Wesley News. J a n u a ry Church Office Hours. Monday Thursday 8:00 am 3:00 pm Friday 8:00 am - 12:00 noon

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1 Wesley News J a n u a ry We always pray for you, and we give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 4 For we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and your love for all of God s people... Colossians 1:3-4 Happy New Year, At the drop of the ball in Times Square, or giant lighted guitar in Nashville, or maybe you simply dropped off to sleep at the stroke of midnight, the year 2019 became a reality. It is a year we have never experienced before and we will be faced with opportunities and challenges in this new season of our lives. So, as this annual turning-of-the-page of our life occurs, many have made New Year s Resolutions. Some surveys say the most common aspirations for the coming year in the U.S. are to eat healthier, get more exercise and to save more money. Many people in church often make a plan to read through the Bible; done that before but too often what happens is that I find myself reading to get through the book instead of letting the reading get through me. So I am going to take on a different goal that doesn t just affect me but affects others around me. I am setting forth to fix God s Word on my mind and my heart by memorizing a book of the Bible and I would like to invite you to join me in this journey for Now, I have never been good at memorization but have a plan to be successful. Thanks to author Ann Voskamp. The book I plan to read, take in, and let its roots go deep is the book of Colossians in the New Testament. See, this letter by the Apostle Paul addresses my three goals for the year: to put Christ first, to display the gospel and to build Christian relationships with others. Memorization of scripture should not just be about knowing the words but about planting seeds that grow deep and inform our spiritual formation as individuals and as the church. The reading plan for Colossians is really simple: two verses per week. That s it. Now I have difficulty remembering to take a medicine or vitamin daily, so I have to keep the bottle out on the counter to remember each morning; and taking in the word of God is no different. For an entire week, don t just read the two verses but encounter the designated scripture daily (ideas and reading plan are shared within this newsletter and copies available on Connection table to share with others). Journaling, cross referencing, and looking at the verses through our life experience help us to encounter the Word in fresh ways for this new season of life. There are several challenges in front of us in the coming year. As a United Methodist church, we will be making important decisions as we find The Way Forward at the special General Conference at the end of February, Church Office Hours Monday Thursday 8:00 am 3:00 pm Friday 8:00 am - 12:00 noon In This Issue: Sermon Series Pg 2 Financial Status Pg 2 Birthdays & Anniversaries Pg 4 Church Calendar Pg 10 Special Points of Interest: Bible Study Pg 5 Food Pantry Pg 7 Colossians in a Year Pg 8 Resolutions for 2019 Pg 9

2 As a church, we are called to follow the priorities set forth in Colossians: keeping Christ first, knowing and sharing the gospel message, and building Christian relationships with others and these priorities do not come easy in the time in which we live. At the end of January, both sister churches Wesley and Bethesda are looking at ways to move from where they are to where God is calling them to be, into uncharted waters of uncertainty. But it is on those sometimes stormy seasons that Jesus reaches out to us, and pulls us up to do what we never imagined or thought we would or could do. But we are not alone we are the church, God s own creation by His own power. In addition to planting seeds of scripture in a methodical way (like Methodists do J), we can also join with others in the journey. Please check out the dates of classes and opportunities of coming events meant to build your faith and our church. Let s not drop the ball on growing as faithful disciples but pick it up and run with it into the newness of the year, with the faithfulness of the Spirit beside us. Happy and blessed New Year, Pastor Becky From Burnout to Balance (Elijah) - Jan / Feb Sermon Series 2019 Jan 6 Got that Burned Out Feeling? 1 Kings 18:36-39, 19:1-3 Jan 13 Time Out 1 Kings 19:3-4 Jan 20 Fitness Matters 1 Kings 19:5-11 Jan 27 Attitude Adjustment 1 Kings 19:14-18 Disability Awareness Sunday Feb 3 Help from my Friends 1 Kings 19:19-21 *Remember one Worship Service at 9:45 am - please join us! 2

3 F i n a n c i a l S tat u s An Overview of Wesley's Current General Fund Figures as of 12/31/2018 Total YTD General Fund Income , Total YTD General Fund Expenses, including apportionment , Surplus Amount... 5, Here are the numbers for the General Fund for the month of December 12/1/ Beginning Balance Contributions/other deposits... 26, Total Income... 26, Total Expenses... 23, /31/ Ending Balance... 3, An Overview of Wesley s 2018 Apportionment Status as of 12/31/2018 Original Amount... $25, Less Approved Reduction... 5, Less Payments...-11, Balance Remaining... $9, SAVE THE DATE Sunday, January 27, 2019 State of the Church and Moving Forward Lunch will be held in Jones Hall following the morning worship service and at about 12:15 p.m., a review of an 8-year-statistical study and its implications will be shared with those in attendance by the pastor and lay leadership. Any additional information on The Way Forward will also be available. This is an informational time for those who seek to move Wesley UMC forward in its mission for Christ in For more information contact, any member of the Administrative Council or Pastor Becky. 3

4 January Birthdays and Anniversaries Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Miranda Schmidt Walt Reifsnyder 6 7 Tess Mariner 8 9 Amber Caraway Joyce Johnson 13 Roseann Caraway Jim Fritz Keith Gnagey Jane Reifsnyder 19 Mimi & George Walls Dawn Roach Phyllis & Wayne Wilson Hope Gorlich Jack Roach Jessica Roach Cecil Wilcoxon Ellen & Martin Donovan 49 Remember the 15th the Newsletter Deadline to j_hopkins@servpro5930.com 4 PLEASE!

5 Study for the New Year!!! Beginning January 8, 2019 If you missed our study of Genesis & Exodus in the Disciple 2 Fast Track study, you can still join us for the New Testament study of Luke and Acts. The sessions will last about 75 minutes. TWO OPTIONS: Tuesday morning at 10 a.m. or Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (At least three people required to sign up for each option to be offered) Workbooks are currently being ordered so if you would like to join us, please sign up in the Annex or get your name to the office by January 3, 2019 so books can be ordered. "Prayer Mail" Prayer team has placed "Prayer Mail" boxes beside the entrances of our Sunday school classrooms. Please place notes for our Sunday school teachers in the boxes. Your note could be a prayer, a scripture verse, an inspirational quote, or an expression of appreciation. Nursery teachers: Amy Donovan, Mary Jones, Kelly Kruger, and Pam Schmidt. K-1 teachers: Alma Roach and Georgeann Henderson, 2-5 teachers: Dareth Penuel and Shirley McDougal. Youth: Pastor Chris. Adults: Patti Towers for Philadelphia class and shared teaching for Gordy Class. "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing." 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Thank you! With Christmas festivities fading and the New Year upon us, we wanted to thank all those who supported us and our ministry at Wesley over the past year. For those who sent cards at Christmas and notes of support over the year, we say thank you. For those whose kind gestures and acts of kindness encouraged us, we say thank you. For those who prayed for us and with us in all situations, we say thank you. For those who made goodies for the open house and prepared food for us or our family members during difficult days, we say thank you. But most of all, we thank God for the opportunity to love and serve and grow in grace with you over the past year and look forward to what God has in store for days ahead. Grace and peace be yours, Pastor Becky and Glenn 5

6 Do you want to see change at Wesley? More lives changed? More healing? More prayer? More disciple making? More mission? More outreach? More Jesus in our lives? Then we need to increase the God Time in our lives!!!!! District Superintendent Sa and Pastor Becky are encouraging all members and non-members alike to take ONE HOUR total a day in spiritual disciplines and watch to see what God does! It can be 15 minutes at a time whatever totals at least one hour daily of the following spiritual disciplines: Prayer Devotional reading Sabbath time Fasting Scripture reading/ study Silence & meditation Worship in song & arts Journaling Fellowship with others in faith Giving & hospitality Serving others & mission Telling others about Jesus When we are faithful, we see and hear God s faithfulness more clearly. Prayer Time Every Tuesday, 5:30-6:30 pm In the sanctuary So be truly glad, there is wonderful joy ahead. 1Peter 1:6 Prayer team members are available to pray for you. 6

7 Food Pantry Update January 2019 As we begin the new year of 2019, we have much to be thankful for in the Food Pantry. We have again been the beneficiaries of many gifts during the month of December and throughout the year. We would like to give thanks to the following: 1 Servpro and Georgetown AARP thanks for your continuing support in the form of repeated food donations. 2 A Stroke Above for your continuing support in the form of monetary donations which are used to restock shelves in the pantry. 3 Grace United Methodist Church, Providence Church, Bethesda Church, and Georgetown Presbyterian Church thanks for the continued support of our sister churches which allows the mission of the Food Pantry to be fulfilled. 4 Delaware Tech Employees, Delaware Tech Student Nurses Association and attendees of Caroling on the Circle thanks for the substantial food donations given during this holiday season. 5 Mountaire Farms has continued its community support of local churches by donating Easter and Christmas boxes (containing roasting chicken and dinner fixings) to our Food Pantry. We received a total of 70 of these boxes this year and we can t thank them enough. Also, thanks to the Church of God in Dagsboro for including our Food Pantry in their Thanksgiving For Thousands program where we were able to distribute 30 Thanksgiving boxes (containing a roasting chicken and dinner fixings) to our customers. 6 Thank you to the volunteers who man the Food Pantry weekly Mimi Walls, John Penuel, Tom & Chris Henderson. A special thank you goes out to Kippi Conaway and James Holmes who volunteer every Thursday to help pack and distribute food. 7 Thank you to Georgetown Mayor Bill West and the Town Council for donating turkeys at Thanksgiving and Christmas which we were able to give to Food Pantry customers. 8 Thank you to the members of Wesley Church who participated in the Reverse Advent Calendar initiative by donating a box of food at the end of December the response to this was much greater than expected. 9 And finally thanks to the congregation at Wesley Church who support the Food Pantry each week by donating our featured item of the week we could not continue without your support. 10 Thank you to Donna Kay Heberling for opening the pantry each week and getting the table and chairs setup for us to go to work. *11 - (We have added a BIG THANK YOU to Bonnie and Vince for their continued help and support to the Food Pantry for without their dedication this mission for Wesley Church could not happen from your fellow church members) In Psalm 28:7 we read that The Lord is my strength and my shield; in Him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to Him. For the year ending December 31st, a total of 739 households were served by distributing 1,485 bags of groceries. Although this is a slight decrease from the previous year, the need for this mission is constant. The following are the featured items for the month of January: January 6 spam/treet January 13 instant oatmeal January 20 canned ravioli January 27 peanut butter You can bring these featured items of food to church on Sunday and place it in the collection boxes in the vestibules and in Jones Hall or drop it by the church office during the week. For volunteer opportunities or information on how you can help the Food Pantry, please contact Bonnie Atkins ( ) or Vince Whapham ( ). 7

8 Colossians in a Year: Just 2 verses a Week WEE NEW REVIEW WEEK NEW REVIEW K 1 Col. 1: Review Col. 1&2 2 Col. 1: 3-4 Col. 1: Col. 3:1-2 Col. 2 3 Col. 1:5-6 Col. 1: Col. 3:3-4 Col. 3:1-2 4 Col. 1:7-8 Col. 1: Col. 3:5-6 Col. 3:3-4 5 Col. 1: 9-10 Col. 1: Col. 3: 7-8 Col. 3:5-6 6 Col. 1:11-12 Col. 1: Col. 3:9-10 Col. 3: Col. 1:13-14 Col. 1: Col. 3:11-12 Col. 3: Col. 1:15-16 Col. 1: Col. 3:13-14 Col. 3: Col. 1:17-18 Col. 1: Col. 3: Col. 3: Col. 1:19-20 Col. 1: Col. 3:17-18 Col. 3: Col. 1:21-22 Col. 1: Col. 3:19-20 Col. 3: Col. 1:23-24 Col. 1: Col. 3:21-22 Col. 3: Col. 1:25-26 Col. 1: Col. 3:23-25 Col. 3: Col. 1:27-29 Col. 1: Review Col. 3 Col. 3: Review Colossians 41 Review Col. 1 1,2,3 16 Col. 2:1-2 Colossians 1 42 Col. 4:1-2 Colossians 3 17 Col. 2:3-4 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:5-6 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:7-8 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:9-10 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:11-12 Col. 2: Col.4: Col. 2:13-14 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:15-16 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2:17-18 Col. 2: Col. 4: Col. 2: Col. 2: Review Col Col. 2:21-23 Col. 2: Review Col. 1,2,3,4 Join the Challenge of Memorizing Colossians for Memorization comes easy to some and is difficult for others. So here are some tips to help make the Word of God go deep and take root in your life. ATTEND: Do whatever it takes to attend to the verse. Draw it. Write it. Tape it everywhere. Listen to it on YouVersion App on your phone in the car, while doing dishes, going for a walk. Act it, sign it whatever to attend to it. REVIEW TO RENEW: Repeat. Recite. Recap. Reiterate. First thing each day take five minutes to review verses learned last week. Repeating God s Word renews and refreshes. TIE: Tie Daily Memorizing to Daily Duties. Whether making the bed or making coffee, tie the verses to what you are doing. This ties them to living our Deut. 6:7. If you journal, think about these verses and what they say to you for this day. At the end of the time, if you haven t memorized or remembered 8 verbatim, you have embedded these seeds of scripture in your heart

9 Opportunities to be part of Prayer Team 1. Pray at home as a sponsor of one person, family, or situation. Pray for the person, family, or situation you are given everyday during your personal prayer time. Once a week, make a contact phone call, , text, card or note. 2. Pray at home as part of our Robo text team. Every evening at 7:30 receive a text with a two -sentence prayer. Just pray that prayer some time each evening, after receiving the text. If you have time for more okay, but that is enough if you don't have time. 3. Be a substitute prayer team member. Sometimes we need an extra person or two on a Tuesday evening. We would check with you to see if you could serve/pray on a certain Tuesday evening. 4. Join prayer team as a Tuesday evening, 5:30-6:30, prayer warrior. Sometimes, we share a scripture or devotion that has inspired one of us during the past week. We spend time in silent prayer to God, interceding for the people and situations, submitted during Sunday worship, on connection cards. We are greatly blessed by doing this! God gives us peace that sustains us and causes us to be drawn to our beautiful sanctuary, lifting intercessory prayers. We pray together for concerns placed on our hearts that week and for Wesley our pastor, leaders, and people who attend. We pray with anyone who comes to us for prayers on Tuesday evening. 5. Join our Sunday morning prayer circles, praying together for anyone who asks for/needs prayers. Prayer team: Jaclynn & Chris Cordery, Chris Henderson, Shirley McDougall, Judy Partyka, Alma Roach, Nora Serman, Anita Steere and Amy Wheeler New Year s Resolutions for 2019: 1. Read your Bible 20 minutes a day, every day. 2. Go to Church every week without fail. 3. Set aside 15 minutes each day to pray. 4. Join a Bible Study. 5. Try fasting. 6. Ask a Friend to Church. 7. Begin Volunteering. 8. Start Tithing. 9. Read a certain number of Christian Books each month. 10. Memorize Scripture. Exercise daily - Walk with the Lord. The Pastor's Blog is found on the News/Events section of the Wesley website: or go to: where you can read and submit comments 9

10 Wesley United Methodist Church 102 E. Laurel Street Georgetown, DE Tel: (302) Fax (302) (on the web at) Leading one another to share God s love through Jesus Christ. January :00 am Sunday School All Ages 9:45 am One Worship Service Sanctuary 10