Weekly News Friday, November 22, 2013

Quick Links

www.wpcwooster.org

Worship

Sunday, November 24

Guest Preacher Rev. Dr. Linda Morgan-Clement

Upcoming Holiday Schedule

Please see the changes to the Church Office hours below due to the Thanksgiving Holiday. We will be checking the church voice mail daily, so if you have pastoral concerns, please leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we are able. Have a safe and blessed Thanksgiving!

Office Hours

Week of November 18th

Dries out of office

Monday 11/25- 8am-2:30pm

Tuesday 11/26- 9am-3pm

Wednesday 11/27- 9am-noon

Thursday 11/28- CLOSED

Friday 11/29 - CLOSED

December Social Justice Potluck

December 8th following worship there will be a soup luncheon provided by the Mission Committee. The speaker will be an individual who has benefited from the HOPE (Helping Others Prepare for Employment) fund. Sign up through Sign Up Genius or by contacting Carly in the church office (330-263-2398).

Salvation Army Bell Ringers

Please save the date to assist the neediest of Wayne County residents on Tuesday, November 26, at the Downtown Buehler's by ringing bells at a Salvation Army kettle. We are committed to provide at least one person per one-hour shift from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. So check your calendar and contact Sue Coleman or the Church Office (330-263-2398) know when you can staff the kettle.

Habitat House Dedication & Celebration

Join Habitat for the exciting House Dedication for Amber and Skylar McClain on November 24th at 3:00pm. The event will take place at 535 N. Buckeye St. Wooster. Help Habitat celebrate Amber and Skylar's new home, as well as thank the volunteers and donors who made it possible!

Thank you from the Deacons

Thanks to you- the Deacons were able to collect food storage containers of many different shapes and sizes! Your help is much appreciated!

Message from Dries

I send you my greetings this week as Beth and I are on vacation. I will be back in the office on Monday, November 25. I am very grateful for the Rev. Jim Collier who stepped in and helped with the pastoral care needs while I am gone as well as the Rev. Dr. Linda Morgan Clement who will be preaching on Sunday. I also want to thank you for this time away for rest and renewal.

Blessings,

Dries

Children's Education

This coming Sunday, November 24th we will continue the theme of giving as we go shopping for People to People's Christmas Toy Project. Instead of meeting at our regular Sunday School time, we will be meeting after worship to go shopping and have lunch. The Collier's will be driving, so please let me know if you plan to attend so that we have People to People logo enough seats for everyone who wishes to join us. Please e-mail Evangeline by Saturday to let her know if you are going. We will be done with shopping and lunch by 2:00pm.

Blessings,

Evangeline

Preparing for Advent

Mary's Story: An Advent Bible Study

By Amanda Bornfree (reported from Bread for the World)

The season of Advent is a time of great expectation, filled with hope and promise. Advent calls us to gather in preparation for the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ. We bring our gifts in praise, and our songs in celebration as we express our endless love for Jesus, and our support for Mary.

This season has much in common with the times in which our loved ones are expecting new additions to their families. We find ourselves taking care of the expectant mother by giving her food, and showering her with attention. We find ourselves in prayer for a safe and healthy delivery. And, of course, we pray for a healthy baby, blessed to live a life filled with happiness, love, and great opportunity.

Bread for the World's Advent Bible study, Mary's Story, explores the relationship between Mary and Jesus in light of the movement to improve nutrition for women and children and ensure that all children everywhere can reach their full potential. Mary's Story focuses on the window of opportunity that is the 1,000 days between a woman's pregnancy and her child's second birthday - this is the most vital time for receiving nutrition for a healthy future.

The Bible study calls us, as Christians, to use our faith, gifts, and resources to advocate for better health and nutrition for all. As God's children, we believe that preparing for the birth of a child should always be a time filled with great expectation, hope, and promise.

We encourage you to use Mary's Story for your Advent Bible study. Every hour of every day, 300 children die as a result of malnutrition - please dedicate just one hour each week during the season of Advent to learn more about how you can advocate for better nutrition during the 1,000-day window. Download this free resource in pdf here, and visit the Women of Faith for the 1,000 Days Movement Facebook page to engage in conversations about the Bible study and maternal and child nutrition.

Amanda Bornfree is a consultant in Bread for the World's church relations department.

Alternative Gift Market

On December 1st, Westminster and other area churches invite you to First Presbyterian Church in Wooster for the 2013 Alternative Gift Market from 12:00 to 2:30. This festive event is an opportunity to get an early start on your Christmas shopping and simultaneously support various life-giving projects from around the world, including our own neighborhoods. You will be able to purchase $5.00 shares on any of thirty projects that provide food for the hungry, care for the sick, shelter for the homeless, renewal for our endangered planet, and much more - truly meaningful alternatives to the usual holiday gifts - in honor of your family, friends, neighbors, colleagues and children's teachers. Those shares then can be sent to friends and family on your Christmas mailing list.

Presbyterian Church Marketplace

The PC(USA) is excited to offer customizable Christmas cards as your personal way to share Christmas joy with friends and family while contributing to the work of ministries supported by the four church-wide Special Offerings of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).

Choose from five card designs featuring artwork from recent PC(USA) Special Offerings posters. Use the standard greeting, or customize the cards with a message of your choice.

Let this be your gift that provides blessings throughout the year. To order visit the Presbyterian Church Marketplace.

Green Tip of the Week

Green Your Holiday Gatherings

Party prep.

Keep in mind that using certain household cleaners can greatly increase the air pollution in your house or apartment, making the air you breathe irritating and even unsafe for your family and guests. Consider using safe, non-toxic cleaning methods and products.
Serving food? Of course you are. Use your regular dishes and flatware instead of buying paper or plastic. This can dramatically reduce your waste.
If you have to use disposables, try biodegradable paper plates and compost.
As you're planning the menu, consider basing it around local and seasonally-available food. Foods that travel across states or around the globe to get to you have high carbon footprints.
When you're sprucing up your home with decorations, reuse last year's if you still have them. Want to keep it simple and natural? Gourds and pumpkins make excellent and colorful accents, and finding them is easy this time of year.

During the party.

Saving energy on home lighting isn't just for regular use overhead lights and floor lamps anymore. There's even environmentally-friendly holiday lighting!
Help your guests contribute to the green effort by providing clearly marked trash receptacles for different types of party waste - paper, plastic, glass, aluminum, food scraps, liquids, etc

Clean up.

Even this part of the day can be environmentally-friendly! Much of your food waste can be composted in an indoor composting bin - just combine your veggie scraps, produce peels, coffee grounds, teabags and more with some of the autumn leaves you've been raking up, and you'll have an excellent foundation for nutrient-rich soil. Be careful not to put any meat or bones in your compost pile. Save those items for leftover sandwiches, soups and stews.
Using a dishwasher is actually more environmentally-friendly than washing each dish by hand. You'll use much less soap and about 80% less water. If you rented the linens or plates for a formal party, send them back dirty. Rental companies are required to wash the items upon return, so there's no need to wash them before you send them back.

Information provided by www.earthshare.org

Presbyterian Church (USA) Weekly Blogs:

"God blesses us and leads our lives" 11-21-2013 10:00:05 AM

Young Adult New Immigrant Leadership Institute Surpasses Expectations November 20, 2013 Lisa Ngantung, Daniel Kimandi, Peter Cuong Duong, and Loc Dai Nguyen lead devotion. -Racial Ethnic and Women's Ministries Racial Ethnic and Women's Ministries DALLAS, TX When Loc Dai Nguyen was growing up in Vietnam, his father was put in prison for being a Christian minister and sharing the good news of the gospel, Dai Nguyen said in a devotion he led at the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)'s Young Adult New Immigrant Leadership Institute last month. Dai Nguyen was nominated and selected as one of the 23 leaders who participated in the first Young Adult New Immigrant Leadership Institute, held Oct. 25-28, in the Dallas/Fort-Worth area. He is unquestionably one of the stellar young adult new immigrant leaders in the PC(USA). ...�

Thanksgiving 2013: Our 150-Year-Old National Tradition 11-21-2013 10:00:05 AM

November 19, 2013 -Photo by Matthew Brady, 1864 Office of the General Assembly Louisville In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday of November a "day of Thanksgiving and Praise," making annual an inconsistent national tradition. George Washington had issued two Thanksgiving proclamations, in 1789 and 1795; Thomas Jefferson zero. Some states had celebrated Thanksgiving, while others had not. Even the dates of celebration had differed. Throughout the Civil War, the Union and Confederate States would use competing Thanksgiving proclamations to lift public morale. Many of the Thanksgiving sermons held by the Presbyterian Historical Society are pointed responses to such decrees. ...�

Presbyterians engage in SNAP/Food Stamp Challenge11-21-2013 10:00:05 AM

Weeklong challenge aims to increase awareness of hunger in United States November 19, 2013 Special to (Greensboro) News & Record Emily Enders Odom republished with permission GREENSBORO, N.C. Cathy Coons has been passionate about fighting hunger since she was a teenager in Westchester County, N.Y. ...�

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, November 24, 2013

9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
9:30am - Adult Education in the Lounge

10:45am - Worship in Mackey Hall, Rev. Dr. Linda Morgan-Clement Preaching

12:00pm - Children's Sunday School will leave from Mackey Hall to shop for People to People Christmas Toy Project

Monday November 25, 2013

Office Hours- 8am-2:30pm

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Office Hours- 9am-3pm

7:00pm- Session meeting in Pastor's Study

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Office Hours - 9am-noon

7:00pm - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall

10:00am- Decorating for Holiday in Mackey Hall

Thursday, November 28th & Friday, November 29th

Church Office Closed

Sunday, December 1, 2013

9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
9:30am - Adult Education in the Lounge
9:45am - Children's Education in Sunday School Room

10:45am - Worship in Mackey Hall, Pastor Dries Preaching

12:00pm- Alternative Gift Market at First Presbyterian Church

"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,

Andries J. Coetzee
Pastor, Westminster Presbyterian Church

353 East Pine Street, Wooster, OH 44691

acoetzee@wooster.edu