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Weekly News Friday, May 3rd, 2013
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Worship
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May 5:
Sixth Sunday of Easter. The Gomes Choir will be with us to share their talents in worship.
Celebrating the Gifts of Women.
Pastor Dries preaching. |
Bed & Breakfast Request
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 Have a single bath but an extra bed?
Westminster received a request from parents of The College of Wooster class of 2013 valedictorian. Since more family members are coming than originally anticipated, they are in need of space during Graduation and would like to take advantage of our Bed & Breakfast program.The family is quite willing to share a bathroom. Please contact Linda Barbu at your earliest convenience if you are able to provide hospitality to this family on Sunday, May 12th to Monday, May 13th.
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May Needs from People to People
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 Food: Running very low on: dry cereal, complete pancake mix, syrup, oatmeal, canned fruit, pork and beans, peanut butter, spaghetti, and spaghetti sauce.
Personal Items: paper towels, toilet paper, deodorant, laundry soap, and dish soap.
Clothing: If you can, please save your ADULT winter clothing until October. They will take children's because it is used for back to school clothes in August. Carly has the list of children's sizes needed if you are interested.
Household Items: These items are in very short supply: queen and king sheet sets, toasters, coffee pots, pots and pans, large skillets, bath towels, and silverware.
Toys/Gift Items: Little Tikes, Playskool, and Fisher-Price toys that are in great shape are items that work well for the December Toy Project. Currently they need gifts for teen boys, and children ages 6-11. Suggestions are: sports bags, shaving kits, sleep pants and slippers, room decor items, MP3 players, clock radios, wallets, teen books, Lego sets, Hot Wheel toys, K-nex, and Star Wars items.
Volunteers Needed: They are currently looking for volunteers to work as summer substitutes in their clothing room, on an "as needed" basis. If you are interested, please call Laura Groves at 330-262-1662 ext. 213. Other available opportunities can be found at www.ptpm.net. |
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SPRING ACADEMY OF RELIGION EXAMINES FAILING U.S. PRISON SYSTEM
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WOOSTER, Ohio - Can a nation founded on the principles of justice and human rights possibly undo the failings of an inefficient and ineffective prison system by turning to the fundamental tenets of its faith traditions?
The 47th Spring Academy of Religion will address that question and a host of others when it presents "Bars to Our Humanity: The United States Prison System," a five-part lecture series that begins this month at The College of Wooster. The sessions will take place in Lean Lecture Room of Wishart Hall (303 E. University St.) from 7:30-9:30 p.m. every Thursday from April 11-May 9. ....>>
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Visit the Archives
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Do you sometimes feel that you would like to read some of the previously mailed Weekly Mailings. Now you can visit our archive page by following this link included in the Quick Link section of each Weekly Mailing.
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Westminster Prayer List |
Have you been missing the Westminster Prayer List? We now send out our Weekly Prayer List in a separate e-mail, usually on Tuesdays or Wednesdays. We made this change for privacy since our Weekly News is published on our website and Facebook. In our Prayer List we are also now publishing more resources for your daily spiritual practices. If you want to receive the Prayer List please e-mail Carly Jones . |
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Hospitality Reminder: Parking
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On Sunday mornings, we ask all able parishioners to park in the Wishart parking lot across Pine Street from the church and reserve the parking in the Mackey lot for handicapped parking. Thank you so much for your help in this regard and in making Westminster more accessible to all.
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Message from Dries
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 This coming weekend will be filled with ministry opportunities at Westminster and they all revolve around hospitality. As in past years, we look forward to hosting the Gomes Children's Choir from New York City. Choir director Curtis Gomes has been leading an annual trip to Wooster to visit The College, get out of the city, and participate in our Sunday morning worship service. This year they will also participate in the Saturday Mass at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
This Sunday will also be Communion Sunday. In my meditation on Sunday I will talk about the nature of communion and that we so often forget that the "communion ritual is a reenactment of one of our most fundamental experiences - a shared meal. It is an acknowledgement that Christ is present in our midst all the time, in our most routine and our most transcendent moments. And it is a reminder that we are called to transform even the most mundane acts into opportunities to bring hope and healing to people and the planet [1]."
This concept of Communion, as a most fundamental experience of sharing a meal, is what moves and motivates us to extend our table. Again  we will have our Social Justice Potluck after worship as we eat together and demonstrate in very concrete way, through eating, what we value in our lives: equality, inclusion of all, compassion, and generosity.
We also forget that Communion is an opportunity "to consider how our own eating expresses our faith and values, not only when we share a meal, but also before the food reaches the table. When we create the communion table, we can strive for a table that is set by the values of love, peace, and justice. These are represented in the actual wine and bread that we serve. This may mean learning how the grain and grape that go into the meal are cultivated and processed, and ensuring the bread and wine are sourced ethically [1]."
As we strive at Westminster for these "values of love, peace, and justice" we also invite you after worship to participate in Westminster's first "letter offering". Our purpose is to urge our congressman and senators to work for passage of a new farm bill that will promote food justice, help protect our soil and water, and provide food security for the most vulnerable in our society.
A ready-to-sign letter advocating for programs that support local, small-scale agriculture, organic production, and good conservation practices will be available at our advocacy table. See the detailed letter below.
See you on Sunday as we celebrate our ministry together,
Dries
[1] The National Council of Churches Eco-Justice Program Earth Day Sunday resource
[2] Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer and Bret Hesla, 2005: "Worship in the Spirit of Jesus: Theology, liturgy and songs without Violence". The Pilgrim Press: Cleveland, Ohio |
Social Justice Potluck, May 5th after Worship |
 On May 5, we will host our second monthly Social Justice Potluck. Join us on this first Sunday of the month, Communion Sunday, as we "extend the table".Local Roots will again provide the vegetarian main dish. This Sunday we will enjoy a variety of rustic tarts, such as black bean and chard and mushroom and goat chees. We invite you to bring a salad or dessert to round out the table. Students needn't bring food, just come! The program for May's potluck will be presented by College of Wooster senior, Katie Morton, whose I.S. is entitled, "Neglected Human Rights: Examining the Causes of Socio-Economic Rights Violations within the Occupied Palestinian Territories". Katie has this to say about her project: Socio-economic rights are systematically denied around the  world, yet little research focuses on state abuses of these rights. My study attempts to understand the causes of socio-economic rights violations within the Occupied Palestinian Territories. Specifically, I examined Israeli government leadership and Israeli public opinion to see if these had an impact on Palestinian socio-economic rights. I traveled once to Jordan in 2009 as part of a delegation to Women2Women, a peace conference which brings together girls from the Arab/Muslim world with girls from the United States. I returned in the spring of 2012 to spend a semester abroad and learned about the modern political, social, and cultural issues within Jordan and the broader Middle East. After my semester ended, I traveled to Israel and Palestine with fellow classmates to gain a better understanding of the conflict and visit the holy sites within Jerusalem and the West Bank. Someday I would like to return to the West Bank and work for an international development agency to improve Palestinians' quality of life. RSVP to Carly Jones (cjones@wooster.edu) or through Sign Up Genius. Please join us around the table! |
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Westminster Letter Offering for a "Fair Farm Bill" |
 On Sunday, May 5, after the worship service, we invite you to participate in Westminster's first "letter offering". Our purpose is to urge our congressman and senators to work for passage of a new farm bill that will promote food justice and help protect our soil and water. A ready-to-sign letter advocating for programs that support local, small-scale agriculture, organic production, and good conservation practices, funded through reductions in currently unlimited subsidies for crop insurance and large-scale production of big commodity crops, will be available at our advocacy table. Just sign and seal it in one of the envelopes provided. All of the letters offered will be put into the mail the following day through the church office. If you prefer, you are welcome to compose your own message, or add a postscript to the letter provided.
Dear Congressman/Senator,
As a person of faith I am deeply concerned about the health of our communities and of the earth. Our nation's food and farm polices have a fundamental impact on the quality of lives at home and around the world. I urge you to support a full, multi-year reauthorization of the farm bill and to thoughtfully consider the good that this legislation could do by alleviating hunger and malnutrition, supporting small farmers, and protecting the earth.
Specifically, I ask you to address hunger in our community locally by protecting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from cuts and harmful structural changes that would increase hunger in our nation and globally by sustaining robust International food aid. As the world's largest provider of International food aid, the United States must lead the way in improving food quality to maximize the nutritional benefit.
Please support vibrant farms and strong communities by funding programs that are critical in developing our next generation of farmers, such as the Farmers Market Promotion Program, which provides new markets for small and mid-sized farmers in suburbs and cities, offering consumers the opportunity to support local producers and giving people in vulnerable communities greater access to fresh food. Similarly, for communities around the world, I urge Congress to reform international food aid by purchasing more of the food in the areas where it is consumed. The Local and Regional Procurement Program can help more hungry people for the same cost, support rural development in low-income countries and increase global food security.
Finally, I urge you to protect the earth by strengthening policies and programs in the farm bill that promote conservation of soil and water and protect creation from environmental degradation. One important way to do that is by protecting funding for conservation programs, particularly those for working lands such as the Conservation Stewardship Program.
Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to your response.
Submitted by David Gillespie |
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Cookies Needed!
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 In extending our hospitality to the Gomes Choir on Sunday, May 5th we will need cookies. Please call Carly (cjones@wooster.edu) at the church office if you can provide a dozen (or more) cookies. If you could place sets of two cookies in individual baggies, it would make it easier on the Mission Committee when packing the lunches.
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Last Sunday, April 28th, we recognized and honored our seniors  at Westminster.  This year we not only celebrate the "ties that bind" a number of the College of Wooster Seniors to us, but also our own Lyle Whited who is graduating from Wooster High School. Lyle is planning to attend the University of Mount Union to study some combination of Japanese and anthropology/archaeology or pre-law.
We congratulate all the seniors connected to Westminster and celebrate the gift of their presence among us. Their contributions have blessed and challenged us, and we have become a richer and more diverse community because of them.
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Thank You
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 Thank you to all who helped with Sue Brown's party- those who set up, tore down, cleaned up, and to those who donated delicious salads. You are all very much appreciated.  A big thank you as well to the members of the committee who organized such a nice celebration. |
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Presbyterian Meeting, May 18, 2013: Tending the Garden of God | |
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Taste of Culture, May 19th |
 On May 19th from 2-5pm, the Central American Medical Outreach  organization is holding a fundraiser called "Taste of Culture". There will be free authentic food, music, and fun for the whole family! They are asking that you bring a toothbrush to support their dental program and you will receive a free gift. The function will be held at 322 Westwood Ave. in Orrville. Hope you can make it! |
Green Tip of the Week
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Please unplug your cell phone charger when not in use. Unplugging the charger saves money and reduces your impact on the environment by eliminating use of standby power. Standby power, also called vampire power, refers to the electric power consumed by electronic and electrical appliances while they are switched off or in a standby mode. In the past standby power was largely ignored by users, electricity providers, manufacturers, and government regulators, but became an area of concern in the first decade of the 21st century. Up to the middle of the decade, standby power was often several watts or even tens of watts per appliance, and amounted typically to 10% of the electrical energy usage of the average household. By 2010 regulations were in place in most developed countries restricting standby power of devices sold to one watt (and half that from 2013). |
Presbyterian Church (USA) Weekly Blogs:
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Mark your Calendar:
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Date Time Event Location
May 5th During Worship Gomes Choir Mackey Hall
May 5th Noon Social Justice Potluck Mackey Hall
May 26th 10:00am Summer Worship Time Begins Mackey Hall
June 3rd 5:30-7pm OLO Welcome Picnic Patio or Mackey Hall
June 23rd 10:00am Outdoor Worship Service Oak Hill Park Pavillion
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What's happening at Westminster this week? |
All events can also be found on our website
www.wpcwooster.org
We hope to see you there!
Sunday, May 5, 2013
9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
9:45am - Children's Sunday School in the Sunday School Room
10:45am - Worship Service in Mackey Hall. Pastor Dries preaching.
Gomes Choir will be in Worship.
12:00pm - Social Justice Potluck in Mackey Hall
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
5:00pm - Personnel Committee Meeting
7:00pm - Worship Committee Meeting
Thursday, May 9, 2013
7:00pm - Dance Group in Mackey Hall
Sunday, May 12, 2013
9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
9:45am - Children's Sunday School in the Sunday School Room
10:45am - Worship Service in Mackey Hall. Pastor Dries preaching.
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"We are an Intentionally Inclusive Church"
Westminster Presbyterian Church embraces the "house" metaphor for our community as we worship at the Westminster Church House and have a strong sense of hospitality and desire to be a welcoming and inclusive church for all. We endeavor to give voice to a "progressive" expression of Christianity that emphasizes among other things:
- intellectual integrity in matters of faith;
- acceptance of all people regardless of race, creed, age, cultural background, or sexual orientation;
- openness toward the value of other religious traditions;
- a strong commitment to social justice, peacemaking, and the care of our planet.
Sincerely,
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Andries J. Coetzee
Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church
353 East Pine Street, Wooster, OH 44691
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