Author: Terri Davis

Q & A with Pastor Ernie
UMC DISCERNMENT

Hello Wesley,

We have been hearing in church that our district superintendent, Emily Hotho, will be here June 4 at 11:15 (one service this day) to share with us from the pulpit and afterward have a dialogue concerning the state of the United Methodist Church and the process for a church to disaffiliate should it desire to do so. I thought I would give a brief explanation of what is happening.  In 2019 the General Conference of the United Methodist Church met and there was a motion passed that allowed churches to leave the denomination.  The issue that pushed this to happen was the decades long debate about human sexuality and in particular whether homosexual weddings should be allowed to take place in the church and whether or not homosexuals should be ordained as pastors.  There was a great divide.  Some churches have already left the denomination, some 2,000 of the 32,000 United Methodist Churches in America.  The paragraph that allows for disaffiliation has a sunset clause that expires December 31 of this year.  Leadership has been looking at whether or not Wesley wants to disaffiliate.  Emily is coming to help us all understand why we should stay with the United Methodist Church and will field questions we may have.

The following Wednesday, June 7, I will be available for further Q and A.  We can meet at 7 pm in the fellowship hall.  There will be a second Q and A on July 9 after church, again in the fellowship hall.  I will also be available to groups already meeting to come and help us navigate this journey.  Should leadership discern that it is best to have the church vote on this, we will have the DS set a date for the vote and there would need to be a majority of 66.67% (two thirds) to leave the denomination.  If this comes to a vote, only members will be allowed to vote.  It is important we help folks by giving them every opportunity to join so we will have two new member classes in June after church, June 11 and June 25.  There will be a number of ways to check on your membership.  Someone will be in the back of the church with a list after church services and we will make the list available digitally so you can check.

Be in prayer for the church,

Ernie

You can find all updates on the UMC Discernment Process here!

NEW MEMBER CLASSES

We are so happy there have been some new attenders
express an interest in joining the church!
We also have some long term attenders very active in the church
who never officially joined the church .

When a vote comes up for important issues, it is important to know
that only official members are allowed to vote.
So if you would like to vote on a issue in the coming months
that will affect the future of our church,
please be sure to check your membership status.
There will be a number of ways to check your membership.
Someone will be in the back of the church with a list after church services
and there will soon be a list available digitally so you can check.

You can find all updates on the UMC Discernment Process here!

HABANA HEALTH CARE ACTIVITY

COMBINED SERVICE WITH REV. EMILY HOTHO

Mark your calendars now for a very important day to be here!

Leadership is in the discernment phase for exploring disaffiliation from the United Methodist Church and we have invited Emily Hotho, our district superintendent to be with us on Sunday, June 4 and to share a message from the pulpit. We will have one service at 11:15 and then have a potluck luncheon where Emily will present for the United Methodist Church, and she has agreed to field questions. This is an important meeting so please make every effort to attend.

Leaders will continue discerning what God wants from Wesley Church so please stay in prayer.
Your leadership team:
Chair of the Board, Connie Pruitt
Trustees, Marci Blaney
Council on Ministries, Amanda Olson
Finance, Steve Olson
Staff Parish, Linda Mills
School Board, FLC, Leslie Berlin
Lay Leader, James Pearson
Church Financial secretary, Vickey Paggio (no vote because she is on staff)

You can find all updates on the UMC Discernment Process here!

Do you feel overwhelmed? Insufficient? Too old? Too young? Too afraid?
This study is about Gideon’s victory over his own weaknesses
and the God who transformed his story into a triumph.
Gideon found that his weakness was his gift!

 This 7 week Sumer Study, Pricilla Shirer’s Gideon,
is on Wednesdays starting on May 10. 
Classes are at 10:00 am and 6:30 pm
both in person and online.  

If you are interested, please contact
Leslie Berlin
813-494-9063
 [email protected]. 

SPANISH CLASS AVAILABLE!
Spanish classes on Gideon will be held on
Thursday evenings 6:00 to 7:30 pm. Starting May 11
in the home of Renee Kincaid (close to church).
if you are interested, please contact
Renee Kincaid
813-885-5674
 [email protected]. 

NEWS FROM THE EBERHARDS

Dear family and friends,
It’s been a busy few months. In February, as always, we launched the 26th edition of the Ethnologue. But this year we also launched the new Ethnologue website, which not only continues to serve missions, research, and governments, but also provides
more access for the general public. Check it out at: https://www.ethnologue.com/.

I’ve also been writing…I’m presenting papers at a couple of linguistics conferences this spring. First off is the Philippines. I leave Saturday for a 3-1/2 week trip, trying to tackle 4 different tasks! I’ll be in the southern island of Mindanao where I will first work with a local university to update data on the languages of Mindanao for the Ethnologue. Next I will give one of my papers as the keynote speaker at the Linguistic Society of the Philippines, as well as presenting a couple of other talks. From there I will spend a week in Davao City on the other side of the island, where we will put on a Journey training for SIL colleagues, followed by a Journey workshop for 4 minority communities from Mindanao. As you may recall, the Journey workshops help locals assess the vitality of their own languages, and help them explore what can be done to develop them if needed.

Then I head to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to catch up with our SIL language surveyors who will be in international meetings there. I plan to finish my time in Thailand hammering out a rough draft of a new research paper that I am co-writing with my colleague, Stan Anonby. This new research, based on some survey work Stan just finished in Sulawesi, Indonesia, should provide some solid evidence of how many of our New Testaments are being used by the language communities, and if they are not being used, investigate why that is so. This research promises to be helpful to all future Bible translators who want their translations to be used.

In the summer I have two trips planned. The first, early June, is a quick trip to Brussels to present another paper at a linguistics conference on language acquisition. I hope to get some feedback that will help me finalize my research on a very rare language
acquisition pattern in some minority language groups that I have been studying for several years now. This could then inform missionaries working in such groups, helping them understand whether or not the youth will eventually be speaking the traditional
language.

Mid-June to mid-July will see me in Brasilia, Brazil, for my annual Sociolinguistics class for young Brazilian missionaries training for cross-cultural work. Late summer or early fall, there is a trip to Guyana in the works for another data gathering event. So, it’s a
good thing I like to travel! Julie plans to stay at home and tend the garden!

A side note from Julie: Yes, it’s spring and I’m coming alive. I LOVE the warm weather and being outside. Recently we were able to attend a “house concert” of one of our daughter’s favorite writer/musicians, Andy Squires. He mentioned how his church had had a devasting event happen, and as a church they spent a year in mourning, in lament. He had written songs through that period, but as they were coming out of the year, he wrote a song, “Cherry Blossoms.” There’s a line: “In winter I believe you, in
springtime I see you.” As our literal spring is coming into full bloom, yes, I can see God. But I’m so thankful that in our literal or metaphorical winters, He is there. I must believe. I must continue to believe, even during the darkest winters. Spring is coming. Thank you for continued interest in our work. We are grateful for you.

Dave and Julie Eberhard

Addresses:
Home Headquarters (for gifts)
102 Berry Patch Dr. Wycliffe Bible Translators, Inc.
Wilmore, KY 40390 PO Box 628200
Email: [email protected] Orlando, FL 32862-8200
Dave: 859-351-8455 Julie: 859-797-2299
Our Facebook Ministry Page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/473137816404518/
(for online gifts) https://www.wycliffe.org/partner/41C8A5
Please include a separate note indicating, “Preference for the Wycliffe ministry of Dave and Julie Eberhard, Account # 222369

UPDATE ON UKRANIAN MINISTRY

Here are some updates for your prayer consideration regarding Ukraine/House of Mercy.

The Sad News

Theresa & Scott lost a VIP Ukrainian partner this week; Alex, who became a casualty of war.  He was instrumental in helping the orphans of Ukraine and became such a trusted ally that when Theresa & Scott had to return to the US last February, he was given control of their car and many supplies to be used to help orphans.  Alex was given a gun without proper training.  He only knew how to battle spiritually.  Please pray for the comfort of those who knew him.

Another Ukrainian friend of theirs was hit by shrapnel and is in the hospital.  Your prayers for his recovery are appreciated. 

The Rest

The Ukrainian residents of Agape House are in various stages of deciding “what’s next”.  The United for Ukraine visa is a two-year visa.  Scott and Theresa believe this will be extended making it more promising that they can remain in the USA for some duration.   Dariia (single professional woman) and Oleg (father of a family of four) have gotten jobs and have left Agape House for their new independent life in Vermont.   Another (single mother of a son) plans to leave in early May.  It is uncertain what the other singles and families will decide to do.  Many more have gotten their driver’s permit and even women who did not drive in Ukraine are learning.  The Good News Garage https://goodnewsgarage.org/donate-your-car/donate-a-car-in-vermont/ has donated several cars to families who are pursuing work. 

Scott & Theresa will be accepting new non-Ukrainian folks into the house who need a place of transition.   This could include all kinds of different circumstances someone finds themself in when they need extra support and nurturing.  (legally it was determined that Agape’s zip code could not accept any more refugees at this time).

Today Theresa gets a PET Scan to determine the extent of healing that has taken place because of chemo.  She’ll have her fourth round of chemo this Wednesday.  She appreciates all prayers this week as she receives the chemo and has the horrible after effects.  This week Scott’s focus will be to get rid of all accumulated belongings in their personal home as it is under contract and they close April 28. 

Please pray for the Agape residents who have not come up with their transition plan yet, that they would have the open doors needed.  One option is to remain at Agape House but that will require a financial commitment. 

Please pray for the genetic testing for one Agape boy whose father and grandfather have a neurodegenerative disease. 

Special Prayers

While this email serves to focus our prayers on Ukraine and Agape House, I ask for you to pray for two special individuals on this prayer “team” in special need:

Pastor Ernie Post’s wife Brenda is in the end stages of life.  Spiritually she is in a good place however watching her deteriorate has been difficult.  Please pray for their two adult children and grandchildren as well.  Pastor Ernie serves a very loving faith community at Wesley in Tampa.

Andy Evans is pregnant and due with her third child.  Her due date is around the corner.  Please pray for easy labor and no complications with birth.

THANK YOU, SAINTS

BRIDGES PRESCHOOL GRADUATION AND SALUTE

GOD ROCK STORE

The kids in Promiseland receive “God Rocks”
for attending, bring their Bibles, attention/participation
and bringing a friend.
On the last Sunday of the month
they can use their “God Rocks” to purchase
items in the God Rock Store!