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Friday Newsletter

May 17, 2024

This Sunday--Pentecost

10 am: Worship Service & Sunday School

11 am: Congregational Meeting

11 am: New Song Chimes Practice

11:30 am: Coffee Hour

12:30 pm: Youth Collective

We traditionally wear the color red on Pentecost as we celebrate the coming of the Spirit and the birthday of the church together. Join us in this tradition as desired.


Sunday School meets for its last time this school year! All ages will be in Boulder Hall, Pre-K and Kinder at the beginning of service and Grades 1-5 joining partway through the service from the sanctuary.


Nursery care will be available, either in the regular room at the top of the stairs or in the old preschool room downstairs (go down, take a right, and keep going). If in doubt, talk to an usher or greeter!

We are holding a congregational meeting at 11:00 following the regular Sunday morning worship service for the purpose of electing church officers as well as making some changes to the bylaws regarding our church officers. There will also be a few short presentations. For the meeting agenda, click here. For the bylaws with proposed changes in red, click here. For the February annual congregational meeting minutes, which we will vote to approve at this meeting, click here. To review the strategic plan, see the 2023 annual report here.

Looking Ahead


May 19 @ 11 am: Congregational Meeting

May 22 @ 10:30 am: VBC Planning Meeting

May 26 @ 11 am: Childcare Open House

June 2 @ 10 am: Graduate Recognition

June 9 @ 10 am: Teacher/Musician Recognition

                   Installation of Elders & Deacons

June 9 @ 12 pm: Leadership Retreat

June 10 @ 6 pm: Women's Night Out

June 18 @ 6 pm: Men's Night Out

June 23 @ 11:30 am: Music & Pizza Party

June 30-July 4: Youth City Camp


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

Opportunities


What did you think? We’re Listening! We’ve had two First Sunday Family Friendly-Focused services April 7 and May 5. We’d like to know what you thought. We will have a Listening Table during coffee hour… You’ll see our familiar “We’re Listening” Sign on display. Come over and answer our survey questions, OR if you prefer, go online and answer the same questions here.


Deacons invite you to find your inner “Martha” and participate in one of our Congregational Support Teams. As part of Westminster’s congregation, we support and care about each other and search for ways to show that, so deacons believe you will find these two new teams meaningful, a way to get connected, and low impact on your life. Congregational Support 1: Memorial Reception Team which prepares, sets up, hosts, and cleans up from celebration of life events. Congregational Support 2: Visitation Team--Possibilities include outreach to those homebound due to mobility or health issues, hospital visits, or delivering home communion. These teams are deacon-assisted and have no regular meetings. Orientation training is provided, and you can volunteer as you are available. Sign up on the chart in the narthex; contact Dianne Greenlee (dianne.greenlee@gmail.com) or Deanie Anderson (deanieha51@gmail.com) with questions and to volunteer. Our congregation helping our congregation--you are needed and wanted!

VBC Registration (8/26-8/30) is open! $10.00 per child, or $20.00 maximum per family. Register children at:

https://westminster-presbyterian-church-salem-or.mycokesburyvbs.com/register-child.

Pay at: https://onrealm.org/salemwestpres/give/VBC.


We need VBC volunteers! Planning meetings: Wednesday, May 8 and Wednesday, May 22, both at 10:30am. Come help shape our camp adventure! If you would like to help in any other way, please contact Terri Crall (tcrall71@gmail.com).

Needed


Our Nursery Attendant Chrysta Friday has had some changes to her full-time job and is not able to be our nursery attendant right now. We will be providing our nursery care with 2 volunteers instead of our usual one, each week until we can hire someone to be our “lead” and supplement one volunteer each week. If you know of anyone who might be a good fit for our 2 hours-a-week job, please talk to Lucy Foster, Suzanne Taylor or Carole Brewer.  Until we can hire someone, we will need extra hands, so if you are on our list to help with children and youth, please consider giving your love to our smallest family members. 

Loan Retirement Campaign


Boulder Hall was completed on February 5, 2010. In 2023, the loan was renewed for another five years. Our last Building Fund Campaign also ended in 2023. To continue making payments, a new campaign is needed. If the drive can raise approximately $225,000, the loan could be paid off in 2026. A new two-year pledge drive started May 5th, with packets either picked up that day or mailed. Please return your pledge by June 2nd. Thank you in advance for your generosity. 

Thank you


The Events Committee would like to thank all those who helped make our Open House a success on Tuesday night. A lot of work went into the evening, and the vendors who came loved our spaces, and immediately took to social media to spread the word that “Westminster is a GREAT new addition to the South Salem events scene.” Our Instagram account has been buzzing ever since! Thanks to the entire West Pres staff and Pastor Kelly for their expertise and support, and a special thank you to Paul and Doreen Negstad, Laurie and Grubby Hain, Linda Miller, Pam Garland, LeAnn and Michael Goodenberger and Lynnea Lyman for acting as charming hosts and diligent clean-up team! Finally, Angie Willoughby is a true star, and provided a beautiful piano accompaniment to the evening that was much appreciated by everyone. THANK YOU to all for a wonderful event and a lovely evening as we kick off our Events initiative. 

Pray for


Our community's public school teachers and staff as many of them face news of their position being cut or moved, as well as everyone who will feel the impact of these changes.

Childcare FAQs


What is “the childcare”?

Almost two years ago, Westminster made a decision to optimize building utilization with a focus on serving the community.  A group of church members, with varying skills and backgrounds, was assembled to create the “Childcare Task Force”. Since then, the task force has created a pathway for a childcare provider to lease our available space (6 spaces on the upper and lower floors of the east and south side of the building). The childcare operation is a business of its own with an owner/operator and its own employees, families, and children as patrons. After many interviews, visitations, background checks, and consultations, Bluebells Academy Daycare was chosen to lease our spaces.  


Who is Bluebells Academy Daycare?

Bluebells is a growing business operated by Sara Wilson in West Salem. Sara has two in-home childcare operations located next door to each other, and she serves several Salem families with their daily childcare needs.  Sara specializes in the Reggio Emilia approach to teaching and child development with intended values to make school “lovable, industrious, inventive, liveable, documentable and communicable”. Additionally, her approach practices the idea that “Education is a right of all, of all children, and as such is a responsibility of the community.” 


Sara Wilson started Bluebells as an in-home program with six children in 2019. Her program has been growing since she opened. Sara brings to her program and business an extensive education. She graduated from Heald Business School with an AA in Business Accounting in 2014. Sara later earned her AA in Early Childhood Education from Chemeketa in 2019 and her Bachelor’s in Early Childhood Education from Eastern Oregon University in 2021. 


Bluebells Academy Daycare will offer childcare and education for infants to five-year-olds. 


How will it be different from the previous user, Creative Discoveries Preschool?

Creative Discoveries utilized a “low footprint” which meant they operated 2-4 hours/day with 5-15 children, 2 teachers, 8 months out of the year. Creative Discoveries was not certified by the state. Bluebells will be open full day/year-round with closer to 40 children, 7 or more teachers/staff and will be designed to serve multiple families in our community. Creative Discoveries used a cooperative preschool model, meaning the families were mainly responsible for creating the educational experience for their children. Bluebells is an operational childcare and preschool model with staff who have been trained or are in the process of receiving training. Bluebells Academy encourages low-income families to apply for care using supplemental childcare funding from state resources and, additionally, Sara has provided paid employment opportunities to mothers of children in the program. 

 

What is the difference between a building user and a building lease?

Bluebells will be leasing our space just as any other business would lease space to independently operate their business. Bluebells has autonomy in their operations. Whereas another entity might use our space and pay a fee, for example to host a wedding, but would not have complete independent use of the agreed upon spaces.  Westminster and Bluebells Academy have agreed to terms and hours for use of our space. Westminster will have access to classroom spaces for nursery and Sunday School use. 


What might be some challenges?

Change can be difficult, especially when we are accustomed to our routines and our spaces. We will see more foot traffic in the building between dozens of children, staff, and families entering and exiting throughout the day (also a blessing!). They will not be invisible and are paying to utilize our previously low-utilized spaces. We will need to become accustomed to sharing some space, certainly not all, but that sharing may have some initial bumps as we solidify boundaries and as Bluebells becomes fully operational.  


What might be some blessings?

There is an overwhelming need in our community for full-day childcare and preschool programs. Westminster has an opportunity to facilitate relief of a small portion of that burden by providing a clean, safe environment for children and families to thrive throughout the day. Westminster’s ongoing work over the last 20 months has led to a greater city and statewide conversation about childcare needs. Our staff and volunteers have become voices in the local movement for affordable and accessible childcare. Other churches and faith-based organizations are beginning to address similar concerns and are considering utilizing their available building space to serve the community for childcare. We are blessed to be a pioneer in this new venture! 


Who can I contact?

The childcare task force is working on creating a “point team” as the childcare gets up and running.  For now you can contact Jill Whitney (jaredandjill34@msn.com), Vik Schaaf (vik@salemwestpres.org) or Pastor Kelly (pastorkelly@salemwestpres.org) with any questions.

Westminster Presbyterian Church

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3737 Liberty Rd. S 

Salem, OR 97302

PHONE: 503-364-3327

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