Wesley United Methodist Church 2200 Phoenix, Fort Smith, AR 72901 www.Wesleyumcfs.org April 2019 Newsletter
From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke The Grit of Love “And these three remain, faith, hope, and love, and the greatest is love” - 1 Corinthians 13:13 We live in an “Shock and Awe” world. Everything is vying for our attention in more ways than ever. Our world seems to be full of violence, unrest, oppression, and anger. The church has always been a place for me of peace. I don’t mean that I have always found peace at church. However, I do mean that I have always found my faith, my church and my church family as a place of solace and peace. Now, our global denomination is in unrest. There seems to be people from all sides gathering their troops, fortifying their stances, and circling the wagons. There doesn’t seem to be peace. I have observed a lot of groups claiming to be “Orthodox” Methodists claiming to have the one true biblical interpretation and application. “Orthodox” means literally “right belief”. As I have journeyed through the years, my beliefs have changed dramatically and thus, my understanding of what is “right” has shifted as well. In the ancient rabbinical tradition, there was no concept of the one true interpretation about scripture. Rather, one was to offer one interpretation in a sea of possibilities. This allowed for the living word of god to continue to speak. These days I find the concern with Orthodoxy less appealing than another focus in the life of faith. This is called “Orthopraxy”meaning “right practice”. In a time when everyone seems to have the corner market on every scripture, I find the practice and action of faith to be paramount. This is where the corpus of scripture is clear. Likewise, this is where 1 Corinthians 13:13 abounds. We are to practice faith by loving. There should be no argument over this. When you feel overwhelmed with life and even with faith- practice love. This gritty, tenacious love will carry us through. For me, no matter what the future holds, I will seek to love in all I am and all I do. I pray you will choose to do the same. - Keep the Faith Strong, Zeke Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2019
UMW News, Car Decals Page 2 United Methodist Women FAITH · HOPE · LOVE IN ACTION NEWS & ACTIVITIES Morning Glories - Will meet on Tuesday, April 16 but we have a different schedule for this month. We will meet in the Rock House at 9:30am and car-pool to the Community Services Clearing House for a “guided tour” of the facilities and the ways in which they serve our communities. Thank you to Etta Jensen for making the arrangements for this trip. We will return to the Rock House for the devotional by Doris Cruce and the business meeting. We decided to “eat out” for this meeting (unfortunately, we could not find hostesses who would agree to foot the bill. HA!) You are welcome to visit our group and learn about some of the “helping hands” of our community. May God bless each of you and we wish you a Happy Easter! - Doris Evening Stars - Will meet on Monday, April 8 at 6:30pm in the Rock House. Any and all women of the church are welcome to join in on the fun and fellowship. WESLEY HAS CAR DECALS!! You can pick one up at the church office or in the narthex. Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2019
Music Ministry, 5th Sunday Fellowship Page 3 Greetings!!! Greetings, church members!! Easter is almost here and our Chancel choir is working diligently to prepare music for all our services. We hope that you find what we sing moving and an enhancement to our worship. If you do, make sure to let a choir member know!!! We have a lot of great music specials prepared for the coming months and cannot wait to share all the talent, the members of Wesley have with you all. Yours in Christ, Shane Sanderson We had a great time at our 5th Sunday Fellowship. If you missed it, we hope you can join us at our next 5th Sunday, June 30th. Wesley UMC Newsletter Lenten Service on March 25 @ Vietnamese UMC April 2019
Manes & Miracles, Easter Lilies Page 4 FRI EN DLY All proceeds from the event go to benefit Manes & Miracles. For more information about Manes & Miracles, to register for the Run, and to buy breakfast tickets visit www.ManesandMiracles.org. If you would like to order Easter lilies in memory/honor of loved ones to decorate and fill the sanctuary on Easter Sunday you can print, fill out, and return the below form to the church office by April 7th. Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2019
Cub Scouts Page 5 Greetings from Pack 19. March has been a busy month for our Scouts. On Saturday March 16th we held our annual Pinewood Derby. Scouts spent many hours carefully designing, building and painting their Derby cars. This event is a fun-filled time that teaches craftsmanship and sportsmanship. 95% of Pack 19 scouts participated. Morning races determined the winners in each of the 5 dens. The afternoon races used a double elimination bracket to determine the fastest cars among the whole pack. Along with first, second and third place awards each racer receives a special design certificate and Derby medal. First and second place winners will advance to the districtwide race on April 6th. Also on March 16th we celebrated a baby shower for Joshua Declan Echevarria, son of Daniel and Molly, and little brother to Wolf Scout Phoenix. Scouts have been selling Blue and Gold sausage, bacon and chicken products this month to help raise funds to purchase a new racetrack to benefit scouts for many years to come. March 30 & 31 scouts attended the Arkansas Gathering at Rogers Scout Reservation near Booneville, a time for trading trinkets, toys and gear, fellowship and outdoor adventure. Yours in Scouting, Justin Cates Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2019
RVOCA Laugh & Learn Page 6 YOU are invited! Wesley UMC Newsletter April 2019
APRIL 2019 Upcoming Events Apr 4 Thurs. One Council Mtg, 6:30, Gleaner’s Rm Apr 7 April Birthdays Sun. Lenten Service, 6:00, Midland Heights UMC Apr 8 Mon. Evening Stars, 6:30, Rock House Apr 14 Sun. Lenten Service, 6:00, Cavanaugh UMC Apr 16 Tues. Morning Glories, 10:00am, Rock House Apr 18 Thurs. Young @ Heart, 6:00, Fellowship Hall Apr 21 Sun. Easter Sunday!! 1 - KD Olcott 6 - Donna Moreton 15 - Julia Hayes 15 - Zeke Allen 17 - Sharon Vaughn 18 - Gene McMullin 22 - Jessica Hayes 23 - Rick Schmitz 26 - Ben Cates 30 - Reed Cates Anniversaries 1 - Bruce & Barbara Spencer April Liturgist Schedule 7 - Chris Bates 14 - Suzanne Gibson 21 - Carol Tuck 28 - Bruce Spencer Zeke’s Office Hours Mon - 8:30-9:30 @ Miss Anna’s 9:30- 12:00 @ Wesley Tues - 9:00-12:00 @ Wesley Wed - 8:30-9:30 @ Lewis’s 9:30-12:00 @ Cavanaugh Thurs - 9:00-12:00 at Wesley Wesley UMC Newsletter The Wesley UMC Newsletter goes out at the first of each month. If there is anything you would like submitted in the newsletter, please send the information to Carrie Miller or the church office at Wesleyumcfs@yahoo.com April 2019
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