From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Thankful “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Bear with one another and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” -Colossians 3:12-15 I’m not great at goodbyes. One would think that being a UMC pastor would eventually, after enough moves, make it easier- but it doesn’t. It has been such an incredible privilege to serve alongside the people of Wesley UMC in the last four years. I have tried to serve and lead with “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience,” just as it mentions in Colossians 3. However, I have left many things undone and made my share of mistakes and missteps along the way. For those things, I ask for your forgiveness. Ministry has its share of blessings, burdens and comes at great cost many times. I am so grateful for the grace and love many of you have extended to me these years together. As I have reflected on our time together, a lot has happened in four years. Wesley held a mortgage burning to celebrate paying off the debt. We endured a global pandemic as a result of Covid-19, which would take the lives of a few of our members. In addition, many other long-time, faithful members of Wesley have gone on to glory joining the church triumphant and that has been terribly difficult for all of us. Wesley has engaged in meaningful mission including the building of the community garden on the Carnall Elementary campus; providing food for hungry school children at Carnall, Beard, and Cavanaugh Elementary through the backpack program; distributing fresh produce throughout town from our Farmer’s Market ministry; and giving funds to various local mission organizations around town through our communion offerings- to name a few. Wesley has endeavored and completed many wonderful projects to improve the church, including: a complete landscape overhaul; new carpet, tile, and blinds in the entryway and foyer of the sanctuary; Wesley UMC Newsletter June 2022
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