TIDINGS OF WELLER “Affirm Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior as we

care for others and tell people about Him.”

Affirm ~ Care ~ Tell

101 N. Altamont Avenue, Thurmont, MD 21788 Office: 301-271-2802 On the Web: www.wellerumc.com

Week of Hope Mission Trip Inspires

Youth to Serve Others

By Pastor Bob Kells

Last month, six members of Weller UMC learned what

it means to serve others during the Week of Hope

(WOH) mission trip in northern Virginia. The mission

team—Kelly Alexander, Sarah Kells, Josh Miller,

Emmalee Miller, Alison McGuire, and Pastor Bob—

traveled to Vienna, Virginia, on 25 July where we

stayed at Faith Baptist Church. There we met up with

WOH participants from eight other churches for a

week of work with disabled and disadvantaged chil-

dren, youth and young adults.

Every morning, we headed out to our work sites with a

crew of folks from different churches. My crew

included Josh and Ali, two youths and an adult leader

from Pennsylvania, and another adult leader from

Wisconsin. Together, we spent time at a summer

program for disabled youth and young adults hosted by

South County Middle School in Lorton, Virginia. We

showed God’s love to these kids by playing games,

going to the swimming pool, helping with crafts and

just talking to them. These things demonstrated

God’s love by showing someone cared about them.

When the day was over, we returned to Faith Baptist

Church for dinner and an evening of worship and devo-

tions. We were touched by “God sightings”—the many

different ways in which people saw God at work during

the day. We sang praise songs, watched inspirational

videos, and talked about how Jesus was transforming

us through the WOH. The post-worship devotions

connected the lesson for the night with what we saw

during the day. It also gave us time to talk about what

God was speaking into our hearts.

The week went by too fast. By the time Friday rolled

around, we didn’t want to leave the wonderful people

we had connected with on this trip. I think Josh put it

best when he said: “I want to go home to my family

but I don’t want to leave the family I made here.”

Recognizing that we are all connected and are part of

God’s family was a big take-away from this trip. We

will all remember how we saw God at work this summer

through the Week of Hope.

Worship

Sunday School

Church Offering

July 6 88

July 13 98

July 20 82

July 27 89

JULY AVG.

89

July 6 22

July 13 21

July 20 16

July 27 15

JULY AVG. 19

July 6 $3,287

July 13 2,709

July 20 2,250

July 27 2,297

Imagine No Malaria 20.87

ACH Monthly Deposit 1,830.00

Total (Imagine No $12,373.00

2

Pastor and Members,

Thanks so much for all your prayers and card. Also the prayer blanket makes such a difference. Thanks to all. Sylvia Weant

Pastor and Weller family,

Thank you for the graduation gift for my masters degree. The bible and amazon gift card were greatly appreciated. Also, thank you for all your care and support during my degree completion. Thank you, Sarah Pickett

Dear Bob and Community at Weller UMC,

Thank you for your kind words and support during this difficult time. With grateful appreciation, The Gary Seiss family

To Members of Weller UMC,

Thank you all so very much for the kind and thoughtful gift you gave of the beautiful prayer shawl.

I am having antibiotic infusion therapy and will have eye surgery in a few months. I will keep the shawl near me so I can feel con-stantly surrounded by prayer. Thank you again.

Love, Caroline Drechsler

August Birthdays

02 Charlene Stitely

03 Elaine Schray; Eric

Dutrow; Alison McGuire

04 Becky Smith

05 Moe Snyder; Bob Bowers

07 Bob Fahnestock; Michael Dougherty; Kylie Putnam

09 Shelby Wangness

10 David Stevens; Brady Hallman; Bret Hallman

11 Roy Angell; Peggy Hahn; Kenneth Hanes; Renee

Shaffer

14 Donald Wastler, Jr.

15 Earl Humerick; Kay Miller

17 Treye Eyler

20 Betty Draper; Jane Eyler; Kevin Riffle

21 Diane Stottlemyer; Jeremy Johnson

23 Sadie Marie Hughes

24 Joyce Kells; Alan Brauer Jr.

25 Jonathan Wastler

26 Justin Staub

27 James Royer

29 Ellie Wastler; Elizabeth Dougherty

31 Jennifer Roberts

August Anniversaries

04 Kellie & Josh Bevard

05 Bonnie & Bruce Baust

06 Kim & John Lavigne

18 Carrie & Scott Alexander

19 Renee & Tom Shaffer

26 Nancy & Roy Angell

29 Christine & Bob Miller; Karen & Ed Schildt

30 Michele & Mark Merico

3

New Speakers for the

Sanctuary Weller is getting some new speakers that will improve

sound quality for worship. The speakers will be mount-

ed on the walls at the front of the sanctuary and will be

angled to provide better coverage of the whole room.

The old speakers sitting on the windowsills will be re-

moved and sold to help offset the cost of the new

speakers. Luke Greffen, who greatly improved our

sound system in June, will install the speakers later this

month. The new equipment and installation will be paid

for out of the Memorial Fund and the resale of our old

speakers.

Special thanks to Debbie Shultzaberger for working

with Luke and the Admin Board to make this upgrade

possible. These new speakers will greatly improve our

worship experience, which is central to our life togeth-

er as a faith community.

AUGUST SERMON

SERIES GOES TO THE MOVIES

We begin a new sermon series on 17 August called “God at the Movies.” For three weeks in a row, we’ll look at some of the spiritual themes in recent movies that speak to the human condition and our need for God’s saving grace. The sermons in this series are:

17 August Gravity: A New Birth of Hope

24 August Frozen: No Greater Love

31 August Twelve Years a Slave: How Religion Can Enslave us, and Free Us

Video clips from these films that illustrate the teaching points will be included in the message each week. I hope you’ll join us for this series that speaks to the brokenness of our world with the hope of God in Jesus Christ.

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

1 2

3

Communion

4 5

C.O.M. 7 p.m.

6

Backyard Bible Study 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. @

Weller

7

Trustee’s Meeting 7 p.m.

8 9

10

Prayer Shawl Ministry

during both services

11 12

Ad Board 7 p.m.

13

UMW 1 p.m.

Backyard Bible Study 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. @ Pastor Bob & Joyce’s House

14

15 16

17

6:30 Youth Rally in

Hagerstown

18

Worship 6:30 p.m.

19

Backyard Bible Study 6:30-8:30 p.m. @

Weller

20

21

22 23

24 25 1st day day

of FCPS

Missions

7 p.m.

26 27

Prayer Time 6:30 p.m.

28 29 30

31

Combined Worship Service

10:00 a.m.

4

Greeters 8:30

03 Ethel Brauer

10 Colby & Cathy Child

17 Robert & Joan Follin

24 Virginia Gelwicks & Jody Hahn

31 (combined) Bruce & Bonnie Baust

Acolytes 8:30

03 Skyla Smith

10 Robbie Shaffer

17 Daniel Dutrow

24 Brody Mathias

31 (combined) Jolene Mathias

Scripture Readers & Call to Worship 8:30

03 Bill Clayton

10 Roy Clever

17 Ethel Brauer

24 Virginia Gelwicks

31 (combined) Bob Fahnestock

Nursery Assistant 8:30

03 OPEN

10 OPEN

17 OPEN

24 OPEN

31 (combined) OPEN

Greeters 11:00

03 Terry Eyler

10 Barb Barbe

17 Reagan & Abby Hamrick

24 Jane Eyler

31 (combined) Bruce & Bonnie Baust

Acolytes 11:00

03 Jacob Wastler

10 Emmalee Miller

17 Josh Miller

24 Megan Clark

31 (combined) Jolene Mathias

Scripture Readers 11:00

03 Kelly Alexander

10 Josh Miller

17 Michele Merico

24 Debby Shultzaberger

31 (combined) Bob Fahnestock

Nursery Assistant 11:00

03 OPEN

10 OPEN

17 OPEN

24 OPEN

31 (combined) OPEN

August Sermons and Scriptures

03 5 Top Parables: The First Shall be Last - Matthew 20:1-15

10 5 Top Parables: The Unproductive Fig Tree - Luke 13:6-9

17 God at the Movies - Gravity: A New Birth of Hope - 2 Cor 5:16-17; Romans 8:15-17; Jeremiah

29:11-14

24 (combined) God at the Movies - Frozen: No Greater Love - John 15:12-13; Romans 5:6-11

31 God at the Movies - 12 Years a Slave: How Religion Can Enslave us, and Free Us - Luke 12:43-

47; Galatians 3:26-28

5

6

COMMUNITY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Weller House Update

A lot of work has been done on the Weller House over the past couple of

months and we should be ready to move back in by the end of this month. The

upstairs rooms are in good shape with new blinds and curtains. The carpeting

in the front classroom was removed to reveal a nice hardwood floor. Moisture

in the basement has been reduced significantly with the landscaping done

back in the spring, and the installation of a Humidex system that dries out

the basement air. Carpeting in the basement and some of the wallboard was

removed in the mold remediation process, but these will be replaced over

time.

There’s still some work to be done, especially repairs to the ramp leading up to the house. None-

theless, the day is fast approaching when we will be able to enjoy the use of this facility again.

Thanks to everyone who helped clean up and repair the Weller House, especially: Bob Follin, Rick

Wivell, Pastor Bob, Vickie and Johnny Howes, Sandy and Bob Fahnestock, Peggy Royer, Fred

Henning, Roy Clever, RJ Shorb, Bill Clayton and Bob Miller. And a HUGE thank you to Tom

Shaffer, our fearless Trustees Chair, who spent many, MANY hours finding the best contractors

for our needs and lining up volunteers to work on the house. And thank you trustees for all you do

to keep our facilities in shape.

Youth Connection

The Youth Group has an event coming up this month that I’m sure you won’t

want to miss:

Sunday, 17 August, Youth Rally at Old Otterbein UMC in Hager-

stown, 6:30-8:30 p.m. with Salt N’ Light youth ministries. Awesome

praise band, drama, and a message that will keep your hearts blazing

for God.

Contact Pastor Bob or Sarah Kells if you are interested in any of these events. Have a great

summer!

7

Photography Notice Please note that photographs taken during church activities and services are used for

keeping our church archives up-to-date and for use in our bulletins, newsletters, website and Facebook ac-

count. We ask that no tags, comments or changes be made on these photos for security reasons. If you

prefer not to have you or your child's photo used in any of these areas, please notify Sandra Valentine or

Pastor Bob.

Thanks to the Seiss Family for Memorial Gift

We want to make a special note of thanks to

Faye Seiss and the whole Seiss family for

naming Weller as a recipient of memorial gifts

for Gary Seiss. Gary passed away suddenly on

18 June. Several hundred people turned out

for his memorial service at Stauffer’s Funeral

Home—a testament to the many lives Gary

enriched during his lifetime. His legacy of

helping people in need will live on through gifts

totaling just over $1,100 donated to Weller’s

Memorial Fund. Thank you again, Faye and

family, and the friends of Gary who made this

donation possible.

Pastor Bob

Backyard Bible Study Continues

Our “Backyard Bible Study” of the parables of

Jesus is wrapping up this month but there’s

still time to drop in for a meal, fellowship and

food for the soul. We are reading the book

Parables from the Backside, by J. Ellsworth

Kalas. We look at two parables each week

“from the backside”—that is, from the

perspective of an unsympathetic character in

the story, or one who we usually don’t consid-

er. This approach reveals some insights about

God’s love for us that perhaps we have not

considered before.

Each session begins at 6:30 p.m. with a potluck

meal followed by the study. The last two

meetings are:

13 August at the parsonage

19 August at the church

ANNUAL CHARGE

CONFERENCE SET FOR

18 OCTOBER

Weller’s annual charge conference will be on Saturday, 18

October, at 3:30 p.m. The conference will be held at

Trinity UMC in Emmitsburg, where several other churches

will take turns giving their annual reports. Please mark this

important date on your calendars—we would like to see a

good turnout for this, the church’s annual business meeting.

For committee chairs and anyone writing reports for the

Charge Conference, we need your inputs by Monday, 15

September. Please contact the church office at 301-271-

2802 if you have any questions about the Conference.

COMING IN SEPTEMBER

A sermon series and Bible Study that asks: How much is enough?

In a culture guided by shiny, life-promising distractions, "enough" seems elusive

and keeps us chasing the next quick fix.

What if the Giver of Life offered freedom from this downward spiral—would

you take it? In shiny gods, pastor and author Mike Slaughter helps readers re-

assess priorities to create a culture and lifestyle of giving, based on the word

of God and the example of Christ.

All during the month of September, Pastor Bob’s

messages will be based on the book shiny gods,

by Mike Slaughter. The sermons in this series

include:

7 Sep Naming Our Idols

14 Sep Money, Work, and Debt

21 Sep Be Faithful, Save and Give

28 Sep Heart Giving

Pastor Bob will lead a Bible Study every Thursday evening in September except for

one Wednesday, 3 September, then the remaining Thursday’s 11th, 18th, 25th from 7

– 8:30 p.m. Sessions will be based on the book, guided discussion questions and a

video segment by the author. The cost for the book is $10.00. Sign-up sheets will

be posted in the church lobby. You can also contact the church office at 301-271-

2802. Contact Pastor Bob if you have any questions.