Westminster News

November 25, 2020

Preparation for Worship

Beloved Congregation,

Regardless of the extraordinary circumstances in which we now find ourselves, I hope that you will be able to spend meaningful time in fellowship with your families this Thanksgiving. I know that for many of you, this year has brought unexpected hardships and many difficult providences. And while the ground beneath our feet seems to be continually changing, I hope that you will find yourself increasingly tethered to the unchanging God. It is my earnest desire that you will be able to affirm with the Psalmist: "The LORD is my strength and my shield; in him my heart trusts, and I am helped; my heart exults, and with my song I give thanks to him" (Psalm 28:7).

We have many things to be thankful for this week, not the least of which is the addition of some key ministry personnel. I'm pleased to announce that the Session has appointed Mrs. Jennifer Murphree as Women's Ministry Coordinator. We believe this new position will help align our women's ministry with our church's mission and vision while also providing consistent leadership and encouragement for the women's ministry team.

Additionally, the Session has appointed Mrs. Mary Katherine Keel as Interim Student Ministries Assistant. Until we find and call a full-time Student Ministry Director, the Session believes it would be highly beneficial to have someone who can help organize youth ministry activities, disciple students, and mentor our youth volunteers. We appointed a female to this position for particular focus on Middle and High School girls’ discipleship, which is something our male ministry personnel cannot provide. Our female lay-leaders, while indispensably valuable, are limited in time.

Please join us in extending a warm welcome to these new servant-leaders. Should you have any questions about these new positions, I encourage you to reach out to Pastor Roberts or myself. We would be glad to explain the rationale more fully.

I also hope you will take the time to offer a word of thanksgiving to Mr. Jim Service, who just completed building a new baptismal font for use in our sanctuary. As a result of his expertly gifted hands, we now have a beautiful piece of furniture for use in the sacrament of baptism. Please be sure to thank Mr. Service for his loving labor on behalf of Christ's church.

I plan to spend two more Sunday mornings in the book of Lamentations before transitioning to a short series of Advent sermons. As with previous sermons in this fascinating book, I hope that Sunday's sermon will better equip you to renew your hope amid suffering. Please remember that we will not have an evening worship service this Sunday due to the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. For those who will be traveling, we send you heartfelt prayers for a safe return.

In the bonds of Christ's love,

~Pastor Joe

Online Worship

Our weekly worship bulletin is available HERE. It contains the hymns we will be singing and suggestions from Pastor Steele regarding ways for you to maximize the sense of corporate worship at home. We have also added the announcements for congregants who worship at home.

The Livestream is available HERE and starts at 9:25 a.m. form the morning service and 5:55 p.m. for the evening service. The Westminster Facebook page also supports the Livestream option.

The church office will be closed Wednesday, November 25th - Friday, November 27th. The office will reopen on Monday, November 30th at 9:00 a.m. We wish all of you a very happy and blessed Thanksgiving.

Women's Ministry Christmas Gathering

Ladies, please join us at WPC to celebrate the birth of our Savior on Thursday, December 3rd from 6:30-8:30! We plan to have a time of devotion, sing, enjoy desserts and hot chocolate, and assemble welcome bags for the women of the Downtown Rescue Mission together. We will be collecting full sized and travel sized shampoos, conditioners, body washes, razors, and deodorants for the welcome bags until Sunday, November 29th. If you are unable to attend but would like to make a donation, please contact Rachel Buhl or Meg Palmer. There will be no cost for this event, but to assist in planning we ask that you please RSVP HERE no later than November 29th. We hope you will join us for an evening of sweet fellowship!

Baby Shower for Jorden Grady

Please join us for a drive-through shower honoring

Jorden Grady given by the Ladies of WPC.

When: Saturday, December 5th from 10:30-12:00

Guests will be able to drive under the side awning and give gifts and say hello to Jorden. Please try to stagger

arrival and be prepared to park and wait if needed.

Jorden and Charlie are registered at Amazon and Walmart.

Even though this is a drive by event, we still ask that you RSVP to Holly Adams for planning purposes. You can also contact Holly if you would like to contribute to a group gift. We are looking forward to showering Jorden and Charlie with love as we anticipate the arrival of sweet baby Gabriel!

The church office has additional copies of The Masculine Mandate: God's Calling to Men by Rick Phillips. These are available for $5 with a limit of one per family. Please contact the church office if you would like to purchase one.

Calling All Men: The church is in need of additional male volunteers to provide building security during events for the women's ministry. Responsibilities include monitoring the side entrance and ensuring that only appropriate attendees are allowed in. Also securing the door at the end of the event and ensuring it is locked when you depart. The Grady Baby Shower is now on the sign-up list. We are particularly encouraging men to volunteer who can attend with their wife and do not have childcare responsibilities while their wife is at an event. Click HERE to sign up to serve.

Poinsettias for the Sanctuary

Help us decorate the sanctuary with poinsettias this Christmas season. Flowers may be dedicated in memory or in honor of a loved one and names will appear in the bulletin. You can purchase a medium plant for $8 or a large plant for $17. The poinsettias will be displayed each Sunday of Advent and then you can take them home after the Christmas Eve service. The deadline to order a poinsettia is December 6th! Order forms will be in the bulletin and can be turned in with payment either to the church office or in the designated box in the lobby. Be sure to note ‘Poinsettia Drive’ on the memo line of your check. Questions? Contact Suzanne Wellborn at 256-585-9461.

Missionary Spotlight

Heero & Anya Hacquebord

Lviv, Ukraine

Heero and Anya Hacquebord serve with MTW in working to plant a reformed church in Western Ukraine. They are thankful that while conducting church services outside during the pandemic this year, neighbors and passersby have gotten to see and hear the church worshipping together. They ask for wisdom for their church leadership about meeting indoors as the weather gets colder. Heero shares that he's had the unique privilege of being part of a small team that is editing a translation of the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms into Ukrainian. While the work started offline, it has continued online this fall. "This work is not only challenging but also spiritually and personally rewarding. It's wonderful to know that we are -- in this way, also -- laying part of the foundation for future Reformed believers in Ukraine!"

Volunteers Needed

The WPC Deacons are compiling a list of church volunteers that can be on-call to support benevolence tasks within the WPC community. Occasionally, a need arises that require teams of 2-4 volunteers to support repairs, maintenance, installation, and yard work for church members.

The following skills/tasks are the most requested:

Electrical Installation/Repair
Light Construction (Carpentry, Painting, Dry Wall)
Auto Repair (minor)
Yard Work (Mowing, Raking, Edging, Hedge Trimming)
Local moves (loading/unloading
General Maintenance/Helping Hand

If interested, please send the following information to Paul Galloway, Deacons Mercy and Benevolence Committee: Name, phone number, email address, and area(s) of support. You will be notified when there is a need from the congregation.

Prayer and Praise

If you are unable to attend corporate worship in person, we still want you to make your prayer requests known so we can pray for one another. Send your prayer requests to office@wpc-hsv.org and put "Prayer Request" in the subject line. The Prayer & Praise email is sent out every Tuesday.

Church Giving

We do have a virtual option for making contributions for those who are unable to attend corporate worship in person. For online giving, click HERE. You may also mail a check to the church office. Thank you all for your continuous, faithful and generous stewardship of God's resources.

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work"

(2 Cor. 9:7-8).