Our vision statement says we strive to be A Christian Community growing in love of God and neighbor through worship, study, and service. The Church Has Left the Building is an event created to help us love God by serving our neighbors. It is designed for us to serve each other and our community which helps us grow in love of God and neighbor. This event will also remind us that being a Christian is more than just sitting in the sanctuary for an hour each week. In fact, this is such an important lesson for us to learn that if you come to church on September 27 th you won’t find anyone in our sanctuary. Instead, we’ll be worshipping God by serving our community, cleaning up our schools and parks, making meals, visiting the lonely in nursing homes, and much more. This hands-on approach is a chance for you to live out your faith through missions.

As Methodists, being involved in missions is an important part of who we are. It is not just about “me and thee” but “we and thee”. We hope that every one of you will make plans to come and grow in love of God and neighbor by serving our community on Sept. 27 th. It’s also a great opportunity for you to invite a friend to see what Crossgates MC is all about. I hope to see you on September 27 th .

Love in Christ, Robbie Murden

• Sign-up for one of the projects by September 20th, 2026.

• Sign-up and pay for your T-Shirt ($7 each—$25 family max) by Sept. 13th to insure you get your right size.

• Please be sure you can and will come to the event before you signup. We want to make sure we will be able to complete all the projects we have set up.

• Everyone is asked to meet at Crossgates MC at 9:00 a.m. for a brief devotion before heading to job sites. This will help with carpooling and insurance issues. (might want to plan to get there at 8:45 to change into your t-shirts).

• You may be able to work on multiple projects, but please just sign up for one.

• Please plan to bring any needed items as directed by your team leader who should call you the week before the 27 th .

• Youth age kids can participate in any projects, but a parental form will need to be filled out for each youth (Jaci should have it on file).

• Children under 12 may participate in any project marked for all ages, BUT they must be accompanied by a parent or other assigned adult. The Church Has Left the Building is an excellent chance to teach our youngest generation the importance of serving our neighbors, while working alongside the older members of the church. Even a babe in arms can do his/her part by putting a smile on someone’s face.

• Early in the week prior to this event, each team leader will contact the members of his/her team with final instructions about what to bring and to answer any questions.

• We will celebrate that night at 6:00PM Sunday, Sept. 27 th with a fellowship time where we will share a meal (prepared by one of our teams) and Fellowship time. Each team will share a little bit about their project and what they got out of it.