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Westminster World
| August 2012
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Extravagant Hospitality
 Most of us have had the experience ... participating in an event, expecting one thing and in the end it turning out to be so much more. To me the Vegan Potluck at Westminster is one such an experience! In the past year I have lost about 70lbs, not because I became a vegan, but because of a change in the way I think about food. Though not the only factor that helped me to lose weight, Westminster Presbyterian Church and the vegan potluck played a tremendous role in helping me to put food in perspective in my life. Through the meals, fellowship, and discussions I was encouraged to start thinking about food in a different way and to explore the impact it has on our lives, community, world, and yes, even our spirituality. The reality is that the vegan meal has not only impacted my life but also that of so many others. It started out with about 4 to 6 Westminster members meeting in the Meeting Place to its current venue in Mackey Hall which includes members, visitors from the community and neighboring churches, as well as about 50 students from The College of Wooster who all attend these meals for different reasons.
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Children's Education
Calling all kids! Children's Sunday School will resume on Sept. 9. New class for preschoolers to begin as well! Stay tuned.
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Due Date For September Westminster World
August 27
For contributions
please contact
Sue Brown
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 The reality is that very few of the regulars at the Vegan Meal are actually vegan and we attend the meals for different reasons; to experience the fellowship, love and care of a community of faith; in support of environmental justice, reducing our carbon footprint by eating less meat; to eat a good home-cooked meal and take a break from the campus food services; to learn new recipes and explore new ways of cooking; and to improve our diets and become more aware of what we eat. For me, as your pastor, there is also a another reason I embrace the Vegan Potluck. As a faith community that "experiences the power of the invitational God in our passion for justice, ... our embrace of community, ... our shared meals, our deepest longings, ... and in our religious experience of God as the compassionate, invitational Spirit at the heart of all life, inviting us everywhere and always to abundant life [1]" there are more reasons we embrace our monthly vegan meals. To me the vegan meals are about spirituality, maybe not in the commonly understood sense of the word as it relates to the inner life of people of faith reading Scripture, praying, reflection, and meditation, but in a broader sense as it relates to the whole of our lives. How do we lead our lives? What are we energized by? What are our commitments? What do we eat and who do we eat with? Another aspect of the vegan meals that I want to highlight is that it is about extravagant hospitality. Being on the campus of The College of Wooster there are many students from different beliefs and convictions and cultures from all over the world. As the United States is changing the same is also increasingly true for the bigger Wooster and Wayne County communities. To me the vegan potluck provides an opportunity by a Christian community for people to cease to be strangers. The reality is that to those to whom hospitality has been shown across cultural and religious lines may be no less different for it in their beliefs and practices, but they will cease to be strangers. Instead they will and are through the vegan potluck becoming people among us [2]!  As a Christian Community of faith we need to realize that by practicing extravagant hospitality we share our "religious experience of God as the compassionate, invitational Spirit at the heart of all life, inviting us everywhere and always to abundant life [1] and as Westminster Presbyterian Church we are moving beyond self-preservation in our concern and compassion for others and the world.
It is for all these reasons that I am inviting you to join me and others on Tuesday night, August the 15th at 7:00pm to imagine how we will host the vegan potlucks this coming year at Westminster. The meeting will be in the Lounge of the Westminster Church House and all are welcome to join in this discussion, even if you have never been to a vegan meal yourself.
If you ask me, its sounds like Westminster is a growing church!
[1] Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Bret Hesla, 2005: "Worship in the Spirit of Jesus: Theology, liturgy and songs without Violence". The Pilgrim Press: Cleveland, Ohio [2] Gustav Niebuhr, 2008. "Beyond Tolerance. How People Across America Are Building Bridges Between Faiths." Penguin Books: New York |
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Westminster Presbyterian Church is a safe place for all people
to worship regardless of race, creed, age, cultural background
or sexual orientation.
Childcare is provided during worship
 Sunday, August 5 at 10:00 am -
18th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Pastor Dries will be preaching and communion will be celebrated. As Ken Shafer will be on vacation, Jim Collier will accompany us on the organ and we will be led in musical meditations by tenor Matt Hill and violist Noah Dresser. Our service of communion will focus on the life and teachings of Jesus. In the liturgy we will avoid atonement language, imagery, and ritual by rejecting the sacred violence of atonement and not use images such as "Lamb," "blood shed for you," "died for your sins," and "personal savior."
 Sunday, August 12 at 10:00 am -
19th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Don't miss this Sunday as we will gather in worship to sing those popular hymns that many feel we do not sing often enough. Pastor Dries will share a meditation and following worship we will join in some rubber-duckie fun and help Viola Startzman Free Clinic while doing it!
 Sunday, August 19 at 10:00 am-
20th Sunday in Ordinary Time
Pastor Dries will have a meditation relating to our children and youth as they embark on a new school year. We will have a "blessing of the backpacks" ceremony marking the beginning of a new school year, symbolizing the importance of schooling, and reminding us
that we live our whole lives before God and community. Our children and youth will also participate in the worship through the reading of liturgy and their musical offerings.
 Sunday, August 26 at 10:45 am -
21st Sunday in Ordinary Time
Pastor Dries will be preaching as we welcome the first-year and returning College of Wooster students at Westminster. We will have a liturgy of "Welcome" and our liturgist will be Lauren Fleming, a regular attendee who will be a junior at The College of Wooster this coming year.
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Local Missions
Ready for some summer fun? Interested in supporting the Viola Startzman Free Clinic?
 Your Westminster Mission Committee invites you and your friends to the first ever....
What: Rubber Duck Races and Photo Portraits Fundraising Event!
When: After church on Sunday, August 12
Where: On the patio, we will hold a double-elimination duck-racing tournament using "rain gutters" and straws!
How: We have an amazing selection of 100 rubber duckies from which to choose. A $5 donation includes race participation AND duck ownership! Prizes will be awarded to the top winners. Extra ducks for future gift-giving will be on sale - 2 for a $1.00!
Have your picture taken! 
In Mackey Hall, our resident photographer/ artist Dick Beery will be taking portrait photos in the groupings and costuming of your choice for a $5 donation per photo! Bring your own outfits or choose from our "collection!" Join us for some great laughs for a good cause! A complimentary ice cream treat will be served.
The People's Garden of Wooster
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Picture from the Akron Beacon Journal
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One of Westminster's environmental projects is our support
of the Wooster Community Garden under the leadership of Clarence Stutzman, founder, and member of Oak Grove Mennonite Church. For the past two years Pastor Dries has served on the board of the People's Garden, a community non-profit organization to provide fresh produce to individuals, through a share of the garden harvest and through donations to local food programs. In partnership with the Ohio Department of Jobs & Family Services, the People's Garden also provides skills to improve the lives of the homeless and the unemployed. The beginning of this year the People's Garden was very fortunate to gain the experience of Joe Kovach, a scientist atThe Ohio State University's Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, on its board. Joe has been growing fruits and vegetables on an abandoned parking lot to test the best methods on what seems like an inhospitable site. He's also growing the same plants in gardens created from an adjacent lawn so he can compare the parking lot methods to more conventional conditions. Read more about Joe's research on how to grow food on old asphalt lots. |
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National Mission
Hartville Migrant Ministry
 Thank you to all who volunteered (Sandy Cleary, Beth, Endalkachew, and Alazar Coetzee; Jean Brazee, Cheryl Weiss, and Jim and Janelle Collier) this summer at the Hartville Migrant Ministries afternoon children's program for children ages 5 to 12 while parents are working in the fields. This year, the program is at Marlboro Elementary School, where the children also have morning education classes. Our time with the children was a lot of fun.
On the19th we volunteers assisted children making "inventions," such as sand-clay, soap, and can-implosion devices. On the 25th, we helped with activities related to an upcoming trip to the Cleveland Aquarium. Being able to interact with these great children is a gift, and our support of this strong afternoon program is much-appreciated.
A Note to Westminster from Hartville Migrant Ministry:
The Hartville Migrant Ministry would to thank you for your generosity and support to "Our Children's Program." This year the program has been a great success, thanks to organizations such as yours for making the program possible.
Penelope Griffin
The Hartville Migrant Council
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International Mission
Disaster Relief- School Kits
Back to school sales are beginning, so now is a perfect time for purchasing kit components. Our greatest needs are: new number-2 pencils (each kit requires 6), 70-page spiral notebooks, 24-count crayons, and 12-inch rulers. If you prefer to have someone else shop for you, cash contributions are welcome.
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Farewell Picnic for the Ohio Light Opera
Thursday, August 9, 5:15 - 6:45 pm
Each summer the Ohio Light Opera brightens our fair community with its joie de vivre and the considerable artistic talents of its members. This June Westminster showed its "extravagant hospitality" by inviting the orchestra, cast, and crew to join us for a "welcome picnic" which was much appreciated by all. Consequently, we have been especially blessed to welcome eight OLO members to share their music with us during worship this summer.
On Thursday, August 9 from 5:15 - 6:45 (between shows), we will once again host a picnic for OLO; this time to thank them for all they add to our community and to wish them a fond farewell. We need your help! Please sign up by following this link or contact Beth Coetzee at bcoetzee@wooster.edu or 330-317-9914 if you can bring a dessert to the church office the day of the event and contribute a triple batch of pasta salad. If you can help with setup and serving or clean up, give a call and come on down! Join in on the fun that comes from working together to spread the joy of hospitality.
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Thank you from Alazar Coetzee
 This past summer Westminster sponsored Alazar Coetzee to participate in the first Multicultural Youth Conference of the Synod of the Covenant at Kirkmont Conference Center, Zanesfield, OH. This was the first conference of its type to be held outside the state of Texas at the Mo-Ranch Presbyterian Conference Center, where a similar event has been held for over 20 years.
There were about 40 attendees at the conference with the theme "Wade in the Water - God Gonna Trouble the Water" , based on John 5:4. The keynote speakers were Rev. Lindsey Anderson (from Detroit) and Dr. Rev. Claudio Carvalhaes. 
Alazar wrote: "Dear Westminster, I want to thank you for sponsoring me to attend MCYC this past summer. I had a great time there and learned a lot about the song 'Wade In the Water'. I also met a lot of new friends and I hope to go again next year. Thank you!"
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Conversation With Rev. Mieke Vandersall
Mieke is an alumni of The College of Wooster and former member and ordained elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church.
 Rev. Mieke Vandersall (pronounced "Meeka") is a clergywoman and director of Presbyterian Welcome, an organization working to support lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender Christians in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Mieke says she "comes to this work as a necessity-so that I can serve God with my whole heart and that others with whom I have the privilege of serving can also do so with their own heart." Re-posted from A Time to Embrace
How has your personal journey strengthened or challenged your faith?
My faith journey can't be separated from my sexual orientation. When I began to admit to my calling as a Minister of Word and Sacrament it was about the same time that I knew that I was a lesbian-and that I couldn't hide this reality. This was around the same time that Amendment B, which prevented openly lesbian, bisexual, gay and transgender individuals from serving a congregation, was put into in the church's Constitution. I got the message loud and clear that these two pieces of myself were a challenge to each other. Through it all my faith has been strengthened. I know so clearly that God has been steadfast and gives me the strength to get through all trials put before me. God has given me the strength to believe enough in myself that I have been able to get through great trials.
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For more information please contact:
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