2014 Ministry Year in Review - Wesley United Methodist Church

Wesley United Methodist Church | 201 E. 95th Street | Chicago, IL 60619 | 773.821.6240
Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr., Pastor
A
Word
from the Pastor…
Dear Wesley family,
Greetings in the name of the Triune God! The scripture says, “Unless the LORD buildeth the
house, they that labor do so in vain.” What an awesome year we had at our great church!
The church exists to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. We
have done great ministry in 2014 by impacting lives for the sake of the gospel. We have
been faithful over a few things and now God is going to make us “ruler” over many things.
We have let our light shine and the community has seen our good works and given the glory
to an awesome God. We have given of our time, talents, and tithes in order to make sure
our beloved church is a viable force in this community. I thank God for all of the ministry
leaders and administrative staff who keep this church going. You are blessing to the body of
Christ.
This 2014 Ministry Year-In-Review is a tangible record of what we accomplished for God’s
kingdom. It is to remind us of the great work we have done to make our community and
world better. Every time we read it we remember how we have served the LORD with
gladness, came before His presence with singing, came into His gates with thanksgiving, and
entered His courts with praise for the sake of making disciples.
This descriptive document is also an evangelism tool. You can give this to someone you are
trying to disciple so they can see what we do and what we are about. We have to use this
document to let folk know that God is up-to-something here at our church.
Thank you, to all those who contributed articles to make this document a reality.
Please read it and give God some praise!
Proud to be here!
Charles A. Woolery, Sr.
Pastor Charles A. Woolery, Sr.
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Annual Easter Egg Hunt: April 19th
Our Annual Easter Egg Hunt is a great
evangelism event designed to teach those
who attend the real meaning of Easter. We
create a fun-filled event designed to reach
children and their parents with the message
about the resurrected Christ. The children
have a great time searching for the eggs,
receiving candy bags, and eating the hot dogs
and nachos we served them. This year we
added a piñata to the festivities and the kids
loved it. Some of the church volunteers were
intentional in telling the children the Easter
message. They were told that Easter is a celebration of the resurrection of Jesus the Christ.
Inside the candy bags, we included information about our great church. Everyone who attended
the event was pleased by our hospitality, generosity, and warmth. We look forward to doing it
again next year.
Annual Spring Revival: May 19th – 21st
The Lord showed up and showed out
during our Spring Revival featuring
the preaching gift of Rev. Marvin
Wiley, senior pastor of the Rock of
Ages Baptist Church, Maywood, IL.
We had a great time of spiritual
revival as he broke the bread of life
unto us each night. The preaching
and the music ministry combined to
give all of us a fresh anointing of the
Holy Spirit. Our lives were touched
and faith strengthened during the threenight revival. The powerful preaching activated all of us to be the best that God created us to
be. For attendance, we averaged 140 people per night. We look forward to the 2015 Spring
Revival. It promises to be another powerful move of God.
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The Annual Church Picnic: June 22nd
What a great day for a picnic! About 100 Wesley members and friends gathered at the Dan Ryan
Woods for a fun-filled picnic. The United Methodist Men planned a wonderful event. The food was
outstanding! We had barbecued meats, potato salad, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, pound
cakes, and banana pudding. Everyone who came out said they had a great time. The only thing we
were missing was a DJ to provide music. We were able to organize a softball game and Rev.
Woolery’s team won (as usual). The weather was beautiful and we immortalized the picnic by
taking a picture with many church members.
The purpose of the church picnic is to promote fellowship and fun among the church membership.
We want to emulate the activity of the early church by the way they fellowshipped with one
another. The way to make our church strong is through fellowship. We look forward to the next
church picnic. Again, a great job by the United Methodist Men.
United Methodist Women’s Ministry in 2014
What a productive year the UMW’s had at Wesley UMC! First, they participated in a UMC Training
event hosted by the Greenstone United Methodist Church on January 18, 2014. They followed up
that great meeting with the World Federation of UMW on March 8, 2014, which was held at Maple
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Park UMC. Always a proponent of spiritual formation, they then attended a Day of Spiritual
Renewal on March 29, 2014, hosted by the Hazel Crest UMC. Not to be outdone by other churches,
Wesley’s United Methodist Women hosted a Women’s Day Seminar and a spiritually powerful
Women’s Day Service during their annual UMW weekend on September 20 th – 21st.
They also attended the following meetings: Chicago Southern District UMC 41 st Annual Meeting held
at Hartzell Memorial UMC on September 27th. The World Federation of Methodist and Uniting
Church Women State Assembly in Bloomington, IL, on October 11 th and the Northern Illinois
Conference Annual Meeting at Barrington UMC.
Continuing their long history of outreach ministry, the Wesley UMWs visited the South Point
Nursing Home every 4th Thursday of each month (in partnership with the Doves).
They closed out the year with a $500 donation to the Wesley UMC Scholarship Fund.
We thank God for the awesome leadership of Sis. Dorothy Geralds and her team of committed and
faithful United Methodist Women. The Wesley United Methodist Women truly live out the motto:
“It takes teamwork to make the dream work.”
The Wesley United Methodist Men
Greetings church family! 2014 was a very good year for the United Methodist Men. We as a spiritfilled, God-fearing organization have been blessed to accomplish most of what we set out to do. We
meet the first Saturday of every month to discuss matters of concern to the men and ways we can
serve and improve the church. We also have a hearty breakfast to get things started. We help
different organizations within the church and community.
Here are a few of the things the United Methodist Men were involved in:
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The Celebration of Education
The Church Has Left the Building Service
The Church Picnic
The Taste of Wesley
United Methodist Men’s Day Worship and Brunch
Annual Father’s Day Breakfast
Men’s Monday Night Football Socials
We help wherever we are needed. We are proud of the ministry we provide and we strive to model
true discipleship at Wesley. We hope to have an even better 2015!
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Pastoral First Anniversary Celebration: July 6th
This day marked the one year pastoral anniversary of Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr. After the worship
service, the PPRC and the Membership Care Committees hosted a wonderful reception for the
pastor and parishioners of Wesley.
The food and fellowship were
marvelous and enjoyed by all. The
program was highlighted by various
tributes from church leaders
regarding the impact Pastor
Woolery and family had made in
their first year at Wesley. Pastor
Woolery was extremely grateful for
the reception and reminded those in
attendance that he was happy to be
the new Wesley pastor. He and his
family were grateful for the kind
words expressed and the warmth and kindness shown by the congregation. Special thanks to
everyone who planned it.
Taste of Wesley: July 19th
Our Annual Taste of Wesley was a huge success!
It was a great neighborhood evangelism party in
the parking lot. We had great dishes and food
prepared by our own culinary artists. We served
grilled meats such as ribs, hamburgers, brisket,
and chicken. We had ethnic dishes such as curry
chicken, rice and peas, nachos, and watermelon.
Lol... The teenagers kept themselves busy by
playing basketball and pitch and toss beanbag
games. We had two jumping jacks where the
younger kids jumped until they tired themselves out. We also had musical guests that provided
uplifting gospel songs that touched our hearts. Sister Andrea Love provided us with soul-stirring
neo-soul gospel and DJ Kameron Jarmon provided us with great music for the entire event. The
primary purpose is fellowship and evangelism and we accomplished both. It was essentially a 3hour commercial that allowed us to re-introduce ourselves to our community. We are all looking
forward to doing it again next year.
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Finance
Committee
One of the big things that was
accomplished in 2014 by the
Finance Committee was the
implementation of Online Giving.
We can now give money to
Wesley electronically via your
home computer, your tablet or
your Smartphone. You can give
money to your church whenever
and wherever you are.
Wesley, we are on a mission to
fulfill our responsibilities as
stewards of the Great Wesley
United Methodist Church.
It all starts with the
commitment. Decide on your
financial commitment to your
church for 2015. Then go to the
below website and set up a short
profile and arrange to have your
monies donated to Wesley
automatically each month.
Managing your donation in this
manner helps to ensure that each
month, whether you are present
at church or not, your financial
commitment will still be fulfilled
and uninterrupted. This will help
to keep the bills paid, this will
help with financial planning or
forecasting and this will also help
each of us to keep our
commitment to our church and
to God.
This program is very flexible; you
can always modify your
donations in any manner that
you may find necessary. It’s easy
and it’s effortless.
Get on board Wesley!
“The Church Has Left the Building”
Sunday: July 20th
We really had a busy summer. We made our presence felt in the
community again with our 2nd Annual “The Church Has Left the
Building” Sunday on Sunday, July 20th. We had a powerful and
pubic worship service in our church parking lot where passersby
could stop and listen to our great music ministry and hear the
preached word. This year we outgrew our tent with an
attendance of at least 170 people. Next year we will have to rent
a larger tent. The air was filled with music and the gospel
message. It felt good worshiping outside.
Vacation Bible School: July 28th –
August 1st
Christian education is the primary away the church teaches the
Word of God. Not every child is able to attend Sunday School.
Therefore, Vacation Bible School is an excellent way to teach the
Word of God to children, youth, and adults. Under the direction
of the Christian Education Department, Wesley held its Vacation
Bible School in July. It consisted of 5 nights of instruction, skits,
crafts, and music. The attendees were also treated with great
meals each night as well. We thank God for the volunteers who
came out every night to ensure this year’s VBS would be a huge
success. The church’s mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ
for the transformation of the world. That means having
programs like Vacation Bible School to promote intentional faith
development among the membership. VBS is a great way to not
just impact the lives of our existing members, but also people in
the community.
We averaged about 70 people every day. Everyone who
attended had a wonderful time. The children and youth had a
great time as well. We can’t wait to do it again next year.
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Visit the church website at Wesley-chicago.org
Click on the green Give Online button
Click on the Create Profile button, then
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Follow the onscreen instructions to create an online profile and to
schedule your recurring contributions
Wesley’s ‘Celebration of Education’ Event: September 13th
On Saturday, September 13th, we had our
second Back-to-School Block Party which
we renamed. We were blessed with great
weather but a lackluster turnout. We were
able to pass out around 50 book bags filled
with school supplies to children and youth
of all ages.
We had fun games and events for the
children and youth who attended. There
were two jumping jacks, soccer nets, and
other games for the youth. We served
hotdogs, hamburgers, chips, pop, and nachos
to all who attended the great event.
We also had a DJ who moved the crowd with
entertaining gospel music during the event. The
crowd was lighter this year but we still had a good
time. Through this event we impacted our
community by providing the youth with school
supplies that will help them achieve great things
in school. It is our way of giving back to ensure
they have success in school. Our next goal is to
adopt an elementary school as a part of the One ChurchOne School program. Mentoring and tutoring
are our next
goals for
impacting
the lives of
our youth
and children.
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Pizza with the Pastor: September 26th
It was a treat for Pastor Woolery to meet with the youth and children to have a pizza party. What a
time they had. Unfortunately, the pizza was horrible, but the fellowship was good. It was an
opportunity for Pastor Woolery to hear from Wesley’s young members about what they wanted to
see happen in the church. As a congregation, we believe what Proverbs 22:6 says: “Train up a child
in the way that he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it.” Wesley UMC is
definitely a training ground for teens and children. We believe our mission is to provide spiritual
formation, a safe place, and a nurturing environment for our young members. They are to be
cherished because they are the present and future of our church. Pizza with the Pastor was a great
informal gathering where the teens and children could interact with one another and with the
Pastor. Pastor Woolery wanted to let them know that they and their opinions matter to him and
the church leadership. Pastor Woolery hopes to have more gatherings like this every quarter. And
at the next PWP gatherings, we will definitely have great-tasting pizza.
Homecoming Weekend: September 27th - 28th
On September 27th and 28th, we celebrated our 2nd Annual Homecoming Weekend with our special
guest, The Antioch Baptist Church of St. Louis, MO. On Saturday, we were blessed by performances
from ABC’s Puppet Ministry and Liturgical Dancers. Their Puppet Ministry is one of the best in the
country. It amazed everyone who attended. The puppets ministered to us through skits and songs.
The Liturgical Dancers performed several dances coupled with costume changes. It was an amazing
night.
On Sunday, Rev. Dr. Franklin Delano Roosevelt Benson, Jr., the senior pastor of The Antioch Baptist
Church, preached us happy with the story of the Prodigal Son. What a homecoming that was! We
were also blessed with ABC’s Youth Choir. They did a phenomenal job. After service, we enjoyed a
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wonderful fellowship meal. The Wesley Hospitality Crew did a marvelous job, as usual. It was a
great weekend.
Annual Fall Revival: October 20th – 22nd
What a time we had for three nights in October! Our 2nd Annual Fall Revival was held from Monday,
October 20 through Wednesday, October 22. Our guest preacher was Rev. Reginald Williams, senior
pastor of First Baptist Church of University Park, IL. He preached extremely well. He is a homiletical
heavyweight. He preached three relevant sermons that gave us information and inspiration. It was
a great revival. We were also blessed by the musical genius of our own music department and First
Baptist Church’s choir as well. We were truly revived! Everyone who attended received their
blessing.
The Building Committee
Membership Care
What seems like a long and arduous process, has been just that!
However the Building Committee continues to work diligently
towards completing the task at hand. Although it seems as though
nothing has occurred, we are happy to report the following…
Membership Care continues its
mission of giving spiritual
attention to the needs of
individuals and families in the
congregation. In addition,
during 2014, Membership Care
promoted fellowship with the
congregation by celebrating
members birthdays each month
January- December. These
events were well attended, and
enjoyed by all. Membership
Care also sponsored a reception
for new members to welcome
those who joined
the congregation during
2014. The new members were
encouraged to join a church
ministry of their interest. They
were also presented with new
member certificates by Pastor
Woolery.
We have submitted all documents to the city for our building
permits and are in the final stages of receiving them. Our General
Contractor is finalizing our budget so that we are ready to begin
work, as soon as we have our permits in hand!
Remember the water damage in the lower level…it is soon to be a
thing of the past! Perma-Seal will begin work in Fulton Fellowship
Hall to correct the problems that we have encountered for so long.
Soon, our lower level will be completely dry, with proper drainage
to the outside.
We will meet all city code regulations with our renovations. This
will include landscaping, which will be in compliance with city
requirements; an updated and improved parking lot; a Fire Alarm
System and enhancements to the outside, as well as to the inside of
our building.
Yes, this process has been long, but let us not forget our recent
improvements… we have a new roof, tuck pointing has been
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completed on the entire building; and the gray face brick on the west and north elevations of the
church have been replaced.
What else, you say… we have a new sound system, which includes new speakers, microphones, a
sound board and the ability to record services and programs. We have also incorporated projectors
and monitors, which have become an integral part of our Sunday morning worship service. Lastly,
we have beautiful selections for our church interior that will completely change the look of Wesley
UM Church. It’s our time Wesley, believe it, we are moving and looking forward to the new Wesley
United Methodist Church in 2015!
The Hallelujah Party: October 31st
On Friday, October 31st, we had our Hallelujah Party and the
Fellowship Hall was abuzz with lots of activity. Our church was full
of children and youth. We played fun games, fed them hot dogs
and chips, and, of course, passed out candy bags at the end. The
young people had an enjoyable time as well as the adults. The
Hallelujah Party serves as a Christian alternative to the secular
celebration of Halloween. In spite of the bad weather, i.e., the first
snow and sleet of the season, we had a great event. We served at
least 80 children and adults at this fun-filled event. We thank Sis.
Deborah Sam-Binion, Kai Gilmore and crew for putting on a great
event for our children both from the church and surrounding
community. We look forward to hosting an even bigger event next
year.
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Breast Cancer
Awareness
Sunday: October
26th
On October 26th we had our
Breast Cancer Awareness
Sunday Worship Service. What
a great service this was. We had
breast cancer survivors
participate in the service
reminding us that God is a
healer. It reminded the
congregation of the nature of
the disease and how early
detection through annual
mammograms is the best way
to fight the disease. Every year
we will have this Awareness
Sunday to remind the entire
faith community about the
effects and treatments for
breast cancer. As well as
hearing the testimonies of
breast cancer survivors that
give hope to those who are
fighting the dreaded disease.
Thanksgiving Basket Give-away: November 24th
On Monday, November 24th, we were blessed to give away 102 turkeys and 35 baskets of food to
those in need within our church and in the surrounding community. This year we partnered with
Walsh Construction to be a blessing to our neighbors in the community. Using our contact at
Rosebud Farms, we ordered 200 turkeys and Walsh Construction paid for all of them. We thank God
for this partnership. We look forward to partnering with them again.
People who received them were so thankful. It felt good passing out the turkeys to people who
were truly in need. It was also good for our congregation to rally behind a great cause. We truly
came together to donate turkeys and can goods to be a blessing to others. We reached our goal of
passing out 100 turkeys this year. Last year we gave away 50 Thanksgiving baskets. Next year we
want to double our efforts and pass out 200 turkeys. A special thanks to Sis. Ronetta Graham-Frazer
and her team of volunteers for coordinating this event.
The Annual Christmas Program: December 21st
Every year during the Christmas season, we
stress to the congregation that Jesus is
the reason for the season. We especially
want to impress that upon the hearts and
minds of our youth and children.
Traditionally, Christmas programs are
usually comprised and geared towards
children. But at Wesley UMC, the Annual
Christmas Program is performed by
adults, teens, and children. Every age
demographic is represented because we
believe that everyone needs to hear the
Christmas message annually. It is
transformative and reminds us of God’s love
for humanity. Christmas reminds us that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son
as a living sacrifice so humanity could be redeemed. The performances were outstanding. From the
narrators to the actors/actresses to the singers, everything was outstanding. It was a treat to hear
again the Christmas message through the artistic performances of our church members. Those who
witnessed the program cannot wait until next year. Jesus was definitely lifted up. To God be
praised for the marvelous job everyone did. Special thanks to Sis. Deborah Sam-Binion and her
team for blessing our hearts with another great performance.
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Wesley’s Youth Department
Happy New Year! 2014 began with the Youth on a roll! The Youth hosted several fundraisers
including one during February with Fannie May Candies. The proceeds went toward the kids Youth
Retreat held in April.
Wesley’s new Youth Basketball team is the Wesley Tigers! They will continue to play their games at
Morgan Park United Methodist Church. Basketball will begin again in March and go throughout the
summer months.
Coming down from the high of the Cotillion/Beautillion of 2013, the Youth ventured out on their
very first Christian Retreat held at Lake Williamson Christian Center in Carlinville, IL in April. They
‘exercised their faith muscles’ via a series of workshops and activities geared toward teamwork and
building a personal relationship with God. We hope the kids continue to build that relationship as
we venture to another retreat in 2015 and will (prayerfully) have this as an annual event.
One of our teenagers, Bradley West, attended the Maceo E. Pembroke Institute in August as he
prepares to go into ministry. He described it as enriching and an eye opening experience. We hope
to have Bradley attend again this fall and bring a few more Youth with him.
In October, the Youth welcomed their very first Youth Pastor, Reverend Jozlynne A. Williams. She is
currently a student at Garrett Evangelical and will connect the Youth's teambuilding activities to
make sure they are more God centered. She is hosting a Youth Bible Study entitled "Zero to 66", an
explorative and Hip-Hop collaborative experience. She is a welcomed addition to the team and we
cannot wait to see where God leads her to take the Youth in 2015.
The Youth attended several Summits during the year: one held at Whitney M. Young High School
aimed at bridging partnerships between the government and schools and, a Youth Summit in the
City, held at St. Mark
United Methodist
Church in
November. Wesley
UMC had the
second highest
attendance at the
Summit, only
behind Faith UMC.
As a part of the
Northern Illinois'
Conference Urban
Strategy, this Summit was held to empower the youth to be an agent for change in the community.
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17 Reasons to Celebrate our 2014 Ministry!
 30 New Members joined in 2014!
 A Youth Pastor! The Reverend Jozlynne Williams
 $20,000 profit from the spring Jazz Luncheon! Thank you, planning
committee!
 $3,000 in Scholarship money presented to Wesley college students
 A great Spring Revival with Pastor Marvin E. Wiley, Rock of Ages Baptist
Church
 A great Fall Revival with Pastor Reginald Williams, Jr., First Baptist Church of
University Park
 300 people attended our Taste of Wesley evangelism event
 Provided 100 youth with book bags during our Celebration of Education Block
Party
 75 Children had a great time at our Hallelujah Party in October
 100 families received Thanksgiving baskets during the Thanksgiving holiday
 250 people attended our Homecoming Weekend, where The Antioch Baptist
Church of St. Louis, Missouri, blessed our hearts with their Puppet Ministry
and Liturgical Dancers. Over 100 people attended the Puppet Concert! And
Pastor Benson preached us happy at the Sunday service
 170 attended our The Church Has Left the Building outdoor worship service
 20 faithful Sanctuary Choir members who lead us in worship every Sunday
 4 Great Musicians and 1 Musical Director that provide wonderful music every
Sunday
 2 wonderful support staff, Sis. Kai Gilmore and Bro. Roosevelt Wiley, who
take care of the administrative and maintenance needs of the church
 $24,001 paid in Apportionments this year!
 $1,000 raised to help PRHeSS build a medical clinic in Sierra Leone
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Wesley United Methodist Church | 201 E. 95 Street, Chicago, IL 60619 | Ph: 773.821.6240 | Fx: 773.821.4016
E: [email protected] | W: www.wesley-chicago.org
Rev. Charles A. Woolery, Sr., Pastor
Bishop Sally Dyck
District Superintendent15
Rev. Dr. Tracy S. Malone
February, 2015
July
January
11th
24th
Member Re-Dedication Service
NIC CSD Leadership Training*
February
7th
18th
21st
22nd
Leadership Training
Ash Wednesday Service*
New Member Class
Black History Program
10th-12th
11th
18th
20th-24th
26th
August
16th
30th
March
st
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29th
30th
March Madness ‘$’ Management
Palm Sunday
Holy Week Begins
Good Friday
Easter Egg Hunt*
Easter Sunday Service/Program
May
2nd
10th
17th
24th
31st
3rd Annual Jazz Luncheon*
Mother’s Day Breakfast/Service
Mem’ship Care Fellowship Dinner
Memorial Day Service
Youth Sunday
June
1st - 3rd
14th-16th
20th
21st
Spring Revival (Rev. Marvin Wiley)
NIC Annual Conference*
Spiritual Gifts Workshop
Father’s Day Breakfast/Service
Scholarship Sunday
Youth Sunday
September
12th
19th-20th
26th-27th
Planned Giving Workshop
UMW Weekend Programs
Homecoming Weekend
October
April
3rd
4th
5th
Youth Retreat*
Leadership Training
Taste of Wesley
Vacation Bible School
Annual Church Picnic*
All Month
3rd & 10th
4th
11th
18th
31st
Apportionment Education Month
Lay Academy*
World Communion Sunday
UM Men’s Day Service
Laity Sunday / BMCR Banquet*
Hallelujah Party
November
All Month Stewardship Commitment Month
15th
New Member Reception
nd
22
Doves Annual Bazaar
rd
23
Thanksgiving Meal Distribution
th
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Youth Sunday
December
19th
20th
20th
31st
Christmas Concert
Annual Angel Tree Toy Drive
Annual Christmas Program
Watch Night Service*
Asterisks * = program may be held at another church/location.
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Schedule is subject to change.