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| | Beth and Dries taking a selfie over the Delaware River |
Don't get me wrong, ... I love being at Westminster, leading worship, and spending time with all of you, but it was wonderful for Beth and me to have a weekend away! Not only do we count ourselves fortunate to have had time by ourselves, been with longtime friends, witnessed the baptism of my namesake, Andries Francis, but also to know that a community that we feel passionate about thrived in our absence. I am so thankful for all who made worship and the 3rd Sunday Intergenerational Conversations such meaningful experiences. It is with deep gratitude that I heard from so many this past week about what a great Sunday it was!
This coming week you are invited to continue this vitality as we have to opportunities to grow as peacemakers through hospitality. The first opportunity will be on Sunday after worship with lunch after worship for Black & Gold Weekend, followed on Monday at 12:00pm with a Peacemaking Lunch with the Maman Nzeba. I do urge you to sign up for both these events as it is a matter of hospitality and stewardship. Not having enough food is the nightmare of any host and I am sure we all have had the proverbial "loaves and fishes" moment with more people showed up than expected and we needed to make food "stretch" to feed all our guests. The opposite of this is mostly true for Westminster and that is we prepare food for too many people and we have a lot left over. In situations like this we do have a policy of taking leftovers to the Salvation Army who gladly receive food to feed their clients, and in this way we extend our table of welcome. The reality is that you can help us plan for these events by taking the time to signup either with Sign Up Genius, e-mail, phone or the good old paper sign up sheet in Mackey. We welcome your RSVP in every way!
On another note, several members of Westminster have asked me to plan another trip to South Africa. Within the next two weeks we are planning to have an informal informational gathering at the Coetzee home, so please contact me here if you are interested in exploring the opportunity of going to South Africa.
What an exciting week ahead and I hope to see many of you at these opportunities! Blessings, Dries
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Lunch after worship on Sunday, September 27
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Westminster and UKirk invite students and their families to join us for lunch after worship for The College of Wooster Black & Gold Weekend (Homecoming and Family Weekend combined). Here at Westminster we always feel honored and blessed when students bring their families to worship and share the precious time they have together with us. Not only does this speak to the priorities of the students and their families, but also to the connection they have made with our community of faith. Help make our guests feel warmly welcomed! Bring a side or a dessert if you're able, but above all, come and share Westminster's gift of radical hospitality. RSVP Here!
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Peacemaking Lunch Monday, September 28
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Peacemaking Lunch with the Rev. Berthe Kalombo Nzeba, September 28 at 12:00pm in The Meeting Place, Westminster Church House.
Join us for a luncheon with International Peacemakers Rev. Berthe Nzeba & her colleague and translator, Christi Boyd. RSVP here!
Rev. Nzeba is a Christian leader in the Democratic Republic of Congo who oversees efforts in support of war orphans and survivors of rape. She is an active interlocutor in ecumenical platforms for peace and security in the Great Lakes Region and will be speaking about addressing sexual violence, advocating peace in the larger Region, and the need to transform the exploitation and trade of Congo's mineral wealth.
Rev. Nzeba, or Maman Nzeba as she is more popularly known among Congolese church women, is the General Secretary of the Women and Families Department of the Protestant umbrella organization, the Church of Christ in Congo (ECC). A Presbyterian minister ordained in 1978, she is believe to be the first female Protestant clergy in the Democratic Republic of Congo. For the last ten years, she has coordinated national and international Church efforts in support of women and children impacted by the protracted conflict in Eastern Congo. As General Secretary of the ECC Department of Families, Rev. Nzeba oversees collaborative efforts by women's groups from ECC denominations in support of war orphans and survivors of rape. She also doubles as the Women's President for the West Kinshasa Synod of the Presbyterian Church of Kinshasa (CPK) and pastors the CPK Brikin parish in Kinshasa.
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Worship is at 10:45 am on Sunday mornings in Mackey Hall
10:45 am
Sunday will be the last of a series of sermons on the Letter of James as we reflect on James 5:13-20. We also welcome students and their families to join us in worship during The College of Wooster Black & Gold Weekend.
7:30 am - 8:30 am
Walking in Mindfulness at Oak Hill Park
Join us as we "Walk in Mindfulness," at Oak Hill Park, located on Oak Hill Road on the first Sunday of each month through November 1st at 7:30am.
10:45 am We will join Christians around the world in celebrating World Communion Sunday, meditating on 1 Corinthians 11:17-34 as our text. World Communion Sunday is also a time when we receive the annual Peace & Global Witness Offering as a way of continuing the ancient Christian practice of sharing what we have with brothers and sisters in need.
10:45 am Westminster will join First Presbyterian Church in worship at 10:45 am at First Presbyterian Church, 621 College Ave. in celebration of their 200th anniversary. The bicentennial service will host the Rev. John M. Buchanan as guest preacher.
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| | Picture from the Daily Record |
Thank you very much for the produce for Meals Together. We greatly appreciate your work for the community garden and your collaboration to meet the needs of others in our community.
Sincerely,
Mary Stockton
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Westminster Family,
Thank you very much for a gracious, challenging, and supportive three years. You have meant so much to our family and we thank you all from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for the nice send-off and kind words. It really meant so much to me.
Thanks again,
Carly
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Dear Westminster ,
Thank you so much for your generous gift to support my Young Adult Volunteer year in Asheville, NC! Your willingness to contribute to the YAV program and to my experience is greatly appreciated. To keep up with my time in Asheville, you can visit my blog. Thank you once again for your donation and support, Westminster! Sincerely,
Emily
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Central American Medical Outreach
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 The last Wednesday morning of every month a small, but earnest group meets in the Westminster parking lot at 9:30am to carpool together to Orrville to work for 2 hours in the Central American Medical Outreach warehouse in Orrville. We sort and pack all kinds of donated laundry to be used in the hospital in Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras. As we pack the boxes to be shipped, we truly feel connected to the patients who will be cared for in those hospital gowns, comforted in those sheets, treated by staff dressed in those scrubs. The hands who help are different each month, but the commitment is the same, to help bring medical care to those in impoverished conditions in Honduras. If you are interested please contact Beth Coetzee for more information.
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 Through our Benevolences Committee, Westminster made a donation of $200 to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance to help Syrian Refugees. Read here how PDA is supporting our European partners as they minister to the needs of these refugees. You can also make an electronic donation here, or make out a check to WPC indicating in the memo line that the donation is for the Refugee Crisis.
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What's happening at Westminster this week?
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9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
10:45am - Worship in Mackey Hall, Pastor Dries preaching
12:00pm - The College of Wooster Black & Gold Weekend Lunch
7:00pm - Garden volunteer time at GreenPoint Garden
12:00-1:00pm - Peacemaking Lunch with Rev. Nzeba
7:00pm - Student-led Bible Study in The Lounge
8:30am - Agape Latte in the Old Main Caf� fishbowl
10:00am-12:00pm - CAMO Volunteer Day (carpool from church at 9:30)
7:00pm - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
6:00-7:00pm - UKirk in the Meeting Place
6:30pm - Dance Group in Mackey Hall
7:30am - Walking in Mindfulness at Oak Hill Park
9:30am - Choir Rehearsal in Mackey Hall
10:45am - World Communion Sunday Worship in Mackey Hall, Pastor Dries preaching
12:00pm - Fellowship following Worship in Mackey Hall
For the latest and most up-to-date information visit Westminster's calendar here.
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