This past Sunday, our missionaries returned safely from their trip to Costa Rica. We welcome them back and look forward to hearing all about their mission of spreading God's word!

I mentioned on Sunday the acts of hate and ignorance that were perpetrated against our friends at Temple Beth Israel. On Friday, June 21^st, a small group of representatives of a hate group known as GDL gathered in Macon. They continued on to Cobb County on Saturday. GDL is a group known for spreading antisemitic ideologies and promoting conspiracy theories. The GDL has been recognized as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. The leader of GDL, Jon Minadeo Jr., was arrested on Friday evening during the Macon demonstration after he shouted obscenities through a bullhorn at Jews attempting to enter the building.

On Saturday afternoon, hundreds of Maconites turned out to show support for our Jewish neighbors. Several churches, including Vineville, posted messages on social media to show support. One of the popular verses of scripture shared by churches was 1 John 4:20, "Those who say, 'I love God,' and hate a brother or sister are liars, for those who do not love a brother or sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen."

Elizabeth Bahar, Rabbi for Temple Beth Israel shared what it means to see people rally behind the Jewish community. "It was so jarring and upsetting to see that level of vitriolic hate and anger, and on the flip side, it's how welcoming, how kind, how nurturing to have the community turn around and say, not in our town that is not welcome!"

I want to encourage all of us to reach out to our Jewish friends and neighbors. Make a point to call, text, or email somebody today, and tell them how sorry you are they were the target of this ignorance and hate. Parents, this is a teachable moment for us. In age-appropriate ways, we can lay the foundation for tolerance and acceptance. In our baptismal vows, we are asked to accept the freedom and power God gives us to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. This is an opportunity for us to live into our faith. It seems that in our culture, we are losing the ability to have different beliefs without putting people down. Antisemitic incidents have been on the rise across the country. In 2022, there were 192 antisemitic incidents reported in Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee – a 120% increase from the previous year, according to a report from the Anti-Defamation League. In Georgia alone, there was a 63% rise in such incidents between 2021 and 2022. The trend is going the wrong way. Let’s do our part to change that!

Members of the Temple have invited the community to worship with them at 2:00 pm on Sunday:

Summer fun for our children's ministry continues all throughout July! Starting on July 14th, Club 345 will head to Wild Adventures Theme Park in Valdosta for a day of fun! This trip is for rising 3rd through 6th graders.

This coming month, our elementary students will gather for All Stars of Faith Sports Camp! We will learn a new sport each day while also learning what it means to be a positive player on God's team. The dates of this camp are July 17-21. On Thursday the 20th, we will travel to a Braves game in Atlanta. If you can't attend camp but would like to go to the game, please let Reese know ASAP.

You can register for all of these fun activities in Realm.

John Wesley, the founder of our movement, was born on June 28 1703 in Epworth, England. Today would have been his 320^th birthday. That’s a lot of candles! John was the fifteenth child of Samuel and Susanna Wesley. His father, Samuel, was a graduate of Oxford and a poet who was also a priest in the Church of England. Susanna was the daughter of a pastor. Education and spiritual formation were at the heart of family life.

As in many families at the time, Wesley's parents gave their children their early education. Each child, including the girls, was taught to read as soon as they turned five years old. They were expected to become proficient in Latin and Greek and to have learned major portions of the New Testament by heart. Susanna Wesley examined each child before the midday meal and before evening prayers. The children spent time alone each week with their mother for the purpose of intensive spiritual instruction. In 1714, at age 11, Wesley was sent to the Charterhouse School in London where he lived the studious, methodical, and religious life in which he had been trained at home.

Apart from his disciplined upbringing, a rectory fire that occurred on February 9, 1709, when Wesley was five years old, left an indelible impression on him. Sometime after 11:00 pm, the rectory roof caught on fire. Sparks falling on the children's beds and cries of "fire" from the street roused the Wesleys who managed to get all their children out of the house except for John who was stranded on an upper floor. With the stairs on fire and the roof about to collapse, Wesley was lifted out of a window by a parishioner standing on another man's shoulders. Wesley later used the phrase, "a brand plucked out of the fire", quoting Zechariah 3:2, to describe the incident. This childhood deliverance subsequently became part of the Wesley legend, attesting to his special destiny and extraordinary work.

On the 320^th anniversary of his birth, we give thanks for John Wesley- for the influence of his parents, and for the grace of God that shaped him into one of the great reformers of the church. 

IN-PERSON

ATTENDANCE

9:00: 88

Marilyn Allen, Harriett Durkee, Murray Manocheo, Sharon Walker

Beverly Findlay

Winser Hayes

Mick & Margaret Anne Anderson

Send prayer requests to vinevillemethodist@gmail.com.

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