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Westminster Presbyterian Church 2155 University Ave. Dubuque, IA 52001 563-583-1729 www.wpcdbq.org [email protected]
Dear Church Family- When my kids were younger, I remember reading a car license plate with the words MOM TAXI on it. I chuckled to myself and thought, “Cute -- that’s really funny.” Fast forward a few years, and I had turned into a “mom taxi” as well as a human calendar…Not only for my family but for friends too. “You’re busy? No worries. I’ll carpool your kids. I’m heading that way anyway. Can’t remember when that activity starts? No worries. I remember.” Cheerleading practice, games, karate lessons, music lessons, youth group, Sunday school, doctor appointments… I had it all memorized. I even had work schedules for my husband, my parents and myself memorized in case “mom taxi” was double booked. Fast forward another few years. I left my job in retail. Woo-hoo! No more 6:00 a.m. shifts. I now had fewer work hours, which allowed me more time to devote to other activities. I could have taken life easy but felt called to build up a WPC youth program that was fun and exciting. Not an easy task! Families come and go as they please. Commitment to church is not something that society grasps anymore. Volunteers are scarce and burned out. I can’t argue with that. Fast forward to this year. I oversee a youth program that consists of Sunday school and youth groups. Communication and coordination have become key cor-nerstones to group involvement. Scheduling, planning, obtaining supplies, promot-ing, and communication is what makes our youth program run smoothly. Over the past few years WPC kids have been involved with multiple hands-on mission activities: raking leaves for an aging church member, collecting food for the food pantry, organizing canned goods at the food pantry, serving the homeless meals, buying Christmas gifts for those in need, and the list goes on from there. Youth gather every Sunday to hang out, play games, and share their stories. They don’t always like each other, but they still have each other’s backs because they are like siblings. They are one with Christ. They are siblings in Christ. Christ Jesus is their common bond. Where do I feel our youth program needs improvement? Short answer: Sunday school. On a typical Sunday morning, kids head down for Sunday school after the worship service. What do parents do? Some take turns teaching Sunday school or help with hospitality. Others run errands. There is a lack of activities to consistently engage parents and the adult congregation during the Sunday school hour. Why is this? I can only speculate. People are generally comfortable showing up and sharing thoughts during committee meetings. Why not attend or start a Sunday morning class? Do we fear getting to know one another in an environment of faith? Do we feel anxious attending education activities because we worry that we don’t know enough about God to participate? Are we afraid to share our concerns, joys and gifts with others? Do I want that hour to myself, or should I take my family home now? Do I even bother to get out of bed early enough to go to church? These appear to be choices facing society.
2020 Stewardship 6
Youth Faith Formation 3
Green Team
Mission News
4
5
Interfaith Thanksgiving
Service
6
Fair Trade Sale 5
Calendar 7
Worship Scripture 8
Inside this issue:
Our guest writer this month is Lisa Fast, our Youth Formation Director.
Her words are wise, and I urge you to soak them in.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.” Matthew 5:4
FROM YOUR
WESTMINSTER
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH FOUNDATION:
Is God’s WILL for Westminster Presbyterian Church remembered in your WILL?
Volume XIX, Issue 11 November 2019
In my mind, this is an easy answer. I want to get out of bed and learn more about Christ. I want and need to be spiritually fed. I want my children to grow up in a Christian family outside the four walls that I call home. I want my personal family to continue to grow, to love and learn about Christ with my church family. Learning to love and care for one another. To show empathy for someone who is struggling, but more importantly, knowing on a personal level why that person is struggling. Or better yet, why is that person so happy? What joyous thing just happened in their life? Today… today is confusing for me. I have been given what I choose to call a gift, and currently that gift is pain. A pain that developed out of the ability to love. Without having the ability to love, we don’t feel. And if we don’t feel, in my mind, we truly don’t live. My 23-year-old nephew struggled with an inner pain that was so deep and so well-hidden that he decided to end his life. He was a highly honored Boy Scout, a brilliant student and a chemical engineer, and he had a love for rock climbing. All very accomplished things, but he couldn’t share his pain, and he held it within. I now sit here with this knowledge, an agonizing pain of my own, and a need to turn it into something good. Do you remember how I referred to myself as a mom taxi and a human calendar? Looking back now, I never really got to know my kids in ways that would have been productive for my family. Yes, I am very proud of my kids. They have accomplished wonderful things, and those things are all truly gifts. Some of those gifts are shared with this church family, and I would like to think these gifts please God. After all, He is the gift giver. But instead of running from activity to activity, would it have made more sense to slow down? Can this church help bring families closer together? Create a family bond that shares a love for God? So, here’s the formula that I have so far. Crazy-busy families + love + pain + modern techy stuff + gifts = I don’t know. I don’t know what this means, but I do know I want to find out. How do we communicate better? Or should it be, how do we teach one another to communicate better? Are we empathetic towards one another, or do we need to teach one another how to be empathetic? Does it make sense to separate parents from kids when learning these things? Do we need to create a stronger bond between generations? I think we do. I think church should be one unit, not something separated by age. Get to know the young children and the accomplishments and successes they have. Ask a teenager what is going on in their world. Find out what excitement they experi-enced during the past week. More importantly, get to know them so you can help them when they are hurting. I once read a book that said, “You’re only as good as those that you surround yourself with.” I may not have all the answers, but together with Christ, we do. My nephew was 23 years old. He was smart, he was beautiful, and he was hurting. This is a time for us to support one another through the good and the not so good. A support that comes from family – a church family. If you have ideas on how you could be part of an effort to make this an active intergenerational church, please let me know. Let’s work on this together!
Sincerely, Lisa Fast AKA Mom Taxi
Volume XIX, Issue 11 Page 2
Continued from page 1...
Youth Faith Formation
Thank you Mrs. Peake for working with
our kiddos during the Children’s Sabbath.
They did a fantastic job!
The Christmas Pageant is December 8th!
Session Highlights
Session met for our stated meeting on Thursday, October 24. We took the following actions: 1. Approved purchase and use of “Square” to be used for accepting credit cards for various church
activities (Fair Market, Fund raising, etc.) 2. Approved use of an online offering system that does not have a monthly fee. This will be implemented
over the next few months. 3. Approved the creation of a Capital Campaign Committee tasked to oversee a campaign beginning in
December this year. Details of the campaign: * Goal is to raise $500,000 in three-year pledges * We seek 7-10 committee members * Jeff Oberhoffer will chair the committee * Scope of projects will be “capital” property projects, meaning the projects will be significant
enhancements or replacements. Maintenance items such as yearly inspections, utilities, snow removal, salaries, and similar items will not be included.
* Initial projects to be funded are the new boilers, replacements for the AC/Heaters and Roof. * We are raising additional funding for future maintenance and replacement projects that will be
coming giving the age of our property
Thank you to every-
one that ordered a
wreath. Wreaths
should be ready for
pick up around
Thanksgiving.
RISE & SHINE
YOUTH
GROUPS Join us! It's fun!
Volume XIX, Issue 11 Page 4
Thank You to the Hospitality Team!!
John & Pam Adams Robin Beadle Barb and Wally Brown Margaret Callaghan Betty Carlin Patt Carmack Kristin Cary Doug and Jean Cheever Merrill Crawford Caroline Dausener Jon Davison Pat Edwards Dan and Marilyn Emmert Adam Etheredge Terry Flynn Gini Gordon Bev Graves
Jeff and Lori Oberhoffer Doug and Lois Pearce Glady Porter Ed and Erica Raber Denise Reyerson Carlotta Schmidt Judy Schuster Barb and Gary Scoggin Jason and Julia Smith Linda and Tom Stovall Edith Sturdevant Melissa Taylor Susan Taylor Lizz Tyler Dennis and Sue Williams Susan Williams Julie Woodyard
Ed and Sharon Hannon Gerda Hartman George Hellert Russ and Leona Hibben Scott Heicken Jeremy Harbaugh Jim and Sue Huff Betty Jozefowicz Carol Loetscher Ann Lorenz Bonnie Sue Lewis Lisa and Neil MacNaughton Ross and Sally Madden Gidget Maas Jerri Maxwell Teresa Miller Janet Neumeister
The Hospitality Team chairs wish to thank all those who volunteered this past year in making Westminster a welcoming church. This includes ushering, greeting, providing treats, and preparing and clean up of refreshments on Sunday morning. We have a great group!
If you wish to join us next year, contact Rich Henderson at [email protected] or Deb Seiffert at [email protected].
Westminster applied for a grant from Sustainable Dubuque and we were advised that the City Council approved Westminster LED Grow Light Project for $813.42.
We will be adding an additional shelf to the existing shelves and replacing our existing light which are failing with LED tubes that have a life of 50,000 hours, and fixtures that have a warran-ty for 6 years. The LED tubes are engineered to help the plants grow better foliage and enable us to plant healthier plants. We will be trying these lights later in November and then begin using them starting in February for the next growing season. This will allow us to start plants outside in the cold frames starting in Mid March to early April. Check them out at the back of Fellowship Hall later in November.
Mission News
Fair Trade Market
Get Ready! The Fair Trade Market is coming in November
Westminster Presbyterian Church is celebrating over 15 years of helping artisans from all around the globe live sustainable lives by hosting a Fair Trade Market (formerly called SERRV). A great place to purchase Christmas gifts! Volunteers are needed to make this year’s Market another success. Please sign up in the Narthex or
contact Deb Seiffert at [email protected]
* November 22 - Set up at 9:30 – 10:30 am and at 5:30 pm
* November 23 - We will open to the public. Hours are 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Volunteer needs include wrapping up sold items, writing up tickets and assisting customers.
* November 24 and December 1 – We will open at 9:00 am before church then from 10:30 am–12:00 pm. Volunteer needs include wrapping up sold items, writing up tickets and assisting customers.
New this year A Ripple Effect, a Fair Trade establishment in Dubuque, will be joining us on Nov. 23 and 24th. They will add a great variety of products for everyone to choose from. 10% of all sales will be donated to a local charity.
You may also order on your own at serrv.org?a=WPC1 Westminster will receive credit for your order.
GRANTS: Members that have been given a Mission Grant need to turn in their report as soon as they have used their grant money. All reports are due by December 13 along with having all your receipts to Chad by that date. If you have questions, contact Linda Stovall at [email protected].
A GIFT OF WARMTH: Calling all knitters and crocheters! We plan to give scarves, hats, and mittens to the women and children at Opening Doors this winter and to the families at our Hunger Outreach in Feb. You are welcome to join us the first and second Tuesdays of each month at the WAM Convo & Yarn groups too!
DONATE HAMS?
The Dubuque Food Pantry is again requesting Hams (between 2 to 5 lbs). Or other meats such
as Chickens or Turkeys for their "Christmas Basket Give Away".
All meat should be here to WPC by Dec. 15th.
They also are in need of canned goods to put in the baskets especially: Coffee/tea, canned fruit and
vegetables, ramen noodles, canned sweet potatoes, cake or brownie mixes, baking supplies, soup,
boxed potatoes, stuffing mixes, flour, sugar, hot chocolate packets, candy snacks, toothpaste and
personal care items. Thank you!
Please have non-perishable items to the
pantry by Dec. 13th.
Paying It Forward!
You may recall that the Westminster Hunger Outreach received an unexpected $1000 donation, which put us well ahead of our needs. The Mission Team decided to apply some of this to the 2020 event and then send the remainder to Lord of Life Luther-an, who is hosting a Hunger Outreach event in November. We received the following response from them recently and want to share it with you. It is a joy to be a part of the Body of Christ!
Greetings Tom,
I have to tell you, I was blown away by the check
from your congregation in support of the mobile food
pantry in November. Our theme this Fall is "Blessed to
be a blessing..." and we've been talking about all the
ways that we can use our gifts to bless others. The deci-
sion by your congregation to offer such a generous gift to
Lord of Life is truly a blessing. I have already reached
out to Kathy and both celebrated! Just amazing!
This weekend we will celebrate our 40th anniver-
sary as a congregation, and have already decided to
receive a special offering, a portion of which will go to a
start-up congregation in Iowa. I look forward to paying
it forward. We are stronger together and when we all
support each other. In peace and hope,
Pastor Paul
Page 6
Westminster Vital Statistics
Average Sunday Worship Attendance for October
2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
141 155 163 169 161 156
Financial Stewardship through October 30, 2019
(numbers rounded to the nearest 1,000)
Year-to-Date Operating Budget $296,000 2019 Expenses 291,000 2019 Income 296,000 2019 Income Over Expenses 5,000
2020 Stewardship Update
• Through 10/30/2019, we have received 103 Estimate of Giving Cards
• 41 pledges increased over 2019 levels (+$38,838)
• 14 pledges decreased from 2019 levels (-$17,155)
Thanks for your faithfulness! To God be the glory!
Still Harvesting! The harvest from Westminster's Mission Garden is 1,674.2 lbs. of fresh produce all given away. Plus more Beets, Turnips, Kale & Swiss Chard
were just planted in the cold frame.
Church News
The Sympathy of the Congregation is extended to the
family and friends of:
• Don Keller, member
• Marques Jozefowicz, grandson of Mike & Betty Jozefowicz & nephew of Lisa & Cameron Fast
DACU 37th Annual Interfaith Thanksgiving
Worship Service
Wed., November 27 - 7:00 p.m.
Resurrection Church, 4300 Asbury
*Non perishable foods accepted
Offering will go to “People in Need”
WAM GROUPS & Contacts - see binder in narthex for more info
Group Contact Activity__________________
Conversations & Yarn—offered twice Linda Stovall/Lisa Fast Knitting for all!
Woodworkers Loren Shellabarger Woodworking with a greater purpose
Game Night Jean Cheever/Marsha Wilfong Socializing & Competition
Caregivers Support Group Lisa MacNaughton Speakers, Share Stories and Resources
Supper Group Elaine & Arden Woodrum Going out to eat.
Sustainable Landscaping Lisa MacNaughton/Doug Cheever Plan/Implement Projects
WAM 1st CAREGIVERS PROGRAM MEETING – Sun., Nov. 17th 10:45 a.m. Fellowship Hall
Leader: Lisa MacNaughton, R.N., BSN Guest Speaker: Maria Morris, Instructor at Clarke Univ; Former Director of Advancement at Cedar Valley Hospice. Maria’s program will discuss caregiver stresses around the holidays & also grief support. Inviting all, especially those caring for spouses, adult children, parents & family members. Caregivers with past experiences are welcome as well. An increasing number of the US population are caring for others as they live longer lives.
Volume XIX, Page 7 NOVEMBER Calendar —go to website for a larger version
November 3 — Stewardship Program & Potluck following worship
Sacrament of the Lord's Supper
Rev. Dr. Loren Shellabarger
Theme: Silence Sermon: God in the Silence
November 10
Rev. Dr. Loren Shellabarger
Theme: Legalism & it’s problems: Sermon: Making God Like Us...
November 17
Rev. Dr. Loren Shellabarger
Theme: Act 1 & 2 Sermon: Hunting & Searching for God
November 24
Rev. Dr. Loren Shellabarger
Theme: Christ the King
December 1 Advent decorations go up following worship. Volunteers needed, including "a few, strong men"!
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DUBUQUE, IA
PERMIT NO. 577
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2155 University Ave
Dubuque, IA 52001
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Contact Information:
2155 University Ave. Dubuque, IA 52001
563-583-1729
Join us for
Communion at
Bethany Home
November 17 at 1:30
Join Us for Worship at Westminster
9:30 a.m. Sundays
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