NSU Wesley Foundation
Elaine McDaniel, Inola sophomore, joins friends for a Wesley Wednesday lunch. Students may gather together to enjoy free meals provided by the Wesley Foundation. (Photo courtesy of Abigail Shaw via The Northeastern student newspaper).
9/12/18
The NSU Wesley Foundation is a campus ministry sponsored by the United Methodist Church. The foundation is supported by the Oklahoma Methodist Conference. In recent years, the budget has been slashed in ways that impact the campus ministry. Each year, the conference issues a budget pertaining to campus Wesley Foundations around the state. The budget amount has decreased more than half in the last few years alone. It is thought that by 2019 the budget will be entirely depleted. These budgets cuts are directly impacting NSU’s Wesley Foundation.
“The budget is based on merit,” said the Rev. Shana Dry, Tahlequah First United Methodist Church associate pastor and NSU Wesley Foundation director. “Merit for Wesley Foundations are built by attendance to worship nights, Bible study mission projects and service projects, but ultimately it is about discipleship.”
The NSU Wesley Foundation mission and service project of focus is the Oaks Indian Mission. Students bring books provided by Muskogee Schools to give to the children housed within the mission. The Wesley also provides hot dogs, ice cream sundaes and candy bingo to the children.
Funding has been cut to all but four universities offering a Wesley Foundation in the state of Oklahoma. Oklahoma State University, the University of Oklahoma and the University of Tulsa do not do Wednesday fellowship lunches for their students but still remain funded by the Oklahoma Methodist conference. The fourth has not yet been determined as it will be a university that is based upon recent results or historical trends.
“The NSU fellowship event is the Wednesday meal,” said Dry. “Our well-known Wednesday lunch is not considered one of our missions. The lunch is considered a fellowship. Our fellowship event is bigger than all funded universities. If the budget is based on recent results, then the Wesley will hopefully fall into the funded position.”
NSU Wesley Wednesdays provide 275 to 300 students with a meal on a weekly basis.
There are 12 districts in the Oklahoma Methodist Conference with 37 churches within the district. The NSU Wesley Foundation falls within the Green Country district.
“The love that we have seen from the district is amazing,” said Rev. Dry. “Since budget cuts, one person from the Tahlequah First United Methodist Church has called every church in the district inviting them to pay for a Wednesday lunch. As of now, all Wednesdays have been covered for the fall semester.”
Kappa Sigma Fraternity has paid for two meals this semester. The men set up the tables and chairs, swept, mopped and cleaned up after the meal. The fraternity assisted the Wesley in preparing 80 pounds of chicken nuggets with 68 boxes of macaroni and cheese. The meal served 328 students and in the second week they provided 310 students with a free meal, serving 82 pounds of pulled pork.
“We really wanted to show that Greek life here at NSU does great things for many people,” said Jeremiah Jones, Kappa Sigma president. “We ended up feeding around 500 people throughout our two weeks of sponsorship.”
In April of 2018, Kappa Sigma presented their first sorority madness basketball philanthropy. The event raised $800, all of which was donated to the Wesley foundation.
“We think very highly of the Wesley,” said Jones. “One of our alumni, Cody Robinson, helps out at the Wesley regularly. Shana and Cody are always willing to let us use the facility for fundraisers, socials and philanthropy events. They take care of us and we do our best to take care of them. We hope that Kappa Sigma has gotten other organizations on campus interested in putting money toward the Wesley.”
The Wesley has also become a source of food and community for many students on campus who do not have meal plans or are running low on meals.
“The lunches impact students because there is a place to feel welcomed and appreciated,” said Ethan Autry, Hulbert junior. “The generosity of the Wesley Foundation can be felt and it makes the students love going there every week.”
The Wesley is known for their mission statement of “open hearts, open minds, open doors.” Jayme Hayes, Tahlequah First United Methodist youth minister, has seen how willing the foundation is to both give and receive help when looking for funding and donations. The foundation accepts all donations so that they may continue to carry on their fellowship events with open arms.
“The Tahlequah United Methodist Church offers to cook meals, bake desserts and donate money,” said Hayes. “I am proud to say that my church family is a huge supporter of the Wesley.”
During the first week of classes, the Tahlequah Methodist Women made 1,400 cookies that were passed out over a two day span.
“The Wesley truly shows what love is,” said Hayes. “They do a meal once a week simply to show students love. There is no push to prove anything, just pure love and community.”
All are invited to join the Wesley in preparing meals, donating or by participating in weekly events. The cost to provide a Wesley Wednesday lunch is $300 to serve 275 to 300 students. Students may become involved with the Wesley Foundation by attending Monday table talks at 8 p.m. in the Wesley building, Wesley Wednesday lunch at 11 a.m. in the Wesley building and worship nights are at 6:30 p.m. every Wednesday at in the Webb Auditorium.
For more information regarding the NSU Wesley Foundation, call the Rev. Shana Dry at 918-822-1913.
Sara Ryals writes for The Northeastern, the student newspaper of Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Okla. This article is republished with permission from The Northeastern student newspaper.