Wethersfield United Methodist Church - Home
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Welcome!

The Wethersfield United Methodist Church worship is lively, Spirit-filled and Christ-centered. We offer adult and youth church school, a full range of choirs for adults and youth which include chancel, praise and bells along with a variety of missions and ministries in which all ages can participate in.
If you would like any more information please call us at 860.529.2025 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

A Mother's Day Reflection

mothers day thank god

A Mother's Day Reflection


    I’m honored, as part of commemorating Mother’s Day and giving tribute to moms everywhere, to be given the opportunity to share a little bit with you of how my mom’s life and her relationship with God through Jesus was shaped by being part of the Methodist church community. Mom passed away recently, and part of what’s getting us through this difficult time is realizing just how much of her is still with us; her values, beliefs and being were such a result of the fact that Methodism – that this one particular strand of way of knowing God through Jesus, one of the many, incredibly diverse ways people all over the world have come to know God and their role in the world – became her church, her spiritual home and her way of being part of the community of God.


    It was through being part of this community that Mom developed such a passionate belief in the good that can be done through the church.  John Wesley himself said,  “Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the ways you can, in all the places you can, at all the times you can, to all the people you can, as long as ever you can.” This is, to me, the legacy of what the church meant to Mom and what she gave to the church.  In spite of life’s challenges, Mom lived her life following Jesus’ words and examples and always strived to make this a world of love, justice and compassion in whatever capacity and scope she could.  She did this through her career as a nurse, her commitment to her church and community, and – here’s the Mother’s Day plug – the sheer devotion she had to her family.  John Steinbeck wrote of his own mom that “her first boundary was the geography of her family,” and that line is so appropriate for Mom. I’d mentioned in her eulogy that she truly believed her family was the best in the world, so she instilled those values in us – and worked REALLY HARD at it.  It couldn’t have been easy.


    Once we’d learned it in Sunday School, we’d say the Lord’s Prayer every night before bed.  Mom LOVED the Lord’s Prayer – that prayer of such profound reverence and gratitude (either in spite of or because of life’s many challenges, I don’t know) that the words are imprinted into our hearts.  Mom always saw the Lord’s Prayer as a promise on our parts, too…it’s like a yes to God’s commission -  that we’ll pick up our end of the bargain.  That together, as the body of Christ, we’ll always work to make this world and our lives into God’s kingdom.  That’s what Methodism was to Mom.  She took nothing for granted, was always grateful for the gifts that God had given her, and embraced God’s role for her.  Those values live on in my family.  I know Mom’s somehow with us, but the phrase “looking down on us,” which we hear so much about this time, just doesn’t feel quite right.  It’s more like she’s in our hearts, and everything about her is with us in our lives. That’s truly a gift from God, and I’ll always be truly grateful to God for making Mom my mom. 

This is what Mother’s Day is about.

Vision & Ministry Congregational Meeting

Where there is no vision, the people will perish

Proverbs 29:18

 In December, 2011, upon Pastor Hahn’s request, the Administrative Board approved the formation of a Vision & Strategy Team for the purpose of assessing our current reality, exploring future possibilities and charting the course to reach a more effective ministry. Over the last 4-5 months hundreds of hours have gone into this effort and the team has been busy reading credible relevant material, studying, researching, discussing, discerning and praying.

To begin their vision and strategy work, the team read Raising the Roof: The Pastoral-to-Program Size Transition which was a valuable resource and the basis for it’s assessment of the church and future needs. The entire Administrative Board is now reading Raising the Roof and we encourage the congregation to join us! Please see the sign up sheet on the table leading to the Family Life Center if you would like to purchase a copy ($15).

The Vision & Strategy Team recommended that we reexamine and, reaffirm or revise the Vision and Mission Statements and Core Values, as necessary, to accurately reflect our values and provide a useful framework for long term planning and decision making. This process will be lead by Greg Leffard and will begin on Sunday, May 20, with two congregational meetings at 9:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center and 11:45 a.m. in the Sanctuary. There is a sign-up sheet on the table leading to the Family Life Center. The purpose and process will be discussed and all questions answered at these meetings. Congregational input is essential so everyone is encouraged to attend one of the two meetings.

If you are interested in the full report of the Vision & Strategy Team, a copy is available in the information bin outside of the office.

UMCOR Birthing Kits

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 UMCOR Birthing Kits

 
As a way of supporting and celebrating mothers everywhere, we will be creating at least 50 UMCOR Birthing Kits. These will be brought to Annual Conference in June to be shipped to the UMCOR distribution center. The general mission fund will provide for the items in the kit that are really easily bought in "bulk” (latex gloves, plastic sheeting, string, etc.).

We do need your help for one important item. We need 100 new flannel/flannelette receiving blankets (1 square yard/each). Since strict rules often govern product entry into international countries, it is important that the receiving blankets by made of flannel or flannelette and are new. Please no microfiber, terrycloth, thermal, fleece, knit or used blankets. We will be collecting the blankets thru Sunday, May 20. There will be a box in the office. We will also need some volunteers to come on May 22 from 7:00—8:30 p.m. to help put the birthing kits together into one gallon zip lock plastic bags.

What a blessing you will receive thinking of a newborn baby somewhere in the world being wrapped in the receiving blanket that you donated!

Please contact Deb Draizen with any questions

Seniors Spring Fling Luncheon

Attention Seniors: Save the Date!

The Senior (men and women) Spring Fling Luncheon will be held on June 5 at 11:30 a.m. in the Family Life Center.

This is a catered lunch so reservations are required with a payment of $8.00 per person.

Reservations can be made with Jan Ironside 860-529-2025 or 860-633-2154 or by signing up on the sign-up sheet in the hall leading to the Family Life Center. Please join us for some fun, food and fellowship.

C.O.M. Fall Winter Planning Meeting

C.O.M. FALL/WINTER PLANNING MEETING
JUNE 16, 2012
9:00 a.m.—11:30 a.m.


This is an important meeting to plan all church activities from October 1 2012 until March 31(Easter) 2013.

All committee chairs, paid and voluntary staff, mission planners, fundraising plan-ners, men’s ministry, women’s ministry, children’s ministry, youth ministry, older adult ministry, worship…in fact….anyone who has a date to put on the calendar should plan to attend. Please bring your dates and ideas for the planning of the fall/winter months. Contact Deb Draizen with any questions. 860-563-9888 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Thank You!

Free Financial Planning Session

YOU AND YOUR FAMILY STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO

TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A FREE FINANCIAL PLANNING SESSION

OR A FREE 2ND OPINION

Develop a personal financial plan that examines your unique individual needs.

All you need to do is:
* Fill out a CONFIDENTIAL PERSONAL PROFILE
* Send profile to Ed Ruppmann
* Schedule your private appointment with Karen Cutts to have your plan reviewed face to face with Ed. Ed is also available for follow up questions via e-mail or by phone.

IT’S THAT SIMPLE!! AND IT’S FREE!!!

WUMC and the NY Annual Conference care about each member’s livelihood. When we help our Congregation get on solid financial ground, it’s a “WIN, WIN, WIN” for everyone!!!

To get your profile, contact:
Karen Cutts, WUMC Stewardship Coordinator
150 Prospect St. Wethersfield, CT 06109
(860) 539-1717
E-Mail address: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Buck-A-Book Follow-Up

book stack

Buck-A-Book Follow-Up

The money raised from the Buck-a-Book Mission Fundraiser was an amazing $100!

Thank you to all that participated.

 

New Member Coordinator Job Position

New Member Coordinator Job Position

Wethersfield United Methodist Church would like to announce a new job opportunity.

Please see 'Job Postings' under the 'Resources' menu tab of this website for the 'New Member Coordinator' job opening.

Thank You.

Spring Chicken Dinner Follow-up

chicken dinner[1]

Spring Chicken Dinner Follow-up

The money raised for missions from the Spring Chicken Dinner held on April 28th was $665!

Thank you to all that helped out and those who attended.

Rock Cats Baseball Game

baseball field

Rock Cats Baseball

Fellowship Opportunity

We are going to the Rock Cats baseball game on Sunday, August 12 at 1:35 p.m.

The Rockcats are the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins and they play at New Britain Stadium in New Britain. We have been going as a church group for many years and it’s always a good time. All ages and fans are welcome, even Yankee fans.


The game on August 12 is against the Reading Phillies. This is their annual Faith & Family game. There is special entertainment throughout the game and afterwards the kids get to run the bases!! We are sitting in Reserved Section 204, on the first base line. Tickets are $6 each (adults + kids). Please sign up in the Family Life Center hallway by July 29.

Bring your friends too! Please contact Sharon Richwine ( This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , 860-563-2026) with any questions.

 

Lenten Evaluation Survey

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Lenten Evaluation Survey


We hope you all experienced a wonderful and enriching Lenten Season.

We want to know what went right and what went wrong so it can be even better next year. A four question survey about the Lenten Season was emailed to everyone. If you did not receive the survey, we don’t have your email address. To receive the survey, please send your email address to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can send you the link. Doing this will also insure you receive all future surveys. Only one person can vote per email address. There will also be paper copies available in the hallway to the Family Life Center if you do not use email.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Sharon Richwine at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 860-563-2026.

Thank you for your time and participation.
Your Worship Committee

Amrein Scholarship News

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Amrein Scholarship News

For those of you who want to participate in the offering being taken on April 29, envelopes will be provided with the Sunday worship bulletin. As stated in the Lenten Newsletter, the committee decided that this year’s offering can be used toward this year’s scholarship.

June 4 is the deadline for applications for the scholarship. These applications are available in the church office. June 17 the scholarship will be awarded at the second service.

Website Assistants Needed

Help Spread the News…

The Website Committee is looking for volunteers to share in updating and adding to our new website on a weekly basis. Each week after the Connections Newsletter is published we need people willing to enter the new information into the Upcoming Events page of the website.   Also if changes occur during the week to then update the pages and remove from the site any old or expired articles. This process takes between 2 – 5 hours a week, depending upon how many new articles there are in Connections. On average time spent is less than 3 hours per week.

We are seeking volunteers with good computer skills, knowledge of the MS Office Suite, access to a high speed DSL or Cable Modem (daytime use of the church computers is an option for this) and a desire to learn how to update pages on the website. A training class(or two) by the Website Staff members will be offered on the website software language called Joomla, which is basically a drag and drop language as far as weekly updates are concerned. The Website Staff will be available to assist you with any questions, problems, or technical issues.

If you are interested in spreading the news and you would like to hear more about this opportunity, please contact either Wendy Sabourin or Rick Neafus at 860-529-2025 or by e-mail at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Thank you.

Women’s Bible Study by Beth Moore

Women's Bible Study by Beth Moore

Here and Now...There and Then

Monday 9:00 a.m. — 10:30 a.m.
and
Monday 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.

Starting date to be announced

 

women meet

All women of our church are invited to participate in an 11 week Beth Moore Study Here and Now...There and Then, a lecture series on the book of Revelation. This study was offered last spring and a number of women completed the study. The feedback from those who completed the study was so positive that we thought we would offer both a morning and an evening class again. There will be a class Monday mornings from 9:00-10:30 a.m. and Monday evenings from 7:00—8:30 p.m. This study has NO HOMEWORK! For the study, we will be viewing the videos each week, followed by a short discussion period. There is a work book that is optional, so the study really has NO COST! There will be a sign up sheet in the Family Life Center hallway. Thank you. Deb Draizen

Women Of Faith Conference

women of faith

Women of Faith

“Imagine”

November 2nd and 3rd

It is time for another payment towards your “Women of Faith” Conference tickets.


Please pay at least another $40 by April 29 (if possible, pay off your remaining balance). Checks should be made out to Deb Draizen and if you need to know your balance, you can check with her at 860-563-9888 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .


If you have been thinking about joining us for a great “Women of Faith” weekend,
you can still sign up at the table leading to the Family Life Center. There are a few seats
left. Thank you. Deb Draizen

 

Verse of the Day

Up Coming Calendar

MAY
19

05/19/2012
UMARMY Tool Training

MAY
19

05/19/2012 07:30AM - 08:30AM
Men's Ministry

MAY
20

05/20/2012 08:45AM - 09:30AM
Morning Glory Service

MAY
20

05/20/2012 09:30AM - 10:30AM
Children/Youth Sunday School

MAY
20

05/20/2012 10:30AM - 11:45AM
Traditional Service

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