From your Session

The Elders of Westminster met on Wednesday April 17, 2024, for their monthly Stated Meeting. The Elders voted on a motion to approve the Budget and Finance Committee to proceed with a two-year building loan campaign beginning April 29 and ending May 26, 2024.

They also voted to approve the Deacon updated job description and approved adding to the church website the New Member Information and adding a link to the church website: “The Work of the Church,” that will list committees, describe their work and meeting time, and include each committees’ most recent minutes.

The focused discussions included updates from Deacons Dianne Greenlee and Deanie Anderson on the reorganization of deacon duties and a visit from Jean Severson from the Events committee. A motion was passed to approve up to $1,000 for a vendors’ fair to be held in May to introduce them to our space. A motion was passed to add Dick Hughes to the Personnel Committee.

The session moved into Executive Session at 7:30 to vote on two motions which were also voted out of Executive Session to be made public. The first was to form an ad hoc team with one person from Personnel, one from Budget and Finance and one from Buildings and Grounds to evaluate and make recommendations for the church financial operations. The second motion was to form a “Scout Task Force” led by Suzanne Taylor and Teri Mohney to find out who owns the scout records and look through the records at the Scout Lodge with Christine from the Scout Troop.

The session also voted on some bylaw changes for Elders and Deacons. The first was to change page 1 language from "prior to June 1" to "Spring Election Meeting". Next was on pages 4 and 5 from "March Meeting" to "Spring Election Meeting". Then replace "the church shall have a minimum of 12 elders" with "between 9-12" and "a minimum of 12 deacons" to "at least 4 deacons".

The Session closed with prayer at 8:10. The next stated meeting with take place on May 15, 2024.

Sandy McLean, Clerk of Session

Looking Ahead

April 20 @ 9 am: Native Plants Planting Even

May 4 @ 3:30 pm: Sherry Kuhns Memorial Service

May 4 @ 8 pm: Community Climate Vigil

May 5, 9-11 am: Youth Geranium Sale

May 13, 1-6 pm: Red Cross Blood Drive

May 13 @ 6 pm: Women's Night Out at Los Arcos

May 19 @ 11 am: Congregational Meeting

Access the full church calendar here. To add or correct something, please email office@salemwestpres.org.

Loan Retirement Campaign

Boulder Hall was completed on February 5, 2010. In 2023, the loan was renewed for another five years. Our last Building Fund Campaign also ended in 2023. To continue making payments, a new campaign is needed. If the drive can raise approximately $225,000, the loan could be paid off in 2026. A two-year campaign is being planned to start May 1. More information to come! 

Opportunities

Do you like coming to church but ever wish you could go deeper with a smaller group of people? Not sure how to find those people or a time that works for you? A group of WPC women felt the same way until a couple of years ago they just started meeting for a weekly Bible/book study. One member says, "The process of gathering has deepened both our relationships and our understanding of our faith." On Sunday, April 21, during coffee hour the group will host a table with books they have studied and an interest sign-up to help facilitate the formation of other groups like theirs. Stop by!

Earth Month Opportunities

On Saturday, April 20 from 9:00 to 11:00, you could help the Building and Grounds team plant shrubs along the Liberty Street side of the property. These plantings will include Oregon grape, camas, and kinnikinnick as recommended by the Marion County Soil and Water Urban Habitat people who walked the property with church representatives about six weeks ago. They are part of a broader program to remove invasive species and make the property more inviting to wildlife. ALSO NEEDED: large flattened cardboard pieces. Drop them off or bring them along to the planting event!

Join others from the presbytery and beyond for a Community Climate Vigil on the State Capitol Mall on Saturday, May 4, 8-9 pm. Find more info and/or RSVP here. They are also looking for volunteers to make magic happen behind the scenes. Sign up to volunteer here.

Pray for

Jan White, who suffered a stroke this week. Her husband, Doug, is in hospice care.

Rick and Nancy, who both have health problems and other barriers.

Give

April is child abuse prevention month, and this year Westminster is an official drop site for the Les Schwab diaper drive, which benefits Family Building Blocks, a local organization that partners with at-risk families to keep children safe and families together. Help us fill the pack-n-play in the narthex with diapers and wipes through the end of the month. 

We look forward to seeing many of you at the May 13 Red Cross blood drive at Westminster.  Interesting fact: An estimated 38 percent of Americans are eligible to give blood or platelets, but of those, less than 10 percent actually donate each year. If you are healthy and eligible please sign up for an appointment to donate. 

As Blood Program leaders we get questions about the blood donation process. Here are a couple of the most common:

·     How long will it take to replenish the pint of blood I donate?

The plasma from your donation is replaced within about 24 hours. Red cells need about four to six weeks for complete replacement. That’s why at least eight weeks are required between whole blood donations.

·     Why does the Red Cross ask so many personal questions when I give blood?

The highest priorities of the Red Cross are the safety of the blood supply and our blood donors. Some individuals may be at risk of transferring communicable disease through blood donation due to exposure via travel or other activities or may encounter problems with blood donation due to their health. We ask these questions to ensure that it is safe for patients to receive your blood and to ensure that it is safe for you to donate blood that day.

Again, we look forward to seeing community members as well as congregants on May 13. To get your appointment time you can use the Red Cross blood app on your android or Apple device. Or feel free to email me or call me at the contact information below.

Kind Regards,

Bill Nelson, Pam Garland and the blood drive ambassadors that assist in hosting 

Bill Nelson-(503) 576-1278

bnelson@pacificomm.net

Westminster Presbyterian Church