from the Pastor’s Pen…
In his book Prayers for a Privileged People Walter Brueggemann shares this prayer for Post-Election Day. You may want to take this home with you for your Wednesday morning prayers.
You creator God who has ordered us
in families and communities,
in clans and tribes,
in states and nations.
You creator God who enact your governance
in ways overt and
in ways hidden.
You exercise your will for
peace and for justice and for freedom.
We give you thanks for the peaceable order of
our nation and for the chance of choosing–
all the manipulative money notwithstanding.
We pray now for new governance
that your will and purpose may prevail,
that our leaders may have a sense
of justice and goodness,
that we as citizens may care about the
public face of your purpose.
We pray in the name of Jesus who was executed
by the authorities.
Pastor Jan
WHAT’S HAPPENING AT WESLEY
NURSERY/CHILDREN’S CHURCH Because our nursery now includes infants, toddlers and pre-K children our nursery is ALSO Children’s Church. We are in need of volunteers from 9:30-11:00 and 11:00-12:00. Sign-up sheets are on the Volunteer sign up table in the Aldersgate Room. Contact Anh Lunsford with questions or input on how we can make Children’s Church fun and educational for children ages 2-5 cdlatn@gmail.com.
YOUNG ADULT COUPLES, PROFESSIONALS, GRAD STUDENTS. Join us in our weekly forum for young adults on Sunday at 9:30am in the Room 203. Join us November 6 – 20 in a study of “Modeling Christian Community in a Divided World”. We will be drawing on the New Testament Epistles to learn how to be Christian agents of healing in a highly divided national atmosphere. Evening fellowship will continue on a monthly basis. For more information contact Emily Davis (davis.emily86@yahoo.com) or Matt Zimmerman (matt@triclinic.org).
ADULT FORUM meets at 9:30 a.m., in room 102 with a 7-week video/discussion series “Invitation to Journey”, exploring today’s progressive theological thought on a variety of Biblical topics. All are welcome!
BIBLE STUDY meets Wednesday at 11AM in the Aldersgate Room. There will be no Bible Study this week. The following week, we are studying Acts 6:1-8:3. All are welcome. Please join us.
CHOIR. Choir meets at 7:15 Wednesday evenings and 10:30 Sunday morning in Room 101 of the Education Building.
HANDBELL CHOIR meets on Monday from 6:30pm – 7:30pm. Those interested should contact Brian Sousa. If rehearsal day and time is not convenient for you, please let Brian know.
DREAM TEAM SURVEY Following up on our congregational conversations in September, the Dream Team has created a survey in two parts for us to gauge your interest in the kinds of ministry programs you would like to participate in. Check your weekly Wesley email for more information. It shouldn’t take you more than ten minutes to complete the two surveys. The Dream Team thanks you!
OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP
THE SOCIETY OF ST. ANDREW offers potential apple gleaning dates as follows:
Sat. morning or afternoon Nov 12, 19
Sun afternoon Nov 6, 13, 20
Monday morning or afternoon Nov 7, 14, 21
Fri morning or afternoon Nov 11, 18
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning or afternoon work will be outside. Toilet facilities may NOT be nearby.
Other gleaning opportunities in the Charlottesville area include:
Saturdays 11:45 am – 1:45 pm – Downtown Farmers Market; Weekday morning or afternoon — Relay Foods (Carleton Ave) pick-up/distribution; Saturday 10:00 pm, Mon 10:00 pm, Tues & Fri & Sat after 5 pm – Whole Foods baked goods pick-up & distribution
Call or email Jim Hassmer for specific dates/locations: 434-466-4375 charlottesvillegleaning@comcast.net
EMERGENCY FOOD BANK SUGGESTIONS. Recommended items for donations include: brownie mix, flour, pancake mix, condiments (mayo, mustard, ketchup, cooking oil, jams and jellies, relishes, salad dressings) and canned meat (Spam, ham, chicken, tuna, Vienna sausages). Any items, and cash donations, are much appreciated. FYI: The Emergency Food Bank said they DO NOT need cranberry sauce! Thanks for your continued support.
HOLIDAY GIFT GIVING GUIDE
These opportunities have been selected by the Committee on Ministry to the Community and the World, inviting you to share your abundance with those who have less and bring joy to their lives over the holiday season. Please note the due dates and contact information.
FRUIT SALE TO BENEFIT WAHS BAND William Lambert will be selling citrus fruit to help support the Western Albemarle Band competition trip to Atlanta. Place your order by November 14 for your fruit to arrive in early December. If you’d like to make a purchase, please see William after church or call 979-4490. Thank you!
2016 COMMUNITY FEAST: THANKSGIVING BASKETS AND TURKEYS Many Charlottesville churches are partnering to provide Thanksgiving meals to approx. 300 area families in need. Beneficiaries include families from the Charlottesville City School system, MACAA, and Westhaven. The Thanksgiving bags and turkeys will be distributed from Jefferson School to the vetted families on Sat. November 19, 2016. Contents to go in the bag are detailed below, and all bags Wesley Memorial does are to be alike, for small families. That is where the Community Feast has need for the most bags. The brand of the item does not matter, but the size does for all bags to be equal. Cloth bags are being donated by Whole Foods. If you choose to do a bag (or bags), please tell Maury Early, who will give you bags to put the items in. Have your completed bag back to church no later than Wed. Nov. 18. If you would like to give money to go toward turkey purchase, please give your money to church, putting “Community Feast” on your offering envelope or in the memo line of your check. Any questions, contact Maury Early, 974-6871. Thanks.
| ONE EACH OF THE FOLLOWING: | |
| Granulated Sugar, bag or box (2-4 LB) | Canned Yams, can (15-17.5 OZ) |
| Brown Sugar, bag or box (1 LB) | Canned Green Beans, can (14.5 OZ) |
| Canned Milk, can (12 OZ) | Potatoes, 5 LB bag |
| Rolls, 1 dozen | Macaroni and cheese, box (14-14.5 OZ) |
| Gravy, can (10.5 OZ) | Stuffing, box (6 OZ) |
| Cranberry Sauce, can (14 OZ) | Cake Mix, box (15.25 OZ) |
| Frosting, can (16 OZ) |
THE HIGHLAND SUPPORT PROJECT Tom Miller has a long history of working with the Highland Support Project in Guatemala, and will travel to work there again in December. Your donations to HSP will be used to support their work with the indigenous people in the Highlands of Guatemala. The major project is to finish a high school to serve 12 communities in the mountains. Donations can be made directly on their website http://highlandsupportproject.org/, or by donating to the Virginia Conference Advance Specials 100% of your donation goes to work on these specific highland projects from HSP.
FLUVANNA WOMEN’S CORRECTIONAL CENTER CHRISTMAS PROJECT: We participate in providing hygiene kits which are given to the residents as gifts. Item purchased must fit the guidelines below. Please try to purchase close to the maximum size but no larger. The facility does not allow substitutions. We also collect stationery items the residents use throughout the year. The last date to bring items to church is Nov. 22, 2016. If you have questions, contact Sandy Staggers at 434-882-0450, wvu1979@embarqmail.com.
Hygiene bags: tubes of toothpaste, no larger than 6 oz.; stick deodorant, no larger than 2.4 oz. (no spray or roll-on); bottles of shampoo, no larger than 15 oz.; bottles of lotion, no larger than 15 oz. (No tubes or jars). Gallon zip lock bags
Greeting Cards and Stationery: Christmas and Hanukkah cards and greeting cards for all occasions ; writing paper and envelopes of any size and envelopes either 6 ½” or 9 ½” long; (PLEASE BE CERTAIN THERE IS NO FOIL ON THE CARDS OR THE ENVELOPES) Forever postage stamps (please do not affix the stamps to envelopes); Wooden pencils (unsharpened)
BUCKINGHAM CHRISTMAS PROJECT: Each year we cooperate with The Christian Outreach Program (COPPC) in Buckingham County to provide Christmas for about 50 children and 10 disabled or elderly adults. Early in November, a board will be set up with names, ages, sizes and special requests. You are asked to choose a name, sign the notebook provided, and buy a gift in the $35 – $50 range. Gift cards are welcome, especially for the disabled or elderly. Monetary donations to the church will be used to purchase food cards for each family. Return your unwrapped gift, along with wrapping paper and gift tag(s), to church by December 4. On that date, we will gather in Epworth hall for lunch and a gift sorting party. Question? Call Pat Rader, 973-3831.
HEART HAVENS CHRISTMAS CARDS The Charlottesville District is working to establish a residential community on the district for individuals with intellectual disabilities. Christmas cards, featuring the artwork of young people from Cunningham United Methodist Church in Palmyra, Virginia, are for sale to support this. $10 for a packet of 12 cards & envelopes! To order, contact the Charlottesville District Office at (434) 977-4254.
INNISFREE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE Saturday, December 3, 2016 from 10am – 5pm. There will be crafts for sale from our weaver, bakery, woodshop, pottery, art class and gardens. Register for our wreath-making workshop at 1:30 pm. $40 includes all materials. email trisha@innisfreevillage.org for your required advanced registration.
UNITED METHODIST FAMILY SERVICES UMFS is a nonprofit agency that provides a comprehensive array of programs to meet the needs of high-risk children and parents to enable them to overcome challenging circumstances and succeed. A national leader in helping children, we also proactively identify unmet social service needs throughout Virginia and develop appropriate partnerships to address them. Our Christmas Eve offerings are designated to support this ministry of the Virginia Conference. Your generous contribution helps to ensure a brighter future for families at risk.
Beyond Denial and in Search of Grace:
A Series of Community Conversations about Race
BLUE RIBBON COMMISSION ON RACE, MEMORIALS AND PUBLIC SPACES: Reflections on Process and Principles Featuring
Commission Members Sue Lewis and Peg O’Bryant
Sunday, November 13, 5-7 p.m.
Open minds. Open hearts. Open doors. The mission statement of the United Methodist Church commits us to active engagement with our world. As we attempt to respond to the violence and brokenness whose pervasiveness is becoming increasingly apparent, many of us have also become increasingly aware of the obstacles we face in putting the philosophy of openness and connection into practice. Nowhere are these obstacles more formidable than in issues of race.
Our third event in this series will focus on the Blue Ribbon Commission on Race, Memorials and Public Spaces, which was established by a resolution of the Charlottesville City Council in May of 2016. As Phyllis Leffler, a retired Professor of History at the University of Virginia and the past Executive Director of the Institute for Public History at UVA, has demonstrated in her work, the issues addressed by the Blue Ribbon Commission are not unique to Charlottesville, the south, our country, or our moment in history. Many any our community, however, feel that those issues have a particular urgency in this community.
On Sunday, November 13, we will hear from Sue Lewis and Peg O’Bryant, members of our congregation who were also members of the Blue Ribbon Commission. We will enjoy a casual supper as Sue and Peg reflect on their experience as members of the commission and the group discusses the issues and feelings raised by the commission’s work and recommendations, which will have been released on November 10. For background on the commission and the events leading up to its creation, check out the blog on “Charlotesville’s Civil War Monument Debate at cwmemory.com.
SUNDAY MORNING LEADERSHIP
NOVEMBER 13, 2016
Liturgist: Deborah Lewis
Lay Reader: Drew Bundschuh
Counters: Stella Pool, Carolyn Newsome, Walter Newsome
Children’s Church: Maury Early, Audrey Heivly
Acolyte: Anaiya Rodriguez
Ushers: Ted Bidwell, Roger McDonald, Wayne Malbon, Mallika Rodriguez
Fellowship: Semi-Circle