This past Sunday we concluded the worship series portion of “Renovate” but the real task of “Renovate” has just begun. Now more than ever we need everyone at Cornerstone to go all in for the mission at hand. We have a goal to raise $60,000 in order to make updates to the facilities so that we can be better equipped for making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. A big focus of the updates to our facility is to refresh, rejuvenate, and reinvigorate our home to welcome our neighbors to theirs! This weekend I will be sending you information and a template for how you can help us in this campaign. 

You may be wondering what sort of updates we are making and you may even be worrying that you are not going to like it. Well a majority of the updates are the replacement of broken or poorly functioning systems such as the air conditioning units that cool the south end of the church. And while I cannot promise that you will love any of the other updates, I can promise you that what we will be doing will be making our church more welcoming to our neighbors. 

Not all transition or change is bad. I invite you to try and think of something that grows but doesn’t go through some sort of transition or change. A butterfly, for example, goes through several changes as it grows, from egg to larva to pupa to adult. A business will go from launch to startup to development to maturity. A church must do the same, therefore transition or changes can be evidence of a growing church. 

Last year around this time I was preparing for a major transition. I was transitioning from the role of associate pastor at Wylie United Methodist Church to the lead pastor here at Cornerstone. I was filled with both excitement and anxiety, BUT I knew that this transition was the next step in my growth as a pastor. I feel that in this past year I have grown a lot in my call to ministry and I have no doubt that I could not have done it with out the support of Cornerstone and its members. 

We are in the season of transition… LITERALLY. The church calls the time after Pentecost the ordinary time, but don’t let the name fool you. The term ordinary in English most often means something that is not special or distinctive, but that is not how the term is used here. The term ordinary here comes from the Latin word ordinalis which refers to numbers in a series. Thus the numbered weeks of Ordinary Time represent the ordered life of the Church. This is a period of time where we wait in watchfulness for the Second Coming of Christ. Where in our waiting we are participating in the transformation of the world while we anticipate the return of Christ. 

Join us this Sunday for worship at 10:30 AM as begin the UM Discipleship Ministries’ series Transitions. In this series we will take a look at the ordinary or underlying purpose of the Season after Pentecost and how the church is to live out it ministry fully and accountably in the name of Jesus and in the power of the Holy Spirit.

In God’s grip,

Pastor Chuck Church

Lead Pastor – Cornerstone UMC