WESLEY MEMORIAL A UNITED METHODIST CONGREGATION Chestnut Drive, High Point, NC phone fax

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1 WESLEY MEMORIAL A UNITED METHODIST CONGREGATION 1225 Chestnut Drive, High Point, NC phone fax Manifold Blessings A Celebration of Generosity Happy are generous people, because they give some of their food to the poor. (Proverbs 22:9)

2 from The Good Eye by the Reverend Dr. James A. Harnish Happy are generous people, because they give some of their food to the poor. (Proverbs 22:9) Have you heard of the Evil Eye? Most cultures believe in one form of it or another. It refers to the ability to affect others with a dirty look. It s an ancient belief, but even today we still say, If looks could kill Did you know there s something called the Good Eye? According to the Bible we use the Good Eye when we bless others and ourselves. It comes from the letters of Paul. In a letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote, Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7) Paul probably got the phrase a cheerful giver from the ancient Greek translation of Proverbs 22:9 that says: God blesses the one who is cheerful and also a giver. Hebrew translations of this text read a bit differently. One translation is super-imposed on the above image. Another translation is: Those who are generous are blessed, for they share their bread with the poor. The Reverend Dr. James A. Harnish has an alternate translation: Whoever has a good eye will be blessed, because they give from their bread to the poor. The reason for this rather unusual alternate translation is that the words usually translated as generous mean literally a Good Eye. Just as the Evil Eye was thought to cast a curse, so the Good Eye casts generosity on the poor and rebounded back in blessings to the giver. Receive God s blessings. Be a cheerful giver! John Wesley, Evangelist and founder of the Methodist movement, gave a remarkable sermon called The Use of Money sharing this noble vision for this sacred resource: In the hands of [God s] children, [money] is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked...by it we may supply the place of a husband to the widow, and of a father to the father-less; we may be a defense for the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain. It may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame; yea, a lifter up from the gates of death! In his book, Earn. Save. Give. Wesley s Simple Rules for Money, James A. Harnish invites us to delve into Wesley s vision more deeply by introducing readers to faithful Christians who, like all of us, struggle with money. As a means to deepening your spiritual practice, consider obtaining a copy of Harnish s book, reading it, engaging Wesley s vision and becoming a lifter up from the gates of death! During the month of November, visit Wesley Memorial s Facebook page to read the daily devotions prepared by James A. Harnish and inspired by John Wesley s vision for money.

3 Stewardship is a spiritually healthy follower s faithful response to the outpouring of God s grace on our lives. It is the sharing of our gifts that empowers our church to do the work to which God calls us. Wesley Memorial follows in this ancient spiritual practice by matching the generosity of our members and friends with our ministry plans for the upcoming year. In short, your generosity determines the degree to which Wesley Memorial makes and sustains spiritually healthy followers of Jesus Christ who live in ways that transform the world Budgeted Operating Income 8% 1% 0% 91% Pledged Commitments ($1,680,685) Other Contributions ($147,250) Misc. Resources ($17,550) Reserves ($8500) Manifold Blessings, is a celebration of our congregation s generosity in It highlights Wesley Memorial s dynamic mission and ministries that are made possible through the generous sharing of our members and friends. We are grateful to every person who has financially supported Wesley Memorial in 2015 and want to lift-up some of the ways our congregation has been able to faithfully Connect, Grow, and Serve in the past year. 91% of Wesley Memorial s financial support comes from pledged commitments ($1,680,685). Only 9% comes from other contributions, miscellaneous resources, and reserves ($173,300). With 91% of our revenue directly resulting from the generosity of our members and friends, sharing God s gifts truly upholds Wesley Memorial s commitment to doing God s work in High Point and beyond. I hope you enjoy this wonderful celebration of our congregation s generosity. As you turn each page, rejoice in the ways that Wesley Memorial is connecting people to Jesus Christ and this community of believers. Give thanks for the numerous opportunities that our children, students and adults are able to grow as spiritually healthy followers of Jesus Christ. Celebrate how those of us who call Wesley Memorial home are serving as the hands and voice of Jesus Christ in the world. Then, let us turn a good eye to those we serve in the world through the generous sharing of our gifts in Many Blessings! Senior Pastor

4 2015 Budgeted Operating Expenses 2% 3% 4% 8% Connect ($41,200) Grow ($50,150) 59% 24% Serve - Direct Mission Support ($81,956) Serve - Apportionments ($149,017) Support - Facilities & Admin. ($439,365) Support - Human Resources ( $1,091,532) CONNECT: God calls us into relationships that will provide support, strength, comfort and guidance along our life-long faith journeys. We seek to live into this calling by connecting all persons to Jesus Christ and to the community of believers at Wesley Memorial. In 2015, we connect through our ministries of worship, communications, evangelism, hospitality, and congregational care. GROW: Our connections to God and with one another allow us to grow as spiritually healthy followers of Jesus Christ. We deepen our potential for growth and transformation through our ministries for Children, Students, and Adults has provided many opportunities for change and growth. SERVE: Teresa of Avila reminds us, Christ has no body but yours...yours are the hands, with which he blesses the world. We embrace this idea through our commitment to serving as the hands and voice of Jesus Christ at Wesley Memorial, in High Point, and beyond. Through our ministries of service, we celebrate Christ s continued and living presence in our world. SUPPORT: Wesley Memorial is blessed with gifted leaders to guide us in our work of connecting, growing, and serving. We are equally blessed with a support staff who faithfully execute the ministry plans of our clergy and ministry directors while upholding the day-to-day operation of our facility. Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church is blessed by an outpouring of generosity. We are grateful to our members and friends who cast a Good Eye on the world and give from their bread so that our congregation can continue to do God s work. Manifold Blessings is a celebration of how Wesley Memorial receives and shares God s blessing through continued, generous and cheerful giving.

5 Our Pastors Rev. Dr. Al Ward Senior Pastor Rev. Erin Beall Associate Pastor Rev. Jared Stine Associate Pastor Our Ministry Area Directors Jay Butler Director for Student Ministries Keith Byrd Director for Contemporary Music Anne Carroll Director for Traditional Worship & Music Debbie Foust Director for Children s Ministries Our Administrative & Facilities Support Team Jay Bennett Melissa Coley Cindy Dominick Darren Dyer Tommy Greene Scott Howell Keith Lee Chris Massey Cynthia Reddick Tish Schultheiss Deanie Simmons Kim Suda Not Pictured Frank Pifferetti, Organist Fred Ingram, Housekeeper Our Volunteers

6 CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT GROW

7 SERVE Wesley Memorial School is a self-funded mission program of Wesley Memorial UMC. Our operating budget provides space, utilities, and insurance along with maintenance and administrative support to this vital ministry. CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT CONNECT

8 Every child in Sunday School can sing the song: Zacchaeus was a wee little man And a wee little man was he. He climbed up in the sycamore tree, For the Lord it wanted to see. And when the Savior came that way He looked up in the tree. And he said, Zacchaeus, you come down! For I m going to your house today. The story is easy to tell and colorful to remember, but it s challenging to hear, because in one sense we are all Zacchaeus and because it s a story about the connection between our salvation and our money. Zacchaeus story underscores the deep reality that salvation is not merely a spiritual experience that prepares us for life after death. Salvation is the way God transforms every area of life so that we become a part of God s saving work in this world. Salvation changes our hearts by changing the fundamental orientation of our living, including the way we use our money. Salvation sets us free from bondage to narrow self-interest and opens our lives to the way the Spirit of God can work through us in the lives of others. Of course, salvation is about a lot more than money. But we can also say that it s never about anything less than money, particularly in a culture that is compulsively driven by the power of money. In our culture, money has such awesome power as a blessing or curse, as a gracious gift we manage for God s sake, or as a demonic tyrant that manages us for its own sake. As we begin to imagine and dream about the ways we might more deeply engage the holy work of making spiritually healthy followers of Jesus Christ who live in ways that transform the world, we look towards the continued and increased generosity of our congregation to shape and determine our future ministries together. We will formally receive our 2016 pledge commitments on Consecration Sunday, November 22. Between now and then, please prayerfully consider how you might turn a Good Eye towards the mission and ministry of Wesley Memorial and cheerfully bless this congregation and all we serve. If you made a pledge for 2015, thank you! If you are a generous supporter of Wesley Memorial but have not made a pledge in the past, thank you for your support! Please consider communicating your intentions to us so we can include your generosity in our plans for If you have never pledged or financially supported Wesley Memorial in the past, please consider making a pledge for There are two reasons we ask you to make pledge commitment card each year. First, it allows us to plan accurately for ministry in 2016, since we base our operating budget on the dollar amount our members and friends plan to give. Second, the act of filling out a card is a way of inviting you to set a goal for giving during the coming year. Remember: Whoever has a good eye will be blessed, because they give from their bread to the poor. PLEDGE CARDS will be mailed to you AND are available: at the Front Desk on-line at wesleymemorial.org on Consecration Sunday, November 22