Wesley United Methodist Church 2200 Phoenix, Fort Smith, AR 72901 www.Wesleyumcfs.org March 2019 Newsletter
From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Over the past few days I have had many conversations with Methodist colleagues and many church members regarding the actions and reactions from General Conference. Many of those have been raw, emotional, anxiety-ridden conversations. Meaningful words have been scarce for me and trite comments even more hollow than normal. I serve two churches that represent the full spectrum of beliefs. As a UMC pastor I have cherished the spectrum of individuals and beliefs of each person. I authentically love diversity. It has been a joy to seek to foster faith communities that live in the creative tension of diversity and faith. When done in love, it is a beautiful thing. However, there have been many precious people left feeling injured, further marginalized and unwelcome. I truly strive to live a life that does “No Hard”. As a core tenant of what it means to be a UM, we, the people and the institution on the UMC, have done harm. It pains me to see others wounded by the church. I believe all people are of sacred worth who have been created in the image of God, beautiful and beloved. I will continue to strive to love God and love my neighbor. I will continue to lead others to do the same. In this tenuous time within our denomination, grace and love are essential. Pointing fingers and picking sides cannot be the steps in the days to come. Love must abound. Grace must abound. The world will truly know us by our love. So for everyone of you, in whatever place today finds you, may love be the light that illumines your steps. I love each of you and I stand with you all. My prayer for all of us is that we all might experience lives of true shalom. Keep the Faith Strong, Zeke A prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy.” Wesley UMC Newsletter March 2019
UMW News Page 2 United Methodist Women FAITH · HOPE · LOVE IN ACTION NEWS & ACTIVITIES I would like to thank everyone for their part in UMW Sunday. A ‘thank you’ to Carrie Miller for bringing the message. Congratulations to Wanda Karnes and Sydney Fulbright for being presented a Special Mission Recognition Pin and Certificate for their dedication to the church and the community. More UMW news continued on page 4 Wesley UMC Newsletter March 2019
UMW News Cont., St. Patrick’s Day Celebration Page 4 Morning Glories: Will meet Tuesday, March 19 at 10:00am in the Rock House. Betty Reather will give the devotional, Iris Hightower will present the program and JoAn McMullin and Doris Cruce will be the hostesses for the Salad Potluck that will follow the program and business meeting. You are invited to join us for Mission information, good food and amazing fellowship. Note: We are collecting Best Choice Symbols for our money-maker (since we no longer are able to have the Annual Rummage Sale); we would appreciate your help. God bless you, one and all! Upcoming Event: Northwest District UMW Spiritual Growth study “Embracing Wholeness: An Earth Perspective for Covenantal Living” Speaker will be Rev. Pam Estes. Place: Clarksville FUMC Date: April 6, 2019 Early Bird Registration ($15) - Deadline March 29 Late Registration ($20) Contact Patrice Hulsey for registration info at 650-0303 FRIENDLY REMINDER If you use the kitchen, please wash and put away anything you use before leaving. St. Patrick’s Day Celebration You, your family, and friends are invited to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with Mardell McClurkin and family on Sunday, March 17, in the Skokos Family Life Center at Kibler UMC. This is a FREE celebration for all ages and everyone is invited to eat between 11:30am5:00pm. On February 24, we welcomed Joanne Peterson as an “official” member of Wesley. Joanne was already a member of the Wesley family in our eyes, this was merely a formality. Wesley UMC Newsletter Meal: Irish Soup and Fixin’s Entertainment: 11:30am - Ms. Senior AR, Cameo Club 1:00pm - Irish Dancers, Lizzie Boone and Matt Petrick 2:00-5:00pm - Video Tour of Ireland For more information call: 479-461-5209, 479-632-5822, or 479-632-4433 March 2019
Music Ministry Page 3 Greetings!!! Wesley UMC Family, I would like to say how encouraging it is to see people posting videos of our music on social media. I love that I get to share these with my family and friends. After my and Mary Beth's duet the other day, one of my students came up to me at school and said, "Mr. Sanderson, I didn't know you could sing like that!" I want everyone to know that we are working on music for Lent and have quite a bit of music in store for you. So, make sure you are here every Sunday to enjoy the wonderful talent we have in our church and to hear Zeke teach us from the word!!! Yours in Christ, Shane Wesley UMC Newsletter Lenten Service on March 25 @ Vietnamese UMC March 2019
One Council, Cub Scouts Page 5 Our One Council is made up of some amazing people. They all work hard for Wesley to make sure our ministries, missions and fellowships are the very best they can be. One Council meets the first Thursday of each month at 6:30 in the Gleaner’s Room. Everyone is welcome to attend. We had a wonderful service on Scouts Sunday. Thank you to everyone who attended the service and a special Thank you to all the Scouts who participated in worship. Wesley UMC Newsletter March 2019
Lenten Schedule, ARK News Page 6 March Lenten Service Schedule All Services begin at 6:00pm 3/10 - Hackett, Rev. Dazzle Burns 3/17 - Wesley, Rev. James Harris 3/24 - St. Paul, Rev. Zeke Allen 3/31 - Mission, Rev. Steve Poarch A.R.K. News The Backpack Program is moving right a long. We are providing 11 bags to Carnall Elementary and 8 to Cavanaugh Elementary each week and we have mentioned possibly adding 1 or 2 more schools to our list. Thanks to our partnership with the food bank we receive free Backpack Program food items each month which helps offset the costs for the churches and members. We also get a pallet of food each month for minimal costs with Wesley and Cavanaugh splitting the cost of the pallet. This food helps us put food in the Blessing Box more often. If you ever want to donate monetarily to help cover the costs of our Blessing Box food you can give your donation to George Jensen or to Carrie Miller. We are also working out the logistics to partner with the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance to plant a Community Garden at Carnall Elementary. If everything works out, our hope is to plant the first crop this spring. Lastly, within a couple of months we will begin picking up produce from the Farmer’s Market again to place in Blessing Boxes around town. It is my hope that we have enough volunteers that each person will only have to pickup and distribute once a month. If you don’t know about the program, we pickup donated produce from the Saturday Farmer’s Market. Take it back to either Wesley or Cavanaugh, sort it and then distribute it to Blessing Boxes around town. It really is a great way to show love to your neighbors in need. Think about whether or not it is something you might want to do and be on the look out for a sign up sheet within the next month or 2. Wesley UMC Newsletter March 2019 Justin Cates was presented the UMM Man of the Year Award at the Valentine’s Day Dinner hosted by the UMM at Cavanaugh. Congratulations Justin, well deserved! Thank you for all you do.
March 2019 March Upcoming Events Mar 3 Sun. 5th Sunday Fellowship Potluck, 6:00pm, Fellowship Hall Mar 6 Wed. Ash Wednesday Service, 6:00pm, Cavanaugh UMC Mar 7 Thurs. One Council Mtg, 6:30, Gleaner’s Rm Mar 10 Sun. Lenten Service, Hackett UMC, 6:00 Mar 11 Mon. Evening Stars, 6:30pm, Rock House Mar 17 Sun. Lenten Service, Wesley, 6:00 Mar 19 Tues. Morning Glories, 10:00am, Rock House Mar 21 Thurs. Young @ Heart, 6:00pm, Fellowship Hall Mar 24 Sun. Lenten Service, St. Paul UMC, 6:00 Mar 31 Sun. Lenten Service, Mission UMC, 6:00 Birthdays 1 - Carmen Flores 2 - Layla Olcott 12 - Rachel Arnold 13 - Gloria Groves 13 - Billy Strang 18 - Norma Robison 27 - Seren Ledford Anniversaries 10 - Ben & Misty Cates 23 - Dennis & Patrice Hulsey March Liturgist Schedule 3 - Amy Cates 10 - Frances Hunt 17 - Sydney Fulbright 24 - Iris Hendrickson 31 - Blanche West Wesley UMC Newsletter 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 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 March 2019
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