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Community Events

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A Climate Conversation, April 23 7-9pm, Carver Recreation Center. States, local governments, businesses and individual citizens are the new face of American leadership on climate change as a result of the Federal government’s announced departure from the Paris Agreement. Join others to learn what is being done in Virginia and here in our own community to address climate change, how it is affecting us now and will in the future, and what we can do in our daily lives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Conversation will empower our community to foster real change through education, engagement and action.

Unaccompanied and Immigrant Minors Information Session, Wednesday, April 25 at 11:30am. Organized by Creciendo Juntos at The Bridge PAI, 209 Monticello Road. Registration required.

A Concert Conversation with Natalia Serna, Wednesday, April 25 at 5:00pm. LatinX Graduate Student Alliance (LGSA) and the UVA Art Department are sponsoring this event that will explore immigration and border topics through songs and stories. Open Grounds Studio A, 1400 University Avenue. Ticket required.

Charlottesville-area Immigrant Resource and Advocacy Coalition Meeting and Forum: Immigration Policy Hits Home: What Can We Do? Wednesday, April 25 at 6:30pm. Volunteer orientation for transportation & detention visitation at 6:30pm, Forum at 7:15pm. Each year, 50 of our Charlottesville neighbors are unjustly removed from their families and placed into deportation proceedings. Please join CIRAC and Sin Barreras, with speakers David Baluarte, Professor of Law at Washington & Lee University, Tanishka Cruz, Immigration Attorney and Lecturer at UVA, and Fanny Smedile, founding Director of Sin Barreras/Without Barriers, at a forum to understand the Policies, Practices and Harm resulting from these removals. The 6:30 Volunteer Orientation is a great way to learn more about CIRAC, even if you can’t stay for the forum. IX Art Park, 522 2nd St SE, Charlottesville

Art and Tacos: a silent art auction fundraiser for Sin Barreras. Saturday, April 28 at The Kitchen: 606 Rivanna Avenue, Charlottesville
5:30-9:00pm. Live music by Lua Project. Advance tickets $25 via sinbarrerascville.com (PayPal) or $30 at the door. Food included / cash bar

For more information on the Charlottesville Area Immigrant Resource and Advocacy Coalition (CIRAC), please visit the website or “like” the group on Facebook.

Join other PACEM Shelter supporters on April 29th from 2-5pm at the Barn at Pea Ridge Farm for a spring fundraiser. Tickets are $75 per person or $500 for a table of eight. Price includes food by C & O Restaurant, music by Michael Clem & Rusty Speidel, and beer from Devils Backbone Brewing Company & wine donated by the Charlottesville Cooking School. RSVP to ed@pacemshelter.org. All proceeds benefit PACEM! To reserve your ticket call 434.973.1234 x121

The Sprunt Lectures: May 7-9 at Union Presbyterian Seminary

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“Redeeming the Creature: Race, Place, and the Hope of the Church”

Dr. Willie Jennings, a major figure in theological education across North American, is the featured speaker at the 2018 Sprunt Lecture series May 7-9, 2018 on the Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary. The topic is “Redeeming the Creature: Race, Place, and the Hope of the Church.”

“These lectures will be devoted to helping Christians rethink the nature of life together as creatures. Christianity in the west suffers from a defective doctrine of creation that has been plagued with both the racial condition and a horrid understanding of place. Together these problems have rendered the doctrine useless – it does no significant work in shaping the way we understand creaturely life together. In these lectures, I will explore the reasons for this defect and suggest what a robust doctrine of creation should teach us.”

Jennings serves as associate professor of systematic theology and African studies at Yale University Divinity School. He is the author of “The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race,” for which he received the American Academy of Religion book award in 2011 and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion in 2015. The work was described as a “theological masterpiece” by the Englewood Review of Books.

Rev. Jill Duffield (M.Div.’96), editor and publisher of The Presbyterian Outlook, will be the preacher for the three-day event.
Worship Titles: “Mature Little Children” (Col 1: 15-29 and Mark 10: 13-16) and “Where are you from?” (Isaiah 43: 1-7 and Luke 13: 22-30)

OLLI at UVA Special Presentation

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The Racial and Ethnic History of Charlottesville        

Friday, March 30, 2018 – 1:30-3:00 p.m., Jefferson School – African American Heritage Center, 233 4th St. NW, Charlottesville

Charlottesville has a long history as a diverse city and of different people coming together to fight segregation and discrimination. Join us for an important lesson and discussion about the racial and ethnic history of Charlottesville.

Charlene Green has over 30 years of experience in education, working as a teacher in elementary and secondary schools and as an assistant professor at Millersville University in Pennsylvania. She has been a trainer and consultant in Multicultural Education for 25 years. Charlene is currently the Manager for the City of Charlottesville’s Office of Human Rights.

Follow up on Waking Up White: Racial Justice Resources

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Racial Justice Resources
 
Here are some of the new resources on racial justice that have been added to the resource page developed for the Waking Up White class:
  • February-early March–Multiple showings of the documentary I’m Not Racist … Am I? See Charlottesville Tomorrow for more info on the film’s showings in schools and libraries.
  • Podcast–“Seeing White,” a subset of episodes from the “Scene on Radio” podcast series. Excellent explication of how we got here on race in America.
  • Training–Congregate Cville will be offering rapid response training this spring on how to show up in potentially violent situations and serve as a nonviolent presence. Learn how to use our bodies to stand with those who are marginalized and vulnerable. If interested, contact .
  • Article–“If the Church wants to reach young people, we must stand in solidarity with victims of racial injustice” by Rev. Osagyefo Sekou

Presbytery of the James Concerning the rise of White Supremacy and Racism

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WHEREAS recent events within our Commonwealth and nation have highlighted the rise of hate speech, the elevation of racism as a goal and the increase in advocacy for white supremacy; and

WHEREAS we as members of the church of Jesus Christ refuse to remain silent in the face of such bigotry and hatred; declaring God’s love for all humankind and seeking to live up to the two great commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as ourselves, and

WHEREAS we in the Presbyterian Church in Virginia have our own history of racism which we confess and seek to repent of; and no longer are willing to acquiesce to the status quo of division and discrimination, and

WHEREAS our Book of Confessions includes both the Barmen Declaration against the heresy of Nazism and the Belhar Confession which confronts racism, we, too, want to confess our opposition to the rise of racial idolatries in our time,

THEREFORE WE CALL FOR THE PRESBYTERY OF THE JAMES TO:

1. Endorse and disseminate to POJ congregations, the media, and the wider community this overture, including the letter of August 14th from the PCUSA Stated Clerk, the Mission Executive and the Co-Moderators (see below) 2. Instruct our presbytery moderator to gather a few people to discuss further steps that we may take to witness to the love of God for all people and our opposition to acts of hate and discrimination (which may include special attention to Race Relations Sunday in January).

The Stated Clerk’s and Co-Moderators’ letter follows

Letter of August 14, 2017 by PCUSA Stated Clerk, the Mission Agency Executive, and the Co Moderators

In the aftermath of the events of August 11 and 12 in Charlottesville, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) reaffirms its condemnation of white supremacy and racism, names them as sin, and renews its commitment to disrupting them and working for justice and equity. We give thanks for the presence and faithful witness of church members who stand against white supremacy and racism. Individually and collectively the church, including Presbyterians, stood against hate in Charlottesville. Individually and collectively the church, including Presbyterians, works to disrupt racism and to build racial equity in places across the country. We grieve for Heather Heyer, who was killed while standing witness; we grieve for state police officers H. Jay Cullen and Berke Bates, who died in a helicopter crash while monitoring events in Charlottesville; we pray for the recovery of all who were injured. We acknowledge that Scripture has been misused to justify white supremacy and racism. However, we proclaim that the Bible’s message presents a far more consistent and insistent witness to God’s love for diversity and justice. This may be observed in God’s delight in the varied creation; heard in the words of prophets who reject oppression and commend justice as true worship; seen in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, who values all persons regardless of any aspect of their identity; and experienced through the work of the Holy Spirit, who consistently blows through all the divisions we create, to reveal God’s love for all humanity. White supremacy and racism stand in stark, irreconcilable contradiction to God’s intention for humanity. They reject part of the human family and are utterly contrary to God’s Word made incarnate in Jesus. They are idolatries that elevate human-created hierarchies over God’s freely given grace and love. They are lies about the human family, for they seek to say that some people are less than other people. They are lies about God because they falsely claim that God favors some people over the entirety of creation. But as we give thanks, we acknowledge the church’s complicity in the creation of white supremacy and racism. We confess the church’s failure in challenging and disrupting white supremacy and racism. Too often we have accepted the status quo. Too often we have stood silent in the face of injustice and oppression. By God’s grace may we remember the events in Charlottesville; repent of our acquiescence and failures; and renew our commitment to proclaim and live the good news of Jesus Christ. May that commitment lead us to stand against, speak against and work against racism and white supremacy, this day and every day. May it be so. Amen.

“So faith, hope, and love abide, these three;
but the greatest of these is love.”
−1 Corinthians 13:13

Our Mission

Sustained by grace, we are called to serve Christ, share God’s love, and work for justice in a complex world.

Our Values

With faith, hope, and love as bedrock Christian values, we also cherish the following:
  • Thinking and Learning
  • Inclusiveness
  • Fellowship
  • Stewardship
  • Courage

 

Westminster follows the Presbyterian Book of Confession and is a confessional church. You can view/read the Book of Confession at the PC(USA) website by clicking on the following link: http://www.pcusa.org/book-confessions.

Contact

Westminster Presbyterian Church
400 Rugby Road
Charlottesville, Virginia 22903-2474
(434) 293-3133 | Email

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