Wesley United Methodist Church September 2021 Newsletter What’s inside: A note from Pastor Zeke Sunday School Information Scouts Update
From Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Dodging Elephants One weekend during college, a friend and I had gone to Camp Ozark to lead worship. We were headed home late Saturday night. All of a sudden my brakes went on and the car came to a complete stop. There sat in front of us a huge bear. He was sitting on his rear and just looking at us. It was a standoff. There was no going around him. We were stuck. “Church is too often the most risky place to be spiritually honest” – Peter Enns Stuck-ness is an inevitable element of life. I grieve because the church has narrowed the scope of faithful living to a nice, neat life. As long as you’re not too messy, disruptive, inappropriate, showered… the list of pre-req’s go on and on. This element of church is pervasive within and also well documented in the minds of those who do not go to church. As I read Jesus and study his interactions with others, there is a radical, stipulation-demolishing, profiling denying, boundary crossing, and radical grace about him. Jesus was more concerned about meeting people where they were- literally and spiritually- than tending to any precept of image. This radical accepting nature of the church has been misplaced- not lost- misplaced. Truthfully- there will always been elephants in the room- un-dodgeable, gigantic elephants. I long for a church that welcomes the elephant along with the person. For in doing so, we will be closer to a grace-filled church than ever before. After all, we are not here for a place where the righteous gather to talk about how we got everything right, we gather to acknowledge our brokenness and seek the redemptive love afforded us by God through Christ. I pray that each of you might experience that love and, in turn, share it with everyone you meet. - Keep the Faith Strong, Zeke Wesley UMC Newsletter September 2021
Sunday School Info, Thanksgiving Meal Donations Page 2 Testaments. The lessons do not study the Bible in book order, but the units are designed to cover the entire Bible over a period of time. Everyone is welcome to join one of our Adult Bible Study classes, which meet after Sunday morning worship. Whether you are new to Bible Study, or have gone to Sunday school all your life, young of age or just young at heart – there is a place for you in our small groups at Wesley. The Alive class, led by Clyde Bates, meets in the Gleaners classroom at the bottom of the stairs. Across the sidewalk in the Fellowship Hall wing, Patrice Hulsey leads the children’s class, and Suzanne Gibson meets with the Win-One class for coffee and discussion across from the kitchen. The fall quarter starts Sunday, September 5th, and is centered on the theme “Belong.” The lessons in this unit look at the various way that the Bible makes clear how we belong to God’s people even when we appear to be outsiders. Editor, Jan Turrentine, reminds us that “our response to God’s gracious salvation means responding to others. God plans a future with hope for everyone, and God chooses to use us in bringing about that future.” The Adult Bible Studies material covers scripture from the Old and New Wesley UMC Newsletter September 2021 REMINDER—1 Council has a meeting September 16th at 6:30 in the Win-One classroom across from the kitchen. Thanksgiving Meal Donations Wesley will be providing Thanksgiving meal boxes to all the kids at Carnall Elementary who receive weekend backpack snack bags every week. We are requesting certain items each month to help fill those boxes. In September we are asking for canned corn, canned green beans, and canned cranberry sauce. All donations can be left in the box outside the sanctuary or in the office.
Scouts Update Page 3 Greetings from Pack 19, Pack 19 has wrapped up our summer activities and embarked on a full schedule for the school year. This summer we built and launched air powered rockets, did an egg drop contest to see who could build the most secure vessel for a raw egg to be dropped without breaking, went swimming at Hardscrabble Country Club, held a Raingutter Regatta, racing boats that the scouts built themselves and had a snake presentation to get some snake handling experience. On August 24th we held our first meeting of the new year with many eager scouts and parents ready for new adventures and experiences. August 28th our own Cubmaster Burt Jones organized a Community Flag Retirement Ceremony at the Fort Smith Amphitheater. This event gives the public a chance to see how the United States flag is properly retired after it’s useful service life. We invite all interested children to come visit Pack 19 at 6:00 pm Tuesday evening to experience Scouting for themselves. Yours in Scoutings Best, Justin P. Cates Wesley UMC Newsletter September 2021
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