WPC at Home
Rand loves the new WPC Do-Love-Walk signs. After putting one in his yard, he got right to work on the kindness part by rolling a neighbor’s recycling bin in for the evening.
The Combs family created Advent wreaths using materials provided by the Christian Education Committee at our Christ the King Festival of Gifts Drive-Through. Did you make an Advent wreath, too? Send us a photo of your handiwork!
Westminster Weekly Quick Links 
SUNDAY: Children’s Christmas Pageant Under the Stars

Our beloved Children’s Christmas Pageant takes on a new look this year! Our children will tell the traditional nativity story through drama, narration, music, and art. These offerings have been stitched together into one joy-filled video that will be premiered under the stars in Westminster’s Courtyard on Sunday evening. Showings will have limited seatings in accordance with safety protocols for outdoor gatherings, and face coverings and physical distancing will be required. Sign-up is a must, so don’t delay! Just a few spots remain for our 7:30pm showing. Can't make the in-person showing? Watch the online premiere on WPC's YouTube channel at 7:30pm.
Next Saturday: Tour the New Fellowship Hall!

Friends, the day has arrived: the Fellowship Hall is complete, and it's time for the big reveal!

We'll offer tours of the new Fellowship Hall on Saturday, December 19, from 9:30am-12:30pm. The tours will last about 20 minutes, with 10-minute intervals between them. We will limit tour groups to nine people and one tour guide per time slot in keeping with state guidelines for indoor gatherings. Be sure you wear your mask, and observe physical distancing during the tour; hand sanitizer will be available for your use. While on the tour, you can make a donation to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and pick up one of our new WPC-branded facemasks and a “Do-Love-Walk” sign for your yard.
Unable to join us next Saturday? We'll have a second round of tours on Sunday, January 10. See the online sign-up for details.
Iglesia Presbiteriana Emanuel, WPC's Christmas Offering Recipient

Iglesia Presbiteriana Emanuel has been selected as the sole recipient of Westminster’s 2020 Christmas Offering. Since the pandemic began, Iglesia Emanuel's food ministry has grown from serving about 60 families a week to more than 450. WPC volunteers serve each week, bagging beans and rice at home and helping on-site at Wednesday's food giveaway. Westminster is honored to be a part of this vital ministry for the Durham community.

You may contribute to the Christmas Offering at any time this month. There are three ways you can give. Click the box below to make an online gift, or text CHRISTMAS and your donation amount to 73256 (standard text message rates may apply). You may also mail a check to the church (make checks payable to WPC with "Christmas Offering" on the memo line). Thanks for your generous support!
About Making Stock Donations to WPC

Thinking about a stock donation for your end-of-year pledge or gift? Westminster’s account number changed last year, so please contact Sharon Morgan for the current stock transfer information. Then be sure to let Sharon know the stock(s) being transferred, the quantity, and how the value should be applied, as the gifts often come across to WPC’s brokerage account with no names attached. In fact, Westminster recently received a couple of stock donations without the donor’s names on them. If you’ve recently made a stock donation to WPC, (1) thank you, and (2) please contact Sharon to let her know how you would like your donation to be applied. Thanks for your generosity! 
A Message from Westminster’s Racial Equity Team

In the wake of racial tension over the murder of George Floyd, violence in our cities, and increased polarization around race in our country, Westminster’s Session voted at their June meeting to form a working committee on Christianity and racism. The committee's purpose is to lead the congregation’s efforts on issues around race and racism and coordinate activities across groups. Chris emailed the congregation asking for volunteers, and 16 members signed on. The group has been meeting bi-weekly since August.

We have spent much of the fall studying A Black Theology of Liberation by James Cone. We have shared faith statements around our Christian beliefs and racial concerns, discussed the impact racism has had in our lives in ways that both hurt and helped us, discussed theological questions raised by Cone in light of our understanding of the Christian message, and talked about our beloved Westminster. We have much work to do, which we believe involves a lot of learning, intentional conversation, confession, and reflection.

Many questions have come up, but our working group has not settled on any answers. The challenges we and our country face are deep-seated and entangled with the very fabric of our lives. In addition, the dimensions are broad and cover our church, our community, our country, and our spirits. However, we firmly believe we need to address these questions together as a community, a covenant people. We need to wrestle with Scripture and theology, our own past experiences and beliefs, and the experiences of others to hear God’s call for us in 2021 and beyond. We want to say, unequivocally, that we believe this work is an essential part of what following Jesus means. The words of the prophets call out over and over for justice. Jesus lived a life of compassion and mercy, intentionally reaching across the boundaries the world has created. We also believe that following Jesus on this journey means we explore the structures of our world and their history, including the Christian Church.

As we grapple with these challenges and so much more, we hope to engage the entire WPC community in this work. Perhaps you have undertaken similar studies and have ideas for how we, as a community, can do the vital work of study and self-reflection together. Or maybe you see things differently – your life experiences have led you to a different view on our society’s ills. Wherever you are and however you see it, we believe this dialogue on race, this collective exploration of our fears and mistakes and, yes, white supremacy, will only lead us closer to Christ and to the heart of what it means to be Christian: to do justice, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God.

We want to be in conversation with you. Please be in touch with any of us who are on this committee. We are genuinely interested in your thoughts and suggestions on how best to do this work faithfully. After the first of the year, we will be in touch with a few specific offerings for focused conversation. Until then, let us all spend some time in Advent, praying that Jesus might equip us to do this work as faithfully as we can.

Linda Barnett, Suze Bear, Chuck Byrd, Ruth Caccavale, Peggy Force, Amy Hill, Jim Ketch, Eileen McAvoy, Pru Meyer, Fritz Simonson, Melinda Vaughn, Linda Van Gombos, Stacy Whitenight, and Elsa Woods; Rev. Chris Tuttle, Marietta Wynands