Wesley United Methodist Church June 2021 Newsletter What’s inside: A note from Pastor Zeke Music News Welcome baby Giovanni Jesus!
From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Simply Powerful Over these past few Sunday’s, I invited you to pray some simple but powerful prayers. I want to remind you of them: • God show me the next step • God send your Holy Spirit • God make me holy • God unify us • God spill out your Holy Spirit on our church Often, our most powerful prayers are simple ones. I believe each of these prayers have the potential to be incredibly powerful in all of our lives. Hebrews 4:16 says: “Let us, therefore, approach the throne of grace with boldness” I remind you of this verse because I think it helps us engage in a vital approach to prayer. Specifically, that we must pray boldly. Often times we can get in “prayer ruts” where we say the same prayer and pray the same way. When we do this we can easily fall into the prayer doldrums. It is a place without anticipation or expectation. It can become a place of apathy and obligation rather than a place of invitation, collaboration, and blessing. Jesus modeled a bold prayer life. The disciples carried on that tradition throughout the New Testament. From the beginning of Christendom, people of faith have prayed boldly and born witness to God working in and through their prayers. That same powerful God is working through us, within our prayers, today. So pray boldly. Do not hesitate to ask and to invite God to work within your life in powerful ways. As the church of the living Christ and as people of the living Christ, we are invited into an intimate relationship with God. Lean into that relationship within your prayer life. Don’t be afraid to share your hearts desires with God. Ask boldly and without fear. Place your concerns into the capable hands of God. In doing so, I believe we will all see radical change in our lives and in our situations. Keep the Faith Strong, Pastor Zeke Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
Wesley in Worship, Facility Information Page 2 Wesley in Worship The worship committee has been busy brainstorming ideas to make certain worship services just a little more memorable. From flowers for Mothers day to cupcakes for Pentacost, we strive to add a special touch to each of these services with the hopes that it will make it more memorable for everyone. We look forward to honoring the men on Fathers Day and our country on the Fourth of July. Soon, we will be making a request for your favorite hymns and praise songs to see if we can work those into our future services. So be thinking of those songs that have touched your heart so you can suggest them when the time comes. Facility Information In addition to the extreme clean-up of the Wesley campus, you can expect to see new trees and plants to replace those severely damaged or completely frozen from the last hard freeze the area experienced. A new Dwarf Japanese Maple has already been planted at the East Entrance to the Sanctuary. As soon as the rains let up, two Japanese Maples will be planted at the front of the Sanctuary with new shrubs or flowers around them. A Pink Dogwood and another Japanese Maple will go in on the South end of the Sanctuary. In the island on the East Parking Lot, a Hydrangea Tree, a Dwarf Red Bud, and a Pink Parasol Japanese Snowball (all three dwarfs) will be planted. Thank you to Harley Strang and the Trustees for your diligence and work on this project. These additions will certainly enhance the beauty of our campus. Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
Music News Page 3 Greetings!! Dear Wesley UMC Family, Nearly four years ago, I saw an advertisement for a church in Fort Smith needing a choir director. I remember reading the job description thinking, "Do I really want to be a choir director again?" I knew the answer: I wouldn't have been curiously looking at job postings if I did not. I had become somewhat jaded against the idea of being a choir director in a church again because there had been a couple of bad experiences in my past, and these made me hesitant. However, I submitted my resume, looked up as much information as I could about the church, and stepped out in faith. It was one of the BEST decisions that I have ever made. Since my first Sunday here, I have had the blessing of working with such wonderful and talented people, who have always been such a joy. This church has such a loving spirit, and over these four year, my faith in the church has been restored by watching you live as I feel people of God should. You have accepted those whom others might push away or deem unworthy. You have demonstrated extraordinary generosity. You have worked hard in the community to fulfill the needs of those around you while expecting nothing in return. You have been an example to others of what people with faith guided by a sense of love for their neighbor can do. In essence, you are a small but mighty church, and it has been inspiring to me to see the grace and blessing that God wields through you. I am grateful to God for my time among you. I have laughed, cried, healed, and been restored many times throughout these four years. My best friend Nate and I had a discussion recently in which we were remembering times when each of our lives have changed direction. While comparing notes, we both came to the realization that these moments only came when we were willing to give up something that we had been holding on to. A few days later, I attended a funeral for a high school friend of mine who passed away suddenly. His name was Bobby, and he was a well-known musician who played in several bluegrass bands all over the country. Continued on page 4 Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
Music News Cont., Grounds Clean-up Page 4 Music News Continued—As I sat and listened to all the stories people shared about his life in music and how it touched them, I had a sudden epiphany. Bobby was a musician; it was his life. This was something he did every day. God spoke to me in that moment, showing me that while music has been a gift from when I was young, it is not my life. My life has been about forging relationships and being a leader, even when I did not really want to be. What I realized is that once again, I am being asked to give up something so that God can send me in a different direction. I just never realized that church music would be that thing. That doesn't mean that I will quit singing or even being a part of a choir someday. What it means is that for now, I have to let go of something that I really want to hold on to--being a church music leader--so that God can lead me in a different direction. So, as I end this, my last article to you, I want you to know that I take nothing but happy memories from this church, and I am SO GRATEFUL that God led me to you those years ago. And though I am headed down a different path now, I know that I will have to stop in from time to time to catch up with a group of people whom I truly love and care for. Yours in Christ, Shane Wesley UMC Newsletter We sing about it, and now we’ve witnessed it first-hand! “It only takes a spark to get a fire going…” We didn’t start a fire, but we did start a spring clean-up of Wesley’s grounds and fence rows when Gloria Cates said she’d give $100 towards hiring a crew to tidy up the lawn and landscaping. Blanche West agreed to match her donation, and the “sparks flew,“ gathering momentum in the form of 30 more donations for a total of $4000 during the month of May to “make it happen!” Thank you to all those who contributed over and above their regular giving in order to make it happen. Another word of thanks goes to Renee Figuerora for donating his grounds crew to trim out the frozen foliage between the two buildings. June 2021
Missions Page 5 Missions Farmers Market - Below is the sorting schedule for June. Anyone is welcome to come help sort and deliver produce Saturdays at noon. June 5 - Cavanaugh June 12 - Wesley June 19 - Cavanaugh June 26 - Wesley Change Jars - Keep your change!!! The missions committee will be passing out change jars on Sunday, June 6th to send home with members to collect your change. The first Sunday of each month we will count the change and whatever is collected will be donated to a mission program or non-profit we have chosen for that month. If you have a program or place you would like to see the donations given to, please let us know. We are open to suggestions. Community Garden - A handful of Wesley members as well as a handful of workers from the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance and Americorp planted sweet potatoes at the community garden. It was muddy but everyone had a great time. Harvesting will take place in September so be on the look out for that date. Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
Sunday School Page 6 The Reset study group recently completed a ten week intensive study of the book of Nehemiah and celebrated with a graduation fellowship on May 16 with lunch, playing Spin the Wheel to Victory, and marching in a parade complete with noise makers and pom-poms, from the fellowship hall to the commencement exercise in the Sanctuary, with Pastor Zeke offering Communion and handing out diplomas to each graduate. Class member Clyde Bates challenged his classmates to “be strong in the Lord” and “put on the whole armor of God….that they may withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:1020 Congratulations! Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
Welcome baby Giovanni Jesus!!!! Born: 5/18/2021 Time: 3:44pm Weight: 8lbs 2.9oz Length: 20 3/4” One Council will meet June 17th at 6:30 in the meeting room below the church office. God, help me encounter you today. 2200 Phoenix Ave., Fort Smith, AR 72901 479-646-9702 Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2021
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