May 3, 2022 — 3rd Sunday of Easter
May 8, 2022 — 4th Sunday of Easter
May 15, 2022 — 5th Sunday of Easter
May 22, 2022 — 6th Sunday of Easter
May 29, 2022 — 7th Sunday of Easter
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Word from the Pastor
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? Jesus is not here but has risen.” (Luke 24:5)
This Easter Season did not begin in the way I planned it. Not at all! As you know, I had to quarantine during Holy Week through Easter Sunday due to an exposure to Covid. Yet, reflecting on the Easter story from the Gospel of Luke, I realized that my sense of befuddlement in the face of my unusual Easter experience this year is not unlike what the women may have experienced at the empty tomb. For they were challenged by the angel to remember Jesus’ words and trust the promise… trust God’s life-giving power despite not having encountered the risen Christ in person. The women were challenged to hold hope even when that new life comes in ways that counters what we know to be true… when the emerging new life defies what we think is possible.
Like the women, I too was reminded that Easter happens in the midst of disappointments like not being able to be physically present with you, Westminster Church, to celebrate together that Christ is risen. Easter—new life springs even in the midst of the unsettling realities of our world at present, in the midst of the relentless Covid pandemic, or as bloody conflicts rage between Ukraine and Russia, or Eritrea and Ethiopia. And as the body of Christ—people called into community in Christ’s name, we are challenged to remember that the Spirit empowers us to partner with Christ in looking out for and nurturing even the smallest fledgling shoots of new life into fullness.
Zoltán Ferenczi is a former pastor colleague from the Reformed Church in Hungary, now working as an addiction specialist and consultant in the central Hungarian city of Kecskemét… and no, he is not related to me, only in Spirit. One morning, sipping coffee with his wife, Zoltán told her that he cannot just sit idly by and watch what is happening in Ukraine. He called a few friends and asked if they would help him collect aid and take it across the border into Ukraine. They were thinking maybe 4 or 5 vans worth of things…
From the initial conversation things ballooned. On March 12, Zoltán and 10 friends drove 11 vans to Lviv, near the border to Poland. They collected the equivalent about $300,000 (110 million Hungarian Forints) worth of donations in less than 2 weeks - medicine, disinfectants for hospitals, and nonperishable food.
A Budapest high school and an elementary school also fully committed to supporting them… they helped in collecting and packaging items. Individuals as well as a couple of big companies stepped in… The police in Hungary and in Ukraine escorted them all the way to their destination in Lviv… A warehouse in Poland was prepared to take the aid in case they could not make it to Lviv. Now there are people in Portugal and one other country who want to use their expertise and bring donations. His community also wants to help in the rebuilding effort once the war is over.
Zoltán said that one of the big take-aways for him has been that in a politically highly polarized country like Hungary (not unlike the US), he experienced the power of human solidarity… that people were able to look beyond party and ideological lines to recognize the image of God in the neighbor in need and focus on values that makes the world a better place…
New life springing out of small efforts of a community empowered by the Spirit of the One whose love and life-giving power is relentless even in the face of death…
Beloved Presbyterian minister Fred Rogers once said, “when I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’” Zoltán and his friends, this small community moved by the neighbors’ plight are such helpers that others can look for and find hope in the face of despair and devastation.
Friends, in this Easter season, we too are called and empowered by Christ’s power and Spirit to live as “helpers” who shine the light of hope and love for one another and for our neighbors near and far. May it be so.
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Eniko
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Highlights From This Month's Session Meeting
The Westminster Session met in the Lounge at Westminster Church House on April 27, 2022 at 6:30pm. The following are highlights from the meeting:
Pastor’s Report
- Memorial Service for Alice Schmitthenner – Wilderness Center, Wilmot – Saturday, May 7 at 2 pm.
- Memorial Service for David and Marty Moldstad – Mackey Hall – Saturday, June 25 at 2 pm.
- Sue-min Lee will be the point person from session assisting Eniko in her Permanent Residence Permit Application.
- Pastor Eniko will be participating at the 225 General Assembly as Vice-moderator of the Theology, Worship, Education Committee June 17-23 (Louisville), July 5-9 (online plenaries).
- Westminster will sponsor an Eagle Scout project to establish a pollinating garden in the nursery school’s play area.
Congregational Life Cohort
Worship Committee:
- Ohio Light Opera picnic is planned for June 6. This is an excellent opportunity for area churches to recruit talented performances for Sunday service.
- Discussions are ongoing about the musical program in the fall with a possible return of choir and choral scholars.
Education Committee:
- Zoom book study sessions will being soon with a study of the author Nadia Bolz-Weber. Contact Julie Gillespie for details.
Mission Cohort
Benevolence Committee:
- Soup sales donations allocated as follows:
- $500 to the Wooster Homeless Task Force for purchase of sleeping cots needed in the Salvation Army’s Severe Weather Shelter.
- $500 to the International Institute of Akron to assist refugees from Afghanistan.
Property, Finance and Personnel Cohort
Finance Committee
- Motion approved to add Heather Veney and Bill Weiss as authorized users of WPC’s checking account.
The next Session Meeting will be Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 6:30 pm in the Lounge.
Respectfully submitted,
Bill Weiss, Acting Clerk of Session
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If you are interested in learning more about the General Assembly (2022) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), please click here to access their webpage. Check out the 225 GA docket here.
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Holding on to Easter Hope
As a reminder of the promise of Easter—that love/life is stronger than the forces of death and destruction, we created a vibrant flower patch in front of the Nursery School and sanctuary entrances. Thanks to Sherry, Candy, Dawn, Judy, and Barry for being partners in bringing joy to our neighbors.
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Planting the Easter flowers... |
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Westminster
Memorial Garden
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Barry Romich created a beautiful sign for us... |
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Diane and Joel Chupp
Received as Members of WPC
Welcome Diane and Joel! We are so excited to continue our journey with you. Many blessings!
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Earth Day Celebrations 2022
We celebrated Earth Day through worship, education (watching the documentary "Kiss the Ground") and service this year. What a wonderful way to commit anew to the love and care of God's beautiful creation!
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At the end of Earth Day worship, we "composted" our fears, giving them over to God to turn into nourishment within us and in our tomato garden. |
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In the afternoon we picked up trash around the playground at Chrsitmas Run Park. |
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Scout Devin Carroll
(Troop 61) has embarked on creating a pollinating garden in the Nursery School play area for his Eagle Award.
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First Aid for Earth Emergency - No. 4
Contribution by Juli Douglass-Gillespie
Now that the official designated “Earth Day” is behind us on the calendar, let’s try very hard to hold onto our connection to Nature, remembering that we are one and the same as the natural world. We have violated and continue to violate God’s creation, having put global warming into motion. More importantly, we have the power – through God’s love – to slow down the havoc of climate change, save ourselves and all life that exists. We must never forget that God has entrusted us, both individually and collectively, to protect all that was created, including us. There is no time for despair, and the work is hugely challenging, but the task is not impossible, and if you haven’t heard, scientists tell us it is never too late to step up our pace.
Recognize your individual participation in making the changes that will give new life to our environment and our planet. Talk to God (because making changes is hard!) for the will and motivation to add small actions daily that will make a difference. Look for articles in the news which can help you make better food choices, suggest ways to reduce your waste, and find substitutes for the use of so much plastic, all the while trying to consume less and use only what you really need.
Here is an example of a recent article from the New York Times about Food, Diet, Waste which gives you a lot of choices. [I’m sorry that if you don’t have a digital or other subscription you probably will not be allowed to read the article. I highly recommend you sign up for a digital subscription which is very inexpensive, and you will find many articles about various environmental issues.]
Most of all, talk to everyone you know and meet about your personal environmental stories. Many of us are guilty of avoiding talking about the environmental issues. We are afraid that we will elicit divisive and reactionary responses, and be dismissed as unduly pessimistic. We all have stories to tell. Listen to your friends’ and family’s stories. Connect with others to share and gain strength and exchange ideas about how to make constructive changes for the environment in your personal life. You don’t have to use possibly divisive terms like “climate crisis, global warming, environmental problems, carbon emissions”. Personal stories are about your health and the health of your loved ones, your home and your property if you have one, what you love and experience in Nature, the future for your offspring and how they will be affected. The climate crisis is NOT abstract, it is personal.
All of us must play our part and join in together to make necessary changes, and there is no time to waste.
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Westminster Book Group
The Westminster Book Group is back and all are welcome to join!
We are currently reading Nadia Bolz-Weber's Accidental Saints.
Our next meeting will be on Thursday, May 19 at 7:00pm.
We'll cover chapter 11 through the end of the book. Don't worry if you haven't read it all. Come and share the thoughts and questions from Bolz-Weber's writing that resonate with you. 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:
Meeting ID: 374 092 6037
Passcode: WPC353
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Our current reading offers a fresh insight into questions of faith, church, community and more. |
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This is our next reading. If you are curious about texts that did not make it into what we know as the Christian "canon" - the Bible, this book is a great starting point. |
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Later this summer, we will also be reading The Book of Hope by Jane Goodall, and The Politics of Persecution: Middle Eastern Christians in an Age of Empire by Mitri Raheb.
Feel free to invite friends. Hope you join us to share about life and faith... our passions and struggles!
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Alice Schmitthenner Memorial Service
The Service of Witness to the Resurrection of Alice Schmitthenner will be held at The Wilderness Center on May 7, 2022 at 2:00. Eniko and Divine will be participating in the service and we invite you to attend this outdoor event.
Directions to The Wilderness Center at 9877 Alabama Ave., SW, Wilmot, OH are here. It is about a 30 minute drive from downtown Wooster and is just past the Stark County line on SR 250.
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David Moldstad Editorials
from the Wooster Daily Record
David's son Frank has given us permission to share the editorials that Bill Weiss compiled. Thank you Bill for doing this for all of us.
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Soup Sales Update from the Benevolence Committee
Thanks to all the Westminster folks who helped to make our
Annual Hearty Italian Soup Sale successful once again!
- To those who grew and cut up fresh vegetables.
- To those who helped make soup & bread.
- To those who bought soup & bread and shared it with their family and friends.
- To those who thoughtfully returned their soup containers to be recycled for our next soup sale.
This year the Benevolence Committee sold 117 quarts of soup and received $1,140 in sales and donations. Following is the where these funds are being distributed:
- $500 to the Severe Weather Shelter at the Salvation Army
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$500 to the resettlement of Afghan Refugees through the International Institute of Akron, www.iiakron.org. In addition to this $500, an additional $72 from Westminster's share of our Peace & Global Witness Offering will go here.
- $140 will be set aside to buy supplies for next year’s soup making.
If you still have any 1-quart soup container to recycle, please leave them in the church kitchen for our supply for next year. Thanks for your continued support!
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May and June
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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Planned Steam Heat Outage at
Church House from May 22 - 27
Every year, the College of Wooster performs a campus wide steam outage shortly after Commencement to allow Service Center technicians and tradesmen to perform various repairs around campus.
The church house outage will begin at 6PM on Sunday, May 22, 2022 and will be restored on Friday, May 27,2022 by 3PM. We will have hot water however.
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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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please text WESTMINSTERPRES to 22828.
CHURCH DIRECTORY: If you would like a current digital or paper copy or if you know of an update to be made, please contact the office.
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