Wesley United Methodist Church | 201 E. 95th Street | Chicago, IL 60619 | 773.821.6240

Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr., Pastor

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A Word

from the Pastor…

Dear Wesley family,

Greetings in the name of the Triune God! The scripture says, “Unless the LORD buildeth the

house, they that labor do so in vain.” What an awesome year we had at our great church!

The church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We

have done great ministry in 2014 by impacting lives for the sake of the gospel. We have

been faithful over a few things and now God is going to make us “ruler” over many things.

We have let our light shine and the community has seen our good works and given the glory

to an awesome God. We have given of our time, talents, and tithes in order to make sure

our beloved church is a viable force in this community. I thank God for all of the ministry

leaders and administrative staff who keep this church going. You are blessing to the body of

Christ.

This 2014 Ministry Year-In-Review is a tangible record of what we accomplished for God’s

kingdom. It is to remind us of the great work we have done to make our community and

world better. Every time we read it we remember how we have served the LORD with

gladness, came before His presence with singing, came into His gates with thanksgiving, and

entered His courts with praise for the sake of making disciples.

This descriptive document is also an evangelism tool. You can give this to someone you are

trying to disciple so they can see what we do and what we are about. We have to use this

document to let folk know that God is up-to-something here at our church.

Thank you, to all those who contributed articles to make this document a reality.

Please read it and give God some praise!

Proud to be here!

Charles A. Woolery, Sr.

Pastor Charles A. Woolery, Sr.

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Annual Easter Egg Hunt: April 19th

Our Annual Easter Egg Hunt is a great

evangelism event designed to teach those

who attend the real meaning of Easter. We

create a fun-filled event designed to reach

children and their parents with the message

about the resurrected Christ. The children

have a great time searching for the eggs,

receiving candy bags, and eating the hot dogs

and nachos we served them. This year we

added a piñata to the festivities and the kids

loved it. Some of the church volunteers were

intentional in telling the children the Easter

message. They were told that Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

Inside the candy bags, we included information about our great church. Everyone who attended

the event was pleased by our hospitality, generosity, and warmth. We look forward to doing it

again next year.

Annual Spring Revival: May 19th

– 21st

The Lord showed up and showed out

during our Spring Revival featuring

the preaching gift of Rev. Marvin

Wiley, senior pastor of the Rock of

Ages Baptist Church, Maywood, IL.

We had a great time of spiritual

revival as he broke the bread of life

unto us each night. The preaching

and the music ministry combined to

give all of us a fresh anointing of the

Holy Spirit. Our lives were touched

and faith strengthened during the three-

night revival. The powerful preaching activated all of us to be the best that God created us to

be. For attendance, we averaged 140 people per night. We look forward to the 2015 Spring

Revival. It promises to be another powerful move of God.

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The Annual Church Picnic: June 22nd

What a great day for a picnic! About 100 Wesley members and friends gathered at the Dan Ryan

Woods for a fun-filled picnic. The United Methodist Men planned a wonderful event. The food was

outstanding! We had barbecued meats, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, pound

cakes, and banana pudding. Everyone who came out said they had a great time. The only thing we

were missing was a DJ to provide music. We were able to organize a softball game and Rev.

Woolery’s team won (as usual). The weather was beautiful and we immortalized the picnic by

taking a picture with many church members.

The purpose of the church picnic is to promote fellowship and fun among the church membership.

We want to emulate the activity of the early church by the way they fellowshipped with one

another. The way to make our church strong is through fellowship. We look forward to the next

church picnic. Again, a great job by the United Methodist Men.

United Methodist Women’s Ministry in 2014

What a productive year the UMW’s had at Wesley UMC! First, they participated in a UMC Training

event hosted by the Greenstone United Methodist Church on January 18, 2014. They followed up

that great meeting with the World Federation of UMW on March 8, 2014, which was held at Maple

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Park UMC. Always a proponent of spiritual formation, they then attended a Day of Spiritual

Renewal on March 29, 2014, hosted by the Hazel Crest UMC. Not to be outdone by other churches,

Wesley’s United Methodist Women hosted a Women’s Day Seminar and a spiritually powerful

Women’s Day Service during their annual UMW weekend on September 20th – 21st.

They also attended the following meetings: Chicago Southern District UMC 41st Annual Meeting held

at Hartzell Memorial UMC on September 27th. The World Federation of Methodist and Uniting

Church Women State Assembly in Bloomington, IL, on October 11th and the Northern Illinois

Conference Annual Meeting at Barrington UMC.

Continuing their long history of outreach ministry, the Wesley UMWs visited the South Point

Nursing Home every 4th Thursday of each month (in partnership with the Doves).

They closed out the year with a $500 donation to the Wesley UMC Scholarship Fund.

We thank God for the awesome leadership of Sis. Dorothy Geralds and her team of committed and

faithful United Methodist Women. The Wesley United Methodist Women truly live out the motto:

“It takes teamwork to make the dream work.”

The Wesley United Methodist Men

Greetings church family! 2014 was a very good year for the United Methodist Men. We as a spirit-

filled, God-fearing organization have been blessed to accomplish most of what we set out to do. We

meet the first Saturday of every month to discuss matters of concern to the men and ways we can

serve and improve the church. We also have a hearty breakfast to get things started. We help

different organizations within the church and community.

Here are a few of the things the United Methodist Men were involved in:

1) The Celebration of Education

2) The Church Has Left the Building Service

3) The Church Picnic

4) The Taste of Wesley

5) United Methodist Men’s Day Worship and Brunch

6) Annual Father’s Day Breakfast

7) Men’s Monday Night Football Socials

We help wherever we are needed. We are proud of the ministry we provide and we strive to model

true discipleship at Wesley. We hope to have an even better 2015!

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Pastoral First Anniversary Celebration: July 6th

This day marked the one year pastoral anniversary of Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr. After the worship

service, the PPRC and the Membership Care Committees hosted a wonderful reception for the

pastor and parishioners of Wesley.

The food and fellowship were

marvelous and enjoyed by all. The

program was highlighted by various

tributes from church leaders

regarding the impact Pastor

Woolery and family had made in

their first year at Wesley. Pastor

Woolery was extremely grateful for

the reception and reminded those in

attendance that he was happy to be

the new Wesley pastor. He and his

family were grateful for the kind

words expressed and the warmth and kindness shown by the congregation. Special thanks to

everyone who planned it.

Taste of Wesley: July 19th

Our Annual Taste of Wesley was a huge success!

It was a great neighborhood evangelism party in

the parking lot. We had great dishes and food

prepared by our own culinary artists. We served

grilled meats such as ribs, hamburgers, brisket,

and chicken. We had ethnic dishes such as curry

chicken, rice and peas, nachos, and watermelon.

Lol... The teenagers kept themselves busy by

playing basketball and pitch and toss beanbag

games. We had two jumping jacks where the

younger kids jumped until they tired themselves out. We also had musical guests that provided

uplifting gospel songs that touched our hearts. Sister Andrea Love provided us with soul-stirring

neo-soul gospel and DJ Kameron Jarmon provided us with great music for the entire event. The

primary purpose is fellowship and evangelism and we accomplished both. It was essentially a 3-

hour commercial that allowed us to re-introduce ourselves to our community. We are all looking

forward to doing it again next year.

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Finance

Committee

One of the big things that was accomplished in 2014 by the Finance Committee was the implementation of Online Giving.

We can now give money to Wesley electronically via your home computer, your tablet or your Smartphone. You can give money to your church whenever and wherever you are.

Wesley, we are on a mission to fulfill our responsibilities as stewards of the Great Wesley United Methodist Church.

It all starts with the commitment. Decide on your financial commitment to your church for 2015. Then go to the below website and set up a short profile and arrange to have your monies donated to Wesley automatically each month.

Managing your donation in this manner helps to ensure that each month, whether you are present at church or not, your financial commitment will still be fulfilled and uninterrupted. This will help to keep the bills paid, this will help with financial planning or forecasting and this will also help each of us to keep our commitment to our church and to God.

This program is very flexible; you can always modify your donations in any manner that

you may find necessary. It’s easy and it’s effortless.

Get on board Wesley!

“The Church Has Left the Building”

Sunday: July 20th

We really had a busy summer. We made our presence felt in the

community again with our 2nd Annual “The Church Has Left the

Building” Sunday on Sunday, July 20th. We had a powerful and

pubic worship service in our church parking lot where passersby

could stop and listen to our great music ministry and hear the

preached word. This year we outgrew our tent with an

attendance of at least 170 people. Next year we will have to rent

a larger tent. The air was filled with music and the gospel

message. It felt good worshiping outside.

Vacation Bible School: July 28th

–

August 1st

Christian education is the primary away the church teaches the

Word of God. Not every child is able to attend Sunday School.

Therefore, Vacation Bible School is an excellent way to teach the

Word of God to children, youth, and adults. Under the direction

of the Christian Education Department, Wesley held its Vacation

Bible School in July. It consisted of 5 nights of instruction, skits,

crafts, and music. The attendees were also treated with great

meals each night as well. We thank God for the volunteers who

came out every night to ensure this year’s VBS would be a huge

success. The church’s mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ

for the transformation of the world. That means having

programs like Vacation Bible School to promote intentional faith

development among the membership. VBS is a great way to not

just impact the lives of our existing members, but also people in

the community.

We averaged about 70 people every day. Everyone who

attended had a wonderful time. The children and youth had a

great time as well. We can’t wait to do it again next year.

______________________________________________________________________

1. Visit the church website at Wesley-chicago.org

2. Click on the green Give Online button

3. Click on the Create Profile button, then

4. Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to schedule your recurring contributions

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Wesley’s ‘Celebration of Education’ Event: September 13th

On Saturday, September 13th, we had our

second Back-to-School Block Party which

we renamed. We were blessed with great

weather but a lackluster turnout. We were

able to pass out around 50 book bags filled

with school supplies to children and youth

of all ages.

We had fun games and events for the

children and youth who attended. There

were two jumping jacks, soccer nets, and

other games for the youth. We served

hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, pop, and nachos

to all who attended the great event.

We also had a DJ who moved the crowd with

entertaining gospel music during the event. The

crowd was lighter this year but we still had a good

time. Through this event we impacted our

community by providing the youth with school

supplies that will help them achieve great things

in school. It is our way of giving back to ensure

they have success in school. Our next goal is to

adopt an elementary school as a part of the One Church-

One School program. Mentoring and tutoring

are our next

goals for

impacting

the lives of

our youth

and children.

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Pizza with the Pastor: September 26th

It was a treat for Pastor Woolery to meet with the youth and children to have a pizza party. What a

time they had. Unfortunately, the pizza was horrible, but the fellowship was good. It was an

opportunity for Pastor Woolery to hear from Wesley’s young members about what they wanted to

see happen in the church. As a congregation, we believe what Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child

in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Wesley UMC is

definitely a training ground for teens and children. We believe our mission is to provide spiritual

formation, a safe place, and a nurturing environment for our young members. They are to be

cherished because they are the present and future of our church. Pizza with the Pastor was a great

informal gathering where the teens and children could interact with one another and with the

Pastor. Pastor Woolery wanted to let them know that they and their opinions matter to him and

the church leadership. Pastor Woolery hopes to have more gatherings like this every quarter. And

at the next PWP gatherings, we will definitely have great-tasting pizza.

Homecoming Weekend: September 27th

- 28th

On September 27th and 28th, we celebrated our 2nd Annual Homecoming Weekend with our special

guest, The Antioch Baptist Church of St. Louis, MO. On Saturday, we were blessed by performances

from ABC’s Puppet Ministry and Liturgical Dancers. Their Puppet Ministry is one of the best in the

country. It amazed everyone who attended. The puppets ministered to us through skits and songs.

The Liturgical Dancers performed several dances coupled with costume changes. It was an amazing

night.

On Sunday, Rev. Dr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Benson, Jr., the senior pastor of The Antioch Baptist

Church, preached us happy with the story of the Prodigal Son. What a homecoming that was! We

were also blessed with ABC’s Youth Choir. They did a phenomenal job. After service, we enjoyed a

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Membership Care

Membership Care continues its

mission of giving spiritual

attention to the needs of

individuals and families in the

congregation. In addition,

during 2014, Membership Care

promoted fellowship with the

congregation by celebrating

members birthdays each month

January- December. These

events were well attended, and

enjoyed by all. Membership

Care also sponsored a reception

for new members to welcome

those who joined

the congregation during

2014. The new members were

encouraged to join a church

ministry of their interest. They

were also presented with new

member certificates by Pastor

Woolery.

wonderful fellowship meal. The Wesley Hospitality Crew did a marvelous job, as usual. It was a

great weekend.

Annual Fall Revival: October 20th

– 22nd

What a time we had for three nights in October! Our 2nd Annual Fall Revival was held from Monday,

October 20 through Wednesday, October 22. Our guest preacher was Rev. Reginald Williams, senior

pastor of First Baptist Church of University Park, IL. He preached extremely well. He is a homiletical

heavyweight. He preached three relevant sermons that gave us information and inspiration. It was

a great revival. We were also blessed by the musical genius of our own music department and First

Baptist Church’s choir as well. We were truly revived! Everyone who attended received their

blessing.

The Building Committee

What seems like a long and arduous process, has been just that!

However the Building Committee continues to work diligently

towards completing the task at hand. Although it seems as though

nothing has occurred, we are happy to report the following…

We have submitted all documents to the city for our building

permits and are in the final stages of receiving them. Our General

Contractor is finalizing our budget so that we are ready to begin

work, as soon as we have our permits in hand!

Remember the water damage in the lower level…it is soon to be a

thing of the past! Perma-Seal will begin work in Fulton Fellowship

Hall to correct the problems that we have encountered for so long.

Soon, our lower level will be completely dry, with proper drainage

to the outside.

We will meet all city code regulations with our renovations. This

will include landscaping, which will be in compliance with city

requirements; an updated and improved parking lot; a Fire Alarm

System and enhancements to the outside, as well as to the inside of

our building.

Yes, this process has been long, but let us not forget our recent

improvements… we have a new roof, tuck pointing has been

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completed on the entire building; and the gray face brick on the west and north elevations of the

church have been replaced.

What else, you say… we have a new sound system, which includes new speakers, microphones, a

sound board and the ability to record services and programs. We have also incorporated projectors

and monitors, which have become an integral part of our Sunday morning worship service. Lastly,

we have beautiful selections for our church interior that will completely change the look of Wesley

UM Church. It’s our time Wesley, believe it, we are moving and looking forward to the new Wesley

United Methodist Church in 2015!

The Hallelujah Party: October 31st

On Friday, October 31st, we had our Hallelujah Party and the

Fellowship Hall was abuzz with lots of activity. Our church was full

of children and youth. We played fun games, fed them hot dogs

and chips, and, of course, passed out candy bags at the end. The

young people had an enjoyable time as well as the adults. The

Hallelujah Party serves as a Christian alternative to the secular

celebration of Halloween. In spite of the bad weather, i.e., the first

snow and sleet of the season, we had a great event. We served at

least 80 children and adults at this fun-filled event. We thank Sis.

Deborah Sam-Binion, Kai Gilmore and crew for putting on a great

event for our children both from the church and surrounding

community. We look forward to hosting an even bigger event next

year.

Breast Cancer

Awareness

Sunday: October

26th

On October 26th we had our

Breast Cancer Awareness

Sunday Worship Service. What

a great service this was. We had

breast cancer survivors

participate in the service

reminding us that God is a

healer. It reminded the

congregation of the nature of

the disease and how early

detection through annual

mammograms is the best way

to fight the disease. Every year

we will have this Awareness

Sunday to remind the entire

faith community about the

effects and treatments for

breast cancer. As well as

hearing the testimonies of

breast cancer survivors that

give hope to those who are

fighting the dreaded disease.

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Thanksgiving Basket Give-away: November 24th

On Monday, November 24th, we were blessed to give away 102 turkeys and 35 baskets of food to

those in need within our church and in the surrounding community. This year we partnered with

Walsh Construction to be a blessing to our neighbors in the community. Using our contact at

Rosebud Farms, we ordered 200 turkeys and Walsh Construction paid for all of them. We thank God

for this partnership. We look forward to partnering with them again.

People who received them were so thankful. It felt good passing out the turkeys to people who

were truly in need. It was also good for our congregation to rally behind a great cause. We truly

came together to donate turkeys and can goods to be a blessing to others. We reached our goal of

passing out 100 turkeys this year. Last year we gave away 50 Thanksgiving baskets. Next year we

want to double our efforts and pass out 200 turkeys. A special thanks to Sis. Ronetta Graham-Frazer

and her team of volunteers for coordinating this event.

The Annual Christmas Program: December 21st

Every year during the Christmas season, we

stress to the congregation that Jesus is

the reason for the season. We especially

want to impress that upon the hearts and

minds of our youth and children.

Traditionally, Christmas programs are

usually comprised and geared towards

children. But at Wesley UMC, the Annual

Christmas Program is performed by

adults, teens, and children. Every age

demographic is represented because we

believe that everyone needs to hear the

Christmas message annually. It is

transformative and reminds us of God’s love

for humanity. Christmas reminds us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

as a living sacrifice so humanity could be redeemed. The performances were outstanding. From the

narrators to the actors/actresses to the singers, everything was outstanding. It was a treat to hear

again the Christmas message through the artistic performances of our church members. Those who

witnessed the program cannot wait until next year. Jesus was definitely lifted up. To God be

praised for the marvelous job everyone did. Special thanks to Sis. Deborah Sam-Binion and her

team for blessing our hearts with another great performance.

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Wesley’s Youth Department

Happy New Year! 2014 began with the Youth on a roll! The Youth hosted several fundraisers including one during February with Fannie May Candies. The proceeds went toward the kids Youth Retreat held in April. Wesley’s new Youth Basketball team is the Wesley Tigers! They will continue to play their games at Morgan Park United Methodist Church. Basketball will begin again in March and go throughout the summer months. Coming down from the high of the Cotillion/Beautillion of 2013, the Youth ventured out on their very first Christian Retreat held at Lake Williamson Christian Center in Carlinville, IL in April. They ‘exercised their faith muscles’ via a series of workshops and activities geared toward teamwork and building a personal relationship with God. We hope the kids continue to build that relationship as we venture to another retreat in 2015 and will (prayerfully) have this as an annual event. One of our teenagers, Bradley West, attended the Maceo E. Pembroke Institute in August as he prepares to go into ministry. He described it as enriching and an eye opening experience. We hope to have Bradley attend again this fall and bring a few more Youth with him. In October, the Youth welcomed their very first Youth Pastor, Reverend Jozlynne A. Williams. She is currently a student at Garrett Evangelical and will connect the Youth's teambuilding activities to make sure they are more God centered. She is hosting a Youth Bible Study entitled "Zero to 66", an explorative and Hip-Hop collaborative experience. She is a welcomed addition to the team and we cannot wait to see where God leads her to take the Youth in 2015. The Youth attended several Summits during the year: one held at Whitney M. Young High School

aimed at bridging partnerships between the government and schools and, a Youth Summit in the

City, held at St. Mark

United Methodist

Church in

November. Wesley

UMC had the

second highest

attendance at the

Summit, only

behind Faith UMC.

As a part of the

Northern Illinois'

Conference Urban

Strategy, this Summit was held to empower the youth to be an agent for change in the community.

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17 Reasons to Celebrate our 2014 Ministry!

30 New Members joined in 2014!

A Youth Pastor! The Reverend Jozlynne Williams

$20,000 profit from the spring Jazz Luncheon! Thank you, planning

committee!

$3,000 in Scholarship money presented to Wesley college students

A great Spring Revival with Pastor Marvin E. Wiley, Rock of Ages Baptist

Church

A great Fall Revival with Pastor Reginald Williams, Jr., First Baptist Church of

University Park

300 people attended our Taste of Wesley evangelism event

Provided 100 youth with book bags during our Celebration of Education Block

Party

75 Children had a great time at our Hallelujah Party in October

100 families received Thanksgiving baskets during the Thanksgiving holiday

250 people attended our Homecoming Weekend, where The Antioch Baptist

Church of St. Louis, Missouri, blessed our hearts with their Puppet Ministry

and Liturgical Dancers. Over 100 people attended the Puppet Concert! And

Pastor Benson preached us happy at the Sunday service

170 attended our The Church Has Left the Building outdoor worship service

20 faithful Sanctuary Choir members who lead us in worship every Sunday

4 Great Musicians and 1 Musical Director that provide wonderful music every

Sunday

2 wonderful support staff, Sis. Kai Gilmore and Bro. Roosevelt Wiley, who

take care of the administrative and maintenance needs of the church

$24,001 paid in Apportionments this year!

$1,000 raised to help PRHeSS build a medical clinic in Sierra Leone

Wesley United Methodist Church | 201 E. 95th

Street, Chicago, IL 60619 | Ph: 773.821.6240 | Fx: 773.821.4016 E: wesley_chicago@comcast.net | W: www.wesley-chicago.org

Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr., Pastor

Bishop Sally Dyck District Superintendent Rev. Dr. Tracy S. Malone

February, 2015

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January

11th Member Re-Dedication Service 24th NIC CSD Leadership Training*

February

7th Leadership Training 18th Ash Wednesday Service* 21st New Member Class 22nd Black History Program

March

21st March Madness ‘$’ Management 29th Palm Sunday 30th Holy Week Begins

April

3rd Good Friday 4th Easter Egg Hunt* 5th Easter Sunday Service/Program

May

2nd 3rd Annual Jazz Luncheon* 10th Mother’s Day Breakfast/Service 17th Mem’ship Care Fellowship Dinner 24th Memorial Day Service 31st Youth Sunday

June

1st - 3rd Spring Revival (Rev. Marvin Wiley) 14th-16th NIC Annual Conference* 20th Spiritual Gifts Workshop 21st Father’s Day Breakfast/Service

July

10th-12th Youth Retreat* 11th Leadership Training 18th Taste of Wesley 20th-24th Vacation Bible School 26th Annual Church Picnic*

August

16th Scholarship Sunday 30th Youth Sunday

September

12th Planned Giving Workshop 19th-20th UMW Weekend Programs 26th-27th Homecoming Weekend

October

All Month Apportionment Education Month 3rd & 10th Lay Academy* 4th World Communion Sunday 11th UM Men’s Day Service 18th Laity Sunday / BMCR Banquet* 31st Hallelujah Party

November

All Month Stewardship Commitment Month 15th New Member Reception 22nd Doves Annual Bazaar 23rd Thanksgiving Meal Distribution 29th Youth Sunday

December

19th Christmas Concert 20th Annual Angel Tree Toy Drive 20th Annual Christmas Program 31st Watch Night Service*

Asterisks * = program may be held at another church/location. Schedule is subject to change.