Weekly Announcements

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Wesley United Methodist Church

Worcester, MA

Weekly Announcements

A daily prayer during this COVID-19 crisis

Today’s Prayer

Inspired by 1 John 3:1-3 New Revised Standard Version

3 1 See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he[a] is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is. 3 And all who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.

Almighty God, we are your children. All humanity is precious. We are all made in your image. Thank you for sending your Son our savior Jesus who is our model and example for living. Throughout the hundreds of years since Jesus’ earthly life his way and example is still relevant. Still humanity ignores the way of Jesus and still you bestow the power of your Holy Spirit upon us. We do not always care for and help one another in our communities, our country, and around the world.

Currently our world has countless challenges. We are in the midst of a great virus pandemic and hundreds of thousands are sick and dying with no known cure yet. Across the world hurricanes roar, wild fires rage, and people are homeless and starving. Throughout these United States of America and the other nations of the world civil distrust and anger are manifest with countless persons feeling their lives are not valued.

Help us O lord to follow the way of Jesus Christ. Instill within us the reality that by following Jesus we can purify ourselves and work toward his end the Kingdom of God on earth. O Lord, we cannot do all this alone. We need your help and inspiration. O Lord let it be. Let all this happen. Bring peace, love, and healing to fruition and use us for your purpose and this end. We pray in Jesus name. Amen. And Amen.

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Announcements for October 25-31, 2020

Let Us Keep In Our Prayer...

 Ron Ramsay now at home recovering.

 Paul Keister now the Lutheran Home.

 Emily, granddaughter of Sandra and Michael McManus, recovering from surgery.

 Mary Jett Woodring

 Ken Hedenburg

 Shirley Patch in Hospice care.

 Joseph Boateng

 Shirley Pisarski

 David Burah

 Grace Woode

 Beth Vietze's parents Barbara & Frank Vietze.

 Cynthia Catellier, friend of Tom & Barb Ingrassia, diagnosed with inoperable cancer.

 The worship team as they look for help.

 Teachers and students/children.

 Wesley’s leadership as they discern ways to keep our church community safe amidst the

coronavirus pandemic.

 Those working on the frontlines of this pandemic: healthcare workers and other essential

workers.

 Those who are unemployed, the homeless, and others in vulnerable situations, including

people living in situations of domestic violence

Thank you for all the prayers, texts, emails, and cards for Avery. She has recovered nicely and has resumed all normal activity.

Blessings to you all. Debi Reynolds If you have a prayer concern you would like it added to the Sunday worship

service or the announcements, please email [email protected]. Rev. Lee and Debi will both receive these emails.

Tower & Rose Window Lighting

The Rose Window lighting for November is given in loving memory of Clifford S. Duxbury, Jr. by Nancy, Beth, and Craig & Tina Duxbury.

The Tower lighting for November is given in loving memory of William and Mina Warman by Arline Benoit.

Although we may not be in church to appreciate our beautiful stained-glass windows, we are still able to appreciate and dedicate the lighting’s in memory of loved ones.

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CHURCH CONFERENCE

Wesley’s Church Conference

Wednesday, November 18, 2020

7:00 PM via Zoom

The Church Conference is the annual church meeting when we celebrate the fruit of our ministry in the year past and cast a vision for our ministry in the following year. We conduct some business of the church. All Wesley members are voting members of the Church

Conference. Please come and celebrate with us!

Wesley UMC Worcester is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Church Conference

Time: Nov 18, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89161981637?pwd=Mlpwc0R0blRFSWVCWUlHRmVaYkRrQT09

Meeting ID: 891 6198 1637 Passcode: 985952

One tap mobile

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Dial by your location

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Church Conference Report

We have created the packet of reports for the conference. There are three ways to access a copy...

1. View or Print from this link - Church Conference – this link is available in the Constant

Contact email only.

2. Pick up a copy from the Welcome Office

3. Email me and I will mail a copy if you are not able to do print or pick a copy up. Please send me your full name and complete address.

If you want a copy for the conference on Wednesday evening and need it mailed to you, please email me by Sunday night so I can get them out first thing Monday morning.

Poinsettia Orders for Christmas

I am now accepting Poinsettia orders. Due to Covid, Poinsettia orders are being taken early. I

MUST have a final number to my supplier by December 1st. Therefore, ALL orders MUST be in

to me by Tuesday, November 24th.

This year Christmas may be via zoom, however, we will use poinsettia's for decoration and photos to be used in the service or the video that is posted on the website. After the need for them is done, we will set up a date to distribute them. We will also set up distribution to shut-ins the way we generally do, however it will most likely come before Christmas Sunday.

Please complete the order form and mail it to Wesley Church, Attn: Debi Reynolds with your

check. We WILL NOT be accepting payment online this year. All orders must have a payment with them and be to me by November 24th

Debi Reynolds

UMW Bake Sale

Would you like to order pie(s) for Thanksgiving this year?

All orders must be placed by Monday, November 16th. Please contact

Linda DACRI by email ([email protected]) or phone (508-450-0331).

You can pick up your order from 12-2 on Sunday November 22nd from 12

to 2 pm or contact Linda for other arrangements. Also breads will be available so please order

in advance so we will have your order ready.

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Sunday School Class

God and the Pandemic

The theme oriented Sunday School Class will begin reading and responding to God and The Pandemic, A Christian reflection on the Coronavirus and its Aftermath by N.T. Wright. For five weeks we will look at both the Old and New Testaments as well as Jesus and the Gospels as presented by this world renown biblical scholar and author. Join us on Zoom for this great study

by E-Mailing James Hoffman at [email protected]. Program will begin on Sunday

November 22nd from 9:00 - 9:55 am.

Tuesday Small Group Study

God is Nearer than You Know

Each of us longs for someone who will meet us in the midst of life’s messes. We want to believe in a living, miracle-working God who won’t think twice about stepping into the thorny thickets

of our world and lifting us out. In You Are Never Alone, Max Lucado reminds us that God’s

presence and power are nearer than we think. We need only look to the miracles of Jesus as told in the Gospel of John to know this is true.

In this six-session Bible study we will look at the miracles of Jesus in John’s Gospel on the first and third Tuesday evenings from 6:30 - 8:00 pm, beginning Tuesday, November 17th. Join us on

Zoom for this great study by E-Mailing James Hoffman at [email protected].

Announcements & November Herald

Weekly Announcements will be sent out as there are items to be shared. Per Moo's request,

the Announcements will be emailed by Thursday night when possible. If you have an

announcement or information you would like shared with the congregation, please email me your document/ announcement by 10 am Wednesday mornings.

The November Herald will be mailed the week of November 16th. All articles should be in

to Debi by Wednesday, November 11th. Thank you!

If at any time you have an article you feel is important and needs to be shared immediately, please let me know you have one coming, and please give me a 24 hour window to get this out. I still have my foster daughter and will have her for the foreseeable future.

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Be Love In Action - Volunteer to Serve in Worship

Worship Volunteers are Urgently Needed!

Are you enjoying our virtual worship? The worship team puts in many hours each week to create a meaningful and rich experience – and we need your help. At least 10-14 people usually serve in live worship, in addition to the choirs! Virtual worship requires the same numbers and we have been working with half that many. There are tasks you can help with in preparation, and also in worship itself that would free up the team to provide worship without continuing to overextend themselves. Help might also enable us to add a few more highly requested

elements such as captioning and occasional anthems to our services.

We are not asking anyone to volunteer every week (though we wouldn’t say no if you feel God calling you to do that). We will happily train you to do these tasks! We need rosters and schedules of people to fill the following roles:

Multiple Virtual Usherseach week to let people 'in', spotlight speakers, monitor and answer

simple chat questions, take attendance and scan the room for people who need help. No one person can do these jobs alone, we need several ushers each week.

Screen Sharers on Zoom – we share 5-12 prepared videos, recordings and images each week.

Google Slide/Power Point Makers presentations each week with provided information. We use

these for the call to worship and opening prayer, and for the prayer image and Lord’s prayer. We also prepare slides for hymn texts and more in case our videos fail for any reason. These things are extracted from our bulletins – this is essentially a cut and paste task.

Scripture Readers – we send you a script and a tip sheet to follow.

Captioning Managers – We are investigating captioning to make our service more accessible.

Every captioning service we have explored so far requires someone to monitor and regulate it live on Sunday mornings. If we found enough fast typists this might also be a possibility for us.

Video Makers - this is the one area where more training or experience is needed, but if anyone

has experience or is interested in learning, we will gladly teach these skills to you if you feel called to this ministry.

Everyone who is involved in worship on Sunday mornings meets at 9:30 AM in the Zoom

worship space for sound and equipment checks; a review of roles and plans for that day; and to pray for the service. Live worship usually has 10-14 people involved. Virtual worship requires the same numbers and we have been working with half that number.

Is God calling you to help us? Please email [email protected] as soon as possible for more information.