Wesley United Church
101 Patrick St, A1E 5T9 St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, NL, Canada

Hi folks! I hope you have all had a good week and are staying safe. Just letting you know that tomorrow morning we will be welcoming a new member into our church family through the sacrament of baptism. Ed Kavanagh will be with us to share his ministry of music with us on the harp and Chad Stride is back with us on the organ. Our service will be broadcast on VOWR and live-streamed here and on our YouTube Channel. We hope you will be able to join us as we gather in fellowship and praise. God bless and stay safe!

Recycling at Wesley A few years ago the proceeds from Wesley’s Green Depot recycling account were used to purchase a piece of equipment for the church sound booth costing more than $1200. The account has now risen again to more than $500! Not bad for bringing in what we used to send to the dump in the garbage!! All you need to do is type in the church telephone number (579-3682) and how many bags you have and it will print out a sticker for each bag.

Click Here for our Order of Service: https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com//Christian%20Unity%20S

Good afternoon folks. Today marks the end of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The St. John’s Council of Churches (of which I am the United Church representative) has recorded a special service (at Wesley) to commemorate this week. The service features participation from various denominational leaders as well as the music ministry of Glen Chafe. This service will be aired on VOWR and VOAR at 7:00 pm. tonight. We will also be making the video of this service available here and on our YouTube channel at 7:00 pm. We hope that you will be able to worship with us as we celebrate Christian Unity. God bless and stay safe!

Click here for our Order of Service: https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com//uplo/January%2024.pdf

Hello folks! I hope you are all doing well and getting through these trying times. This is just an update on Sunday worship. We will be worshipping on Sunday morning (11:00 am Newfoundland time) and this week we are pleased to have Julia Halfyard sharing her ministry of music with us as she sings two pieces: His Eye Is On The Sparrow and It Is Well With My Soul. Julia Halfyard has delighted audiences across Canada, in theatres, concert halls and cabarets, with music ranging f...rom classical to contemporary, and in contexts from the ridiculous to the sublime. Julia was a proud member of the cast in the world premiere of the musical, "The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz" in Montreal. The Cast Album for this musical was released on December 2016 and quickly made the top ten musical theatre albums of the year on the London Theatre Co.uk website. She has played Mrs. Lovett and Mother Superior in Opera on the Avalon's Sweeney Todd, and the Sound of Music and Mother Superior in Atlantic Light's Sister Act. Additionally, Julia has traveled the world singing with award-winning Lady Cove Women’s Choir She has worked with a variety of theatre companies throughout Canada including Opera on the Avalon, The Sunshine Festival, The Charlottetown Festival, Spirit of Newfoundland, TaDa Events, Stephenville Festival, Artistic Fraud, Atlantic Light Theatre, and has been a featured soloist with the Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra. In her other professional life, Julia works with Student Life at Memorial University, and leads the popular Instant Choir with Festival 500 - Growing the Voices. In her spare time, she is a PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education’s PhD program at Memorial University but most importantly, she is a proud mom to Estelle and Seth who are always singing, dancing, and acting-up Our service will be broadcast live on VOWR and live-streamed here on Facebook and on our YouTube Channel. We pray you will be able to worship with us as we share in fellowship and praise! God bless and stay safe!

Order of Service: https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com//upl/November%2022.pdf

Welcome to Wesley United Church St. John's, Newfoundland & Labrador, Canada Website: http://www.wesleychurch.ca Email: [email protected]... Email: [email protected] Phone: 709-579-3682 FAX: 709-579-3703 Mailing Address: Wesley United Church 101 Patrick Street P.O. Box 26010 St. John's, NL A1E 5T9 Canada

On Sunday December 13 at 7:00 pm. we will be holding our Annual Christmas Tree of Memories service in the sanctuary. This service of word and song will feature soloists and congregational carols, culminating with the lighting of the Christmas Tree. If you would like to light a bulb on the tree in memory of a loved one, you can download the request form from the church webpage at http://www.wesleychurch.ca You can drop off the request at the church office by December 9 or, if ...you are out of town, can make your request via email at [email protected] If you wish to make a donation with your request, we accept e-transfers at that same address. Seating for this service is limited to 100 people. If you would like to attend, in person, please call the church office at 579-3682. As are all our services, we will be live-streaming this service on Facebook and on our YouTube channel. We pray you will be able to share with us in this special service as part of your Christmas celebrations. God bless and stay safe.

This Sunday we gather for worship to celebrate the Reign of Christ Sunday; remembering how Christ has chosen to rule in our lives through the gift of love and not by force or might. It is also the Sunday before the beginning of Advent. We welcome David Chafe as our music director for the service and we are very pleased to have Matthew Cooper sharing his ministry of music with us. Matthew is from Carbonear and soon to be a graduate of Memorial University’s School of Music voic...e program. Matthew is very well-known in Carbonear, St. John’s, and increasingly across the province as a soloist for events of all kinds, fast gaining attention for his professionalism, wonderful personality and his spectacular voice. He plans to pursue further studies in the technological side of music production, hoping to operate his own recording studio some day while mentoring young emerging musicians. We are delighted to welcome Matthew Cooper, with David Chafe accompanying on piano as they share two selections with us: How Great Thou Art and The Holy City. We pray that you will be able to join with us in worship and praise as our service will once again be broadcast on VOWR, our YouTube channel and here on Facebook Live. God bless and stay safe!

Just letting folks know that the 7:00 pm Christmas Eve service at Wesley is at full capacity. There are still spots available for the 3:00 pm and 11:00 pm services. Please call the church office at 579-3682 to reserve your place for either of these services. All our Advent and Christmas services will be live-streamed here and on our YouTube channel. We hope you will be able to join with us as we celebrate, once again, the coming of the Christ-child into our lives and our world. God bless and stay safe!

This Sunday, we gather for worship once again at 11:00 am. Our guest organist/pianist will be David Chafe. It is always a pleasure to have David share his ministry of music with us. Also, we are pleased to have Jennifer Beynon-Martinez sharing her gift of song for our worship service. Since her arrival in St. John’s in 2013 with her husband Jakub Martinec and their three young children, Jennifer Beynon-Martinec has founded the Atlantic Girls Choir and is co-director with her ...husband of the Atlantic BoyChoir. Jennifer has worked as a music adjudicator, educator and director of prestigious choirs throughout Canada and Europe. Jennifer is also a private music educator and a trained classical singer. We are looking forward to her sharing her gift, accompanied by David Chafe on piano. Our service will be broadcast on VOWR and live-streamed on our YouTube channel and FaceBook Live. We hope you will be able to join us as we gather together in fellowship, worship and praise.

Order of Service: https://irp-cdn.multiscreensite.com//upl/November%2008.pdf

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday. While we are unable to commemorate this day as we would normally do with our veterans and members of the Royal Canadian Legion, we are still going to devote the service to the memory of those who paid the supreme sacrifice in the great wars and to remember and give thanks for those who continue to serve. We are blessed and thankful to have Cantus Vocum sharing their ministry of music with us. Each year, Cantus Vocum has presented For The Fal...len, a Remembrance Day tribute through word and song. This year, because of the restrictions placed upon us all, they are unable to do so. They are, however, going to share a portion of that presentation in the second half of our worship service. We are thankful that Cantus Vocum allowed us to use their music when we were limited to 5 people in the sanctuary and are truly looking forward to having them with us in person. We pray you will be able to share with us as we gather in worship, in remembrance and in thanksgiving. God bless and stay safe!

The myth of anonymity....thats what I call it anyway. Get away from the pastoral charge where no one knows you...thats what they say. If only it were true. This morning, as I went to the lobby for a coffee I heard two people I had never seen before talking: Ask him. No, you ask him.... Then the inevitable.... Are you a minister? I could have pretended not to hear or outright lied and said No. but I couldnt do it so I confessed that I was. The person replied they had thought so; his wife and said I looked like the minister they had seen on YouTube a couple of times. Their church in Nova Scotia has been closed due to the pandemic and they have surfed churches on Sundays. They came across Wesley and have watched it a few times, enjoying the services and wanted to thank us for our outreach. I smiled to myself. The old saying is you can run but you cant hide and it rings true. Half way across the island, safe from being recognized, or so I thought, I was made by a couple from Nova Scotia riding the Trailway on their side by side quad, who happened to stop in the same hotel I am in. Just another reminder of how great and widespread is this family of God we are all a part of. Could be worse.....I could have told you about the time I was at the Bell Centre in Montreal at (horror of horrors) a Hans game and I heard the words, Hi Rev. Bill. I THOUGHT you were a Leafs fan! But that is a story for another day..... God bless and stay safe!

UCW Bake Sale Please don't forget the virtual bake sale being planned by the UCW at Wesley. Members of the congregation are being asked to participate by donating home made goods of all kinds - contact Joan at 368-0434 or Pheobe at 726-1689 prior to November 10th to advise as to what you plan to donate. The sale itself will take place on November 28th and the lists of goods available will be available before that date online and in the Bulletin Ordering will be by phone and goods can be picked up at the Church on Saturday the 28th. please call Joan or Pheobe for details. Your support for this new initiative would be appreciated during these strange times.

This Sunday morning we are pleased to have Bill Parsons sharing his ministry of music with us. Those who have shared with us in the past have had the pleasure of hearing Bills gift of song and we look forward to hearing him again. Next Sunday morning, we will be sharing in the sacrament of infant baptism and Ed Kavanagh will be sharing his ministry of music with us on the harp. Ed has played the harp for our baptism services for many years and it is always a blessing to hear... him play. Next Sunday night, at our 7:00 pm. service we will be holding our Annual Memorial Hymn Sing. This service will feature readings by members of our UCW and congregation, as well as a poem by Glenn Rose, Wesleys own poet laureate. The hymns for the service will be sung by Annabeth Hawkins (The Beautiful Isle of Somewhere and His Eye Is On The Sparrow), Karla Pilgrim (Softly and Tenderly, and In The Garden), Alan Piercey (Suppertime and Precious Memories) and Darrin Martin (How Great Thou Art and Amazing Grace). For more information about the service and how you might request one of our hymns, please visit our website at www.wesleychurch.ca Stay safe and God bless!

This Sunday, we are very pleased to have Steven Hawkins sharing his ministry of music with us. Steve is a member of Wesley United Church and sings with our senior choir. He is also a member of Cantus Vocum, under the direction of Chad Stride (our organist). We have been blessed many times through Steves gift of song and we look forward to his ministry at our morning service. We hope you will be able to join with us Sunday morning at 11:00 am. Newfoundland time. Our service will be broadcast live on VOWR and live-streamed on our YouTube channel and Face Book Live. God bless and stay safe!

Join us at 11:00 AM for a Service of Worship

Wesley opens again tomorrow!

This Sunday night, we will be sharing at the Lords Table during our 7:00 pm. service. Normally, we would share during the morning worship but we are still trying to find our way back to normal and did not want to push the envelope too far on our re-opening Sunday. This will be a virtual service (meaning the sanctuary will not be open to the public) and will be broadcast live on YouTube, Face Book and VOWR. Please feel free to join us and use whatever you have available for the elements. The order of service can be found on the churchs website and that includes the words to all the hymns. As this is the long weekend, the theme for the service will be encountering God in nature. We hope you will be able to join us as we worship together.

This Sunday morning, we will be re-opening for public worship for our 11:00 am. service. Our numbers are limited to the main floor of the sanctuary (approximately 70 people) and you must call the church and leave your name and contact number to reserve a place. This week, we are pleased to welcome Andrea Stowe as our guest soloist. Andrea is a graduate of Memorial Universitys Bachelor of Music Program. During her time as an undergraduate student, she was actively involved as... an accompanist, as pianist with Memorials Jazz Ensemble, and was a member of Memorials Chamber Choir and Chamber Orchestra. Since completing her degree at Memorial, she has been fortunate to have the opportunity to accompany for music students, choral groups and to have the richly rewarding experiences that have come from her role as both an accompanist and private music teacher. The order of service for Sunday, including the words to the hymns, can be found on the churchs website and this service will be broadcast on VOWR and live-streamed on Face Book and our YouTube channel. We hope you will be able to join us for this service.

Dont believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding. Find out what you already know and you will see the way to fly. ~ Richard Bach, Jonathon Livingstone Seagull For those of you who may have been wondering, Wesley, our resident fledgling, has found his wings and has taken to the skies. Thank you to all of you who brought him food and water or simply stopped by to visit or take a picture. Fair winds, Wesley!

We will gather for worship again this week at 11:00 am. The service will be broadcast on VOWR (audio) and live-streamed (video) on our YouTube channel and Face Book Live. This week we are pleased to have Ella Parsons sharing her ministry of music with us during the service. Ella is a Grade 11 student at St. Bonaventures College in St. Johns and is a member of The Atlantic Girls Choir. She has been studying voice and piano for several years and, in recent years, has received... awards from St. Bonaventures College and the Kiwanis Music Festival Association of St. Johns. We hope you will be able to join with us as share in fellowship. Just a heads up....there will be no livestream service this Sunday night at 7:00 pm. Truth be told, I am feeling a little burned out (It has been one of those weeks...months...6 months) and I need a little break. I hope you understand. God bless and stay safe!

This Sunday morning, Bill Parsons will be our soloist. Bill is a member of Wesley United and has shared his gift with us on numerous occasions, including a solo at our Christmas Eve service. He is a past member of Cantus Vocum and, as such, performed with CV in some of the great cathedrals throughout Europe. Due to work commitments that take him around the world, he has been unable to continue with the choir and we are fortunate to have him share his gift of song at our 11:00 am. service. Sunday night, Rev. Bill will be taking a light-hearted look at food restrictions within scripture and speaking about the foods the Old Testament says we shouldnt eat and why we can enjoy them guilt free when we do! We hope you will be able to join us for either, or both, of these services. God bless and stay safe!

Just a reminder that Wesley has an account with Evergreen Recycling, just type in the churchs phone number (579-3682), how many stickers you need (1 per bag), put one on each bag and you are done! This source of funding paid for a new piece of equipment for the church sound booth costing over $1000 last year. You dont need as many as shown here to do this though, every single bag helps!!

Meet Wesley, the fledgling I spoke about in my reflection. He has made a few attempts to leave the ground but no success thus far. Thanks to our neighbours for feeding him (Paul, your minister likes capelin too, you know!) and giving him water. We will enjoy his company for as long as he needs but know, one day, he will fly the coop. God sees the little sparrow fall It meets his tender view. If God so loves the little birds... I know he loves me too. See more

This Sunday morning, Wesley United Church is pleased to have Annabeth Hawkins as our soloist. Annabeth is a faithful member of our church family and sings regularly with the Wesley United Church Senior Choir. She is also a member of Cantus Vocum, under the direction of Chad Stride, who returns from holidays this week to lresume his ministry as organist. Annabeths vocals are always an added blessing to our worship services. We hope you will be able to join us Sunday morning at 11:00 am. Our service will be broadcast live on VOWR, YouTube and FaceBook Live.

After eight months, Wesley United Church Women were able to meet face to face for the first time since the COVID restrictions were put in place. That happened this afternoon over lunch and fellowship, while still maintaining safe physical distancing. Perhaps a little hint of normal in this topsy-turvy world! As is often heard, grand time was had by all.

This is a recent purchase of the church. No, it is not a leaf blower, though it may look one. By adding sanitizer to the reservoir of water, this lovely device creates a sanitizing mist that allows us to clean pews, floors, walls, chairs, tables and other surfaces quickly and efficiently. Surfaces dry in about 10 minutes and leave no residue. This will allow us to clean the sanctuary after the morning service and be ready to welcome individuals who may wish to come to an evening service as well. It will help us to keep the sanctuary and other areas of the church safe and clean after all,forms of worship and gatherings.

Another thing you will notice when we re-open is that every second pew is roped off. There will also be markers in each open pew to indicate where, in the pew, to sit. This is being done, of course, to maintain proper physical distancing. People who are in the same bubble are, of course, able to sit with each other. Otherwise we will ask individuals to maintain spacing of 2 meters. We want to do all we can to offer a safe environment in which to worship.

One of the changes you will encounter when we re-open, for the time being, is that the balcony will be closed. The reason we are doing this is to aid in keeping entering and leaving the sanctuary as uncomplicated as possible and to make it easier to sanitize the sanctuary after each service. As we move into new alert levels, we may find ourselves in a position when we can re-open the balcony but, until that time, we ask your cooperation.

Wesley United Church is scheduled to re-open on Sunday September 6th for our 11:00 am. service (and possibly a 7:00 pm. service). Over the next few weeks we will share more of our reopening plan here and on the church webpage (www.wesleychurch.ca) as there will be some changes we need to make in order to meet the requirements to worship during the pandemic. One of those changes will involve social distancing and co-ordinating how we enter and leave the building and sanctuary. We will be using one set of doors for each. Our signage will, hopefully, make things clear and easy for all to use.