“Power of One” Update
During the month of March, our Power of One offering will support the We Got Your Back, backpack ministry.
Giving through Amazon
A couple of years ago, I logged into my Amazon account and signed up for AmazonSmile. It cost me nothing. All I needed to do was select Wesley United Methodist Church in Bethlehem, PA, and a portion of everything I bought on Amazon would go to Wesley Church. I am not a frequent Amazon shopper, but an occasional one. Last year, just by shopping on their website, Amazon donated $52.89 to our church from my purchases. Imagine if we had 50 people sign up for this! If you are looking for a way to give more to church, here is a simple way. Sign up with the link below and start earning money for ministry and mission (or carpet) for our church. Once you create the account, bookmark it so that you are always using your AmazonSmile account for your purchases. Twice a year, Amazon will send you a reminder to choose Wesley as your charity.
Simple as that! ~ Sue Kiefner
How do I shop with AmazonSmile?
To use AmazonSmile, simply go to smile.amazon.com on your web browser or activate AmazonSmile in the Amazon Shopping app on your iOS or Android phone within the Settings or Programs & Features menu. On your web browser, you can add a bookmark to smile.amazon.com to make it even easier to return and start your shopping with AmazonSmile.
Lent Madness Brackets!
Looking for a new Lenten devotional practice this year? Join us for “Lent Madness”! A ministry of Forward Movement, “Lent Madness” offers the opportunity (through a March Madness-style bracket competition) for Christians to deepen their faith by learning about the lives of faithful Christians who have gone before. Fill out a bracket and deepen your faith this Lent! Want more information? Visit www.lentmadness.org. To participate here at Wesley, sign up here: (signup link) — the first 15 individuals to signup will receive a free copy of the “Saintly Scorecard” along with their brackets.
Lehigh Valley Outreach Depot
We were delighted to host some special volunteers recently. Wesley’s Youth Group came over to help out and worked on a variety of tasks—making up personal care kits for local men’s shelters, filling flood buckets, shifting furniture around, picking up donations from a local hotel, tagging furniture and even assembling a large office unit. And, when their work was done, they treated us to pizza! Thanks to all who participated.
Requests for our services continue to expand, especially with the influx of refugees moving into the area. We thank all of those who helped supply us with folding chairs, tray tables, and lamps which have been a boon for our regular clients as well. We are still looking for a part-time receptionist and a few more men who can go out to help with pickups once or twice a month.
If you are interested in seeing what we do, we are happy to give you a tour of our facility. Just call and let us know.
Our Giving App has Changed!
As of February 1st, our online giving app will look different. If you enter a one-time gift each time you give, you will now need to download the new app (Vanco Mobile). If you have a recurring gift set up, that information will carry over to the new app. However, to make any changes or add any other one-time gifts, you will need to set up the new app. It is simple to set up the new app by using the instructions below:
Use this handy step-by-step guide and our church code (97H8G3):
How_to_Give_Using_Vanco_Mobile.pdf (vancopayments.com)
More exciting features from Vanco coming soon!
Wesley Finance Update
Hello Church family,
We have finished 2021 in good position and we recently submitted the 2022 budget which was approved by council.
Some highlights include:
– We paid off our line of credit of $27,000
– We earmarked funds as an emergency reserve of 2+ months’ worth of operating expenses, an act made possible by the PPP grants we received last year.
We will be offering more education and communication around Legacy Giving, a new effort to help secure our finances at Wesley. We will also offer Dave Ramsay’s Financial Peace University this year.
Our 2022 budget is about $18,000 in (deficit). We hope your continuing support and generosity can help balance the budget as the year unfolds. We collectively need modest improvement in this area.
Thank you for your continuing support and we welcome your engagement and questions.
-The Finance Team
