Fall 2011
Wesley@CMU Board
Les Keepper
Chair
Linda Darrow
Vice Chair
Cindy Hales
Development
Bill Zehnder
Treasurer
Kaitlyn Buzalski
Student President
Emily Whittier
Student Treasurer
Curt Jensen
Charlie Farnum
Director
Sherry Anderson
Personnel
Creating Christian Community for CMU Students
Home for Homecoming: Wesley @ CMU to Host Open House
With the Leadership Residence at Wesley
finally complete, a new phase in the life
of Wesley @ CMU has begun. Currently, the house is full with eight students residents, four of which also work
at Wesley. These eight students came
with varying ideas, backgrounds, and
personalities, but have all found a home
in the new residence. The goal of these
students is to form an intentional Christian community with regular practice of
spiritual disciplines and planned activities. The students eat dinner together,
worship together, and have already
grown closer since the start of the semester. The Leadership Residence and the
individuals who live there have brought a
new life to Wesley and the weekly events
that they attend. We want all of our alum
to be able to experience the „new‟ Wesley
as well. If you would like to see it firsthand, please stop by our open house the
weekend of CMU‟s homecoming.
WHEN: October 15-16
WHERE: 1400 S. Washington, at the
Center and the Leadership Residence
WHO: Wesley alum, friends, and family
WHAT: An open house at the new Leadership Residence, a post-game party at
the Center, a special worship service Sunday at 11:00, and a dinner Sunday night
at 6:00
We hope that you‟ll join us to see all of
the changes in Wesley since you were a
student here!
David Hills
District Superintendent
Naomi Garcia
Coach Consultant
Lynn Pier-Fitzgerald
Board of Higher Ed
Jonathan Keaton
Bishop
New Topic for Wednesday Night Bible Study
Inside this issue:
Life in the
Leadership Residence
Canoeing & Camping
Helping Students Find
a Family that Lasts
for Decades
Buy a Brick for
Wesley!
At the start of each semester, Wesley‟s
Director, Charlie Farnum, tries to find out
from the students what they would like to
talk about in Wednesday evening Bible
Study for the next few months. This
year, Charlie introduced the idea of having a “Bible study about the Bible”. The
students thought, “Isn‟t every Bible study
about the Bible?” The answer is yes, but
this is a different way to approach an old
subject. In this type of Bible study, the
students would get an overview of the
entire book in one semester. Covering
the entire bible this quickly allows indi-
viduals to piece together the stories that
they‟ve heard through the years, line
events up sequentially, and put the big
picture together. The students voted to
make this the topic for the semester.
Thus far, they‟ve covered Genesis
through Joshua and have learned some
hand motions to help them remember the
most important stories. The students have
also had time to discuss how these stories
relate to life today, including how one
can listen to God‟s calling. Thus far, this
study has been very informative and interesting for all those involved.
Page 2
The Wesley Connexion
Abbie Parker—Life in the Leadership Residence
Abbie Parker is a sophomore in the education program, and a resident and employee
at Wesley. We asked her to give us a
sneak peek at life in the Leadership Residence, and here‟s what she had to say:
“Welcome back to Wesley! There have
been many changes going on around
Wesley in the last few months, including
the completion of the Leadership Residence. This Residence is an eight bedroom, four bathroom house with a kitchen,
dining area, laundry room, and living
room. The residents living in the house
have a covenant that they‟ve created between themselves and Charlie. This covenant is a spiritual covenant as well as a
house rules covenant. Some of the spiritual rules that are in place at the Leadership House include a promise to fast at
least one meal a week, participate in a devotional every night, have a community
meal once a week, and attend a church
service at Wesley once a week. We also
have a prayer board up in the house that
we are encouraged to write on, and read so
that we can be praying for others‟ needs as
well. Living in the Leadership Residence
has really been an amazing experience so
far. Getting to know the people who live
here, and focusing more on God on a daily
basis are just a few changes that the Residence has brought to my life. I‟m really
looking forward to the rest of the year at
Wesley.”
Annual Canoeing and Camping Trip a Success
Each fall a group of Wesley students take a weekend to canoe the
Chippewa River, and camp at Deerfield Park in Mount Pleasant.
This year eight students participated in the trip, which was September 9-10. The students had fun „roughing it‟, and getting a
chance to take a vacation from the hustle and bustle of college
life. Around the campfire, they played 20 questions, learned the
story of Gideon, and got to know each other a little better. With
only one canoe capsizing the entire trip, the adventure was
deemed a success. Overall, the weekend was a great chance to
relax, regroup, and refocus on God. A good time was had by all.
Director’s Corner
I love being a Wesley director. We are all
about creating Christian community—
helping unconnected individuals come
together as the body of Christ.
In August I had the privilege of visiting
the home of Bob Kleinhans, a 1975 CMU
Wesley alum. Bob has been gathering
friends of Wesley at his home for years
and I saw one fruit of Wesley‟s work—
people gathering together as good friends,
decades after their Wesley experience.
Recently, current students shared examples of God‟s grace for which they were
thankful. After hearing many others thank
God for the love they had received from
their families, one student said “I never
received love like that from my parents—
but I‟m thankful that I finally found a
family, here at Wesley.”
The work continues.
Page 3
The Wesley Connexion
Stay
Connected
Have alumni
news to share?
Send us an email
and mark it “for
newsletter”!
We‟re always
looking for more
“I am.” stories—
tell us why YOU
are Wesley!
Include a good
photo and put it
in a format
similar to our
back cover and
you may find
yourself in a
newsletter or on
our website!
Buy a Brick—Support Wesley!
The Leadership Residence is complete and we
owe a great deal of thanks to our generous donors for helping us make it a reality! However,
we still need your help.
There is a substantial balance yet to be paid on
the mortgage, and any donations toward reducing this debt would be greatly appreciated.
You can help by ordering a brick which will be
placed in a patio outside the Residence. Bricks
will be engraved with the text of your choice
(up to 14 characters per line, including spaces.)
Visit http://CMU.MiWesley.org/buyabrick to
order, or fill out the form below and return to:
The Wesley Foundation at Central Michigan University
Director Charles Farnum
[email protected]
1400 S Washington Ave
989-545-1761
Mt Pleasant, MI 48858
______________________
____________________
Name
Phone
______________________
____________________
Address
Email
______________________
City, State, Zip
 I would like to give $100 and order a 4”x8” brick with 3 lines of text.
 I would like to give $250 and order an 8”x8” brick with 6 lines of text.
I have written my text on the grid below, one character per box.
No more than 14 characters per line, including spaces.
 I have enclosed my check made out to Wesley@CMU.
 I will pay later—please bill me.
 Please send me information on how I can support Wesley as a regular donor.
Text for
my brick
$250—3
more lines
October 15-16—Leadership Residence Open House
October 7-8—Weekend Retreat in Alma
October 2—Mt. Pleasant Area CROP Walk
September 24—Highway Clean-Up Project on M-20
Other Upcoming Events at Wesley
Friday: 7:30 Movie Night
Thursday: 7:30 Movie Night
Wednesday: 7:00 Free Kickboxing Class;
9:00 Worship and Bible Study
Tuesday: 7:00 Free Zumba Class
Monday: 7:00 Free Pilates Class
Sunday: 11:00 RETHINK Service; 6:00 Free Student Dinner
These are a few of the events that take place at Wesley on a
weekly basis:
A Week In The Life Of Wesley
Creating Christian Community
1400 S Washington
Mount Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone: 989-545-1761
E-mail: [email protected]
Creating Christian Community
for CMU Students.