Westminster News: November/December 2006

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Free Childcare and Activities: Free Time for Parents    Saturday December 2 from 10 AM to 2 PM

Parents:  Could you use about 4 hours without the children for you to get some Christmas shopping done? Our youth will offer free childcare for your children up to grade 4 Saturday, December 2 at church from 10 AM to 2 PM. The children will be divided into groups by age, with older youth caring for the smallest children assisted by one adult, and middle-schoolers and an adult tending to the K-Grade 4 children. Let Justine Hollander or Marian Bauer know how many children are coming, their ages, and length of time you will need care. You should bring whatever food/beverage your child needs for that time. There will be apple juice or lemonade available for the older children along with age-appropriate activities and videos shown.

Youth Group SUB SALE     Sunday December 3 in Fellowship Hall following Worship

Thanks to all those who bought subs from the youth on November 5.  We learned what you wanted and how much, so we are prepared for a second sale! Come to the Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 3 after worship.  We will have two varieties of subs: turkey and ham; and we will have MORE of them for sale.  Carryout bags will also be on hand this time!  If you missed out the first time, email Justine and she will reserve the subs you want! Subs are $3.50 each and chips & cookies are included. Soda is $0.50 more.  Thanks for supporting the youth!

Advent Festival and Christmas Pageant     help needed

We need your expertise and special gifts to help with the Advent Festival (Sunday afternoon, December 3) and the three rehearsals and performance of the Christmas Pageant (5 PM on Sunday, December 17). If you are interested in facilitating either of these special events, please contact Denise Meier or Marian Bauer.

Advent Festival     Sunday December 3 from 4:00 to 5:30 PM

Come to fellowship hall and make crafts, an Advent wreath and sing songs, eat some Christmas cookies. Those who like to help put up the greenery in the sanctuary and/or decorate the trees in the narthex and fellowship hall will do so during this time.  To close out the evening we will sing, pray, hear some scripture and light the first candle in our Advent wreath.

Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols     Sunday December 17 Worship Service

The Westminster Chancel Choir will lead us in this special worship service, based on services led by the King’s College Choir and conducted annually at their chapel in Cambridge since 1918.

Christmas Pageant     Sunday December 17 at 5 PM

Children age 3 thru Grade 12 will fill the parts of angels, shepherds, wise men, Mary, Joseph, Isaiah, King Herod, star carrier, innkeeper and census taker. Be sure to come and witness the story of Jesus’ birth presented in word and song. There will be child care for the smallest children. Rehearsal schedule: Sundays: at 9-10 am  Dec. 3, 10, and 17.

Dress rehearsal 1-2:30 pm  Sat. Dec. 16.

Sanctuary Floral Decorations 

The WPC Flower Committee invites you to contribute to the Christmas decoration of the sanctuary.  Single poinsettias will be ordered from the Madison Youth Choirs for $15 each.  You may choose to take one home after the 11 PM worship service Christmas Eve, or leave it in the sanctuary until after the New Year.  Print and submit the order form found here by December 21.

Interfaith Hospitality Network     Your Help is Needed on Thursday December 21

It is a privilege to serve Interfaith Hospitality Network. Westminster volunteers are needed to help when people are housed at Covenant Presbyterian Church on Thursday, December 21.  The meal to be served will include a main dish to be provided by WPC member Julie Madden. We will also need people to make salad and dessert.  We will need child care to be provided by two more volunteers.  Approximately twenty-two people are expected to be served and your contributions of time and food will be most welcome.  Call Mary Jean Bartholomew and be a part of this rewarding experience during the holidays.

Christmas Joy Offering     Sundays, December 17 and 24

Presbyterians have long celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ by giving generously to an Advent offering.  The Christmas Joy Offering recognizes the faithfulness of current and retired church workers by providing funds to help them through difficult times.

     Governing bodies, congregations, and employing organizations offer the grants to church workers who have financial need or an emergency. These grants are an expression of Presbyterians’ faithful witness to and sharing of the love of Christ for all people.  Again and again, recipients of grants large and small say that as important as the financial assistance was, what really sustained them was the knowledge that the church was standing with them in their time of need. 

     This offering will be received during worship services on December 17th and December 24.  You may also mail in your contribution to the church office. Checks may be written to Westminster Presbyterian Church with the memo of “Christmas Joy”

Parking: Ice and Snow, and Hospitality    

My family moved to Madison and joined Westminster in 1967.  During all those years our comings and goings have changed considerably.  At first we had one car and we all came together, Dad would drop us off at the door and park two blocks away, to save the closer spots for ‘other’ people.  We always wondered why we had to be inconvenienced to walk two blocks after church to get the car.

     Later we got a second car and Mom came early for choir rehearsal while Dad brought the rest of us as usual, parking two blocks away to save the closer spots for the ‘other’ people.  Once I came back to Madison, I started teaching Sunday School, Mom kept coming to choir and Dad recorded the service, we drove three cars each week.  Now we are back to driving together and we drop off Dad and park two blocks away to save the closer spots for the ‘other’ people.

     I realize now that Dad was teaching us hospitality, doing what we can, not knowing what someone else might need. 

      We always came and went through the same door and knew where we wanted to go.  Now we come and go through the Yuma Door and have a new perspective on things.  I notice all the things the church has done to make it easier for people to get in and out; the elevator, handicapped parking spots and the automatic door openers.  I also see things that are still challenging;  never enough parking spots close to the door, along with the winter ice and snow that doesn’t melt on the north side of the building. To work on these issues, we salt before the storms, our snow plow company has graciously offered to help spread salt around that entrance, and we will try to reserve more parking spaces near the accessible entrance.

     We have two wonderful people in Bill Butler and Jim Kohl who volunteer to look after our sidewalks for snow and ice problems. We all know Bill, the coffee guy or cookie man depending on how old you are, and Jim is the school crossing guard at Yuma and Nakoma. 

     They clear the walks, spread salt and keep salt by all entrances.  A couple of weeks ago after the first snow of the season, Bill shoveled, the sun came out melting a little bit. then went away allowing what was melted to refreeze causing trouble.  Carl Martin came to the rescue salting the area making it easier for people to walk. 

     Many new members say that the reason they chose to join Westminster is the friendliness of its members.  We are a very warm, caring and hospitable congregation that attracts similarly minded people. 

     If you feel called to help people in this way or just like playing in the snow, please consider volunteering.  You could take a couple of weekends to watch for storms and come early to shovel or spread salt, or you could be a greeter at this entrance helping people in and out of their cars and helping them find their way around the building.

John Tarr, Parish Administrator

CALLING ALL CROSS-STITCHERS

A very special WELCOME sign is going to be created, and when complete, will be displayed just above the door leading into the sanctuary.  We would love to have your help with this project!   The material is easy-to-work-with 6-count Aida cloth.  Please call Julie Madden if your fingers are ready for a winter project.

Mitten Tree

Knitting Baskets are located in the Narthex to accept your creations of mittens, scarves, and hats that will be donated to children in the community, through March 2007.  The latest stock of donated items have been delivered to both Allied Drive and Lapham school children.  Drop your donation off any time!

RECYCLE THE WARMTH!

The 15th Annual Blanket Drive for St. Vincent de Paul is scheduled for January 26 and 28.  St. Vincent de Paul is committed to helping neighbors in need and this drive helps provide blankets, pillows and sheets to all those seeking help, and you can make this possible!  All the bedding they collect or purchase during this drive will be given away during 2007 to needy individuals and families who come to our Service Center on Culmen Street .  Another way to help is to contribute toward the purchase of additional bedding (new sheets, pillows, and mattress covers) to meet the requests we receive.  A special blanket collection bin will be set up at church starting around January 7, along with envelopes for donations. WATCH FOR DETAILS!!

Rummage Sale a Success!

It's that time of year again when we fill up our calendars and homes with food, family and friends - giving thanks for our many blessings.  Well, it's my fellow rummage sale workers for whom I am very thankful (among many other things) once again!  You made the October 28 Rummage Sale a success!

     If we think about it, the fall rummage sale happens in much the same manner as our approach to the holidays (with great excitement, of course). We buy groceries, much like we gather up our donations; we cook the food & set the table, much like we organize our church tables of folded clothes, dishes & toys; the phone calls are made (invitations sent) & the rummage sale signs are hung...inviting others into our "home" and soon the doors are opened (with a deep breath)...people file in and the fun begins.

     Everybody pitches in & celebrates the event and soon it is over. The "house" is quiet, you're exhausted but now you have the clean-up!  People pack up, you give away the "leftovers" and all go home very satisfied with giving and sharing in fellowship.  Your "home" that once looked like a tornado went through it, is now back in order.

     I can only hope that each of you who gave so graciously in many ways at this fall rummage sale realize your value to me as a friend, as well as to this congregation and society as a whole.

     Our work is all for a worthy cause and I thank you for your dedication once again as our tradition continues! It's an amazing team spirit and I appreciate every one of you!

Blessings always,  Peggy Sivesind

Nakoma Neighborhood Canvass    

The Evangelism Committee extends sincere thanks to the twenty-one other individuals who joined us in the canvass of the Nakoma Neighborhood Sunday afternoon November 12th.  We distributed 750 door hangers, got some exercise and enjoyed fellowship over a pizza/salad/dessert supper. We know of at least one person who joined us in worship on November 19th as a direct result of receiving the attractive door hanger.  It's a beginning; and that's what is takes!   If you missed this opportunity to help…  in Spring we will consider doing another neighborhood, such as Midvale Heights, Westmorland, or Dudgeon.  Let us know your thoughts.

Your Change Creates Change!

We remind you that the loose change you put in the Sunday offering plate goes to support our ‘adopted’ child, Alex Ortiz, who lives in El Salvador. Now, another child at has come under the wing and hearts of Westminster from Harvesting in Spanish!  She is  three-year old Adriana ‘Arely’ Campos Orantes.  She and her four brothers came to Shalom Children’s Home in El Salvador when their father abandoned the family.  Their mother could not take care of them in such a dangerous area with drug trafficking and gangs.  ‘Arely’ is receiving much loving care and learning that Jesus loves her.  Arely is a sweet, happy little girl who always wears a big smile.  Check the bulletin board (near the chapel) to see the beautiful picture of Arely along with her story and information.

     So remember that all your loose change placed into the offering plate on Sundays helps support both Alex and Arely!

New Books in the Library

For children/families:

Mouse Tales: Things Hoped For: Advent, Christmas, Epiphany by Ruth Boling.

Stories are set in the Christmas season and show the community—and especially six memorable children—learning how to care for one another, welcome outsiders, disagree in love, forgive their friends, and love as Christ loves.

For teens:

Jacob Have I Loved  and Bridge to Terabithia both by Katherine Paterson. 

Katherine Paterson is married to a retired Presbyterian minister. She has won medals and prizes for her books. In Jacob Have I Loved she explores relationships in a family with twins.  In Bridge, she tells the story of friendship between two children and dealing with the death of one.

For parents and others:

Many Ways to say I Love You; Wisdom for Parents and Children from Mister Rogers by Fred Rogers. 

A treasured collection of reflections on the joys and challenges of family life from the man who welcomed generations of parents and children into his Neighborhood

For adults:

I’m Proud of You: My Friendship with Fred Rogers by Tim Madigan.

This is the true story of one man’s spiritually transforming friendship with children’s television icon, Fred Rogers.  Fred Rogers was an ordained Presbyterian minister whose call was to the  ministry with children.

UNICEF 2006

When you purchase UNICEF greeting cards and gifts, you are doing much more than sending a goodwill gesture. You are making a real difference in the lives of children around the world who urgently need your help. We invite you to explore our exciting line of premium cards and gifts, all designed to delight you, your family and friends.

     UNICEF products are no longer available through groups and individuals beginning this year. All products are now sold at Hallmark® stores, or on-line catalogs.  WPC member, Jean Hawkins will make a catalog available to you in Fellowship hall. You may write the product numbers, and leave the catalog for others to use.  You can also go to the UNICEF web site and order directly from home; go to www.shopcardsandgifts.unicefusa.org

NeighborNation.net

NeighborNation.net is a ‘ kiosk ’ for Madison neighborhoods. You can search for free products & services or which can be shared. Find out who has a ladder in your neighborhood, or who can take care of your dog, or who wants that old steamer trunk in your basement that will just go to the trash if you can't find someone to take it. Share magazines, childcare, lawn work. Advertise your fundraising project. Check it out at www.NeighborNation.net. If your neighborhood isn't listed, you can add it...and this is one more way to work towards a sustainable and simpler life style!  Information from Susan Paddock

Puppets - Puppets - Puppets FUN!

Puppets can be created by children, youth or adults! So ... if you have an interest in making puppets and preparing short playlets [for church school classes, a fellowship event, or a visit to a nursing home, etc] … contact Marian Bauer by email or call 238-3121 to let her know you are interested. We will then plan when to meet and have lots of fun!

Westminster's Child Protection and Sexual Abuse Covenant

On August 28, 2006, in a proactive spirit, the Session of Westminster Presbyterian Church adopted a Child Protection and Sexual Abuse Covenant. The covenant is available in the office for review. In addition, you may sign a document showing you concur with this new covenant. All those who plan to work with our children and youth - both volunteers and paid staff - during any time of the year are now asked to sign this document.  

It is a Privilege to Serve Meals at the Homeless Shelter

Volunteers are needed to help prepare and serve homeless shelter meals. Every second Friday night of the month we serve dinner. Every other month we cook and serve dinner. Every second Saturday morning, we cook & serve a hot or cold breakfast. More volunteers are needed, especially for breakfasts for the rest of 2006. Please consider being a breakfast chair, or help provide a Saturday breakfast. Contact Ann Smart Martin or sign up in Fellowship Hall.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Dinner and breakfast was prepared and served by Westminster volunteers!

WHERE DID IT HAPPEN?

At the men’s shelter in Grace Episcopal Church!

WHO WAS THERE?

Eighty men were served a delicious dinner of chicken and pasta salad, potato salad, fresh fruit & ice cream dessert!   The “others” involved were the shop & prep & cook & serve crews who created the total dining experience!

WHO WERE THE “OTHERS”?

Dale & Nanci Bjorling, Sue Bridson, Cynthia Bush, Sandra Cole, Joel DeSpain, Gay Didriksen & Bob Goller, Kathy & Dave Granquist, Marge Hamann, Michael Johnson, Joel & Connie Jones, Julie Madden, Lil Marsh, Ann & Carl Martin, Thatcher Root, Susan Sweitzer, Dick & Peg Zimmer.

WHAT DID THEY DO?

They cooked & prepped the chicken, chopped & mixed the fresh fruit, made potato salad, delivered and served French toast & ham for breakfast. 

THEY MADE IT ALL HAPPEN!