Mission and Outreach Archives - Westminster Presbyterian Church

Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice

March 15, 2023 by Westminster Presbyterian Church

For those who were unable to participate in the “Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice” conversations in March, materials that were shared can be accessed at the following links. We hope to make the Reparative Justice Working Group updates available on a regular basis, and invite all members to study, learn, and discuss this opportunity for mission. Questions: contact Gene Locke at or Dorothy Piatt-Esguerra at .

Statement of Acknowledgement and Confession, Approved by Session, Feb. 2022: At its February 12 meeting, the Session received a presentation from the Reparative Justice Working Group. This working group held two gatherings of the congregation during the Sunday Adult Christian Formation Hour (beginning at 9:30 a.m.) on March 5 and 12 (with Zoom options on Tuesdays, March 7 and 14, at 7 p.m.) to learn, discuss, and discern who we are to be and what we are called to do to seek reparative justice in our community.

A Call to Reparative Justice:

Believing that God calls people of faith to engage in a process of remembering, restoring, repairing, and redressing injustices; Believing that God calls people of faith to engage in a process of reconciliation, seeking restitution, recognizing past sins, and confessing one’s own culpability; Believing that through Jesus Christ God restores and forgives those who turn to God in repentance and contrition; We now acknowledge the Church’s historic complicity in the enslavement of African people and a history of cruelty and discrimination against them, and in the genocide of indigenous people, whose land and culture were forcibly taken from them; We confess what we have we have done and what we have left undone. Have mercy on us. We acknowledge our guilt and seek the promise of God’s forgiveness and the opportunity for a fresh start and a new beginning. Let grace, not guilt, energize our actions toward repairing wrongs and restoring the well-being of our neighbors who have been so grievously harmed. We call upon all who believe in the One God, to study, pray, and discern how we may corporately and individually engage in repairing and restoring our community. Our Creator, Reconciler, and Sustainer, empower us all as we embark on this journey of righting wrongs and making peace with Black and indigenous neighbors. As the Prophet Amos declared: “Let justice roll down like waters, And righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.” Amen.

Study paper: “Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice”

Discerning our call to reparative justice[87].docx

Powerpoint presentations:

Discerning-Our-Call-Reparative-Justice-I Download

Discerning-our-call-II Download

Small group conversations:

Small-groups-on-reparative-justice-1 Download

Resources for the Charlottesville Community & Ways to Help During the COVID-19 Crisis

April 1, 2020 by Kate Brinkley

UVA Medical Center Blood Drive

Virginia hospitals are experiencing a severe blood shortage across the state. UVA Health encourages members of the community who are healthy & eligible to contact the American Red Cross to make an appointment to donate at one of their fixed locations.

Charlottesville City Schools Free Lunch Program

Charlottesville City Schools is offering free lunch to students during the coronavirus pandemic. The Charlottesville Area Community Foundation is creating a school-based fund to support their food delivery efforts.

General Ways to Give & Receive Support

Support Cville is the most comprehensive website listing ways for people to give and receive support. Here are a couple specific links through Support Cville:

Contribute to local nonprofits, restaurants and UVA students.
Receive money, supplies and services.

Donate to COVID-19 Support Funds

Blue Ridge Area Food Bank

The food bank needs healthy volunteers to help with local relief efforts. See their statement on COVID-19 and their Volunteer page. To find volunteer opportunities, click here.

Free Internet Access

COMCAST Xfinity is now offering free hotspots to anyone who needs them for free until approximately May 13, including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser. AT&T and Charter Communications are also providing free public Wi-Fi, now until approximately May 13.

Peace and Justice in a Pandemic

April 1, 2020 by Kate Brinkley

We are experiencing the beginning of a season of collective mourning — not only for lives lost and livelihoods disrupted, but also for the loss of normalcy. Even those of us who are relatively privileged and healthy during this global pandemic are grieving postponed plans. Some of the plans I’m grieving included The Border Is Here immigration workshop led by UVA students, the dedication of the Memorial to Enslaved Laborers, an opportunity to care for the earth around us through a joint cleanup day with student environmental groups, and our ministry of hospitality with students during Open Study Hours at Common Grounds.

While these plans have been postponed, we can still practice compassion now. In addition to observing physical distancing policies to slow the spread of the virus and help “flatten the curve,” we at Westminster have been asking how we can be in solidarity with the most vulnerable people in our community during this global health crisis — how we can help “flatten the curve” of economic and other suffering.

The Benevolence committee has continued meeting remotely so that Westminster can continue our vital support for nonprofit organizations during a challenging time. We will share updates on our community partners in the coming weeks. In this edition of the e-newsletter, you’ll find a list of local resources and ways to (give and receive) help during the COVID-19 crisis. In addition to supporting the church, several members of the Westminster community have decided to contribute part or all of our anticipated government stimulus checks to relief efforts. I invite you to consider what safe way(s) you might practice social solidarity with our neighbors during this time. Let’s “flatten the curve” together in whatever ways we can.

Finally, please pray for the university students among us who have experienced dislocation and disruption. I have been reaching out personally and through group messages on behalf of Westminster to offer pastoral support and will continue to do so. UVA’s administration is aware of our community’s presence and will share with us through United Ministries at UVA any opportunities to be of service that may arise. In addition, 20/30 CreW has made our Wednesday Wind-Down event weekly so that graduate students and young professionals have the opportunity to provide mutual support more frequently through Zoom conversations.

I trust that better days are ahead and that God is at work in the meantime, inviting us into partnership in healing.

With hope,

Dorothy

We Recognize a Crisis

January 1, 2020 by Westminster Presbyterian Church

Christian faith is being used to persecute and marginalize transgender and nonbinary people across this country. We recognize the systemic harm that is being done in the name of Christianity, and we are actively seeking to improve our practice of faith and not contribute to the dysphoria for our transgender siblings.

As a church community, we welcome all people regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity. We believe that trans women and girls are female and trans men and boys are male, and that God loves them as such. We aspire to create an affirming space where transgender and nonbinary people feel welcome and loved and where intersectional diversity is normalized and embraced.

We recognize that the mental health and well-being of our transgender and nonbinary siblings is negatively affected by the rejection and bias of other Christian faith communities. There is an urgency to take action now to establish physical and emotional safety as well as safety within the Christian faith.

Our goal is to create a space that will not burden or add to dysphoria but will be accepting and affirming — a space where transgender and nonbinary people can thrive and flourish as an integral part of the beautiful, diverse, whole body of Christ.

Our family is pretty queer! That is to say, we have three young people in our immediate and extended family that identify as LGBTQIA. Talk of global injustices had pretty much always been part of our conversations at home and we tried ‘to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with God,’ at least most of the time. The continued targeting of LGBTQIA persons in our country causes me great concern. Shootings, attacks, and even political wrangling over where a person can go to the restroom fill the daily lives of queer people. Marriage equality is wonderful, but serious issues still remain for further equality. Healthcare for spouses and housing discrimination are just two. Our presence at Cville PRIDE is one of the ways Westminster shows up in solidarity with the LGBTQIA+ community. It celebrates an openness and support for our gay, trans, and nonbinary friends. It shows our community that as a place of faith, we can support marginalized persons. It helps us to get to know our siblings and is just plain fun! This church has provided our family with a church home for more than 15 years. Love and comfort both come from here. And acceptance. My hope is that all people can know this kind of comfort.”
— Laura Young, Westminster Peace, Justice, and Inclusion Division member

Habitat and Westminster

April 18, 2019 by Kate Brinkley

Westminster church currently has two service opportunities with Habitat for Humanity. Our crew of builders meets on the second Saturday of the month to work on homes in various stages of construction. Habitat’s model of late is to build clusters of duplexes and even six-plexes in Charlottesville, to help with land acquisition costs and promote in-fill. Currently the building activity is located at Harmony Ridge, off 5th Street South, where ten families will move in later this fall.

The builders partner with other Presbyterian congregations in the area to form a group of typically 15 workers. Thanks to Westminster’s builders within the past year: Aurora Nichols, John Kleinschmidt, Ron Wiley, Noah Oakland, Winston Harmon, Colin Lee, Sage Bradburn, and Steve Wilson. Contact Steve if interested in participating.

At the same time, Westminster is hosting Community Conversations, a monthly community-building effort with the families that will occupy the homes of Harmony Ridge. Billie Best coordinates a meal for the 60 some Habitat families, Habitat staff, and volunteers who gather. After dinner, the adults work with staff members to create a shared set of values for the new neighborhood. Lucy Burnette and Carolyn Brown lead activities designed to help children become friends before they become neighbors. And, Kathy Stacy heads up child care for the youngest. Over 25 Westminster folks join these four to form a caring loving team. Thank you to all!

Discerning Our Call to Reparative Justice

Resources for the Charlottesville Community & Ways to Help During the COVID-19 Crisis

Peace and Justice in a Pandemic

We Recognize a Crisis

Habitat and Westminster

Our Mission

Our Values

Contact

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