Prayer List

Make me a channel of your peace. 

Where there is hatred let me bring your love.

Where there is injury, your pardon Lord, 

and where there is doubt true faith in you.

Make me a channel of your peace. 

Where there is despair in life let me bring hope.

Where there is darkness only light, 

and where there's sadness ever joy. 

*Based on St. Francis' prayer

This week we pray for:

Sue Coleman

Continued prayers for peace and comfort for daughter Amy and their family, and for all in our Westminster Church family who grieve Sue. We are planning a memorial service at Westminster for Sunday, August 4 at 2pm. A reception organized by the Benevolences Committee will follow the service. I will send you updates when the information is available.

Jason, husband of Dave Schmidt's niece

Prayers for Jason who is being treated in the hospital with a brain aneurysm.

Nahida and Don Gordon

Continued prayers for healing for Nahida and Don who are recovering from a car accident. Nahida is awaiting transfer back to Wooster Community Hospital later this week. She'll have a laparoscopic surgery to repair a heart valve on June 25. Don is at West View Healthy Living (1715 Mechanicsburg Rd), Room 615. He is doing well with his rehab and loves visits. They appreciate your love and support for them.

Dave Noble

Continued prayers for healing for Dave who is in rehab for a broken femur. Dave would love your visit. He is in room 10 of Second Floor Rehab unit at the Wooster Community Hospital. Prayers for strength also for Gayle as she cares for Dave.

Deb Hostetler

Continued prayers for healing, peace of mind and strength for Deb as she continues her chemo treatment and grapples with nausea. She is receiving her next treatment tomorrow. We also hold husband Gabe and their children in our love as they support Deb on this journey.

Deborah, Sherry Hatter-Miller's sister

Continued prayers for peace and comfort for Deborah as she continues her cancer journey.

Tamara, Sherry Hatter-Miller's niece

Continued prayers for healing for Tamara as she continues her treatment on her finger.

Tom and Charlotte, Susan Shaw's brother and his daughter

Susan and Tom Shaw ask for prayers for Susan’s brother Tom and his daughter Charlotte. Her brother has been dealing with debilitating stomach issues since his return from Haiti and is awaiting diagnosis. Daughter Charlotte has been struggling with mental health issues and is receiving care. 

Tom, son of Linda and Greg Barbu

Continued prayers for healing for Tom who had a successful heart valve repair surgery.

Jim Taggart

Continued prayers for healing for Jim who is recovering at home after having his big toe on his right leg amputated due to an infection recently.

Caryl Slater

Continued prayers for healing and comfort for Caryl, who has been grappling with health challenges caused by a kidney stone as well as high blood pressure.

Chris Stewart

Continued prayers for healing for Chris, who is recovering from heart surgery at home.

Brandy, Eric Miller's niece

Continued prayers for Brandy as she undergoes treatment for an aggressive type of breast cancer.

Tom Ewing, Erica Ewing's dad

Continued prayers for healing for Tom. He has resumed his cancer treatment.

Tom Battles

Continued prayers for Tom and Elaine in this new season of life with Tom living in a nursing home.

Barbara Mykkanen

Continued prayers for Barb as she participates in a study to help others with similar cancer diagnosis. She has been recently diagnosed with age related macular degeneration on her left eye.

We pray for

• those who are healing from medical procedures, and who are dealing with ongoing health concerns in our midst;
• those in our community who are unhoused;
• those who are overwhelmed by the difficult personal situations;
• all who live in the midst of violence and war - in Gaza, the West Bank and Israel, Haiti, South Sudan, Ukraine, and many other places across the world;
• your peace, O God, to overcome our dependence on violence and warfare; 
• those who strive for justice, may their voices be heard and heeded; 
• in thanksgiving for all who use their skills and resources for the common good;
• your church to build up the beloved community across the world.

Come, Holy Spirit!

Move in and through us, whisper hope into every corner of despair.

May we embody God's light, love, compassion, and hope to all we encounter.

Upcoming Events

Thursday, June 13

• Dance and Exercise - 8:30 am - Mackey Hall

Sunday, June 16

• Worship service - 10:00 am - Mackey Hall
• Wooster Friends Meeting - 10:30 am - The Meeting Place

Monday, June 17

• Scout Troop 61 - 6:30 pm - Mackey Hall
• Rally for Peace - 6:30 - 7:30 pm - Wooster City Hall (538 N. Market St.)

Thursday, June 20

• Dance and Exercise - 8:30 am - Mackey Hall

Sunday, June 23

• Worship service - 10:00 am - Mackey Hall
• Wooster Friends Meeting - 10:30 am - The Meeting Place

Rally for Peace

The Wooster Peace Collective (WPC) is organizing a Rally for Peace on Monday, June 17 at 6:30 pm outside Wooster City Hall, calling for a permanent ceasefire to avert the humanitarian crisis and famine in Gaza. The Peace Collective will also demand that billions of dollars be spent on peace not war. At 7:30 pm, the rally will enter the City Council Meeting and read a resolution calling for ceasefire during the public the public comment section.

The resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza was co-written by Laura Burch and Ian Burns. Laura is a professor of French Studies at The College of Wooster. Ian is a resident of Wooster and a founding member of the Wooster Peace Collective. You can read the resolution here.

The Peace Collective is a local group of Wooster community members, professors, and students from The College of Wooster. It also includes several members of Westminster. While it formed earlier this year in response to the genocide happening in Gaza, its members are also concerned with creating the conditions for peace more broadly. The Peace Collective wrote the resolution to emulate similar actions in cities such as Akron and Athens. The WPC hopes to bring together faith and civic organizations in Wooster and bolster alliances in the progressive community. 

At present, the resolution was endorsed by the Session of Westminster Church, as well as the Wooster-Orrville chapter of NAACP, Trinity UCC, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

In his speech "Beyond Vietnam," the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. said that "a time comes when silence is betrayal." He then elaborated, "And some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we must speak. And we must rejoice as well, for surely this is the first time in our nation's history that a significant number of its religious leaders have chosen to move beyond the prophesying of smooth patriotism to the high grounds of a firm dissent based upon the mandates of conscience and the reading of history."

We endorsed this resolution calling for peace believing that it is the right moral decision for the present time.

14th Annual Break the Cycle

Westminster will once again be a Gold Sponsor of Break the Cycle in support of OneEighty on Saturday, August 24, 2024. Our church's donation will support treatment and prevention services for the homeless working with OneEighty. Last year we fielded a team of 20 bikers and walkers. Walkers and bikers can choose to begin their walk or ride at the fairgrounds in Wooster or at the Hipp Station in Millersburg.

If you would like to bike or walk with our Westminster Team, please complete a registration form and return it to Lemoine Peart at church or to her mailbox in the church office. Registration forms are available in Mackey Hall, the church office or from any Benevolences Committee member.

There is no cost to participate if you turn in your paper registration and release forms at church. If you sign up by Sunday at church by July 28, you will receive a free Break the Cycle T-shirt on the day of the event.

For more information check out the Break the Cycle website or email or call Lemoine at lwmn@bright.net or 330-624-7506 (home).

Hope to see you there! 

Volunteer with Open Arms Kids' Camp this Summer

The Kids' Camp at Orrville Mennonite Church serves local Latinx youth and is a fun, rewarding experience. Westminster has provided a number of summer camp volunteers. 

• choose which age group you prefer: pre-k through 4th grade or 5th grade through high school. You can be a helper or leader, and there will be a number of other volunteers with you. 
• meet with your age group every other Wednesday from 9:00 am to 2:00 p.m (There will also be some local field trips)
• choose where your interest lies: learning themes, kitchen help, outdoor activities, art, drama and dance projects, etc. 
• choose as many days or half-days as your schedule permits.

Contact Cheryl Weiss via email for more information. A knowledge of Spanish is not needed.

Helping out with the Kids' Camp is fun and rewarding!