Friday Newsletter

 

November 7, 2025

 

This weeks bulletin

 
 

This Sunday

10 am: Worship Service

11:15 am: Coffee Hour

 

Upcoming Events

November 9th: LAST CHANCE to update your contact information for the directory.

November 9th: Our Stories in Russell Hall

November 9th: New Member Class in Eastminster

November 10th: Women's night out

November 11th: Office Closed

November 15th: Bowling Party!

November 16th: New Member Class

November 23rd: Advent Craft Day!


Pastor's Corner


We have a special guest joining us in worship this week that you won’t want to miss it. Cara Meredith is an author, speaker, and coach with deep roots in Salem, OR (as well as California and Washington). She is a prolific writer and insightful preacher, inviting her audience to ask important questions about what kind of stories we tell about God – are they loving or punishing? Is our Christian identity animated more by grace or by sin?  She connects these questions not just to our own lives but to what we teach our children and teenagers. Her newest book, Church Camp: Bad Skits, Cry Night, & How White Evangelicalism Betrayed a Generation, asks us to be thoughtful about what kind of messages we hope will be our legacy to the young people among us. I first met Cara in May 2025 when we served on a panel discussion together at First Methodist Church and I am thrilled that she has accepted the invitation to return to Salem for a lively conversation with Westminster. 

 

Pastor Kelly will introduce Cara at the 10am service and she will be available for an informal Q&A during coffee hour. 

You can read more about her here: 


Ever onward,

Pastor Kelly

 

Annual Bowling Party!

 
 

Bible Study

 

Tuesday Bible Study @ 10:30am schedule: 

11/11 Leader: Mat W.

11/18 Leader: Pastor Kelly 

11/25 Leader: Pastor Kelly

 

Kitchen - Tea Donations

 

Let's get our tea station stocked and cozy! We're calling on all tea lovers to share a little comfort by donating your favorite herbal, regular and decaf teas. Imagine all the wonderful blends we can discover together! Bring in a box of your go-to brew and let's share the warmth.

 

Advent Craft Day

 
 

Salem Speaks Up

 
 

From the Cascades Presbytery

 

Dear Salem Westminster Team,

 

No excuses—this note should have gone out last week, but I’m finally getting around to it! It’s not that I haven’t been thinking about you all…

 

I can’t thank you all enough for your incredible hospitality and helpful support at the Presbytery meeting. You guys are a great team! Plus, it was a joy working with you and getting to know you better.

 

Hosting Presbytery is no easy task, and we don’t take that ask lightly. We’re so grateful for your heroic efforts in making everything run so smoothly. Many attendees commented on how much they enjoyed the meeting—a couple even said it might have been one of the best ever!

 

My vote is that we host it there from now on! What a beautiful space—perfectly arranged for connection, worship, and good food together. But you know I’m just kidding. We’ll circle back in about 15 years… after the trauma has finally worn off 😊 hahahaha

 

Thank you again for your hard work: setting up/taking down, hospitality from the kitchen (I ate way too many cookies—snickerdoodles in particular), parking lot traffic management (even in the rain), managing the crowd (thanks Lucy for the assist at registration), tech support (thanks Mike)and jumping in wherever needed. So grateful!

 

You guys are awesome and I am so grateful to know you as part of our connectional church.

With gratitude,

Cherie

 

P.S. Please share this email with the volunteers whose email I do not have and sadly, I can’t remember their names but your building guy (Rick?), the cute gal from the kitchen (Michele?) with whom I watched a little baseball on her IPad, John with shuttle services, bell ringers, communion servers… wow! And I could go on…😊 

 

Children & Youth Corner

 

This week:

Nov 9

9:30-11:30am Children's Sunday program (Teacher: Heberlyn & Ted)

11:30am Children's Star Choir rehearsal (Teacher: Ariana)

 

Night Out

 

Get Involved

 

Want to participate in Moral Mondays at the capital with the Oregon Poor People’s Campaign? We meet every Monday, 12pm, at First Presbyterian Church. Contact Michele (michelehare25x2@gmail.com ) or Paul Negstad (pandd.negstad@gmail.com) to join or just show up! Next: Monday, November 10, 2025. Learn more: poorpeoplescampaign.org.


Watch more about Rev. Barber and the Poor People’s Campaign here: https://open.substack.com/pub/ourmoralmoment/p/moral-movements-expose-evil?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&timestamp=8.0


 

Classes

 

End of Dance Class Sessions


We are concluding our pilot dance sessions for now, and I want to sincerely thank everyone who participated. It was a joyful time of movement, music, and community, and I’m grateful for each person who joined us along the way. We’ll take what we learned as we explore future possibilities. Thank you again for being part of it. 💛



 
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