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.

Monday morning Bible Study

- 9:30am gathering

-10:00am study

Book: The Circle Maker by Mark Patterson

November 1 Fall back one hour on your clocks before you retire!

DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME BEGINS!

November 2 All Saints Sunday: names will be shared of those who

have passed on before us since last November 2.

Nightwatch Canteen

November 5 Worship Committee 6:00pm

November 8 Bunco 1pm

November 23 Charge Conference and Potluck 4:30pm

November 29 Whittier Association

In case you missed the worship services and messages in May, 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.

The Advent season, with its rich tapestry of traditions and symbols, has evolved over the centuries to become a cherished time of anticipation and reflection for Christians worldwide.

The origins of Advent can be traced back to the 4th and 5th centuries. Initially, Advent was a season of preparation and penance, mirroring the 40 days of Lent. The focus was not solely on the Nativity but also on the second coming of Christ. As such, Advent was a time of spiritual reflection, fasting, and repentance.

By the 6th century, the structure of Advent began to take a more formal shape in the Western Christian church. Advent was established as a season of four to six weeks, emphasizing the themes of preparation and penance. During this period, Advent included a mix of fasting, prayer, and scriptural readings.

The tradition of using candles to mark the weeks of Advent emerged in medieval Germany. The earliest record dates back to the 16th century when Christians lit a large candle each Sunday during Advent. The Advent wreath, as we know it today, gained popularity in the 19th century. Comprising four candles encircling a wreath, each candle represents a different week of Advent, with an additional white candle, the Christ candle, lit on Christmas Eve.

Contemporary Advent practices vary widely, encompassing a diverse range of traditions. Many churches incorporate Advent calendars, a popular innovation from the 19th century, to count down the days until Christmas. Additionally, the Advent wreath, candles, and special liturgical colors contribute to the visual and symbolic elements of the season.

The historical development of the Advent season reflects the dynamic nature of Christian worship and observance. From its early roots in penance and preparation to the diverse practices of today, Advent has evolved into a meaningful season that captures the essence of anticipation, reflection, and celebration. As Christians continue to honor this tradition, the historical journey of Advent serves as a testament to the enduring significance of preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ.

Let us pray: Gracious God, as we journey through the Advent season, fill our hearts with hope, prepare us for your coming, overflow us with joy, and saturate us with your boundless love. May the light of Advent shine brightly in our lives, guiding us to the manger where we encounter the greatest gift, your Son, Jesus Christ. In His holy name, we pray. Amen.

Pastor Laurie

Dear beloved in Christ:

Grace and peace to you in the name of the One who brings forth the harvest and invites us to be co-laborers in sowing God's abundant love.

This past month, the appointive cabinet had the opportunity to hold our monthly meeting at the United Methodist Church in Wall, South Dakota. While I was there, I happened to thumb through an old hymnal that was in our meeting room and discovered a hymn I was not familiar with, God, Whose Farm is All Creation. It begins with these words:

God, whose farm is all creation, take the gratitude we give;

take the finest of our harvest, crops we grow that we may live.

Each year, Thanksgiving invites us to pause, to notice God's abundant provision, and to respond with hearts of gratitude and generosity. We are reminded that all we have - the resources we steward, the relationships we care for, the talents we engage, even the very breath in our body - is a gift from our creator who tends to vast “farm of all creation.”

This year, as we reflect on the many blessings that sustain us, I invite you to consider how we might extend that blessing to our neighbors through the 2025 Thanksgiving offering.

Across North and South Dakota, families are struggling to meet their most basic needs. Many are uncertain where their next meal will come from, how they will afford their heating bill this winter, or how to pay for critical medical care.

When we pray, take our plowing, seeding, reaping, hopes and fears of sun and rain, we are offering to God not just the fruit of our labor but our compassion for those whose harvests have been lean. We are praying that God would use our gifts - our time, our energy, our resources - to cultivate hope where scarcity has taken root.

As part of this year's thanksgiving offering, I encourage you to give generously and serve faithfully. Consider partnering with local organizations in the community that address food insecurity, provide energy assistance, offer health care support, or meet other basic human needs. These are tangible expressions of God's love - ways of tending all of God's creation together.

If you would like to participate in our shared, connectional effort, you can also give through The Dakotas Conference Thanksgiving Offering. This year, your gifts will support Feeding South Dakota and the Great Plains Food Bank, vital ministries that provide nourishment to thousands of our neighbors across the Dakotas. You may share your gifts online through The Dakotas Conference website www.dakotasumc.org or by mail 1313 W university Ave. PO Box 460, Mitchell SD 57301.

In the words of the hymns final verse:

All our labor, all our watching, all our calendar of care,

in these crops of your creation, take, O God: they are our prayer.

May your gratitude this Thanksgiving overflow into acts of grace. May your table be full, your hearts be open, and your offering - of time, treasure, and love - become a prayer that ripens into God's abundance for all.

With Thanksgiving and hope,

Bishop Lanette Plambeck, Resident Bishop

Dakotas-Minnesota Episcopal Area of The United Methodist Church

Bunco will be held November 8th at 1:00 pm.

Come join us for fun and fellowship!

Your Administrative Board at Wesley UMC is seeking help with our accounting/treasurer position. Don Armstrong would like to step down in the near future, but we want to fill his spot now so he can train you. If you have wondered what God is calling you to volunteer to do for your church and you have accounting/budget background, then you are the perfect fit! Please talk to Don Armstrong, Pastor Laurie or Bob VanDenOever if you are interested or have any questions. Thank you!

We are looking for someone to assist Brad and Bob in moving snow this winter! Please talk to Brad or Bob if you have any interest in this.

Sunday morning: 9:00 am (before church) in the library—Study: “Onward, Outward, Inward” – by Mitsua Fukuda

Monday morning: 9:30 am gather in the library, 10:00 study starts—Study: “The Circle Maker” by Mark Batterson

Books are available for both studies. All are welcome to attend.

Good Sam/ Canton: Joyce Patterson

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

Tea Retirement Home: Zelma Dean

4 Mike & Karen Renken

10 Chuck & Angie Griner

26 Larry & Nila Westall

27 Mark & Cheryl Meier

29 Don & Harriet Wendt

“Mum’s the word “on things we want to keep quiet- or so the saying goes. It is not the word we use when we want to shout from the rooftops in celebration with and for our program and donor partners!

The past couple of weeks, GroundWorks Connect staff have been hard at work, delivering fall foliage and grateful words to many of our collaborators. We know that it takes a village to raise a child, and we all view GroundWorks Connect and the work we do as one of our babies. Our goal is to tend to those relationships well.

We know that like plant life, living things need attention to grow. This same philosophy holds true when it comes to relationships. We are honored by each partnership and what they bring to the table. They bring such valuable information, insight, expertise and support to us. The power of shared mission combined with a forward push towards progress ensures we can continue to further our goal of Connecting Education and Agriculture so that it is accessible to everyone.

For you at Wesley United Methodist Church your partnership remains a top priority to us. You have graciously offered space in your building to house not only staff, but the tools necessary to build gardens and lessons across SD. You have joined us in events with students, providing the energy and connection our children so desperately need. You have come alongside GroundWorks Connect in constructing gardens, planting beds, and teaching students where food comes from daily. You have prayed with us, for us, and given of your spirit in ways that foster growth so many times. We are honored to continue to partner with you.

As we continue to expand statewide, build more gardens, and reach more students, your support and encouragement is needed now more than ever! Your passion for the least, the lost, and those on the margins is what has set Wesley UMC apart from so many other congregations- it is truly part of your DNA. What a testimony you continue to plant, the seeds of which we may never see.

But remember?

And yet, that is where faith comes in to motivate us. We move out in faith, believing that capable hands will catch us and place us all on a path where we can above all, grow hope!

Shalom,

Pastor Cindy H Coates, executive director.

ADULT ADVENT STUDY

Let Us Go Over to Bethlehem by James Moore will be our Advent study beginning Monday, December 1. We will continue on Monday nights at 6:30 p.m. through December 22. Pastor will get the book to you prior to the first study night! There is a sign-up sheet in the hallway behind the sanctuary. Deadline for sign-ups so books can be ordered is Nov. 9. If you can’t be here to sign-up, please call the church office to let us know you would like to be a part of this study. Join us as we prepare for the coming of that tiny little baby, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

ANNUAL CHARGE CONFERENCE

Our annual charge conference with District Superintendent Brandon Vetter, will be Sunday, November 23 at 4:30 p.m. down in fellowship hall. After a brief meeting, we will share in a pot luck meal together so be sure to bring a dish to share! A booklet of information will be made available at the church by Nov. 9. If you care about your church, then you need to be here!

Calendar items to mark down:

11/05 6 p.m. Worship committee meeting

11/09 10 a.m. worship; Veterans will be observed in worship;

Charge conference booklets will be available to pick-up

Deadline for Advent study sign-ups

11/16 10 a.m. worship with Holy Communion

11/20 PLEDGE COMMITMENT CARD DEADLINE!

11/23 10 a.m. worship; 4:30 p.m. Charge conference in fellowship hall with

pot luck to follow meeting

11/27 Thanksgiving Day! OFFICE CLOSED

11/28 OFFICE CLOSED

11/30 10 a.m. worship – 1st Sunday of Advent

12/01 6:30 p.m. Advent study begins

12/03 6 p.m. Worship committee meets

FUTURE WORSHIP EVENTS

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP SERVICE

Wednesday, December 24 – 5 p.m.

Daylight Savings Time Nov. 2. Be sure and fall back 1 hour Saturday night before you retire!

General Budget Update @ September 30, 2025

• Income Nine Months 2025................................................................................................. $96,047
• Expense Nine Months 2025.............................................................................................. ($89,827)
• Income exceed expense @ 9/30/2025............................................................................... $6,220

Don Armstrong, Treasurer

Building & Grounds

• Balance 8/30/2025................................................................................................... $ 3,465.43
• Donations September 2025......................................................................................... 1,770.00
• Interest earned September................................................................................................. 1.22
• Checks reorder............................................................................................................... ( 21.00)
• Balance 9/30/2025.................................................................................................... $ 5,215.65

Remember the date to return the boxes to Wesley—November 9. The boxes will be picked up at Sunnycrest sometime the next week so please return them to Wesley by Nov. 9 and they will be taken to Sunnycrest. If you miss that date, then you can take them to Sunnycrest the week following Nov. 9. Just let Dawn Armstrong know you took boxes to Sunnycrest and how many boxes, so we can add them to our total.

There are several available in the narthex of the church ready for you to pick up and fill. There are sheets available with the boxes that describe the age ranges and instructions for what to put in the boxes and mark them with the age group and sex and finish the box with an elastic band.

If you have any empty boxes (unwrapped), we would gladly add those to the boxes we already have. We just need people to fill boxes.

Take as many boxes as you think you can fill. Last year we filled 51 boxes. So, that is our goal for 2025—51 boxes or more if possible by November 9. As of the end of October, we have 18 boxes returned so we have a ways to go to reach last year’s total.

Dawn Armstrong

WNO Checking balance as of October 15, 2025 = $ 9,245.66

WNO CD's held with American Trust = $14,080.69

WNO's expenses for 2025 consisted of supplying food for the Canteen when we served. We supplied money to help one child go to summer camp. Last year WNO supplied milk for Terry Redlin Pantry. We are happy to report that Prairie Farms is now supplying all the milk for that program. God bless them for their commitment! We are still asking for people to donate items to the Terry Redlin Pantry and Canteen. Lists are posted in the narthex of items needed. Financial support is still needed for the food we serve. We have also donated some money towards the National Nite Out event that took place in Meldrom Park. It was a wonderful event with a great turnout! We felt that is was a great way to express our interest and support of the neighborhood our church is located in. The Whittier Neighborhood Association meets in the church basement once a month. Although the church supplies a space for them to meet, we do not financially support the group except in exceptional situations like the Nite Out program.

The Prayer Shawl group has decided to work on hats and mittens for Terry Redlin Pantry and the Canteen for this winter.

WNO sincerely appreciates all the financial support we have received for these programs! If you have any questions, please contact Sue Ness or Mary Poppenga.

Sue Ness

Treasurer for WNO

09 Karen Medema- Thompson

09 Cassandra Benson

22 Doug Van Noort

25 Marian Hoek

25 Maxwell Hamann

24 Taya Martin

29 Carmen Britt

30 Jan Martin

Prayers:Lincoln

Joanne

Kathy- Hospice

Aleene Williams

Beth Stricker

Kolby

Easton Riddle

Tony

Ron Poppenga

Danielle

Ernie Griner and family

Our Country

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

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace.

The Wesley Neighborhood Outreach team has voted to promote the collection of warm winter wear for the next few months. This includes; warm socks, long underwear (especially for men), gloves/mittens, hats, coats and what ever you have to donate that will promote the feeling of being loved and cared about. The items need not be new but should be clean and mended. These items will be gifted to the visitors to the Nightwatch Canteen. A collection station will be located in the Narthex of the church.

Thank you for your support of the Terry Redlin pantry! Pastor Lorie blessed all your donation last Sunday. Your generosity was heart warming and will bless the families we serve. We will continue to collect high demand items throughout the school year. A list of suggested donations is posted in the Narthex.

The Whittier Residents Association is hosting a dessert swap on December 6 in the Fellowship hall. It's a lot like a Christmas cookie exchange but will include other items that people make to build memories during the holidays. You would bring your dessert to share and a copy of the recipe you use. If you are interested in participating, please give Mary P a call.

There seems to be a lot of misinformation out there about vaccinations for the flu and COVID and the measles. So, let’s set the record straight—based on real science and validated research, not conjecture and supposition.

1. You cannot get the flu or COVID or the measles from the vaccines. Ever. No matter what anyone’s told you. You CAN get an immune response such as low grade fever, mild inflammation, or local redness and swelling. This is GOOD. It means your body is fighting the inactivated virus it’s been exposed to and it will build immune cells specific to fighting that virus if it ever sees it again..... hence the entire premise behind getting vaccinated. It takes your body about two weeks to build fighter cells and for the vaccine to reach its maximum protectiveness. If you get sick within a week or two of receiving the vaccine, then you were exposed to influenza and hadn’t yet received protection from your vaccine. Bad timing. Period.

2. The vaccine does NOT cause strokes, auto-immune diseases, or severe allergic reactions or autism. There is a very small percentage of people whose bodies do not react normally and therefore those people should not receive the vaccine. The virus is grown on eggs so people who are allergic to eggs frequently cannot receive the vaccinations. Likewise, the vaccine is safe but like all things it can be dangerous for certain people. I cannot stress enough how rare this is, even though literally every online guru with a degree in alternative wellness claims to know someone it’s happened to.

3. If you’re healthy, good for you. You have the luxury of deciding whether or not you want to get poked. If you get the flu, you’ll miss a couple days of school, maybe a week off of work and then you’ll return to your life. That’s not the case for many people in our community. When healthy people vaccinate, we protect the newborns and the grandparents and the chemo patients and the ones who truly cannot receive the vaccine. It’s called herd immunity, and it’s the cornerstone of a healthy society.

4. Fallacy: The drug companies and the CDC and all doctors and all nurses and everyone ever who advocated for vaccination are all paid by and/or brainwashed by big pharma to sell these vaccines by convincing others. Not even! I’ve never received a check or any other compensation from anyone to advocate for vaccinations of any kind. I don’t know a single person in the medical field (and I know a lot) who has ever received a bribe. I require a lot of research & data to formulate my opinions, again, most of my colleagues are no different. If I really wanted to look out for number 1 (me) wouldn’t I have tried to drum up business at my ER by convincing others NOT to get the flu shots? Wouldn’t I WANT people to become sick so that I had job security? I advocate for vaccines because I worked with vulnerable patients my entire career, so I am familiar with how important it is to prevent rather than treat disease. We have the ability to save people whose health is fragile and as a society and we failed because of the fake science and claims of autism. There is no valid research that has been done that proves vaccinations cause autism.

The statistics we are seeing in the news now are frightening. We are seeing outbreaks of measles throughout the country. Measles was considered a disease that we had cured or at least reduced to a footnote in history but now we are seeing a resurgence of the disease among children. So far in 2025, we have seen 1600 cases with 3 deaths—the highest rates in 30 years.

Protect yourself and protect your family, friends, and the public. Get vaccinated.

Dawn Armstrong

Please contact Pastor Laurie at 605-376-0752.