KUMC's Heart

I don’t want to overstate this.

But I don’t want to understate it either.

This next month is going to be an important season for KUMC.

One year ago, I was getting ready to walk into my first worship service with all of you. I can hardly believe that a whole year has passed. You probably don’t realize how wonderful you’ve been to me and to my family. You have welcomed us, trusted us, encouraged us, challenged us, and made us feel at home. I hope you know how grateful I am. And I hope I get to show you that gratitude in all the ways I can. 🥲

But when I first arrived, one of my biggest goals was to help us build a framework—a guide—for this new chapter we were beginning together. I said then, “I’m committed to growing with you in Christ for the sake of our neighbors.” And I asked you to commit to that with me.

But the reason this next season is important isn’t because it’s the anniversary of my first Sunday. It’s because we’re turning our attention toward the future together.

At the beginning of 2026, a small team empowered by our Leadership Board began the work of creating something we had never really had before: a shared vision for where God is calling KUMC. Something that could help us answer the question, “Why are we here, and what are we going to do about it?”

At Easter, we finally got to share that vision with everyone:

KUMC’s vision is to serve as a heartbeat in the community so all feel connected and worthy of love.

But a sentence on a wall—or on a website—isn't a vision lived out.

So over these next four Sundays, we're going to slow down and really dig into it.

Our hope is that these words become more than something we say. We want them to become something we do.

We want this vision to become a collective action, written on our individual hearts and at the tip of our tongues every time we’re getting ready to speak for and about this church.

We want it to shape how we welcome people.

How we worship.

How we serve.

How we spend our money.

How we make decisions.

How we treat our neighbors.

How we tell people what KUMC is about.

And eventually, how people in our community experience KUMC.

To get there, we’re going to have to wrestle with some pretty big questions together:

What do we actually mean by “community”?

How are we like a heartbeat?

What does it feel like to be truly connected?

And what does it mean to believe that every person is worthy of love?

(spoiler alert: everyone is.)

Because if this is going to be our vision, then we need to spend some time making it ours.

So here's the deal:

We need you there.

Come learn. Come listen. Come ask questions. Come disagree. Come dream. Come help us figure out what these words actually mean when we put them into practice.

If you only make it to four Sundays a year, make these four Sundays.

And bring somebody with you.

Bring a friend. Bring a neighbor. Bring somebody who has been wondering what this church is about. This is a perfect time to invite someone into the room, because we aren't just talking about what KUMC has been.

We're talking about who we're becoming.

We’ll see you Sunday.

From my heart,

Rev. Steph Margeson