This week in worship we welcome Rev. Dr. Elmarie Parker, who is a PC(USA) mission coworker serving as regional liaison to Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon. Read her latest letter here.

Looking Ahead



2/18 @ 11:30: Open Time with Elders

2/18 @ 2:30: Labyrinth Experience

with guest Rev. Scott Crane

2/20 @ 6 pm: Men's Night Out

2/25 @ 11 am: Congregational Annual Meeting with Potluck

3/11 Red Cross Blood Drive

Access the full church calendar here. To add or correct something, please email office@salemwestpres.org.

Participate

Men's Night Out is February 20 at 6 pm at The Ram. RSVP to John Dalen (john.m.dalen@gmail.com or 503-551-7791).

Lent

Please take the time to walk the labyrinth while it’s up, and don’t forget to come to our Labyrinth class and Vespers Walk time from 2:30 to 4 on Sunday, led by a “child of Westminster,” Rev. Dr. Scott Crane, who is the son of Dave and Wendy Crane. Scott grew up at Westminster. He is currently the pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Corvallis. For a time he was program director at Menucha Retreat Center in the Columbia Gorge, which was owned by First Presbyterian in Portland. During his tenure there, he developed their outdoor labyrinth. Last year he led a similar class for us and it was very well received. Since he structured it to respond to people’s needs and questions, it is sure to be different this year. Bring your questions and join us from 2:30 to 4 pm on Sunday. The labyrinth will be out until after the class on Sunday. It will return during Holy Week from Palm Sunday through the Good Friday service. Many thanks to those who helped setting it up, including Ted Burney, Matt Crall, Wendy Crane, John Bard, Everett Bard, Carole Brewer, and Lucy Foster.

Church Grounds Walk- In addition to the labyrinth, you might also find that a meditative walk around the church grounds would suit your spirit. Papers are available in the narthex to guide you to the walking path around the forested area. Look for the papers with the trees in the narthex.

New Lenten Banners! It was noticed last year that we lacked any special banners for Lent. Now we have some! Many thanks to Nancy MacMorris-Adix for answering this call and creating the new long Lenten banners for our sanctuary. Thank you to Nancy and her sister who helped, and thanks to Rosamund Irwin for the inspiration! Thanks to Paul and Doreen Negstad for once again spearheading the changing out of the green ones, and hanging of the new purple banners as well as hanging the purple cloth on the cross. Our collection of sanctuary banners are all created “in house” by a cadre of fabric artists and crafters who have made quite a legacy collection for us to change through the year. Lent is a time for quiet reflection, so we will have just these banners hanging until Easter. If you would like to help with banner hanging, contact Lucy Foster or the Negstads. 

We and our partner churches in town are offering a variety of Lent and Holy Week opportunities, including services, prayer practices, and educational opportunities. One to highlight is a course on various aspects of death and dying. Check out the options available to you here, and/or pick up a printed copy of the booklet in the church narthex.

It's Annual Meeting Time--Sunday, February 25!

The 2023 Annual Report is available now. Access it in three ways:

1. Online – Click HERE.
2. Church – Binders with the annual report will be available during the 11:30am Open Time with Elders or in the church office throughout the week.
3. Individual – Want to take an Annual Report home with you? Contact the office to reserve a printed copy (office@salemwestpres.org).

Feb 18: “Open time with Elders” at 11:30am for questions, comments regarding the annual report/annual meeting, led by Elders Sandy & Steve.

Feb 25: 10am: “State of the (Westminster) Union” sermon during worship

             11am: Potluck + Annual Meeting in Boulder Hall

*Please plan to bring a side, a salad or a dessert for the potluck. Beverages and rolls provided.

Help for You or Your Friends

The bulletin board to your left as you enter Boulder Hall has a new display on it...now featuring new information on ways to help yourself or loved ones who are suffering from depression. There are information papers for you to take home and invitations to some physical activity groups you might like to try, including an ongoing Gentle Yoga class group on Tuesdays from 7 to 8 in the media room above Russell Hall, and a free martial arts class called Shorinji Kempo group led by Toru Tanabe and others, on most Mondays from 6 to 8 pm in Boulder Hall. Shorinji Kempo (Shao Lin Temple) is a unique martial art emphasizing personal and community growth and strength, rather than competition. Branches are operated as a contribution to the community, our branch is one of only four in Oregon, led by Toru Tanabe Sensei, who began the practice of Shorinji Kempo in Japan and has earned a Fourth Degree Black Belt. All Sensei (masters) do this work as volunteers. Activities like these help strengthen your heart, mind and body, which helps you cope with depression. We hope to get a walking group started as the weather improves. This bulletin board is made as a cooperative project between our Stephen Ministry group and the Mission Peace Eco-Justice Committee’s Physical and Mental Health working group. Many thanks to those who helped with this endeavor including Susan Tanabe, Lucy Foster, Wendy Crane, Carole Brewer, Toru Tanabe, Ted Burney, Luanne Barnes and Madison Barnes-Nelson, Nancy Crawford, and Carolyn Jones, and others.  

FYI

The Session stated meeting for February has been rescheduled to 2/28/24 at 5:30pm via Zoom.

Items to be included in the newsletter are due the Thursday prior at 9 am.

Pray for...

James Andrews, brother of Sally Neely. Jim was taken to the hospital on Feb 10 with severe internal bleeding. Need prayers for his treatment and reovery.

Crystal V. for employment and sleep--she has not been getting any interviews.



Lillie L. for a complete healing of her leukemia cancer, which she was diagnosed with in Jan 2023. She is still undergoing treatment.

Thanks

Thanks to one and all for almost filling Big Blue with soup to celebrate Westminster's Souper Bowl Sunday. We had many varieties of soups and supported our hungry neighbors with 293.6 pounds of nourishment! And a reminder: we did have some opened packaged foods, and these we cannot use. Any food we receive must be unopened. Thanks, again, for your contributions, team Table of Plenty was a winner! 

Give

Attention South Salem Westminster friends with big driveways and/or secure parking! 

We're looking for a new HOME for the church van! Our van has been generously stored in West Salem the past two years with the Mathers, but we'd like to bring it closer to us! Keeping the van on site at Westminster has made it a target for gas and catalytic converter theft, and we'd like to avoid this! If you have space at your house to welcome a new 12-passenger house guest, please let Vik know! 

Every unit we donate at the Westminster blood drive can help save up to three lives. Each recipient of that blood donation has his or her own story. He or she could be an accident or trauma victim, cancer patient, a mother giving birth, a premature baby, a transplant recipient or surgical candidate. Our impact goes beyond that patient – it is multiplied by the impact it has on that person’s loved ones who are thankful for the unit we donated. Please consider making an appointment to donate on Monday, March 11, 2024. There are many appointments available at nearly any time of day between 1:00pm and 5:30pm. You can use your computer, tablet or smartphone to conveniently sign up using the Red Cross blood donor App which can be found at https://www.redcrossblood.org/blood-donor-app.html (computer), at the Android Play Store or at the the Apple app store. Or you can always contact Bill Nelson at bnelson@pacificomm.net (503-576-1278) or Pam Garland at pamelamagarland@gmail.com.

In the Community

Come meet Naya and Barakat on Feb 27 @ 2:30pm at the Ike Box. They are mission workers in Lebanon who serve women, men, and children with physical disabilities sustained during the Lebanese civil war. Naya and Barakat will be visiting Salem, OR, to share about their work and ministry. Find more information here.

Westminster Presbyterian Church