OCTOBER 2020 - WEEK THREE
About every 90 days, the seasons change and serve as a good reminder that we can change as well. Seasonal changes are associated with certain chores like raking the yard, putting away Christmas decorations, planting a garden, and the ever-famous spring cleaning. I have always viewed the change of seasons as a reminder of the importance of personal introspection. Seasons can call us to self-awareness if we allow them to.

  • How am I doing?
  • Do I need some spring cleaning in my body, my mind, or my spirit?
  • Is there behavioral clutter I need to put away?
  • Do I need my spiritual ground tilled so the Holy Spirit might plant seeds that make me stronger and more capable of bearing spiritual fruit?
 
The same principle of introspection applies to the local church. The first week of October 2020, we shared one 90-day season with me as your new pastor, and I am encouraged at what I see in the rearview mirror. The following is not an inclusive list, but it helps make the point that our lives are intertwined, and together we're growing, changing, and adapting to this season, God has prepared for us.
 
Over the last 90 days
  • We learned to do life in masks
  • We learned to Zoom
  • I visited 27 families on my Front Porch Tour 2020
  • I visited the local merchants at our intersection and made new friends in the neighborhood
  • I learned to preach on camera
  • Others learned to run the new equipment we purchased so I can preach on camera
  • We learned to record, edit and use pre-recorded worship sets that have been very powerful
  • We did a Father's Day Drive Through Celebration
  • Our parking lot was surfaced and restriped
  • We offered drive-in church using an FM Transmitter, so people could branch out beyond livestreaming on Facebook if desired
  • We celebrated the results of the Executive Summary with our parking lot Summery Summary Celebration
  • We reopened Aldersgate for indoor services in keeping with current health and safety guidelines for COVID-19
  • We began hosting prayer meetings under the church porch
  • We continue to make small improvements with our technology and are connecting the Word of God with people in 23 different cities across the country
  • You hosted Supt. John Lane for my installation service, and you honored Phil and me with a Box lunch reception
  • We've experienced the loss of dear friends and hosted a funeral and visitation in ways we never thought about before
  • Financial support for ongoing ministry has remained steady, which speaks to your selflessness and desire to give back what God has entrusted to you
  • Security has been enhanced at the parsonage with cameras and lights
  • The landscaping for our church signs is undergoing an overhaul
  • Several have learned to use the new electrostatic sprayer as part of our ongoing plan for congregational health and safety
  • The local board of administration has been ultra-supportive, and we're learning and growing together as we seek to serve the Aldersgate community

I hope as you read the list, you were inspired! Your enduring love, prayer, attention, and continued support, both in presence and giving, are a loud testimony to the power of God to sustain us in new and sometimes frightening circumstances. I promise you the gospel is continuing to go out. Aldersgate - the Jesus experience - continues to permeate our lives and reveal our hearts for an unchanging God in a changing world!

  • Have you experienced a change in the last 90 days?
  • Has the Holy Spirit done some work in you?
  • Have you learned some new things and shed some old ones?
  • Is this next normal inspiring you?
  • Have you found new meaning or power in your prayer life, your awareness, your giving?

If not, ask him to help you make the changes you sense need to be made, and I promise he will help you. The Apostle Paul was quite familiar with ongoing seasons of change. He found God to be sufficient for all he needed at every turn in the road. He reminded the church in Romans 15:13, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." It's a guarantee. Trust God, overflow with hope, get joy and peace.
Don't miss this Fabulously Fun COVID-Safe Fall Festival! Pastor Emily is spearheading this event and would appreciate help with games, pumpkin painting, setting up, and tearing down. Please let emily@aldersgatefmc.org know if you can volunteer some of your time.

Also needed are:
  • Mini pumpkins
  • Craft paint brushes
  • Craft - washable paint
  • Disposable gloves
  • Individually wrapped candy for prizes

If you can provide any of these items, please let Janice at aldersgatefmc@gmail.com know what items you're contributing so Emily can plan accordingly.
Special Guests: Dale, Mike Reynen, Rie Osborne and Gerry Coates
GET A FREE FMWM - APPLE WATCH FACE
If you or someone you know has a newer Apple watch running "watchOS7" software, you can download the Facer App from the Apple App Store and add custom watch faces. Your free Facer account will need the same email address as your Apple ID in order to sync. You'll find the watch faces pictured above and other FMWM logo watch faces in the "Religious" category. Check it out!
The Aldersgate Church Board invites everyone to find their own unique way to bless Aldersgate's Pastors during the month of October and throughout the year. For some creative ideas, click here.
JOHN WESLEY - ON THE SUBJECT OF VOTING
October 6, 1774
I met those of our society who had votes in the ensuing election, and advised them
1. To vote, without fee or reward, for the
person they judged most worthy
2. To speak no evil of the person they voted
against, and
3. To take care their spirits were not
sharpened against those that voted on
the other side.

From the Journal of John Wesley
Virus Proofing Your Documents & Plans
Tim Burkhart
Vice President of Estate and Gift Planning
Chris DeBacker
Regional Vice President
Cary Holman
Regional Representative
October 18 @ 6:00 PM
Wabash Conference and the Free Methodist Foundation are offering a learning opportunity on planned giving. Steve Singleton, a COVID-19 survivor from the John Wesley FMC in Indianapolis, will be sharing his story of life (and death) and how having his documents in order made a significant difference for his family. Supt. John Lane will provide a Wabash Conference update.
  • 8 (first time) quizzers are studying the Gospel of John
  • A Jr. High girls group is meeting weekly to study Scripture
  • The Kid's Prayer Partner ministry is going strong - every child is getting a monthly phone call, card, or letter to encourage them
  • 2 girls are interested in baptism
  • Kid's Sunday - November 29, kicking off the advent season
  • Several new families have moved to Indianapolis and have connected with Aldersgate members
  • 53 children and teens are in an active relationship with Emily
Check out this YouTube video highlighting Aldersgate's 50th Anniversary Celebration.

And this video of The First 10 Years.
SUNDAY WORSHIP SCHEDULE
October 18, 2020
9:00 ZOOM SUNDAY SCHOOL

To download the lesson - click here!

Meeting ID: 306 335 236
Password: 633671

To call in to Zoom, the phone number is 646-558-8656.

10:20 INDOOR WORSHIP
Come on inside and find your seat. You have several to choose from.

10:30 DRIVE-IN CHURCH
Tune your radio to 88.5 FM and park on the east side of the church
near the kitchen for best reception.
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10:30 FACEBOOK CHURCH
To watch go to Facebook Live: Aldersgate Free Methodist Church
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PRAISE AND PRAYER REQUESTS
To download - click here!
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ONLINE GIVING LINK

STAYING CONNECTED
10 am - 2 pm Tuesday through Friday
For Pastoral Staff and Administration

Phone: 317-898-6456

After office hours, calls are forwarded so the phone line is always monitored.

Pastoral Staff
Rev. Donna Miller - donnamiller8125@gmail.com
Pastor Emily Wagler (Children) - emily@aldersgatefmc.org

Checks can be mailed to the church office.