Announcing FUMC Denton’s Relaunch with Updated Sunday Schedule this August
June 15, 2021
Dear Church Family,
As we approach a new season in our church and return to more face-to-face gatherings, we want to say thank you for your faithfulness and your support of our church family. We are deeply grateful for you, and we look forward to our full return to in-person life together. As we prepare for August 15, we want to share information on changes to our church’s worship schedule.
Our staff and church leadership has taken the last season to listen to the hopes of the congregation, to prayerfully reflect on the dreams God has for our church, and to consider how we can be more unified, connected, and intentionally aligned together as one church in mission and ministry. This time of listening and reflection has energized us to be together in full with you again, for the exciting work God has for us all, and for new opportunities for our church family.
One of the oft-expressed desires of many of our church members has been to truly connect across worshipping communities. Opportunities for discipleship and connection on Sunday mornings have been siloed among the various groups who worship together, often with many important activities scheduled simultaneously, causing our church’s congregation and efforts to be divided or even conflicting. As we return, we are seeking to become more united in our mission and ministry, to be stronger by aligning our efforts as one church, and to put our heart and energy into our life together. To accomplish this we are restructuring our Sunday morning schedule.
When we fully relaunch on August 15, this will be our focused schedule:
9 am Mosaic Worship
10 am Discipleship (Sunday School classes and other group opportunities)
11 am Sanctuary Worship and Open Worship
1 pm Jesus Fuente de Vida
NOTE: Sunday school classes can gather earlier than 10, but beginning the content portion of the gathering at 10 will allow Mosaic worshippers and any new visitors to attend without missing the day’s lesson/discussion.
Two significant parts of this restructuring will be merging the 8:30 and 11:00 Sanctuary into one traditional Sanctuary service at 11:00 and the shift in start time for our Mosaic service. In the Sanctuary, these changes mean that every week we will gather with our full choir and music ministry, compelling traditional worship elements, and a united gathering of all those who attend Sanctuary services. For Mosaic, this will now enable access to our unified discipleship hour, including short-term small groups, Sunday school, and Children’s and Youth programming. For the whole church, it means being able to be part of both discipleship programs and the Mosaic worship service without having to choose.
We know this is a significant change from the schedule you are accustomed to and, for some, have been part of for many years. We do not make this change lightly. But we also believe this new Sunday morning schedule will allow us to live even more into the essentials as one church together.
The benefits of these changes are many, including:
Aligning our congregational life in a way that allows us to join more fully in one mission as one church, worshiping, growing, connecting, and sharing God’s love with others.
Facilitating Sanctuary worship gathering now as a full Sanctuary worship community, music program, and worship leadership, rather than dividing resources across two services.
Creating space for the Mosaic worship community to attend discipleship classes, youth group, and children’s Sunday school. And those who attend discipleship will be able to attend Mosaic.
Placing discipleship at the heart of our life together through a church-wide unified discipleship hour open to all worship communities, thus strengthening our work, deepening our congregational connection, and allowing new people to find belonging.
Allowing our church to focus efforts on essentials: providing excellent worship, discipleship, and connection opportunities, as well as hospitality, helping new people find connection and vital worship.
Enabling church staff and worship leaders to be more involved in and contribute more to all worship services, discipleship groups, new short-term topical classes, and congregational efforts without conflict.
In a time in which much in the world is changed, this is about focusing our Sunday mornings on essential things—gathering with one another and with new people, growing in our faith, and worshipping together as a community alive and vibrant, where people find belonging and an invitation to deeper life. We believe that aligning everyone in the same direction will further the work of the church in coordination and connection with our ability to live out our sacred calling as the body of Christ.
If you have any questions about these important updates, please contact either of us—Pastor Don Lee, dlee@fumc-denton.com, or Pastor Jonathan Perry, jperry@fumc-denton.com, or call the church at 940-382-5478 to speak to a pastor.
We are deeply thankful for your partnership in ministry, and we are excited about what God has in store for our church in the season ahead. We hope as you are ready and able, you will join us for in-person Sanctuary worship at 11:00 or our Open Worship and Mosaic Worship communities in-person beginning July 11. Gathering again has been a joyous and renewing experience. We believe the best days of First United Methodist Church of Denton are ahead of us, and we look forward to connecting even more intentionally with you.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Don Lee, Lead Pastor
Rev. Jonathan Perry, Executive Pastor