I’ve been thinking about baptism. In June, there are two adults who have asked to be baptized here at Sun Lakes United Methodist Church. Baptism is one of the two sacraments we celebrate in the United Methodist Church, and it is truly a sacred time. We call it a sacrament because it is one of the two rituals associated with Jesus. Remember how Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist? It marked the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry (the other Sacrament is Holy Communion).

By Water and the Spirit, our statement on baptism, explains, "The power of the Spirit in baptism does not depend upon the mode by which water is administered, the age or psychological disposition of the baptized person, or the character of the minister. It is God's grace that makes the sacrament whole." Taylor Burton Edwards explains, "Baptism is not an act that imparts something just to you. It is an act that brings you into a spiritual relationship with the whole body of Christ. In which you are becoming one with them and they are becoming one with you."

It is always meaningful when an individual chooses for themselves and asks to be part of the body of Christ! I hope you will join us on Sunday, June 14^th, as two persons are baptized and we all remember our baptisms as part of the liturgy. It will be a special morning.

By the way, if you were never baptized and would like to do so, we would love you to join us up front that morning. We practice baptism by “sprinkling,” so no swimsuits required! Please contact me if you have questions or want more information. 

See you in church,

Pastor Jen

SUMMER KAIROS UPDATE

As we head into a slower summer season, we will be publishing the Kairos once a month instead of weekly. With fewer events, our Kairos often gets repetitive, and we want to make sure we don't annoy our congregation with the same information!

We realize this change might be off-putting, but we want to assure you that this will only be for the summer, and the weekly Kairos will resume as soon as events and scheduling pick up!

The new Kairos schedule will be:

• June 24th, 2026
• July 29th, 2026
• August 26th, 2026

If something comes up where we need to let you all know, it will be sent in a special E-News update on Wednesdays. We appreciate your understanding as we head into the upcoming season.

Also, a little reminder, should you want something published in the Kairos regarding upcoming church events, please have them submitted to office@sunlakesumc.org the Monday before.

We want to make sure that you always have a way to reach a pastor, even when the church office is closed. To do this, we now have a weekend phone (480.742.7706).

Here’s how it works:

• The phone is not an answering service—it is a real phone that one of the pastors will be carrying.
• Each weekend, a pastor will be “on call” with this phone so that if a pastoral need arises, you can reach them directly.
• This is available Fridays through Sundays, while the office is closed.

This phone is specifically for urgent pastoral needs that cannot wait until Monday. For things like scheduling meetings, general questions, or ministry sign-ups, please continue to use the church office number during regular office hours.