wesley united…when we resume in september. blessings, donna june, denise, joan, donna, cindy,...
TRANSCRIPT
Even though summer doesn’t officially start until the Summer solstice on the 21
st of this month, based on the temperatures outside,
it feels safe to say that summer is already here! The college students are already close to starting the second month of their summer break. And Alachua County schools’ official last day of classes was May 31. The summer adventures are just gearing up and many have vacations on the horizon.
Summer is a time of joy and celebration for many, although for me it is also a time of sweat and nearly melting on sunny runs. I imagine that summer is a much-needed breath of fresh air for people, especially in light of some of the heavy and difficult things we have walked through as a church family in the month of May. In May, we celebrated the long life of Buford Scott, who was Wesley’s last remaining Charter Member. Also in May, we heard information from our Finance Committee about financial challenges facing our church right now. These topics are heavy and filled with emotion, especially in light of the deep love and connection we feel to this church.
But these times of grief and uncertainty never have the final say, because we have the promise that God is making all things new. God is already bringing new missions, ministries, and programs to life. God is already doing things worth celebrating. And God is already stirring up renewed energy and excitement about how we can grow and thrive as a church.
There is something we need as we face these moments filled with both excitement and uncertainty. I think what we need is demonstrated by the Jeopardy! phenom James Holzhauer. If you haven’t been watching Jeopardy! recently, James surpassed the $2-million mark on his 27
th win. He is intelligent, of course, but another key to his big
wins is something else; it’s his willingness to take big risks. What if we decided to adopt some of his bold faith to take big risks?
I’m not suggesting that we take up gambling as a church congregation, but I do think we need to re-learn how to take risks. Instead of being afraid of failing, we need to be willing to just show-up and try new things, even things that might seem crazy. When James Holzhauer takes big risks, he is relying on his truly remarkable intelligence and knowledge. But we can one-up that, because when we take risks, we are relying on God’s ability to do all things in and through the power of the Holy Spirit!
Grace and peace,
Wesley United
Methodist Church Mission Statement:
!
826 NW 23rd Avenue Gainesville, FL
32609 Office: 372-2845 Fax: 372-9544
We are on Facebook!!!
Pastor’s E-mail:
Secretary’s E-mail: Terri Manche
Witness Articles E-mail: Sharren Gibbs
[email protected] Deadline for articles: 15th of each
month
Website: www.WesleyUMCon23.org
Weekly Sunday Activities
Sunday School Adult Ages @ 9:30AM Worship @ 10:45AM
(Sanctuary)
Come join Pastor Sarah from noon to 1:00PM in the Conference Room on Tuesdays. We discuss a variety of themes and topics, but there is always rich discussion. All are welcome and we would love to have you join us!
VETERANS AND FRIENDS STORYTELLING TOGETHER — Join us on the first Thursday of the month at 10:00 AM in the conference room to share stories and snacks and discuss the book Peace at Last; Stories of Hope and Healing for Veterans and Their Families. Books will be provided free to anyone who wants to attend.
Barbara Baldwin Micke Bergeron
Agnes Burke Carolyn Clarke
Joan Croft Betty Dees
John Easter Rachelle Hines
Sonya Hodges Cindy Holmes
Paula Mathis Barb Loehr
Beth Loehr-Moody Clydia Reichert
Sonny Robertson Beth Senn
Dale Smith Helen Tate
Polly Teele George Winburn Clarence Witt
Storytime in the Park
Our last day for story time was May 19th. Our theme this spring was the life of Jesus, and we had several visitors from the community this Spring. We will resume the week after Labor Day. Everyone have a fun summer! A special thank you to Susie Aguila for filling in when we needed her!!
Blessings, Sherry Adams, Diane Blucher and Joyce Welsh
WESLEY MUSIC LOVER’S GROUP
Escape from life’s stressors! Relax and enjoy a variety of music with other music lovers. Do you enjoy Christian, gospel, country, easy listening, rock, jazz, R & B, blues, folk, big band, orchestra, 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, pop, soul, show tunes or opera music? You name it, you will find it here. Special interest groups are always an option, too. Bring your favorite music, enhance your musical awareness, and share fellowship and joy with others. Starting Monday, June 17
th from 1:00-
3:00PM.
Questions, email Pamela at [email protected] or call Terri at the Wesley UMC Church office at 352-372-2845.
Sun
Mon
Tue
Wed
Thu
Fri
Sat
1
2
Com
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Asc
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Noon P
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Grace Marketplace
Since Grace Marketplace opened its doors in 2014, it has become a center of help, healing, and hope in our community. Grace meets its clients where they stand and walks with them toward a better future by providing meals, shelter, and other immediate needs while connecting them with essential services. These services include medical care, job training and skill building, mental health services, and more. Grace makes this possible by providing space on their campus for other community services providers — often space that is shared with numerous providers.
GRACE offers a wide variety of supportive services, including
Intake and referral
Substance abuse and mental health counseling
Case management
Assistance with public benefit signups (food stamps, Medicaid, SSI/SSDI, and SafeLink phones)
Showers and restrooms
Breakfast and Dinner
Outdoor shelter pavilion
Storage of personal belongings
Clothes closet
Help prevent and end homelessness by making a donation toward an immediate need. We’ve set up a fund to cover the small expenses that tend to be the tipping point pushing people into homelessness. Things like a flat tire, needing to be able get back to Mom, or having to choose between groceries or rent. Often, households will call looking for emergency shelter before they actually lose their housing. This fund lets us address those issues and prevent households from ever becoming homeless.
As much progress as Grace has made, it has not yet reached its full potential. Most pressing, many more local agencies that want to provide services at Grace have no facility in which to do so. To address this deficiency, funds to renovate an existing building into the Community Services Building will significantly expand the agencies that can participate at Grace. Some of the services to be added to the current array include: expanding veterans’ services; dedicating space for more frequent 12-step meetings; creating a women’s safe space where women can meet with domestic violence service providers such as Peaceful Paths; providing room for additional mental health services from Meridian Behavioral Healthcare; and expanding case management offerings by Grace staff and other community providers.
For more information, visit http://gracemarketplace.org/
Watch Pastor Sarah’s ordination on live streaming as it happens!
Go to http://flumc.org/aclive and then click on the box showing confirmations.
Congratulations, Pastor Sarah!
We had a wonderful lunch at Cedar River Seafood. We will not meet during the summer, and hope to see you when we resume in September.
Blessings, Donna
June, Denise, Joan, Donna, Cindy, Becky, and Sandy
Story time in the park
Our last day for story time was May 19th. Our theme this spring was the life of Jesus, and we had
several visitors from the community this Spring. We will resume the week after Labor Day. Every-
one have a fun summer! A special thank you to Susie Aguila for filling in when we needed her!!
Blessings, Sherry Adams, Diane Blucher and Joyce Welsh.
ALACHUA GIRLS ACADEMY I took 27 goody bags to the academy in April. The contents on this visit included notebooks, pencils, pens, sharpeners, little wallets, combs and hairbrushes, nail polish, individual snacks, hair ties, personal health items, etc. This was made possible by donations from YOU.
Thank you and many blessings!
Joyce Welsh
If you watch any shows on Public Broadcasting System, I know you’ve seen their ads for helping fund their programming. Lately, they have one for funds you don’t need but must take from your IRA. Could this work for us? And you?? Skip Manasco provided the following information from an answer to a question posed by a reader of www.investmentnews.com and wanted to share it with the congregation.
QUESTION: Has my ability to make direct charitable donations from my IRA when I reach the age of 70 1/2 been affected by the new tax law? — Connie Beroza, 69-year-old retiree, Buffalo, N.Y.
ANSWER: In short, the strategy of donating to charities directly from an IRA after age 70 1/2 is still around under the new tax laws. The qualified charitable distribution (QCD) has been around for years but was only codified as a permanent law a few years ago. A QCD allows those age 70 1/2 to give money to charities directly from their IRAs in a tax advantageous manner. This allows IRA owners who have attained age 70 1/2 to distribute money directly from the IRA to a qualified charity. Total annual QCDs from all IRAs cannot exceed $100,000 for an individual. Spouses can each make up to $100,000 of QCDs.
Making a QCD as opposed to a normal charitable gift has two main advantages. First, a QCD counts toward satisfying the individual's required minimum distribution for that year. Second, the distribution is excluded from the taxpayer's income. It is this second benefit that really shines under the new tax bill. With very few individuals expected to itemize (some estimates say around 5% of filers), the income tax deduction for contributions to charities will be lost for many people. However, if you make a QCD, you get a full exclusion of that income from taxes. So, for any retiree who is 70 1/2 or older, owns an IRA subject to RMDs, and is charitably inclined, a QCD really works out as a way to preserve an income-tax-reducing charitable deduction under the new tax law.
WESLEY WEDNESDAY PICNIC & BIRTHDAY PARTY
What a fun picnic! Many thanks to Edgar Voyles for providing the meat, to Danny and crew for cooking it, and to the Kitchen group who, once again, pre-pared and cleaned up. June was completely surprised and managed to blow out all her candles.
What a great time we had celebrating the 150th birthday of the United Methodist Women and its predecessor organizations! We had a great attendance and a good time of fun, food, and fellowship was had by all. United Methodist Deaconess Mary Melvin shared from her many experiences and opportunities for growth that she had had in our organization of UMW. What a great legacy she has been creating for those who will follow her! On behalf of our UMW, I offer a BIG THANK YOU to Susie and her committee for making this day possible! Mission U (formerly called the School of Christian Mission) will be held at Florida Southern College in Lakeland from July 11-14. Topics for study this year will include:
Gospel of Mark (Radical Discipleship), United Methodist Women History, and What about Our Money?
We do have a $100 Scholarship Fund in our budget to help with the cost. If anyone is interested in going, please contact Yvonne Hodges (472-2039) and she will get further information and a registration form for them. Blessings, Yvonne Hodges.
LEARN TO TELL BIBLICAL AND SPIRITUAL STORIES! On Saturday June 29th Wesley UMC will offer a day of workshops to teach adults how
to learn and tell Bible stories as well as spiritual and moral stories. A pizza lunch will also
be provided. This day-long workshop plus lunch will cost others $25 but for members of
our Wesley congregation it will be free. The workshop will run from 9 AM to 5:30 PM.
The only charge for Wesley members will be $5 for your lunch, if you have pizza with us.
(You can bring your own lunch instead of paying if you want to.)
There will also be an amazing evening performance featuring our accomplished work-
shop leaders doing several different types of Biblical and spiritual storytelling that you will
not want to miss. This performance is separate and will cost $5. Afterwards we will also
take up a collection to honor Buford Scott, a founding member of our church, who has re-
cently passed away. This collection will be sent to the Florida United Methodist Children’s
Home in his memory.
Join us on the 29th for the all-day workshop and the evening
performance event if you can. If you only want to attend the
evening performance, that’s great, too.
Please talk this up with your friends! We are charging such a
small amount that it is vital we get enough paying registra-
tions to take care of our expenses for this event. Please refer
them to the church website for more information and a regis-
tration form. They can also call Nancy Case at 352-375-4472
to get a registration form emailed to them.
Check out our website, too: https://casenl.wixsite.com/mysite
6/12 6:00PM Care & Nurture Comm.
6/19 6:00PM Worship Committee
6/26 6:00PM Missions Committee
FUN AND GAMES Join the Canasta card club at Wesley United Methodist Church! Have fun and meet great people! Invite family and friends, the more the merrier! When: Thursdays, 12:00 Noon (except holidays) Where: Wesley United Methodist Church 826 Northwest 23rd Avenue Fellowship Hall
Call Harley or Pamela Christensen at 352-505-0694 for information. We have wonderful members waiting to teach you Hand and Foot Canasta!
Card Club Guidelines
Bring a sack lunch and beverage if you wish.
Please arrive on time if possible.
Please help clean up after the games end.
Please give us your email address and phone number in case of scheduling changes.
1st Chuck Adams
3rd
Barbara Loehr-Fox
9th Sam Adams
12th Bonniesue
Humphlett
17th Robert Loehr
June Voyles
19th Jeffrey Carlin
23rd
Linda Crenshaw
25th Janis Bishop
26th Sonya Lynn
Crenshaw
27th Doris Welsh
2nd
Sherry & Chuck Adams
16th Donna & Gary Weseman