November 26, 2024
Happy harvest time, church family and friends!
Growing up in suburbia, “harvest” was not part of my world. But I met a gentleman today who gave us a generous donation, because he sold a bunch of good hay this year and wanted to share the blessing with us. He and his wife got married in our church in 1975, he said. We sat and talked awhile, and I showed him around the Wolf Center and told him about last night’s Thanksgiving feast and some of the other stuff we’re up to…but I feel like we didn’t get to talk for nearly long enough, and as I sit down to write I have a thousand questions. I’ll have to send them a note and invite them both for coffee.
On Monday (yesterday), as some folks were prepping dinner, and Margaret’s team were doing their best to manage without her in the food pantry (just kidding, she has taught them VERY well and they do excellent work), and others of us were helping folks with showers and laundry and conversation, in came Tammie and Cullen from the Churchill Coalition with a whole bunch of packets of hygiene supplies that some sweet neighbors brought to give to folks in need. They had packed socks, crackers, water, tissues, nail clippers, toothbrushes and toothpaste, and pocket-sized copies of the New Testament. Tammie thought Epworth was the perfect place to bring them. And she was right, they went like hot cakes.
More nudges from God, moving people to want to bless someone. And how blessed are we to be able to facilitate, and witness!
Our church is so much bigger than the friends we see in church on Sundays. Margaret Knox and her team gather in prayer together every Monday morning before they open the food pantry, and I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen them sitting with our guests in deep conversation and prayer. When folks come to us needing to do court-ordered community service – which, as you can imagine, is never for reasons they are proud of – we work hard to make the experience affirming, positive, lifegiving. Transformative, we hope. My own office time on Mondays and Tuesdays is full of folks seeking prayer, comfort, and pastoral care. Our time making lunches on Wednesdays has become like worship.
ALL of it is worship. And it is touching people far beyond the walls of our little church. Which is why, when they feel these nudges from God, they know where to go to respond to his call.
What an incredible privilege it is, to serve the Lord together with you. All these hundreds of us praying, singing, seeking, learning, serving God side by side, in the name of Jesus Christ. I am so, so grateful.
Happy Thanksgiving,
Worship This Week
Advent Begins! The Hanging of the Greens
We love this tradition of remembering the meaning of this wonderful season, and setting our traditions in the context of the birth of Jesus Christ. Worship on Sunday will be filled with scripture and Advent carols, and sharing Holy Communion.
Worship begins at 9:00am every Sunday, in person. If you can’t be there, remember to find us on YouTube so that you can watch live from wherever you are, or join us on KVLV radio on AM980 every Sunday beginning at 9:30am. If you have ideas or questions, or if we can be in prayer for you in any way, please call the church at 775-423-4714, or call Pastor Dawn directly at 775-671-5553. We’d love to hear from you.
Wednesday Evening Prayer with Lectio Divina
News and Fun Stuff
Online Giving
Everything we do to serve God and our neighbors is made possible because of your generosity. THANK YOU! You can set up online giving at our website, epworthfallon.org/give.
Christmas Wreath Decorating Contest and Sale
Use one of our fresh holiday wreaths (they should be here the first week in December), decorate it however you’d like, and let us sell it at the Christmas Craft Fair at Churchill County High School on December 13 and 14. Tell your artistic friends and neighbors and help us raise money for all we do.
And Help Us Staff Our Table!
We’ll be selling fresh undecorated wreaths, too, and be there to greet folks and answer their questions about Epworth and the Wolf Center. The more of our smiling faces, the better.
Advent Bible Study “Who Needs Christmas”
Our Advent study this year is called “Who Needs Christmas” by Andy Stanley. We’ll have one class on Sundays after worship in the Good News Room, one on Mondays at 10:30am also in the Good News Room, and one on Wednesdays at 6pm via Zoom. There is no book to purchase this time, just video in class and discussion. Join any class, any time. All are welcome.
Meanwhile, Jeanette Strong’s class will continue their study on the Book of Acts, at 10:30 in the Wolf Center dining room. All are welcome there, too!
THANK YOU to Everyone Who Baked and Bought Desserts
There were some gorgeous and mouth-watering pies, cakes, and sweets for our auction this year! Your church is so grateful for your talents, and our Thanksgiving meals will be extra blessed by your delicious gifts.
And THANK YOU to Everyone Who Made Our FDB Thanksgiving Feast a Delicious Success!
Thanks to Steve Russell’s leadership and the hard work of MANY volunteers from church and our friends and neighbors, we cooked 20 turkeys, boiled and mashed many many pounds of potatoes, cut SO MANY onions and celery for the stuffing, moved tables and chairs, decorated, cleaned, and served almost 200 people. THANK YOU to New Millenium, Robertson and Koenig, Carol Ledesma, and Mike and Michele Berney for providing the turkeys, Jim Flemming for making the stuffing, Carole Leanza for making delicious pumpkin crunch for dessert, and Scout Troop 1776 for serving and cleaning up. Our backs and feet were killing us, but the food was excellent and our guests felt loved and full to the brim. Praise God!
Wolf Center Community Services
2025 will have us working hard on getting our newly minted 501c3 nonprofit properly organized and running efficiently. We always need your thoughts, ideas, and questions. Here are the current WCCS Board members, any and all of whom would love to hear from you.
Grant Mills grantmfi@cccomm.net, Steve Russell stever49@gmail.com,
Margaret Knox coke@cccomm.net, Edith Isidoro-Mills eaim@phonewave.net
Kathy Fraker kathyfraker59@gmail.com, Lori Crook, loricrook1999@gmail.com
Tammie Sheminski Tammie@churchillcoalition.com
Steve Endacott endacottsteve@charter.net, Sean Rowe seanrowe@fallonlegal.com
Glenn Wassmuth gwassmuth54@outlook.com
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