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Dear friends,
Grace and peace to you, as we conclude our second week of journeying together—another week of staying at home as we protect our community and show respect to each other. I pray that you are and will stay well and healthy!
The pandemic does not allow us to gather in person and do the usual things to enjoy fellowship and get to know each other. These past weeks I’ve only had the opportunity to see a handful of you in person, as you were dropping off food for me during my days of settling into my new home or as you came by the office to take care of business. I appreciate your emails and your phone calls and know that I miss you and long to talk to you. If you'd like to talk to me in-person, please call in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements.
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So as we begin our first full month together, I wanted to share information with you regarding our shared life together: about the process of eventual re-opening our church for in-person gatherings, our worship, plans for on-line fellowship within our community, and our current office schedule.
- Process of re-opening. At its May 18 meeting, the session of WPC decided to continue to hold off on in-person gatherings at the Church House to protect the safety of our community. In order to have a better understanding of this complex situation, the session formed a committee to do more research on how the re-opening process may look like. We are going to consider governmental, state as well as CDC guidelines and will study plans prepared by our own Muskingum Valley and other presbyteries. The committee will report back to session at its June 22 meeting. Per MVP recommendation, we’ll proceed with caution and will present clear guidelines to the congregation.
- Worship. Following the session’s decision, we are going to continue with our online worship until the re-opening plans are put in place. We are moving toward having our service video-recorded and premiered on the WPC YouTube channel on Sunday mornings to allow members of our community to worship together and interact with each other in the comment section of the YouTube channel. We are collaborating with First Presbyterian Church on this project. They have graciously offered us the use of their technology. Stay tuned for details!
- Plans for on-line fellowship in small groups. Since there are still so many questions regarding safe in-person interaction during this pandemic time, I will be hosting on-line small group meetings to start getting to know each other beginning from next week. Following discussion with session and suggestions from some of you, I’ll begin with established groups, like Congregational Care Ministry or the Immigration Justice Group, to give you just a few examples. The list of established groups and teams are readily available to me, that is the reason why I’ll start with them. However, I need your help to reach out to everybody. The small group online gatherings I envision are not only for formally identified groups, but for anybody. So please contact me with suggestions. In spite of all the heart-ache and challenges this pandemic situation brought into our lives, it also presents us with the opportunity to be more intentional about reaching out and getting to know each other. I invite you to help me explore how we can build new relationships and deepen our sense of community.
Looking forward to further conversations.
Blessings to you.
Pastor Enikő
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Gracie DeLollis, Office Administrator:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday 9:00am – noon
Tuesday, Thursday remote office hours
Dr. Enikő Ferenczy, Pastor
Tuesday–Friday, 9:00am–5:00pm
On-call in case of pastoral emergency
If you need to talk to us in person, please call in advance so that we can make appropriate arrangements to keep all of us safe.
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National Interfaith Lament
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We will ask God to help heal our land with a moment of mourning and honoring those many who have died, often without their loved ones around them. We come together both to weep and to rejoice for those lives which have been lost. We shall mourn the loss of so many Americans, many known only to families and friends, coworkers and neighbors.
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We will mourn family members and friends whom we loved; worked and worshiped with; ate, played, and prayed with; important members of our communities, some who were on the front lines of caring for and serving others; and those we passed on the street with a smile and nod. By God’s grace, we will mourn with families who have not been able to memorialize, mourn, or properly bury their COVID dead.
Our lament will also honor hard truths we have learned during this pandemic: Our suffering has been unequal, elders have been vulnerable and alone, black and brown neighbors have borne disproportionately both the brunt of sickness and death and the front lines labor of fighting this disease. Native communities, our land's original caretakers, have been particularly hard hit — as they have been so many times in the past. Asian Americans have been targeted by hateful words and actions. Our prayers for the healing of the nation must acknowledge the brokenness of our democracy and rededicate ourselves to repair the injustices this pandemic has revealed, even as work for the healing of those who are afflicted with the virus.
… This momentous and tragic 100,000 marker will not be an empty data point on death's grim graph; rather we will remember those whom we loved and pray for both healing and hope — for our nation and the world. As a people we have borne this pandemic's cost in the lives of our loved ones; as a nation we shall honor and mourn them together.
As faith leaders we must help to lead our congregations, communities, and country in this time of grief and lament in a way that will lead us forward more united as a country to address the very real challenges we face ahead. And that we must do together.
To read the full article by Jim Wallis on recognizing the need to stop and take time to lament the tragic loss of over 100,000 American lives — neighbors, friends and family — to COVID-19, please click
here
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Community Partnership to Support our Homeless Neighbors
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Westminster Church is part of the Interfaith Justice Committee that has been working to support our homeless neighbors during this time when they are not able to access public services. Some churches provide food ministry, Westminster decided to finance a portable restroom that our neighbors can access until public buildings with sanitation facilities reopen.
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Your finance committee encourages you to continue your stewardship support by mailing contributions to:
Financial Secretary
Westminster Presbyterian Church
353 W. Pine St.
Wooster, OH. 44691
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People to People Ministries will not be open for public entry until further notice. People to People Ministries is currently in great need of financial donations. Donations can be mailed to 454 E. Bowman St., Wooster, OH or you can go to their
website to donate online.
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Immigrant Needs During COVID-19 Pandemic
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of the Hispanic community has been great. Locally, many Hispanics are either in unsafe work conditions or without work and without government compensation at this time. Our local support of Hispanic Immigrants is through the
Immigrant Worker Project (IWP) with this excellent
guide to imperative measures to protect rural Hispanic immigrants, and also through our Wayne County
Open Arms Hispanic Ministry.
Due to the COVID-19 related cancellation of the Open Arms annual fundraising banquet, a matching fund drive is underway to compensate for lost revenue for Open Arms. All funds received over and above what is needed to replenish personnel costs will go to the Open Arms Compassion Fund, with money going directly to meet the needs (food, rent, clothing, etc.) of immigrants who are in the most need during this time and will not qualify for government assistance. Please
click here for more information and to donate online.
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Spring is here, and plants are again for sale to support the annual Ice Cream Social. To arrange for pick-up, email orders to
Dave Schmidt, or call/text 330-464-5070.
Click here to view a list of plants that are available. The Ice Cream Social will be held once it has been deemed safe to do so.
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How to Submit a Prayer Request:
In order to keep our church family more connected through this time of transition, we have started sending out prayer list emails every other Friday.
To submit a prayer request for the prayer list email, please
click here and fill out the anonymous form. If you do not receive the prayer list email and would like to, please
email the Office.
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Congregational Care Ministry
Please
contact the Westminster Church office (330-263-2398) if you would like your name added to the Congregational Care Ministry Group. This group of church members provides care in times of need, for example meals following surgery or transportation to church when needed, and stays in touch with members and friends who cannot attend church regularly. If you have any questions about the Congregational Care Ministry group, please contact
Cheryl Weiss.
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Ongoing Fellowship Opportunities — TEMPORARILY ON HOLD DUE TO COVID-19
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Men's Breakfast meets on the first Tuesday of every month at the downtown Buehler's at 7:45 am. Sometimes we are many gathered and other times we are only two, but it is always a meaningful time of friendship, food, and conversation. All men are invited!
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The Westminster Dance Group meets every Thursday from 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Westminster Church House. Anyone who wants to try a little bit of floor exercise and some free form dance is welcome!
This is a low-impact, gentle movement group where non-dancers and newcomers can feel right at home!
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On the second Sunday of each month, we invite you to join us at the Chupp Residence beginning at 8:30 am for a contemplative worship service. Contact Joel Chupp with questions.
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Westminster's fellowship time is an important way to build relationships with one another. We invite you to join us after worship for light refreshments and conversation! If you would like to provide refreshments or serve as our Sunday Morning Host, please visit the
SignUpGenius link.
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Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities — TEMPORARILY ON HOLD DUE TO COVID-19
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Westminster delivers Meals on Wheels every Friday of the year to homebound and nutritionally at-risk individuals in the surrounding area, in partnership with Meals on Wheels of Stark and Wayne Counties.
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On the last Wednesday of each month, Westminster carpools from the church to the Central American Medical Outreach (CAMO) warehouse in Orrville to support the hospital in Sata Rosa de Copan, Honduras. Join us as we sort donations and build community with one another! For more information or to volunteer, contact
Sherry Hatter-Miller.
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Westminster Bed and Breakfast Program
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Westminster combines hospitality and missions through its Bed and Breakfast program!
Church volunteers host guests, and all donations received through the program are contributed to charitable organizations. The Bed and Breakfast program offers a comfortable and welcoming stay in support of local and national organizations and their work, such as: Wayne County Hospice, Viola Sartzman Free Clinic, Every Woman's House, the Salvation Army, Habitat for Humanity, Church World Service, and more.
If you are interested in being a host or know out-of-town visitors looking for a comfortable stay in this area,
contact us.
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Click below to access Westminster's calendar for more information on meetings and events.
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WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
| www.wpcwooster.org
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