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As we will gather for our Annual Meeting of the Congregation I invite you to read the the Annual Report ( click here for a pdf copy) to the Congregation. Reading the report, one cannot help but reflect on the past year and consider the health of our Congregation. Feeling passionate about Westminster, we look for signs of vitality as we care deeply about the sustainability of our congregation. Personally I feel that one of the biggest mistakes we tend to make in such an assessment is our concern with numbers. True to our nature we tend to measure success in terms of quantitative measures. In reality, there is nothing wrong in measuring success with numbers and money, the problem arises when we make them the only indicators of health. With such a narrow focus we tend to overlook deeper indicators that, although difficult to determine and measure, contribute to spiritual growth and the cultivation of authentic community. It is in contemplating the vitality of Westminster that I invite you to read the article, The Suicide of the Liberal Church by Chris Hedges. Many of you were in conversation with me after my sermon this past Sunday and will find the article, which I quoted extensively in my sermon, interesting and insightful to read. This week I would like to draw your attention to our Ash Wednesday service on Wednesday, February 10 at 7:00pm as we host First Presbyterian Church and the Office of Interfaith Campus Ministries of The College of Wooster. Prior to the service at 5:30 p.m you are invited to join us for a potluck. Please bring enough food to share with your family and others, as students are invited to simply attend.
It is also with excitement that we are introducing to you our new class of Teaching Elders who were ordained and installed on Sunday, January 24. We welcome April Gamble, Eric Miller (both first term), and John Veney (second term) as part of our Session. Read more about them here (pdf copy).
See you in worship on Sunday,
Dries
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A Service of Confession, Repentance, Prayer, and Commitment to End Racism
February 10, 2016 at 7:00 p.m. with Potluck prior to the service at 5:30 p.m.
As a nation we continue to be confronted by police violence against African Americans, such as the killing of Tamir Rice in Cleveland and many more across the nation. As white Christians we are mostly silent in the face of this systemic oppression and fail to see our collective responsibility. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. implied that it was not racist vigilantes that disappointed him most but "the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice."
In the aftermath of the Charleston, South Carolina church shooting by a white supremacist, the African Methodist Episcopal Church's Council of Bishops challenged our nation to break the silence on racism and to act. They wrote, "we would not continually have Fergusons and Baltimores if it were not for racism." On Ash Wednesday we are asked to break the silence and to put our faith into action!
As many Christians across the world start the Lenten journey on Ash Wednesday and engage in the spiritual discipline of "giving something up" or fasting, we turn to the prophet Isaiah who reflected on the will of God, saying,
Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice,
to undo the thongs of the yoke,
to let the oppressed go free,
and to break every yoke? (Isaiah 58:6)
Join Westminster as we host First Presbyterian Church and the Office of Interfaith Campus Ministry of The College of Wooster for an Ash Wednesday Service of "Confession, Repentance, Prayer, and Commitment to End Racism" on February 10 at 7:00 p.m. While the service takes its inspiration from the Christian tradition and will include the imposition of ashes, this event is open to all as we work together for a more just world.
You are also invited to join us for a potluck meal prior to the service in The Meeting Place starting at 5:30 p.m. Please bring enough food to share with your family and others as students are invited to simply attend.
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This coming Sunday, February 7th, the youth will be collecting cash donations after worship for Souper Bowl of Caring. Since 1990, young people have been leading the charge and inspiring others. Teaming up with local partners, these groups give 100% of donations to local charities, changing the nation's largest weekend of football into the largest weekend of caring. This year, our youth have chosen to send this donation to Habitat for Humanity and our goal is $301. Please join us on Sunday to help us reach that goal! Learn more about Souper Bowl of Caring here.
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 The Living Wage Campaign, lead by a collective of Wooster students concerned with the dignity and well-being of our essential hourly workers, is currently working to demonstrate to Administration and the Board of Trustees that a living wage is both essential and beneficial for the wider Wooster community. Please sign our petition to show your support; make sure to comment noting your involvement with the college and why you are signing! Submitted by Amy Melena '16
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- This Sunday, February 7, please bring a batch of cookies to share for dessert at our Annual Meeting of the Congregation Soup Lunch.
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Just a reminder to all that this Sunday, February 7th at the 10:45am service, our youth will be collecting the Souper Bowl of Caring donation. This year, we have chosen to send this donation to Habitat for Humanity and our goal is $301. Please join us on Sunday to help us reach that goal!
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On Friday, February 19, a group of Westminster members will travel to South
Africa through March 9. We pray for safe travels and open hearts and minds for Beth & Dries Coetzee, Jim & Janelle Collier, Sue-min Lee, Dave & Sandy Schmidt, Barbara Tartir, and Karin Loess Yoder.
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Graduation Requests for Bed and Breakfast
In addition to the usual opportunities to host guests during The College of Wooster graduation weekend, May 15 and 16, we have an inquiry asking if a group of 6 adults could rent a house for the weekend. Anyone who might be able to help with this please contact Linda Barbu. Thank you.
- Thank yous for Christmas visits to our homebound:
Just a note of appreciation for the awesome, blessed visit, wonderful card and delicious cookies. God's peace and Love to you and your always, Barbara Norris
Carolers!
Thank you for the beautiful and delicious plate of cookies and for your lovely singing voices! Enclosed is a little gift so you may continue your gift of joy next season. Lovingly, Nina Yarnell (Sandy Beery's mother)
- We need your help naming Westminster's Semimonthly electronic newsletter. Beginning this year Westminster's Weekly News became the Semimonthly News (two newsletters a month). We would like to "name" our newsletter. Please e-mail me with your suggestions! Thanks, Dries
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UKirk To Lead Worship
As many of you know, the College of Wooster UKIRK group returned from Philadelphia on the cold, winter evening of Thursday, January 14th. Even though we were exhausted from diving deeply into the now even more real and pressing issues of homelessness and mental health, how could we not come back with more questions than answers about homelessness, addiction, mental health and poverty?
The Center City Philadelphia church community called Broad Street Ministry awoke us to the social injustice that lies before our very eyes here in Wooster as we treat those who are poor and homeless merely as the background of our everyday lives. Please join us in worship at 10:45am on Sunday, February 28th as the College of Wooster UKIRK students lead us in a time of meditation and reflection about their time in the City of Brotherly Love.
What is UKik?
If you ever find yourself talking to one of our the College of Wooster students, you may have heard them use the term "UKIRK." This strange acronym stands for "U" represents "University" and "Kirk", an Old-Scots English term for "church." In other words, "University Church."
UKIRK is "the network of collegiate ministries supported by the Presbyterian Church U.S.A."
Peace,
Emily
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All middle and high school youth and their families are invited!
On Thursday, Feb. 25th at 7pm in Gault Recital Hall of Scheide Music Center, film producer Chris Temple will present a free screening of his documentary, Salam Neighbor. In this film, Temple chronicles his month-long living and filming in Za'atari in Jordan, a Syrian refugee camp. Please join Emily before the film at Westminster for pizza & another dairy-free dinner option at 6pm. After dinner, we will all walk over to Gault together.
Submitted by Emily O
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Last August members of the Benevolences Work Group decided to explore the possibility of carrying on the project that was so dear to the heart of Jeanne Bruce - knitting hats to warm the heads of children in Wooster and Wayne County. When we presented this to the congregation, several members expressed enthusiasm for the idea, and a knitting group was born. We are using the same pattern that Jeanne used. So far we have 43 hats, which will be going to Head Start, the College of Wooster Nursery School, Ida Sue School and Nick Amster Adult program.
We will continue to knit, and if you know of a group who could use hats, let us know. And, if you like to knit or want to learn, come join us.
Those who have hats in this group are:
Linda Barbu, Sue Coleman, Josie Drushal, Nahida Gordon, Caherine Graves, Barbara Hays, Caryl Slater and Judy VanWie.
Submitted by Sue Coleman
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Westminster Presbyterian Church invites you to our monthly Vegan Potluck (third Thursday of most months) on Thursday, February 18, at 6:00 p.m. in Mackey Hall, 353 E. Pine Street. This meal is a great opportunity for WPC members, Wooster community members, and College of Wooster students to enjoy delicious food and good fellowship while learning more about sustainable living. Just bring a pot-luck dish containing no meat, dairy, or eggs (no need for students to bring a dish, but always welcome).
Phil & Judy Amerine will be presenting an overview of Simply Plants Wooster, a pod of PlantPure Nation. Simply Plants Wooster sees themselves as a passionate community of individuals and groups learning about and promoting plant-based nutrition. Their mission is to connect groups within a community so that they can work together in making transformative change in their communities around the idea of plant-based nutrition.
Sign Up for the Vegan Meal at SignUpGenius or contact the church office by e-mail or at 330-263-2398.
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"A Personal Journey from Death Row"
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"The Year of Mercy and A Personal Journey from Death Row"
Featuring Fr. Neil Kookoothe and Mr. Joe D'Ambrosio on Saturday, Feb. 20, 2016, 7:00 PM at St. Mary Church (527 Beall Ave., Wooster). Fr. Kookoothe, St. Clarence-N. Olmsted pastor, and Mr. D'Ambrosio offer a moving look at Mercy related to the death penalty and wrongful conviction of innocent people. Fr. Kookoothe's roles as a priest, former nurse and attorney, helped free Joe D'Ambrosio from Ohio's death row. All are welcome! Program is free. For information, contact: Jeff Campbell, e-mail or phone 330.263.6176.
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What's happening at Westminster?
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