February 27, 2022 — Transfiguration of the Lord
March 2, 2022 — Ash Wednesday
March 6, 2022 — 1st Sunday in Lent
March 13, 2022 — 2nd Sunday in Lent
March 20, 2022 — 3rd Sunday in Lent
March 27, 2022 — 4th Sunday in Lent
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Word from the Pastor
When you read these words, I will be traveling to Birmingham, AL from Atlanta, GA as part of the “Journey to Freedom” travel seminar organized by Union Presbyterian Seminary (Charlotte Campus). This is a journey of “thanks” to Selma, Montgomery, Atlanta, Birmingham, Jackson, Little Rock, Memphis and Nashville.
With humility and gratitude, we are walking in the steps of women, men and children whose brave witness paved the way for the hoped-for end of Jim and Jane Crow laws, segregation, and a separate but not-so-equal way of life for African Americans in the deep South. We are critically engaging with the history and scholarship of the struggle for freedom and justice, acknowledging that as people of faith, we must live into the struggle and work of justice even now.
This is only day 3, and it has already been an incredible experience.
Just a few highlights so far —
In Selma, we had the privilege of talking with Ms. Annie Pearl Avery, who was a field direct with the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and Ms. JoAnne Bland, a child marcher (age 9) who was there with her older sister on March 7, 1965 - in the Bloody Sunday March across the Edmund Pettus Bridge for the right to vote. As Ms. Avery reminded us, women and children, ordinary people, were the backbone of this movement for freedom. Ms. Bland likened social movements to jigsaw puzzles and pointed out that when one piece is missing, the picture is not complete. It is therefore crucial to remember that each one of us is important in this work for justice! We each have a role in the fulfillment of God’s vision of justice and peace for all people.
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Walking across the Edmund Pettus Bridge… |
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Anne Pearl Avery (left) and JoAnne Land reflecting on the freedom marches of 1965… |
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Walking through the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Justice and Peace developed by the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery forces one to face the gruesome realities of slavery, post-restoration era lynchings, segregation and mass incarceration in this country. I experienced physical pain listening to first-person accounts from descendants of those snatched away too soon by domestic terrorist violence. Standing in front of a wall containing 800 jars of soil collected (so far) around the country from sites where Black women and men were brutally murdered is powerful and convicting. To date, EJI documented about 4400 lynchings between the end of the Civil War and the end of Jim Crow, but they acknowledge there were many more than these that are undocumented.
In the memorial garden, as we passed along the memorial slabs, we were reading the names aloud to remember these lives cut short, dreams and gifts lost. It struck me how cheap how cheap Black life was deemed then… and now? People were murdered for alleged theft, or not responding politely to a white person, or passing a note to a white woman! I left the museum with a new sense of urgency to take the risk and recommit to changing the narrative about how we view and relate to each other... to recognize how some of these oppressive schemes are still very much part of our present reality, preventing many from experience justice and peace, life in fullness.
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In Atlanta, after visiting the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, we met with Dr. Tony McNeill, Director of Performing Arts at Clinton College in Rock Hill, SC. He expanded our repertoire of freedom songs and lead us into some soul-lifting singing with our whole being. We were reminded that praise, lamentation and proclamation of hope are all part of the work of justice.
In the midst of the shock and horror of watching the chaos of war unfolding in Ukraine, the song “This world is one great battlefield” by Charles A. Tindley resonated deeply with us. We learned that this was the original behind the famous hymn of the movement, “We shall overcome.”
I’d like to leave you with this recording (to listen click on the image of Ebenezer Baptist Church—where Dr. King was baptized and where he preached). May you also find encouragement and hope as we continue to do our part in the work of justice, remembering that the piece of the puzzle that Westminster represents is key to complete the picture.
Look forward to sharing more about my experience of this journey with you!
Peace,
Pastor Enikő
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Scout Sunday
We were blessed to have Scout Troop 61 lead our worship service on February 13th.
It was so wonderful to have these young men and their troop leaders among us.
Thank you Troop 61!
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Ash Wednesday Service
We invite you to our Ash Wednesday Service,
marking the beginning of the season of Lent.
This year we will be joined by Pastor and members of
First Presbyterian Church and the
Chaplain and students from the College of Wooster.
Time: 7pm
Place: Mackey Hall
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Contemplative Prayer
When: Every 2nd Sunday of the month, 8am
Next meeting: Sunday, March 13, 2022
Where: Mackey Hall
Please contact Joel Chupp with questions.
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You are invited!
Westminster supports the Open Arms Hispanic Ministries'
fundraising banquet - TACO TUESDAY
- WHEN: March 15, 2022 at 6:00 pm
- WHERE: Kidron Park Community Center
- WHAT: Taco Bar catered by Dutch Kitchen, including desserts and drinks
There will be a program of Open Arms information and highlights
along with a free-will offering being taken.
Please RSVP by March 11 to Cheryl Weiss.
We will give Open Arms a final count with hopes to have at least
one "Westminster table" reserved!
Contact Cheryl or the church office at 330-263-2398 if you have questions.
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Our Vegan Dinner is Back!
WHEN: Wednesday, March 30, 2022
at 6:00 pm
WHERE: Mackey Hall
WHO: COW Students &
our WPC Congregation
Let's celebrate the official arrival of Spring (03/20) and pull out your favorite springtime vegan casserole, salad or dessert recipes and welcome back the students to Westminster!
We ask for your help with set-up, clean-up or food. Please click here to sign-up and make this another successful dinner with the COW students.
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March and April
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.
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Thank You
Please check here to see the letter of thanks we received from People to People and here is a letter of thanks from OneEighty.
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First Aid for Earth Emergency - No. 2
Contribution by Juli Douglass-Gillespie
NOTE: No emails were received from anyone since my last submission in the Westminster newsletter about how to reduce your personal waste. I thought I’d give it another try by waiting to hear from you another month. Some plastic lids were collected for TWC’s “Bottlecaps to Benches” campaign–thank you, and keep them coming! Please find my email address in your church directory or call Judy at the office. In the meantime I offer the following thoughts for your reflection.
God’s creation
Most people think of themselves as in a separate category from Nature, but isn’t all life the creation of God? Our dwellings shield us from outside weather events in a controlled environment, and also distance us from other creatures. When you look out your windows at birds, squirrels, deer, flies, wasps, spiders, trees, grass and flowers, you are really looking at your whole family which is all God’s creation. WE are all relatives, if you think about it. Nature is not just something you go to encounter on a camping trip or a hike, or feel, smell, and hear when you consciously decide you will think about it. We humans ARE Nature, so alienation and separateness from “Nature” are not really possible.
Buildings as barriers to Nature are nothing in comparison to our addiction to computers and phone screens. No one seems to question it, but in the last twenty years or so we have all come to accept the digital world as totally legitimate, valid, and normal–our new reality. We’ve stopped caring about each other and the vitality of life in real time because we’re tangled in and fascinated with technology. I’m not sure if Jesus would have embraced this new reality. Why? Because we are quickly losing contact with and empathy for the real world–each other and all of Nature–as we substitute what happens on screens for real contact during time spent together, conversation, and physically sharing, without phones beeping at us for attention.
Just ten to fifteen years ago I could take a walk anywhere and those I would pass could actually hear me as I greeted them in passing, but now about 75% of passers-by have cut off the possibility of communication by wearing ear buds. We have less and less time for talking face to face anymore, but plenty of time for texting cryptic messages, posting on social media, or binging on digital entertainment. Parents put screens in front of their babies instead of interacting with them. Is it any wonder that people think they are superior to a separate Nature? Is it surprising that there are so many people who turn a blind eye to evidence of climate change around the world, or who deny it even in the midst of their own personal weather disaster? What would Jesus think of today’s world? If God is counting on us to wake up and take responsibility, what do you see in your personal environment that you can change to respect God’s creation?
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Church Office Hours
Tuesday - Friday, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm
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Now that we are meeting again in person for Sunday services in Mackey Hall, please let the Church House know if you would like transportation to and from the 10:00 service. You may contact the Church House at (330) 263-2398 and we will be happy to make transportation arrangements for you. We look forward to worshipping with you!
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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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Westminster Presbyterian Church
353 East Pine Street Wooster, Ohio 330-263-2398
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