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Weekly News Friday, December 6, 2013
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December Social Justice Potluck
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 Westminster will have its monthly Social Justice Potluck this Sunday, December 8th following worship. Soup will be provided by the Mission Committee. Others are welcome to contribute salads, bread, or dessert. Lemoine Peart will speak about 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).
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Dec. Hospitality Sign Up
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Be a part of Westminster's Radical Hospitality! Sign up to be a Sunday morning greeter, to provide flowers, or bring goodies for fellowship time after worship. If you are interested in helping, please sign up through Sign Up Genius, on the sign up board to the right of the name tags in the back of Mackey Hall, or by contacting Carly Jones (330-263-2398) in the church office.
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Congregational Meeting
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Session has called a Congregational Meeting on Sunday, December 22nd following worship for the purpose of electing Elders and Deacons for the Class of 2016.
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The PC (USA) a Peace Church?
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 The Presbyterian Church (USA) is discerning whether to become a peace church.
Read more ...>>>
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| Christmas Joy Offering |
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Your Generosity =
Lives Changed
2013 Christmas Joy Offering
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Message from Dries
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 This coming Sunday we will continue our journey through Advent with our theme "Simply Christmas." In worship, adult education, and Sunday School we will talk about the the transformation that we are called to undergo this time of year. The call to make the newness brought about by God in the world, a reality.
In adult education, I invite you to join me as we will discuss the possibility of Westminster joining several congregations and Presbyteries within our denomination who have committed themselves to peacemaking by discussing and responding to a report entitled "Risking Peace in a Broken and Fearful World". This report of the Advisory Committee on Social Witness Policy (ACSWP) of the Presbyterian Church (USA) was written in response to the 219th General Assembly (2010) that began a six-year process "To Seek Clarity on Whether God Is Calling the Church to Embrace Nonviolence as Its Response to War and Terror." The report is built on five "declarations":
- "Celebrate our identity as a church committed to peacemaking"
- "Claim the nonviolent witness of Jesus Christ and the early church as a neglected resource that can breathe new life into the ministry and public witness of the PC(USA)"
- "Confess our complicity in an unjust and violent world"
- "Commit to reducing violence and injustice of all kinds by learning and practicing the things that make for peace."
As we plan for 2014 and imagine where God might take us as a congregation, I am excited to join this study and for Westminster to become more intentional in our yearning to be a peacemaking
presence.
In worship, we will focus on point three of the above five points; "Confess our complicity in an unjust and violent world". With John the Baptist's call to repentance and "bearing good fruit" in Matthew 3:1-12,we will consider how repentance is the first step to achieving peace and to making real the Kingdom of God.
During this season of Advent and Christmas, let us discover anew the Prince of Peace in our midst, as if for the first time!
Blessings and see you in worship,
Dries
PS. Just a reminder that we will have the Woman's Bible Study this coming Tuesday, December 10th at 10:00am in The Lounge.
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Nelson Mandela: dreamer of big dreams
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 South African leader remembered by Presbyterians as 'icon of reconciliation'
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela - a modern-day Moses who led his people, his nation and the world out of the racist captivity of apartheid in South Africa - is being remembered by Presbyterians as a charismatic leader who literally gave his life for justice and equality. ...>>>
A Call To Prayer
The Rev. Neal Presa, moderator of the PC(USA)'s 220th General Assembly (2012), the Rev. Gradye Parsons, stated clerk of the General Assembly, and Linda Valentine, executive director of the Presbyterian Mission Agency, issued a call to prayer:
With grateful hearts, we offer our thanks to you, Lord, for the life and witness of Nelson Mandela among us, who, like the prophets of old, showed us and the world the way of truth and life in his unwavering commitment to equality for all and to healing and reconciliation in a divided and broken world, at great cost to himself and his family.
We give you thanks, faithful God, for you accompanied Nelson in his years of imprisonment, strengthening his resolve, kindling and keeping the flame of hope in him alive that one day his beloved South Africa would see neighbor loving neighbor, not as a divided and defeated people partitioned by skin color, ideology or region, but finding common cause in their humanity as people created in your image, and therefore precious in your sight.
Loving God, who as Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, you showed us the ways of your kingdom and what servant leadership is about, we remember your son, Nelson, as one whom you anointed to serve as a leader of South Africa and the world for a generation, whose words of wisdom, acts of courage, and humble spirit testified to the power and possibilities of your grace that knows no bounds. Through one man, you have touched the lives of so many.
In life and in death, in body and in soul, we belong to you, loving Lord. So, in this hour, unite us in prayer as we grieve with the Mandela family. Accompany them with your generous and embracing love in their hour of mourning. Turn their weeping to singing, their downcast heads to dancing, and keep alive in their hearts and in ours your vision of a better and just world, even that same dream that you placed upon Nelson's soul, and for whose labors we trust you will offer the word, "Well done, good and faithful servant."
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HOPE Fund
|  To give you more background for Sunday's Social Justice meal we reprint the following article that was published previously in the Weekly Newsletter.
Westminster has been an important supporter of the HOPE Fund-Helping Others Prepare for Employment. For the past three years the proceeds from the Hearty Italian Soup Sale have provided scholarship money for 80 ABLE students to take their GED Test! Nearly 100% received their GED's-an important first step to a job, better job or further career training.
Many ABLE students (Adult Basic Literacy Education) are working hard to earn their GED's before the end of 2013. This is a very important deadline. Due to more state and federal changes, beginning in 2014 computerized testing will make it much harder for lower-income adults to prepare for and take the GED test and the cost will triple from $40 to $120. Ouch!
Akron Beacon Journal Columnist, Bob Dyer, recently wrote about the unfairness of the changes to "the folks in a position to seek a GED" and to us, the taxpayers. He opens with, "If you tried to find a way to discourage uneducated people from developing the skills they need to get a decent job, you'd probably make a move much like this." And closes with, ".... you don't have to be a bleeding heart to think that giving them a hand now is better than giving them a perpetual handout." I encourage you to read his hard-hitting article.
I personally would like to thank you for Westminster's ongoing support of those who really want to work-on behalf of the HOPE Fund and the Common Good-the local organization that established the HOPE Fund at the Wayne County Community Foundation. Your support helps build the thriving workforce our community needs.
Winter's coming! Healthy, Hearty Italian Soup will be ready soon.
Thanks again,
Lemoine Peart
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Holy Habits for Advent & Christmas
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 | | The Top Secret Trade Deal You Need to Know About |
Last week we invited you to make the "new gifts that God is about to give," a reality in our world in the here and the now. This week we invite you to do the following:
1) Educate yourself by watching this discussion by Bill Moyers about the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with journalist Yves Smith and economist Dean Baker, then a preview of filmmaker Robert Greenwald's new documentary, Unmanned: America's Drone Wars.
Both the TPP and drone warfare are issues of deep concern for people of faith and call us to action.
2) Respond to the "Action Alert: Farm Bill Deadline Approaches" below, and urge members of Congress to complete a Farm Bill this year that protects SNAP and nutrition programs, invests in conservation and rural economic development program, and implements commodity and crop insurance reform.
3) If you have not done so, include "Alternative Gift Giving" in your Christmas shopping for friends, family, and  co-workers.
4) This Sunday Linda Barbu will offer olive oil soap, made by villagers of Zababdeh, Palestine, for purchase after worship. Westminster also offers olive oil for purchase in partnership with Import Peace and Caanan Fair Trade. Canaan Fair Trade uses the fair trade concept to empower marginalized Palestinian rural communities caught in conflict so they can sustain their livelihoods and culture. They have built direct working relationships with these communities, paying sustainable prices for their agricultural products to ensure fair wages for labor along the supply chain. Please talk to Don Gordon if you would like to purchase olive oil.
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Worship at 10:45
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Sunday, December 8
Second Sunday in Advent with Pastor Dries preaching. Following worship you are invited to a soup luncheon provided by the Mission Committee. Lemoine Peart will speak about the HOPE (Helping Others Prepare for Employment) fund.
Sunday, December 15
Third Sunday in Advent with Pastor Dries preaching.
Sunday, December 22
Fourth Sunday in Advent with Pastor Dries sharing a meditation. Children will participate in worship/
Christmas Eve, Tuesday, December 24 Our Christmas Eve Worship will be a Service of Lessons and Carols at 7:00pm. Communion will be celebrated. Pastor Dries will share a short meditation. We invite all to stay after worship for a time of fellowship arranged by our Deacons.
Sunday, December 29 We invite you to join us in worship for an intimate gathering in Mackey Hall to celebrate the birth of Christ with Scripture, Carols, and a Christmas Story.
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Children's Education
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For those who went to the Alternative Gift Market last week- I hope you found some goodies! This upcoming week in Sunday School the kids will be making their loved ones a Christmas gift. We will be talking about the Christ candle as we make these gifts, and exploring what all of that means.
I need your help with all of this! Please send your child with a family photograph. This picture will be used in our craft, so make sure it is one you are comfortable getting back in a little different form.
Evangeline Smith
Student Intern
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Congratulations to Peter Gooch
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Westminster congratulates Peter Gooch, son of Mark & Cheryl and grandson of Ross and the late Cinny Gooch, who finished up his Eagle Scout Project at the Viola Startzman free clinic. While this is one of many projects our Scouts have done over the years, given the long association with our Church, I wanted to pass it along as an example of the kind of good works that come out of the Troop.
Submitted by John Veney
(The two pictures above are from before the project and the one on the left is after).
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Christmas Poinsettia Orders
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 As in the past we will decorate Mackey Hall with poinsettias that congregation members purchase in memory or in honor of loved ones. We will be ordering a maximum of 20 poinsettias, but will print all dedications in the bulletin. Any additional funds will be donated to People-to-People ministries.
Please download the order form in PDF and return it with a check made out to Westminster with the word "poinsettia" in the memo line to Carly Jones by Sunday, December 15th.
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Christmas Joy Offering
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 Supporting Past, Present, and Future Leaders
Whether providing financial assistance to current and former church workers and their families or providing opportunities for deserving students to attend Presbyterian-related racial ethnic colleges and schools, your generous gifts to the Christmas Joy Offering will shine the One True Light of Christ's love. Westminster's collection of the offering will be on Sunday, December 22nd at the 10:45am worship service.
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 Action Alert: Farm Bill Deadline Approaches |
As the year draws to a close, Congress has many must-pass items left on its plate. Perhaps most pressing are the budget and the Farm Bill. The House is scheduled to adjourn for the year next Friday, Dec. 13, but the Senate does not even return from Thanksgiving recess until next Monday, Dec. 6. This leaves one week for them to wrap up the first session of the 113th Congress.
Of course, that it not to say that conversations are not ongoing. Indeed, bicameral conference committees on both issues are in the midst of delicate and intense negotiations. Leaving aside the question of the budget for now, for after all, Congress does have a few weeks into the New Year to come to agreement before the next manufactured fiscal crisis, the focus of the faith community has been on the Farm Bill.
Our nation's food and farm policies, as embodied in the Farm Bill, impact people and communities from rural America to big cities to developing countries. In the Farm bill are provisions that authorize SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps), international food aid, conservation programs, initiatives that support new and minority farmers and ranchers, rural development programs, sustainable energy research, farm subsidies, crop insurance, just to name the most famous. In all, the Farm Bill is a mixed bag of policies, some of which promote a more just food system and some that trap us in a vicious cycle of subsidized commodities and under-nutrition. Nevertheless, the Farm Bill is must-pass, if for no other reason than that it authorizes SNAP and promotes environmentally sustainable practices on working farmlands.
Write to your Members of Congress to urge a just and comprehensive Farm Bill this year.
In the current budget climate, which incorrectly functions from an assumption of scarcity, the Farm Bill's limited resources must be effectively targeted where need is greatest. And people are hungry -- the U.S. and around the world. Programs and policies that curb hunger and malnutrition, support vibrant agricultural economies in rural communities, and promote the sustainable use of natural resources must be prioritized. At the same time, we should be shifting away from investment in programs that subsidize factory farms and promote major commodities as the most viable crops for food and fuel.
Earlier in the year, serious threats were made to the funding of SNAP and on Nov. 1st , SNAP benefits were cut as a 2009 funding increase ran out. Far from there being room to cut SNAP, most SNAP beneficiaries find that their benefits run out by the third or fourth week of the month and turn to private charity to fill gap. If anything, we need to invest more in Food Stamp benefits. SNAP is designed as a counter-cyclical program that expands to meet needs when the economy is bad and people lose income and become eligible. When the jobs outlook and economy improve, it contracts as participants cycle off the program.
So, Congress must reauthorize the SNAP program without the proposed cuts. There is simply no way to achieve significant cuts without affecting benefits and nutrition education programs. Write today to your members of Congress.
To read more about the PC(USA) Office of Public Witness' advocacy around the Farm Bill and SNAP, visit our blog.
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Alternative Giving Through the Presbyterian Church (USA)
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Green Tip of the Week
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 Holiday Hints
This year, why not take a break from the frenzy? Plan a special celebration with your loved ones that maximizes the quality time you spend together and minimizes the stressful hours you devote to shopping. At home, consider the following ideas to enrich your festivities:
- Recycle used ribbons, bows and decorative wrappings.
- Try alternatives to store-bought wrapping paper. Leftover fabric, lightweight wallpaper, colorful scarves and even the Sunday comics work just as well.
- Buy a live holiday tree.
- Decorate with delight.
Ask your children to make garlands and wreaths from leftover construction paper, wild berries, fruits and nuts. Craft homespun centerpieces from boughs and pine cones gathered in your yard.
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Purchase greeting cards from a non-profit organization.
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Entertain efficiently. Replace throwaway plates, cups, silverware and napkins with durable goods you can use season after season.
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Reuse cookie tins, baskets and festive food containers.
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Try catalog shopping.
Check out more Green Holiday Ideas at earthshare.org
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Presbyterian Church (USA) Weekly Blogs:
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What's happening at Westminster this week?
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All events can also be found on our website
www.wpcwooster.org
We hope to see you there!
Sunday, December 8, 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 - Social Justice Potluck in Mackey Hall
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
10:00am - Women's Bible Study in The Lounge
Wednesday, December 11, 2013
7:00pm - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
Thursday, December 12, 2013
9:30am - Dance Group in the Sunday School room
Sunday, December 15, 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 - Deacon Meeting in Mackey kitchen
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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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End your promotion with a kick -- consider a postscript to reinforce one of the key product or service benefits.
Sincerely,
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