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Weekly News Friday, May 16, 2014
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Get Involved
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Help make Westminster the warm and inviting place we are called to be, 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 t he 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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| Sunday School Celebration |
 This Sunday we are inviting all kids to our last Sunday School class for the academic year and will celebrate with a sweet treat. Meet us at 9:45 in the Sunday School room and Beth will take you out for something cold and sweet.
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Summer Worship Time
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 Mark your calendars! Starting Sunday, May 25th, Westminster will move to a 10:00am worship time for the summer months.
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People to People Summer Collections
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The Benevolences Committee would like to concentrate on providing cereal and oatmeal to People to People during May through August. With children home during the summer, cereal makes an easy snack as well as a breakfast and the pantry always seems to need it. Cereals which are lower in sugar and higher in protein are most helpful.
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Reflection of the Week
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 Have you ever been in church and wished you were in charge of picking the hymns? This summer you will have your chance! See the article below for a downloadable form in which you can suggest your favorite hymns or maybe even a new one you would like to learn from the new Presbyterian Hymnal, Glory To God, to be include in worship this summer.
For me, and I know for many of you, music is a very important part of worship and the hymns we sing are an integral part of the experience and expression of our faith. On most Sundays, we would like to sing familiar hymns that we can actually sing and ones that are meaningful to us. As pastor and worship leader, I pick the hymns we sing on Sundays and do so with great intentionality to support the the theme of the day. This summer, I am asking for your help to identify those hymns that are familiar to you. I will still do my best to go through the list and include a favorite or new hymn to support the theme of the day, and hopefully by the end of the summer we will have included all your favorite hymns. From personal experience I know how difficult it can be to pick a personal favorite as some hymns have beautiful words, but the tunes are unfamiliar. Others are golden oldies, but we may have outgrown its theology or it does not resonate with the spirit of Westminster. For these reasons it is important that we communicate with one another, and this is an opportunity to do so. I am always very thankful for feedback as I believe it stirs creativity and gives us all ownership in our community of faith.
See you in worship on Sunday,
Dries
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Hymns for summer worship
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 This summer we are inviting you to suggest your favorite hymns or new ones you would like to learn for inclusion in the summer worship services. Please list up to three hymns, from our new Presbyterian Hymnal and place this sheet in the offering basket, return it to the church office, or e-mail it to Carly. We encourage you also to give a reason t he hymn is one of your favorites. At each service this summer, we will include at least one hymn chosen from those submitted. Thanks for your participation. -Dries
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Adult Education
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The Adult Education class for Sunday, May 18 will continue its discussion of Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer's book, Authentic Hope: It's the End of the World as We Know It but Soft Landings Are Possible. The discussion will begin at 9:30 AM and end at 10:30 AM in the lounge.
Last Sunday's discussion centered on Chapter 3, "Equity, Politics, and the Common Good." We had a lively discussion of the present day inequalities created by corporate-driven politics. This Sunday we plan to begin to discuss Chapter 4, "Good Riddance to Empire, Part 1 Arrogance and Interests." We will consider the present day US politics of fear, our current conceptions of good and evil, good versus evil, US projection of power worldwide, the economic consequences of US militarism, our government's dangerous delusion created from misreading history, the US's grand strategy for world domination and the delusional creation of Empire, American Exceptionalism, national life beyond needs and means, the need to recognize limits to power in the pursuit of world domination, and the exploitation of the lives of our young people who serve in the military in our country's pursuit of world domination.
As a people committed to the life-giving and preserving values first taught by Jesus of Nazareth, how can we not speak out for these values in opposition to the advocates for US world supremacy?
Submitted By Don Gordon
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Celebrating our Graduates
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On Monday, Westminster celebrated our College of Wooster graduates and their families by hosting a meal for over eighty people in The Meeting Place after commencement. We are thankful to our students for making Westminster their church home during their four years in Wooster!
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Report on the Interfaith Justice Committee
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 The Interfaith Justice Committee, which now includes members of 8 faith communities, continues its work primarily through its three working groups. We do meet as a whole, however, and at the last quarterly meeting, on February 6, the Committee discussed the Wooster Envisioned program and how to ensure that affordable housing and a public transportation network that can serve all of our citizens will be part of the ongoing discussion.
The Committee also agreed to help sponsor and organize the May 4 Wooster Hunger Walk, which benefits the Akron Area Food Bank. A number of local food programs, including People to People Ministries, receive food from the Food Bank, so the walk will directly benefit Wooster. The Committee heard reports from the three working groups on poverty, incarceration and re-entry, and the environment. 1. The Interfaith Environment Working Group Some members of the group attended the meeting for Wooster Envisioned, to promote the idea of rain gardens. The group been gathering information on rain garden projects inother Ohio counties in preparation for meeting with Rob Kastner at the Wayne County Soil and Water District on April 17. Members of the group from St. James are Damon Hickey, Mary Hickey, Louise Plusquellec and John Houck. 2. The Interfaith Poverty Working Group This group is currently helping organize the May 4 Hunger Walk. The group continues to look for ways to work collaboratively with local organizations focused on poverty issues. Janice Miller is the member from St. James. 3. The Behind Bars and Beyond Working Group The group continues to gather information on incarceration and re-entry issues to share with congregations and the public. The group plans a prison visitors program, in part to help prepare inmates for their return to the community and a job training program for those who have returned. These projects will be undertaken in coalition with the Wayne County Re-entry Coalition and other community groups. Don and Nahida Gordon are the members from Westminster. You are always invited to attend a general Interfaith Justice Committee meeting or any of the working group meetings to learn more about projects and plans underway in these different areas. New members are welcome.
Written by Susan Figge, member of st James Episcopal Church, Wooster, OH
published in the The Joyful Noise, March 2014, Newsletter of St James
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Green Tip of the Week
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Choosing the Right Mower
Using a gas-powered mower for just one hour produces the same amount of air pollution that a car emits from driving 100 miles! Luckily, there are many low-energy, high-quality alternatives to conventional gas mowers:
- Rotary mowers. Those "old fashioned" hand-powered mowers your grandparents used are making a comeback! Homeowners with smaller lawns find rotary mowers particularly appealing for their maneuverability, low maintenance costs, and minimal environmental impact.
- Electric mowers. Electric mowers emit far fewer pollutants than gasoline-powered machines, are much quieter, and are often easier to push than their gas-guzzling counterparts.
- Battery-powered mowers. Some mowers and other garden equipment operate with battery packs that can be electrically recharged. Though these mowers offer many of the same benefits as electric mowers, they do contain batteries that generally last only about five years. Because the batteries contain heavy metals, they must be disposed of in a hazardous waste facility.
Information from www.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, May 18, 2014
9:30am - Adult Education in The Lounge
9:45am - Children's Education in the Sunday School Room
10:00am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
10:45am - Worship in Mackey Hall, Pastor Dries preaching
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
10:00am - Mission Cohort Meeting in The Lounge
2:00pm - Congregational Life Cohort Meeting in the Pastor's Study
Thursday, May 22, 2014
6:30pm - Dance Group in Mackey Hall
Sunday, May 25, 2014
9:30am - Adult Education in The Lounge
10:00am - Worship in Mackey Hall, Pastor Dries preaching (summer worship schedule begins)
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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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