Labor Day Retreat 2010

We are kicking off another school year with our annual retreat!!!

The Details…
when:
labor day weekend, september 3-6, 2010

who:
all college students (both undergrad and graduate)

what:
a weekend of fun, spiritual renewal, fellowship … not to mention time at the beach!

where:
San Diego, California (did I mention the beach?)

why:
it’s just too good to pass up…

the cost:
only $25! Not bad, eh?

What to Expect…
lodging…
We’ll be staying on the grounds of Foothills United Methodist Church in the San Diego, California area. Plan to sleep on the floor!

worship & discussion…
Saturday evening we’ll have a short devotion time, and Sunday morning we’ll join with other campus ministry programs from ASU, UofA, and NAU for shared worship.

fellowship and fun…
On Saturday, we’ll have the afternoon to enjoy the surf, followed by a beach bbq. We’ll have more free-time on Sunday afternoon, with the option of a service project, more time at the beach, a visit to Sea World, and more.

what Wesley expects from you…
We want you to come and have a good time. But this isn’t just a cheap road trip to San Diego. We expect that you’ll participate in worship and discussions, abstain from substance use/abuse, and have a good attitude…. mostly, we expect you to have fun.

Stuff you’ll need…
• clothes (remember how nice and cool San Diego can be!)
• a sleeping bag & air mattress (if you want one)
• pillow
• toiletries (the church does have showers)
• towels (for beach & showering)
• swim suit and other beach stuff (sorry, no room for surf boards in the church van!)
• sunscreen, sunscreen, sunscreen.
• camera & other extras, but please try to pack light!
• money (in addition to the $25, you’ll need about 3 meals on the road, as well as money for dinner in San Diego on Sunday night. Sunday afternoon options – like Sea World – are also your responsibility. We’ll make sure here’s a free option available… like the beach.)

If you’re not going only because of the cost, please see Rob. We expect folks to pay if they can, but we want everyone to come.

You can RSVP on the Facebook Event Page

Shane Claiborne, October 9-10, 2010

We are very excited to announce that author, activist, and speaker, Shane Claiborne is coming to speak at an event hosted by Valley Wesley on Saturday October 9, 2010!

Tickets are $15 for regular tickets (before September 10) and $5 for college students.  All proceeds will go to support The Simple Way.

Tickets for the event can be purchased online below or in person from the Tempe First UMC church office.

From his website:

Shane writes and travels extensively speaking about peacemaking, social justice, and Jesus. He is featured in the DVD series “Another World Is Possible” and is the author of the several books including The Irresistible Revolution, Jesus for President, and Becoming the Answer to Our Prayers. Shane speaks over 100 times a year in a dozen or so countries and nearly every state in the US. Shane has given academic seminars at Vanderbilt University, Duke University Pepperdine University, Wheaton College, Princeton University, Goshen College and Harvard University. Shane also speaks at various denominational gatherings, festivals, and conferences around the globe. Shane’s work has been featured in everything from Fox News and the Wall Street Journal to CNN and National Public Radio.

Lean more about Shane at http://www.thesimpleway.org/shane/

Out of respect for the environment we are encouraging folks to walk, bike, take public transportation, or carpool to the event. If that is difficult for you to do we hope that you would be able to pick another day where you go without oil for a day or participate in an individual or group project that benefits the environment. This could be as simple as carpooling to work or school, switching to energy efficient lighting or planting a tree. If you want to do something a little more technical, but really fun, Shane even suggests “converting your car to run off used veggie oil (http://awip.us).”

Shane will also be preaching at Crossroads UMC in Phoenix on October 10 at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. There is no cost or tickets required.

http://www.crossroadsphx.com/

If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Rob Rynders at rob@valleywesley.com

2009-2010 Annual Report

We had another exciting year of ministry with students from ASU and other Phoenix valley colleges.  We continue to make disciples of Jesus Christ and have exciting plans for the future!  To view or download our latest annual report, please click here.

New Wesley Foundation Building and Residence Hall Proposal

During these past two and a half years serving as the campus minister at Valley Wesley, student involvement has grown significantly in our ministry.  A number of students attend worship each week, participate in small groups and bible study, in service opportunities and mission trips, and in a number of social activities.  Every day of the week you can find Wesley students in our student lounge studying, socializing, praying, or just taking a break from their day.  Much of this is programmed by myself and our student leadership team.  However, many of our programs have grown naturally or organically through students who have become part of our community of faith.  What I have witnessed year after year is that our students want to be in continual “intentional” community together.  They want to extend their Christian relationships beyond a worship service or bible study, they want to help encourage one another and hold each other accountable.  They want that same sense of belonging that they experience within the “programmed” elements of our ministry.  At the end of each year of ministry, various groups of Wesley students, who have become friends through our ministry, have decided to live together the next school year.

Imagine then, a facility that allows students to be in this “intentional community” beyond our programmed events.  Imagine a facility where students, not only live, but study, hold social events, participate in prayer and bible study, discussions, and service projects.  Imagine a facility where students live in a place dedicated an environment of learning, service, and spiritual formation.  Imagine a facility that encourages dialogue around issues of life and faith, offers leadership opportunities for students, and creates creative space for writing, art, poetry and music.  Imagine a student community drawn together around a covenant of loving God and loving neighbor.

On the night of February 10, 2010, Valley Wesley, Tempe First United Methodist Church, and a student housing corporation called Newchapter entered into an agreement to begin exploring the possibility of building a new Wesley Foundation building and student residence hall on the grounds of Tempe First UMC. This was an agreement that has been in the works since October, 2009. Around that time I was on the College Union website and heard an interview with some of the team from Newchapter and how they wanted to partner with campus ministries to build student housing, providing a place for intentional community and also to help provide an income stream to ministries. What made Newchapter unique was their business model. In most cases, if you want to build a building, you have to raise all the money up front and find the experts to help you build a facility you want. Well, Newchapter eliminates both of these issues. They bring the funding up-front, as well as the expertise in building and managing student housing. This was enough to send an e-mail to Newchapter and get more info. Before I knew it I was having multiple conversations with Ian Clark, their Director of Business Development. Soon we were forming a joint TFUMC and Wesley Foundation committee to explore a partnership with Newchapter. We worked on a number of drafts of a partnership agreement that would allow Newchapter to get to work. After being approved by various committees at all levels of the church the partnership was officially formed following approval by the TFUMC church conference.

A quick side note- Valley Wesley is NOT a ministry of Tempe First UMC, it is a ministry serving the Desert Southwest Annual Conference. TFUMC, however, has always hosted our facilities, including the Baker Center building which was built for The Wesley Foundation in the 1960′s. As the campus ministry declined over the years the Baker building began to be used for TFUMC programs. Wesley is currently housed in another building on the TFUMC campus. TFUMC is crucial Valley Wesley partner and has been a gracious host of our ministry for many years. The new Wesley facility would be built on TFUMC’s property, which ultimately means they must approve of this project along the way.

So what’s next? Members of the Newchapter team have already been meeting with city officials and potential architects. They will also be working on a conceptual design that will give us an idea of where and how big the building will be. That design will need to be approved by the building committee and the church before we will move into a preliminary design stage where it will be determined if the project is feasible or not for Wesley, TFUMC, and Newchapter. If feasibility is agreed upon we will begin the final design and then hopefully the construction stage! We don’t have a lot of details now but I hope to keep everyone updated through valleywesley.com and Facebook and Twitter updates.

One area of the project that is not covered by Newchapter upfront is furnishings and equipment for the facility. This is something Wesley will need to raise money for, a task we believe is very possible. We will cross that bridge though when we get to it.

I hope you will join us in our excitement for what is possible with this project. We don’t know 100% yet if we will actually build a building so keep us in prayer as we sort all of this out. We could not do this without your continued love and support!

Stay tuned….

Rob

Leadership Development

Much of our ministry is student-led.  Our “Wesley Council,” student leadership team, meets throughout the year to plan, organize and lead programs and activities.  If you have any comments or suggestions for the Council please contact our president, Charla Lindley at clindley@asu.edu.

Wednesday Night Worship

Wednesdays (during the fall and spring semesters) at 7 p.m.

Ross Hall at Tempe First United Methodist Church
215 E. University Drive, Tempe

Wesley’s Wednesday-night gathering has long been the centerpiece of our ministry.

We invite you to join us after dinner each Wednesday for our weekly worship service at 7 p.m. in Ross Hall at Tempe First United Methodist Church.