New Life.” Every Monday, you can receive a special email from the church that will contain scriptures, readings, and some simple exercises that you can choose from that will help you grow in three areas: Your love for God, your love for other people, and your love for yourself. It will be rooted in our new worship series on love, based on 1 Corinthians 13, which starts this Sunday.
This is an entirely customizable, self-directed, and Spirit-led encounter. You can do it privately on your own, or with others. Either way, you will experience camaraderie with hundreds of others in this church who are doing it together.
Sign up to receive these emails here. I really encourage you to join us. With all your questions and struggles, your eyes will be opened to the power of love resurrecting new life and new possibilities in you.
2. “UNRELENTING GRACE” BOOK STUDY
Here is one other way you can encounter resurrection over the coming weeks.
Our world seems to be filled with increasing brokenness and estrangement, and we tend to respond with despair, frustration or apathy. By God’s grace and the power of the resurrection, we can offer good news and healing to the world by embracing three United Methodist values: grace, holiness, and connection.
At the end of this month, I will explore these possibilities by offering a two-week study based on the book “Unrelenting Grace” by Bishop Ken Carter, former bishop of the Florida Annual Conference. We will use it as a basis to renew our understanding of United Methodism and our commitment to having God’s love “shed abroad in our hearts,” as John Wesley said.
Each class will be offered as a hybrid in-person and online experience.
Session 1 & 2 will be offered twice:
5:30 p.m. Sunday, April 23 (session 1) & April 30 (session 2)
6:15-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26 (session 1) & May 3 (session 2)
To sign up, click here.
To purchase a digital copy of the book, visit our church’s Amazon storefront page. To purchase a hard copy of the book, you can order from Cokesbury or purchase during the week in the Ministry Offices at our Hyde Park location. If you have any questions, contact our Director of Discipleship John Barolo (jbarolo@hydeparkumc.org)
Join us as we encounter the resurrection together.
Grace and Peace,
Magrey