׉?ׁB!בCטHHu׉׉ 7cassandra://bT80BLo3Tfc43M-rFQlySEMuO6xpNthLL_kcFozBZ-8v`$t׉ 7cassandra://saGZcVcLJjYSE6BkBQRpPeWChMbC9sPtiQNAtGry4cgR`׉ 7cassandra://_Ali2a53JylyDYwL4CzYy3WxqJ-7Hn56H7fwr1ZfovEX`׉ 7cassandra://61cxaZeAVRB-4xsyG5TIxP4IzSssDC38jDI38CuIkjkP͠^jz T טHu׈8Hg/נ^jz T ,_9ׁHhttp://www.Wesleyumcfs.orgׁ ׁ Ј׈E^iz T ׉EjWesley United Methodist Church 2200 Phoenix, Fort Smith, AR 72901 www.Wesleyumcfs.org May 2020 Newsletter ׉ 7cassandra://_Ali2a53JylyDYwL4CzYy3WxqJ-7Hn56H7fwr1ZfovEX`^iz T ^iz T בCטHu׉׉ 7cassandra://VAGsWRJ8ph007hYuqjkoYDN-hUCLorH80nJ2vfTzrLI7`$t׉ 7cassandra://b1_TCGDnBeL5J-YEdZLN11EeUjBrQHopGmtXTgH0ZeI{`׉ 7cassandra://XssLCYEe6r1EXDaUBpGl525uGejdTZkkBR42HTUbebo!`׉ 7cassandra://-iPPYneI9QDyWSTvKCAFNmY9vKXf8nDqZOnyTe5igMce͠^jz T טHHu׉׉ 7cassandra://jT52MJgyK4Tu3egZw97CWNF3OGiBy0NcYGBg4gSwfWM`$t׉ 7cassandra://Pa8pWd3nyBNIMQ76fGDTz7S-DNFsETudqvZr-e5KavA̓`׉ 7cassandra://maRP1bn3XJGynXCcgwKNvvYLJ0zoj_je6mMP5rO1gTU'`׉ 7cassandra://IKKGJS9U91-KE33ZDuKwh1cMjZEn3hvRP65XIl9SLic*͠^jz T ׉EuFrom Pastor Zeke Page 1 From the Desk of Pastor Zeke Grounded In a Shaking World “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you” 1 Peter 5:7 I hope this month’s newsletter finds each of you well and safe. This has been a prayer of mine for each of you during this time. I would guess most of us have experienced heightened anxiety over the past few weeks. Likewise, a lot of uncertainty, loss of freedom, maybe a touch of depression, and some pent-up frustration. I can say this because I, too, have been feeling these things. I continue to try to navigate how to be your pastor in our new reality of Covid-19. It has not been altogether easy. While I can honestly say that I don’t know what the future holds as far as when we can gather again, I can say without hesitation that God has got this. If I had a bumper sticker verse for these days, it would be 1 Peter 5:7. I know the God that we serve and place our faith in. God’s ways are steadfast, uncompromising, tenacious, foundational, filled with love, and within reach for us all. I must daily remind myself of these truths. I will not fear because “perfect love casts out fear”. We are called to “cast our anxiety on him” and that is something we all can do. I believe that is the path forward for us all. Likewise, I believe this time of self-quarantine and mass prohibitions will not last forever. We will again be able to gather for church. We will again be able to experience the joy of communal worship. I believe that, when we are able to gather again, none of us will take it for granted. We will cherish our time together in worship and as a church united in the name of Jesus. I want you to know that I love and cherish you all. You are each so precious to me and it is true joy to have the privilege to serve as your pastor. Hang in there and, as always, keep the faith strong. -Zeke Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2020 ׉ 7cassandra://XssLCYEe6r1EXDaUBpGl525uGejdTZkkBR42HTUbebo!`^iz T ׉E Facility Information, Missions Page 2 Facility Information Blanche West is on a roll. She and Justin Cates installed and painted the new pantry doors in the kitchen and installed new mini blinds in the kitchen at no cost to the church. After that her project was ceramic tile floors and new paint in the men’s and women’s bathrooms by the kitchen. Thanks to her and Jerry and an anonymous donor this project was done at no cost to the church and they are beautiful. When we open up you invited to take a look. The new heat and air conditioner for the Win One SS room and kitchen has been installed. Our 2 year old riding lawn mower that we started the 3rd wowing season with, motor froze up and is not cost effective to repair. A donor has purchased a new John Deere Riding mower for the church. Wesley UMC Newsletter Farmers Market produce pickup will begin very soon. We are working to finalize our start date with the Farmer Market. As soon as we have dates and details we will post those on Facebook and send out an email. May 2020 We might not be able to worship together inperson but our food ministries are still going strong. Since school is technically still in session we are still supplying weekend backpack bags each week to Carnall and Cavanaugh Elementary schools. We also received an anonymous donation of $1,000.00 to help fill our food room, which helps fill our blessing box. We are beyond grateful for this very generous donation. It has allowed us to purchase more food, which will serve even more people in our community. ׉ 7cassandra://maRP1bn3XJGynXCcgwKNvvYLJ0zoj_je6mMP5rO1gTU'`^iz T ^iz T בCטHu׉׉ 7cassandra://qZQgnC-vBvZz6LiHgPqZJ4pkz8VbIcv2WWSER9JnYlc'w`$t׉ 7cassandra://TFrG331hL7k30U49iUQV3XmFGisdGnaKOMRZMTCYhwM{`׉ 7cassandra://fqA0zBshd-3CuhEs1YW6gx1uWIl3wHzVWoojhcVOex4#I`׉ 7cassandra://umqGzJ916ToH5mSPlTkq4aSccoELAlnh9elx4WEO3FUe ͠^jz T ׉ELMusic Ministry, Great Financial News Page 3 Greetings!!! Dear Wesley UMC Family, I hope that you have been enjoying our bi-weekly streaming services. Though it is odd "playing for an empty house" as they refer to it in the music business, as a music director there is something very satisfying about being able to still lead worship for our congregation during this time. I want to speak for a minute to my choir and bell ringers. I want each of you to know how much I have been missing you these last few months. Every week, I enter practices carrying a load of stress and frustration, but by the time I am done making music with you all for two hours, all the stress and frustration is gone. I miss the fun of working with all of you, making music together, and laughing. I do have plans in the works for us to be able to practice a song that we have been working on so that we can hopefully have an anthem ready in the event we are able to return to a full worship service. I will share more about that soon. To our entire church body, I want to say that I am looking forward to seeing each of you in person, even if we can't hug or shake hands at first. As the Word says, "It came to pass..." and this, too, will pass. Yours in Christ, Shane Sanderson Great Financial News Thanks to work from Harley, George and Francis, we applied and have been approved for SBA loan from the government. The amount will total around $10,400.00. Three quarters of this must go toward paying salaries. This will help our church greatly through this time of not being able to worship in person. Wesley UMC Newsletter May 2020 ׉ 7cassandra://fqA0zBshd-3CuhEs1YW6gx1uWIl3wHzVWoojhcVOex4#I`^iz T ׈E^iz T ^iz T ,May 2020 Newsletter^d8Hg/z