this time of COVID 19, I see people in the hospital praying. People of faith run to Jesus, people with no faith curse Jesus. Believers trust Jesus because they know Him and trust Him with their lives.

Jesus hears our calls even when

we think He does not. Even when the storm is raging in New York and Michigan; He is listening. I encourage each one of us to believe God is still on His throne. Our lives are in chaos and our churches are empty, but God is still listening to our prayers.

At times we even say, “Jesus,

don’t you care about us? Why aren’t You doing something? Why isn’t this changing? Why are people still dying with COVID? Why don’t you heal them?”

I do not know about you, but I

can relate to the disciples! Jesus, of course, woke up and

rebuked the storm, saying, “Quiet! Be still!” and the storm was quiet. There will peace in our hearts. We miss each other and we hope to be back in our

Continued on next page

Jesus had just finished preaching all day and stepped aside with the disciples to explain the parables to them. He was tired! In the gospel of Mark, chapter 4, verse 36, it says they took Him “just as He was” into the boat, and then headed across to the other side of the sea which was more remote. Jesus laid down in the back of the boat with His head on a hard leather pillow and slept.

Next, of course, the storm hit!

The disciples were afraid! They feared for their lives. It was real, the boat going up and down and huge waves were crashing all around them. I am glad they decided to wake Jesus up. They were scared and possibly frustrated. You can tell they were upset with Jesus for sleeping. When they finally woke Him, they said, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

Lately on Facebook, I have

seen people asking Jesus to wake up, literally. People who believe that Jesus is able, are trying to wake Him up. During

May 2020

Our Vision statement:

Learn God’s word, Teach God’s word and

Share God’s love

Our Mission Statement:

Wesley United Methodist Church is a community of

Christ’s disciples who strive to know, love and serve God more faithfully through Christ-centered worship,

education, fellowship and true compassion that show God’s love for all people in the name of Jesus Christ.

Office: 235-3070

Pastor Tshishinen Mpoyo

Notes from the Pastor

Online Services

Facebook and YouTube.

See page 3 for

instructions on how to

subscribe to the Wesley

YouTube channel.

May 10

Mother’s Day

May 24

Memorial Day

Page 2

building by June. We will celebrate being back to church, with the Eucharist, songs of celebration, and all the members of our church.

People of God, I want to encourage you to

trust Jesus to answer your prayers in His time and in His own way. Nothing is impossible for God. Call Him and He will answer you. Amen!

Happy Mother’s Day! People of God, Mother’s Day is Sunday, May

10th. This is a time when some of us who do not have a mother anymore, mourn, grieve, and lament our loss. It can be a difficult time spent remembering our lives together and at the same time celebrate the people who have the motherhood role in other people’s lives. Being a mother is a gift from God and it is a blessing to the community.

I grew up in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo, where all women are addressed as “Maman”, or “Mama”. Women are respected as such regardless whether they have children or not. If you are a woman, they call you Maman/Mama, then ask your name? Do not be offended if you are called Maman.

So, I encourage you to text, email, or send a

card (if you have any in your home) to every woman in your life. If possible, call her. Then she will know somebody cares. If you do not have a mother, bring all the good memories back and celebrate them.

If you had an abusive mother, it may be time

to repair that relationship and reconcile with her if she is alive. Or it may be time to find healing and not stay stuck in the past.

May God bless all the mothers of this world.

Happy Mother’s Day!

(Continued from page 1)

BIRTHDAYS

ANNIVERSARIES

1 Donna LaPoint 12 Chris Hannis

2 Ann Kloeckner 13 Mary Jane Andrashko

4 Justice Krystek 15 Dylan O’Laire

8 Becky Zimmerman 21 Bonnie Steinike

10 Kathleen Mitchell Jeanne Gay 27

11 Vernita Green Marissa Witzke

Vicente Flores 31 Bill Zimmerman

5 Ann & Tom Kloeckner 19 Tracy & Jeff Roe

12 Scott & Rose

Brownlea

20 Joanne & Charles

Wilson

15 Jean & Bob Roe 29 Linda & Scott

Colantonio

To all mothers! May 10!

Page 3

Wesley Fellowship Night (WFN)

Check the Web site for the next scheduled WFN

www.umcwesley.com

1. Open YouTube.com

2. Click the Search button

3. Key Wesley UMC Oshkosh

4. Press Enter

5. Click the SUBSCRIBE button when you first view this YouTube site.

How to Support Your Church and Local Businesses During and

After the “Stay at Home” and “Coronavirus”

A special mailing will be sent with more information on the Wesley SCRIP (gift card) fundraising and electronic giving. These are both important in helping your church financially during this shut down and trying times.

Page 4

Newsletter Sponsorship

There is no sponsor for the

May newsletter. Please

consider being a sponsor

for the June through

December 2020 newsletter.

Your contribution helps

defray part of the cost of the

publication and is an extra

gift of support to our

expenses. Please contact

the church office (235-3070)

to ‘reserve’ your chosen

month for 2020.

Wesley Financial News

“Covid-19 Stimulus”

Payroll Protection Loan (SBA)

On April 5, the Church Council approved (via email) the application for a payroll protection loan to the Small Business Administration. On April 14, Jerry Krueger submitted the application to the US Bank for an amount of $18,777. This loan will not have to be repaid if it is used only for payroll and utility costs for May and June, 2020. If approved, the loan proceeds will be held in a separate checking account to pay for payroll and utilities for May and June. Any unused monies will have to be returned so that there will be no debt for the church.

Going forward with much uncertainty of Covid-19, please maintain or increase your giving if you are able.

Page 5

Please consider giving electronically. Print the form below. Fill out the

form and return it to the church office.

Page 6

The Founding Mothers of Mother Day Taken from a transcript by Harriet Olson and Donna Miller

In the late 1860s, before there was an official Mother’s Day holiday in the U.S., a Methodist mom organized “Mothers’ Friendship Day,” at which mothers gathered with former Union and Confederate soldiers to promote reconciliation. When Ann Jarvis, and her daughter later, were working to establish Mother’s Day as a national event, they were not thinking about greeting cards and flowers. Instead the Methodist women who invented the idea in America wanted to honor mothers in a deeper way. They were thinking about the work of women and the significant testimony that women could give about the need for peace. Women came together with their sisters in their locations to respond to the needs that they could see. Ann started mothers clubs in her area, which would now be West Virginia. She talked to them about hydration for fevered babies, about sanitation and nutrition. And then the Civil War came along and they put a field hospital right outside Grafton.” Ann recruited nurses for military hospitals, and later the friendship clubs. Ann Jarvis was convinced that mothers, women, but especially mothers, had to work for peace because they could see the ravages of war in their husbands and in their sons, in a way that was so focused and so clear that their voices would be powerful. And that’s what’s at the genesis of the current Mother’s Day. Faith was always foremost. When she was older, Ann Jarvis and her daughter Anna became members of Philadelphia’s St. George’s Methodist Episcopal Church. Ann Jarvis died in 1905. Her daughter Anna (who was never a mother herself) stayed true to the purpose of the celebration. She envisioned Mother’s Day as a time to write a personal letter to your mother, a time to send her an inexpensive carnation (a flower in which the petals hold tight like a mother’s love) and a time to visit or attend church together. Anna later became an outspoken critic when the special day turned too commercial. She was really aggravated at people that turned that observation into a commercial outlet. When she made carnations the symbol of Mother’s Day they sold for pennies. But the price soon went up to $1.50, $2.00 apiece because people found they could make money off of it. Her comment about Hallmark was, ‘How lazy can you be to buy somebody else’s sentiments for your mother? One day out of the year sit down and tell your mother what you really think of her.” In May 1908, Anna Jarvis organized the first official Mother’s Day celebration at a Methodist church in Grafton, West Virginia. In 1914, President Woodrow Wilson signed a measure officially establishing the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day in the USA.

Page 7

Do you have a bank account of Love. This man does. Check out his story.

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, the nurse provided a visual description of his tiny room, in-cluding the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window. “I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. “Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait..” the nurse replied. “That doesn't have anything to do with it,” the man replied. “Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time”. “Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged, it's how I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it. It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do”. “Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I'll focus on the new day and all the happy memo-ries I've stored away… just for this time in my life”. Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories! And yes, thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank. I am still depositing”. 'Remember the five simple rules to be happy. Through Jesus Christ your Savior: 1. Free your heart from hatred. 2. Free your mind from worries. 3. Live simply.

4. Give more. Be in mission 5. Expect less.

Page 8

Dear Friends, As we’ve found ourselves in the COVID-19 crisis, it has caused us to look at where we are, what we are responsible for and how we relate to it. It sure has caused me to take a hard look at things! As members of your Mission Team, here at Wesley UMC, Doris Thomas and I looked at out May Mission Program. Ideas from the committee planning team were: Northcott Neighborhood House, Harbor House in Superior, WI and WI Conference’s Golden Cross Sunday (May 10

th).

The committee’s hopes were to emphasize Northcott. Possibly with a Mission Trip and presenting a speaker to visit with us, which is not a possibility, now. The need for financial help comes from Harbor House. The need to help families is great! However, the second Sunday in May in our conference is called Golden Cross Sunday. Our lives have been changed these last few weeks. It has perhaps changed our financial giving for many of us or means that we cannot leave our homes to serve in person. I do know that our Wesley family has found ways to keep us connected in our faith and love one for another. I celebrate that. Peace, Gloria Smith From Harbor House: Harbor House celebrates the triumphs of those who are in our program or have recently exited. We celebrate: 1. Three families have moved into permanent housing, after being in our transition housing. 2. We have a tentative opening date of June for our permanent supportive housing building. 3. Our emergency shelters are full and we have been able to help many families get into housing. 4. A woman in our transitional living program enrolled in school and will start in August. From UMCS- United Methodist Children’s Services Bill Schmitt as been hired as the permanent Executive Director. Shantel Hendricks returns to UMCS as the Community Health Worker and Gabi Taylor-Hart is the new Community Organizer. New Partnerships are being celebrated. UMCS is one of the pilot sites for the Community Care-A-Van in partnership with Froedtert Hospital and the Medical College of Wisconsin and the Milwaukee Bucks. On Wednesday afternoon each week during the UMCS Food Pantry hours, the Care-A-Van is on site and staffed with nurses to assist residents with basic health care screenings and to connect them to other resources. The Mobile Legal Clinic is another new partnership, a project of Marquette University Law School and the Milwaukee Bar Association that provides vital civil legal aid by bringing volunteer lawyers and law students to community agencies in neighborhoods that are marginalized and isolated. The first mobile clinic took place on March 11 and was a huge success. Also on any given food pantry day, you are also likely to find Access workers helping residents with FoodShare benefits, Hunger Task Force colleagues offering healthy food samples, health insurance representatives linking families to coverage options and research teams from the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Center for Advancing Population Studies offering unique opportunities to participate in programs seeking to better understand and treat diseases and afflictions that disproportionately impact neighborhoods like Washington Park.

MONTHLY MISSION FOCUS

Golden Cross Missions

Page 9

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Dates will be determined by the Coronavirus!

Keep checking the church website:

www.umcwesley.com

Wesley United Methodist Church 761 Florida Avenue Oshkosh, WI 54902-6549 (920) 235-3070

Change Service Requested

The Wesleyan Connection is

published monthly for the

members and friends of Wesley

United Methodist Church,

761 Florida Avenue,

Oshkosh, WI 54902-6549

Tshishinen Mpoyo, Pastor

Church Phone: 920-235-3070

Email:

wesleyumc761@yahoo.com

Church Web:

www.umcwesley.com

Facebook:

Wesley United Methodist

Church