The Wesley Foundation at UVA

There is a place for you at Wesley! Whether you are a brand new first year student, returning to Grounds with a year or two under your belt, transferring in this semester, or entering graduate studies, Wesley has a place for you!

Come check us out at one of our kick off events within the first few weeks of class:

• Thursday, 8/28 at 6pm — First Thursday Night Kick-off Picnic - Free food and a great way to meet people and find out all about what happens at Wesley!
• Sunday, 8/31 – 11am Worship at Wesley Memorial Church and 6pm Worship with Communion at the Wesley Foundation.  Sunday night worship is informal - come casual, even dressed for the gym.
• Tuesday 9/2 at 12:15pm—Lunch at the PAV. Grab your food and meet us in the back room.
• Thursday 9/4 at 6pm — Thursday night dinner & forum
• Sunday 9/7 – 11am and 6pm Worship (Welcome Picnic on the church lawn after 11am worship)
• Wednesday 9/17 at 5pm—Free, drop-in Yoga Class

To keep up to date on last minute changes and additions to the schedule, sign up for our weekly emails by contacting our campus minister, Deborah: deborah AT wesleyuva.org

In addition to worship services, fellowship meals and activities, intramurals, studies and small groups, and service projects, we invite you to come visit the Wesley Foundation building. It’s open each day until late night and you are welcome here! Come spend a few minutes in quiet reflection and prayer in the Chapel or settle in for a few hours of studying in our “study camp” upstairs. Chill out in front of the TV in the game room or nap on one of the couches there or in the living room. You can even find leftovers from Thursday nights in the kitchen – or, when you’re tired of the hot pot, come over to bake and cook here! Stop by the office to visit and talk with our campus minister. This is a place for you and we can’t wait to welcome you!

Peace,

Rev. Deborah Lewis

Campus Minister & Director

The Wesley Foundation at UVA and the William & Mary Wesley Foundation are making a pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine in January 2009. We are organizing the trip through The Society for Biblical Studies (www.sbsedu.org), an educational travel organization. This is our second trip together to the Holy Land and we anticipate visits to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Capernaum, Jericho, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Qumran, the Sea of Galilee, and more. The trip combines spiritual pilgrimage, education about the current context, and mission for a unique, once in a lifetime opportunity.

We will walk where Jesus walked, experience unforgettable worship, and meet with a broad range of Palestinians and Israelis to learn more about the complexities of the situation there. We will also volunteer for two days, probably planting olive trees at a Palestinian farm surrounded by three illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank. Olive trees take several years to mature so their planting is an expression of hope. There will also be two 3-day extensions to the trip available, one to Mt. Sinai in Egypt and the other to Petra in Jordan.

Our itinerary will be finalized closer to our departure date but the basic trip is available on the SBS web site. In addition to what is on the itinerary, we are investigating the possibility of visiting both a Palestinian refugee camp and a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank.

Our travel dates are January 2- 12 (January 12-15 for the extensions). Please note that the cost of the trip is based on flying from JFK in NYC. If there is sufficient interest we may arrange group travel from Dulles to JFK but that is till to be determined. (Travel to the New York airport is in addition to the basic trip cost listed on the web site.)

Registration forms are on the SBS site. Be sure to read the registration information — including payment details — carefully.

We are anticipating a cost of approximately $2300/person for the basic trip (the cost for the extensions will be approximately $500 each). The Wesley Foundation at UVA is offering partial scholarships to the first 8 students who sign up for the trip by submitting paperwork and the deposit. The deadline to register for this trip is September 28, 2008.

In addition to our student travelers, we have a limited number of spots available for our alumni and Charlottesville District friends. Any trip to the Holy Land is a wonderful opportunity for study and reflection. This trip is a fantastic opportunity to learn and explore with a great group of students from our Wesley Foundations. Basic trip cost for non-student friends is $2500. If you are interested in making the pilgrimage with us, please contact the Rev. Deborah Lewis for more information: deborah AT wesleyuva.org or 434-977-6500.

Students: We are holding an interest meeting Thursday, September 4th, at 8pm (right after forum finishes up) in the Wesley Foundation living room.