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A Charge to Us
Dear friends,
The glow of this past Sunday—Palm Sunday still fills me with warmth and joy. How wonderful it was to celebrate this special moment of my ordination to the Ministry of Word and Sacrament in the company of witnesses from across the world: Korea, Romania, Hungary, Palestine, Lebanon, Sweden, France, and the states of Ohio, Virginia, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington!
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I am grateful that we affirmed anew our covenant with each other; that you, Westminster Church, and I are to join our faith, creativity, intelligence and love in doing God’s work with the power and guidance of the Spirit. I truly believe that the relationship we forged during the two and the half years that preceded my ordination—the trying year and of half of waiting for my work visa and our first year of shared ministry during the pandemic—provides us an amazing foundation to continue to build on. We now know that we can persevere through challenges and seemingly hopeless situations. We have experienced the power of prayer and community. May we continue to trust the call we received to engage in God’s mission and share God’s love in our community near and far.
I asked our ruling elder Jim Bonk to share with us the charge he offered to the congregation on Sunday. May these words of wisdom guide us as we continue our journey together. May this be a path of mutual learning, joy and fulfillment.
Charge to the Congregation on the Occasion of Enikő Ferenczy’s Ordination
Westminster Presbyterian Church, Wooster OH
We have called Enikő to be our pastor. This ordination marks an affirmation of an ongoing relationship and a call to a deepening of this relationship. It is also a moment to think about the future that we look forward to together.
We don’t know what this future will bring. But we know that the world is changing quickly in small and big ways. It’s a world in which face-to-face encounters can be anxiety-inducing. It’s a world that is increasingly hostile to organized religion. It’s a world in which the legacies of historical injustices – such as imperialism, slavery, and environmental exploitation – must no longer be ignored. It’s a world in which political divisions are even more entrenched. Engaging with this world will require flexibility, grace, humility, humor, and a willingness to learn. In her time with us, Enikő has already shown these qualities.
As a congregation, we are called to a similar degree of grace, flexibility, humility, humor, and engagement. And, we also need to be willing to learn. What does this mean?
We need to listen to and encourage teachers – like Enikő – who can provide guidance, who can point to our strengths and weaknesses, who can provide direction and momentum to our disorganized agendas, who can help us to establish goals and a vision for our community.
To be successful learners, we also need to put in sustained effort. Sometimes we need to be single-minded, and sometimes we need to be open-minded. We need the discipline to remember what we’ve learned; but we shouldn’t let our memories become unthinking habits or rigid dogmas. We need to be willing to be teachers in our areas of strength, even as we continue to learn in our areas of weakness. Most importantly, we need to put what we learn into practice – to measure the quality of our learning by its effects in the real world, and to open ourselves to the joyful risk of engaging with those beyond our community.
Learning will help us to intensify our sense of purpose, to sharpen the tools we use for understanding and relationship building, to amplify our voices, and to make our community a place that others are eager to join. As a teacher, I know that there is no place more exciting to be than a classroom of eager learners. There are few places less inviting than a classroom of students who think they have nothing to learn.
My charge for the congregation is to embrace an attitude of learning, to listen to those who can teach us, and to be ready to set aside habits or dogmas that prevent us from realizing our potential. Above all, I call on the congregation to continue to support and work with Enikő as she leads, teaches, and challenges us to engage fully with each other and the world.
JB March 28, 2021
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Highlights From This Month's Session Meeting |
The Westminster Session met by Zoom on March 24, 2021. The following are highlights from the meeting:
Session had the opportunity to meet with Rev. Matt Skolnik (via Zoom) to explore the topic of "Empowering Elders." Rev. Skolnik is the General Presbyter of our Muskingum Valley Presbytery. Discussion revolved around the roles for Session Elders as spiritual leaders. At its core, it is taking care of the people and building community. Ways of fulfilling these roles were discussed.
Following the workshop, the following business was conducted:
- Session approved the motion for serving communion during Enikő's ordination service on March 28, 2021
- A new, simplified monthly financial statement was presented. The detailed financial statement will be provided on a quarterly basis starting at the April Session meeting.
- The sub-committee which includes Enikő, Jim Bonk, Ken Shafer, and Joe Hartzler, will resume working on re-opening plans.
Session concluded the meeting with all present sharing individual blessings with Enikő on the eve of her ordination. We are excited to share in this special event in the life of Westminster.
The next Session meeting with be April 21, 2021, at 6:30pm.
Respectfully Submitted,
Josie Drushal, Clerk of Session
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Please use the link below to join our Zoom worship service and fellowship time. If you would like to dial in by phone, please use the phone number listed below. If you need help using Zoom, there are instructions linked to the button that says "Click Here." If you have trouble connecting the day of, please email Jack Veney.
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Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 853 5983 3772
Passcode: wpcworship
Dial by your location
+1 929 436 2866 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 853 5983 3772
Passcode: 4252716912
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One Great Hour of Sharing Offering |
For more than 70 years, One Great Hour of Sharing has provided us a way to share God's love with our neighbors in need. In fact, OGHS is the single, largest way Presbyterians come together every year to work toward a better world.
The three programs supported by One Great Hour of Sharing — Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, the Presbyterian Hunger Program, and Self-Development of People — all work in different ways to serve individuals and communities in need. From initial disaster response to ongoing community development, their work fits together to provide people with safety, sustenance, and hope.
To donate, text OGHS to 91999, visit the PCUSA website, HERE, or you may write a check to Westminster Presbyterian Church with "One Great Hour of Sharing" or "OGHS" in the memo line. |
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Gracie and her family are thrilled to announce that they are expecting their second child, a boy, at the end of September.
Thank you for your patience as Gracie takes time off for doctor's appointments. Details surrounding Gracie's maternity leave will be announced at a later date.
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Please note the following changes to the Church Office schedule:
April 5 (open from 8am-10am)
May 3 (closed)
All emails and voicemails will be returned in the order in which they were received once the office reopens. A reminder of these closures will be included in the Sunday morning email prior to the closure. Thank you for your patience. If you have a pastoral emergency, please contact Pastor Enikő directly.
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Since the pandemic pre-empted the 2020 Ice Cream Social, it will be held in conjunction with Plant Sunday on May 16, at Mackey Hall.
A list of plant varieties with short descriptions will be available in mid-April. If you are gardening earlier, plants will be available for pickup by arrangement with Dave Schmidt.
Full details will appear in the May Newsletter.
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Save Your "Our Family" Labels! |
When you purchase Our Family products at Buehler's, please be sure to clip and save the UPC labels. Then, turn in your labels to the tub inside the main entrance to the Church House, or call the Church Office to arrange for your labels to be picked up. If you are dropping off labels in person, please be aware that the church doors are only open from 8am–4pm Monday–Friday at this time.
Sue Coleman will continue to organize and bundle all donated labels to benefit Westminster.
For each bundle of Our Family UPC barcodes collected, participating nonprofit organizations can earn $25.
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In Celebration of Westminster Generosity |
It doesn't take long for anyone involved with our congregation to realize how very giving our members and friends are when it comes to most any kind of fundraising. When a need is made known, it is always met with goodwill, participation and/or monetary support in great measure. Those of us on the Benevolences Committee of your Mission Cohort are always in awe of the positivity and support for the many different causes and organizations we bring to your attention.
We just want to take a moment to spotlight this generous nature of our church community and thank you in relation to two fundraisers over the winter:
The Advent Collection for purchasing pairs of goats through the Presbyterian Mission Agency surpassed our goal of gifting 3 pairs to those in need in a developing country! The final amount raised was $743 which allowed us to purchase four pairs of goats ($712) and further contribute $31 to the general mission fund!
In February, the Souper Bowl of Caring collection, announced on Scout Sunday, to help support the Salvation Army Warming Center, raised a total of $849! What a wonderful way to show kindness and caring to members of our community in need of shelter on those extremely cold days and nights we experienced just weeks ago!
As we finally begin to see light at the end of the tunnel concerning the pandemic, as well as spring-like days that will only become more plentiful, thank you again for your "personal" participation and support, even when we could not be together in person!
Grace and Peace,
The Westminster Benevolences Committee
Linda Barbu, Dawn Kridel, Lemoine Peart, Shelley Peterson, and Candy Relle
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Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities |
Click the links below to learn more about Westminster's ongoing volunteering projects.
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Ongoing Fellowship Opportunities |
Click the links below for more information on Westminster's ongoing fellowship opportunities. Please note some of them have paused or moved online due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
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Access the most up-to-date version of the directory at any time, by clicking HERE!
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