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Advent & Christmas Offerings 2020

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Advent is Upon Us

Advent is the sacred season of waiting for the coming of the Christ-child. Usually it is marked by hopeful and joyous anticipation and often filled with candle-light and carols. But this year, much feels different.

WPC has created an array of activities available during this Advent season. If you would like to attend any in-person events, we ask that you please RSVP through SignUpGenius. We will be practicing social distancing with a cap of 25 people as well as wearing masks. If you have any additional questions, please call the church office or email Ashley at .

December 24, 2020 – Christmas Eve Service

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December 24, 2020 – Family Christmas Eve Service

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Advent & Christmas at Westminster

Sunday, November 29

Saturday, December 12

Sunday, December 6

Sunday, December 13

Sunday, December 20

Thursday, December 24

  • Recorded service on YouTube: A traditional service with sermon, readings and music
  • Recorded family-friendly service on YouTube: A re-telling of the Christmas story with help from a beautiful set of wooden crèche figures
  • 4:00 – In-person Christmas Eve service: A quiet, candlelit service held outdoors in the courtyard. The limit of 25 attendees has been reached. 
  • 5:00 – In-person Christmas Eve service: A quiet, candlelit service held outdoors in the courtyard. The limit of 25 attendees has been reached. 
  • 6:00- In-person Christmas Eve service: A quiet, candlelit service held outdoors in the courtyard. Congregation is limited to 25, and reservations and masks are required. The limit of 25 attendees has been reached. 

With Grateful Hearts

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Our stewardship theme this year reflects our joyful response to God’s many blessings and steadfast love for us.  God greatly blesses us even in times of challenge and change from what was once familiar to a future that is not yet entirely clear to us.  Yet we know that God’s grace will lead and comfort us throughout the journey.  How can we help but respond with grateful hearts to share God’s love with each other and those in our community and the world?

Click here to pledge now

Worship

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Your pledge to Westminster supports our pastors who preach the Word of God, lead, teach and empower us to serve Christ.  This stimulates us to grow as disciples and share God’s love.  In response to the recent pandemic, your support has allowed us to provide regular worship services online and reach new worshippers seeking spiritual guidance during these challenging times.  The church continues to welcome visitors and new members, while many church members assist with the worship services.  Your generosity will enable us to return to worshipping in a well-maintained and welcoming sanctuary once it is safe to do so.

Click here to pledge now

Practicing Solidarity

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Have you been keeping up with the anti-racism uprising taking place across the country and world these past couple of weeks? If you want to support the struggle for justice and equity but are not sure what to do, this list offers several starting points for concrete actions. The following links are from Claire Lampen’s article “How to Support the Struggle Against Police Brutality.” Join others at Westminster in the continual journey to resist racism and end police brutality by taking the next step.

Direct aid for victims’ families:

  • George Floyd’s family has started a GoFundMe to cover funeral and burial costs; counseling services; legal fees; and continued care for his children. There’s also a GoFundMe to provide for his 6-year-old daughter, Gianna Floyd, and a GoFundMe to support “peace and healing” for Darnella Frazier, the woman who filmed Floyd’s death.
  • Another GoFundMe is raising money for Ahmaud Arbery’s mother, donations to which will similarly fund the family’s legal battle.
  • There’s a GoFundMe for Breonna Taylor’s family, to help with legal fees and offer extra support.
  • There’s a GoFundMe for David McAtee’s mother and family: McAtee was fatally shot just after midnight on June 1, after police officers and National Guard members fired into a crowd of people who were not taking part in the evening’s protests.

Bail funds:

ActBlue has a page that will let you split your donation between 38 community bail funds, or if you’d like to focus your donation directly, here are some options.

  • The Bail Project, a nonprofit that aims to mitigate incarceration rates through bail reform.
  • The National Bail Fund Network also has a directory of community bail funds to which you can donate, along with a COVID-19 rapid response fund.
  • Another list of bail funds is available here, and another list of bail funds by city.

Support for protesters:

  • A Gas Mask Fund for black youth activists in Minneapolis is raising money to buy gas masks for demonstrators who’ve faced tear gas during protests.
  • The Black Trans Protestors Emergency Fund is raising money for physical resources, bail, and medical care for black, transgender protesters, which will be redistributed to black, trans-led organizations “in the event these funds don’t need to be used.”
  • The NAACP Legal Defense Fund, which supports racial justice through advocacy, litigation, and education.
  • The Legal Rights Center is a non-profit law firm based in Minneapolis, offering legal defense, educational, and advocacy services.
  • Black Visions Collective, a black, trans, and queer-led social justice organization and legal fund based in Minneapolis-St. Paul.
  • The Know Your Rights Camp, an organization founded by Colin Kaepernick that provides education and training in black and brown communities, set up a legal fund for Minneapolis protestors.
  • Organizations working against mass-incarceration and police abuse:
  • Communities United for Police Reform is an initiative to end discriminatory policing in New York, helping to educate people on their rights and document police abuse.
  • Showing Up for Racial Justice works to educate white people about anti-racism and organizes actions to support the fight for racial justice and undermine white supremacy.
  • Communities United Against Police Brutality, which operates a crisis hotline where people can report abuse; offers legal, medical, and psychological resource referrals; and engages in political action against police brutality.
  • No New Jails NYC aims to keep the city from constructing new jails, and to instead divert funds that currently go toward the police and incarceration toward housing, ending homelessness, mental health, and other community support systems.

4 Ways to Seek Justice for Ahmaud Arbery

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The murder of Ahmaud Arbery highlights how white supremacist violence is bolstered by people in positions of power and closely tied to police and the courts. One of the assailants, Gregory McMichael, is a former Glynn County police officer and a former investigator with the local district attorney’s office. Standing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) is advocating 4 ways to take further action in the aftermath of the arrest of the two suspects. Click here to learn more.

“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: https://www.pcusa.org/resource/book-confessions/.

Contact

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

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