Last month I invited everyone to start dreaming big as we all started to think of creative ways to serve and love our neighborhood.

Transcription

1 Last month I invited everyone to start dreaming big as we all started to think of creative ways to serve and love our neighborhood. And I also encouraged everyone to be willing to take chances and try new things, all while trusting that God will bless those small acts of faith. Because here s the thing you never know how God might show up and absolutely blow your expectations out of the water! Let me give you an example. Last year in September, the Veterans Ministry team decided to try out this new idea for a whittling group. We had no idea what level of interest there might be, but we had men from the Senior Center who wanted to teach whittling to veterans and an open space to use. So, with our partners from the Honor Center and the PRRC, we decided to give it a chance and get started. I still have the picture from our first meeting that happened on September 20, 2017, and we had two veterans show up. There were three leaders from the Gainesville Whittlers and then volunteers from the church and Honor Center, but we only had TWO actual participants. And it continued like that for a long while we had a handful of veterans show up every week, but it stayed pretty small. There was some discouragement in those early months, and I know that some probably questioned if we should just give up. But we didn t we kept showing up every Wednesday afternoon, and you know what, eventually things just kind of exploded! We have had Wednesday afternoons where veterans show up, if not more! There is always something delicious to eat, and the fellowship is changing people s lives. That is God at work. That is the product of faithfully showing up and trusting that God would continue to grow this group over time. And that is a picture of God s Kingdom coming here on earth. It is a beautiful picture of the type of community and fellowship the church was created for, and it gives me so much hope. God is not done with us we just have to keep trusting, following, and serving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strength. Because we never know what blessings might come from it! Grace and peace,

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 Sunday School in the 10:00AM (Greentree Park) 10:45AM (Sanctuary)

3 Barbara Baldwin Carolyn Clarke Betty Dees Betty Holder Pam McCormick Beth Loehr-Moody Beth Senn Polly Teele Donna Weseman George Winburn Agnes Burke Joan Croft Kay Frazier Paula Mathis Barb Loehr Clydia Reichert Margaret Singh Lucas Van Alstyne Lester Wigglesworth Jr Clarence Witt Singers! The Chancel Choir is in need of 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 Wednesday, 9/5 at 7:00 PM!

4 Adult Class 9:30AM Suday School in the Park 10:00AM Worship Service 10:45AM Wesley Wednesday Dinner 5:30 PM Committee Meetings 6:00PM Choir Practice 7:00 PM 826 Northwest 23rd Avenue Gainesville, Florida Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 2 Communion Sunday :00AM Women s Bible Study :00AM Women s Bible Study :00AM Women s Bible Study 30 5th Sunday Penny March 3 Office Closed 4 Noon Pastor s Class 6:30PM Nightingales 5 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Trustees :30AM DAR 2:30PM Whittlers 5:30PM WWS 6PM SPRC 18 10AM Morning Stars Noon Pastor s Class 25 Noon Pastor s Class 19 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Finance 26 2:30PM Wesley Whittlers 6PM Admin Council 6 Noon Card Club 13 11:00AM Veteran Moms Noon Card Club 20 Noon Card Club 27 11:00AM Veteran Moms Noon Card Club 7 11:30AM YAHs Piesanos RSVP by 9/ :30 PM Bad Girls of the Bible 1 8 8AM-4PM Plant and Yard sale by Vets Group

5 OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD (SAMARITAN S PURSE) Operation Christmas Child is upon us once again. The deadline to have your boxes packed and ready is October 14th (we will post a reminder in the bulletin). These flying shoeboxes are definitely on our radar this year! This mission was a great success last year and we look forward to making 2018 even greater. Below is a list of suggested gifts with which to pack your shoeboxes. Shoeboxes that have been partially filled are available in the Narthex and at the Wesley Wednesday supper on 9/12. Don t forget to include $9 to cover the shipping cost! For more information about these boxes, please contact Donna Weseman or the church office.

6 September will find the ladies once again, beginning a new Bible study entitled FINDING I AM by Lysa TerKeust. The study is accompanied with videos that will take us through the streets of the Holy Land, to explore the seven I AM statements of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. Through this interactive study, we will seek the knowledge that Jesus alone will fill the empty places of our hearts and that He is the source of satisfaction in our daily lives. This endeavor of seeking I AM will hopefully produce a deeper and more intimate relationship with our Savior. May we search and find Him, the Great I AM through God s Word. May this be a time of fellowship, study, sharing and caring as we continue to grow and strengthen our faith journey together. Be Blessed, Sandy Miller A big thank you to all that came out to serve lunch to the Metcalfe Elementary faculty and staff. They were so appreciative of our generosity! Our classroom volunteers will begin after Labor Day. We would like to have more volunteers on a regular basis or for special events. Just let Cindy Holmes (holmesmc@yahoo.com) know if you are interested and/or willing. Around from left: Becky, Sharren, Cindy, Jan, Nancy, Pastor Sarah, and Diane

7 Our first Wesley Wednesday supper of the season is MEATLOAF (a personal favorite) 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. Dinners are still priced at $6 each. The shoe box ministry for Samaritan s Purse/ Operation Christmas Child has already kicked off but we will really keep it moving throughout 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. The deadline for having your filled boxes packaged and ready is October 14th. Don t forget to include $9.00 in each box for shipping costs. We cleaned the kitchen and then did what Methodists do best ATE! Cindy, Nancy C., Linda, Nancy S., Becky, Irma, and of course Donna (behind the camera) Donna Weseman ALACHUA GIRLS ACADEMY We continue to collect fun items to stuff goody 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

8 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 Joan, Barbara, Paula, and Donna it was a small group in August! 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. Becky Knight provided the flowers this month!

9 Storytime in the Park Storytime in the Park resumes Sunday, September 9th, at Greentree Park. We begin at 10:00 AM and are done by 11:30 AM. Please spread the word if you know of any children ages preschool through 5th grade. We would love to have your friends and family, so come on!! During our time together, our fun time consists of two stories, a craft, a snack, and some playground time! Check back here periodically for updates about upcoming stories and topics. Parents and/or grandparents are always welcome to stay and join in on the fun! Anyone needing information, please contact Joyce at Hope to see you there!! Here are some of the ways you can help: Come read a story Bring your kids/grandkids Be a helper Donate snacks Help lead craft time Volunteer to lead a Sunday Help us spread the word Pray for this new ministry Thank you! Children s Church Team

10

11 In an effort to raise more money for Puerto Rico s Hurricane Maria recovery project and to raise money for the children s home, we are putting on a special event entitled Meet the Bad Girls of the Bible. Twenty five percent of the price paid for tickets will be sent to the United Methodist Children s Home in memory of Marion Holder. An opportunity to contribute more to this cause will also be given. The remaining 75% of ticket sales will go to Puerto Rico storm recovery. It will be a fun and memorable evening out. We will have a chili supper with all the fixings and dessert, and after we eat the audience will get to meet the bad girls one by one. Afterwards, we will vote on the best bad girl and a trophy will be awarded. Some of our previous Wesley actors and local storytellers will present brief monologues in character for Jezebel, Delilah, Herodias, Lot s wife, and other bad girls you know from the pages of the Bible. This event is a golden opportunity to bring someone to our church who may not otherwise ever come. Welcoming new people at such a fun activity may be the way to break the ice and increase our Sunday attendance, too. Tickets will go on sale in September for $10.00 each. Please share the news about this with everyone you meet. We also will have flyers you can take to post at local businesses as you go around town. We are very thankful for the willingness of the kitchen committee to donate the chili. Also, if you would like to donate a dessert please let us know. If you want to help out in the kitchen or with clean-up let Donna Weseman know, or if you would like to help in any other way please contact Nancy Case at or at pastorcasenl@gmail.com. Put September 21st on your calendar! It will be an evening to remember! Nancy Case, Missions chair, and Bad Girls event coordinator Blessing Bags are available in the Narthex. Thank you for sharing with the less fortunate in our community! It is so rewarding when the person you share with lets you know how much it means to him or her, sometimes with tears and sometimes just with the delight in their eyes.

12 PLANT AND YARD SALE Our Veterans Ministry along with PRRC are having a sale in our parking lot, Saturday, September 8 th from 8:00AM 4:00PM. Come out and support this great ministry. Have you noticed the new shed in the back yard beside our previously existing shed? The Florida Trail Association closed their old office and donated the shed and anything we thought we could use from the old building to the Veterans Ministry. 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, bedding, linens, etc. to assist our vets in setting up their own apartments. Raised planting beds have become part of the playground area our veterans group has the first planting in the ground! They ll watch over the plots, and then be taught how to harvest and cook the food they grew. UF/IFAS, PRRC, and the Honor Center are partners in this endeavor with Wesley. We want to build more beds, so are in need of 4 x 6 or 4 x 8 8-foot boards to construct them. Danny Aguila ( )

13

14 9/5 6:00PM Trustees 9/12 6:00PM SPRC Committee 9/19 6:00PM Finance Committee 9/26 6:00PM Administrative Council 1 st Sharren Gibbs 2 nd Richard Crenshaw 8 th Barbara Loehr 11 th Linda Blake Jade Marie Martin 17 th David Dishong Michael Weseman 21 st Debra Johnson 23 rd Richard Yaxley, Jr. 26 th Dee Holder Robert Reeves 27 th Sean Boyle 22 nd Linda & Frank Nosko 27 th Bonnie & Jim Carlin 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.