Congratulations to Rachel Denzin on her upcoming wedding on June 26 th to Craig Steenerson! We at Wesley would like to give our warmest congratulations to Rachel Denzin for her upcoming wedding on June 26 th . We also thank Rachel for her service to giving her time to both children and their families here at Wesley as the Christan Education Director. Currently, Rachel is in the process of moving to Jacksonville, Illinois. Rachel added “I am so blessed to have been able to be involved with Christian Education and with your children and families. I will miss you all greatly; thank you for allowing me to serve with you”. Wesley would like to give our biggest thanks to Skyler Przygoda for her time and service at Wesley for the past two years. Skyler has served as a Seminary Intern and as the Interim Communication Director over the course of her time here at Wesley. Currently, Skyler is in the process of moving as she heads to Nashville, Tennessee to begin her schooling towards her Masters Degree. We wish Skyler all the best in her future endeavours and pray for a smooth transition as she begins this next chapter in her life. June 2019 Thank you Skyler Przygoda for your time and service!
Transcript
Congratulations to Rachel Denzin on her upcoming wedding on June 26th to Craig Steenerson!
We at Wesley would like to give our warmest congratulations to Rachel Denzin for her upcoming wedding on June 26th. We also thank Rachel for her service to giving her time to both children and their families here at Wesley as the Christan Education Director. Currently, Rachel is in the process of moving to Jacksonville, Illinois. Rachel added “I am so blessed to have been able to be involved with Christian Education and with your children and families. I will miss you all greatly; thank you for allowing me to serve with you”.
Wesley would like to give our biggest thanks to Skyler Przygoda for her time and service at Wesley for the past two years. Skyler has served as a Seminary Intern and as the Interim Communication Director over the course of her time here at Wesley. Currently, Skyler is in the process of moving as she heads to Nashville, Tennessee to begin her schooling towards her Masters Degree. We wish Skyler all the best in her future endeavours and pray for a smooth transition as she begins this next chapter in her life.
June 2019
Thank you Skyler Przygoda for your time and service!
Thank you to Wesley Chancel Choir! Dee Breeding Mileeyae Kwon Susan Bywaters Elaine Bearden Sam Jew Kim Anna Mora Gayle McDonald Dr. Barrington Coleman Wesley Litten Sergio Martinez Lyle Jackson Ryan Grosso Rev. Dan King Crede Not pictured: Janet Dee
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Rainbow Ensemble Conductor: Deborah Jungmi Kang Piano: Ryan Larsen Violin: Linda Larsen Alden Larsen Sichong Pei Zoey Yao Ave Rivera Viola: Lois Gullerud Gayle McDonald Cello: Samuel Larsen Cindy Oh Flute: Tracy Takasugi Clarinet: Reshmina William
Eva Cook Trumpet: Kevin Anderson Horn: Jenn Pacey Xylophone: Ann Spurgeon Josie Pacey Rain Stick: Ernest Gullerud Guitar: Augusto Espiritu
Travel Along with Students Going to Africa! You are invited to “travel along” with our peer ministers, Ave Rivera, Kenny Smallhorn, and Agrismary Santiago, as they travel through Zimbabwe, Zambia, and the DRC with Rev. Glen Robyne, co-director of the Wesley Foundation at Purdue, and other Purdue students and alumni. Follow along to enjoy the African sights and sounds, meet international friends, virtually visit Africa University, and connect with our United Methodist siblings, churches and organizations, armchair-style! You can also submit questions, give encouragement, and share prayers for our students’ safe travel and an amazing adventure. Find our group on Facebook at “Wesley Student Africa Mission Experience 2019” and join us as we embark with Ave, Kenny, & Agrismary on the trip of a lifetime!
If you want to become a partner in this mission, feel free to bring a check (marked “Africa mission”) to Wesley’s center office, or donate online by going to wesleyui.org/giving and selecting the donate button. Please put "Africa mission" in the "special instructions" section. Your donations are tax deductible.
We hope you’ll join us in reaching across the globe with the gifts of God’s love and peace this summer as we send these students into the world with our prayers and blessings!
Congratulations to our Graduates! Wesley congratulates all our graduates on your accomplishments and reaching this milestone! We recognize that some of you will engage in work locally or begin new academic programs at the U of I, and look forward to your continuing participation as part of our Wesley community! We also know that some of you will move to begin new adventures and chapters in other places. We have been blessed to have you as members of our Wesley family and look forward to staying
connected! If you would like to share updated contact information, please email Pastor Julie ([email protected]) or Donna Giffen ([email protected]) with your details. We celebrate the following U of I graduates for the 2018-2019 academic year: Bachelor degrees – Hana Abunaim (Psychology), Lily Benig (Bioengineering), Kenneth Evans (Molecular and Cellular Biology), Kaitlyn Fouke (Biology - Denison University, Granville, Ohio), Ryan Grosso (Environmental Science), Monica Paul (Materials Science & Engineering); Master’s degrees –Ethan Chew (Business Administration), Xue Hui Chao (Human Resources), Lizzy Isbell (Library and Information Science), Michelle Pettit (Costume Technology); Doctoral degrees - Michael Drummond (Chemistry), Chris Hedlin (English), Sam Jew Kim (Vocal Performance and Literature), Emily Lux (Social Work), Reshmina William (Civil and Environmental Engineering). Congratulations and best wishes from all of us at Wesley!
ESL Class and International Coffeehouse The summer session of our ESL class and International Coffeehouse begins Friday, June 7th, and we invite you to join us! The class meets in the conference room from 3:00-4:00 p.m. each week in June and July, followed by the gathering in the ETC Coffeehouse from 4:00-6:00 p.m. Students, visiting scholars, family and community friends are invited to practice English, enjoy coffee, treats, and snacks, and learn about each other’s cultures. Come sit where the world gathers around your table! Etc. Coffeehouse and Student Lounge Summer Schedule The Etc. Coffeehouse is officially closed for the summer, but students are still welcome to use this space and the Student Lounge for studying, reading, hanging out, etc.,
during regular building hours (Sunday through Friday, 8am-5pm). You may bring your own food and drink, as we do not have volunteers to make coffee during the summer, but please wash any dishes that you use. Help us keep the spaces neat and inviting for everyone by picking up after yourself - we really appreciate it!
Campus Ministry Calendar
Sunday, June 2, 9:30 & 11:15 a.m., Sanctuary & Etc. Coffeehouse (and every Sunday) Sunday worship Monday, June 3, 4:00-6:00 p.m., Downstairs Student-only Food Pantry – Offered the first Monday of every month. We all need assistance from time to time… Wesley is here to help you, or someone you know. Students just need to bring your student I.D.
Thursday, June 6 – Saturday, June 8 – Pastor Julie, Campus Ministry Intern Skyler Przygoda, clergy, laity, and students will gather in Peoria, IL, for our denomination’s annual gathering for doing business, passing legislation, electing General Conference delegates, and making
connections across our conference. We’ll take part Thursday and Friday afternoon in offering a popcorn bar to hundreds of delegates, and will enjoy connecting with college students from the other Wesley Foundations. If you’d like to attend as a delegate for the Wesley Foundation, let Pastor Julie know ASAP – we still have a spot open, and would love to have you join us! Friday, June 7, 3:00 p.m., Conference Room (and every Friday) ESL Class – We welcome beginners through advanced students as we practice conversation, listening & reading skills, and learn about American individuals, culture, and history. It’s a free class for international students, visiting scholars, family members and community friends, so join us! 4:00-6:00 p.m., Etc. Coffeehouse (and every Friday) International Coffeehouse - International & domestic students, visiting scholars and community members are welcome to join us for coffee, snacks and conversation as we practice English, make new friends from around the world, & learn about each other's cultures!
Children and Youth June 2019
Children Sing in Church - Sunday June 2nd
Please have your child to church by 9:15am for a final rehearsal in Room 127.
Pentecost Sunday, June 9th Please have your child wear either, red, yellow or orange to celebrate Pentecost Sunday!
Save the Date – Vacation Bible School – June 10-14th To Mars and Beyond
VBS will run Monday – Friday from 9am to 1pm during the week of June 10th. Lunch will be provided. Children ages 3 years – 5th grade are invited to attend! Non-Wesley members are also invited. Enrollment will cap at 30 students. Please TEXT Rachel Denzin at 621-6984 to RSVP.
Ms. Rachel’s Last Sunday – June 16th I am so blessed to have been able to be involved with Christian Education with your children and families. I will miss you all greatly, but I will be moving on to the next chapter of my life, as I will be married on June 26th and moving to Jacksonville, Illinois. Thank you for allowing me to serve with you. Yours in Christ, Ms. Rachel
Camping Retreat Ministries The 2019 Summer Camping Guide is out! There are many wonderful church camps close to Champaign-Urbana. Please see Rachel Denzin with any questions.
Nudges arrives at the Wesley Food Pantry
A few weeks ago, the Wesley Food Pantry applied for and was selected to be one of the first food pantries in the Eastern Illinois Foodbank service area to implement Nudges. We were very excited to be selected as this goes very well with our ongoing efforts to promote a health and wellness by growing our own fresh produce and offering nutrition education classes.
Nudges is an intervention strategy designed to provide subtle nutrition information/education and assist in distributing more healthy foods. Feeding America defines a “nudge” as: a subtle environment change in a food distribution setting, designed to make a healthy choice the easy choice. A study found nudges to increase the likelihood a healthy food item was chosen by guests in a pantry setting by 46 percent.
As part of this new initiative the food pantry will be setting up new shelving, new signage, rearranging how our food is displayed and strategically placing nutrition information around the food pantry. The best part is that this new initiative requires little upfront cost to implement. In early May, we set up some of our new shelving and over the course of the summer we will be working on the other aspects of this initiative.
Eastern Illinois Foodbank Agency Conference
In early May, the Eastern Illinois Foodbank held its Annual Agency Conference. Our operations manager, Dawn Longfellow, was invited to be on the panel for the Connecting Health and Hunger: Implementing Nudges session.
Dawn discussed our current initiatives to promote healthy eating such as our garden and nutrition education classes. She also discussed what we were planning to do to implement the nudges initiative at the food pantry. EIF’s long term plan is to use the Wesley Food Pantry as a model for other food pantries when they start to implement Nudges.
Client Story: “Al mal tiempo, buena cara.”
Literal translation to the above Spanish idiom is “to bad weather, good face”, which is an encouragement to put on a brave face when the going gets tough.
Recently, a person came to the Parkland Pantry. She had not been there before and as I was registering her for the food distribution, we started to chat. Clara explained some of the health issues her and her husband were having and how things were getting tough for them. I expressed my sympathy for her and told her I hoped things would get better. She noted my concerned tone and then said to me don’t worry. In my country there is a saying “al mal tiempo, buena cara”. I will keep smiling.
We are there to help people struggling to make ends meet, but sometimes pantry clients help us. After recently having several family members experience health issues, it was a needed reminder to keep smiling. That day the client helped me more than I helped her.
It is garden season!
We are very excited to start another season of growing our very own produce. Our clients greatly appreciate taking home fresh vegetables. We are calling all green thumbs out there. We would love to have a volunteer or two help us weed and harvest starting in June. To help please contact Katie at [email protected].
ANNOUNCEMENTS
To Wesley Member, Daniel Camp-Blair and Danielle Birtles on their engagement! They plan to be married on Tuesday, January 14, 2020 near Manchester, UK.
There will be a Memorial Service for long-time Wesley Member, Virginia Guthrie, on Tuesday, June 18th at 11:00 a.m. in the Sanctuary. A visitation with the family will be at 10:00 a.m.in the Sanctuary. Virginia died on January 22, 2019 at the age of 103.
PLEASE REMEMBER: When you buy coffee, tea, and chocolate products at Coffee Hour, you are making a donation to UMCOR. The company we buy those products from donates a portion to UMCOR. Thanks.
WESLEY SUMMER BUILDING HOURS
5.13.19 – 8.25.19
Monday – Friday Open 8am – 5pm
Saturdays – Closed
Sundays – Open 8am – 5pm
UMW Book Discussion, June 10th The UMW will have a book discussion at Sue Kiddoo’s home on June 10th. There will be refreshments as we gather at 7:00 pm for a discussion of Philip Gulley’s book entitled “Unlearning God: How Unbelieving Helped Me Believe”. If you have not read any of P. Gulley’s books this is a great place to start! He is a very engaging writer. You are welcome whether or not you have read the book.
Wesley Staff Senior Pastor/Director Rev. Dan King Crede | Campus Minister Rev. Julie Dowler Associate Minister Rev. Deborah Kang Director of Contemporary Worship and Music Crofton Coleman Director of Christian Education and Youth Rachel Denzin | Director of Chinese Ministry Jie Wu Smith Director of Choral Music Dr. Barrington Coleman Parish Nurse/Spiritual Caregiver | Meg Rauschenberger | Administrative Assistant Donna Giffen Ministry Secretary Rachel Wolfe | Comptroller Dean Carr | Accountant Bonnie S. Taylor Aide for Development Wayne Wilson |Director of Communications Blake Warman-Neal | Campus Ministry Intern Skyler Przygoda | Food Pantry Director Katie Thomas | Food Pantry Operations Manager Dawn Longfellow Property Manager Richard Young | Full-time Custodian Kevin Hays | Part-time Custodian Bong Cacho Weekend Custodians Richard and Elizabeth Young Sunday Services Traditional Service 9:30 a.m. Coffee Hour 10:30 a.m. Contemporary Service 11:15 a.m. Building Hours Sunday - Thursday open 8:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Friday, Saturday
