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May 8, 2023 - May 14,2023
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Hello Wesley,
Mother’s Day is fast approaching and we all know that means summer is just around the corner. I received a letter from Pastor Darielus of the Duronona church in Cuba. It was quite humbling and spurred me to think about a perspective common to many of us. She was thanking us for the “blessings” we have sent to her and the church. Most of you know by now we are having a water filtration system installed and have been sending medicines, supplies, and money. She told a story about the blessings I will be sharing Sunday. For now, just a glimpse of that story in comparative allegory form.
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She received $1000 from someone to buy furniture in her home for her family. She is 24 with small children and her husband does not have a paying job. He helps at the church and in the ministry. She used the $1000 for the ministry of the church and rather than buying stuff for herself or her family, she gifted it to others.
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A well to do man in Winter Garden was sitting in a local Café at 10 am sipping his personalized coffee and reflecting on how God had blessed him financially to be able to sit there. The question is, who is actually blessed? Here in America we have directly connected a blessing from God with health and wealth. That has not happened in destitute regions of the world. Who is actually blessed?
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There is a great difference between tools for the kingdom and a kingdom blessing. One is seen, held, admired, the other expressed, shared, given away to someone else. One bears kingdom fruit, the other is justified and hides a radical sin. One honors the cross, the other tramples it. One is grateful God has overcome personal depravity, the other receives what they believe they have worked hard to achieve or because they have something God values and rewards. They believe they are worthy. One celebrates
deliverance from depravity, the other hides it. There is nothing wrong with a personalized coffee. One shared with someone though can be a blessing.
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I love being your pastor,
Ernie
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SUNDAY, MAY 14
We will be celebrating all Moms between services 10-11:15am this coming Sunday. Please plan to stay after first service and come early for second service. We will have cake and punch as well as a photo booth and a small token to celebrate the day.
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The Promiseland Kids will also be preparing and serving their Moms breakfast in the Promiseland Room.
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TUESDAY, MAY 16TH FROM 9AM TO 11 AM
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Please join us in the sanctuary on Tuesday to lift up to the Lord the Administrative Board members and their plans, discussions and decisions to be made at their next meeting. This is an important time as they continue to discern the direction of the church in regard to the dissaffiliation issue with the UMC.
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This prayer gathering is for the sole purpose of asking for God’s wisdom and guidance for our leaders and members as we move forward. This is a shared commitment we all make as brothers and sisters in Wesley to pray and contend for the faith and our church. If you are unable to come to the gathering this month, please, during this time, lift up your prayers at home, work, school, wherever you are.
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Contact Renee by email [email protected] or call her (813-885-5674) for any other information or inquiry.
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Thanks again to all of you that promoted and attended the Nehemiah Action. HOPE is moving on to the next stage in its annual cycle, our yearly investment drive. It's the time we have the opportunity to take ownership of this ministry and give back to support the hard working staff that have moved us toward a more just and Godly community.
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There will be carpools meeting at church if you would like a ride to this event.
Contact Connie Pruitt if you need a ride at 813-494-4049.
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You are invited, along with other Wesley Network Members, to help support this important ministry. You can donate online at www.hillsboroughhope.org, or mail a check to the Hillsborough Organization for Progress and Equality at 5103 N. Central Ave., Tampa, FL 33603.
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Everyone is invited to come celebrate this special milestone for our littlest Grads!
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Wesley will be sponsoring an Indoor Memorial Day Picnic on May 28th in the Fellowship Hall from 12:30 to 2:30. This is open to the church and community to celebrate veterans of past and present. Reservations are required for this as seating will be limited. You can reserve your spot by texting "Vet2023" to 813-592-1788 OR please contact Betsy Danielson at 813-968-2844 or Kelly Sweet at 813-748-8041 / [email protected] to reserve your spots and/ or share a testimonial on your veteran. We also would like to encourage you to bring any memorabilia that you may want to show at the luncheon. We will have a table set up to show your memories. We will also be taking reservations after both services on Sunday mornings. Your reservation needs to be in by May 24th.
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We'll get wet, it'll be messy
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(if we don't get some rain between now and then)
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AND FOAMY but We will have fun!
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Our "Schools Out Bash" is our last Wednesday night planned for the school year.
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For more info, contact Rochelle Mock 813-215-6433.
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The Silver Saints is a senior group that meets quarterly. Their mission is to connect with each other and their community and to provide support in their spiritual walk. Each meeting has a theme such as Cruising, Tailgating, Mardi Gras, Luau, Reunion, Hippie, Summer Picnic, etc. We have a devotion, provide lunch, play games and work on a service project. Some of our projects include: reading stories to the children at Bridges, appreciation gifts for church staff, appreciation gifts for the Nomads, Christmas baskets for the homeless, Thinking of You cards for shut-ins, appreciation cards to veterans and Christmas stockings for shut-ins.
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Mark your calenders now for a very important day to be here! We will have one combined service at 11:15 on June 4th. Rev. Emily Hotho will be delivering the Sunday sermon. After the service we will have a pot luck lunch in Fellowship Hall. After lunch, Rev. Emily will present for the UMC and there will be a Q & A time afterwards. Please be in prayer for God's Will as the discernment process continues in regard to Wesley's direction for the future.
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Click button below for some highlights of last year's camp.
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We are engaged in an epic battle for the hearts and minds of our youth. Every day, they're bombarded with lies about who they are, who their Creator is, and where their salvation comes from. Thankfully, God has given his children armor to wear in this battle between truth and lies, light and darkness, good and evil!
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With this VBS, your kids will learn how they can be part of God's kingdom through salvation in his Son and will be equipped with the armor of God to become Keepers of the Kingdom who stand strong in today's battle for truth.
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NEEDLES GROUP
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The Needles Group celebrated Cleta Horne's 90th birthday! Cleta has been a member of Wesley Church for 50 years! Congratulations and a very Happy Birthday to Cleta!
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Our very own, Amanda Olsen recently brought her kids from Tampa Pinnacle
Academy for a morning of giving back and packing for Pack a Sack. We had a few
repeat students and parents from last year, so we were thrilled to hear they wanted
to come back and help again! What a joy to share this ministry and mission with
other kids – Kids helping Kids is always a special. Thank you, Amanda, for
sharing Pack a Sack with your kids. As an added bonus, the kids purchased and
brought in food items to be included in the bags. Sharing a few photos from the
morning!
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Thank you Amanda and all the kids and parents from Tampa Pinnacle!
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Hope to see you next year!
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HABANA MINISTRY
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After a stop at Pack-a-Sack, Amanda then directed the Pinnacle Kids and parents to Habana Health Care Center for a visit! They left chalk messages and art work on the outdoor patio and sang songs and played musical instruments. Their visit brought many smiles from the residents at Habana!
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CUBA MINISTRY
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From Pastora Darielis, Duranona Methodist Church – May 8, 2023
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This Sunday we experienced a very special service. We all felt God’s presence so strongly in our time of intercession and hearing His Word that, when the service was over, we gathered at the altar crying and pleading for God to give us favor; forthe doors that are shut tight to open up so we can see His light.
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Children also participated in this worship time. They were telling usthat they felt as if their hearts were going to burst. Then they were given the gifts that Wesley sister church sent them and they were all smiles, as you can see from the picture. A
couple of them spread out on the floor, right away, and started coloring and drawing. We saved some of the gifts for children that were not able to come to church yesterday and will give them to them later. Everything Wesley church sent us was received with much gratefulness, as a special blessing and gift from God!
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Here our situation is more desperate every day. We were told that yesterday, in another province near us (Guantanamo), many people took to the streets in protest, yelling “We need food, we are starving”. This appeared in the internet only for a little while, because the internet was interrupted so that the news would not go out. Also the blackouts do not allow us to do much; we even have to cook with charcoal or wood, many times, because there is no electricity for long periods of time.
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Pastor Ernie’s letter was so special. His words touched my soul. I will answer him soon. In a separate email I am sending letters from our youth, in response to the letters they sent our young people.
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We will be having the District Conference in a few weeks when theSuperintendent visits our church so we can give him our reports. He is also planning to come in June when Duranona Methodist Church will celebrate its 20 th anniversary of being appointed an official church of the Methodist Church in Cuba. We would like to prepare a “feast” and bless our congregation and neighbors, as far as our means go.
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We continue to buy what is needed for the installation of the water purification system, such as the cement to build the foundation-floor for the system. We also need to buy cement for the floor of the church. Right now all we have is a dirt floor and, when the attendees leave, all their feet are dusty .
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Our immense gratitude goes to God Almighty who, through Wesley church, is supplying our needs. We send you a big Hug and love from all, Pastora Darielis
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The church is looking for four volunteers who can committ one Sunday a month (second service) to provide backup nursery care if needed. If interested, please contact Church Office at 813-769-9157.
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Bridges Preschool is hiring part time teachers and assistants starting now and more in the summer and fall. 18 year olds looking for a summer job will be considered.
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Please spread the word to anyone you think might be interested.
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Wesley, you are such a faithful church! We thank you for your generous and giving hearts! You can Text To Tithe your offerings for Wesley Memorial UMC at this contact number - 813-699-4304. Within a few minutes, you’ll be sent a text with a link to register. Click on the link and enter your cardholder name and credit or debit information. Once your registration is complete, you will receive a text verification and a receipt of your donation via email. You can even text “repeat” to make it a recurring donation. Give + Text is one of the fastest and easiest ways to give.
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Or by standard mail by sending cash or check to
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6100 Memorial Hwy, Tampa FL 33615
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Office hours are Monday - Thursday 9am-3pm.
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We are here to help you with any of your needs.
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Church Contact Information:
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Pastor Ernie has completed his series "Finding Jesus in the Old Testament". The next several weeks he will be discussing various personalities in the Bible and what lessons we can learn from that to apply to our lives today. Join us every Tuesday morning at 7:30 am on Facebook or you can watch it later as well.
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Post your prayers and praise requests here and pray and comment for others!
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Please make visiting the prayer wall a daily practice!
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A Prayer for Our Mothers
"Dear Father, we approach your throne on behalf of the mothers whom you have entrusted with the care of your most precious little ones. We thank you for creating each mom with a unique combination of gifts and talents. We thank you for the sacrifice of self each mom gives for her children.
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We pray you give each mom strength. Help her to see in every mundane task the eternal, cosmic significance that you place on motherhood. . We especially pray for single moms, who must lean solely on you for the fathering of their children. We also pray for mothers who never had the honor of bearing children but whose nurturing extends to the many children who cross the threshold of their lives.
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We ask you to be the daily bread of tired mothers. We ask you to be their living water. We ask you to be their source of spiritual and physical strength. Lord, give each mother a worshipful reverence of you, the Creator and Sustainer of life. Help each mother to rest in the knowledge that they are but stewards of your children and that only your Spirit can produce change in the hearts of each boy and girl. May each mother find rest in you!
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Most of all, Lord, on this day in which we honor mothers, may we love and cherish the special women who have born us, who have nurtured us, and who have prayed for our well-being. May our hearts overflow with gratitude to you, who formed and knitted each of us in a mother’s womb. Amen. "
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Please note that we are transitioning to a new You Tube Channel. During this time livestreams will be posted on both channels. This button goes to the new You Tube Channel. Please be sure to subcribe! Also, please note, on both channels you must go to the Live button on the top menu button to see livestream of recent sermons.
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9am Traditional Service 11:15am Contemporary Service
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Sunday Sermon May 14, 2023
"Mary, Mother of Jesus"
Luke 1:26-41; Luke 2:8-35; John 2:1-11; John 19;25-27,
Matthew 12:46-50; Matthew 13:54; Acts 1:14
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