Word from the Pastor

Friends,

This year the season of Advent begins on my birthday. In the days leading up to my birthday, I often reflect on the generations that went before me, whose lives, stories, struggles and joys shaped me into the person who I am today. Maybe because I now live so far from my biological family, in recent years I developed a keener interest in learning more about the various people in my lineage. 

As some of you know, after moving to Wooster, I discovered that I had a great uncle—my maternal grandmother’s older brother from their dad’s first marriage—who lived in Alliance, OH, for 45 years. Not only that, but that he had two children and several grandchildren. As it turns out, I have distant relatives across the US… relations that I never knew existed.

I am fascinated to learn by what stories are passed down across the generations, what people we remember with fondness. I wonder what stories we tend to omit, who are the folk that we put in the closet, erase from our story. 

So, The Sanctified Art group’s Advent worship theme From Generation to Generation hit a deep chord in me. This Advent, we are invited to take the approach of passionate family genealogists. We will weave together a tapestry of family stories and connections across the Gospels to build a clear, chronological storyline of the events leading up to and following Christ’s birth, honing on all the humans involved with the story.

In the Gospel of Luke, Mary sings:

Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;

for the Mighty One has done great things for me,

and holy is God’s name.

God’s mercy is for those who fear God

from generation to generation. (Luke 1: 48b-50)

Mary glimpsed the scale and scope of the good news she was part of bringing forth. She understood that this good news transcends time and space;  it was and is bigger than just her. Christ is coming for collective liberation: God’s redemption is at work for years to come. This promise is meant to be lived out and passed on from generation to generation.

The root word of “generation” is “gen” meaning “origin” or “birth.” Our Advent theme, therefore, is a call to action: what are we being called to generate or bring forth? On our journey, we are invited to pay attention to each of the characters in these familiar narratives and ask:

• What did each person pass on or contribute? 
• How did they either participate in God’s liberation and love—or try to thwart God’s justice? 
• Who are the spiritual elders in our community who planted the seeds for the things that are now blooming? 
• What seeds are we planting for the future?

From Generation to Generation... reminds us of the ways our lives, histories, actions, and stories are interconnected and woven together. The work of God is always unfolding—in and through us. 

This Advent, may we remember that we belong to a story etched into the wrinkles of time, to generations that have come before and will come after, to a love that won’t let us go.

Grace and Peace,

Pastor Enikö

Advent Dinner Conversations

During the season of Advent we'll gather again weekly for some time of fellowship, reflection on the scripture stories and our experiences and share a meal. If you are interested in attending, please sign up at the Sign-up Genius link. We also have printed sign-up sheets on the table in the back of Mackey Hall. 

This is a good opportunity to bring a friend along! 

We will decide on the dates, format and location of the dinners once we know how many of us would join.

Welcome Jim Henery - 

our new Office Administrator

Jim and Jill Henery left Wooster (and his teaching at WHS) and Westminster (as our parish associate) in 2000 to serve a church in Winchester, KY. A few Westminster members were there for his installation, including the Rev. Dr. Carroll Meyer. And now, 20 years later, they have returned to Wooster (their birthplace) to retire. However, Jim has found his way back to Westminster to be the newest office administrator, having decided that retirement wasn’t for him.

Where have they been? After Kentucky along with teaching at the U. of Kentucky, and Jill who worked as a project manager for LEXMARK, they moved to Ithaca, NY, to serve a church for the next 10 years. Jim also taught at Ithaca College, was the Cornell ROTC chaplain and Jill was a project manager at Cornell. A home in Canada’s Prince Edward Island kept them busy with travelling. They moved back to Kentucky for a year’s interim position and then to Laurinburg, NC, and St. Andrews University (PCUSA). Jim was the director of communications and chaplain for the past seven years. Jill was the administrator for the liberal arts programs. When COVID interrupted, they chose to return to Wooster where they have family. They live in the Deer Creek neighborhood.

Hope you stop in to welcome Jim to Westminster!

New Office Schedule

Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 2:00 pm

Talk and Q&A with Father Anne

on the movement of women's ordination

in the Roman Catholic Church



~note time change~

Father Anne works independently as an activist and priest in Albuquerque, NM. She was ordained by woman priests and is excommunicated from the Catholic Church. This year, she will be speaking at college and university campuses on the history of the movement to ordain women in the Catholic Church. This tour is meant to be in dialogue with the phase of listening during the Synod opened by Pope Francis in October 2021 and ending October 2023. 

Date: Wednesday, November 2, 8 pm

Place: Mackey Hall, Westminster Presbyterian Church 

Fall Caring Bag

In early November, our Congregational Care Ministry group will be delivering a "Fall Caring Bag," (with apples, cookies, candies and a special greeting from Pastor Eniko) to our WPC members and friends.

The "Caring Bags" can be picked up in church on November 6th or delivered soon after to homes of those not attending service that morning. 

The ""Fall Caring Bags" are meant to be a simple token of love and care for all in our church family.  

Annual Hearty Italian Soup

Sale Begins

Our “Hearty Italian Soup Sale” is a remarkable story of community partners working together. For over 10 years, Aspire students have helped our church members make soup at Central Christian Church where ESOL (English as a Second Language) classes are held. While doing this, the students make friends and learn English language skills. The vegetables are mostly grown in our gardens for our two big soup-making days in October. Since the beginning, our “Soup Sale” has raised more than $10,000. Donations in the past have been made to the Employment Resource Fund at the Wayne County Community Foundation. (See below for more info.) Last year the proceeds were donated in support of the Severe Weather Shelter for the homeless and the International Institute of Akron for Afghan refugees. Watch for more information about this year’s donation.

The Employment Resource Fund provides grants to local non-profits to help adults with financial need to get jobs, keep jobs or get better jobs. Through one of these grants, Aspire students receive GED Test Scholarships and help with transportation to and from class. In the first 6 months of 2022, over $4000 was used to help 51 workers or students with work boots, work clothes, transportation, driver licenses, training supplies and resumes. Of those 51 individuals, 47 finished their training or are still in training or employed. If you would like more information about the Employment Resource Fund go to www.employmentresourcefund.org

Our annual “Soup Sale” begins Sunday, November 13—just in time for holiday celebrations and gift giving. Choose regular with Italian sausage or vegan for $8 a quart or with Sue-min’s homemade bread for $9. Pick up after church on Sunday or call 330-263-2398 to pick up during the week.

November Collection Items

Food Items

Spaghetti Sauce

Cereal

Cereal Bars/Breakfast Bars

Ready to Serve Soups

Canned Fruit

Canned Meat

Peanut Butter

Pork n Beans

Hygiene items

Deodorant for women & men

Body Wash

Shampoo

Dish Soap

Laundry Soap

Toilet Paper

Volunteer Opportunities for the Viola Startzman Clinic

The Benevolence Committee is now offering support to The Viola Startzman Clinic.

They are seeking volunteers to send cards and notes of cheer to their clientele. You can write your own notes at home and drop them off directly to the clinic. If you do so, please mention that you are participating through Westminster Presbyterian Church.

You can also volunteer to do this at the clinic and they will provide the cards, pens and addresses. The Benevolence Committee is considering doing this as a group. If you are interested, please reach out to any member of the Benevolence Committee or contact Dawn Kridel at mdmesk@ gmail.com for further information.

The Viola Startzman Clinic is also looking for healthy, budget friendly recipes for their clientele. If you have any to share, let Dawn Kridel know and she will get those forwarded to the Viola Startzman Clinic.

Severe Weather Shelter Volunteers Needed

Janet Burkhart from the Homelessness Taskforce informed us that the Salvation Army Severe Weather Shelter will operate between December through March when temperatures "feel like" 25F or lower. We are partnering again with First Presbyterian Church to prepare and serve meals on Mondays during this period. Our congregation will be responsible for every other Monday. 

If you are interested in preparing a meal and serving at the shelter, please contact Linda Barbu. 

Westminster Book Group

The Westminster Book Group welcomes all! 

We are currently reading Mitri Raheb's The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christians in an Age of Empire.

Our next meeting will be on

Tuesday, Nov. 15, at 7:00 p.m.

At this meeting we will cover Chapters 11 - Epilogue.

There are no wrong questions. We honor each other by creating space for openness and vulnerability. 

We are meeting online to make it accessible for everyone. Here is the Zoom link for the gathering:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88403318289?pwd=MVh1cit4L2o3VGxNK1B1TXNMcjlqZz09

Meeting ID: 884 0331 8289

Passcode: WPC353

Next we will read The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall.

Feel free to invite friends. Hope you join us to share about life and faith...

our passions and struggles!

First Aid for Earth Emergency - No. 8

"Power a Clean Future Ohio"

November 10, 7:00 pm

Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (3186 Burbank Rd., Wooster)

The global state of the climate crisis is a gloomy picture indeed. Most days in the news, whether it’s on NPR, NBC, PBS, CNN or Fox News, one is likely to hear a bad story about climate change and global warming. There is evidence of climate disaster everywhere : the energy crisis in Europe due to Putin’s war on Ukraine and its effect on rising energy prices everywhere , waves of migrating people chased from their native lands because of starvation and/or violence, wildfires with mounting health risks from smoke inhalation resulting from rising temperatures and drought, flooding from hurricanes and huge storms causing loss of homes and livelihoods, and on and on. 

But wait a minute. Let’s look at the local community of Wooster and Wayne County. We’re not suffering from any of that here YET in Wooster, Ohio. The fall weather has been gorgeous this October, with some warm and sunny days, and the fall foliage has been outstandingly colorful. Maybe you’re not happy about having to deal with the recent mass of fallen leaves, and maybe you even cut down one or more of the trees in your yard because you didn’t want to deal with all those leaves and twigs another year.

 Is that something like the way you see our local environment?

If so, then you’re sadly living in a bubble. 

The truth is that no one on this planet is immune from the effects of a warming world. Watch this video sent to me from World War Zero News Team: “What will Earth Look Like when these six tipping points hit?”

So if you are familiar with the enormity of the problems of climate change and you feel hopeless and depressed, do you just give up? If you have a child with an incurable disease, do you abandon that child and leave it to die? If you know that you could suffer severe bodily pain from not tending to a wound, when there are actions to be taken which would lesson the pain and even heal your injury, would it not be worth it to try to take those actions? Do you think God works miracles for human beings without human participation? 

We are all citizens of the world, but we are each and every day citizens of Wooster (or other towns) and Wayne County. This is what Power a Clean Future Ohio is all about. The Public Forum about PCFO was on Sept. 22 at First Presbyterian Church. If you missed that presentation and you want to hear about how this organization can help Wooster figure out the best strategies for both mitigating and adapting to the changes in our environment that are already in motion and will certainly dominate our future, please attend a showing of the video recording made by MCTV that evening. This will happen on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 7:00 p.m. at the Universalist Unitarian Fellowship (3186 Burbank Rd., Wooster). We hope that those who attended on Sept. 22 will come again, so that we can have discussion about concrete ideas for improving our local environment. A sustainable future for all in our community means limiting instead of increasing contributions to global warming. There are as many ways to do that as there are people living here. PCFO partners with communities and their governing bodies (our City Council and Mayor) for free and matches up resources for funding the projects that we choose to take on. City Council needs to know what projects we care about. Silence is NOT and option. Apathy is not an option. The ball is in our court and we must now act. This opportunity to work with PCFO is a gift, and God is watching us to see if we have the courage to take it on.

November & December

Hospitality & Liturgist

Westminster's worship and fellowship time is an important way to build relationships among all attending. 

We invite you to participate as a liturgist, assistant or provide flowers to decorate our alter. 

If you are able to fill one of these areas, 

please click here to sign up. 

Thank you for your contribution to our worship service.

Public Health Safety Update

WPC Current Status is:  Mask Optional. 

As masks may be required in specific, private areas,

please make note of any exception signage. 

Westminster Church will continue to encourage safe health practices 

and will adjust our guidelines as needed.

Thank you for your understanding and support to keep all of us safe.