The Lamplighter Lighting the way so others will see Jesus A Publication of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church Church Office: 423-282-6722 Fax: 423-282-6200 E-mail: Wesley@wesleymemorialumc.org Website: www.wesleymemorialumc.org Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wesleymemorialumcjohnsoncity November 2016 Come Home Over the last month or so, I have noticed many people who had not been in worship for a while, show up. We are entering a season which "coming home" is common with our families. Many go home for Thanksgiving and many come home for Christmas. These are joyous occasions. To return to where our roots are and to spend time with the people who helped make us who we are. Come home. God calls us to different places where we build our lives and seek to serve Him. But what a joy it is to come home. God calls us to come home often. He calls us to return to God s family and to worship Him in the local church, to stay connected with our roots that are to be in Christ. Come home. It is the quiet call the loving father to the prodigal son, "Come home." It is God s call to each of us. As we celebrate this season in which we return home, I hope you will remember to come home to Wesley as well. A spiritual home where we worship God together. The beautiful hymn, Softly and Tenderly Jesus is Calling, touches our hearts as we sing it: Softly and tenderly Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me; see at the door he's waiting and watching, watching for you and for me. Come home, come home, you who are weary come home. Earnestly, tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling, O sinner, come home. If it has been a while since you have worshipped at Wesley, I encourage you to come home. God bless, Gerald
Date 10/02/16 10/09/16 10/16/16 10/23/16 OUR ATTENDANCE UPON THE LORD Sunday Morning Worship SS 104 104 107 106 S-8:45 61 77 79 70 NRG 39 37 49 62 OUR FINANCIAL GIFTS S-11:00 125 145 137 152 Total 215 259 265 284 Week of: 09/30/2016 $1,435.00 10/02/2016 $9,982.08 10/09/2016 $18,737.31 10/16/2016 $16,953.08 10/23/2016 $16,094.23 Total $63,201.70 Received Year to Date $626.075.55 Missions $2,085.00 In Memory/Honor of $1,265.00 New Ministry Opportunity We are in the process of supporting the Food Distribution and Clothes Pantry started by Boones Creek UMC. There will be many opportunities for you to be involved. We will need monetary support, persons to help pack the boxes, hand out the boxes, help sort and collect clothing, etc. If you are interested in being a part of this ministry in any way, please let Missy know and be watching for more information as well. Women of all ages are invited to UMW events. We would love to have you on Thursday, November 3, 2016 at 6:00 PM Please come fellowship with us! XYZ News Xtra Years of Zest Breakfast Meeting & Workday Saturday, November 5, 2016 at 8:00 AM Breakfast and Special Guest Speakers Jason and Sara Phipps November 17 th Rocky Mount Living History Tour. We will step back in time to 1791 and let history come alive! Our tour is scheduled for 1:00 PM. Following our tour we will head to Starbucks for a coffee to warm us up! Please make reservations by calling the church office at 282-6722 or by filling out the tab on the church bulletin. Please indicate if you need transportation to the church. Deadline for reservations is November 13th. December 8 th - Annual Christmas lunch at Brumley s, in the General Morgan Inn, located in Greeneville, TN. Details to follow. If you are 55 years of age or older, we welcome your participation! For more information, please email Kem McKee at kemhmckee@gmail.com or contact by phone at 677-1279. The Page Turners We will meet November 14 th to discuss The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness by Sy Montgomery We will meet on December 12 th to discuss A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg We meet in the Church Library at 10:00 AM so please come join us! God s Girls Advent Study Underdogs and Outsiders A Bible study on the untold stories of Advent Tuesdays, November 15 th -December 13 th 6:15 to 7:30 PM Cost for book is $10.00 Watch for sign-ups in the church bulletin
Children s Ministries Sunday, November 13 th at 11:00 AM Worship The 200 Hall Sunday School and Kids in Action children will sing in the sanctuary, Give Thanks. They will be singing the second hymn so families that attend an earlier service will not have to wait long to see them sing. Sunday, November 27 th, Start of Advent The children on the 200 Hall will study A Different Kind of Christmas for Sunday School and Kids in Action. This curriculum follows the adult and youth study, also starting this week, and Advent sermons. This is a family study. A wonderful opportunity to talk about God s greatest gift with each other. Sunday, November 27 th Mission items due. Wesley is collecting items to go in hygiene bags for Johnson City Schools displaced children. The bags will be assembled at the Birthday Party for Jesus. Our children s mission item is: small toys, match box cars, ponies, action figures, dolls or similar toys. 100 individual toys are needed. Place items in Christmas box outside Children s Ministries office. Sunday School and Kids in Action Sunday School starts at 10:00 Kids in Action is dismissed from 11:00 worship. On the 200 Hall: ages 4 to 4 th grade: Spot Light; a lesson in honor. Romans 12:10 Youth Happenings ****Remember, Resurrection Sign Up and Deposit Deadline is November 1 st. Also, don t forget to bring $5 for our Compassion Child that we support to Sunday School the first Sunday of the month- so November 6th or as close to that as you can. Sunday, November 6 th - from 5:30 6:00 PM, Gifts & Talents! 7 th -12 th grade district event in Elizabethton. We will meet at the church at 5:30 PM & be back at the church at 8:00 PM. We ll eat dinner, hear different groups from the district offer gifts and talents for Resurrection and help vote on who will represent our district at Resurrection. Come eat, support our district, and hang out! Bring $3 for dinner. If you have any questions about this event, see Amber Keller or Missy Wright. Soul Food Small Group 9 th 12 th Grade Sunday, November 13 th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM, will meet at the Portwine s home (7 Belshire Court, JC). Sunday, November 20 th from 5:30 to 8:00 PM, we will meet at the Russum s (249 Wilmary Rd). All who are in Sr. High are invited to come be a part of these great times of learning, fun & fellowship. Bring a friend. Dinner is provided. You don't want to miss it! If you have any questions about this event, contact Mitzi Myers or Missy Wright. Tuesday, November 15 th - Casting Crowns Concert For those who signed up & purchased tickets ahead of time. Meet at the church at 6:00 PM. We will return to the church after the concert (will be in touch that evening for exact times). If you have any questions about this event, contact Scotty Myers or Missy Wright. Amplify Saturday, November 5 th from 2:00 to 4:15 PM Amplify will be traveling to Broadmore Senior Living Center as a service project. We will leave the church at 2:00 PM and travel by church van. We will provide a piano player to play music until 3:00 PM and then will begin playing Bingo with the elderly in the main lobby downstairs. The event should be over around 4:00 PM and we should be back at 4:15 PM. This will be a great way for kids to get experience serving, get volunteer hours, and also learn that the church does much more than what we see on Sunday. Sunday, November 13 th from 5:30 to 7:00 PM Amplify will have a pot luck along with some story-telling about Thanksgiving. Everyone please bring a dish to share for our potluck dinner. Our opening prayer before dinner which will start @ 5:30 PM will consist of each of us giving at least one thing that we re thankful for. Next, we ll fellowship over the meal that we have brought to share with one another. After dinner, we ll explore the Thanksgiving tradition and have some story-telling. We will also talk some more about the Purpose Driven Life devotional books that we d like all the students to use.
Mission News for November Communion Offering on Sunday November 6 th will be for Families Free They were in our Susannah Street property as our neighbors for three years. They are a faith-oriented, community based organization operating in the NE Tennessee region. They offer services to women currently or formerly involved in the criminal justice system, along with their families, families impacted by incarceration, and families with children at risk for going into the foster care system. They provide quality, evidence based services combined with the faith-based principals of compassion, healing and restoration to promote positive life style changes for our communities at-risk and often overlooked populations. The funds collected will go to provide Christmas gifts for children whose parent is in the program. They will take the ladies shopping to purchase the gifts so that they can pick out the gift themselves. They will be guided in what is age appropriate for their child as well as working within a budget. Please give generously so these kids can receive a gift from their parent. Food Item for Good Sam Boxed mashed potatoes. Our goal is 300 boxes. Please place in marked containers by November 30th. Our Mission Emphasis - Operation Christmas Child Some suggested items for older boys are hammers/nails/small tool sets, for older girls a sewing kit, fabric squares. For both boys and girls of all ages: small plastic bowls and a large metal spoon, this is what they use to eat out of. Also please note that they receive more than 50 percent of shoe box gifts for children ages five to nine. The areas of greatest need are gift boxes designated for children in the age categories of two - four and ten - fourteen. In all age categories, they receive more boxes for girls than boys. You can put together a shoebox online for $25.00 if you prefer. Go to samaritanspurse.org to do so. There are also brochures available around the church. Shoeboxes will be due at Wesley by Sunday, November 13th. Songfest 2016 will take place on Sunday, November 13 Please mark your calendars so you can come out and support FPJC through this wonderful afternoon of music and fun! A concert of Bluegrass, Mountain Music and More at the Gregory Center on the Milligan College campus. Proceeds go to Family Promise of Johnson City. Sponsor a Thanksgiving Day Food Box For a family for $35.00 or a fully cooked meal for an Elderly Person or Disabled Veteran for $30.00 through Good Samaritan Ministries. Donate online or by mail. Ministry to Our Neighbors - Homeless Children in the Johnson City Schools Last year at the Birthday Party for Jesus we put together 85 bags of items for these children in need. The Homeless Coordinator in the schools was thrilled. The Missions Team asked the Children s Ministry to do this again. These are items they get requests for all the time. They will be put in a gallon zip-lock bag. The Birthday Party is on December 4th this is church wide, we will have dinner, the kids will sing a couple of songs for us, we will have a story and cake and then put the bags together. List of items needed for the bags: toothbrushes, small toothpaste, combs or brushes, pocket/purse size packs of tissues, white wash cloths, hair bands/pony holders, mini pads of paper, mini water bottles and mini juice box Place items in Christmas box outside Children s Ministries office no later than 11/27. Sunday School Classes and Life Groups will be given a specific item to bring but are encouraged to bring any of these above items as well.
Dear Wesley Family, We truly cannot thank you enough for the lovely shower and all the wonderful gifts you showered us with for our growing family. We are incredibly grateful for your generosity and most importantly for your love and support. What an immeasurable gift to be a part of a church family who truly lives out the goodness of God's love and provision in the body of Christ. We are so thankful for all of you, and can't wait for Lila to join this family and church. May God bless you for your thoughtfulness and generosity. Love, Jane, Tim, Henry, and Lila Words cannot express our appreciation to our Wesley church family for all the calls, letters and visits that were made to Jesse since he moved to Johnson City as well as the words of sympathy and encouragement since his passing. You all welcomed him with open arms which he spoke of often, saying that our Church was the most friendly and caring Church he had been a part of. He truly loved coming to Wesley and enjoyed the visits he received while he was at Dominion and NHC. We would also like to thank you all for the support you have given us while we encountered a season of care giving for our parents. It was not easy to step back from doing the things we loved doing at Wesley. But during this time, it was made easier by the prayer, love and support you all have given us. We are truly BLESSED to be a part of such a special Church family. May God continue to bless each of you! Scott and Carol Shrum We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our church for the wonderful meal and snacks provided to our family. We would also like to say thank you for all the cards, prayers and the memorials given for my father. My dad loved this church and all his friends he made here thru out the years. We feel very blessed to call Wesley Memorial home. Sincerely, the family of Roy A. Moore. * A Special Note of Thanks * To all those who care about our church library. To all those who leave books for everyone to enjoy - I give thanks. Come visit our library and have a great time browsing or reading. Harriet Marie Vandiver born on September 26, 2016 Daughter of Scott & Amy Vandiever Granddaughter of Clayton & Janet Vandiver & Great-Granddaughter of Clarence & Sammy Denny Scott & Carol Shrum on the birth of their Grandson, Turner Scott Shrum Born on October 6, 2016 Adam & Emily McElroy on their Wedding on October, 14, 2016 Lynn Key and Steve Carver on their Wedding On October 21, 2016
You're Invited!!! What: Birthday Party for Jesus When: Sunday, December 4, 2016 from 4:00-6:00 PM Where: Gym at Wesley Memorial UMC Who: This is a church wide event for all ages Please join us for dinner, games, cake, a Christmas Story & mission project! RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church 225 Princeton Road Johnson City, TN 37601 Nonprofit Org. U. S. POSTAGE PAID Johnson City, Tenn. 37601 Permit No. 179