Wesley United Methodist Church
Saturday, July 21, 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, July 28
Fall Craft Fair - Saturday, November 3
Coffee Hour News
The last official coffee hour of the summer was on Sunday, June 17, as the Hospitality Committee takes a well earned summer break. If there is a special day for which you wish to host a coffee hour during the summer, please use the posted sign-up sheets on the kitchen door.
Looking ahead to the fall,volunteers are needed to sign up to "host" Coffee Hour by bringing in food to go with the coffee and refreshments that the church provides, as well as setting up the spread in the Great Hall. There is a signup sheet on the Kitchen door or you may email the office (office@wesleyfamily.org) for the week of your choice. Every Sunday for the remainder of the year is posted. After their summer break, the Hospitality Committee will resume as the main hosts for the 1st Sunday of each month.
Wesley Church is a partner in “Backpacks for Successful Transitions,” a project organized by St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ashfield, through a Loaves and Fishes Grant from the Community Foundation of Western Mass. For about ten years, Wesley Church has offered worship services at the women’s prison in Chicopee, and this prison release project is an ideal “second step” to connect the church with the needs of women prisoners, spiritual and physical. Women released from prison often leave with nothing, no personal items, no encouragement, few resources. These backpack kits include personal care items, non-perishable snack foods and inspirational reading and writing materials to ease the women’s transition and provide encouragement. More information will be coming to your email, or read the complete article in the July newsletter. Your contributions to this project are greatly appreciated!
Writing Worship at Wesley
An AWA Writing Workshop will be held weekly at the church on Wednesday evenings between July 11th and August 29th. The workshop will be from 6:30pm to 9:30pm in the Adult Meeting Room.
Writers of all levels of experience and genres are welcome. There will be an opportunity to do new writing every week. Those who wish to do so may bring in their work in manuscript form for the workshop to read and discuss. The fee is $35 per evening with a sliding scale for those who might be more comfortable with a lesser amount. For more information, please call Peggy Reber at 413-367-9760. The Committee is working hard to build on the successes of prior year's fairs. Here is how you can help:
Summer Mission Trip
This summer's mission trip will be to the United Methodist Economic Ministry (UMEM) in Salem, ME from July 29th to August 4th. UMEM is a faith-based non-profit and extension ministry of the New England Conference that supports summer mission teams who repair homes in the county to make them “safe, warm, and dry.” In addition, UMEM has food cupboards, thrift shops, and other projects that support the needs of this poor, rural community. Cost is $25-$50 per person - additional expenses will be covered by fundraisers and Capital Campaign Mission funds (no one will be excluded for financial reasons). If you are interested in finding out more about the trip, would like to sign up, or are are interested in helping with fundraisers, please contact Allison Roy.
Ringers Wanted
Wesley is looking for handbell ringers to join our Omega Bell Choir. We ring on 4+ octaves of handbells and 4 octaves of hand chimes and rehearse on Sunday evenings from 7-8:15 pm (beginning in September). Ringers participate in one worship service each month, from October through June, ringing a variety of styles. We also ring for some special services during the Easter and Christmas seasons. Previous handbell experience is a plus, but not required. We will teach you what you need to know. Please contact Tim Bennett by email or by calling 413-835-5790.
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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