Wilmington Gun Violence: A Sunday Seminar Series in March

Sundays, March 11, 18, and 25
10:10 a.m. in Community Hall

• March 11 - Mayor Mike Purzycki will discuss the city's efforts and plans to address Wilmington's gun violence.
• March 18 - Rob Prestowitz from UrbanPromise will share how pursuing mutually transformative relationships, in a structured program, empowers youth to achieve sustained positive outcomes, despite the surrounding violence.
• March 25 - Yasser Payne and Darryl Chambers from the University of Delaware will share updates from their new study that examines the relationship between opportunity, health and violence in the Northside and Westside neighborhoods.

Chimes Deadline Reminder

Monday, March 12, 11:00 a.m.

The deadline for the APRIL 2018 issue of our newsletter, The Westminster Chimes, is Monday, March 12, at 11:00 a.m. Please submit your articles online. Go to www.wpc.org/communications and click on "Submit an Article." If you have any questions, please contact Nicole Hughes ([email protected] or 302-654-5214 ext. 130).

Follow Our Guatemala Blog - With Live Updates!

Westminster members Cathy Higgins and Carrie Saathoff will be in Guatemala for a week (March 14-21) traveling with Emerson Morales of CEDEPCA. They will spend most of their time with leaders and members of the Association of Mam Christian Women for development - celebrating mutual successes and planning for future work together. Other itinerary items include delivering yarn to CEDEPCA, placing orders for VIP Latrines, signing a new three-year Covenant, establishing prayer partnerships, and making arrangements for upcoming travel opportunities for our youth and adults alike! Daily updates will be posted on our Guatemala Blog. Be sure to follow along!

Coming Up

Easter Lilies

Submission deadline: Monday, March 19

You are invited to contribute toward the decoration of the church on Easter Sunday in memory of, or in honor of, loved ones. Click here to download and print the form. The form is also available on the main literature table next to the reception desk at church. The deadline is Monday, March 19, at 12:00 noon. For any form received after that dates, the names will be listed in the April 8 bulletin.

Holy Week at Westminster

Palm Sunday, March 25 - Easter Sunday, April 1

• Palm/Passion Sunday - March 25
  Worship - 9:00 a.m. (Sanctuary) and 11:15 a.m. (Rodney Chapel)
• Maundy Thursday - March 29
  Worship - 7:00 p.m. (Sanctuary)
  Westminster Choir and soloists present Tenebrae: The Service of Shadows. The stories will be presented by our biblical storytellers, and the music will be accompanied by organ and the somber tones of lower brass instruments. Nursery care provided from 6:45 - 8:30 p.m.
• Good Friday - March 30
  9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
  Reflect on the crucifixion through silent prayer and meditation in the Sanctuary or walk the Labyrinth in the Meeting Room.
• Easter Sunday - April 1
  8:00 - 11:00 a.m. - Easter Breakfast in Community Hall
  9:00 and 11:00 a.m. - Festive worship services in the Sanctuary, with an inspirational sermon by Dr. Jones, and joyous music led by the Westminster Choir, brass, timpani, and organ
  10:15 a.m. - Easter Egg Hunt (parents and children through 2nd grade meet in Grace Hall)

Featured Photo

Several Westminsterites participated in the atTAcK addiction 5K in New Castle on March 3. Proceeds from the event benefit atTAcK addiction, a grassroots charitable foundation established to assist individuals and families impacted by addiction. Pictured left to right: Rosemary Cobb, Greg Jones, Camilla Jones, Sadiq Mohammadi, and Barry Cobb.

Email photos to [email protected] .

News to Note

Congratulations Alex!

At Saturday's Presbytery Meeting, Westminster member Alex Sprague - with the approval of the WPC Session and the New Castle Presbytery Commmittee on Preparation for Ministry - was moved from Inquirer to Candidate status, thus moving him closer to his goal of becoming an ordained pastor. When asked why now since he has a year and a half of seminary left Alex replied that he had felt called to the ministry since he was in the third grade. He has not wavered from this path. So, congratulations Alex! Keep up the good work!

Saturday Breakfast Help Needed

Saturday Breakfast is working hard to have a "Plan B" when their current location is sold. We have eliminated SAMs and are looking into Grace Methodist. We have received two more suggestions - Bethel AME and Ezion UMC. We need two individuals to volunteer to contact them. If you are able to help by contacting one of these churches, please let us know, then go ahead and make the initial contact. Your help will be appreciated by all who benefit from Saturday Breakfast. - Sue Weissinger and Tenney Wheatley

Volunteers Needed

Questions: If you and your family were suddenly in a financial crisis, would you seek help? Would you want to keep your family safe while you got back on your feet? That is what a faithful group of Westminster members do when we house four Family Promise families for three or four weeks a year. But the faithful group needs more volunteers! Would you consider taking a 6:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. shift for this fantastic mission? Marlys Kerr ([email protected] or 302-588-3759) is anxious to help you consider the possibility. Will you take a few minutes to contact her?

Congo Partnership

Westminster has a partner parish, Kamalumba Ditalala, in The Democratic Republic of Congo; New Castle Presbytery's partner is Kananga Presbytery. Several churches here have sister parishes there and there have been several cross-cultural trips. Presbyterians have been in Congo since 1890 when missionaries Lapsley and Sheppard arrived. The Presbyterian Church has a profound presence and influence in Congo and now three mission co-worker couples are serving there. We Christians no longer try to convert the Congolese as their faith is extraordinary and powerful. Our partnership is two-way: we learn from them and they learn from us.

Recent Life Events

Member Deaths - Those Who Have Joined the Church Triumphant

Please remember in prayer those who are grieving the loss of their loved one.

Photo Prayer

The Westminster Weekly Word features a new Photo Prayer once a month. You may browse all Photo Prayers by Danny Schweers at any time by visiting www.photoprayer.com.

1502 West 13th Street  |  Wilmington, DE 19806  |  (302) 654-5214  |  www.wpc.org