INASMUCH Day of Service THE JOHN WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH. September, 2018

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1 THE JOHN WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH MISSION We, as individuals and as a congregation empowered by the Holy Spirit, strive to serve God by walking with Christ to reach the individual, touch the community, and serve the world. John Wesley United Methodist Church 1927 West Kemper Road Cincinnati, Ohio Phone: (513) Fax: (513) Website: address: info@jwumc.com Worship Services: 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. SUNDAY MORNINGS Sunday School: All ages 10:30 a.m. Children s Church: 9:30 and 11:30.m. STAFF Pastor RJ Davis PastorRJ@jwumc.com Youth Pastor Derek Smith pastorderek@jwumc.com Certified Lay Minister Dave Conaway dave@jwumc.com Office Mgr. Christie Riggsby christie@jwumc.com Office Associate Pim Kremer pim@jwumc.com Worship/Communications Coordinator Diana Davis diana@jwumc.com Director of Children s Ministry Lee Ann Hieber childrensministry@jwumc.com Handbell/Chancel Choir Director Joanna Duhaime jiduhaime@gmail.com Organist Sam Melson Accompanist Tisha Patton Worship Band Director Robb Horton robbhorton1@gmail.com E.L.C. Admin. Beth Hoendorf beth@jwumc.com Messenger Issn August 25, 2018 Published Monthly by John Wesley UMC Issue #227 Newsletter articles and photos due by 12:00 noon on the third Thursday of the month to: messenger@jwumc.com. 1 September, 2018 Rally Day is coming on September 9! This is the day we celebrate the beginning of a new school year and begin our Fall curriculum in the Children s Department. Congratulations to our 6 th graders who are moving up to the Youth Program: Wesley Anglin, Lilly Shaw and Andrew Canter. And congratulations to our 3 rd graders who are moving to the Ignite class and receiving their very own Bibles: Logan Shaw and John Horton. All of us will celebrate together with a delicious breakfast during Sunday School and play some fun games! Hope to see everyone on September 9! INASMUCH Day of Service Saturday October 13, 2018 It s hard to believe that this will be the 7 th year for our four coalition congregations to come together for this day of service. Soon the rolling mission board in Dunlap Hall will be filled with information about ways you can participate and make a difference. There will be something for ALL ages and abilities. (Projects tend to be only a couple of hours, not all day. Know of something new we can do? Let the church office know. Sign-up choices will be announced soon.) After a joint breakfast at John Wesley everyone heads out to their various projects. Add these words to your calendar under Saturday, October 13- INASMUCH-breakfast at 8:00 JWUMC. (Project details tba.)

2 As we begin the month of September I will be away from the pulpit so we will postpone Holy Communion until the second Sunday of September. On the first Sunday of September, we will be wrapping up our summer preaching series: The Games People Play. We have been using some of the games that many of us have in our homes to help us find ways to deepen our relationship with God. Sometimes it was simply the name of the game that contained the lesson for us. Sometimes it was the way the game is played. There were some games for which both were true. A unique piece of our series this year was that it was a collaborative preaching effort between myself, our Certified Lay Minister, Dave Conaway, our Youth Pastor, Derek Smith, and one of our certified Lay Servants, Nancy Barker. Nancy will help us wrap up the series using the game, Chutes and Ladders. The game Chutes and Ladders offers us two paths in life: one which moves us forward and one which sends us back. One is a well-traveled road while the other is a less traveled path. Which road are we on? For the rest of the month of September we will turn to a new theme, Fear Not, There Is More Than Enough! In this series, at least throughout the remainder of the month of September, we will be using the gospel accounts of the feeding of the 5,000. Each week we will look at a different gospel writer s perspective on this miraculous event in Jesus ministry. I can almost hear it now. Someone is already asking, How can we spend four weeks talking about the same event, miraculous though it may be? My response is simple, Fear Not, There Is More Than Enough! As we take some significant time to dig deep into this well-known story from Jesus ministry I think we will discover that there are different lessons to learn from this story depending on which account we are studying. Not only is this our first preaching series of the fall, but it is also the theme of our Stewardship Campaign for My hope is that looking in depth at this event that the disciples approached from a position of scarcity of resources, and seeing what God did when the available resources were given over to him, might move us from our tendency to approach our own giving from a position of scarcity rather than abundance. I hope that you will join us for what I hope will be an inspiring series of messages as we continue to reach individuals, touch our community, and serve in the world. Pastor RJ 2

3 Christians Growing in Grace No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful and he will not let you be tempted beyond your strength, but with the temptation will also provide the way of escape, that you may endure it. 1 Corinthians 10:13 UMW Meeting - Attention changes from the Calendar Our next meeting will be Thursday September 6 at 6:00 pm (the first change) in the library. Please bring an appetizer to share (second change).. The hostess will bring dessert. Our speaker will be our friend, Sandy Caruso. She will be talking to us about mosaics and flowers. Everyone that is interested is invited. See you soon. UMW 's Soup Luncheon to Help the Hungry Mark your calendar for the 5th Sunday September 30, 2018 following the service to enjoy some delicious soup and help the hungry at the same time. Tickets will go on sale in September, watch for an update. All the proceeds will go to an organization feeding the hungry. If you would like to donate a soup to be served please contact Carol Walters. Thank you for all your help in making this a success in the past. Did you know that we are coming up on the Jubilee 50th Anniversary of John Wesley United Methodist Church? A small group has begun planning for a year of celebratory events, beginning with the 50th anniversary of our first service (Fall 2019) and culminating with the 50th anniversary of our consecration (May 2020). We'd like to involve our current and past members in both the planning and many activities. How can you help? If you would like to be involved with the planning committee, contact Steve Cammarn (stevecammarn@gmail.com, ); If you have ideas or proposals for events, feel free to contact Steve; Finally, we'd like to invite past members to the many activities planned. However, we may not have current contact information for past members -- but perhaps you do! Please send these to Steve at stevecammarn@gmail.com. 3

4 Prayer Meeting Tuesdays, 6:00 p.m. Everyone is Invited! I got into a binge of watching sermons from youth pastor training conferences. Through some of the messages God started working on an idea for the CREW and would love all your involvement if you are able and willing. Tuesdays I am going to fast one meal a day and from 6pm - 7ish I am going to be praying for the CREW, the students, and volunteers, by name. I will start each prayer meeting with a short devotional and have something to help guide us through prayer. If you are unable to fast for a meal because of dietary reasons, please still join us to pray! This is an invitation for all of you. I know a lot of meetings happen at 7 on Tuesdays so I figured this would be a great time to go to God in prayer. Think of the example it would set for the students seeing the church leaders gather to pray for them. If you have any questions feel free to ask, Pastor Derek Ten chairs all in a circle.nine degrees of cooler temperature eight plastic bags scattered on the floor seven drips of Diet Coke on the table top six donut holes off in the corner five sheets of paper dropped on the counter four silver paper clips tossed aside three bags of trash still in the room two splashes of soapy water all over the counter one box of stuff I just didn t get around to putting back in the closet. What do all of these have to do with me? These are just a few of the sights we ve seen around the building on random days. Each of these requires SOMEONE ELSE to clean up after me, PAY for extra utilities to clean up after me, and SPEND THEIR ENERGY because of me. Your Trustees and your Finance Committees appreciate those of you who take pride in our building and leave it as neat (or neater) and as tidy (or tidier) than you found it. We ve been doing a better job of being responsible for our building activities, but the outside heat has still resulted in high utility bills. Every one of the steps you can take to clean up or put away any materials, projects, or other stuff you ve used will result in some small savings that collectively can put an even larger dent in those bills. Consider it your personal mission that doesn t cost you a dime--just a little time. Thanks. July s Ordinary Income $53, July s Ordinary Expenses $56, Year to Date Ordinary Income $279,631 (Budgeted $290,105) Year to Date Ordinary Expenses $304,775 (Budgeted $293,440) 4

5 As members of the John Wesley Christian Community, children will be empowered to seek and to know God in a safe and loving environment, and will be inspired to Reach, Touch, and Serve others Safe Sanctuaries It s that time of year again, when we ask all of our wonderful volunteers who work in the Nursery, Children and Youth Departments to take a few minutes and review our Safe Sanctuaries Policy. This is easy to do; just go to our church website: and click on Connect Points, then JW Kids Connect, then scroll down to the link for Safe Sanctuaries. Please read through the policy to refresh your memory, then sign the sheet on Lee Ann and Derek s office door. It s that simple! Thank you to all of our amazing and dedicated volunteers! Lost Is Found & Old is New A recent DVD by Adam Hamilton, named Why? Making Sense of God s Will was recently found in cleaning an old storage closet. It has now been returned & re-shelved to the library media center in the church library. I watched it all on Wednesday & recommend it highly. If your class hasn t seen it, don t miss this opportunity. Chapters include: Why Do the Innocent Suffer? Why Do My Prayers Go Unanswered? Why Can t I See God s Will for my Life? And Why God s Love Prevails? Also, let s use this lost & found incident as a reminder to return ALL library materials to the library when finished with them. Thanks All. Come join the JW Men s Group! We meet on the first Saturday of the month. Join us for a study in room 8 at 8:00 AM followed by 9:00 AM breakfast at Frisch s on Hamilton Ave. Our new study is Made for a Miracle by Mike Slaughter. Call Bobby Woodward ( ) if you have questions. COALITION COMMUNITY PICNIC Good food, music, fellowship and fun! A Huge THANK YOU! to Barb Wetzel and the Connections team for their help in set-up and clean-up to Cindy Rahn adding to the music program to everyone who attended the Coalition Community Picnic 5

6 Bible Study Opportunity for Thursday Mornings: The Sermon on the Mount The Sermon on the Mount: What s left to learn about it? We ve read it many times, heard sermons about it, maybe even studied it in classes. Most of us have taken other people s words for what it all means. This fall, Pim s bible study class on Thursday mornings, is going to look at that sermon differently without bible commentaries, without internet research, without any bible authority telling us what it all means. We re going to look at both the Old and the New Testaments to see other biblical connections to Jesus teaching and relate it all to our own lives in what will hopefully be meaningful and long-lasting ways. If you d like to join us, let Marilyn Shultz know via or shultzmk@aol.com whether you ve been a member of the class before or not. We need to get books ordered so that we re ready be begin at 9:30 on Sept. 20, after our first volunteering at Matthew 25 on Sept. 13. Urgent Reminder: Help Needed John Wesley UMC needs someone to take over the duties of Library Manager (if the word librarian should scare off anyone.) The present librarian will be leaving at the end of October, and then what? We have published the need for two months without a volunteer coming forth. Can you help? We still have a month to work together before you have the job to do alone. It s not hard work, it won t take much time, and it does a LOT of good for the members of JWUMC. The retiring librarian is 84 years young & can do the work easily most of the work can be done sitting down. If interested, contact the church office or the Pathways Team (Shari McCoy, chairwoman.) Hello Laity of John Wesley, Once again the Ohio River Valley District has asked us to host this fall s Lay Servant Ministry Training. The dates and times are 4:30pm 9:00 pm, Friday, September 28, and 8:00 am - 4:30 pm, Saturday, September 29, If you are interested in helping with meals and refreshments, please contact Barb Wetzel (jrz6grl@gmail.com). If you want to explore improving your discipling skills or feel the call to become a Certified Lay Servant, Lay Speaker, or Lay Minister or would like more information, then please contact me, (dave@jwumc.com) or dconaway@cinci.rr.com. These are the classes being offered and are open to anyone. Introduction to Lay Ministry (Basic) Introduction to Biblical Storytelling (Advanced) Go Preach (Advanced) This is another opportunity for John Wesley to shine and meet others of our District faith community. Blessings, Dave Conaway, Lay Leader, CLM 6

7 Hello to our church family, From the desk of Beth Hoendorf The John Wesley ELC would like to thank everyone in the church for the support of the preschool and for the continued prayers. September is a busy month, but a thank you to all of you was a priority. We are blessed to be a part of such a loving, generous, and hard-working group of people. I personally want to thank so many people, and I worry that I will forget someone on this note. The preschool wants to first thank Lee Ann Hieber for her dedicated service as President of the John Wesley ELC Board for the past 4 years. She has given so much to the church and to the preschool. Thank you, Lee Ann! Blessings always! Thank you to Kim Hutchison for her willingness to become the new JWELC Board President. We also would like to thank Marilyn Shultz for her unending hours of work as the Treasurer of John Wesley ELC and John Wesley UMC. Thank you so much, Marilyn! We also want to thank the Wednesday Wizards for all that they do to support us. I could not have survived the month of August without their help moving furniture in the classrooms and keeping up with the playground maintenance. Thank you for the help with many things, such as painting, repairs, and lighting. We love all of you! Thank you to Ron Gossard for helping me with my Master lock issue on the playground gate. Thank you to all who helped mulch the playground. I cannot do it alone! I want to personally thank Christie Riggsby for her constant help when I need it and for a valued friendship. We also want to thank Barb Wetzel for helping with our Parent meeting on August 28 with the PowerPoint presentation. In addition to this event, we want to thank Barb and Lee Ann for planning and running the Parent Café days on September 6 and 7 th. Thank you to all the volunteers for those days! Also, the Trustees deserve a thank you for their hard work. All the wonderful committees are appreciated. Thank you to the Prayer Warriors for all the powerful prayers for many people. I personally cannot thank you all enough. Your prayers are powerful. God is good! He is amazing! 1 John 4:7 - Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. The John Wesley United Methodist Church is a place of great love for each other and the community and world. THANK YOU! Love, Beth and the entire staff of the John Wesley ELC 7

8 Devotions Along the Way By Gary Ward I turn 71 this month, and with each passing year the individual days of life become more precious to me. I suppose that s because there are fewer and fewer of them left - but as Yogi famously said, It ain t over till it s over. Just as 9 th inning walk off home runs carry more weight than a long ball in the 1st, or a three-point swish to win at the buzzer has a greater impact than the same shot early in the game, accomplishments later in life seem to have more value. I googled and found the following. At age 71: Albert Einstein proposed a new version of the unified field theory; Casey Stengel began managing the New York Mets; Bill Horning won first place in his division in the 2004 U.S. Adult National Figure Skating Championships; Katsusuke Yanagisawa, a retired Japanese schoolteacher, became the oldest person to climb Mt. Everest. Don t know about you, but I m feeling like a slacker after reading that! Still, there are those in our congregation beyond mid-life who are accomplishing important things: Dave Conaway, our Lay Leader recently completed extensive training and became a Certified Lay Minister; Lee Ann Hieber, JWUMC s Children s Ministry Director, has expanded and enhanced our ministry to children; Shirley Harvey is Coordinating and enhancing our Prayer Ministry; I launched a Stephen Ministry here in These achievements by folks beyond mid-life are making a positive difference in lives both in and outside our congregation. These are but a few of the many individuals and accomplishments that could be listed, and I apologize now that space has limited the size of this list. My point is, it s never too late to do God s work. What are your gifts? How can they be used to grow the Kingdom? Take a risk. Step out in faith and swing for the fences or hit that buzzer beater. We have it in us to do important things, even in our Golden Buckeye years. They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green Psalm0 92:14 8

9 1 st Timothy 4:12 Don t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. What is coming up in the Student Ministry Wednesday Night Youth Group We start at 6:30PM and wrap things up at 8:00PM. There is time for fellowship, worship, hearing the Word, and small groups to make it all connect to each student on a personal level. Saturday 22 Son Fest $20 ahead of time The mission of The CREW, John Wesley s Student Ministry is to provide opportunities for youth to: know that they are accepted, grow in accepting Christ, and go and accept others. Money and forms due for Son Fest Wednesday Sept 12th Sunday School has started for the year. Come join us as we venture through the Bible. Are you interested in helping the next generation in a calm environment? Are you able to help students who need academic help? If you answered yes to either question above, then do we have some good news for you! Pastor Derek is looking to start a weekly program "after school homework help" for kids and students in the church. He is hoping that it may eventually become an outreach where students can invite friends who also need help. It will be Thursday from 3pm - 5pm, if we have enough adults to cover any students. If this sounds like something you would be able to help with or have more questions, please Pastor Derek at pastorderek@jwumc.com. If you would like to bring your student to this and want to be kept in the loop, please also Pastor Derek and he will let you know as soon as it gets started! 9

10 A HUGE THANK YOU!! From S.O.U.L. and the JW Missions Team Stephen Ministry is sometimes viewed as an option for only the most desperate of situations; a knot to hold at the end of one s rope. That s unfortunate because Stephen Ministry can help long before someone reaches that famous location. A much better metaphor is that of a bridge. A Stephen Minister comes along during a difficult stretch in the road of life and serves as a connecter to God s plans. For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11) They do this not through their own power, but through the power of Jesus Christ. By listening, caring, praying and encouraging, a Stephen Minister brings the healing love of Jesus to whatever situation you may be facing. Stephen Ministers are Christian caregivers who trust Jesus to bring wholeness to troubled lives. Stephen Ministers are available here at John Wesley to walk with you down a difficult stretch of road. If you or someone you know would like more information about Stephen Ministry care, simply contact Pastor RJ or one of our Stephen Leaders, Gary Ward or Susan DeNyse. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28 When we tallied up all the school supply donations for S.O.U.L., it amounted to at least $1609 worth of school supplies to help our neighbors. That is about twice what we collected last year. For neighbors struggling with basic needs, that is a huge gift. Thank you again for being such a GENEROUS congregation!! While it may not always look like it, we have room in our chancel choir for more members. I have heard many voices while sitting in the pews this summer so I know the talent is out there. We will sing on Sunday, September 2 and regular practice will be Wednesday evenings starting at 7:30 to 9:00 PM., staring on September 5. Please consider joining us. 10

11 The smell of new crayons will soon be in the air as well as the excitement of finding bargains for school supplies it s time to gather supplies for Festival of Sharing! We have the privilege of putting together basic supplies for people who are in real need. Our gifts are shared with people in the United States and many places in the world. All supplies and completed kits need to be at the church by Sunday, September 9, 2018, by the end of the Sunday services. The smell of new crayons will soon be in the air as well as the excitement of finding bargains for school supplies it s time to gather supplies for Festival of Sharing! We have the privilege of putting together basic supplies for people who are in real need. Our gifts are shared with people in the United States and many places in the world. All supplies and completed kits need to be at the church by Sunday, September 9, 2018, by the end of the Sunday services. UMCOR is again requesting School and Hygiene kits that we have been gathering for many years. (We no longer assemble Layette or Refugee Kits.) Emergency Cleanup Buckets are in great demand following the devastating floods in too many of our communities each year. These are the items needed for each kit: Hygiene Kits: One hand towel measuring approximately 15" x 28" to 16 x 32 (no fingertip, bath, dish towel or microfiber) One washcloth One wide-tooth comb One finger nail or toenail clipper One bath size bar of soap in the original package One toothbrush (in the package) Ten standard size bandages Please do not add toothpaste to the kit. Seal all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with a zipper closure. You may also choose to include an additional $2 to cover shipping expenses. School Kits: One pair of blunt scissors (rounded tip) Three 70-count spiral notebooks or notebooks totaling pages. (no loose-leaf or filler paper.) One 30-centimeter ruler (12") One hand-held pencil sharpener One large eraser Six unsharpened pencils with erasers One box of 24 crayons (only 24) You may choose to donate $3 to cover the cost of a fabric bag and shipping. MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEXT PAGE 11

12 Emergency Cleanup Buckets: One five-gallon bucket with resealable lid (if bucket has been used, clean well but do not use if it has held chemical of any kind) Four scouring pads Seven sponges, including one large One scrub brush Eighteen reusable, lightweight dry cleaning towels (e.g. Handi wipes) One 50 oz. or two 25 oz. bottle(s) of liquid laundry detergent One oz. bottle of liquid disinfectant dish soap One oz. bottle of household cleaner that can be mixed with water (no spray bottles) One package of clothespins Clothesline, two 50 ft. or one 100 ft. Five dust masks Two pairs of heady-duty waterproof dishwashing gloves (latex-free, non-surgical) One pair of work gloves (cotton with leather palm or all leather) heavy duty contractor type gallon trash bags on a roll and removed from carton One 6-9 oz. bottle of non-aerosol insect repellant. All cleaning items must be new and all liquid items must be capped and securely tightened. Place all items into the bucket, making sure they are packed securely to avoid damage during shipment. Snap the lid on tight and seal with packing tape. The processing fee for this kit is $3. We gratefully accept any items to make these kits and completed kits. As you purchase and pack these items, please visualize the person(s) receiving these very needed supplies and pray for the individual(s). Final Collection Date: Sunday, September 9,

13 September Birthdays 1 - George Piper 2 - Payton Ooten, Gary Robbins 4 - Sally Gossard, Kurt Phillippo 5 - Judy Grigsby, Joanne Martin 7 - Sue Hamrick, Lauren Prescott, Karen Gillespie 8 - Lance Ireland, Sandra Combs 9 - Pim Kremer, Oliver Adams 10- Debie Halsey 11 - Sam Melson, Josh Mullins 12 - Nicholas Mowry, Sandy Moser 14 - Jerry Bennett, Gary Ward, Shirley Harvey 16 - Tom Richey, Kristen Denterlein, Jess Anglin 18 - Ashlee Bates, Noah Martini 19 - Mike Mullins 20 - Beth Rimer, Gary Stoelting 21 - Lillian Barrett 22 - Helen Kuhlman, Eileen Andrews 23 - Judy Kuhn, Wanoka Motz 24 - Vicki Kelley 25 - Megan Gillespie, Aidan Batdorf 26 - Bill Hamrick, Mike Shultz, Abbey Upton, John Martini 27 Toni Arquette 28 Byron Adkins 29 - Lisa Lester 30 - Nicole Butts, Bob Lell, Jean Morrison September Anniversaries Russ & Peggy Mowry 3 - Steve & Tavane Cammarn 5 - Larry & Amy Mackey 10 - Fred & Barb Wetzel 12 Jim & Cindy Rahn 14 Ray & Beth Hoendorf 15 - Ted & Tammy Brooks 20 Paris & Sharon Lewis 24 - Tim & Tracy Ruberg 27 - Bob & Chris Denterlein 28 - Scott & Carol Kosarko 30 - Martin & Shirley Harvey 13