Bring your furry, feathery, or four-legged friends to church for a special pet blessing! On Sunday October 2 at 12:15 PM, join us outside (in front of the main doors) for a brief "Blessing of the Animals" service. We'll offer your beloved pet some prayers of blessing... as well as some delicious treats! Help pass on the blessing by bringing a donation of pet food or pet supplies to benefit the Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley. 

Celebrated each year near the Feast of St. Francis (the patron saint of animals, according to some Christian traditions), the Blessing of the Animals provides the opportunity to ask God's blessing over the pets who are truly part of our families. For more information, please contact the pastor.

All youth (grades 6 through 12) are welcome at Youth Group this Sunday, October 2, 6:00 - 8:00 PM. Join us for a time of fun, fellowship, faith... and of course, food! For more information, contact Brian (Wesley's Minister to Youth). 

Calling all Wesley kiddos -- it's time to start ringing again! Our children's chime choir, ARK (Amazing Ringing Kids) is back for another year of making music to glorify God. Rehearsals will take place on Sunday mornings at 8:30 AM (before Sunday School), beginning October 2.

ARK includes ringers from kindergarten through fifth grade. If your child is interested in ringing this year (or if you are interested in helping as an assistant), please contact our Director of Bell Choirs, Chris Perfetti. Let's make a joyful noise to the Lord! 

Announcing the matchup for this year's edition of Penny Wars: Graybeal vs. Graybeal!  Becky Graybeal (Wesley's Director of Music) and Brian Graybeal (Wesley's Minister to Youth) will go head-to-head this year for a great cause. The jars will appear in the atrium this Sunday! Proceeds from this year's Penny Wars will help defray the costs of relationship-building & faith-forming activities through this year's "Year of the Table" program. 

Penny Wars is a game of friendly sabotage through donations of coins and cash. Pennies are positive points, and all other coins and cash are negative points. (A quarter, for example, is -25 points, and a $5 bill is -500 points.) Put your pennies in the jar of the competitor you want to win the penny war, and all other donations in the jar of the competitor you want to sabotage. At the end, the competitor with the most points (not necessarily the most money!) will be declared the winner -- and the other competitor will get a pie in the face!

The penny jars will be available on Sundays in October. We'll announce the winner on Sunday November 6, and celebrate with the pie-in-the-face on Sunday November 13. 

On Saturday October 22 (time TBA), join the Wesley youth group for a nighttime corn maze. Bring flashlights and get ready for some fun! Questions? Contact Brian (Wesley's Minister to Youth). Youth group activities are open to students from 6th grade through 12th grade. 
 

The next Men's Fellowship Breakfast will take place on Saturday October 15. Breakfast will begin at 7:30 AM, and the meeting with begin at 8:00 AM. For more information on the men's ministry, please contact Rich Chambers. 

Are you or a loved one journeying through a season of grief? We invite you to join us for an eight-week grief workshop and support group, facilitated by Bill Arnold. Inspired by the words of Psalm 23, the program -- "Unless I Walk Through" -- will aid you in your walk through grief. The group will be offered as a hybrid experience, with opportunities to participate in person or online. 

The group will gather in the church library on Thursday evenings, 6:30-8:00 PM, beginning October 6. A fee of $45 per person will cover the cost of materials, and scholarships are available upon request. To register, contact Bill at 610-217-1070, or visit the Solace Counseling website. 

Throughout the month of October, we will be collecting animal food, pet toys, pet litter, leashes, and other supplies to be donated to the Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley. Donations can be placed in the bin at the church from October 1 through October 20. Thank you for caring for all of God's creatures!

“I thought you just had religious books.” This is a comment we hear fairly frequently, and we do have a lot of “religious” books or books of a spiritual nature. However, we also have a lot of novels, memoirs, and books on topics of current interest. Come in and browse! We will be featuring suggestions of books in these categories in the next few weeks.

If you have a love of learning or a desire to connect with other people of faith, we encourage you to volunteer as an adult study group leader! Leaders are needed for adult Sunday School classes (either before or after worship) as well as mid-week Bible study groups. Not sure where to begin? Pastor Candy will be happy to help you pick out a study resource and walk you through the process. For more information, or to volunteer, contact Pastor Candy.

Mark your calendars for Saturday October 22, 9:30 AM - 2:00 PM, for the church's annual fall sale. Come shop from many yard sale and vendor tables. Enjoy some "trick or treating" for kids at participating tables, too! The kitchen will be open for lunch purchases, and we'll offer a silent auction and bake sale, too. 

To become a vendor, or for more information on volunteering, please contact Debbie Ace by phone (215-804-7509) or email, or contact Betty Killo by email.  

The LVOD is participating in the Boscov's Friends Helping Friends fundraiser on Wednesday, October 19, 2022 from 8AM to 11PM. You purchase a Shopping Pass for $5.00 (This goes to the LVOD). You can shop all day and get up to 25% off most items. Consider doing some early Christmas shopping! Contact Karen Schaefer or other LVOD volunteers to purchase your "pass."

To include your ministry update or appeal in an upcoming edition of the Wesley Church e-news, please send the announcement to Pastor Candy. 

This week, I joined with other volunteers to tackle some building projects on our Church Work Day! I was part of the team that transformed a blank wall in our education wing hallway into a chalkboard wall that our preschool kiddos are already putting to good use. Many thanks to those who stayed after church to join in the work day projects -- your efforts make such a difference! It's our shared blessing to have this beautiful property... and our shared responsibility to care for it.