Lean Toward the Empty Tomb
by Rev. Stephen Carl
This has been a winter for the record books. It’s not been anything that we in Michigan should be surprised by, but there certainly are those south of us who have been caught off guard. I saw on article that mentioned that 49 states have received snow – Hawaii being the only holdout. Not sure about that, since Hawaii gets snow on Mauna Kea. Even so, it’s been quite a winter.
I got an invisible fence system for my dog and after purchasing it, realized I won’t be able to install it until probably April sometime when the ground thaws. I was going to change the oil in my car the other day, but decided to just take it in and have it done–too cold to do anything outside!
This year, March will pass entirely during Lent, a time of self-reflection and repentance; a time of admitting the brokenness that is still a part of our lives as Easter-people.
I was looking out the window this morning at some long icicles as some large, lazy snowflakes floated downward like goose feathers scattered from a ruptured pillow after a pillow fight. It made me think of how C.S. Lewis turns the tables on our common thoughts of evil and hell–instead of fire and brimstone, Lewis incorporates the winter as a backdrop for the absence of God’s word and will. In the words of Narnians, it’s “always winter, but never Christmas.” The extremes of excessive heat or excessive cold offer us a good physical and experiential concept for hell, for sin, for evil in our lives. Neither is pleasant, neither is comfortable, both cause suffering in one way or another. But I like the richness of thinking of a deep, endless winter as a demonstration of the separation from God: the chill, the frozen heart, the difficulty in accomplishing much outside.
In the first of the Chronicles of Narnia, Lewis illustrates the hold of selfish evil on the land through the endless winter cold. But at some point in the story, the snow begins to melt, the ice begins to crack apart, patches of fertile fields begin to appear. And then the children hear sleigh bells . . . Father Christmas shows up–for Lewis, Father Christmas is symbolic of John the Baptist proclaiming the arrival of the Promised One who will melt the frozen landscape of sin and sorrow
and set the prisoners free!
As we creep our way through the teasing month of March, let the frigid temperatures remind you of the subtle hold of darkness that still persists in the world and our lives. And as the temperatures begin to rise, remember that the spell of darkness has been
broken by the blessing of the Risen One, Jesus Christ. Martin Luther wrote that if it were not for the Resurrection, evil would cast us into a deep and endless winter and things would be much, much worse than they are in the world. But because of the blessing of Jesus Christ, we are spared the excessive rage of the evil one.
Let us lean together toward the empty tomb and the warm comfort of God’s love and deliverance.
Easter Brunch: Breakfast casseroles, quiches, breads, muffins, pastries, fresh fruit–sounds yummy! Please help make Easter Brunch special by providing one or more of these treats for Easter Sunday, April 4, between worship services. Let us know what you plan to bring by signing up in the entry to the fellowship hall.
You may deliver food on Saturday, April 3, or early Sunday, April 4. To help in other ways as well, please contact Alice Chambers.
Our Fragile Shelters: Echos of God’s Eternal Shelter
by Rev. Cathi King
Some people lean against fence posts
when their bodies ache from toil.
Some people lean on oak trees,
seeking cool shade on hot, humid days.
Some people lean on crutches
when their limbs won’t work for them;
and some people lean on each other
when their hearts can’t stand alone.
How long it takes to lean upon you,
God of shelter and strength;
how long it takes to recognize the truth
of where my inner power has its source . . .
(Joyce Rupp)
We have a wooden structure in our backyard. Once it was a play structure with swings and a fort; a fun place for our children and their friends when they were young. Last year it received a facelift, and now, ringed with planter boxes and complete with interior wooden shelving, the fort removed and replaced with a thatched roof, it has become a potting shed. Now it’s used for play of a different sort . . . hands in the dirt . . . planting and transplanting . . . creating all kinds of horticultural works of art.
Sticks of many different shapes and sizes overlap one another to form the roof of our potting shed, so the work space is shady on a sunny day but the light still filters in, blocked from strong winds but a nice breeze still moves through, protected from heavy rains but not completely dry. It reminds me of the lean-tos built by Jewish families during the annual festival of Sukkot, the week after Yom Kippur. Sukkot is a harvest festival, but perhaps more importantly, it remembers a time when the wandering Israelites lived in temporary, fragile dwellings in the wilderness, relying on God’s power to protect and sustain them. “You shall live in booths (huts) for seven days; all that are citizens in Israel shall live in booths, so that your generations may know that I made the people of Israel live in booths when I brought them out of the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” (Lev. 23:42–43) The structures are to be made purposefully flimsy, obviously temporary, with their roofs thatched but open to the heavens and all of the natural elements. The hut itself stands as a symbol that no dwelling made with human hands will ever provide ultimate protection from all of the perils of life. Rather, as the psalmist testifies, “God is our refuge and strength . . . in you, O Lord, I take refuge . . . in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge.”
I was reading recently about the current debate regarding the type of shelter to be built in Haiti to provide temporary housing for the countless people whose homes were destroyed in the earthquake. The typical tent cities erected in refugee camps, although quick and inexpensive to assemble, will not withstand the spring hurricane season. Some are advocating the use of Buckminster Fuller geodesic domes, easy to ship, quick to assemble and structurally much more stable. Others suggest a variation called the monolithic dome, a concrete dome structure which is “hurricane, tornado and earthquake resistant” and according to FEMA, provides “Near-Absolute Protection.” For a people buffeted by natural disasters, this is a life or death debate and the clock is ticking.
Shelter . . . refuge . . . a port in the storm . . . . As a church family, we recently provided overnight shelter for a couple dozen men as an extension of the Washtenaw County shelter network. More than a building and roof overhead, we provided hospitality, food, opportunities for conversation and laughter . . . a living refuge. Some of the men said they didn’t want to leave our church and one of the coordinators commented on the gracious hospitality–not always experienced at other venues. When we provide Christ-like welcome to another and treat one another with dignity and honor, we are refuge-givers, albeit temporary, limited, fragile and human, and yet by the transforming power of the God’s Spirit, Christ in the flesh.
The structural shelter debate in Haiti is vitally important, but there’s another kind of living refuge being provided there too. God’s Spirit is at work in and through the people from all over the world who are coming together to actively love, on the ground in Port au Prince. The hands and feet of Christ are at work healing, building, comforting and praying . . . raising hope and new life from death and devastation.
Harvey Cox, author and recently retired professor of Harvard Divinity School, draws a parallel between the Jewish festival of Sukkot and the Christian celebration of Ash Wednesday, the beginning of the season of Lent. On Ash Wednesday, we Christians are reminded of our frailty and finitude as we receive the mark of the ashes on our foreheads and reflect on the reality that from dust we have come and to dust we shall return. But we do not lose heart over our limitations, but rather we rejoice, for our weakness testifies all the more clearly to God’s strength. The season of Lent and events of Holy Week remind us that we do not have a Savior who saves us from our fragility or our vulnerability or who delivers us from our finitude or our mortality. But rather, our Savior can sympathize with our every weakness, is well acquainted with grief, and has borne the full extent of human suffering–even death on a cross. And yet . . . the power of God shines through it all . . . restores it all . . . redeems it all . . . . Thanks be to God!
“For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” (2 Corinthians 5:1)
Westminster Care Groups Facilitate Reaching Out
by Linda Harnisch, Deacon Moderator
Did you ever receive a plant after surgery, a meal delivered to your door, or a phone call from the church just wondering how things are going? Chances are one of your Care Group deacons made it happen.
Every member and regular attendee of Westminster is assigned to one of six Care Groups. The Care Groups have biblical names: Adam, David, John, Mary, Paul and Ruth. Your Care Group name is on your name badge to remind you which group you are in and to help you identify others within your group. The membership of each group is made up of people who live in the same geographic area.
Each Care Group has three deacons to help coordinate care among its members. A deacon serves a three year term, with one third of the board replaced at the end of each year. Serving as a deacon is a wonderful opportunity to get to know more of our church members and to share God’s love with others.
The deacons sponsor several events during the year including phone-a-thons. Twice a year, deacons contact each member of their care group to get to know them better and to see if there are any needs or concerns. It is also an opportunity to identify who and how individuals can be of help to other members of their Care Group when a need arises.
Although the Board of Deacons provides a system for meeting some of the needs of our members, we depend on our church family as a whole to be concerned for and extend compassion to one another. It’s comforting to know that Westminster Presbyterian Church is a community of believers who do care for one another. So when your deacon calls next month, feel free to share any questions, concerns, and ways you can serve.
This year’s deacon assignments are as follows:
Adam Leslie Williamson,Fayola Ash, Marla Johnston
David Susan Manohar, Dot MacArthur, Marie Stroud
John Mary Lynn Thomson, Marie Howard, Kathy Kamm
Mary Sharon Cloke, Daniel Mora, Janet Somers
Paul Linda Lang, Jan Gowans, Doug Tidd
Ruth Jackie Conlon, Betsy Parks-Brantmeyer, Patty Quiroz
Let us introduce some of our new elders
Carole Franklin is an elder serving on the Children’s Committee.
Carole is a native Michigander who was born in Ann Arbor and grew up in Birmingham and Traverse City. Her parents are long-time residents of Traverse City, MI, and Carole and her family visit them often. Carole’s high school years were spent as a music major at the Interlochen Arts Academy. She then earned a BA in English and an MBA, both from the University of Michigan, and it was in the Michigan marching band that she met her future husband, Doug.
Carole and Doug were married here at Westminster, recently celebrating their 17th anniversary, and have been members here ever since. They are raising three children, Andrew, age 9, Grace, 6, and David, 4. She says “We are blessed to have Doug’s mother and father, also long-time members of Westminster, live nearby.”
After receiving her MBA, Carole enjoyed a 10-year career in market research for Ford Motor Company, but after the birth of her youngest child, David, she ended her career at Ford. In 2009, she started a small marketing communications firm, Great Blue Communications, which she runs from home.
Her words on finding faith in Jesus: “Unlike many here, I was not a lifelong Christian. In fact, throughout my youth and well into my college years, I was not only skeptical, but actively hostile to the ideas of Christianity, the Bible and church life. However, after Doug and I started dating, the loving faith that he and his family practiced began to open my eyes to the true “fruits of the spirit.” I began to see that there might be something of value to this church business after all, and began occasionally attending services at Westminster with Doug.
At Westminster I found a community of believers which was nothing like any other churches I had known–or thought I knew. In particular, the positive focus on sharing the good news of Christ, and the grace and charity which members showed to one another, was something that I had not known I yearned for in my heart. Yet when I found it, something in me knew that I had been waiting for this all along.
Shortly after my marriage to Doug, I felt called to seek baptism into the body of Christ. I was baptized here at Westminster by Pastor Stephen Murray, who had also officiated at our wedding.”
What does she take pleasure in? “I enjoy reading and writing science fiction, and other fiction as well. I enjoy traveling, singing, and being involved at my children’s schools. I wish I had more time and opportunities for hiking, biking, sailing, and downhill skiing!”
Steve Kennel is an elder serving on the Stewardship and Finance Committee.
Steve was born and lived in St. Louis, MO, area until his family moved to Grosse Pointe when he was in the 2nd grade. He is the grandson of a preacher, and grew up being active in the Grosse Point Memorial Church. After high school, Steve earned a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan and an MBA with a concentration in finance from Wayne State University. He is currently the president of Virtual Engineering, Inc., in Plymouth.
There was a move to Sterling Heights after marrying his college sweetheart, Berta, and they then moved to Ann Arbor in 1983 when he took a job with Hoover Universal in Saline. They joined the Westminster family in the mid-80s. Steve and Berta have three sons, Ryan, Brandon, and Nicholas, and one of their claims to fame is that all three sons have graduated from college, are currently holding jobs, and most importantly, are out of the house and off the parent’s credit card. Ryan lives in the area, is married to Maggi, and they have three children, Grace, Thomas and Phillip. Brandon lives in the Baltimore area, and Nicholas is in Georgia.
What does Steve like to do? Sports of all types, kids and grandkids, exercising, reading, and singing. If you come to the early service, you will usually see Steve among the ranks in the Celebration Singers. He says he knows it’s crazy, but he loves the automotive industry, and even though he may not look like it, he’s worked in the industry for 32 years.
Jennifer Young is an elder serving on the Youth Committee.
A native of western New York, Jennifer was raised in Tonawanda, between Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Her family was active in the Presbyterian church there, but she does admit to having strayed a bit during her teens and twenties. As a young adult, Jennifer completed her academic career with a PhD in neuropsychology from Rice University in Houston, TX. Although she is a stay-at-home mom now, she held various academic positions, teaching and doing research with brain damaged individuals, mainly people who had a stroke.
Jennifer met her husband Steve when they were both graduate students at Rice. They have two children, Elizabeth, 12, and Thomas, 8, and a well-loved dog, Katie. They came to the Ann Arbor area in 1999 and became active at Westminster shortly thereafter. Since then, she has been active on various committees at the church, taught children’s Sunday School, led small group Bible Studies, and has served as a deacon. When asked if she would like to share how an encounter with God changed her life, she replied “Every encounter with God deepens my trust and dependence on Him; as I continue to mature in my faith, I depend on God more and more each day and turn to God first in most situations, both good and bad. My goal: to have God first in my life all the time.”
Besides being involved with a variety of activities at Westminster, Jennifer likes to cook, to garden, and to be outdoors. She also enjoys studying the Bible and volunteering both at the kids’ school and at Hope Clinic.
What is one of her dreams? “I would love to live in an oceanfront home along the southern east coast. I never, ever, ever, ever, ever tire of being near the ocean.”
EVENTS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Masquerade Ball benefits Hope Clinic
Friday, March 19, 7 pm
$8 per person; $15 per couple; $20 per family
All are welcome at Westminster’s formal masquerade ball to benefit Hope Clinic. Come in costume or simply dress up. You need not dance–just come and chat if you prefer. Our banquet fit for a king will include delicious appetizers and homemade desserts. We’ll hold a raffle as well, to determine the King and Queen of the ball.
Sixty Plus Club learns about Gideons
Friday, March 19; St. Andrews Fellowship Hall
Lunch and program beginning at noon
Dwight Bornemeier will speak to us about the Gideon Bible program. All are welcome!
Men: Prepare for early-morning thrill
Men’s Breakfast, Saturday, March 20, 8 am
Get in the cockpit and follow a young American pilot as he makes his way through Red Flag–the world’s most intense simulated air combat training event. Ralph Lange presents this on-the-edge-of-your-seat video, filmed over the Nevada dessert with a variety of military aircraft.
Bring a friend to enjoy breakfast, great conversation and an exciting start to your day! Three bucks.
Chicks & Flicks: My Sister’s Keeper
Saturday, March 20, 6 pm
Conceived by means of in vitro fertilization, Anna Fitzgerald was brought into the world to be a genetic match for her older sister, Kate, who suffers from leukemia. Knowing she will have to donate a kidney to her sister, Anna sues for medical emancipation and the rights to her own body.
Come enjoy dinner and the movie, and bring a friend! Please sign up in the entry to the fellowship hall.
Women, save this date also for our annual retreat: April 30–May 1. We’ll learn about the workings of the Holy Spirit while enjoying rest and relaxation together in a beautiful natural setting.
Donate to Therapaws!
Katheryne Johnston is sponsoring a coin drive to benefit the local organization of Therapaws for her Confirmation service project. Therapaws trains and brings therapy dogs to people who may be lonely and in need of cheering up, for example, those in the hospital or nursing homes. Your donations will allow Therapaws to continue and expand its life-bringing work.
Donations will be accepted any Sunday or Wednesday evening through March 14 at a station in the fellowship hall. Katheryne says thank you to all who donate to support this great cause.
Attention Green Thumbs (and green thumb wannabe’s)—
an update on the Westminster Garden Project
• Several of our members recently completed classes offered by Growing Hope (www.growinghope.net) designed to help community groups organize a garden. We hope to build a sharing garden as a part of the Faith and Food Initiative to provide fresh produce for hunger ministries in Washtenaw County, including Riverside Community Gathering, Food Gatherers and Hope Clinic. Members who attended the classes are Gail Arnold, Robin Hess, Art Howard, Marie Howard, Jeff Kaiser and Joanne Keeling.
• The Detroit Presbytery announced this month an initiative entitled, “Feed the Hungry: Grow a Garden.” Three churches in the Detroit Presbytery already have congregational gardens: Geneva (Canton), Crossroads (Walled Lake), Grosse Point Memorial.
• In addition to providing food, we plan to design the garden as a sacred and open space for prayer and reflection for the neighborhood.
• We believe there are neighbors who would like to work toward this initiative with us and intend to invite more hands to turn the dirt together.
• Initial exploration has identified the north lawn area of the church property for the garden location.
• Groundbreaking is this spring!
• All who are interested in helping to design, develop and maintain this garden are invited to keep ears and eyes open for further information.
Children and teens are active in service, celebration and learning
Our Sunday Celebration children have been studying the fruits of the spirit this winter. On February 14 they put into practice what they’ve been learning by lovingly creating valentines for our H.E.A.R.T. overnight shelter guests. The valentines were attached to bags of candy and distributed to the guests that evening. It was beautiful to see the love and care the children put into these cards.
Lenten fish banks have been sent home with children in Worship Center classes for offerings to One Great Hour of Sharing. Banks are due back on Sunday, March 28. Thank you in advance for your support for our children in their giving, and for your generosity to this ministry which helps those in need all over the world.
The annual Children’s Easter Celebration is being planned for Saturday, April 3, at 10:30 am in the fellowship hall. Children two years old through fifth grade are invited to participate; parents, please plan to attend with your children. It’s always a great time to hear the message of Easter, to take part in fun and meaningful crafts activities, and simply to socialize with other Westminster families. The festivities end with a candy hunt on the church lawn about 11:45 am.
Children-led Worship will take place May 9 at the 11:15 service. Children are beginning to write prayers and practice singing and ringing for a time they take very seriously–leading you in worship of our Lord! Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.
Vacation Bible School is scheduled for June 21–23, 5:30–8:30 pm. Mark your calendars now so you and your children may participate.
Youth summer trips are planned
Westminster Omegas have the opportunity this year to attend the Presbyterian Youth Triennium 2010, held at Purdue University, July 20–24, a time for teens from all across the USA to consider Jesus’ invitation to daily prayer and service.
July 25–30, Alphas and Omegas will team up with the youth group from the Latin American Fellowship of Central Presbyterian Church in Norristown, PA. This group, under the leadership of Pastor Gadiel Gomez, hosted our teens two summers ago. The young people will undertake various mission projects this summer in the Detroit area.
HEART program a well-received success
The group of twenty or so individuals who received shelter for one week at Westminster thank you, the congregation not only for the shelter, but more so for the warm welcomes they experienced in the form of a listening ear, a caring helper, a moment of prayer, a homemade treat, a safe environment and a fun place to watch a movie and relax.
Each individual had a story to tell. Some stories were of sadnesses such as recent evictions and family strife; others were triumphant stories of sustained sobriety and lives being touched by grace and reformed by faith, day by day.
For the most part, we’ll never know how our welcomes will be translated into welcomes for others down the line, but we can all be thankful to God for the translations nonetheless.
What we do know is that our church heard the call to help, and members came together in a thoughtful, positive way to respond in keeping with Jesus’ teaching to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Thank you to all of the volunteers, to those who stayed overnight, to those who baked bread, to those who brought snacks, to those who hosted and to those who supported this ministry in other ways.
Most gratefully yours from our guests and from the Mission Committee,
Al Flynn
Faithful Reform coalition urges political leaders to complete health care reform efforts
At its February meeting, the Westminster Session agreed to sign on to Faithful Reform in Health Care’s letter to the Obama administration and Congress urging them to “complete the task [health care reform] at hand on behalf of the millions who are left out and left behind in our current health care system.” The letter, sent February 24, was signed by more than 4,000 people of faith, 58 national religious groups, including the Presbyterian Church (USA), more than 80 regional and state faith organizations and 26 national faith leaders. It also ran as a full page print advertisement in The Hill and as an online ad at The Hill’s Web site.
Faithful Reform was established based on the premise that “The United States–the richest nation in the world–is home to millions of people who do not have access to needed health care. For those affected, this is a personal and medical crisis; for others it is an economic or political crisis. But because we have the capacity to solve the problem and won’t, for all of us it is a moral crisis which calls for moral and prophetic leadership from the faith community. History shows that voices of faith are integral to the success of social reform movements in this country, and the effort to make affordable quality health care for all a reality in this country is no exception.”
A coalition of over 100 faith-based organizations, Faithful Reform is apolitical, working for changes that will offer health care for all. More information, including the full text of the letter can be found at
www.westpresa2.org/programs/adulted.html
Books, Bible, videos teach and inspire
Adult Education classes encourage discussion, reflection, prayer and disciplines of life-long learning, discernment and faithful and Christ-centered action in the world. You are welcome to join any class at any time.
Bible study: Exodus An in-depth study, led by Andy King. A variety of resources and perspectives are used to explore this foundational book of the Old Testament. Meets Sundays at 10 am in room 32 on the lower level.
What God’s Forgiveness Means For Us The ability to forgive and to receive forgiveness is central to our Christian faith–essential but often difficult. Jay Hess and Pastor Cathi King lead this six week Lenten study. Meets Sundays at 10 am in room 30 on the lower level.
Nooma Studies with Rob Bell A fresh look at the teachings of Jesus, based on short, engaging DVDs discussing topics such as anger, identity, busyness, unconditional love and prayer. Meets Wednesday evenings at 6:30 pm in room 30 on the lower level.
Seeing Christ in the Stranger
This the seventh in a series of meditations on hospitality taken from the book God’s Welcome: Hospitality for a Gospel-Hungry World, by Amy G. Oden.
I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me. . .. Truly I tell you, just as you did it to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me.
(Matthew 25:35–36; NRSV)
Jesus tells us in Matthew 25 that it is in the least likely of places–in prisons and sickbeds, among the hungry and thirsty, even among the lost–that we will encounter Jesus himself. His parable suggests that Jesus may be especially present among the vulnerable. If we want to know Jesus, we’re going to have to hang out with strangers.
At first blush this seems counterintuitive. Wouldn’t we want to hang out with models of Christian faith, maybe clergy or church leaders, if we want to know Jesus? Certainly we will seek out brothers and sisters who can offer their wisdom and faith as we journey along. But if we turn only to those sources to know Jesus, we will miss out on some of God’s profound welcome. As we cultivate a spirituality of hospitality we want eyes to see Jesus in each person we encounter, even when the Jesus we find there is not the Jesus we expect.
You already know the experience of seeing Christ in another person. Most likely, you have experienced the grace of God’s welcome into abundant life through another person in your life. As you reflect on those in whom you have encountered Jesus most profoundly, what was it that conveyed Christ’s presence to you? Perhaps their gentleness, mercy, or forgiveness. Or perhaps their devotion to others or their holiness of life. It’s not a big stretch to believe we can see Christ present in these ways. But how can we see Jesus in those who do not exhibit such likeable traits? How can we see Jesus in the talkative persons who interrupt and seem uninterested in anyone’s thoughts but their own? Or in the perfectionist who seems to have little patience with others who don’t measure up? Could we see Jesus in the panhandler on the sidewalk or in the shabbily dressed stranger who visits on Sunday morning, standoffish and shuffling to a seat?
To be fair, it takes time and patience to develop this spiritual discipline of seeing Jesus in others. For most of us, it doesn’t come naturally. We have to desire this state of the heart, and it begins with trust. Trust that God is, indeed, pervading every molecule of the universe, so God must already be at work in this person, planting seeds, calling them to abundant life, nudging and welcoming them.
Notice: our trust is not in the goodness of the other person, or even in our own ability to see Christ in the other, but in God’s life itself, present and powerful in all things. Cultivating a spirituality of hospitality pulls us back to this foundational trust in God’s welcoming work. No matter who we welcome, God got there first, offering welcome in this person’s life long before we showed up. Our inability to see Christ in the stranger doesn’t mean Christ isn’t there, but that we need to exercise our imaginations!
This is an act of the imagination, seeing beyond labels or demographic categories, seeing others most deeply for who they are, the gifts and burdens that they bring. If we live in the trust that God has already been at work, we are expectant that, in this visitor, God has something to say to us. If we want to know what Jesus is up to, and the abundant life Jesus has for our church family, we pay attention to this stranger, trusting that in welcoming the stranger, we welcome Christ himself.
Experiment Try the experiment of presuming Jesus is present in each person you encounter. Set aside a day, a half day, or a specific window of time, like a trip to the mall or a meeting at work. Experiment with presuming Jesus is present in each person you encounter. Presume Jesus is present in every cashier or clerk, every person in line, every person around the conference table or on the conference call.
Does this change the way you relate to them? How? Remember, this experiment does not require that you see Jesus in each person, but only that you presume Jesus is there whether you can see it or not. If it helps, begin the experiment with a brief prayer: “Grant me the gift of eyes to see Christ in each person.”
On our web site
Sermon podcasts are back! Thanks go to our sound system experts for fixing our recording equipment.
Jeff Flynn presented an amazing amount of information about life online at the February men’s breakfast. Review his lists of helpful Web sites.
For the most up to date calendar information, check the online calendar.
The Westminster Weekly, plus sermon title and Sunday Bible readings are placed online on Fridays. Get the week’s news early, and give God opportunity to prepare your heart for Sunday’s worship.
Sign up to receive The Link via email on the web site home page.
Westminster Presbyterian Church
1500 Scio Church Road, Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-761-9320 | westpresa2.org