2024-11-21 Good News

December is here and there are obvious changes in the world around us. It was just a few short weeks ago that I was walking around in shorts and zoris (flip flops), but now the air has taken on a crisp chill that beckons a jacket from the back of my closet. I am well aware that even colder days lay ahead. The trees, that only a few months ago were heavy with green leaves, are now displaying brilli...

Wesley’s Compassion Committee invites members and friends to participate in this year’s Christmas Giving Tree to support children from Grant School. Donation Options• By Mail: Send $25 checks payable to Wesley UMC, Attn: 2024 Giving Tree.• In-Person: Donation tables on Dec 1st & Dec 8th after church.• Dec 15th: Drop in the Sunday Offering, marked “Giving Tree.”......

Dear Wesley Church Family,This Advent we will explore these different themes in our Advent Sermon Series entitled “Season of Advent at Wesley: Lighting the Way”.  We hope that by exploring a different theme each week we will draw closer to the essence of the Advent season.The first week we will focus on Preparation. How do we ready ourselves for the arrival of Christ, both inwardly and outwardly? ...

秋も深まり、あとひと月ほどで冬至を迎えます。ウェスレーでは秋祭から始まる秋の行事もいよいよこれから本番を迎えます。今日はこれからの教会行事、そして日語の行事を紹介します。11月3日（日）から始まったスチュワードシップ・キャンペーン。毎年教会への奉仕と約束献金を呼びかける時です。でも新約聖書でのスチュワードの本来の意味は、主人からお金を預かった僕たちがそれをどのように生かしたか、というマタイ伝にある譬え話から来ています。つまり私たちに当てはめると、自分が授かった賜物をどのように生かすか、という事ですね。その意味でもう一度このスチュワードシップを考えてみてください。11月24日（日）は10時からチャペルで日語礼拝を守ります。以前サンフランシスコのパイン教会の牧師で、今は仙台北教会の牧師をされている近藤誠先生がメッセージを届けてくださいます。皆さま覚えて是非ご出席ください。またこの日の礼拝後はS...

these are the comforting words of Bishop Kenneth Levingston in the wake of the 2016 election: "We will shake the dust of disappointment from our clothes and engage the powers of this world with God's never ending call to let justice roll down like a mighty stream. We will continue to struggle in the sanctuary and streets with, for and on behalf of the least of these. We will tutor and mentor in ou...

United Women in Faith Crèche DisplaySunday, December 8, 2024 (9:30am-1:30pm) Your Wesley United Women in Faith invites you to experience again the wonder and awe of the Nativity Scene as you celebrate this holy Christmas season.Sunday, December 8, 2024, 9:30am-1:30pm, your UWF invites you to inhale, exhale and be centered as you step into the Chapel.Take some time to enjoy and experience the spiri...

This Advent series, led by Coke Tani, long-time friend of Wesley, features four sessions of holistic encounter guided by the Magnificat. Through heart, soul, mind and body, we'll "listen" for the coming of the Christ child, then and now. December 1: 6:30-8:30 pmDecember 8: 6:30-7:45 pmDecember 15: 6:30-7:45 pmDecember 22: 6:30-8:30 pm The group will meet Sunday evenings online via Zoom and in-pers...

Tis the season for the end of the year holiday parties. The Sarah Circle group is no exception!For those of you who may not know, the Sarah Circle is a small group of women who meet via Zoom once a month to discuss interesting books that help them to grow spiritually and that also helps them to gain an understanding of their lives and the world as it pertains to scripture.  The holiday party is a ...

Mochitsuki, our annual New Year’s tradition of steaming, pounding, and shaping rice to make delicious mochi, is back on December 28th! Join us for this collaborative community event with the Yu-Ai Kai Senior Center as we make 2000 pounds of mochi.As you might imagine, making one ton of anything requires lots of effort and people power. 150 volunteers are needed for steaming, cutting, cooling, weig...

Rev. John Oda – Senior PastorMark Teagle – Director of Spiritual Formation, Community Engagement and MusicKelli Martines – Director of AdministrationHikaru Bakoshi – Media and Technology CoordinatorLauren Takaichi – Youth DirectorHatty Lin – Children’s Ministry DirectorTerri Thornton – Office ManagerAlan Ngai – Administrative AssistantKelvin Kamachi – Facilities ManagerShane Cantanho – Accompanist...

Not seen since before the Paris Olympics due to a hip dislocation and back issues but finally making an appearance at the Compassion Dinner was Wayne Haraguchi seen with Rev. John Oda. Nice to see Doris Tabuchi after her valve replacement surgery.  She came to Wesley to attend a relatives memorial service, seen her with Rev. John and hubby Steve.......

by Barbara HiuraAll joking aside, the “I Remember You” Service, held on Oct. 27, really tugs at our heartstrings as all of our Wesley Family is impacted by the loss of loved ones whether it be grandparents, parents, brothers, sisters, husbands, wives, and most sadly children and babies. We remember and we reflect on happier times. But what we do have is our good fortune to have the memories we hav...

This is the end! Oh my! After some 15 years, The Hands of Grace Ministry led by the talented Mona Otomori and Yumi Haraguchi, has come to a close with a sale of craft items made over the years and a few new ones at a two-day boutique held at Wesley on Nov. 2 and 3. And while there didn’t seem to be a lot of folks coming through to purchase items, all knew this was their last look at a very special...

The Wesley United Women in Faith have taken proceeds from their Rummage Sales, purchased household goods and added some Second Harvest provided lotions and toilet paper, to fill 40 Blessing Bags. Nineteen  bags were distributed to the first half of the Grant Families when they came to the Food Distribution on November 12. The others were given to the other half of the Grant Families who came on No...

by Barbara HiuraThe blood sucking vampires were out, ghouls, ghosts and goblins too. Of Course… It’s Halloween and what a record-breaking evening it turned out to be at the Wesley annual Trunk N Treats event taking place on Oct. 31,  in our 5th St. parking lot in Japantown.Our 5th street parking lot with 11 cars was bustling with activity. We saw over 600 children and youngsters, including parents...

By Barbara HiuraThank you!!! Thank you! Thank you to all the volunteers for donating their precious time and energy to support Compassion Ministry programs, from Food Distribution to the St James Park hot meals, Grant family grocery bags, neighborhood food pantry, and Grant school tutoring program and of course all the many donors to this ministry…Thank you. A dinner to thank all volunteers and do...

The adage, "It Takes All Kinds" proved to be true under the light of compassion.On Saturday, November 9 approximately sixty-five faithful volunteers packed 10,100 meals destined for areas of starvation and suffering. Doing good made the day seem special. Jesus said doing good with others made it blessed.Rise Against Hunger is a nondenominational world-wide hunger relief agency that relies solely o...

Pictured with me are Eric & Jo Ann Misner.  Jo Ann, a nurse at Stanford Hospital, over the past 25 plus years, has been instrumental in collecting socks, washing and drying hundred of socks each month for distribution to the homeless.One of the current distribution points is at  St James Park where each week by Mark Teagle and  Kelli Martines. The source of the socks is long and faithful services ...

During our recent Primetimer's Meeting, Ernie and Marilyn Murata shared their extended visit and stay in Tanzania, on the eastern coast of Southern Africa. Their stay was just short of camping in the wild.Their photo presentation of their recent trip to Tanzania is an encounter many of us might just think about but may never have the opportunity to make such a trip. It is more like a camping trip ...

To Whom Much is Given: an Update on our Work Following the Retreat In February, we held our Winter Retreat, A Time to Reflect & Reimagine, in a cozy cabin-like setting at beautiful Willow Glen UMC. Before the year comes to an end, we want to follow up and let everyone know how we have responded to all of the ideas that were lifted up. For the retreat, we used feedback and suggestions to guide the ...

United Women in Faith Cookbook SALEBuy one Get one FREE Soup to Sushi $15 Checks made payable to “Wesley UM Women”Contact Bobbie U. through the church office to order.......

To submit your Prayer Requests:For the United Women in Faith Prayer Chain: contact Mary Chaffey through the church office (office@wesleysj.net)For Pastoral Staff: contact Rev. John Oda at (revjohnoda@yahoo.com) Philippians 4:6-7: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends...