Greetings Topeka First UMC,

I hope that you are having a great week! 

We have an exciting day on Sunday, and I hope you can be a part of it! As you may know, it was 100 years ago that our sanctuary was fully rebuilt after the fire of 1921. Later this year, we will celebrate the anniversary of the whole sanctuary, but this Sunday at 3:00 p.m., we will specifically celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the organ with a great concert. This event, which will be the first Tempero-Sandall event in a few years, will feature many of the church's previous organists. Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy the music! The event will be livestreamed on our website and the Facebook page as well.

Before the organ celebration though, we will worship together Sunday morning! We will be continuing our sermon series, "Is that in the Bible?" Last week, we discussed the phrase, "God has a plan," and realized that instead of having a plan in which everything is predetermined, God offers us a good path and guides us along that path. This week, our theme revolves around the phrase, "Love the sinner, hate the sin." While this phrase may sound right, it can be taken to harmful extremes and make us feel like we have to be perfect in order to be loved. In the message Sunday, we will think about this phrase in light of what it means to be human. To do this, I will be telling the story of an adventure that I went on a few years ago! You won't want to miss it!

I want to take a moment to highlight one more thing that is coming up. On Wednesday night, April 26, from 6:30 - 7:30 p.m., the consultants who are guiding us through the Community Listening Process and who co-authored the book, Real Connections: Ministries to Strengthen Church and Community Relationships, will be leading a workshop that everyone is invited to! The workshop will help us become better at making meaningful connections within the church and the community and explore why this is so important. It will also help each of us identify our unique gifts for building connections. This is a great opportunity to learn from some experts! You can join in person or on Zoom, using this link.  For those who come in person, there will be snacks! Please let Pastor Karissa (karissa@forthegoodofthecity.org) know if you are planning to attend!

I look forward to seeing you Sunday morning at 8:15, 9:30, or 10:45. As always, the 10:45 service is live streamed if you can’t be in person.

Blessings,

Pastor Brad