DECEMBER 2020 EDITION - Wesley United Methodist Church ...
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DECEMBER 2020 EDITION Pastor’s Column…..........……....2 Birthday Parades………………….7 Worship.……..………………...…3 Discipleship…….………….…...8&9 Events…………………………….4 Identity Statement.………….10&11 Outreach…….…………………...5 Congregational Care……..…......12 Children & Families……………..6 Financial Update………..…….…13
I'm a fan of Alison Krauss. She sings a song called, "Get Me Through Decem- ber." The lyrics are: Get me through December / A promise I'll remember / Get me through December / So I can start again. We all feel the weight of this December. As winter sets in so does the reality that we will be alone and separated from families this Christmas. And so we pray, just get me through December. Thankfully, faith is the crack in the clay that lets the light shine through, to borrow an- other famous lyric. In our darkness, despair, doubt and depression, God reaches out to us and breaks through these walls, this darkness. Hope, peace, joy and love are the things we remember and envision for our world during Advent. Hope. I am hopeful that we will get through this together. That on the other side of this pandemic will be an amazing party to celebrate our reunification with friends and family members. Peace. I pray that we will remain peaceful and civil to each other. I am already start- ing to see the shortness and frustration that the pandemic is exacerbating between people and communities. We need to remember to live at peace with one another. Joy. Joy comes in the morning (again, to borrow a lyric) as we come to appreciate that each new day is a gift. It is the joy of knowing that while we are not physically together, we do support one another each day. There is joy in serving one another. Love. Never again will I take for granted the love that I have for people. I miss our gatherings in worship but support the need to not gather. I miss spending time with my kids but support the need to stay safe. I am grateful to Alison who reminds me everyday I am loved. We all need to be reminded that we are loved, included and be- long. You are a child of God. Most of us will never know or experience the struggles and pain that so many people experience around the world. Sitting at home with access to hundreds of cable channels, access to a computer and smartphone and cupboards filled with food is a reminder that many of us still live a privileged lifestyle. Maybe this Christmas we can shift out of our problems and out into a world that needs us; a world that needs a message of hope, peace, joy and love. I pray that this Christmas we become, truly, a light to all people. Merry Christmas! John Bell
2020 Advent and Christmas Seasons Letters from the Heart: Dear Kin-dom People As she waits for her child to be born, Mary writes a letter. It is an acknowledgment of her reality. It reflects the pain and struggle of so many. And yet, it is also a letter of hope for what is to come. Hope that the child she carries will turn God’s world upside down. Where love, peace, joy and hope will order all of our lives together. During Ad- vent, we too will write letters describing our realities, our fears but most importantly, our hopes. We will write letters from our heart to shine a light into the darkness. November 29 (1st Sunday of Advent) Dear Child Scripture: Galatians 4:4-7 December 6 (2nd Sunday of Advent) Dear Anxiety Scripture: 2 Peter 3:8-15a December 13 (3rd Sunday of Advent) Dear Good Doer Scripture: 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 December 20 (4th Sunday of Advent) Dear Star Child Scripture: Luke 1:46-55 (taken from The Message by Eugene Peterson) December 24th (Christmas Eve) Dear Kin-dom People Scripture: Luke 2:1-20 Watching Worship Online Join us at wesleyumcaurora.online.church on Sunday mornings at 10am to watch worship together. Watch the service or any video offering (including Monday Meditations, Tuesday Prayers and Midweek Moments) any time at https://www.wesleyumcaurora.org/video-archives.
Church Conference (Zoom)
Monday, December 7 at 7pm
Our Annual Church Conference with our District Superintendent, Rev. Jeffry Bross,
will be Monday, December 7th at 7pm. An email with the zoom link and a link to
download the necessary documents will be sent prior to the conference. If you
have any questions about it, please email John at revjohnbell@gmail.com.
Light up the Night
Monday, December 21 at 6 pm
This year has been a strange, surprising --
and for many -- devastating year. More
than ever we have had to lean on each
other to survive. During this winter sol-
stice, the longest night of the year, we will
gather by candlelight in silence to show
our unity as a city. We are here for each
other, now.
Using #AuroraLightUp, we invited commu-
nity organizations, faith communities, non-
profits, and neighborhoods to pick a loca-
tion, bring candles and stand together in
unity for 30 minutes.
We will gather outside around Wesley
Church.
Artist: Chris Hodge
Wesley’s New Outreach Coordinator—Beatriz Jaramillo Beatriz Jaramillo is excited to meet the challenges of being the new Outreach Coordinator. She began attending WUMC with her daughters in 2018. She started out as a member of the Outreach team in 2019 and has enjoyed the ways in which the team has helped the community and global minis- tries. Beatriz is a first generation daughter of Mexican immigrants who initially moved to California. She lived in Chicago where she received her Masters Degree in Social Work. She has worked as a clinical therapist for foster care and at a commu- nity mental health center in the city for many years even after moving to Aurora. She worked as a domestic violence counselor in Aurora and is currently working in a small private practice. She is passionate about mental health, social justice issues, and working with underserved populations. She is excited to see where this new journey will take her. When she is not working, Beatriz spends time with her husband and their 2 daughters, ages 9 and 14. She especially loves doing things with the girls like crafts, coloring, listening to music, and just hanging out together. Beatriz also enjoys some alone time, drinking coffee, Hesed House Meal Saturday, December 12th Wesley will provide a dinner for residents of Hesed House's family shelter on Satur- day, December 12th. Please consider making a donation to help us feed families in need! Send a check to the church with "Hesed House Dinner" in the memo line or donate online at https://www.eservicepayments.com/cgi-bin/Vanco_ver3.vps? appver3=Fi1giPL8kwX_Oe1AO50jRjj2S9SFJaE3eAq25uBw- yLHO3iVYxvvxhHjRfLOeq662EvVVAEjqawDomKT1pboudby- IHhx4lTv99H0WcTHy0U= and enter an amount in the box next to Hesed House Dinner.
Deck the Hall Cancelled Dear Wesley Families, To ensure our children and families' safety, we had to cancel our annual Deck the Halls event. This week packets are being sent out filled with activities for children to create ornaments and cards. This holiday season is one that will look different than any other! Of course, we miss being around one another and participating in the holiday activities that make the season of Christmas so special. I hope these packets will create some fun for fami- lies this holiday season as well as hear the Christmas story of hope that we need so much! If you would like a children's Christmas activity packet and did not receive one in the mail, please do not hesitate to reach out. You can email me at michellec- uriel.wumc@gmail.com. Have a safe and special at-home holiday season. Peace, Michelle Curiel Children & Families Discipleship Inti Smith Baptism Inti Smith was baptized at the home of his grandmother, Miriam Smith on Sunday, No- vember 8, 2020.
Birthday Parade for Carol Stoffel
Let’s Go Adult Fellowship Let’s Go is a social group open to all adult members and friends of Wesley. Due to the pandemic, we have not been meeting live since March. We are planning a Zoom Let’s Go Ugly Sweater/White Elephant Christmas Party for Friday, December 18. If you are interested, let me know and I will be sure to include you in the invitation! We hope to be able to start planning events again sometime, keeping safety in mind first and fore- most. Our first event will be a joyous Welcome Back to Live Fellowship Party! Stay tuned for details. Please contact Meredith Lindgren if you are interested, 630-788- 6911 or psalmmom418@gmail.com. Tuesday Crafters Tuesday Night Crafters are currently holding virtual gatherings via Zoom. At this time, we are sharing projects we have been working on. Please contact Vicki Martin at 630- 859-2320 or vickimartin2@comcast.net if you are interested in joining the Crafters on one of these meetings. Mug Club Enjoy a cup of coffee and conversation. This is a social group of men with lots to talk about and too much time on our hands. We have not had too many solutions, but we’ve had lots of fellowship. We invite you to join us! For more details call Herb at 630-264-2892. When: Each Thursday at 9am (temporarily meeting via Zoom)
Bad Girls Bible/Book Study The Bad Girls are meeting weekly on Tuesdays on Zoom until further notice. We are about half-way through the book, “Same Kind of Different As Me: A Modern-Day Slave, an International Art Dealer, and the Unlikely Woman Who Bound Them to- gether,” by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. If you are interested in joining us for lively discussion, please contact Kari Nicholson-Rigaud so she can send you the link for Zoom. Her email address is nich16@gmail.com. For more information, contact Mere- dith Lindgren at psalmmom418@gmail.com, or call me at 630-788-6911. Caregivers Support Group If you are a caregiver for a loved one or a friend, or are working for a company that places caregivers in homes of those in need; if you have been a caregiver; or if you anticipate being a caregiver and want to commiserate with us, you are invited to join us. All are welcome, men and women, young and old. We offer one another support, compassion, and a willing ear to listen. If you are interested in joining us, please con- tact Wendy Evans at kaileysboppy@gmail.com and let her know so she can add you to the list. We are currently on hiatus due to the pandemic but feel free to reach out to Wendy if you need someone to talk to. NDY (Not Dead Yet) Group NDY is currently on hiatus and not meeting in person. Remember this group is NOT just for Wesley members. All are welcome! We are discussing the idea of the Zoom lunch to help us stay connected. Stay tuned! Connect with Wendy Evans for details at: kaileysboppy@gmail.com.
Identity Statement Congregational Response Purpose Early in 2020, the Governing Board adopted and reworded an identity statement de- veloped by the Annual Conference in 2019. This statement, along with our mission statement, the mission statement of the United Methodist Church and our core princi- ples were given to small groups in the congregation to discuss, edit and make sugges- tions. This process began in the summer with a training on crucial conversa- tions. Each small group met twice and viewed a video by Pastor John. They also re- ceived Holy Communion either in person or online. Recommendations The task force heard the small group leaders identify two overall recommenda- tions. The first recommendation is to reexamine several words and phrases in the mission statement, core principles and identity statement and to either replace them or develop clearer definitions. For example, a couple of groups suggested using a dif- ferent phrase in the core principle for “radical hospitality.” Other groups suggested defining what the mission statement means when it uses the word “Christian.” There are many kinds of “Christians” in the world. What kind are we? See the small group leaders debriefing notes for more examples. The second recommendation from the small group leaders was to address larger, the- matic issues. For example, when we talk about community, what community are we talking about? The community of Wesley United Methodist Church or the community of Aurora? Do people need to be a Christian to join the Wesley UMC community or are we working to build community with Christianity being the motivation but not nec- essarily the goal? What does it mean to be welcoming? Do we welcome everyone or only people who agree with our “politics?” See the small group leaders debriefing notes for more examples. The task force noticed that those who are retired had better attendance in the small groups than those who were not retired. We wondered what it would take to get more engagement out of our younger members. Most joined for one of the two sessions but retirees on the whole attended both sessions. This was an important observation that influenced our recommendation. We recommend a two-step process. First, we recommend that the church develop a survey to be administered over the phone that asks each person to identity what topics they are most concerned about at Wesley UMC. Possible topics include but are not limited to those listed above: what does it mean to be welcoming? What does it mean to build community? How will we respond to the traditional plan? What do we mean by the word Christian?
Second, the church organizes a series of forums on each of these topics. There would be a number of these forums. The purpose is to lead the congregation in more discussion to further advance and develop the topics identified in the small groups. Follow up phone calls are made to individuals prior to the forum inviting them to attend. For example, when the church hosts a forum on “community” anyone who indicated an interest in this topic would be invited to attend. An open invitation would also be made available to the church. We envision having these forums on a regular basis in the coming year. We believe that the congregation was energized by the small group conversa- tions. Those who attended had great ideas and offered substantive ideas that ener- gized everyone’s participation. We believe this type of activity is good for the congre- gation. It allows individuals to contribute based on their passion and focus. Addition- al opportunities for the congregation to gather and discuss these topics will be fuel to the fire of Wesley’s future. Respectfully submitted by the task force: Kari Rigaud, Bob McKnight, Emmy Lou John, John Bell And received by the Governing Board: Mary Terrell, Jim Merk, Bob McKnight, Wally Loague, Roger Curless, Kathy Breazeale
Cards for the Homebound
December Birthdays
Vicki Martin 12/5
Susan Clark 12/7
Philip Lindgren 12/14
Paul Loague 12/18
Diane Crawshaw 12/19
Samantha Garza 12/20
Lynnette Singh 12/20
Herb John 12/28
Claire Agoro 12/31Rev. John Bell Senior Pastor
Bad Girls Bible Study Mug Club United Methodist Men
Meredith Lindgren Herb John Herb John
630-788-6911 630-264-2892 630-264-2892
psalmmom418@gmail.com herbjohn@ymail.com herbjohn@ymail.com
Caregiver Support Group NDY Group United Methodist Women
Wendy Evans Wendy Evans Mari Curless
630-897-5149 kaileysboppy@gmail.com 630-892-9373
kaileysboppy@gmail.com Ruth Ann Little
ruthann32@icloud.com Welcome Desk Volunteers
Fine Arts Committee Jennifer Pawlowski
Jamie Reynolds jennifer.wumc@gmail.com
Prayer Shawl Ministry
630-460-3989 Mari Curless
Supernatural_Winchester@outlook.com 630-892-9373
Wesley Gardeners
Hesed House Meredith Lindgren
Special Events Coordinator 630-788-6911
Bob McKnight Lynn Burnett
630-896-5287 psalmmom418@gmail.com
redwoodcats@sbcglobal.net le.burnett@yahoo.com
Wesley Golfers
Let’s Go Fellowship Sunday Morning Ralph Breazeale
Meredith Lindgren FaithLink 630-897-6657
630-788-6911 Emmy Lou John jrbreeze47@comcast.net
psalmmom418@gmail.com 630-264-2892
emmyloujohn@yahoo.com Yoga Classes
Ann Merk
Morning Needle Crafters 630-454-4349
Mari Curless Tuesday Crafters
Vicki Martin asm52@yahoo.com
630-892-9373 630-859-2320
vickimartin2@comcast.netYou can also read
