Wesley United Methodist Church

Wesley United Methodist Church is a church family that seeks to live into John Wesley's three simple rules- to do good, to do no harm, and to stay in love with God. http://www.wumcsf.org

We meet every Sunday at 10am.

4.13.25 @ 10a Palm Sunday

4.18.25 @ 6:30p Maundy Thursday-Good Friday service (Friday)

4.20.25 @ 7a & 10a Easter Sunday services

Brunch between Easter services

The difference between dirt and soil is that soil is the material in which nutrients live for plants to receive food so that they can grow their roots and thrive. Dirt lacks the organic matter needed for plants to live. Students learned this and much more on a recent Saturday spent at Ag Day at the Pavilion.

Side-by-side, staff and board members from GroundWorks Connect and congregant members from Wesley United Methodist Church filled more than 500 pots with soil and helped “kids” aged 1 year to mid-80’s plant pink petunias. Each one who planted packed the soil around the plant plug and recited a vital word that we believe will be the catalyst for success. “Grow, grow, grow.” When we focus on growth, everything else leads to caring for that plant’s future.

The same is true for each of us. When we concentrate on growth- our own personal growth and the forward movement of the communities in which we live, work, and worship success is bound to follow. That kind of focus is inherent in Wesley’s DNA.

Wesley has a long tradition of outward community engagement coupled with a belief that we are called to be the hands and feet of Christ out in the real world. I am reminded of the song whose lyric inspires us, “Hide it under a bushel? No! I’m gonna let it shine.” Wesley has all the makings of “Moving out in Faith” which is the new vision statement we will live into the next 6 months. While kneeling next to children of all ages, we had the opportunity to hear stories that otherwise would have gone unuttered. We had the opportunity to be the hands and feet as we instructed little ones what a plant needs to grow. We had the opportunity to be Disciples as we talked about Creation while caring for Creation’s youngest to those in walkers, to those who we discovered had no home that night. That is Church- Wesley has the unique call, right now, to Move out in Faith.

What does that look like? What does that look like as individuals or as a church body? How do we signal that we have faith in one another and in Wesley so that we can care for the world outside our four walls? The next few months, I challenge us to consider those questions as we learn what it means to be the hands and feet in ways that inspire the transformation of the world in Jesus’ name.

On the journey with you,

Shalom,

Pastor CC

For the last 8 months, Wesley has shared space with local non-profit, GroundWorks Connect. While many may know that Wesley houses them, many may not know what they do or how they impact the community.

The images of some of our Wesley congregation members and your Pastor CC working with students is a common occurrence for GroundWorks Connect. With the tagline, “Bringing Agriculture and Education Together” GroundWorks Connect builds the bridge for students and teachers to experience where their food comes from and their place in that life cycle. Instructing students on how to pot a plant gives way to conversations about creation and how interdependent we all are. Creation becomes real in a tangible way as they handle the soil and learn what seeds need to have to sprout. They then can see their place in Creation, with a whole new world opening to them, a world that many of our students are further removed from each year.

Seeds and soil may appear simple and commonplace, yet it is in what we see each day where we find some of the most fundamental lessons. Through GroundWorks Connect, hands on applications of life lessons takes on a whole new meaning. We see that we are really more connected to one another than we may have otherwise thought.

We thank Wesley for the opportunity to grow with you and experience true community. Let’s keep growing!

Pastor CC

In case you missed the worship services and messages in February, go to http://wumcsf.org and click on the “Video Archive” tab to view.

To watch services “live” each Sunday at 10 AM, go to http://wumcsf.org and click on the “Livestream” tab.

Good Sam/ Canton: Joyce Patterson

Tuff Home in Hills, MN: Jackie Dreyer

Avantara: Guy Varud

Rushmore Mn: Marian Hoek

Stoney Brooke: Maxine Ingalls

Prairie Crossing: Bernie McCabe

Dow Rummel: Nila Hendriks

Luther Manor: Donna Hoh

Tieszen Memorial Home in Marion, SD: Margeann Dewes

Prince of Peace: Audrey Hullinger

Income January & February--- --------------------------------------------- -$16,093.24

Expense January & February------------------------------------------------ ($18,869.96)

Expense exceeds income @ 2.28.25 ------------------------------------------(2,776.62)

Don Armstrong, Treasurer

Balance 1.31.25---------------------------------------------------------------$23,328.41

Donations February 2025 --------------------------------------------------------$105

Interest earned February ----------------------------------------------------------$7.13

Balance 2.28.2025------------------------------------------------------------$23,328.41

Don Armstrong, Treasurer

Sympathy: Bob Whiting and family on the death of Torin Radigan on March 11

Prayers:

Easton Riddle – Cindy Dammer’s 6-year-old nephew is fighting cancer

Jan Janssen- home hospice

Ernie Griner & family

Aleene WIlliams - cancer

Zelda Kirkvold - cancer

Sandy - Bernie McCabe's daughter, ongoing illness

Kolby Bohmbach – Continued prayers for good test results

Karen Renken- continued prayers for healing

Nila & Karen’s sister-in-law Karen - continued prayers

pray for victims of violence

pray for those who live in fear

And all who are named in hearts

• The Pedal Is Hitting The Metal!
• Whittier Residents Association - Saturday, March 29, signified a milestone for the Association. There is a group of residents (around 30) that have participated in the regularly scheduled Saturday meetings. Ideas, questions, concerns, and wishes have been heard. It has been determined that we will focus on the following issues for the remainder of the year.
• * partnership with Groundworks Connect to establish " Teaching Gardens" in the Whittier neighborhood.
• * beautification through clean up involving the placement of 4 dumpsters in strategic locations for use by surrounding neighbors.
• * improved safety in the neighborhood by promoting light audits by the city and by providing dusk to dawn light bulbs to interested residents.
• * expanded marketing strategy including social media campaign, signage, neighborhood Emails and text alerts, direct mailings with focus on printing in various relevant languages.
• * Development of Community Partnerships with local businesses, schools and churches
• * Sponsorship of the National Night Out 2025 to be held August 5th from 5:30 to 8:00 in Meldrum Park. Look forward to an evening of FUN, food, games, and music.
• The Association has committed itself to remain a non-political and non-denominational organization. We invite and welcome all people to participate in and share in the benefits of our efforts. If you live, play, work or pray in the Whittier neighborhood we consider you family.
• Nightwatch -Our friends from the Slavic Church at Wesley did their first solo serving of the Canteen last month. They did a great job and served 189 people. We are so grateful for their partnership in this mission and for the opportunity to get to know them better. We will continue to serve our assigned Sundays throughout the year. The Slavics will serve the assigned Mondays.
• Terry Redlin Food Pantry -We are entering into our last month of serving the pantry in the 2024/2025 school year. King of Glory congregation has remained steadfast partners with us as we minister to around 20 to 30 families each week. Your support of the mission through donations to the milk fund and collection of extra needed items has been a blessing to the families. Thank you!

Plan on Easter Brunch at Wesley on Easter Sunday - April 20th- @ 8:15a, between the two services.

The men of the church will plan, prepare, serve and cleanup the meal.

Plan on joining the Wesley Family in sharing a meal.

The Wesley family came together to bless Bob Whiting as he received a prayer shawl to comfort him in his grief.

United Women in Faith have a couple of events coming up.

1. Soul Care event on Saturday, April 12 at Sunnycrest UMC here in Sioux Falls.

This is a fairly new event and is designed for member enrichment and is also a pathway to connect with new women focused on giving care to your whole person – mind, body, and spirit.

It includes:

• Sisterhood: Our new retreat model allows authentic, spiritual, safe-space connections with other women.
• Relevance: Insightful speakers and inspiring doers offering new, relatable content connected to faith, social justice, sisterhood, and more.
• Growth: Unique and meaningful experiences to stretch your thinking and increase your awareness of the Divine’s presence in your life.

2. Mission u – The theme for Mission u this year is “Practicing Hope.” Doesn’t that sound like a perfect topic for members of Wesley? Since Mission u is co-sponsored by UWFaith and the Dakotas Conference UMC, it is open to both men and women. The dates for Mission u Southern site at DWU in Mitchel are July 11-13. I don’t think I have missed a Mission u in over 20 years. It is always a learning experience. This year I will be leading one of the classes at both the Southern and the Northern Schools.

If anyone is interested in joining me for either or both of these events, let me know and I will get you registered. Dawn Armstrong 605-988-7023 or dawnads@yahoo.com

Pentecostal Slavic Congregation of Sioux Falls-Meets in our Sanctuary on Sundays 12:00-2:00, and on Fridays 7:00-9:00

Lirio de los Valles-Meets in our former nursery room on Sundays 12:00-2:00 and Thursdays 7:00-8:30

Amidst our Easter celebrations, it is easy to forget where the Gospel of John begins its Resurrection story: "Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark…" The darkness described may be more than physical. Easter starts in death. It starts with Jesus in a tomb. The situation seems final and closed.

Then the light rises.

Most of our Easter celebrations focus on the light. A visit to a Christian worship service on Easter morning reveals a swell of colors and a celebration of life. There are flowers, and brightly colored eggs, and colorful clothes. It is a reminder that when we thought things were at their darkest, something new was afoot. The colors are reminders of Spring, signs of hope, examples that light dispels the darkness.

Some Easter celebrations actually do start in the dark. Many churches plan Easter sunrise services carefully timed to begin in darkness but end in light--just like that first Easter morning. Such services are reminders that Easter started in the dark. They remind us that even in the darkest, quietest, most chill hours of the pre-dawn, God is at work making things new. And this is the promised of Easter. In the pre-dawn hours of that first Easter, all seemed lost for Jesus' friends. But then something unimaginable happened: Jesus was not dead. He was alive.

As Rev. Jacob Armstrong reminds us in this video, Easter acts as notice that God is at work making things new. We may see things coming to an end. But we are encouraged through Easter to never stop looking for the miracle. https://www.umc.org/content/easter-starts-in-the-dark