As you hear me say almost every month, I can t believe it s already August and that summer is almost over. I say that summer is almost over purely in

Transcription

1 As you hear me say almost every month, I can t believe it s already August and that summer is almost over. I say that summer is almost over purely in a recreational sense, because we all know that the summer weather is far from over! But we will all enjoy the fall temperatures when they finally arrive in December With August comes the return of school, which also means the return of thousands of Santa Fe and University of Florida students. I was probably an anomaly, but I know that growing up, I always looked forward to the start of the school year. I looked forward to the excitement of getting new school supplies, meeting a new teacher, and picking out the perfect back-to-school outfit. The night before the first day of school always felt like trying to fall asleep on Christmas Eve impossible. There was always too much excitement, nervousness, and anticipation for me to actually fall asleep. Even though it is different, I feel a bit of that same excitement and anticipation for a new year of ministry here at Wesley. I look forward to seeing ministries and missions we have continue to grow, but I also look forward to seeing what new ministries we will start to help us better connect to and serve our surrounding community. Because, if you look at the neighborhood right around Wesley, you will see that it is full of young singles just trying to get started in their careers or still looking for how they fit-in to this community. As a church, we have the responsibility and opportunity to think about how we can reach out to and connect with the people in our neighborhood. This will involve trying new things, doing creative ministry, and taking chances that have unknown outcomes. But ultimately, that is how the church and the Kingdom of God grow by having faithful disciples who are willing to take chances and trust in God s grace to work in and through them to do something incredible. So, church, let s start dreaming big! Let s start thinking of creative ways we can serve and reach our neighborhood. Let s be willing to take chances and then trust in God s faithfulness to do something great through our small acts of faith! Blessings!

2 Wesley United Methodist Church Mission Statement: Come join Pastor Sarah from noon to 1:00PM in the Conference Room on Tuesdays. We discuss a variety of themes and topics, but there is always rich discussion. All are welcome and we would love to have you join us! 826 NW 23rd Avenue Gainesville, FL Office: Fax: ! We are on Facebook!!! Pastor s PastorSarah@wumc.cfcoxmail.com Secretary s Terri Manche secretary@wumc.cfcoxmail.com Witness Articles Sharren Gibbs sharren2@cox.net Deadline for articles: 15th of each month Website: Weekly Sunday Activities Sunday School Adult 9:30AM 10:45AM (Sanctuary)

3 Barbara Baldwin Agnes Burke Carolyn Clarke Joan Croft Betty Dees Kay Frazier Betty Holder Paula Mathis Pam McCormick Barb Loehr Beth Loehr-Moody Clydia Reichert Beth Senn Margaret Singh Polly Teele Lucas Van Alstyne Lester Wigglesworth Jr George Winburn Clarence Witt There will be a United Methodist Women Executive Meeting immediately following the Worship Service on August 5, Please call me if you have any questions Thank you. Suzie Aguila Singers! The Chancel Choir is in need of more voices can we count on yours? We have selected our Christmas Cantata, so now is the time to join us we will start work on it next month! Contact Jim Arnett at jearnett51@gmail.com. We have room for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses,

4 5 Adult Class 9:30AM Worship Service 10:45AM Committee Meetings 6:00PM Choir Practice 7:00 PM 826 Northwest 23rd Avenue Gainesville, Florida Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Communion Sunday UMW Executive Meeting Noon Pastor s Class 6:30PM Nightingales Noon Pastor s Class AM Morning Stars Noon Pastor s Class Noon Pastor s Class 1 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 8 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6:00PM Admin Sub Committee 15 10:00AM Kitchen Work Day 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Finance 22 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Worship Comm 29 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Missions 2 Noon Card Club 6:00PM Sisters in Faith 9 11:00am Veterans Moms Noon Card Club 16 Noon Card Club 23 11:00AM Veteran Moms Noon Card Club 30 Noon Card Club 3 11:30AM YAHs Red Onion RSVP by 7/

5 COMMUNITY SUPPORT You ve seen bits and pieces of these activities all year long, but this month we turn our focus to the ways that Wesley UMC contributes to the well-being of our local community. These are in no special order whatsoever... Blessing Bags: Personal care items, snacks, and clean t-shirt are packaged, ready to hand out to those in need. BOGO food basket for Bread of the Mighty Food Bank Neighborhood Thank You Program: our good cooks bake cookies for nearby schools (JJ Finley, Sidney Lanier, Gainesville High School, Metcalfe Elementary, Glen Springs Elementary, and Stephen Foster Elementary), Fire Station #5, and the police station Mentoring students and supporting teachers at Metcalfe Elementary School. See the article on page 7 for ways you can help. Whitie Tighties collection of new underwear and socks for children and adults for Arbor House, St. Francis House, Grace Market Place, and the Stephen Foster Elementary School clinic. Prayer Shawl ministry: Knitted or crocheted shawls are blessed and given to those in need of a warm fuzzy Random Acts of Kindness: Small cards can be handed out to let a person know that someone from Wesley UMC has performed an act of kindness for them Benevolence Fund: Help both church members and members of community with funds when an emergency occurs Alachua Girls Academy/Steadfast Ministries ministers to teenage girls at risk. Girl Scouts of America one troop has been meeting here for two years; we expect to add more this school year. Veteran Support Committee We help provide necessities for veterans transitioning from homelessness, Veteran Moms Support Group, Wesley Whittlers, Neighborhood Garden, with more plans every day. I m sure I ve forgotten something, but the deadline for publication is approaching so I must get this out! Give generously!

6 The Board of Trustees continues to serve Wesley and all related facilities with the sacred responsibility to keep God s House in order. At this time there are no new areas of concern for repair or replacement around the church campus. It is with great pleasure we announce that the septic tank and drain field project at the parsonage is completed and the master bathroom works just fine!! Also, the alcove wall at the front entrance of Fellowship Hall has been repaired and painted and looks very nice. Thanks to Danny Aguila and all who helped complete this project in good order. Painting of the wall around the A/C exhaust stack has been completed and many thanks to Dale Smith and all who helped get this project finished. Several raised community planting gardens are being established in the area by the playground for our veterans ministry in conjunction with the Honor Center, PRRC, and UF/IFAS. The program will continue with our Veterans learning nutrition values and the art of cooking the produce grown in the gardens. Sandy Miller, Chair ALACHUA GIRLS ACADEMY We continue to collect fun items to stuff goodie bags for the young ladies at the Alachua Academy. Our current collection is for bags to be delivered around Thanksgiving. Makeup samples, personal hygiene items, doodads, and other fun things usually make up these gift bags. Thank you for your commitment to this ministry and to our Lord Jesus Christ. Joyce Welsh

7 Pastor Sarah and I met with Principal Rolls and Assistant Principal Rainer on Tuesday, July 17th. We decided that Wesley will provide a boxed lunch from Jason's Deli for the faculty and staff of Metcalfe Elementary School on Wednesday, August 8th at 11:30 AM. We need volunteers to help pass out the boxed lunches, serve drinks, and help with cleaning up. They do not need backpacks this year thanks to your generosity with last year's backpack drive! But in terms of school supplies for this year, they asked for: Clorox wipes Hand sanitizers Boxed tissues Copy paper Dry erase markers Gift cards for teachers * * I checked at Publix and the lowest amount you could purchase a Visa card was $25, but gift cards to other businesses can be purchased in any amount. The teachers at Metcalfe Elementary would appreciate some help from us during their pre-planning session from August Mrs. Rainer will pass out a needs help request sheet for classroom assistance during their first meeting we re talking about sharpening pencils, stapling papers together, writing names on cubbies, and desk tags. This would be performed on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday from 1:00-3:00 PM. In addition, they would like us to assist with directing parents/children on Friday's Meet Your Teacher Hour" from 1:00-2:00 PM. Our classroom volunteers from school year 2017/18 all plan to be back for 2018/19. We work with children a few hours one day a week, reading to individuals or perhaps to the class as the teacher works with a small group or one-on-one. We also assist the classroom teacher with specific needs. Sharren reported that she helped by keeping the class library organized and in good repair, grading papers, making trips to the copier, and redoing the bulletin board(s). She noted that sometimes she spent her time just interacting with individual children whenever they needed some special attention. All of the teachers said they would welcome more hands-on volunteers! They also need volunteers for special events like Science night, Fall Festival, Black History Program, and overnight at Camp Crystal (particularly men). Prayerfully consider what you could do to help this school that is struggling to provide as good an education to the children as they can. There's not a lot of parent involvement and often the kids don't get that one-on-one time with a parent that is so important for learning. Our helping in various ways is as important for the faculty as for the students. A smile, an encouraging word, and just the fact that we are willing to give up our time to help them is greatly appreciated. Volunteers must complete an online volunteer application each year. The office staff at Metcalfe can assist those of us with "technical difficulties." Please bring your picture ID when you go to the school to register as a volunteer. Go to the school board website: Cindy Holmes

8 We resume our monthly luncheons on August 3rd at the Red Onion at 11:30 AM. Please RSVP by July 29th. Future dates are September 7th at Piesano s (Hunter s Crossing) at 11:30 AM. RSVP by September 2nd. October 5th at Northwest Grille at 11:30AM. RSVP by September 30th. Blessings, ~Donna The Kitchen Ministry gave $60 a month to the Mission of the Month throughout the summer; we will continue this monthly ministry when the DAR luncheons resume, too. We gave $500 to help with needs in the office to upgrade our computer system. We also made an internal donation of $2,000 to capital needs and our external giving is $1,000 to the Child Advocacy Center. Our first Wesley Wednesday supper of the season is on September 12 th at 5:30 PM. Since we re starting over, please let the office know if you will be there by Monday, September 10 th so we can update our regular attendees list. The shoe box ministry for Samaritan s Purse/Operation Christmas Child will kick off in September. Shoe boxes and some loot to put in them will be available at the WWS on the 12 th for you to pick up and fill up. There will be more information on this project in the September Witness. It s time for our annual Cleaning of the Kitchen! We use our kitchen a lot, and once a year we give it a major cleaning. If you are available August 15th at 10:00 AM we can sure use your help! Don t worry if you re not familiar with the kitchen layout someone will show you where-what-how and sometimes why we do what we do. Donna Weseman

9 WE DID IT! We have commitments for new flower arrangements for every month! Deepest thanks to everyone who has signed up to provide flowers for the sanctuary I hope you ve noticed them. Nancy Slaydon provided the flowers this month! Have you noticed the new shed in the back yard beside our existing shed? The Florida Trail Association is closing their current office and donated the shed to the Veterans Ministry. They also donated anything we thought we could use from the old building, which is scheduled to be demolished. Thank you, Florida Trail Association! The Whittlers group continues, with 20 or more people attending each week, both men and women! This fun group meets on Wednesdays at 2:30 PM for conversation, refreshments, and some good ol whittlin! Newbies are welcome, too someone will help you get started on your project. Bandaids available as needed As usual, we always appreciate donations of non-perishable food, end tables, desks, lamps, chairs, cookware, etc. to assist our vets in setting up their own apartments. Raised planting beds are slated to become part of the playground area our veterans group will use these to grow food, and then be taught how to harvest and cook it. UF/IFAS, PRRC, and the Honor Center are partners in this endeavor with Wesley. Danny Aguila ( )

10 If you watch any shows on Public Broadcasting System, I know you ve seen their ads for helping fund their programming. Lately, they have one for funds you don t need but must take from your IRA. Could this work for us? And you?? Skip Manasco provided the following information from an answer to a question posed by a reader of and wanted to share it with the congregation. QUESTION: Has my ability to make direct charitable donations from my IRA when I reach the age of 70 1/2 been affected by the new tax law? Connie Beroza, 69-year-old retiree, Buffalo, N.Y. ANSWER: In short, the strategy of donating to charities directly from an IRA after age 70 1/2 is still around under the new tax laws. The qualified charitable distribution (QCD) has been around for years but was only codified as a permanent law a few years ago. A QCD allows those age 70 1/2 to give money to charities directly from their IRAs in a tax advantageous manner. This allows IRA owners who have attained age 70 1/2 to distribute money directly from the IRA to a qualified charity. Total annual QCDs from all IRAs cannot exceed $100,000 for an individual. Spouses can each make up to $100,000 of QCDs. Making a QCD as opposed to a normal charitable gift has two main advantages. First, a QCD counts toward satisfying the individual's required minimum distribution for that year. Second, the distribution is excluded from the taxpayer's income. It is this second benefit that really shines under the new tax bill. With very few individuals expected to itemize (some estimates say around 5% of filers), the income tax deduction for contributions to charities will be lost for many people. However, if you make a QCD, you get a full exclusion of that income from taxes. So, for any retiree who is 70 1/2 or older, owns an IRA subject to RMDs, and is charitably inclined, a QCD really works out as a way to preserve an incometax-reducing charitable deduction under the new tax law. Mr. Hopkins

11 Hope Lodge The Missions Committee completed a project to help out Hope Lodge at the end of June. They provide temporary housing and support for patients and families of those dealing with cancer. We sent them nine $50 cards for food and took three large loads of food, and many items from their wish list like food containers, toilet paper, tin foil, and hairdryers. $200 worth of cards came from the Missions Committee, and the rest from congregational donations. They were very, very thankful and offered to come out and speak to us sometime on what the Hope Lodge does and what their needs are. We will probably do this again next summer, and it would be a good time to arrange a speaker when we begin the drive. Birthday Bag Project Two members of the committee met with Metcalfe administration to find out how the birthday bag project was to be administered there. They requested that they be able to use the bags to celebrate anything that should be celebrated rather than making it just birthdays. The committee met, discussed their plan, and voted to allow their bags to be Celebration Bags rather than birthday bags, with decisions about who gets the bags to be flexible as needs arise. Puerto Rico Rescue We recently started a drive to raise money for tools to help people in Puerto Rico. We donated $300, and other significant donations have been made, but we would like to raise more for that and other projects. We discussed doing a fun activity on September 21st to raise money for missional projects. If a script can be found to buy or borrow, we would like to do a Bad Girls of the Bible event with food. As yet details have not been finalized. Food Pantry We continue to support the Bread of the Mighty Food Pantry and take food to them each week as it is donated. Created Gainesville Members of the committee as well as other Wesley members attended an informational meeting recently presented by Created Gainesville. This group works to rescue people (mostly women and children) from situations of human trafficking in our community. We donated $100 to the group and are exploring other ways we may be able to assist them. ZOE Project We contributed $100 to the ZOE project sponsored by our denomination. ZOE works with orphans and vulnerable children in Africa so that through education they can be taught to become stable, self-sufficient, and able to move up from poverty. Check out Agape, Nancy Case

12 8/8 6:00PM Admin Council Subcommittee 8/15 6:00PM Finance Committee 8/22 6:00PM Worship Committee 8/29 6:00PM Missions Committee 1 st Austin Holder Bradley Omdahl 2 nd Edgar Voyles 9 th Nancy Slaydon 10 th Debbie Taylor 16 th Becky Knight 20 th Robbyn Omdahl Suzanne Posselt 24 th Betty Brand Jane Nelson 25 th Dee Boyle 27 th Buford Scott 2 nd Dee & Tim Holder 8 th Bonniesue & Paul Humphlett 9 th Jackie & Tim Davis 31 st Nancy & Ron Case FUN AND GAMES Join the Canasta card club at Wesley United Methodist Church! Have fun and meet great people! Invite family and friends, the more the merrier! When: Thursdays, 12:00 Noon (except holidays) Where: Wesley United Methodist Church 826 Northwest 23rd Avenue Fellowship Hall Call Harley or Pamela Christensen at for information. We have wonderful members waiting to teach you Hand and Foot Canasta! Card Club Guidelines Bring a sack lunch and beverage if you wish. Please arrive on time if possible. Please help clean up after the games end. Please give us your address and phone number in case of scheduling changes. A sign-up sheet will be passed for volunteers to come at 11:30AM to set up and make coffee.