Wesley United Methodist Church May 2022 Newsletter What’s inside: From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Zeke’s “Surprise” Birthday Party Scouting News
From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke The Beauty of Brokenness “Again Jesus spoke to them saying, ‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life” John 8:12 In Matthew 4:8, Jesus says “Be perfect as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” What does perfection mean for United Methodists? Of the nineteen historic questions asked all those seeking ordination as elders within the United Methodist Church, two of them relate to perfection. The second historic question is “Are you going on to perfection?” And the third is “Do you expect to be made perfect in this life?” And I answered “Yes” to both at my ordination. What does this mean? I’ll give you a hint: it does not mean being sinless or morally flawless. For that, we can all breath a little easier. When Wesley taught about perfection, he meant perfection in the sense of maturity. The call to Christian perfection is a cry to be something more than you currently are. It is a cry for more love, more joy, more peace, and more Presence. This is not accomplished by the sweat of one’s brow but by the surrendering of ones life into the perfecting work of God present through the Holy Spirit. God is making each of us perfect in love. As United Methodists, we believe in the entire work of sanctification as the trajectory of authentic discipleship. Therefore, the “journey toward Christian perfection” is less about a statement of status (have you reached it or not) but more about orientation (is your life oriented toward a complete life of faith). This is a call to journey, with God, toward a life of faith that is deep and wide and full. It is a call of faithful surrender and willing submission to be shaped and molded by God. There is a unique Japanese ceramic artform known as Kintsugi. Kintsugi artisans take broken pottery and carefully piece them back together using gold-infused glue. The final outcome is incredibly beautiful (for reference look up Kintsugi and see the amazing images). Kintsugi celebrates the cracks and brokenness as part of the overall story. It lifts up the beauty of brokenness. I am encouraged by this when I think of our own lives- messy and broken- who need to reimagine life and success through the eyes of God. I believe we are all made in the image of God and bear that Divine image to the world. Faithful people are called to love of God and love of neighbor. Cont. on Next Page Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
Pastor Zeke Cont., Golf Scramble Pastor Zeke Continued Page 2 Yes there is incredible suffering and brokenness in our lives and the world but I have come to believe God uses our brokenness to shape and reshape us into a restored and beautiful people. Through our brokenness, the light of Christ shines even brighter. Let us honor the light of Christ that breaks forth in new ways in spite of and through our brokenness. Let us also surrender to the molding and shaping of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Finally, let us practice surrender allowing and inviting God to shape us as we journey towards Christian perfection. -Keep the Faith Strong, Rev. Zeke Allen Zeke needs empty moving boxes if anyone has any they want/need to get rid of. Thank you to the Congregational Care Committee and the congregation for the Easter baskets to the kid’s Sunday School class. Big shout out and ‘Thank You’ to Donna Moreton for making these super cute bunnies that were placed in each of the Easter baskets that were delivered to the shut-ins. Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
Easter Page 3 We had a great Easter Sunday service. Thank you to everyone who was involved in the service in any way. All of the music was absolutely beautiful. All of the family photos taken in front of the Flower Cross can be seen on the Wesley Facebook page. Cavanaugh & Wesley through Zeke a “Surprise” belated birthday party April 24th. A good time and delicious food was had by all! Thank you to Carolyn and Cavanaugh for coordinating. Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
UMM, UWF Page 4 If you have not signed up for the Golf Scramble but would like to, please do so as soon as possible. Steve and Joe want to make the teams before the day of the scramble. In March the UMW made the decision to realign and become more inclusive to all women. With that decision, the UMW decided to rename to United Women in Faith. “The move is part of a refreshing of the organization that includes a new logo and an array of new and improved programs to nurture current members and welcome new women to join to put their love in action on behalf of women, children, and youth.” Patrice Hulsey, Blanche West, Donna Moreton, and Gloria Cates attended the Women in Faith District Conference in Russellville on April 15th. Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
Scouts Page 5 Greetings from Pack 19! Our Pack has had a busy springtime full of fun and adventure. In addition to knot tying, games and learning about nature we have had several camping opportunities. March 11-13 was the original date of the Arkansas Gathering. Mother Nature interfered but several scouts and leaders braved the snow anyway. April 8-10 the Gathering proceeded with nice weather and many Scouts in attendance. Our annual District Family Camp was this past weekend, also at Rogers Scout Reservation. Scouts participated in BB shooting, archery and slingshots along with making various instruments, fishing and canoeing. March 22 was our Pack Pinewood derby races. We had about 20 racers across all age levels. Scouts showed a lot of creativity and good sportsmanship in their competition. April 2 several of our Scouts competed in the district Pinewood Derby races at Central Christian Church. Our Arrow of Light level Scouts will be crossing over into Scouts BSA on May 17th. We have five Scouts graduating from Cub Scouts. June 6-10 at Columbus Acres Scouts from the area will participate in Twilight Camp with a theme of the Wild West. We invite all elementary age children to visit us on Tuesday evening at 6:00pm to see if Scouts is for them. Yours in Scoutings Best, Justin Cates Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
Missions Page 6 Missions Farmers Market - As many know for the last several summers, Wesley in coordination with Cavanaugh has picked up donated produce from the Saturday farmers market and distributed that produce to Blessing Boxes around town. This has been such a great mission for each church and such a huge blessing to our community. We want this mission to continue, however, Carrie and Denver (our coordinators of this mission) are tired and in need of a break. We are looking for a coordinator at Wesley and one for Cavanaugh. The main duties include scheduling the volunteers on pick-up days and making sure they have the necessary supplies. If anyone is interested in taking over the coordinator job but has questions before hand, please feel free to contact Carrie. She will answer any and all questions you have. We typically start in June, so we need to get things scheduled and in place as soon as possible. Wesley UMC Newsletter Change Jars - Thank you to everyone who has brought in their spare change each month. We might be small but we are mighty. Aug & Sept ‘21 FS Children’s Shelter $263.94 October ‘21 UMCOR $135.06 December ‘21 Comm. Rescue Mission $96.46 January ‘22 Salvation Army $58.03 February ‘22 Wesley Blessing Box $260.61 March ‘22 Comm. Rescue Mission $150.95 April ‘22 Next Step Day Room $102.64 May ‘22 Hannah House $118.55 If there is an organization you would like to see our change jar offering go to please let us know. We like to keep it in our community or within our State. Backpack Bags - Thank you to everyone who has helped bag and deliver backpack bags this school year. Between Carnall, Cavanaugh and Beard Elementary schools, we provide 53 kids a week with weekend food during the school year. May 2022
Announcements Page 7 • Education Leader, Suzanne Gibson wants to remind everyone that both adult Sunday School classes have resumed studying the quarterly. The children also continue to study with Patrice Hulsey as their leader. • “THANK YOU” to all those who have provided lunch for the Cavanaugh parsonage workers. Work is moving right along! If you would like to help with this effort, contact Harley Strang, Blanche West or Chris Rink. • As our Lead Trustee, Harley Strang deserves a big “thank you” and pat on the back for over-seeing our buildings and church property. He lead the charge on getting the roofs inspected after our last hail storm and in getting the AC units replaced in the sanctuary. • Carrie Miller, Suzanne Gibson, Blanche West and Zeke all traveled to Clarksville for the NW District Charge Conference. Carrie Miller from Wesley and Renee Black from Cavanaugh will represent our congregations at Annual Conference held in Hot Springs this year, June 1-4. Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2022
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