We've had an incredible start to the semester, with lots of opportunities to connect with students new to William & Mary (or simply new to Wesley!) who are searching for a place of belonging and acceptance. At this point in time, we've had three large group meetings with our Sunday Night program - S'mores with S'methodists, a 'soul collage' night, and a reflection on hope and change led by Wesley alumnus Dr. SG Frary. We have had mutiple fellowship events, from music Bingo to Jackbox games to Croquet & Crumpets. We've launched both a small group book study and a freshmen Bible study. Our discussions in worship are focusing on doubts and questions that participants shared in the first week. Our service chair did an incredible job with our first service trip to the Humane Society and is hard at work preparing for our upcoming fall break trip.

I am extremely grateful for our student leadership team - Joslyn Colglazier, Emma Kaufman-Horner, Bryson Hetzel, Turner Lott, Shenan Lewis, and Kailey Thom - for all of the amazing work they've done to embody radical hospitality to new and returning students alike, ensuring that they know they are beloved children of God and are invited into full participation, just as they are. 

Parker Palmer has this beautiful quote where he reflects on a phrase from theologian Nelle Morton - "I now understand what Nelle Morton meant when she said that one of the great tasks in our time is to "hear people to speech." Behind their fearful silence, our students want to find their voices, speak their voices, have their voices heard. A good teacher is one who can listen to those voices even before they are spoken - so that someday they can speak with truth and confidence." 

Even just a few weeks into the semester, I have numerous stories of how people are finding their voices, speaking with truth and confidence, and having their voices heard within the Wesley Foundation. I invite you to join me in prayer for the collective work of the board, the student leadership and the staff as we continue to "hear people to speech." And feel free to call or drop by or email me if you want to hear more of those stories!

You're invited - we would love to see you at our homecoming tailgate! Feel free to drop by Wesley anytime between 1 and 3pm on Saturday, October 24th. Rev. Braxton Allport and Rev. David Hindman will both be there! We will have a brief worship program and time of storytelling from different eras of Wesley, which will begin at 1:30pm. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to reach out to Rev. Paige Holaday at paigeholaday@vaumc.org. 

Hi! My name is Paige, and I'm delighted to be the new campus minister at the Wesley Foundation at William & Mary. I have seven years of previous campus ministry experience in Auburn, AL and in Miami, FL and am so excited to make my home in Williamsburg, VA. We've been busy since moving here in July and getting the semester started - our student leaders are incredible, and it's been a gift to meet so many students over the past several weeks. With a month of school under our belts, we're starting to find a rhythm - our co-presidents have done a great job of finding speakers for Sunday night program and so many church members and community partners have stepped up to make dinner. Our first service event of the semester had such amazing turnout, worship has been engaging with meaningful, student-posed questions, small group conversation has been deeply life-giving, and our freshman Bible study is going strong as several freshmen come together each week to dive into James! I am excited to see what the rest of the semester holds for us. I've had the opportunity to meet several alumni already, and if we haven't met, I would love to meet you at homecoming or visit you if you're local-ish. Please feel free to call or text me at 407-404-3109 to share your stories about Wesley and why you love it!

If you have any contact info (phone number, physical address, best email address) that has changed in the past couple of years, we'd greatly appreciate you taking 30 seconds to update that info with the link below!

We are grateful for all of the ways you support Wesley - with your time, your talent, your gifts, your presence, your witness, and - for so many of you - your prayers. If you would like to make a financial gift, you can do so through the link below or by mailing a check to 526 Jamestown Rd, Williamsburg, VA, 23185. The ministry we do is truly only possible through & with your support.