Church Council

The members of Little Utica, Warners and our community mourned when the news came that our Pastor, friend and trusted spiritual leader had passed. Our Lord and Savior called Wade home on Saturday October 20, 2012. We share the pain of his family in having to say good-bye. A service of Christian Burial was held at the Liverpool First United Methodist Church on Friday October 26, 2012 at 1 pm.  

Wade's life was celebrated and prayers were given by four of his best friends and clergy colleagues. You knew from listening to his peers that they revered and respected him - he was the real McCoy. Bishop Webb and Rev. Barrow gave inspiring messages of faith to all in attendance. His loving wife Bonnie and his children, grandchildren, brother and extended family as well as hundreds of friends and members of Warners, Little Utica and those from churches he has served over the years surrounded Wade. He was laid to rest on a beautiful hillside at Greenlawn Cemetery in Warners, NY.

Wade was not only our pastor but he was a trusted friend and men- tor to all. Working with him (and with Bonnie behind the scenes) on church related business was a true pleasure. His positive, calm and focused demeanor lent us confidence that our mission to grow the church was a certainty. He possessed so many of what we call Spiritual Gifts. When God called him to ministry, He surely chose the right man. Wade has been a true servant of God, faithful to the Gospel and a willing and eager teacher to share all he knew. He was a true evangelist, spreading his own Christian faith story to all who would listen and encouraged us to do the same. He had the gift of discernment and would teach anyone willing to take the time how to discern God's will. His creative ability shined when he was working on any church project. Wade had true heart and was on fire for Jesus....oh how we miss him already.

We have so many fond memories of Wade. He had a genuine enthusiasm about everything - about life in general! He expressed so much joy at the simplest things, especially the weather. Being from Central NY, our joy of an impending snowstorm was gone when we became adults, but Wade not only loved the snow, he thought it was a gift from God and even prayed for it!

Everything with Wade was a new challenge, a new adventure. Don recalls that on the ride to an off- site meeting, such as the Carousel Faith Initiative (a mission to bring a new Methodist church plant to Carousel Mall/Destiny USA), Wade would get very excited and would pepper him with questions. He was always looking for ways to approach and analyze new ideas and to know what we thought. During these offsite meetings, he would listen intently; always taking notes and would have a million more questions on the trip back. Wade was always willing to look at the other side and every angle of an issue. He would then discern the meaning and use that information, sharing what was learned during meetings and in his sermons. Wade was very concerned about time - He tried to fit 28 hours into each 24 hour day, making the most of it.  He knew time was a concern for all of us, that the requirements of work and family consumed so much of our daily life, but he always encouraged us to spend our quiet time in prayer and to make the best use of our time in the work of the church.

Wade's participation in Don's bible class was always a treat. Wade was almost always given the lesson ahead of time, but if Don forgot to send it, Wade would chide him about it. He was so interested in other people's take on how the scriptures would be discussed. We both remember how skillful Wade was at mentoring. His approach was always with pastoral care and never critical. He was willing to help with teaching but so eager to learn another way from us. We benefitted greatly from his example, by his words and actions.

Wade was a big proponent of using hospitality in meetings and was in favor of our church someday adopting the hospitality concept prior to worship services. He enjoyed breaking bread together.  Many of us will forever remember having to prepare a healthy snack or meal for Wade; he had such willpower when it came to his diet! We enjoyed teasing him about his healthy eating, especially at our monthly Men's breakfast meetings. We would hand him his bowl of oatmeal, but he would look so longingly at our plates full of scrambled eggs, bacon and sausage. We looked forward to our Lenten suppers when Bonnie would bring a healthy dish that was new to us, but so delicious.

Even if you didn't know Wade and you visited our church, you always knew who the pastor was. He would wear his jacket and for meetings, always had his bible in hand. Even community members attending a public function would somehow know he was our pastor without being introduced. He was somewhat surprised by this and remarked recently that he wondered how people would know.  We knew.

Wade had so many interests including books and music. Many have heard the story of how the Warners community had their neighborhood lawn sale where Bonnie had donated several books for the Warners church to sell. As he always did, Wade spent considerable time going through all of the books he wanted to buy when Bonnie noticed that he was buying back several of the books she had just donated! These are just samples of the great memories we have.

Our feelings for Wade run deep, how do we honor such a man? Well, we keep going; building and working to expand the Kingdom and spread the Good News, just as he inspired us to do. As the next few weeks and months pass, we will all be able to reflect on what he taught us and build on our own Spiritual gifts that he so wanted us to get in touch with.

Prayers for Bonnie, tears for Wade, fellowship for those of us left behind to carry on his good works.

Don Day & Doug MacEwen