The Seneca United Methodist Church is Rethinking Church!
Sunday, October 10 at 4:00 pm, the Seneca UMC in cooperation with the Corning Trinity UMC, the Centralia UMC and the Susanna Wesley UMC in Topeka, will be hosting the 10-10-10 Church Leaves the Building event in the Seneca City Park. “The Reach” band from Susanna Wesley UMC will be bringing the praise and Pastor Michael will be bringing a message (‘we all have to aim at something’). The public is invited to bring a lawn chair and gather for worship to be followed immediately by a cookout at 5:00 pm—dinner will be provided with hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans, chips, cookies and bottled water being served. All are welcome and encouraged to attend!
The global United Methodist Church is “Rethinking Church.” The 10-10-10 Church Leaves the Building event bears witness that the Seneca UMC is beginning to Rethink Church, beginning to redefine the church experience beyond the church doors, and reaching out to engage the people in our community. Through this event the church desires to reach out, especially to those who have no faith community, and impact lives by helping people begin to know Christ, and engage them through Christian discipleship.
The Seneca UMC understands that reaching out to people and inviting them into a friendship with Jesus is asking them to move beyond their ordinary comfort zone. This event serves to put everyone on level ground because leaving the sanctuary of the church building for worship and being led by a praise band is beyond the ordinary comfort zone of the church members as well. This common ground provides an ideal opportunity for the Holy Spirit to move individuals into friendship with Jesus Christ and each other.
No matter how or where they serve Jesus Christ, United Methodists do God’s work in a unique structure—referred to as “the connection.” This concept has been central to Methodism from its beginning. Connectionalism comes to life through our clergy appointment system, our mission and outreach, and through our collective giving. United Methodists live out our call to mission and ministry by engaging in ministry with the poor, combating diseases of poverty by improving health globally, creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations, and developing principled Christian leaders. No one congregation can do all these ministries, but together—through the power of our connection—we can make a tremendous difference. Our 10-10-10 Church Leaves the Building event serves the mission of “creating new places for new people and renewing existing congregations.”
This event is our ‘connectional’ system at its best and is what really made this endeavor possible. “The Reach” band from the Susanna Wesley United Methodist Church in Topeka has taken its name seriously. Besides their Sunday morning responsibilities at Susanna Wesley, they are on a mission of helping other local churches to reach out to their communities. Their mission leads the band to reach far beyond the walls of their local church. Their willingness to come and help with our event in Seneca gave the local church here in Seneca confidence in embracing this outreach to the community.
Back Row, L-R
Charles Holmes, Jake Livgren, Shawn O’Trimble, Bruce Ottman,
Front row, L-R
Jonathan Brickman, Lori Brickman, Melissa Kimble, Michael Gisi
Not pictured: Teri O’Trimble, Britta Livgren, Meghan Bishop
So, on 10-10-10 everyone is encouraged to bring a lawn chair, friends and gather at 4:00 pm in the Seneca City Park to worship a loving God of grace. Please don’t forget, worship will be followed immediately by a cookout at 5:00 pm—dinner is on us! The sponsoring churches hope to see everyone there.
The Corning Trinity, Centralia, and Seneca UMC’s: becoming friends with Jesus and helping others become friends with Jesus, too.
