What’s Happening at Wesley?

2014 Disciplines have arrived! Our sources for daily devotions are varied and multiple, yet one that has become a favorite with members of the church is Disciplines, a daily devotion that comes from the Upper Room publications and follows the lectionary readings. Your copy is available in the church office for $10.00. Sunday November 3rd - All Saints Celebration Morning worship service will include a time of ‘remembering’ those from our church family that have died in the past year. Communion will also be celebrated. Dessert and Devotions On Thursday, November 21st, plan to gather in the sanctuary and listen to the seasonal sounds of the Sterling High School Madrigals. What joy to welcome the students back to Wesley once again. Program will begin at 1:00 p.m.. Stay for dessert and conversation following. Saturday November 23rd - Cookie Walk! 8:00 - 10:00 a.m. Please consider assisting the missions team and bake, then bake some more(!) cookies and holiday treats. This is a fund-raiser, with the proceeds going to area food pantries. Sunday November 24th - Decorating the church following worship!

Continued on page 2...

The Chimes

Bimonthly Newsletter of Wesley United Methodist Church |

MARK YOUR CALENDAR

*Don’t forget - Sunday, November 3rd - Time to fall back! Set all your

clocks back one hour.

Monday, November 4th - Administrative Board Meeting @

6:30 p.m.

SAVE THE DATE!! The DeKalb District Training Event is scheduled for January 11, 2014 at the Sycamore UMC. In addition to hearing our Bishop address the group in the morning, breakout session topics are: Ministry to Older Adults Social Media and Ministry in the 21st century Staff Parish Relations Committee Camping Ministries Strategic Planning in the Church Children's Christian Education

November-December 2013

Roberta Fredericks's mother, Zoe Gunzenheiser, has moved! Her new address is: Heddington Oaks B205 2223 W. Heading Ave. Peoria IL 61601

5 Generations

Allison Ramirez and Steve

Crowe welcomed a daughter

on September 16, 2013.

Violet Olivia Rose weighted

7 lbs. 11 oz. and was 20

inches in length.

Amber Ramirez, now living

in Cottonwood, Arizona, is

her grandmother.

Ed and Susie Cedro are her

great-grandparents.

Darlene Kereven is her

great-great-grandmother.

Congratulations to all who

are rejoicing at this addition

to God's family!

It's beginning to look a lot like Advent! Soon it will be time to celebrate the season of Advent and Christmas, and help is needed to decorate the sanctuary and church building. Please stay following worship on Sunday, November 24th and lend a hand. In addition to the trees and wreaths in the worship area, a special missions tree needs to be assembled in the fellowship hall. This year, the missions team has designated our local schools as recipients of 'ornaments' of our mission tree. Discovering that there are quite a few students unable to afford the cost of field trips (museums, etc.), our goal is to recourse school counselors with some money to scholarship students, thereby allowing them to be included in classroom outings. December 1, 8, and 22 - Advent Study!! 11:15 - noon Because Christmas begins and ends with Jesus, this 3 week study challenges each of us to make Christmas a joyous celebration of Jesus’ birth, and not a retail circus and frantic dash to every possible storewide sales event! Mentoring Program Once again this year, some of our church members are serving as mentors within the public schools. In partnership with the school district and to encourage the accomplishments of these children, Wesley will be the site of a December gathering for all children and their mentors. This event will be held on December 10 from 3:30 to about 5:30, and if you are available to assist in serving food for roughly 75 people, please contact Pastor Nancy. And hats off to the caring volunteers from within our congregation who mentor students on a weekly basis!

December 24th - Christmas Eve Worship at 8:00 p.m. "Carols, Candles and Communion"

We celebrate together… November Birthdays Fred Bantrup 11.1, Alyssa Cedro 11.1, Mark Melton 11.8, Lyle Reed 11.10, Gloria Rodriguez 11.10, Grace Wetzel 11.10, James Fitzanko 11.1, Bill Parker 11.11, James Morris 11.13, Jamie Schwingle 11.15, Steven Carlson 11.17, Edd Rosser 11.18, Jean Partridge 11.22, Bill Abate 11.23, Kabir Hermon 11.23, Ava Lyon 11.23, Mary Spitzer 11.25, Ava Gabrielle Penaflor 11.29, Olivia Lilly 11.30 December Birthdays Derek Fitzanko 12.2, Coralee Jacobs 12.2, Chris Larson 12.2, Charles Wiker 12.3, Emily Schwingle 12.4, Mary DeCamp 12.7, Mary Ann Kimball 12.7, Larry Dennis, 12.8, Pastor Nancy 12.8, Sue Morris 12.13, Julie Van Ausdal 12.13, Bill Adams 12.15, Luther Stutzman 12.15, Nick Ceruzzi 12.16, Shane Williams 12.16, Maxine Fenn 12.17, Jonathan Abele 12.19, Chad Duncan 12.19, Mahala Larson 12.20, Mary Ackerson 12.21, Elliot Noble 12.22, Cindy Melton 12.23, Sarah Rodriguez 12.27, Sierra Sotelo 12.27, Mallory Osborn 12.30, Maddux Osborn 12.31

What’s Happening at Wesley Continued … And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ

dwell in you richly; teach and ad-monish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. - Colossians 3:15-19

We Celebrate Together Cont'd on page 3

1 Timothy 2:1-3 "First of all, then, I urge that s u p p l i c a t i o n s , p r a y e r s , intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior…"

Dear Friends and Members of Wesley, From the outpouring of your hands and hearts, surely you have words from the apostle Paul inscribed upon your spirits. He writes in 1 Timothy 6: 18-19: "Tell them to go after God - to do good, to be rich in helping others, to be extravagantly generous. If they do that, they'll build a treasury that will last, gaining life that is truly life." You read Nathan's thank you letter in worship, and through the Chimes I extend my sincere thanks to each of you for an extraordinary response to a family unit in need. Hearing that my son and his two young children were displaced after a fire destroyed the apartment building where they lived, Joe Gatz offered his pickup truck, and Wesley's generosity filled it with multiple items needed, as flames took away all but a few articles of clothing and a laptop. We never know how nice is it to have a pillow, a clean towel, a cereal bowl, a can opener, a toothbrush, a chair, etc., until circumstances strip everything away. Beyond the everyday essentials, money given in expression of pastor appreciation and dollars given to the 'fire fund' have allowed for the purchase of an adult size bed, and bedding, and a new television for Nathan and his precious children. My gratitude is overwhelming for your extreme thoughtfulness and bold expressions of support for a family of three that you know only as, "Pastor Nancy's son and grandchildren." This second career of ministry is nearly 20 years old, and never, never have I served a congregation that goes over the top in the fashion you do in recognizing Pastor Appreciation. I am truly humbled to be on the receiving side of God's Spirit- filled servants, Pastor Nancy P.S. And my prayers of thanksgiving go up as I learned that Nathan and children have found a church home in Wisconsin!!! When I inquired about the service, Nathan shared, "The pastor talked about seeing God in everything. Mom, I saw God in members of your church!"

We celebrate together (continued)… November Anniversaries Tim & Jamie Schwingle - November 4, Steve & Kay Bierman - November 11, Curt & Jaime Greenfield - November 20, Bill & Sue Abate - November 22, John & Linda Larson - November 30 December Anniversaries Richard & Sue Morris - December 11, Roger & Nancy Wait - December 11, Lowell & Coralee Jacobs 11.28, Bob & Marty Egert 12.29, Rick & Karen Palmer 12.31 Congratulations and best wishes to all!

Thank you to those who raised money for the CROP Walk by taking a donor sheet. Ed and Jan Anderson, Cindy Melton, Doug Brandau, Joseph Harts, and Roberta Fredericks. Wesley raised $1007 for hunger!

Our tangible 'everyday essen-tials' for the months of Novem-ber and December are: November - Toilet Paper December - Soap & Shampoo Contributions of laundry deter-gent and toothpaste/toothbrushes were divided be-tween the FISH food pantry in Sterling and the Rock Falls UMC pantry. Our gifts of November-December will be divided be-tween those two sites once again. Remember, these every-day essentials are not items that those depending on food assis-tance are allowed to purchase. Be a neighbor, help a neighbor.

New Opportunity to Join What Half our Church is Already Enjoying!

… new small groups starting November 3rd!

Our I AM SECOND groups have been a huge success with half of our church participating in one of the groups

on a weekly basis. When groups were asked if they wanted to continue after this current course was ending

ALL OF THEM gave a resounding YES!! Now it’s your opportunity to join in to one of the groups as a new

four week program will be starting November 3rd. Watch your bulletin for details, but don’t miss this opportunity

to share and grow with your fellow church members. Multiple options are available to fit your schedule.

What are Small Groups: Small groups are designed to CONNECT PEOPLE WITH ONE ANOTHER AND

WITH GOD through an authentic discussion group. In a small group you’ll meet others on the same spiritual

journey as yourself. No experience necessary. You don’t need to be a Bible scholar. Like you, we all have

questions and have hit speed-bumps in life. You will find out in these groups how many of the people around you

have experienced or are dealing with similar issues. Plus they are fun times to share and get to know each other.

What do we do at the group?: Watch a video; read a bible story; discuss what you saw and read; talk about life;

SHARE STORIES OF EVERYDAY LIVING; get inspired; make some new friends; discover God’s purpose

for your life.

Who is it for?: YOU. Please consider yourself PERSONALLY INVITED to join a group. Whether you are

currently in a group or have never done one before this is your time to come for our next four week series. We are

hoping EVERYONE in our church participates (and feel free to bring a friend from outside our church as

well).

When is it?: Four weeks. Starting the week of November 3rd and running through the week of November 24th.

There are MANY TIMES AVAILABLE for you to plug in when it FITS YOUR SCHEDULE.

9:00am Sunday morning in church library led by Alan Beggerow

11:15am Sunday morning in church library - led by Bruce Kramer and Rory Smith

7:00pm Tuesday evening at Pitsch’s house – led by Andy & Nancy Pitsch

7:30pm Wednesday evening in church library – led by Janay Dalton

Watch your bulletin for additional times that may be added. Due to the popularity of these groups, we are

looking to find leaders to provide more options for people to join.

How do I get involved?: PICK A TIME from the list above; SIGN-UP in the church fellowship hall; come with

an open heart and mind; EXPERIENCE GOD talking to you and loving you through this group.

Missions at Wesley

2013 Thanksgiving Baskets At the recent meeting of the mission team, it was determined to continue the Wesley tradition of providing Thanksgiving Baskets for area families who would benefit from some practical assistance. Our goal is to see members of the congregation fill 20 baskets for families in need of a "little extra" for the holiday. Turkeys for each basket have been ordered through the Sauk Valley Food Bank. Needed items include vegetables, desserts, milk, etc. As in previous food drives, we have learned that families are also very in appreciative of peanut butter, pancake mix, and other food items that help t o s t r e t c h a f o o d b u d g e t . You are encouraged to either take the name of a family and fill a basket yourself, (or perhaps with another church friend,) and deliver it. Another option is to donate either food items needed or make a cash donation to help purchase those items. In mid-November, we will need shoppers, people to pack baskets, and still others who are interested in delivering the baskets. Delivery for food baskets will be either Monday, November 25 or Tuesday, November 26. Special envelopes for this offering will be available in worship. More details will follow, or you may call the church office with any questions you might have! 815-625-1968

Mission Tree The Missions Committee has decided to continue the tradition of a Mission Tree this year, but it will be with a little twist. We have decided to support the guidance counselors' Student Support Fund through ornaments with suggested donations. You can choose an ornament and give a donation toward needed items. Guidance counselors in schools do much more than help students choose classes or mediate in arguments between students. They hold classes to help students learn organization or increase their skills. They help provide classes for students to improve scores on state standardized tests. They also donate their own money to help pay for students that cannot afford field trips, school supplies, or personal items. Our tree this year will have ways to support students through the guidance counselors' fund. It provides a little more flexibility to address the need, as the money could go to hats and mittens, school supplies, help with training, and allowing students to be involved in class activities. We hope you will continue to support students with this much-needed ministry!

On Saturday, November 23rd, think holiday! Think company!! Think entertaining! Come support and participate in Christmas Cookie Walk! From 8:00 - 10:00 a.m., cookies and candies will be available for purchase at Wesley UMC. Monies generated from the sale will go to the food pantry. Don't miss this opportunity to both put a little something extra in your freezer AND lend your support to those in need.

Together we serve...

November Greeters 11-3 Amy Viering 11-10 Dave & Karen Abele 11-17 Bill & Nell Adams 11-24 December Greeters 12-1 Denny & Alice Vetter 12-8 Rory & Rita Smith 12-15 Ed & Jan Andersen 12-22 Frank & Charron Rausa 12-29 Bill & Sue Abate

November Coffee Hosts

11-3 The Bob Allen Family 11-10 Toby & Debbie Hodges 11-17 Harold & Janet Palmer 11-24 Dave & Sharon Siex

December Coffee Hosts

12-1 Sr. High Class

12-8 Sue Hayes 12-15 Denny & Alice Vetter

12-22 Janay Dalton 12-29 The Clodfelter Family

November Liturgists

11-3 Elisa Gatz 11-10 Bruce Kramer

11-17 Mitchell Clodfelter 11-24 Bryn Gatz

December Liturgists

12-1 Rory Smith

12-8 Carolyn Heuck 12-15 Sharon Wasson 12-22 Alan Beggerow

12-29 Sue Klock

November Acolytes - Victoria Stutzke December Acolytes - Haley Ceruzzi & Nick Ceruzzi

Communion Stewards - Sue Abate & Karen Palmer

November Ushers - Jan Andersen, Debbie Kramer, Nancy Pitsch, and Rita Smith

December Ushers - Ed Andersen, Jeff Davey, Bruce Kramer, and Al Rude

SERVING AT THE PADS HOMELESS SHELTER

October - Jan & Ed Andersen, Bill & Peg Burke, Darrin Driscoll, Doug Brandau

Supper: The Gatz Family

November - Beth Mathew, Sharon Siex, Gene & Sue Klock, Rory & Rita Smith

Supper: Alice Vetter

December - Sharon Prichard, Gloria Grant, Toby & Deb Hodges, Joe & Bryn Gatz

Supper: Sue Klock

Volunteers are needed for the months of January and April. You may sign up at the

church or call Gloria Grant at 815-625-3394. Thanks!