October 19, 2021
Speaking the Word
When Rick Matson, pastor of Prairie Chapel near Fulton, went back and listened to his January 10 sermon, he discovered something troubling. “Two sentences were unintelligible,” he said.
Several months and a speech therapist later, Matson was diagnosed with ALS, commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, after the professional baseball player contracted the disease in 1939. ALS hits different people in different ways and at different rates. Matson’s disease affected his ability to speak and kept getting worse.
Although he has lost most of his ability to annunciate clearly, he’s still a preacher at Prairie Chapel. As his symptoms were progressing, Matson used a service-connected to Boston Children’s Hospital to “bank” his voice. He was recorded reading, and his voice was entered into a text-to-voice program. The process was expensive, but Matson’s speech therapist knew of a former New Orleans Saints football player who also has ALS who paid for the process. Matson was only out for a $120 program for his iPad.
The sermons sound like an artificial intelligence version of Matson’s voice. He refers to it as Robo Rick. But for those who know him well, you can certainly hear his voice in it. His voice was there on a week-to-week basis, and he had no way of knowing how long it would hold out. So he was going to persevere as long as he could.
“I chose to be a person of hope,” he said. “I’m very comfortable there.”
Read more about how technology is helping Matson continue to serve Prairie Chapel →
Upcoming Events
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Virtual Event with Tod Bolsinger
Most leaders assume that navigating the challenges of a changing world, while trying to lead wisely and well, will be the most difficult thing they face. Yet, oftentimes the most important obstacle isn’t the one faced outside the church: It’s the resistance – including sabotage – encountered inside and among a congregation. Join Tod Bolsinger on October 28 and 29 for a two-part workshop on leading through external challenges and internal resistance at the same time. Laity attendance is encouraged.
Learn more and register →
Other Upcoming Events
See the full events calendars at www.moumethodist.org/events
Race and Culture Survey
The Missouri Conference of The United Methodist Church is conducting research to better understand race and culture within our connection and congregations. The survey is confidential and asks for your thoughts and experiences related to racism. Your input is critical as we develop Conference-wide strategies and tactics toward becoming a brave, empowering place for people from all diverse cultures and generations so that we can become a Church for all God’s people. This survey should take no more than 6-8 minutes to complete and will remain open until November 1, 2021. The survey is sponsored by the Missouri Annual Conference and is being conducted by Discipleship Ministries.
Take the survey →
College-Age Ministry Grants Available
The Office of Next Generation Ministries is excited to announce the availability of college-age ministry grants. We invite local churches already engaged in college-age ministry of any type to apply for grant funding by November 5, 2021. View the application →
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Featured Resource
Learn and Lead Podcast with Tod Bolsinger
You may not question whether you can lead change, but you’ve probably asked yourself if you can survive it. With so many decisions (and criticisms) coming at our church leaders, how do they prioritize what to do first while simultaneously dealing with the soul-sucking internal resistance they often face when trying to make changes? Tod Bolsinger, author of Canoeing the Mountains and his most recent book, Tempered Resilience shares how you can move from surviving in the crucible of change to thriving in it.
Listen in →
More Resources
The Church's Ministry with Dementia
Discipleship Ministries is excited to announce the upcoming launch of a new course for local church leaders: The Church’s Ministry with Dementia, a new hybrid-model teaching series designed to help churches see and engage with those living with dementia and other vulnerable adults.
The Bible and Emotional Health: Small Group Series
What does the Bible have to say about feelings? Using the Pixar movie Inside Out as a guide, this study explores what scripture has to say about the emotions personified in the film: joy, anger, sadness, fear and disgust. This material is appropriate for all ages and can be modified to fit any group.
The Hybrid Church: Merging Physical and Digital
There was a time when the church focused solely on physical ministry. Then COVID-19 happened, and for months now, the church has put all its energy into digital, learning what it could as fast as it could about how to do church online. But how can these two methods work together?
See the full resource library at www.moumethodist.org/resourcelibrary
