Following a cold winter, the campus of Wesley Glen Ministries is coming to life. The flowers are blooming, the grass is turning green, and leaves are returning to the trees that will soon provide us shade from the summer heat. But it is not just mother nature that is bursting with new life. We too are experiencing incredible growth at Wesley Glen. Not only are the individuals we serve growing spiritually, physically, and socially, our agency is growing in capacity!
We have successfully completed a MAJOR step towards opening our new home as we recently received our license from the Department of Community Health! Now that we have this license, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities is working to provide us with the necessary approvals required for us to move in! Ultimately, this home will enable us to serve four new individuals.
In addition to our new home, we have added a new program that provides the individuals we serve and those in the wider community with specialized supports to help them engage in more activities. For example, one of our guys, Jim, has a desire to play tennis. Through this new program, Jim has a mentor who takes him to play tennis each week. But the true benefit is far more than what takes place on the tennis court. It is truly the connection between Jim and his mentor…a friend, someone he can depend on, someone who cares for him and supports him in achieving his hopes and dreams.
Achieving hopes and dreams …this is the heart of Wesley Glen. While our mission is to support individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, our goal is to bring that mission to life by creating opportunities for people like Jim to feel fully supported in their lives, to know they are loved, and to grow in their faith and connection to others so that they can live an Abundant Life! Thank you for being a part of helping us fulfill this all important mission of serving God’s people!
Best –
Cameron
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Interview with James: Sailing and his Upcoming Trip to Germany!
How long have you been sailing?
"20 years with Special Olympics."
Where do you usually practice?
"Lake Tobesofkee."
What kind of boat do you sail?
"A Hobie Cat."
What is it you like about sailing?
"I like the wind blowing. I like tacking to change direction. I like racing."
Who sails with you?
"Phil Martin has for 20 years. We also have other team members that swap out."
Are there others from Wesley Glen who sail?
"Allison just started, and Nandi has sailed for a long time too."
Where have you sailed in competitions?
"Charleston, Mississippi, Mobile and North Carolina.I went to training in Texas in November.
This is my first time overseas! I'm excited about going to Germany (to participate in Special Olympics World Games 2023)! I love traveling. I went to Alaska for Special Olympics hockey when I was in high school. But sailing is my favorite.
In January, I went to Atlanta and was recognized at the Special Olympics opening ceremonies."
We are all very excited for James and his trip to Berlin in June!
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Our Abundant Life Gala was a joyful celebration! |
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Our Abundant Life Luau Gala was such a fun night and we raised over $100,000! We appreciate so much the support from our wonderful donors! We enjoyed dancing to The Grapevine Band, and we are so grateful that Ben Jones was our emcee for the fourth year. It was a joyful celebration of Wesley Glen's ministry! Mark your calendars for next year - March 9, 2024! |
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We are grateful for our volunteers! We couldn't do it without you! |
Many volunteers helped us with our Abundant Life Gala! |
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A special part of the Abundant Life evening was when Robin Hughes, who is a wonderful volunteer all over Macon, was presented an award from Wesley Glen for all he has done for us! |
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We volunteer too!
Cornerstone Day Program packaged Easter goodies for Daybreak.
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We thank the Wesley Foundation of Macon for
visiting and playing games with us!
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Huge thank you to Heath Lewis and his family and church friends, who came to campus one Sunday afternoon and cooked delicious turnovers for us. They brought horses, a baby goat, and a friendly dog to pet! They also entertained us with violin music. Thank you for an incredible time! |
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Thank you to Mae Urban and Lizella Baptist Church
for our quarterly birthday celebration in March!
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The St. Mary's individuals enjoyed their weekend at
King Pins Bowling Center, Jacksonville.
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Spring is here! We have been busy bees at Cornerstone! March was a flurry of activities, including a St. Patrick’s Day celebration, Cherry Blossoms events, pottery class, growing butterflies and the choir preparing for our Easter Service. We celebrated our Risen Lord and Savior, King Jesus, on Thursday. The Cornerstone Choir sang and Brother John gave an Easter message. Reverend Sam Lamback, along with Brother John, served communion to all who wanted to receive it. At the conclusion of the service, we had a beautiful butterfly release!
In April, participants will enjoy the spring weather by visiting Elliot’s Farms, the Farmers’ Market and Ocmulgee’s Indian Mounds. The Cornerstone gardeners will prepare the summer garden, adding fresh soil and fertilizer to the raised beds. The ministry team will visit Daybreak and serve food to the homeless at Macon Outreach. Because, of the participants deep desire to serve in their community, a new committee has developed driven by the Cornerstone participants. The members have named their committee, “Cornerstone Helping Others” ( C.H.O.) The C.H.O’s motto is, “Serve one another,” derived from 1 Peter 4:10. The committee strives to become strong leaders, while serving others and making lasting friendships in their community. The C.H.O will meet each month, and discuss topics such as, how to be an excellent leader, advocating for others, ways to serve in the community, making lasting connections in the community and ways to give back to others. The participants are very excited about their committee! They have amazing ideas and input. I know God will bless them abundantly as they strive to serve others!
“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10
Wishing everyone the love of Jesus in this Easter season, for He has Risen!!!
Many blessings,
Amy Reagan
Director of Day Services
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WELCOME, Springtime! We are ready to go back outside when the rain allows. All are patient as we know "April showers bring May flowers". Residents have signed up for spring softball. Many will play with our partnership with Bibb County Recreation. Kevin will once again be a member of the Ingleside Baptist men’s softball team. Jim is enjoying tennis with his friends as well. The time is fast approaching for James to attend the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin for sailing. Yes! The WORLD OLYMPICS!
Fellowship was enjoyed at the Quarterly Birthday Celebration, hosted by Ms. Mae and Lizella Baptist Church. A great time was had by all, enjoying snacks and games. Wesley Foundation of Macon is a group of college-aged adults sharing their faith. They visited our group homes and spent time getting to know the residents that live at Wesley Glen. It was shared that they all enjoyed talking, laughing, and playing games. “I met a new friend”, “I loved talking to them”, and “I hope they come back” was heard the next day.
We continue to grow in our self-advocacy journey. Self-advocates enjoy Monday afternoon meetings where they connect with other self-advocates across the state. During the meetings, self-advocates discuss issues important to them. They are the hosts, and they lead the conversations. We are also participating in Uniting for Change Area Network meetings and are members of the leadership team dedicated to growing our Middle Georgia Area Network. Advocacy continues as Wesley Glen is halfway through The Learning Journey. The Learning Journey is a select group of six providers from around the state that have committed to working on matters that mean the most to the people we serve, to their hopes and dreams, and to making positive changes within our organization. The work so far has come to fruition with a plan to have our residents have an active role in our new hire orientation on April 10th. We work for them...we want to learn from them!
Blessings,
LuAnn Osteen
Director of Residential Services
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We had a wonderful Easter service at Wesley Glen! The Cornerstone Choir sang beautifully and Brother John preached. Rev. Sam Lamback and Bro. John served Holy Communion. For the past several weeks, we had been watching caterpillars growing, and changing into chrysalises. After our service, we went outside and released our butterflies with a gorgeous view of the quarry and the cross.
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Sherry is Cornerstone's newest team member. She brings many years of experience with her. She has an amazing eye for detail. Sherry is creative, gentle and kind. The day program participants quickly fell in love with her. |
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Lots of exciting things are happening at Wesley Glen Ministries!
And there are lots of ways for you to join us!
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Quarterly News & Updates Volume 14 | April 2023
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