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Letter From the Pastor

Standing on the shoulders of Giants

By Pastor René

It is human to compare yet in actuality it is impossible. Especially when the earth is filled with so many beautiful and unique places, like Falmouth, each one created by God with its own radiance and charm. Though some of these places hold a special meaning to events in our lives; we begin to understand that each place, time and people we encounter along our journeys are a part of a glorious and love-driven master plan shaping us to become the people we aim to be. That’s why it is impossible to compare; because each encounter comes with its own message, its own gifts, its own changes, and its own ways of completing who we are called to be.

So I’ve been thinking about something a clergy colleague mentioned in a recent meeting. He said, “two things can be true at the same time.” I agree, somewhat. Not to generalize it but in some respects that statement can be both true and false at the same time. For example, we can each be both saints and sinners living under the grace of God, but “christianly” and scripturally speaking, we cannot belong to both the light and the darkness, simultaneously. It is clear that we are called to choose.

I think that rule holds true for comparisons. As much as drawing comparisons can lead us down the wrong path; we compare the past to the present, not necessarily because we love our before any less than our now (although negative memories can contradict that statement) or because we desire to subvert the beauty of what makes our present a gift; but we compare because we yearn to have a life of repeated awes, inspiration, unconditional love and positive change. So…

During my first month at John Wesley, I have found myself, not comparing, but reflecting and being the recipient of the commitment, generosity, love, and uniqueness of the people here. I experienced my first ever beach service, which I totally loved. Along with Wanda, I have appreciated the love and generosity of everyone, including the stunning yet “unsettling” RedSox jersey Mark Karsner gave me on behalf of the church.

Every church leader I have met exudes the kindness, commitment, depth and passion of a healthy and vibrant congregation. What else can a pastor ask for? It is also clear that your selection of staff shows your wisdom and desire to be faithful and relevant to the world inside and outside the church walls. Reflecting on all that I have seen this past month, you should know that I am deeply grateful for all of you, for Pastor Rebecca and for others, lay and clergy, before her who brought their own message, gifts, changes and uniqueness that has made you who you are today.

Although some people have assured me it is okay for me to change things, I find myself not looking at what I know how to do, but learning to appreciate who you are. I hope you feel the same way. I pray that as we get to know each other, we can appreciate one another for who we are, for the unique gifts and passions each of us brings to the table. It is impossible to compare, nor should we need to or want to. Perhaps, letting go of the good of the past is impossible, but we don’t have to because like my colleague said, “two things can be true at the same time:” we can thank God for the way the past has shaped us and thank God for what is now,... and even for what is to come.

I am looking forward to the time I will have with you. I also look forward to finding ways to connect with you, either through home visits, phone calls, church events, or greeting you at the door at the end of a worship service. Also, please feel free to call me, stop by to say hello or reach out. I leave you with words from an old quote by Sir Isaac Newton “If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.” As I said, it is impossible to compare, we can only build on what others before us did and give all the glory to God.

Pastor René 

Children and Youth ~ Hannah Stelter

Recap:

Car Washes:

Thank you so much to everyone who supported our youth Car Washes this summer! We raised over $1500 to go towards our youth summer mission trips! We are so grateful for your financial support as well as your thoughts and prayers while we were away on our trips. 

Youth Summer Fundays:

This summer, the youth have been meeting on Sunday evenings to enjoy dinner together, a short lesson, and themed activities. So far we have played games with ice cream, made tons of s'mores, and completed scavenger hunts! More to come so be sure to check out the list below!  

High School Mission Trip:

The very first week of July, 9 youth and 2 adult chaperones made the drive over to Niagara Falls for a week long mission trip with YouthWorks. We spent 4 full days serving this community through cleaning, organizing a church thrift shop, landscaping, painting, and more! And of course there was plenty of free time and fun activities to do, including a tour of the falls! 

Middle School Mission Trip:

This past week, 7 middle schoolers and 2 adult chaperones went up to Camp Mechuwana in Maine! We spent 2 full days painting boards that will be used for the camp's new art center. It. was the first mission trip for all of these youth and they all worked super hard, encouraging one another along the way. 

Upcoming Events:

Summer Sunday School | Sundays, 9:30am

Sunday School has continued through the summer and is still during the 9:30 service! Immediately following the children's moment, all children entering Kindergarten this fall through 4th grade are invited to learn about God through a Bible story and fun activities!

*Sunday School will be at 4:00pm on August 20 due to Road Race Sunday*

Youth Summer Fundays | Sundays, 6:00-8:00pm

*For all Youth entering 5th grade this fall through just graduated*

August 1: Trivia & Bingo

August 6-7: Overnight Lock-in at the church. Register by clicking here by August 4

August 14: VBS prep & team meeting

August 21: Pizza & the beach at the Karsner's House! 

Auguster 28: Water Games

Tasty Tuesdays | Tuesdays, 3:00pm

*For families of all ages, meet at location & bring money!*

August 2: Eulinda's

August 9: Smitty's

August 16: Dairy Queen

August 23: Somerset

August 30: Fan Fave TBD

Vacation Bible School | August 15-19, 9:00am-12:00pm

Calling all explorers! Vacation Bible School (VBS) at John Wesley is almost here! This year, we are on a quest to discover God's great light on Adventure Island! VBS is August 15-19 and will be from 9am-12pm each day. Children entering Kindergarten through 5th grade are invited to experience God's love through song, dance, games, crafts, science experiments, and Bible stories! This year, our main meeting space will be in the Sanctuary where masks will be highly encouraged for all participants. All of the stations will be outside under tents so that everyone can experience God's beautiful creation! Water will be available at each station and in the case of rain, all stations will be indoors.

Registration is now available by clicking this link! We can't wait to explore with you soon!

Worship Announcements:

On August 20th , we will have a worship service and Sunday School starting at 4 pm. There will not be a Sunday Worship service on August 21st  due to the Falmouth Road Race.

Beach Services at Surf Drive Beach, and run from 7:30 – 8:00 am. Bring a chair, and worship in God’s natural sanctuary. These services will last through September 4^th, with the exception of August 21^st (Road Race).  Our 9:30 worship service in the sanctuary will continue throughout the summer, and will be livestreamed. We will have lemonade and cookies after the 9:30 service.

Name tags! We encourage everyone to wear your name tags! This is a sign of hospitality.

Many volunteers are needed to make this the success that it always is. If you have volunteered in the past, please consider helping out again this year. If you have never volunteered before, this is a great time to give it a try, it is truly a lot of fun! Volunteers are needed in many areas, to include preparing in the weeks ahead, setting up Thursday Nov 10, working at the fair on Friday and Sat, and clean up on Monday afterwards. 

The fair provides essential funding for the church’s mission, youth ministry, music ministry and much, much more. The fair is a service to the community, and is a way to help the public get to know us as Christians and as people who work together in service of our Lord. If you are interested in participating on any level, or have questions, please call or email Marilyn Sharp (508-254-1557, mnmsharp@verizon.net) or Brent Finemore (508-641-6077, bfinemore36@comcast.net). We will do the best we can to get up to speed and ensure the success of the 2022 John Wesley United Methodist Church Christmas Fair!

From the Seacoast District Office: Please reserve the evening of Tuesday, August 9, 2022, from 6:30-8:30pm for Bishop Devadhar's Seacoast District annual visit. The location venue will be John Wesley UMC located at 270 Gifford St, Falmouth, MA.

 All clergy and laity are invited and encouraged to attend this in-person event. This is an opportunity to get to know our Bishop better and to ask questions related to what is going on in the denomination and the Annual Conference. Light refreshments will be served. Please register in advance.

As the hosts, we are looking for a few volunteers to help out. Please contact Colleen Karsner if you can volunteer for set up or other arrangements. 

The Staff Parish Relations Ministry Team will host Coffee Hour Light in August. We are keeping it light but if you would like to help out please see Mark Karsner at coffee hour!

Join in the fun, come sing, play or strum!

The Music Ministry is welcoming individuals or groups to provide piano or guitar accompaniment for the Summer 7:30am Beach Service.

Sign up sheet in the church hall.

Contact: paula.jwumc @gmail.com for more info.

Come Sing to the Lord a New Song!

Would you like to be a part of an energetic and welcoming group of singers or instrumentalists?

The Music Ministry needs YOU to join us in sharing your talents, or letting us help you discover a new talent and praising God!

If you sing or play guitar, bass guitar, piano, flute, recorder, trumpet, bells or percussion, let your light shine! 

Instrumentalists and singers of all ages and stages are welcome to join our Chancel Choir, Bell Choir and newly forming Children's choir/music group.

Are you a teen or young adult? Maybe you would be interested in forming a Praise Band. I would love to hear your ideas.

Sign up sheets are in the Fellowship Hall at the Music bulletin board. 

Parents can fill out an interest sheet for their child and drop it in the manila folder.

Chancel Choir (7pm) and Bell Choir (5:45pm) rehearsals are Wednesday evenings beginning in September.

Children's Choir/ instrumental music group rehearsals will begin on Sundays in September following the Sunday service.

See me after any Sunday service or contact me at paula.JWUMC@gmail.com with any questions.

God Bless,

Paula King

Outreach & Missions Committee: If you are interested in becoming more involved in helping other people, please think about joining our committee. We are always excited to have new ideas and more helpers. Our next meeting is Wednesday September 21^st at 6:30 PM.

Change the World Coin Boxes:  The NEW coin collection boxes are available to take home and fill with coins for the Change the World missions. This allows people a space to put change in at home, bring the coin bank to church, empty it in the plate, and take home to refill. Please only take one box per household. I’m really hoping this helps the organizations that we choose to contribute to each month.

Change the World: August will be collected for Tommy’s Place. "Tommy's Place" is a dream vacation home for kids fighting cancer. The home is a place to relax, make memories and most importantly have fun! To ensure privacy, one family at a time stays in the home for up to a week - free of charge. The 11 bedroom house has enough space for the immediate family, extended family as well as any friends and caregivers that are all part of the family support system. For these children and their families, one of the most important aspects of dealing with cancer is having a supportive community.

     THE NOISE OF CHANGE HAS A HUGE IMPACT AT OUR CHUCRH!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fundraising

Falmouth Road Race Parking

Once again we will be welcoming the public to park in our lot for the Falmouth Road Race. We will provide hospitality with bottles of water, bananas, and watermelon and the use of the restrooms.  Our Trustees are out there early to greet people and give them a map of how to get to transportation.  Please help JWUMC provide this hospitality by bringing in cases of bottled any time and bananas and watermellon closer to the date of the race (August 21st).

The Church Mouse

It’s Summer! I’m back from vacation. I did not stay away too long. Too much traffic and too many people. 

Everything is in bloom and the grass is really green. Diane is outside digging, planting and spreading stuff around the church. The playground got new mulch too thanks to Russ. I heard he also put stone out in a garden seating area but I have not ventured out there. Don’t know what mulch is but it really looks good. They are doing a great job. Those noisy birds are still nesting on top of that pole in the front parking lot. I hope they fly off soon as they make such a mess in the parking lot. 

The church was very busy again this month with meetings and other people using the church. There is so much going on I cannot take naps during the day which helps me sleep good at night. People seem so happy to be here.

Pastor Rebecca retired which I heard is a special time in human life. A mouse would not know. I will miss her voice and her sermons. I am glad I came back before she left. On her last Sunday the church recognized all the people who help with the youth throughout the year. This was called Celebration Sunday. Sunday School teachers and graduating Seniors were recognized. One child was baptized and Pastor Rebecca gave her last sermon. Everyone was emotional even me. I hope people did not hear me sniffling. As a special treat ice cream was served by a place called Smitty’s as well as cookies and drinks. It was a sad day for us but a good day for Pastor Rebecca and John. They can travel more and spend more time with their family. Enjoy your retirement!

The last week of Pastor Rebecca’s ministry, people gathered in the big hall one evening. I overheard it’s called a celebration of her ministry at JW.  Lots of people gathered to say good bye to her and John. He is retiring too. Everyone seemed to be happy but sad she was leaving. They were very noisy. Some people made speeches and gave gifts to Pastor Rebecca and John. Of course, there was lots of food. The people serving did a good job cleaning the floor as I found NO CRUMBS.

Pastor Rene is the new Pastor for JW. He is very busy meeting the members and having lots of meetings. I hear that his wife is Pastor Wanda and she is serving as a District Superintendent of some district. Not sure what that means except I heard she will be traveling a lot. I heard they have three grown children and live in the new parsonage purchased by the United Methodist Conference. I also heard that he is a Yankees fan. I do not know why but people laugh about that. Something about rivalry!!

I traveled outside to the community garden on the side of the church again this month. The plants are really high and some have flowers and other have stuff hanging off the plants. I overheard people talking about how they enjoy digging in the garden. That I do not understand it is so dirty. Again, I did not stay too long as it is a little scarry outside with all the tall plants around me. I like to be inside. It is so clean inside the church. I see someone called John cleaning the church several days in the week. He does a good job keeping the church clean.

The old Bike Lab in the back area of the church is gone. The Trustees and Hannah worked two days to clean out the room. I heard that this room was the Youth Room before the Bike Lab moved in. The Bike Lab is now closed and the room will be used by the youth once more. The walls were painted by a group youth and adults of the church lead by Steve of the Trustees and of course Hannah. Also, I heard a new “floating” floor will be installed. Whatever that means I do not know. This is a large area for the youth to have a place to come after school and a place to have other youth functions.  I found a spiral staircase from the big hall down to the new Youth room and I was able to see the progress and it is nice and big. This is a good thing.

One Sunday the church gave Pastor Rene and family a welcoming celebration after church. The church was well attended and of course lots of food in the big hall. Pastor Wanda was not there because the Bishop called her and she needed to be somewhere else. Not sure who the Bishop is but I think it’s her boss. Mark the team leader presented a gift to Pastor Rene. Something to do with baseball. He presented him with a Red Sox shirt with Perez 1 printed on the back. Everyone laughed including the Pastor. I think it was a joke. 

I heard the youth group were away on two mission trip this summer. One was to Niagara Falls and the other to a camp in Maine.  The youth do mission work on both trips and have fun activities. To help pay for the trips they washed cars in the church parking lot. I stayed inside the church because of the water. I am so small I might drown in the puddles.

I heard the Sunday Beach service continues at a place called Surf Drive. I guess it is on a beach somewhere in Falmouth. I have seen the beaches in my travels but prefer to stay on dry ground and there is nowhere to hide. So, I will attend the Sunday service in the Sanctuary in my small hiding place where it is dry. Thank you to the Trustees.

Enjoy the sun and try not to get sun burned,

Your friend The Church Mouse

A Welcome gift for Pastor Rene.....

.........who is a Yankees fan!

Announcements

WANTED

CREATIVE MEN & WOMEN

The Monday Morning Crafters is a group that works on hand made items of all kinds for the Holiday Fair in November. We are looking for some new creative ideas. If you do any kind of craft, painting, woodworking, etc. please let us know. We would love some new ideas.

A group of us meet Monday mornings in the Fitzgerald Room to work on projects, talk about some we want to make or for fellowship. You do not have to come every Monday; some people work at home and will drop by once in a while. We do have some supplies; yarn, material, patterns and notions.

Please see any of the following for information; Sally Tracy, Eileen Burt, Marge Dean, Cynthia Smith or Linda Duane. Look for us during Coffee Hour after the Sunday service for any questions. In the future we might have a table of some of our kits that need to be crocheted, knitted, needlepointed and finished for the fair. This set up would be during coffee hour.

We are looking forward to talking with everyone, we have been doing this for years and really do need some new creative ideas. You may also contact me at lynoncc@comcast.net or at 508-457-4407. Looking forward to talking with you.

Thanks for your consideration,

Linda Duane

A Heartfelt Thank You to our Congregation and many others we don't even know who have contributed so much for the critical needs in Ukraine. To date you have helped send three very full car loads of medical supplies and medicines. And you have donated more than $1200 (including coin collections from "Changing the World", which has been used to help ship items and to purchase more medicines in Europe, that are then transported into the Ukraine.

As always, you rise to the needs of our church families, our Community and the Mission Field beyond ourselves.

THANK YOU -THANK YOU - THANK YOU! The Tracys

Altar Flowers: There are openings for altar flowers on the following dates:

August 28th, September 11th, October 13th, November 6th, December 4th and 11th. If you would like to purchase the flowers for any of these dates, you may sign up on the flower chart which is outside the Sanctuary or call or email the office (Ruth) 508-548-3050 or jwumcfalmouth@comcast.net. 

August Meetings and Events at JWUMC

Monday August 1st - Leadership Team Meeting 6:30 pm

Monday August 1st - Alternative Gift Market 3 pm

Saturday August 6th - Tag Sale 9am - 3 pm

Sunday August 7th - Youth Lock-in 6 pm

Monday August 8th - Worship Ministry Team 10 am

Tuesday August 9th - Finance Ministry Team 4 pm

Tuesday August 9th - Bishop's Visit 6:30

Friday August 12th - Louise Bailey Memorial Service and Collation 11 am

Monday August 15th - Friday August 19th - Vacation Bible School 9 am - 12 pm

Tuesday August 16th - Spiritual Growth Ministry Team - 6 pm

Saturday August 20th - Worship & Sunday School 4 pm

Sunday August 21st - Falmouth Road Race Parking - No Worship Service

Weekly Meetings:

Sunday ~ Youth Summer Funday 6pm 

Monday - Crafters 10 am 

Tuesday - Bible Discussion Group with Tim Cline 10 am

Tuesday - Gudrun's ESL Class 6:30 pm

Wednesday - Prayer Meeting 11 am

Birthday Wishes for August: 1st ~ Brent Finemore, 5th ~ Kim Douglas, 7th ~ Bud Tracy

Let us celebrate life among our church family. It's a great thing to have a birthday, a gift from God. Please give your birthday information by recording it on the calendar on the Fellowship bulletin board.