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Letter From the Pastor

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

After Jesus’ resurrection, The Book of Acts tells us that he appeared to the disciples and others for forty days, talking to them about the Kingdom of God. Then he took them to the Mount of Olives, where he told them to go wait in Jerusalem for the gift that God had promised – the Holy Spirit. Then he ascended to heaven, and the Bible tells us:

“The disciples returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day's journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.”                                                                                                                           Acts 1:12-14

For forty days, the disciples had gone through a lot of turmoil and upheaval in their lives. Their beloved friend and teacher had been crucified. This wasn’t what they expected, and certainly wasn’t what they wanted. Everything had changed. But then, Jesus was suddenly back to life – risen from the dead! This, too, was unexpected. Hopefully things would now stay this way. But it’s not over – Jesus leaves them a second time, and now it’s for good, as he goes home to heaven. So they go to Jerusalem where they huddled together in an upper room, anxious and concerned at the turn of events. What would happen next? Everything they were used to had changed. But even though they didn’t know God’s plan, and couldn’t imagine what the future would bring, they did know what they should be doing – “devoting themselves to prayer.” And sure enough, God was at work all along. They had to wait anxiously for another ten days, but then the Holy Spirit came upon them. And the “church” was born, and history was rewritten. 

Now I know that many of you are feeling like the disciples – unsettled right now, perhaps anxious, even discouraged with all the changes taking place at John Wesley. And that’s an understandable response, although I think God would like a different response. I think our all-knowing and loving God would like: 1) our trust that his sovereign, wise hand is in all of this, and 2) our prayer that His plan would be fulfilled. Remember, our church is not about a pastor, not about lay leadership, not about a music director or accompanist. Our church is about God – worshipping God, serving God, sharing with others the love of God. Our John Wesley motto is: Love God, love others, serve the world. And we can do this, even in the midst of change. And so, I would encourage you to breathe in and breathe out, and trust in the promise of God, “I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” And I would also encourage you to devote yourself to prayer for our church. Here is the John Wesley prayer to help you get started.

Dear Lord, we want John Wesley to be a strong and vital church in our community. And we want to be guided by your vision and plan for us. As we move into the future, please lead us all in our thoughts, our discussions, and our decisions. Show us what you would have us do and how you would have us do it. And help us always remember that John Wesley is your church, not ours – may your will be done. In Christ’s name we pray. Amen

And remember those words of God to Joshua when his life changed and he was to be the new leader of the Israelites: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” And God will be with John Wesley, because we too have the gift of the Holy Spirit to guide us, just like those early disciples!

Children and Youth ~ Hannah Stelter

Weekly Schedule:

Sunday School & Nursery: Each Sunday following the Children's moment, there is Sunday School for Kindergarten - 4th grade students! Every week there are fun activities and an interactive Bible lesson that helps the children learn more about God! Nursery Care is also available during the 9:30 service.

Youth Group: The Middle School Youth Lesson is Sundays from 4:00-5:00 in the youth room. In May, we are going to talk about how to form good habits that point us and others to Jesus. Afterwards, the high schoolers join us in the Fellowship Hall for dinner and group games! At 6:00, the middle schoolers leave and the high schoolers have their lesson until 7:00. In May, the high schoolers are going to talk about the different miracles of Jesus. If you would like to volunteer to make dinner for the youth, you can sign up by clicking this link!

Blindfolded pool noodle game during Youth Group!

Sunday School Palm Sunday celebration!

The Youth Group passed out Palms to the community!

Upcoming:

Garden Help - May 1 @ 10:30am

All youth are invited to help clean up our community garden on May 1st immediately following the service for about an hour. This counts as a point towards our Six Flags trip in June!

Summer Calendar 

We have SO many fun things planned for this summer! Because we know you all are busy, we want to go ahead and give you our tentative calendar for May through August so you can plan around any fun activities your family wants to participate in. Click here to download the calendar! 

Recap:

Easter Egg Hunt

We had an amazing turnout for our Easter Egg Hunt! Over 250 people filled our church grounds as the kids hunted for the hundreds of eggs hidden by our volunteers. We are so grateful for all of our youth and adult volunteers and we can't wait until next year! Click here to view all of the pictures on Facebook!

The Staff Parish Relations Ministry Team will host a farewell reception on Thursday June 16th from 5:00-6:30 PM at John Wesley United Methodist Church in Falmouth. Hors D'Oeuvres will be provided by Eat Your Heart Out Catering. Please click here to RSVP by May 31st or email Ruth JWUMCfalmouth@comcast.net. 

Donations to defray cost for the reception are welcomed, but absolutely not required. If so inclined, you can put your donation in the offering plate, drop it off at the church office, or submit it by VANCO. Please indicate that your donation is for the "Farewell Reception". We look forward to gathering together in celebration of Rebecca and John's ministry and service to JWUMC.  

All church members, friends, and families are invited to a Church Wide Family Game Night on May 14th at 6:30pm! There will be light snacks and we will have Trivia and Bingo as well as board games! If you have any questions, please talk to Hannah Stelter or Colleen Karsner

Church Mouse

The church has been very busy this month. The various meetings continue and the ladies continue to move stuff from a closet by the bathrooms to another room under the small house in the back of the church. This makes no sense to a mouse, but I am sure it does to humans.

This month the services were very different at the beginning of the month than at the end of the month. At the beginning of the month people were talking about this thing called Lent. Each week a candle on the altar was snuffed out. Pastor Rebecca would talk about a question that Jesus asked. I was able to understand some of the sermons but it was a lot of information. A mouse’s brain is not too big so it is hard to remember everything. Then one Sunday everyone was given a palm branch. I heard the branches were from a palm tree and the people waved the branches as they sang. I heard this is what the people did when Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey over two thousand years ago. I bet that was uncomfortable, riding on a donkey. This is part of the Easter story. I did not understand it all but as the next week progressed, I began to understand a little. 

I watched from my secret hiding place as Diane set up things in the Sanctuary. There were several places with chairs and some objects were set up on small tables. During the week the sanctuary was open so people could visit. Soft music was playing during this time. I observed many people coming in to the sanctuary and sitting in the chairs and praying. I overheard several people say it was very spiritual and they felt close to God. I will admit it was peaceful during this time. 

One evening people gathered for a special service called Maundy Thursday. A big wooden cross was paced in the front of the altar on the floor. Again, the candles on the altar were put out one by one after Pastor Rebecca spoke. At the end of the service people came forward and pounded a nail to the cross and then left the church in silence. The cross with the nails was placed in front of the church with a black cloth draped across the cross. It was very dramatic. After that I settled down for the night.

The next day another service was held. This time seven Pastors gave a sermon and in between each one was silence then a song. I heard each one speak on the seven last words that Jesus spoke on the cross. “Father Forgive them for they do not know what they do”, “Truly I tell you today you will be with me in paradise”; “Woman behold you Son, Brother behold your Mother”; “My God, My God why have you forsaken me?” “I am thirsty”; “It is finished.”; and “Into my hands I commit my spirit”. It was very inspiring. 

The next day the church grounds were filled with children and parents. They were searching for plastic eggs filled with candy. This is called an Easter Egg hunt. There were hundreds of children! After they found all the eggs they came inside for drinks and games. I stayed out of the way and was hoping to find some crumbs on the floor, but found none. I have one question, what do eggs have to do with Easter?

I was ready for a nap, but three ladies Linda, Betty and Donna showed up with many pots of flowers. They wrapped the bottom of each plant with gold colored foil. They arranged the flowers on the altar, along the sides of the sanctuary and in the narthex. The sanctuary looked beautiful. It was an improvement over the last 6 weeks of no flowers. I thought as I drifted off to sleep that tomorrow will be different.

Sunday morning, I arose with the sounds of joyous music and noise from the people. The sun was shining and everyone was so happy. I watched from my secret place in the Sanctuary. The choir was singing and a group of musicians were playing brass instruments. I know this because I heard someone talking about the instruments. It was loud but wonderful. I heard people wishing everyone a Happy Easter and saying he has risen. Listening to everyone talking and with Pastor Rebecca’s sermon I finally understood the meaning of EASTER. It’s not the eggs, but that Jesus has risen.

He has risen indeed! Church Mouse 

Change the World:

How can you CHANGE the world? Well, with your loose change! This month we continue to collect for “A Place At The Table”. This program serves free meals to anyone in need between 11:30 AM and 1:30 PM on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month at the St. Barnabas parish house. Meals are prepared by our own chefs Bonnie and Tim Valade. 

I Support the Girls Drive: From May 1^st- June 5^tha collection bin will be in the fellowship hall. Please bring only New/Used Bras, New Underwear, and New unopened menstrual hygiene products.  

An Update from Belonging To Each Other

This season we had 87 applicants for there 6 month residential program, up from the record 64 last year. They housed 22 people and found longer term housing for 3 more and placed them there immediately. The rest were directed to more appropriate resources. We have already provided 1600+ nights of free housing and supportive services, up 27% from last year.

Ages ranged from 22-79. Unlike last year, where ages 25-35 were the most prevalent range, this year 1 of 3 residents was over 60. 83% of our residents identified as white, up from 69% last year. We had residents who are Cape Verdean, Jamaican and a member of the Tribe. We also had some LGBTQ residents.

So far, we have guided 10 of the 25 to year-round housing; 3 left us to move in with family (one later got an apartment); We had to ask 3 to leave, one after refusing a housing option. One was placed in a program.

We have 7 people living in our houses. We are working hard to get them settled by the end of the month.  We have one man who is employed full time on Jones Rd, no drugs or alcohol issues, who needs and can afford a room or efficiency nearby. 

Duffy Health obtained grant money and used it to rent motel rooms in Falmouth during freezing cold nights. 45 different people were served with more than 475 nights in Falmouth motels. BTEO volunteers made and delivered 326 meal packs to support this program. This was 10 times the number of meal packs we provided last year. Many of these meals were provided by John Wesley United Methodist members.

We used all the donations John Wesley provided to open and supply our houses. Thank you! Your holiday stockings were a huge hit with the residents.  

We are also looking for folks who want to run in the 50th Falmouth Road Race while raising money for BTEO. A great idea for those with out-of-town family who will be competing for a limited number of spots.  

The Monday Morning Crafters meet on Monday at 10:00am in the Fitzgerald Room. We work on projects for the church Christmas Fair in November. We would love to have you join us whenever you are able. Whatever your talent is we welcome you, we are in need of some new ideas!

Some of the things we have made in the past that sell very well at the fair are: hats & mittens (all sizes), sweaters (all sizes), baby quilts, large quilts, Christmas ornaments, aprons, socks (all sizes) paintings, cards, pillows and tote bags to name a few.

If you have been cleaning out your craft area and find you have yarn you no longer want, we will be glad to accept your donations. Thank you.

Call Linda Duane at 508-457-4407 or e-mail at lynoncc@comcast.net if you have ay questions or would like more information.

Announcements

Racial Justice Group will meet May 18th at 5pm. We will be discussing a Lent devotional by The General Commission on Religion and Race (GCORR). We are excited about how the faith traditions of Lent will bring justice and anti-racism to life. Please contact Ali Armitage at alexarmitage72@gmail.com if you would like more information.

FUNDRAISING

May Meetings and Events at JWUMC

Sunday May 1st - Canonization of the New Testament 10:30 am

Monday May 2nd - Leadership Team 6:30 pm

Tuesday May 3rd - Spiritual Growth 6:30 pm

Thursday May 5th & Friday May 6th - Set Up for Rummage Sale

Saturday May 7th - Rummage Sale 9am - 2 pm

Tuesday May 10th - Blood Drive 10 am - 4 pm

Wednesday May 11th - Scholarship Meeting 4:30 pm

Saturday May 14th - All Church Game Night 6:30 pm

Tuesday May 17th - Finance Ministry Mtg. 4pm

Wednesday May 18th - Racial Justice Group 5:00 pm

Wednesday May 18th - Outreach/Missions Ministry Team - 6:30 pm

Saturday May 21st - Collation for Cherylann Randall 12 pm

Thursday May 26th - Plant Sale Set-Up

Friday May 27th Plant Sale 9am - 6pm

Saturday May 28th Plant Sale 9am - 2pm

Monday May 30th - Memorial Day Holiday - Office Closed

Weekly Meetings:

Sunday - Middle School Youth Group 4 pm

Sunday - All Youth Free Dinner & Games 5 pm

Sunday - High School Youth Group 6 pm

Tuesday - Bible Discussion Group with Tim Cline 10 am

Tuesday - Gudrun's ESL Class 6:30 pm

Wednesday - Prayer Meeting 11 am

Wednesday - Handbell Rehearsal 5:45 pm (as scheduled)

Wednesday - Chancel Choir Rehearsal 7 pm (as scheduled)

Birthday Wishes for May: 8th~ Aline Ward, 21st~Brian Linton 25th~ Linda Duane, 29th~ Henry Brown

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.