Similar to most of you, I have precious memories of reading books to my kids while they were little. We’d have this weekly tradition of visiting our church library after worship to check out a couple of books to read throughout the week. As you already know, the JoAnn Reafsnyder Memorial Library is getting a complete renovation. Every week we get closer and closer to having it come to life. It is a dream of ours to have it be a place where people will go on a regular basis to check out books, gather for meetings, and use it for a resource in their daily journey of faith. Sandra and I are building on all the hard work and investment that JoAnn Reafsnyder and Judy Moon have done over the years. The area that we want to add is a Children’s section. We will start out small to see if the area is visited and can build on it down the road. This is where you come into play. If you want to donate your favorite children’s bible story book (new or used) – we would love to include it in the Library! If you want to donate it in honor or memory of someone, we can place a notation in the book. We appreciate your support! I hear from Sue McSween that the chairs are being delivered this week, the conference table can be delivered any time, and the carpet will be installed within the next couple of weeks. Praise the Lord!  Hugs,  Renee Wiesehuegel

Happy Friday Westminster! It rolled around quickly this week. I have a couple of reminders for you:

1. Share the Bounty begins this Sunday. Bring your extra flowers and/or produce to Sunday’s table. All monies placed in the donation jar will be donated to local food charities. Cool, huh?
2. Montreat Service Project: While the youth are at Montreat June 13-19, they will be assembling health kits for two local agencies that support homeless veterans in Asheville. The items needed are: men’s athletic style cotton socks, regular size toothbrushes, and travel size shampoo, soap, lotion, and toothpaste. There will be a donation basket in the Schilling Gallery. Anything you can donate will be a significant help as we seek to be good neighbors. Thank you for your help with this project!
3. Sunday worship during the summer months is held at 10:00 a.m. Make plans to stay after worship for fellowship time and Lemonade time in the Schilling Gallery. ♫

This is the day that the Lord has made! Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Hugs,

Renee Wiesehuegel

II Corinthians 9:6-15. I love this passage in the Bible. When I read it today – it so reminded me of the generosity of the Westminster family of faith. Whether there is work to be done at the FISH Pantry, or building a Habitat house, or painting in the Library, or weeding the gardens, or serving a hot meal at Volunteer Ministry Center – etc. etc. – I am continually amazed how easy our members step up to the plate to give of their time.  Seriously, over these past 11+ years that I’ve have the privilege to work in the office – never have I seen a community outreach event been canceled because of lack of volunteers. This is something you should be very proud of Westminster! All Sandra and I have to do is send out an email asking for volunteers – and poof – the work gets done! Praise the Lord!!! Not only your time – but you give so freely of your talents. Just in this year alone, Westminster has given through these special offerings:

$5,250 to Heifer International

-works toward the mission of ending world hunger and poverty and caring for the earth

$1,261 to Joy Gift Offering

-supports retired church workers through the Board of Pensions and support Racial ethnic education

$1,086 to Rice Bowl International

-provides food for the body and spirit of orphans in the name of Christ

$3,813 to One Great Hour of Sharing

-gifts are divided among the Presbyterian Hunger Program, Self-Development of People and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance through the General Assembly

$1,031 to Pentecost Offering

- supports children at risk and to nurture the faith of youth and young adults

 $200 to Volunteer Ministry Center

-This is the average monthly expense for one breakfast and one lunch and is funded 100% through our Two Cents a Meal offering which is collected on the first Sunday of each month

You are amazing Westminster!

Hugs and more hugs,

Renee Wiesehuegel

Good Morning Westminster,

Happy Wednesday! Can you believe it is already the 19th of May?

• I want to remind you that there is one worship service this coming Sunday at 11:00 a.m. There is special music and involvement of the kids during the opening hymn as we celebrate Pentecost Sunday. Sunday School will be held at 10:00 a.m.
• I want to congratulate all the graduates. We will miss your presence around here. I hope you have a safe and happy graduation experience.
• I want to wish the parents good luck with getting through this transitional period – Westminster is an awesome place to lean on when you go through this unique journey. Nothing like being in the presence of people who have traveled it ahead of you!
• I want to encourage you to sign up in the Schilling Gallery to volunteer hours at the FISH Pantry. June is our month to restock the pantry and WE NEED YOUR HELP!!! Dates to volunteer are: May 27, May 30, June 7, June 13, June 20. I appreciate all the volunteers that help with this much needed ministry!
• Our Habitat project will begin on July 24th. Mark your calendars! We are joining up forces with Central Baptist Church of Bearden this year. Be on the lookout for details.
• A sign up sheet is also posted in the Schilling Gallery for volunteers to serve Lemonade throughout the summer months. I love this fellowship time with one another after the 10:00 Summer Worship Schedule (May 30 – September 5)
• I want to remind you that even during your travels this summer, you can check our church calendar on our website for all the events happening here at Westminster. You can also review editions of the Abbey and read the church bulletins.

Hugs,

Renee Wiesehuegel

It was a sunny and cool Mother’s Day for the annual all-church picnic honoring graduating senior high school students and new youth confirmands.

Please join us this coming Sunday, May 9th, as we celebrate our 2010 Confirmation Class as well as Senior Sunday. Immediately after the 11:00 a.m. worship service, we will all gather in the Schilling Gallery and the courtyard for our annual church picnic. The chicken, mashed potatoes, and all the fixins’ will be catered by Take OutThyme. RSVP’s will be accepted through Tuesday night. You can either email the church office (westminsterpres@comcast.net) or call the church office (584-3958). We hope that you will join us!

Good afternoon Westminster,

Happy Monday to you! Wasn’t Sunday’s worship service powerful? From Peter’s prelude all the way through John’s sermon – I just keep thinking about how blessed we all are to worship together and journey our faith with one another. It was the first time I’ve heard the story of Ananias and how he graciously did what the Lord called him to do.  I love the work of behind-the -scenes people like Ananias and the amazing work they do. Westminster is blessed with tons of people like Ananias.  On any given day you can catch people here working on projects like the Reafsnyder Memorial Library; or weeding the gardens; or participating in community relief efforts like FISH, VMC, and our upcoming Habitat build; or making flower arrangements from Sunday’s arrangement to take to shut ins; being a Mentor; being a Stephen Minister, teaching a class; or …. the list goes on and on. We are truly blessed. John’s sharing of how the Lord is working in people’s lives so that they can be an “Ananias” in our lives or how He works in our lives so that we can be that type of brother/sister to others truly speaks to me. What each of us do on a daily basis – whether we are 2 or a 102 – really does matter to the people around us and for this, I say “thank you”!  Just last night a beautiful two year old spoke to me… We had the wonderful opportunity of having Amy, Eric, and Nina Theiss for dinner and Nina wanted to say the blessing. I have chill bumps remembering how excited she was – jumping at the chance to thank God for our food. While I listened, I found myself hanging on to every word that she lifted up in prayer. It is amazing to think about how wonderful this world would be if we all became as willing to answer God’s call like Ananias or jump at the chance to lift up prayers like precious two year old Nina!!!

Hope you have a very beautiful week!

Hugs,

Renee

Week at a glance here:

Wednesday: Blessed Earth video in the McKinnon Room starts at 7:30 p.m. and last about one hour

Thursday: Men’s Thursday Fellowship at 7:00 a.m.

On Wednesday, April 21st, the eve of the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day, Blessed Earth will host a live, one-night-only simulcast event entitled “Hope for Creation,” to highlight the issue of faith-based environmental stewardship. The event begins at 7:30 p.m. and lasts for one hour.

Thousands of churches and religious leaders of various denominations will participate in this electronic gathering which will include live musical performances and an exclu­sive preview of the forthcoming Blessed Earth video series “Hope for Creation,” which explores the biblical vision for care of the planet.

“This is not a political issue. It has nothing to do with national boundaries or church denominations. When we’re not using resources responsibly or being good stewards of the resources God has given us, we’re harming our neighbors and we’re not showing love and respect for God the Creator,” says Nancy Sleeth, Blessed Earth’s co-founder.

Churches all across the United States are participating, as well as congregations in South America, Africa, Europe and Asia.  In Tennessee, dozens of congregations (as well as a number of colleges and universities) have signed up to participate. Westminster is registered and will stream this event in the McKinnon Room this coming Wednesday at 7:30.  Please plan to attend this pivotal event with us!

Additional information can be found at www.blessedearth.org.

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Where Faith and Life Connect

New Blessings to Come:
Visioning Task Force Report to the Session

Honoring the past and embracing the future,
I am grateful for my life’s experiences and
I accept new blessings to come. [1]

Westminster’s recently adopted mission statement says,

We seek to follow Christ in an open, inclusive community of faith where God’s transforming love for all creation is celebrated through worship, discipleship, and service.

Westminster’s new mission statement tells us why we are here.  The purpose of this Vision Report is to show where we want to go or, more importantly, where is God calling us to go? Implementation of these statements is outside the scope of our charge. However, we plan to make ourselves available to session, ministry leaders, and the congregation as we grapple with the sometimes tough issues and decisions about how we live our life together.

We hope that this vision will be beneficial to leadership and lay ministries as a means to assess what we are doing now and to ascertain what we need to do continually to create a community that is grounded in God’s purpose.

*****

Our Vision for Westminster

We envision Westminster as a spiritually vibrant church that inspires each member. Its staff and lay leaders will guide our congregation as a whole, and our members as individuals, into a deeper encounter with God as revealed by Jesus Christ.

Westminster will integrate the spiritual, mental, physical, and relational dimensions of life so that all work together with a sense of consonance that brings wholeness and holiness to life; in other words, a place where faith and life connect… in worship, discipleship and service.

In Worship

We envision encountering God in worship in ways that are life changing. By the grace of God, preaching will be inspirational, relevant, and accessible; participation of the laity, both adult and youth, will be enhanced; music will build upon its foundation of excellence with a broad variety of styles and cultural traditions, breathing spirit and vitality into a worship experience alive with God’s presence.  To further experience the sacred, Westminster will create opportunities to celebrate special cross-cultural and inter-faith services.

Our joyful worship at Westminster will glorify God as we marvel at the mystery of God’s presence, and as we reach out to welcome a broad and diverse community, essential to the future of our church.

In Discipleship

We envision Westminster Presbyterian Church as a place where the call to grow as disciples of Jesus Christ is heard, shaped and nurtured.  We understand our development as disciples to involve growing in our understanding of the Christian faith and of the world around us, growing in our relationship with God, and growing in our relationships with one another.

Growing as disciples of Christ will mean deepening our spiritual formation as we discern the will of God in our daily practice of the Christian life. The congregation will have opportunities to be involved in faith development experiences, whether it is through classes, small groups, or mentors teaching others. Our teaching ministry’s purpose will be to lead people to a close relationship with God, not just to gain knowledge about God.

With worship that nourishes, and a teaching ministry that strengthens, shapes and forms, Westminster will be a community that is grounded in God’s purpose.

In Service

We envision, by God’s grace, Westminster’s ministry to grow more outward in focus, while continuing our strong history of nurturing and supporting the needs of people in our congregation. We will connect faith and life by the kinds of ministries and concerns which we support as a congregation, and individually by the kind of impact we have in the daily living of our lives in service to others, just as Christ served.

We see this unfolding through a process of discernment, where congregation members identify their God-given gifts. Then, having been equipped with the needed resources and empowered with purpose, congregation members inspired for service will be engaged in ministry in our church, community and the world.

Our commitment to community and world service needs will be reinforced by our financial support, and will be demonstrated in the way we allocate our financial resources to outreach organizations and for other meaningful issues or causes.

Growing into the Vision and Mission

We hope this Visioning Task Force Report will serve as a guide for shaping the future and direction at Westminster as we continually seek to be disciples of Christ and discover what God is calling us to do and be.  We anticipate that much of what we describe in this Report will unfold gradually and organically as we grow into the Vision and Mission.  As we listen to and follow God’s call, Westminster will continue to become a place where faith and life connect, in worship, discipleship and service.

Visioning Task Force

Jean Bonnyman

Tim Crais

Terry Crow

Kristi Gorden

Judy Jorden

Tim Ryan

Chris Van Beke

Rev. Dr. Buran Phillips, ex officio

Rev. John Linton Muntz, ex officio

[1] Daily Word, 12/29/09