Wesley United Methodist Church
Tuesday, September 18, 2018
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Calendar & EventsYou can also contact the church office at 413-549-1550 or office@wesleyfamily.org.
Check out the calendar or the Wesley Journal newsletter (pdf) for additional information about church events and activities.
Online Giving Now Available!
For your convenience, it is now possible to support Wesley with online giving. If you would like to make a credit card or electronic check donation to Wesley United Methodist Church, please click the button below. On this secure web service page, you will be able to set up your own account and make one-time and/or recurring donations to the church. For each transaction, you will receive an email confirmation, as long as you include your email address when setting up your account. Please contact Steve de Bruyn Kops with any questions or for more information.
 Need a ride?
Do you need a ride to worship or other church event? Is so, email us a ineedaride@wesleyfamily.org, and include your name, cell phone, and address. Or you could call the church office at 413/ 549-1550 and leave a message with the same information. Please let us know of your need by 5:00 pm on Saturday afternoon, so we can make the necessary arrangements.
Save the Date!
Not Bread Alone - Saturday, September 22 Special Church Conference - Sunday, September 30
Fall Craft Fair - Saturday, November 3
Upcoming Information Sessions
There is a special church conference scheduled for September 30th, called by the Board of Trustees. The Real Property Use Study Committee is providing a number of opportunities to learn about the work they have been doing and how it relates to this important meeting at the end of September. The first meetings were held on Wednesday, August 29 and Saturday, September 15. If you were unable to attend those meetings, there will be another opportunity on September 23rd following the worship service.
Special Church Conference
On Sunday, September 30th, Wesley's Board of Trustees will host our District Superintendent, Rev. David Calhoun, to preside over a special church conference after worship. It is our hope that the congregation's participation in one of the information sessions mentioned above will make for a smoother church conference. Please try to attend one session as you are able, and participate in the decisions being made on September 30th. We are also looking to support New England JFON financially by purchasing a table for their Annual Celebration and Dinner Fundraiser with silent auction on Saturday, November 10th at Trinity United Methodist Church. Tickets are $30/each, and we're hoping to get 8 people to purchase a full table. If interested in purchasing a ticket for the dinner, please let Moo know in September.
Small Groups Fair
It’s all about making connections. The Christian life is not intended to be lived alone. We were formed by God to be in connection: with God and with one an-other. Even though we each must take our own path, we need the support and strengthening of others to become more deeply committed Christians. It is in small groups where people receive encouragement and challenge to deepen their faith and to live out the calling of all believers to be disciples in the world. We would love for every person in the Wesley family to be a part of at least one small group – this includes you! Please look through the list and find a group you would like to be a part of. Need more information? Look online for more complete descriptions of the groups, peruse the brochure available at church, or contact Julie Chalfant by email. September Mission Outreach Opportunity
Remember Salem, Maine? That’s where our work crew spent a week in the middle of the summer at the United Methodist Economic Ministries. Members of our Wesley family, Don and Doris McLeod, will be traveling in Maine the first week in October and have offered to deliver some winter items to the “Salem Mall” (their thrift store). In answer to our “what do you need” e-mail, the reply was water resistant gloves for all ages (“It’s difficult to work or play with wet hands.”) and healing hand lotion (especially important for folks with hands that are hard to heal). If you wish to contribute any of these items, there will be a box in the Great Hall for them during the month of September.
Wesley’s Sunday evening Bible Study will resume on Sunday, September 23rd, at 6:30 pm. We meet for one hour each week. We will be studying some of the Wisdom books - Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Job. Prior Bible study experienced not required. All are welcome! Led by Jim Harvey. Please call 413-259-4404 or email him if you would like more information or have any questions.
Food Ministry Update
Wesley UMC's food ministry includes a collection at the worship service on the first Sunday of the month. For the next several months, we are going to target the needs of Not Bread Alone, a community meal program in Amherst.
Please bring one of the following items on our next collection date of October 7th:
· Napkins for bundling silverware - the larger size of "elegant" napkins · Regular paper napkins · Paper towels · Cooking oil · Extra virgin olive oil (small amounts) · Pine Sol for mopping floors · Powdered dishwasher detergent · All-purpose cleaner refill bottles: Lysol, Spic and Span, whatever · Canned tomato products: paste, diced, sauce Thanks so much for your support to those in need in our community. Craft Fair Workshops
There are a number of workshops scheduled for the upcoming fall craft fair:
September 24 Monday 9 a.m. to Noon
October 9 Tuesday 1:30 to 4:30 p.m. Education wing October 25 Thursday 1 to 4 p.m. It may be possible to schedule an evening date if you or anyone you know would be willing to come for an evening meeting. There are several projects to finish. Also for anyone needing pint canning jars, Gerry has a couple dozen to share. If anyone needs a ride please have her/him contact Gerry at 413-259-4404. The Committee is working hard to build on the successes of prior year's fairs. Here is how you can help:
Make Music at Wesley this Fall!
The Omega Bell Choir continues to ring with joy…but we need 2 or 3 new ringers! Bell choir meets September through June, on Sunday evenings from 7:00pm to 8:15pm. Anyone 9th grade and above is encouraged to join us - we will teach you what you need to know. If you are interested, please contact director Tim Bennett by email or 413-835-5790. Please consider joining us!
Sanctuary Choir rehearses September through June on Wednesday evenings from 7:00pm to 8:30pm. We are especially looking for additions to our Soprano and Men’s sections. We sing a wonderful variety of music and pray together at every rehearsal. The choir is open to high school age and above or by special permission. If interested, please contact Cathy Bennett, Director of Music, by email or 413-404-0932. We would love for you to join us! Children’s choir is so much fun! We would love to restart this group. In order to do this, Cathy needs to know how many children are interested. Children ages 5 to 12 are welcome; with older ones having leadership roles. Rehearsals will be arranged based upon your schedule. Please contact her as soon as possible if you are interested at by email or 413-404-0932. Our Praise Group is comprised of amateur musicians and singers welcome all ages. We rehearse weekly September through June, and provide special music in worship one Sunday each month. Our current rehearsal schedule is Thursday evenings 5:50-6:30 pm in the Sanctuary. We would love to have a few additional singers and musicians (guitar, keyboard, percussion and more woodwind instruments are all needed). Being able to read music is not required, but it is a plus; we will help you. If you are a parent with a young child and you would like to participate, please know that you can bring your child along to rehearsals and they can join the group and play a “shaker egg” if they wish. Please contact Deb Henson or Bill Henson with your interest or to answer any questions you may have. United Methodist Women Announces a Charter for Racial Justice
Wesley Church has a posted copy of this charter in the Great Hall. UMW believes:
For all these reasons, Wesley Church has committed itself to study and action around Racial Justice. Please take advantage of the books and materials available to borrow in the adult classroom library.
Take a stand against gun violence!
In case you missed it, here are the actions from the call to action against gun violence that
Pastor Moo urged us to take in his recent sermon:
1. Please visit the website https://petitions.moveon.org/sign/ban-military-style-assault and sign the petition "Ban Military-Style Assault Weapons and Large Capacity Magazines Now."
2. Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America https://momsdemandaction.org/ and Everytown for Gun Safety https://everytown.org/throwthemout launched a campaign in order to empower voter to find where candidates stand on gun safety, elect politicians who will fight for gun safety and throw out those who oppose stricter gun laws. They also use a Washington Post interactive to help people track donations by the NRA. https://www.washingtonpost.com/grap…/national/nra-donations/ Please pass the info to your families and friends who live in other states. 3. Please contact your Representative and Senator to reverse a ban blocking the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from studying gun violence. Currently there is a law, as a result of the NRA lobby, forbids the use of federal funds on studies that promote gun control. We need a public scientific research on gun violence. 4. Please tell your Representative and Senator to bring back the "Federal Assault Weapons Ban," which was in place for 10 years, from 1994 to 2004. Wesley's Spiritual Journey Group meets at the church every Thursday. We begin with spiritual sharing and prayer from 1 - 1:30 pm. The book study follows from 1:30 - 2:30 pm. Please contact Jane Sicks by email with any questions. New members are always welcome!
Monthly Healing Time after Worship
We invite you to partake of the healing graces of our loving God, either after service on the first Sunday of every month or during our Thursday evening prayer time. We also would invite you to join our healing group if you are able to make the commitment and are willing to learn the principles of faith healing. Please feel free to contact Cathy Bennett or Nancy Nash with any questions.
Safe Parking Reminder
Please remember that in an emergency, seconds really do count and there are times that, no matter how good the sprinkler system is, those systems could fail. All parking at Wesley needs to be in marked spots in our parking lot. Parking is only allowed in handicap spaces with the appropriate placard. Recently we have had an increase of cars parking in non-marked spots during events. This does not allow police, fire, and EMS vehicles to access the church appropriately in the event of an emergency. Several of the Hadley FD vehicles plus some of the ambulances from Amherst FD cannot make the turn into the lane next to the church’s entrance when cars are parked illegally. Please keep everyone’s safety in mind when parking here at Wesley.
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