A Word From the Pastor

Greetings,

As we prepare for the celebration of the birth of Jesus, I wanted to share a couple of things with the

church.

First, because of significant gift from someone's estate who was a part of our church years ago, the

Carpenter family, Wesley will soon complete several projects that will help us to grow our

ministries. One of these is the creation of a new outdoor play area for elementary children. Because

of the increased number of children, our current playground areas cannot accommodate the varying

ages that we have! Several other smaller, but noticeable projects will be completed soon as well. We

appreciate the generosity and commitment of the Carpenter family that is making these possible.

This week, we have begun offering a new and easy way to give regularly to God through the

ministries of Wesley. With Text to Give by Pushpay, anyone can give with a Smart Phone anytime.

It is very easy to give from a checking or savings account, debit or credit card and to set up an

automatic recurring weekly or monthly gift.

The beginning of our holiday (Holy Days) season began with Thanksgiving last week and continues

with the first Sunday of Advent this Sunday December 3rd. I pray God's blessings for you and your

families during this time.

May we give thanks as followers of Christ for all of God's blessings!

See you Sunday,

Gerald

Sunday Worship Schedule

8:45 AM - Sanctuary Worship

The Lamplighter Lighting the way so others will see Jesus

A Publication of Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church Church Office: 423-282-6722 Fax: 423-282-6200 E-mail: Wesley@wesleymemorialumc.org Website: www.wesleymemorialumc.org Facebook page: www.facebook.com/wesleymemorialumcjohnsoncity

2017

Christmas Worship Schedule

December 24—Christmas Eve

10:30* a.m. - Service (No Sunday School or Life Groups)

6:00* p.m.—Candlelight Communion (Family Friendly)

11:00 p.m.—Traditional (*Nursery Provided)

OUR ATTENDANCE UPON THE LORD Sunday Morning Worship

Date SS S-8:45 NRG S-11:00 Total

11/5/2017 130 79 54 126 259

11/12/2017 121 82 47 135 264

11/19/2017 152 86 49 153 288

11/26/2017 112 95 41 140 276

OUR FINANCIAL GIFTS

Week of: Giving

11/05/2017 $17,422.23

11/12/2017 $15,621.20

11/19/2017 $16,212.23

11/26/2017 $9,979.00

Received Year to Date $653,290.60

Missions $4,201.00

In Memory/Honor of $460.00

Family of Vivian Yonkey Family of Vickie Rasar

Teri Deese Family of Dick Scott

Louise Jackson Carrie Swanay

Larry & Cordy McDaniel Joe & Sue Miller

Family of Tony Fellers Maurice Trammel

Ron Honeycutt Donna Rowland

Family of Faye Bible Paula Dickerson

Magen Jones Richard Sheldon

Vaugh Montgomery Linda Dishner

A s You Pray, Please Remember..

With sincere gratitude and appreciation.

Thank you so much for your donation to Families Free!

This will touch so many children during Christmas!

We can’t thank you enough for supporting us!

Love,

Families Free

Thank You, Pastor Gerald, Rev. Lytton and Wesley family

for your visits and prayers during our illness. Healing

process is slow but looking forward to being back to

worship soon.

Larry & Cordy McDaniel

Thank you to everyone who had a part in decorating

Wesley for Advent/Christmas. Also, many thanks to Beth

Scott Brown and Karen Mason for the lunch of delicious

tomato bisque and chicken salad sandwiches. As usual, our

Wesley family pulled together and rose to the task!

Kem McKee

Your love, prayers, and kindness to our family with Ed

first and now Vivian have been what has sustained us these

past few months. We will never be able to individually

thank everyone that visited, called, acted as a taxi service,

sent cards or emails, prayed with us and for us, or any of

the other wonderful daily blessings we received so please

accept this note as our sincerest thanks. Wesley is full of

wonderfully caring and giving people and we are truly

grateful for our church family.

With our deepest gratitude,

The Yonkey’s

Carol, David, and Lisa

Congratulations

Sunday morning starts with Praise HQ! in room 203. Please sign your child(ren) in on the board outside

room 201.Sunday School ends at 10:50. Pick up your child(ren) from their Sunday School room.

200 Hall, age 4 to 4th grade: Gratitude: 1 Thessalonians 5:18 Room 109/Nursery, ages 2-3: Solomon Becomes King: 1 Kings 4:29

Sunday, December 3rd, Jesus’ Birthday Party!

Noon to 2:00 pm, in the gym.

For children ages 4 – 4th grade (200 Hall). Bring friends!

Lunch will be provided. Crafts, games, music, mission, story, fellowship.

Please sign up via email children@wesleymemorialumc.org

or call 423-282-6722, so we know how much food to order.

Sunday, December 24th, Christmas Eve Worship

6:00 pm family worship in Sanctuary.

Children, ages 4 – 4th grade, will sing to help tell the Christmas story. (See Praise HQ!)

*There will be no Sunday School or Kids in Action on Christmas Eve.

Morning worship will be at 10:30.

Sunday School and Kids in Action, Children 4 – 4th Grade

Sunday mornings start with Praise HQ! in room 203 at 9:40. December 3rd – December 17th : Practice singing with Amy Potterton, Choir Director for Christmas Eve

worship service at 6 pm.

Sunday School ends at 10:40 The BIG Give…Generosity: 1 Timothy 6:18

Kids in Action is dismissed from NRG and 11:00 worship The BIG Give…Generosity

Room 109 Sunday School, Children 2 – 3 years old A Baby is Born: Luke 2:1-7

XYZ’ERS (Xtra Years of Zest)

December 13th – Annual Christmas Luncheon at Brumley’s, in the General Morgan Inn, located in Greeneville. Please meet in the tower area by 11:00 AM. We have reservations for 11:45 AM. Cost for the outing is $20.00 per person, which includes, lunch, gratuity and transportation. Please make reservations by calling the church office at 282-6722 or by filling out the tab on the church bulletin. By knowing a correct number of participants, we can better plan for transportation needs. Please indicate if you need transportation to the church. Deadline for reservations is December 10th. Due to the cold temperatures and the ever-present threat of inclement weather, the XYZers will not meet in January and February. We will resume in March by attending the Senior Adult Gathering.

The Gathering December 3rd at 5-7pm at Wesley The Gathering will take place on December 3rd at 5-7pm. This will be a great time of fellowship

as we study scripture, eat a light snack, and play a game. Friends are welcome as always!

Amplify Christmas Party December 10th at 4:45-7:30pm at Wesley Amplify will be having a Christmas party at Wesley on December 10th from 4:45-7:30pm!

We will eat dinner, decorate Christmas cookies, exchange white elephant gifts, and play games!

Come dressed in your BEST ugly Christmas sweater the winner will get a prize!

This will be a fantastic time of community and fellowship as we celebrate the true meaning of

December 2017

(5th-6th grade)

When: December 3rd

What: Youth Small Groups, &

Soul Food (9th-12th grade)

5:30 -8 p.m. meet @ the Myers’ home

Address: 3120 Summit Ave, Johnson City

Thrive (7th-8th grade) 5-7 p.m. meet @ the church for

dinner, games, Bible study, and hang out.

Bring a friend, and $3 for dinner.

When: December 10th 5:00-7:30 p.m.

Meet at Joe & Kim’s house

What: Christmas Party!

Who: Grades 7-12

Where: Joe and Kim Reedy’s house.

118 Woodland Drive, Jonesborough

Girls: Bring sweet snack.

Guys: Bring salty snack.

Everyone: bring “white-elephant” gift, no more than $5.

We will have gift exchange, food, games, and fellowship!

*The youth will be selling shares to raise the remainder of the cost for Resurrection.

Each Student will need to raise twelve $5 Shares.

Youth will have the Shares forms to hand out and we will go around in Sunday Schools in December. See Jane for info!

**We have T-Shirts for sale and they look great! $15!

Youth can take orders from friends, anyone who goes to Wesley or not.

These are an extra fundraising opportunity for Resurrection, so let’s try and sell as many as we can!

See Jane for any additional info.

When: December 17th, 12:00-2 p.m.

What: Lunch Outing, bring $10

Who: Grades 7-12

Where: meet @ Wesley in the Tower entrance

@ 12 noon & we’ll be back @ 2.

December 24th- Christmas Eve One Combined Service in the morning @ 10:30 a.m.

No Sunday School.

Christmas Eve Services: 6:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m.

December 31st- No Youth Activities

Enjoy celebrating New Year’s Eve and New

Year’s Day with Family and Friends!

COMMUNION OFFERING

Sunday December 3rd-

The Communion Offering will go to Brother’s Keeper.

This is a faith-based educational and enrichment

program for adults with mild to moderate intellectual disa-

bilities. This demographic is often overlooked and easily

dismissed. They have very few options upon leaving high

school.

This program provides opportunities for growth and

development in a variety of areas including functional aca-

demics, vocational skills, life skills, social awareness,

physical exercise and spiritual growth. To help this

ministry in our community, please make your check to

Wesley and put Brother’s Keeper on the memo line.

MONTHLY MISSIONS EMPHASIS December 2017

Come Hear Rukang and Fresie Chikomb—

They will be sharing about their work in the Congo

on Sunday, December 31st from 9:40-10:40 in the gym.

Anyone who would like to hear about their ministry is

invited to attend.

There will also be a question and answer time.

Food Items for Good Samaritan

December food item is boxes of macaroni & cheese.

Our goal is 300 boxes.

This is a staple product on their shelves and many

kids will be home over Christmas break with no

access to free breakfast or lunch at school.

Mission Emphasis Items for December

Holston Home for Children—

They need suitcases, duffle bags and blankets. Most kids

who come to them have been taken out of their home and

have their belongings in a garbage bag. They like to be

able to give them a case or bag to keep their belongings in

as well as take with them if they go to a Foster Home.

They also need blankets for the kids. Gently used, clean

cases or bags would be fine. Please drop off at the church

by December 31st.

Be a Resurrection Supporter!

PLEASE SUPPORT OUR YOUTH ON OUR ANNUAL TRIP

TO RESURRECTION, January 19-21, 2018

Thank you for your continued commitment of support to these

youth every year!

Resurrection is a ministry of the Holston Conference. Thousands

of youth from Holston Conference gather together in

Pigeon Forge each January, for a time of Worship and spiritual

growth. This is truly one of the highlights of the year for our

youth ministry.

Each student pays $75 to attend although the actual cost is

roughly $200. We need your help to raise the additional funds.

We have 26 youth going. We would greatly appreciate any

support, financially or through prayer and encouragement.

You are welcome to give your contribution to Jane or put a

check in the offering plate to Wesley Memorial with

Resurrection on the memo line.

We hope to share our experience with as many of our family

and friends as we can in worship on February 4th, 2018.

We’d love for you to be a prayer partner and/or donate any

amount you are able to help with the cost of Resurrection.

The students will also be selling $5 shares if you would like

to or are able to buy shares from individual students.

Look for a form in the bulletin or from Students from now

through January 14th!

S E R V I C E O P P O R T U N I T Y :

V O L U N T E E R S N E E D E D

If you are looking for a way to serve and pour into the

lives of amazing 5th-6th graders or our 7th-8th graders,

then here is your opportunity! Beginning in January,

we are in need of four volunteers to help out on Sunday nights.

When we get four volunteers, a rotation of the

volunteers will be created.

Volunteer duties are minimal. They include helping with

Sunday night activities such as games, setting out food,

and participating in discussion during Bible study.

We are also looking for Sunday school teachers for our 7th-8th

grade class.

If either of these opportunities sounds like something you are

interested in or able to help with, we would LOVE for you to be

a part of the youth ministry and impact the future of Wesley!

Email Ally Blackmon if you are interested:

December 11th we will discuss

The One and Only Ivan - by Katherine Applegate

January 8th we will discuss

The Little Paris Bookshop - by Nina George

February 12th we will discuss

The War I Finally Won -

by Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

U. S. POSTAGE P A I D

Johnson City, Tenn. 37601

Permit No. 179

Wesley Memorial United Methodist Church 225 Princeton Road Johnson City, TN 37601 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

UMW will have a covered dish holiday meal at the home of

Debra Foster-Brunst on Dec 7 at 5:30pm. 1008 Willow Trace Drive in Johnson City

Thanks, Mavis Onks

New Year’s Day Hike January 1st

Meet at Wesley at 10:00 am

We will go to Laurel Fork Falls

Dress appropriately

for the weather and

bring water and snacks.