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TIME TO BRING

YOUR DONATIONS

The ASP/All-Church Rummage

Sale is fast approaching! It's

time to clean out the closets

and garage to help support our

youth and adults who will journey to West Virginia this

summer. You may bring your donations to the Fellowship

Hall beginning THIS SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28 after the

10:45 worship service. We will continue to take donations

through WEDNESDAY, MARCH 2. Our sale will begin

THURSDAY, MARCH 3 from 5PM to 8PM and continue

FRIDAY, MARCH 4 from 8AM to 12PM and SATURDAY,

MARCH 5 from 8AM to 11AM. All hands are welcome to

help us sort, price, and sell. Mark your calendars to donate

and join in the fun as we get ready for Wesley's Annual

Rummage Sale!

CONFIRMATION

CLASS

Confirmation is an

opportunity for youth to

claim their faith and take part in the church. This year,

Confirmation will be open to all students from 8th-12th

Grade. Please note that we encourage 7th graders

interested in going through Confirmation next year to sign

up as well. We will kick off with a Student/Parent

informational meeting on Sunday, February 28th

during Sunday School time in the High School Youth

Room.

Continued……

In this issue of The Circuit: Page 1 – Rummage Sale

Confirmation Class

Page 2 – Church & Society Forum

Lenten Concert

Spring Cleaning

Page 3 – Women’s Book Event

March Mission Project

Page 4 – Church Camps

Acolytes Needed

March Birthdays

Page 5 – Pastor Janice’s Jottings

Page 6 – Holy Week Services

Easter Flower Orders &

Music Fund Donations

Page 7 – March 2016 Calendar

CUSTODIAL POSITION Wesley UMC is currently seeking a day-

time custodian. Duties will include acting

as the on-site custodian during weekday

hours, and working with two other part-

time employees to organize and

distribute custodial duties throughout

the week and weekends. The position is

for 15 hours weekly (schedule TBA) at

$12.50 per hour. General maintenance

and repair experience is helpful but not

required. Please apply in the church

office, providing a list of related work

experience, and two local references.

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Confirmation, continued…...

AND ... Are you an adult who would love to

help connect students to a growing and

exciting relationship with Christ? We are

looking for adults to volunteer on a weekly

basis as Confirmation Group Mentors. You

don't need teaching experience or a degree in

student psychology. Just show up and be a

welcoming connection point in a student's

life. For more information, or to register for

Confirmation, email our Youth Director, Ben

Pertl at bpertl@charlestonwesley.org.

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

FOR AN UPCOMING

CHURCH & SOCIETY FORUM

The WUMC community is invited to a forum

on Perspectives on Elections and Politics for

United Methodists, 6:30-8:00 pm on Sunday,

March 6 in Room 123/125 in the Education

Wing. The forum is sponsored by the Work

Area on Church and Society and will focus on

five important issues facing our country:

Immigration; the Environment; Education;

Criminal Justice; and Poverty and Economic

Inequality. The Social Principles of the United

Methodist Church will be the point of

departure for understanding the Church's

position on these complex issues, with the

focus of the forum on (a) exploring ways for

Christians to think about elections and

politics and (b) identifying strategies for the

congregation to take action on these

issues. The forum is designed to be both

nonpartisan and non-candidate oriented.

On Sunday, March 13th at 4:00 PM, the

twenty-five man Coles County Barbershop

Chorus will present their 22nd Annual

Lenten Benefit Concert. The one-hour

program is FREE and will be held at Wesley

UMC. A free-will offering will be taken and

every penny will go to assist area food pantry

and homeless shelter programs. Each year

the chorus generates nearly $6,000 through

benefit concerts. The program consists of

sacred music, and the chorus will be joined

by four local quartets. In addition, twenty

area women will help form a mixed chorus to

close the program.

PREPARING

FOR OUR

GUESTS

A church SPRING

CLEANING DAY

will take place from 9AM – 3PM on Friday,

March 27th. A light lunch will be offered at

noon. The Wesley staff is putting together a

list of spaces to be cleaned, but if you can

think of a specific area that needs some

attention, please email or call the office.

Come for an hour, come for the day - we

appreciate any time you can spare to help us

get ready for our Palm Sunday and Easter

guests. ALL HANDS ARE WELCOME!

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WOMEN’S BOOK EVENT –

SAVE THE DATE!

A Faith, Friends and a Good Book women's retreat

will be held at Wesley UMC on Saturday, April 9

from 8:30AM - 12:00PM. There will be musical

entertainment, book discussion, a light lunch, and

door prizes. Choose one of three books to discuss

with other participants. Books include The Devil in

Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo; For

the Love: Fighting for Grace in a World of

Impossible Standards by Jen Hatmaker; and When Christians Get It Wrong by Rev. Adam

Hamilton. Childcare will be available; we ask that you provide a sack lunch for each child you

bring. There is no charge for the event itself, but a free-will offering will be taken to cover the

expense of the luncheon and childcare. Stop by the sign-up table in the sanctuary hall alcove

across from the Prayer Wall for more information and to sign up. Registration is due by Easter

Sunday, March 27. Mark your calendar, invite your friends and join us for this fun event.

MARCH MISSION PROJECT:

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING

Our March mission project is One Great Hour of Sharing

(OGHS). This is the annual appeal for funds to underwrite the

operational expenses for UMCOR (United Methodist Committee

on Relief). UMCOR is in its 76th year of helping people in

crisis around the world.

The impact of 12.4 million United Methodists in 136 countries is phenomenal. In 2014, UMCOR

contributed $373 million to United Methodist benevolent causes such as soup kitchens, clothing

drives and other causes. $28 million was donated by UMCOR for disaster responses, both locally

and internationally. UMCOR offers exceptional humanitarian aid because all monies contributed

to specific UMCOR projects go 100% to those projects – not for administrative costs. Incidentally,

if funds collected for OGHS exceed the amount needed, the overage is directed to the most needy

or under-funded UMCOR projects.

If you would like to help with this effort, please make your check to Wesley UMC with OGHS on

the memo line, or visit our website at www.charlestonwesley.org and click on the $ button at the

bottom of the page. If you prefer to make a cash donation, there are blue mission offering

envelopes in the pew backs. Thank you very much for your support.

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CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

CHURCH

CAMP

BROCHURES

ARE HERE!

The 2016 summer church camp brochures

are available throughout the church building

and in the office. Register your child online at

www.igrc.org/camping. You can also

download the medical and all-in-one

authorization form there. You can call the

camp office at 217-529-3007 to have the

form mailed to you.

View our Camping/Retreat Ministries

Reimbursement Policy on our website at

http://charlestonwesley.org/#/calendars

/summer-church-camps or attached to

each camping brochure. Camps are offered

June through August.

ACOLYTES NEEDED

If your family is

here to worship

with us, and you

have a child (or

children!) from

3rd grade to

high school, we'd love to have them join our

small team of acolytes. Each acolyte carries

the light of Christ into worship about once

per month. For more information, please call

the church office or email Cindy Ebinger at

cebinger@charlestonwesley.org.

ASP MISSION TEAM STOCK

The sale of stock to support those attending

this summer’s Appalachia Service Project

mission trip has begun. You can buy stock at

the table in the sanctuary hallway between

worship services on Sunday mornings.

Happy March

birthday to

the following

Wesley folks!

Brett Bensley Darlene Bingham Gary Brinkmeyer Justin Carr Noelle Cope Allen Davis

Priscilla Ebdon Sharon Eberly Sandy Ernst Jim Farley Mikey Fleming Taylor Fleming Kathy Gandolfi Dennis Grant Nancy Grant Janice Grewell Beverly Harrison Kathy Hummel Jody Johnson Marie King Donald Lahr Michael Lanman Janice Louthan Timothy Loy Hal Malehorn Hank Nilsen Patti Murphy Jayne Ozier Alexander Pearson Andrew Pearson Rita Pearson Brynn Symonds Max Winkler Deb Wolf Jeri Matteson-Hughes

Don’t forget to SPRING AHEAD

before going to bed on

Saturday, March 12th!

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PASTOR JANICE’S JOTTINGS

Greetings, Wesley Friends!

I am writing to let you know that the Spirit of

Compassionate Care is moving through our

congregation and reaching out to those who can no longer participate fully in the life of our

church. There are 17 volunteers who have agreed to be Faith Friends this year as they visit and

carry your love to our almost 50 homebound and residents of caring facilities. They join our

other caring ministries: Stephen Ministry, the Basket Ministry, Card Ministry, Prayer Shawl &

Prayer Squares Ministry, Grief Recovery Ministry, Caregivers’ Ministry, Prayer Chain and other

prayer groups, the handbell group at Brookstone, not to forget the compassionate care provided

by Sunday school classes for their members. If you know of someone who needs a visit from me

or someone from our caring ministry network, please contact me.

I am so blessed to be a part of Wesley Church! Thank you for your welcoming ways to me and for

the wonderful response you have been giving to needs of serving our homebound. You have

volunteered to share a ride for coming to worship. You are knitting, crocheting, and sewing

shawls and squares. You are making small gifts to take to show our love as we visit. I especially

thank all our children’s classes who make and send gifts regularly. They are prized by those we

visit because it keeps them connected in love to our church. You are bringing bud vases for us to

fill and take to others. Thank you to those who have left your altar flowers to be divided and

taken to brighten the lives of those who receive them. It takes so little to make compassionate

connections with those who can no longer come to church, but it is so important! Keep it up!

They help so much!

For many years, the residents of Lakewood Village have not had any opportunities for worship or

the sacrament of communion because almost all residents there have no transportation. Our

church has begun a monthly Thursday worship service there at 11 AM. If any of you are free at

that time and would like to help me with the service, please contact me.

We must not rest on our laurels! God calls us to more service to those who have given their lives

to serving Christ. You will be hearing soon about the need for Helping Handymen and

Handywomen who can change light bulbs and batteries (and perhaps rake or clean out gutters)

for the homebound who can no longer reach and climb. Any ideas you have about how we can be

better servants of Christ to those in need are also welcome.

I love my position and I love my church. Thank you for joining me in service of compassionate

care here at Wesley. I am always available to you. There’s always room for more to serve!

Blessings of love and grace,

Pastor Janice Kahl

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DO YOU

HAVE EXTRA

BUD VASES?

Our Caring Ministry

is in need of bud

vases to take flowers to our homebound

residents and to those in care facilities.

Please bring vases to the church office; bud

vases only - NO large vases, please.

Holy Week begins with the observance of

PALM SUNDAY on March 20. Children will

enter the sanctuary waving palm branches at

both the 8:30 and 10:45AM services.

Good Friday worship will be take place in

our sanctuary on March 25 at 7:00PM. Our

Chancel Choir will be providing special

music.

Join us Easter morning (March 27) for

worship at 8:30 or 10:45AM as we celebrate

Christ's resurrection! Our Chancel Choir,

accompanied by a brass ensemble, will

provide music for both services. Children's

Church will take place immediately following

the Children's Sermon at both services.

(Please note that there will be no children’s

Sunday School Easter morning.) Please invite

and bring a friend, relative, or your entire

family to this very special once-a-year

worship opportunity!

EASTER

FLOWERS AND

MUSIC FUND

DONATIONS

Wesley UMC is once

again offering the

opportunity to purchase flowers to decorate

our sanctuary on Easter morning. In lieu of

flowers, you may contribute to the Music

Fund which helps to pay for special music on

Easter, as well as other music needs

throughout the year. Flowers can be ordered

for $15.00 each and may be designated in

honor or in memory of a loved one, or given

as a gift to the church. The ordering deadline

is Monday, March 21st. Donations to the

Music Fund may be given in any amount and

will be recognized in the Easter Sunday

bulletin. Please write separate checks for

flowers AND for music indicating on the

memo line that the check is for Easter

Flowers or Music Fund. Plants may be

picked up after the 10:45 service on Easter

morning. An order form is included in the

Sunday worship bulletin, or you may stop by

the office during the week.

Our condolences are expressed

to the family of Marge Lanman who died

January 28, 2016,

to the family of Sue Goodrich who died

February 3, 2016,

and to Diane Grove on the death

of her brother Jim Socall

February 11, 2016.

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WESLEY UNITED METHODIST CHURCH

2206 4TH Street

Charleston, IL 61920-3903

Phone: 217-345-3917

www.charlestonwesley.org

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

WESLEY UNITED

METHODIST CHURCH

2206 4TH Street

Charleston, IL

Phone: 217-345-3917

Fax: 217-345-3922

www.charlestonwesley.org

Follow us on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/charlestonwesley

OUR SUNDAY SCHEDULE:

Worship - 8:30 & 10:45 AM

A Time of Fellowship

takes place at 9:30AM

Sunday School for all ages - 9:50AM

Our nursery is available all morning

Non-Profit Organization

U.S. Postage

PAID

Charleston, IL

PERMIT NO. 107

MARCH - 2016

In this issue of the Circuit: Rummage Sale! . . . . . . . . .page 1 Confirmation Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 1 Church & Society Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 Barbershop Lenten Concert . . . . . . . . . . .page 2 Spring Cleaning Day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 2 Women’s Book Event . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 March Mission Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 3 Summer Church Camp . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 4 Acolytes Needed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 4 March Birthdays. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 4 Pastor Janice’s Jottings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 5 Holy Week Services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page 5 Easter Flowers & Music Fund . . . . . . . . . page 6 March Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .page 7