Archives for 2019

Dear friends,

God willing, this Sunday afternoon I’ll be installed as one of your pastors! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been in ministry together for more than three months, and the energy of this University town in fall has made the time fly. Thank you for your prayers and support as the Spirit leads us all in the soulful work of advocating for peace, justice, and inclusion, and engaging our University Mission anew.

We are in a rebuilding phase, with the excitement and challenges that come with seeking to re-envision a deeply contextual approach to campus ministries. So far, our incarnational ministry among UVA students has involved a lemonade stand on UVA’s first day of classes, a welcome dinner at Common Grounds, biweekly 20/30 CreW Wednesday Wind-Downs, many one-on-one coffee meetings with students, a Mac-n-Cheese-Off during Parents’ Weekend, creating a climate-justice-themed visual arts devotional for the 2019 UKirk Advent devotional (which you can download or subscribe to here), and the development of a new interfaith collaboration through United Ministries and Virginia Interfaith Coalition. Other long-term plans are in the works as well.

For the immediate future, we look forward to Friendsgiving dinner next week and hope you’ll help us provide a welcoming space at Common Grounds for students as they face the stress of exams. It’s not too early to sign up for a two-hour shift during Sunday, Dec. 8, through Monday, Dec. 16! If baking is your love language, you can bring cookies for Christmas Kick-Back on Dec. 8, from 1 to 2 p.m.

In addition to worship this Sunday morning, I hope you’re able to attend the installation service at 3 p.m. A mentor, former colleague, and friend to the Charlottesville community, Rev. Jay Sanderford will offer a reflection on how 2 Cor. 3:1–11 calls us to be a letter of Christ to the changing world around us. I look forward to how his insights will encourage us in our ministry together!

Peace,
Dorothy

As of this week, 161 households have returned their pledge cards as part of our financial stewardship campaign. Thank you so much for your faithful and generous response supporting the ministries and programs at Westminster as we work to provide a place at God’s table for everyone. We extend a special thank you to those who pledged this year for the first time, including our new members, and those who increased their pledges. Again, many, many thanks.

The 161 pledges received thus far represent just over 65% of the households that pledged last year and slightly more than 80% of the financial goal set by the Stewardship Committee to support what we are called to do in 2020 to love God and our neighbors. So, if you have not yet returned your pledge card, we ask that you please do so. If you’ve misplaced it, you’ll find pledge cards and stewardship brochures in the pew racks, in the narthex and in the Gathering Place, or you can call Kate Brinkley in the church office and she will be happy to mail you another pledge card or full stewardship package. You also can pledge online through the Giving section of www.westminsterva.org.

Last year at this time, the Stewardship Committee asked you to support, through your 2019 pledge, our call of a new Associate Pastor for University and Social Justice Mission. On Sunday, in the sanctuary filled with

Westminster members, Dorothy’s family and friends, and representatives of the Presbytery, Dorothy was installed as our new Associate Pastor. If you heard Dorothy speak at the stewardship lunch a few weeks ago or read last week’s newsletter, you see that, in only her first few months, she has had a significant impact on the life of Westminster, re-envisioning our University Mission and working with many of you in our numerous peace, justice, and inclusion ministries. Your pledge for 2020 will strengthen and expand our University and social justice work and much, much more.

As we’ve gone through this financial stewardship season, the Stewardship Committee hopes you’ve gained a deeper understanding of the significant impact your practice of stewardship has on all the ministries and programs at Westminster. For those who have not yet pledged, please join us and the many others in the congregation in this spiritual practice. Together, let us commit a portion of what God has entrusted to us to serve Christ and provide a place at the God’s table for everyone, a table filled with love, grace, and acceptance.

As we sang together on Dedication Sunday, “God will delight when we are creators of justice and joy, compassion and peace.”

On behalf of the Stewardship Committee, thank you for your faithful practice of stewardship.

I joined Westminster about 50 years ago because it was a leader in desegregating Charlottesville.
A Place at the Table is a perfect metaphor for the Benevolence Committee. We invite “guests” (agencies) to our “table,” bring “food” (funding) to nourish their work, and “feed” the programs.

Twice a year we invite area organizations to bring their financial needs to our table and share their mission and plans for the upcoming year. In the spring we provide funds to many agencies from the annual budget, usually around 20% of our pledges. In the fall, we share the income from an endowment fund. Most of the agencies we fund are also supported by the volunteer work many of you do throughout the year. Many of the funded programs have shared their work throughout the year as part of adult education.

Among the twenty or so agencies thus nourished at our table are Sin Berraras, the Charlottesville Health Program (CHIP), Habitat for Humanity, La Leche League, PROSAMI, and AIM. All the agencies provide much needed assistance to those in our community who are in need of help.

Our ability to nourish the guests at our table depends on our generosity. Our willingness and ability to provide the “food” at the table nourishes those in need in our community.

Westminster has a history of generosity at the Table, please carry it on as you consider your pledge this year. Complete the circle of sharing from our support to the agencies to our neighbors in need.
Thank you.
Nancy O’Brien, Benevolence Committee

Some of you may remember the childhood church jingle: Here is the church, here is the steeple, open the doors and see all the people. But we know that the church is not a physical location – the church is anywhere people are gathered worshiping God and doing mission in the world. But who exactly is in this world? Biblical teachings tell countless stories of providing food, shelter, and love to people who are hungry, thirsty, sick, and alone. If you close your eyes and picture those kinds of people, you probably aren’t picturing a college student.

While it’s true that the Bible says nothing about college students, that doesn’t mean they aren’t a part of the world that the church should aim to serve. Have you ever seen college students flock to free food like they haven’t eaten all day? It’s likely because they haven’t. Have you ever walked around Grounds during exam week? You are likely to see hoards of blurry-eyed, sniffling students who haven’t slept in days. The stresses of college paired with the endless unknowns of being twenty years old and having no idea what you are going to do with your life can easily lead to a sense of being alone. Through mission to the university community, we can support these students during such a critical moment in their lives.

University Mission at Westminster serves two main groups at the UVA campus and beyond. Ukirk, or University Church, supports undergraduate students looking for meaningful connection and a space to explore faith and service. The 20/30 CreW includes graduate and professional students and young adults and provides opportunities for personal growth alongside others in the same phase of life. For us so far, it has meant a lemonade booth on UVA’s first day of classes, a welcome dinner at Common Grounds, bi-weekly 20/30 CreW Wednesday Wind-down get togethers across town, one on one coffee dates with students, and a Mac and Cheese Off during Parents Weekend. We are looking forward to our upcoming Friendsgiving dinner, open study hours for exam week, and our post-exam Cookie Decorating De-stress Party.

The goal of University Mission is to meet students and young adults where they are, demonstrating to them that Westminster is an open and welcoming space that can support them through important periods of questioning, growth, and faith exploration. Through the stewardship of the church, we can continue this mission in our community.

Rebecca McGregor, on behalf of the University Mission Committee

I first walked through the doors of this sanctuary a little over 30 years ago when I was a UVA student living around the corner on Virginia Avenue. All summer long, my mom had been nudging/nagging me to go to church and Westminster had a distinct advantage of being both Presbyterian and within a 5 minute walk. That very first Sunday, sitting in the back row near the walkway doors, I knew I had found a home where I was welcomed, loved, and accepted.

Although I wasn’t consistently sitting in a pew on Sunday mornings, I found my place at the table through Westminster’s University Mission program. I planned my busy student schedule around the mid-week dinner gatherings led by our then Associate Pastor Jim Baker, and not just because it provided a home cooked meal. Those discussions nurtured my spiritual growth, which continued when I joined the graduate student fellowship.

Recently, Westminster strengthened our longstanding commitment to University outreach by creating a second associate pastor position. I’m grateful to have served on the Associate Pastor Nominating Committee which discerned that Dorothy Piatt was truly called by God to serve with us here at Westminster as our Associate Pastor for University and Social Justice Mission. My service on the APNC was a tangible way for me to give back to Westminster and help ensure a safe space for future students, faculty and staff to grow and receive God’s hospitality.

University Mission at Westminster continues to provide meaningful connections and space to explore faith and service. Our UKirk program is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)’s campus ministry network and is focused on undergraduate students. The 20/30 CreW group is aimed at graduate/professional students and young adults. Since Dorothy’s arrival in July, the University Missions Committee has hosted a lemonade booth to greet students on the first day of classes, a welcome dinner at Common Grounds, bi-weekly 20/30 CreW Wednesday Wind-down get togethers, one-on-one coffee dates with students, and a Mac and Cheese-Off during UVA’s Family Weekend. Soon, we’ll host a Friendsgiving dinner, open study hours at Common Grounds during exam week, and a Christmas Kick-Back party where students can enjoy holiday cookies and de-stress. Outreach to University faculty and staff are in our plans as well.

University mission is central to the founding of this church and there are so many ways to support university ministry and contribute to a welcoming community. From baking Christmas cookies for students to hosting a two-hour block at Common Grounds during exams to providing exam week snacks, we encourage you to consider ways to receive and share God’s love, and live out your faith in a complex world. Your involvement and your pledges make it possible to provide a place at the table filled with love, grace and acceptance for everyone.

Susie Bruce, University Mission Committee