Wesley Connector Regrets MONTHLY NEWSLETTER WESLEY CHAPEL UMC APRIL 2017 I don t have time to maintain these regrets when I think about the way He loves us. John Mark McMillan wrote the lyrics to Oh How He Loves Us following the death of a dear friend who, during a church staff meeting, prayed out loud "If it would shake the youth of a nation, I will give my life today." McMillan was awakened in the middle of the same night by a phone call; the friend had been killed in a car crash. Was the young man s death a direct result of his prayer? Did God cause the car accident? Did his death awaken the youth of our nation? The truth is the young man s death is a tragic accident and there are no easy answers. I have conducted several funerals for people who have been lost to tragedy, traffic accidents included. Suffering is a human condition that has the potential to steal our joy and shift our focus from the goodness of God. When I meet with the person s loved ones who survive and are planning a funeral that they did not expect, I mostly listen. The advice I sometimes give is, Don t beat yourself up about any regrets you may have. This year when my stepfather was killed in a car accident, I realized that I was struggling with regrets. I regret I waited two hours before heading to the hospital. I regret not being with my mom when she was making difficult decisions. I regret not being with him when he died. My own advice comes back to me that I shouldn t beat myself up over these regrets but still they lingered. (Interruption) In this Issue Regrets 1-2 Thank You 2 Intentional Faith 3 Development Serving People 3 Passionate Worship 3 Revive 4 Event Calendar 5 Welcome 6 Continued on page 2
Regrets continued I continue this newsletter article the next morning. While writing the paragraph above I received a text from my cousin that her husband was unresponsive in the emergency room. However, I did not see the text for another hour. More regret. After a heart-breaking afternoon saying good-bye to my 42-year-old cousin-in-law and spending time with my family, I am at my computer grieving deeply, trying to fight the regrets while trying to write a word of hope and celebration. In John 11, Jesus went to Mary and Martha after the death of Lazarus. Jesus was moved deeply and very troubled to the point of tears. Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies (John 11:25). Even in her deep grief Martha expresses her faith in Jesus, I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who was to come into the world (John 11:27). Even though my grief runs deep this morning, there is a truth that runs deeper. I believe that God loves us. I believe that God sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. I believe that on the third day that God raised Jesus from the dead and gives us hope for eternal life. I believe that my step-father and cousin-in-law are rejoicing with all the hosts of heaven today because they had this same faith. I believe that regret is temporary and when we give our regrets to God, He removes them. I don t have time to maintain regrets. Today I will focus on the love that God has for each of us and celebrate the resurrection and the hope of eternal life. Pastor Tony Alstott Thank You Vicki s dad, Ed Bennett, a longtime member of Wesley Chapel, has gone home to the Lord. We send our appreciation and thanks to the Wesley Chapel family for their prayers, visits, condolences and food during our time of grief. We especially wish to thank those who helped with food both at the funeral home and at the church. Also, we would be remiss not to mention Pastor Tony Alstott as he ministered to us and performed a beautiful funeral service while dealing with his own personal tragedy. He truly is a godly man. Jim & Vicki (Bennett) Ingram Thank you so much for the peace lily. It means so much to know you are thinking and praying for us at a time like this. We love you all so much. Thank you, The Beaty and Hammack family Your kind expression of sympathy and friendship will always remain in our memories. Your prayers and thoughts are greatly appreciated. Rusty and Mary Ann Wells Thank you for the flowers, cards, and prayers during our time of grief after losing our cousin Josh Rodriquez. Alstott and Attwood families Page 2
Dates for Child Protection Guidelines Training Sunday, April 30, 12:30 1:30. Be sure to bring your lunch. Wednesday, August 2, 6:30 7:30 Sunday, November 12, 12:30 1:30. Be sure to bring your lunch The training will be in the Celebration Room 212. Please pre-register for these classes at wesleychapel.org. Click on Events to find CPG training. Childcare is available upon request. Egg Hunt Join us on Saturday, April 8 at 3:00 pm. We will have 10,000 eggs filled with candy. There will be plenty of activities including a puppet show and a visit from the Easter Bunny. This is a rain or shine event for ages 2 through 5th grade. Gadgets and Gizmos, VBS 2017 VBS will be Monday through Thursday evening June 19-22 from 6:30-8:30. VBS is open to all children in the community ages 4 years through grade 8 (2017/2018 school year). There is a nursery and a class for children ages 2 and 3 of any parents who are serving in VBS. The registration for VBS will be online at wesleychapel.org beginning May 1 and there will be sign-ups in the church lobby beginning June 4. There will be order forms for T-shirts from May 1 to June 1. Marriage Tip Listen without being judgmental and share openly. These tips will help spouses understand each other better. Homemade Ice Cream and Bar-B-Que Social The Contemporary Christian Sunday School class is sponsoring an Ice Cream Social on Sunday, April 23 from 11:00 am - 1:00 pm. Your free-will offering will support missions. Carry-out available. Serving People cont... Operations Hygiene The Military and Veterans Care Team will be collecting hygiene items for our Military Veterans on Sundays, April 23 - May 7. Visit the table in the lobby to sign up to purchase travel size items for the hygiene kits. Items include: soft toothbrushes; toothpaste; dental floss; deodorant; shampoo; talc powder; foot powder; hand lotion; combs; hairbrushes; disposable razors; shaving cream; nail clippers, and chap stick. Your help in donating these items will address the needs of many of our Military Veterans. For more information contact Ron Van Tyle 812.923.6288. Holy Week Worship Join us for Easter weekend worship. Our Maundy Thursday service will be on April 13, at 7:00 pm and will include the Passover story from Luke 22:7-53. We will have a Good Friday service on April 14, at 7:00 pm, where the message of the Cross will be shared from Luke 22:54-23:56. Easter Sunday services will be held on April 16 at 7:00 am for the Sunrise worship service in the Chapel. Our regular 8:30 am for the traditional worship service, and 9:45 and 11:00 am for the modern worship services will be in the Wesley Center. New Sermon Series April 9-30 Celebrate Resurrection - The greatest event in history is the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will explore the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and what that means to us today. May 7-28 Lessons from Samuel - Samuel was a great prophet during the time of King Saul and King David. We will celebrate great victories and learn from life s difficulties as we explore the early days of the nation of Israel through the eyes of Samuel. June 4-25 Gadgets and Gizmos - Vacation Bible School will walk us through the Discipleship Pathway. We will explore how to become a Christian, how we grow in our faith, and how we share our faith with people. Page 3
Church Camp INUMC offers several camping opportunities for children and youth. Campers can challenge themselves at Camp Indicoso with a high ropes course, zip line, laser tag and giant swing. Camp Rivervale offers archery, canoeing, a rock climbing wall, and has a drama camp. Please visit beacamper.com to get a list of all the camps and activities available. While there are no discounts codes this year for camps, there are scholarships available that are income-based. Go to beacamper.org and choose camps and events; promotional materials; then scroll down to downloadable forms and open the scholarship form (http://impact2818.org/camps/registrationdetails/2017-forms/2017-scholarship-app.pdf). You will need to fill out the form and attach prior income tax returns. It will take up to 3 weeks to process those requests. Other camping opportunities: Silver Heights Camp, New Albany This is a local, overnight camp for Grades 6 12 from June 11-16. Silver Heights Camp will again be free this year for kids in middle school and high school, however space is limited to 60 participants. Registration forms will be available mid-april. To register, call 812.246.6462, Colleen Endres Takin It to the Streets On Saturday, April 15, the youth will be traveling to Underwood, Indiana to New Life International, Inc., a Christian outreach organization, started and run by the family of Josiah McGuire, that provides safe water to the world. The youth will be working on projects around the property and ministry center. We will leave from church at 9:00 am and return by 3:00 pm. Transportation and lunch provided. Please contact Dennis Shireman at youth@wesleychapel.org or 812.944.2570 for questions or to RSVP. Southern Indiana Night at the Louisville Bats Southern Indiana Night at Louisville Slugger Field is on Friday, June 9. Tickets for this event are only $7.00 in advance. If you would like to order tickets for this event contact Dennis Shireman at 812.944.2570 or youth@wesleychapel.org. Youth Mentoring Ernie Criswell, our Vice-Servant Leader for the youth, is starting the Mentor Me Discipleship. Mentor Me is a discipleship training where adults are paired with youth to encourage youth in their faith journey. If you feel called to serve as a mentor to a youth, contact Dennis Shireman at youth@wesleychapel.org. Anyone interested in being a mentor will need to complete of the scheduled Child Protection Guidelines Training. Pray about mentoring a youth. Youth Celebration Sunday Sunday, May 21 is Youth Celebration Sunday. We will be honoring our high school and college graduates. If you don t see your graduate listed, please contact the church office at 812.944.2570. High School: Ryan Cousins; Jonathan Holsapple; Emma McDaniels; Katie West; Emily Hardin; Camden Hardin; Thomas Wright; Lexi Richmer College: Chrissy Perkins, IUS; Scott Engebretson, PhD Asbury; Jared Murray, UofL; Amanda Harbeson, UofL; Blake Stewart, IUS; Lauren DeLuca, IU Page 4
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 A/V Team April 2 Puppets 3 Mary Martha Bible Study Fellowship Celebrate 200 Team 4 Alcoholics Anonymous Adult Education Team A/V Training 5 Young Adult Men s Study 6 Precept 7 Ladies Life Group 8 Egg Hunt 9 10 11 Children s Outreach Team Knight Life Group A/V Training Children s Education Team Bible Study Fellowship Alcoholics Anonymous Puppets 150 Facility Team Meeting Rebekah Circle 12 13 14 Newsletter Deadline 15 Young Adult Men s Study Precept Ladies Life Group Taking it to the Streets Maundy Thursday Services Good Friday Services 16 Easter Sunrise Service 17 Bible Study Fellowship 18 Alcoholics Anonymous Servant Leader Team 19 Young Adult Men s Study 20 Precept 21 22 Ladies Life Group Koinonia Class Retreat Koinonia Class Retreat A/V Team 23 BBQ/Ice Cream Social Children s Ministry Training 24 Knight Life Group 25 Alcoholics Anonymous Intent. Faith Dev. Team Worship Design 26 Young Adult Men s Study 27 Precept 28 Ladies Life Group 29 District Clergy Spouse 30 Child Protection Training Brown- Highway 150 Campus Black Off site Sunday Morning Services 8:30 am; 9:45 am; 11:00 am Sunday School 8:30am; 9:45 am; 11:00 am Page 5
Wesley Connector A publication of WESLEY CHAPEL UMC 2100 Highway 150 Floyds Knobs, IN 47119 Welcome to Wesley Chapel wesleychapel.org Wesley Chapel UMC 2100 Hwy 150, Floyds Knobs Office: 812.944.2570 ~ Fax: 812.944.2851 www.wesleychapel.org Tony Alstott ~ Lead Pastor extension 27 email: pastortony@wesleychapel.org Rob Killebrew ~ Director of Passionate Worship extension 24 email: praise@wesleychapel.org Becky Perkins ~ Director of Intentional Faith Development extension 30 email: faith@wesleychapel.org Peter Williams ~ Director of Serve extension 25 email: serve@wesleychapel.org Dennis Shireman ~ Director of Youth & Young Adults extension 29 email: youth@wesleychapel.org Gina Wampler ~ Secretary extension 21 email: secretary@wesleychapel.org Melissa DeLuca ~ Receptionist extension 22 email: receptionist@wesleychapel.org Wayne Perkins ~ Maintenance/Building Security email: wesley@wesleychapel.org Kevin Berry ~ Custodian email: : custodian@wesleychapel.org