Phone: 701-772-1869

Fax: 701-772-1940

E-mail: gfwesley@midconetwork.com

Check out the Newsle'er online at: www.gfwesley.org

Worship Schedule

See Calendar and front page for worship �mes

Office hours: Mon. thru Fri. 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Pastor: ............................................... Reverend Howie Baird

Coordinator of Lay Ministries: ........................... Judy Christy

Choir Director/Organist: ............................ Marjorie Myrold

Choir Accompanist: .................................... Carol Lamberson

Youth Leader: ............................................... Mark Schlasner

Bookkeeper/ Office Assistant: ...................... Tanya Murphy

The Wesley Witness A publica�on of Wesley United Methodist Church. Published

12 �mes each year to keep members and friends informed of

programs of the church and to report news about the Wesley

family.

For our Prayers ---

In Care or Assisted living facilities:

Dave & Jean Beach, Joan Bristol, Carol Clark, Velma Fruetel, Ellen Gray, Virgil Haake, Darlene Hinsz, Beulah Hodges, Dean Hruska, Charlene Kotts, Verle Ralston, Shirley & Phyllis Sand, Emolyn Skinner, Lois Weisser, Billie Dixon’s mother(in Bismarck).

At Home: Ole Dahlen, Alice Darling, Marlo Gade, Pat Klokstad, Marie Koth, Coleen Nygaard, Carolyn Strand, Kyle Whitcomb’s mother, Marijo Whitcomb’s mother and father.

We offer Christian Sympathy to the family and friends of Brooke VanLooy’s grandmother, Mary, who passed away on August 15; and of Lonnie Lamberson’s brother-in-law.

If there are joys or concerns that you would like to have included in this monthly prayer list, please email them to judy.gfwesley@midconetwork.com.

If you are interested in being part of a Monday morning prayer group that will get meet at the church to pray for joys and concerns expressed in worship on Sunday mornings or shared on prayer request cards, please talk to Pastor Howie, Judy Christy or Penny Millspaugh.

Check out our new website! The

address is the same at www.gfwesley.org

and like us on Facebook to keep up with what's going on

at Wesley

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Wesley Worship Schedule

9:00 Coffee Fellowship

9:30 Worship

Sunday, Sept. 13 Homecoming

Sunday

9:30 Coffee Fellowship

10:00 Worship

Beginning Sunday September 20

8:30 Coffee Fellowship

9:00 Worship

10:00 Sunday School for All ages

Church Office Hours

M—F 9:00 a.m.-

1:00 p.m.

Our purpose is to provide a nurturing Christian

home in which all may grow in faith and service.

2015

Homecoming Sunday is Sunday, September 13th at 10:00 a.m. Rev. Randy Cross, our new District Superintendent and former Wesley pastor, will be sharing the message. There will be a potluck meal after. Please bring a dish to share. Dessert will be provided. We will also be honoring those who have been members of Wesley UMC for 50 years or longer.

Sunday, September 27th at 3:00 p.m. at Zion UMC there will be a meet & greet for Rev. Randy Cross, our new District Superintendent. All are welcome, and there will be a talent show followed by desert. If you have a talent you’d like to share, let us know!

Birthdays

1 Troy Gregie Debbie Wikoff 2 Matt Carter Jayson Ficklin 3 Jeremy Johnson Nicholas Spaeth 4 Mary Antes Caitlin Farroh 5 Shirley Sand 6 Thomas Porath Julie Sturges Julie Varian 9 Gordon Henry Dean Hruska Josie Van Looy 10 Joel Iiams Carol Lamberson Dustin Martin 12 Tim Dittus Neil Rowe Jordan Young Ryan Zerr 13 Kristina Schafer 14 Shirley Kiefel Richard Wills 15 Rex Huss 16 Tammy Kaiser Connie Nelson Justice Steckman Naomi Yaeger 17 Katy Baumer Susan Christianson Jerry Nolte

19 Garry Davis Norma Haggerty Nick Marsh 20 Marion Wicken 23 Alyssa Johnson 24 Faye Lehn Pat Minnaar 25 Loralei Allen 26 Lucas Gores 28 Jean Beach Ron Kaiser Holly Moen 29 Julie Rodriquez Marilyn Christianson 30 Rosanne Curtis Tom Saddler

Anniversaries

2 Connie & David Nelson Julie & Sean Varian 4 Jane & James McDonald 6 Dave & Judy Christy 12 Karl & Jeanette Lindquist 13 Jim & Mary Faircloth John & Pam Galegher 14 Jason & Kayla Anglin Douglas & Laura Munski 17 Bobbie & Scott Taylor 20 John & Helen Evans 21 Tim & Sandy Dittus 24 Rev. Dale & Helen Emery 28 Rich & Faye Lehn 30 Tom & Jackie Saddler

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September 18-19— United Methodist Women District meeting here at Wesley UMC.

Wesley United Methodist Women will host this year’s Eastern Sunrise District UMW meeting on Sept. 18-19. The UMW theme for this year is “Welcomed by God, Welcoming All”. The weekend begins on Friday with

registration at 5:00 pm, supper at 6:00 pm, followed by a Spiritual Retreat led by Rev. Raenelle Sorensen from Larimore UMC. The activities continue Saturday with worship, guest speakers, lunch and more. The registration fee is $15 for both days or $10 for either Friday or Saturday and includes snacks, supper on Friday and lunch on Saturday.

All women from Wesley UMC are invited to attend and join with other women from our district for fellowship and learning.

UMW Circle Meetings

Lydia-Ruth-Rachel meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month at Parkwood Place at 1:00 pm. Please contact Nancy Schaper - 773-1735 for more information.

Mary-Martha meets the 1st Tuesday of the month after UMW Exec. Board meeting at 1:30 pm in the church library. Please contact Helen DeMaster - 772-3584 for more information.

Miriam meets in the evening. Please contact Pat Henry - 775-5904 for more information.

New Generation usually meets the 2nd Wednesday of each month in the evening. Please contact Coleen Asche 701-741-5981 for more information.

Sarah-Faith meets the 2nd Wednesday of the month at 9:30 am. Please contact Dawn Boyd—772-7969 or Natalie Meier 775-9177 for more information.

All women are invited to attend any of the circles. Just watch Sunday bulletins for the place and time they meet.

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Experience faith through the Apostle Paul, Christianity’s greatest teacher and missionary.

The Tuesday night study group will resume on September 8 and will begin with a six-week video series from Rev. Adam Hamilton, The Call: The Life and Message of The Apostle Paul. This group meets in the church library each Tuesday night at 7:00 pm and is open to anyone wishing

to attend. If you plan to attend and want us to order a book for you for $13.00, please email Judy Christy at judy.gfwesley @midconetwork.com by Sept. 1. Feel free to purchase it yourself if you prefer or you can also order the Kindle edition on your own.

Beginning September 20th, we will go to our new Sunday morning schedule. Worship will bet at 9:00, and Sunday School and Children’s music will be at 10:00. There will also be a time of praise singing from 8:50 - 9:00 for those who are interested.

All youth in 6th – 12th grade are invited to Lincoln Park on Sunday, September 13 at 5:30 pm for a meal together and then ice blocking (sliding down

the hill on big blocks of ice!). Be sure to wear clothes that you don’t mind getting dirty.

The following Sunday, September 20, Youth Group will meet at the church at the new day and time of Sundays at 5:30 – 7:00 pm. Watch for more details soon.

A note from the

Pastor

43 Awe came upon everyone, because many wonders and signs were being done by the apostles. 44 All who believed were together and had all things in common; 45 they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home and ate their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. –Acts 2:43-47

The story of the Acts 2 church is one of my favorite in scripture. It’s the story of the Apostles who, having received the Holy Spirit, burst out onto the scene and began to share the message of Jesus Christ. Out of that sharing the first church is formed, and we are told that together they began to worship, pray, and help those who had need. Out of this work it says that daily the Lord was adding to their number those who were being saved.

Perhaps my favorite thing about this text is the idea that they were together in all things; they were unified in the Spirit. As we move towards our MCCI weekend (which you can read more about in this newsletter) I have been praying and discerning where God might be leading us, and in what ways we can build unity into that weekend. From this process, I have considered along with some of our other church members if we should continue to worship together as one unified body into the fall. The conclusion that we have come to is that this is the right direction for Wesley at this time.

My desire in sharing this news with you is to be as transparent as possible about the process, as well as the direction we are headed. First and foremost, we truly do want to create a sense of unity into our MCCI weekend. We feel it is very important for us, as a whole body, to be praying together, singing together, reading scripture together, and learning from God’s Word together. On average, we worship around 130 a Sunday. This means that in our busier times of the year we have about 140-150 people in attendance on a Sunday morning. For me personally, my Spirit is stirred when I think of that many folks rising together to sing, “How Great Thou Art,” or “Oh, For a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” or even a more contemporary song like, “Build Your Kingdom Here.” There’s an energy and excitement that comes when together with one voice we praise God. I want to build on this energy, and on the movement of the Spirit that can happen, as we prepare for the future of our church.

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Second, there are many weekends this fall that we have identified as times we want to worship together. These include our Homecoming Sunday, our MCCI Sunday, our Consecration Sunday, and our Celebration Sunday after Consecration. Especially for folks who are visiting, it can be confusing to jump back and forth from two services to one, than back again the next Sunday. I’m sure this can be confusing for our members as well. It feels like it would be much simpler to remain together for the time being.

Finally, one of the concerns that I have heard from folks in our congregation is that we have two services that are essentially the same, and as such we are splitting our resources between them. For instance, the Choir usually only sings at 10:45, limiting the number of 8:30 folks who wish to participate. The same could be said about our bell choirs. The musicians we recruit for special music often only want to play at one service or another, and our children’s choir rarely shares at 8:30. By continuing to worship together into the fall, we will be pooling our resources together in order to create a worship experience that is more Spirit led and Spirit fueled.

Another concern I’ve heard in regards to worship at Wesley is that we are offering very little for those who wish to worship in a more contemporary style. Our mission statement says that we want to create a nurturing Christian home in which ALL are growing in faith and service, and yet our worship services are designed to reach only a select group of folks. Is it possible that at this time, in this place, God is calling us to start something new?

My parents visited last week, and as is often the case our conversation turned to church. The home church I grew up in, like many churches, is struggling. Over the last several years they have seen their young people grow up and leave, finding a home in churches that are offering them a style of worship more in line with the music they listen to, with a message they can relate to. Yes, it’s still the message of God’s love for the world, but it is being presented in a way they can relate to.

I know many of you understand what it feels like to have children grow up and leave the church. Some of you, like my parents, might even have grandchildren who have never stepped foot in a church. It saddens me to think that I have two, beautiful nieces—4 year old twins—who can’t sing the words to “Jesus Loves Me,” because they don’t even know who Jesus is. I know that right here in this community there are children whose grandparents are

Sunday, Sept. 13 Homecoming

Sunday

9:30 Coffee Fellowship

10:00 Worship

Beginning Sunday September 20

8:30 Coffee Fellowship

8:50 Praise music

9:00 Worship

10:00 Sunday School for All ages & Children’s music

Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m. in the quilting room on

3rd floor.

Beginning Sept. 9 quilting will start at

1:30 pm

For questions, call Helen DeMaster at 701-772-3584

Everyone is Welcome!

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For many years I have brought magazines & solicited magazines from you as a recycling project and also to help members have magazines for visiting shut-ins. I tried to keep the magazines less than 6 months old. I hope the magazine swap has been an asset to many of you.

I am looking for someone to take over this project. If no one contacts me by Sept. 30, 2015 I will remove and recycle the magazines and rack. Prayerfully consider taking over this mission.

Helen DeMaster

We are offering Confirmation to those that are interested in grades 7-8.

Please attend the confirmation informational meeting on Wednesday,

September 9 at 7:30 pm.

Wesley will again be participating in the Grand Forks Potato Bowl Parade on Saturday, September 12. We need a few people to help decorate our float for the parade and also to either ride on the float or walk along with the float and hand out candy. Please call or email the church office or sign

up in the church lobby if you want to participate in this community event.

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If you’ve been at Wesley at all this last year you may have heard a somewhat cryptic abbreviation being thrown around: MCCI. MCCI stands for Missional Church Consultation Initiative. The MCCI is an initiative through which the conference has invested a number of resources into our church in order to help us become a thriving congregation. Through the MCCI I, your pastor, have received, and continue to receive, intensive instruction in all areas of the life of the church. It has been an incredible experience and I can’t even begin to tell you how much I’ve learned this past year.

Very soon we will be hosting what is called the MCCI weekend. I would argue that this will be the most important weekend ever in the life of our church, and that you should do whatever it takes to be in worship that Sunday. A number of well trained and well equipped church leaders and coaches will be coming to Wesley to listen, and learn from all of you. In fact, they have already begun to gather information about our church through secret worshippers, our “Resource Refocus” event that we recently had with several of our key leaders, and an in depth self-study that several of our members have put together. On Friday, October 16 and into Saturday, October 17 we will be setting up interviews both with individuals and groups in the church, and our leaders will be receiving an intensive training that Saturday. Then, on Sunday morning, October 18 during worship the MCCI team will present us five prescriptions that they believe if we implement will transform and revitalize our congregation.

After our MCCI weekend we will host several town hall meetings to discuss the prescriptions, and a few weeks later we will vote on whether we wish to accept them or not. If we do accept them, the conference will continue to invest in our church, providing us with even more mentoring and training.

I truly hope that all of you can be in worship on Sunday, October 18th at 9:00 as we hear and discern the will of God together!

Howie Baird

M

C

C

I

ISSIONAL

HURCH

ONSULTATION

NITIATIVE

MCCI WEEKEND:

IT’S COMING!

October 16-18

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praying for them, just like my parents pray for their grandchildren. They are praying that they might find a church home that can reach them and share with them the love and grace of Jesus Christ. We could be that church. Unfortunately, often they aren’t interested in the hymns that you and I love so much, or the creeds that many of us know like the back of our hands. As such, if we want to reach those children, and those grandchildren, we need to learn to do things differently.

My hope and prayer is that God would fill our church with people who have the same vision. I’ve already begun to talk to some musicians in our church, and others in our community, about whether they’d be interested in helping Wesley start something new. In every one of those conversations I have been inspired and encouraged, and I truly believe the time is now. My hope and my unceasing prayer at this moment is

that we would have a new opportunity to worship that is of quality and integrity, and that it would be in place by Advent. (For some reason I like the idea of birthing something new during the season in which we remember the new thing God once birthed through Jesus Christ) This means that if all goes well, and with God’s blessing, by the end of the year we would have a 9:00 traditional service that is God inspired and Spirit fueled, and an 11:00 contemporary service that is reaching new people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I realize this is a lot to take in, and I am always willing to listen to your thoughts and concerns. I have many concerns of my own, some of which keep me up late at night wondering why we don’t just leave things alone. However, more than anything this is what I need from each and every one of you: prayer. I need you to pray, whether you agree with this decision or not. I need you to pray that God would guide us through this time of transition. I need you to pray that God’s Spirit would fill us up and that we would see a transformation take place in this church. I need you to pray that young people, and old people, and all people in between would discover in us that nurturing Christian home that we have said we want to be. I need you to pray for our leaders, and for our staff, and for me as your pastor. I need you to pray for the empty seats next to you, that God would fill them. I need you to pray that God would send us the people we need for this new day. I need you to pray that through us, the community around us might experience a Spirit fueled revolution. I need you to pray. More than anything, I need you to pray.

Peace,

Pastor Howie

There are many ways that you can participate in the life and ministries of Wesley Church!

How can I Help?

1. By Sharing your Prayers Prayer Focus for September: Teachers & Students and a new school year (See back page for additional prayers)

2. By sharing your presence, time & talents

This month, we say Thank You to: - those who have helped with WOW (Wesley on Wednesday), children’s activities, worship and meals. - All who have helped with Sunday morning worship by serving as Welcome Teams, Lay Readers, Communion Preparers and Servers, Sound Board Monitors, Nursery Helpers, and by providing special music for our Sunday worship services. - Those who serve on Church Council, Board of Trustees,

Staff-Parish Relations Committee, Finance Committee, Memorial Committee, as lay leaders, and in all other leadership roles within our church.

- Quilters for making quilts to donate to RRVCA’s Shelter House. - and those who: - are working as part of a Safe Sanctuaries/Safe & Sacred Spaces policy and

procedures task force. - organized and attended the UMW sponsored picnic at Lincoln Park. - planned and attended the Wesley Camp-out at Turtle River State Park. - donated food items for fun in the Son families, and those who helped with the

Fun in the Son Reunion on August 18. - have been serving on the MCCI self-study task force. - help provide, prepare, serve and cleanup for Sunday coffee

fellowship and provide cookies, other treats or coffee. - polish brass offering plates, candle holders, etc., and fill the

oil candles. - count the weekly offering. - care for and water the plants inside and outside the church

building. - take care of the garden areas around the church.

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And thank you to the many others who share their time with our church and community in ways that we do not always know about.

3. By sharing your gifts, such as

- Additional contribution to the general fund of Wesley UMC.

- Batting for the Quilting Group.

- UMCOR kit supplies – see list on the newsletter calendar.

- Funds for church building updating/repair projects.

- Men’s jeans, new or slightly used, for the UMC Free Mobile Thrift store in Watford City.

- Coffee mugs with lids, back packs or small suitcases, sheets & towels for the Northlands Rescue Mission.

Volunteer Needs for this month: - Substitute Children’s Sunday

School teachers & helpers

- Potato Bowl Parade: decorate the float and/or walk in the parade

- Drive UMCOR kits to Fargo (Sept. 15-17)

- Sunday worship Welcome Team

- Sunday worship Lay readers

Contact Judy Christy, Coordinator of Lay Ministries, at 772-1869 or judy.gfwesley@midconetwork.com for more information or to volunteer. Also watch for sign-up sheets in the church lobby, or announcements in the weekly bulletin. Training will be provided as needed.

Are there are other projects or activities you would like to see

happen? Email Judy about that too!

Offering Received

2014 2015

Prepaid Pledges 13,020.00 14,372.06

January 11,885.66 19,922.87

February 18,656.71 21,351.98 March 21,336.78 24,764.61

April 21,070.22 19,552.28

May 19,298.40 25,286.44

June 20,128.93 18,509.97 July 16,937.53 17,172.89

August 21,595.63 17,007.45

September 20,016.66

October 19,531.40

November 22,929.07 December 31,844.18

Total 258,251.17 177,940.55

SUNDAY WORSHIP ATTENDANCE

August 2 61

August 9 84

August 16 72

August 23 77

August 30 66

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