Connect Newsletter – Note from Pastor (09-27-2025)

A Message From Pastor Adam Hello Church Family! This weekend we will be continuing our 3-week event, “Don’t Be Fooled.” This event is a chance to invite your friends to come and worship with us at Connect Church. The grace and love of Jesus Christ is something that we can’t afford to keep to ourselves, and inviting other people to church is one of the easiest ways we can share God’s love with them. I hope you will check below for the remaining events and join us tomorrow for Friendship Sunday. Don’t forget tomorrow is a Potluck meal so bring your favorite dish to share!  Week 2 September 28th – Friendship and Potluck Sunday. Friendship Matters! The book of Proverbs teaches us it is wise to value and prioritize our friendships. At Connect Church we want to celebrate and be intentional about our friendships, so I hope you will join us on this special Sunday. Be sure to bring a dish to share! Week 3 October 5th – Kindness Sunday! – Join us for a Free BBQ Lunch provided by Rognas Reel Time Catering! On kindness Sunday we will be collecting donations for Jubileee Partners, and organization that provides an after-school program for low-income families. We will be collecting snack sized apple sauce, peach cups, peanut butter crackers, as well as snack size (single serve) bags of animal crackers, pretzels, and cheez-its. Be sure to bring your donation and join us!  Al of these events are going to be a ton of fun so grab a neighbor, friend, or family member and come worship with us! Blessings to you all, and I hope to see you soon! Pastor Adam Ricks

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The Third Option In a time of severe divisiveness, volatile rhetoric, and even violence, it can be difficult to know what Christ is calling us to do. How do Christians navigate loving others while also disagreeing with them? How do we obey God’s command to love everyone, while deep differences are impossible to ignore? The Christians of today are not the first to ask these questions, the Christians of biblical times also wrestled with these difficult ideas. This study will explore the principles of Romans chapter 14, and learn what it takes to share the peace of Christ in such a divided world.  Leader: Pastor Adam Ricks Start Date: October 26 Time: Sundays Following Worship Length: 3 Sessions Location: At Connect UMC Childcare: Available with advanced reservation Five Means of Grace John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, showed us ways to reorder our lives through the ‘means of grace.’ Recharge. Reboot. Reorder. We need a process that helps us continuously renew our relationship with God so that we don’t drift away from our faith. Based on The Wesley Covenant for Renewal, will show you how to reorder your life through prayer, searching Scripture, receiving the Lord’s Supper, fasting, and conferencing (worshiping together). You’ll learn how to recognize and affirm the outward signs, words, and actions of an invisible divine grace, deepening your relationship with God and making your faith more complete. Leader: Meghan Soper Start Date: October 26 Time:  Sundays 5:00 PM Length: 5 Sessions Location: At Connect UMC Childcare: Available with advanced reservation

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Don’t Be Fooled – Fall Launch Sundays ~ September 21st – October 5th  Fools think they don’t need anyone … Don’t be fooled. Community and investing in friendship is important! Be sure to invite your friends, neighbors, people you work with, or anyone who you interact regularly within the community to join you for worship. We will be having special events during, or following, worship on each of these Sundays.

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Saturday, October 11th, 9:00 am to 12:00 Noon (VBS) / Carnival start after VBS ends through 1:30 pm 

WHEN: October 11th, 2025, Saturday, Bible School portion morning event from 9:00 am – 12:00 noon
Parents pickup is at 12:00 noon, but families are invited to stay, after checking child out, for church wide Connect Kids Fall carnival activities from 12:00 noon to 1:30pm.

• WHO: Open to all children currently Pre-K through 5^th grade.
  Pre-registration open through October 6th (for event planning).
• WHERE: Connect UMC, 5400 N. Coltrane Rd., Edmond, OK 73034
• COST: VBS is free to attend. Pre-registration is requested to help plan for the day

A morning at Connect VBS 9:00am – 12:00noon
Take Your Kids to Bible School Camp this Fall! A children’s ministry special half day bible school event. This is the second of four planned one day VBS (vacation bible school) events. They will learn through lessons, crafts, activities. Snacks will be provided.

Fall Carnival Connect 12:00 noon to 1:30pm
Stay afterwards to enjoy Connect’s Fall Carnival event. All of Connect congregation is invited to church for this part of the event on Saturday.