Finding A Place At The Table

Summer is starting...

As we move toward summer,  here's some news about what's happening at West...

We invite you to join us for PeacePrayers, an informal time of worship and prayer, on June 1 at 5:00 PM.  We will also gather for PeacePrayers on the first Sundays in July and August as well.

On June 8, West Church begins our summer schedule, with our Sunday morning Service of Worship moving to 10:00 AM.  We will continue to worship at 10 AM on Sunday mornings through Labor Day weekend.  Following the Service of Worship on June 8 the congregation will journey to Fox Point State Park for our annual church picnic.

West Church is sponsoring Worship @ The Beach again this summer on a periodic basis.. Our gathering schedule is a bit more "relaxed" this year than last.  Please see the Worship @ the Beach website for more information about our gathering times and places during the summer.  To reflect some dreams and hopes for this gathering, we anticipate changing the name from Worship @ The Beach to Safe Harbor Community.

The PCUSA General Assembly meets in late June in San Jose.  Please keep the commissioners to the Assembly in your prayers.

West Church "adopted" a section of the beach in Cape Henlopen state park this year.   There's a picture of the sign on the beach on West Church's web site.  We recently had our first beach clean up day, and will have another one this coming fall.

Also, our our web site is a picture of some of the baptismal banners that were created by long-time member Marie Goss. 

Intentional Faith and Baptismal Vows

When anyone is baptized in the Presbyterian Church someone affirms their faith and makes a promise.  In the case of an adult, the person being baptized makes their own profession of faith and promises.  When it's an infant, the parents make the vows in the hopes that when the child grows up they will make their own profession.    We don't ask for a series of 20 promises and theological affirmations, but only a few:  Do you profess your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  Do you renounce evil and affirm reliance on God's grace?  Do you intend to actively participate in the worship and mission of the church?  These few affirmations, however, are the foundation and bedrock of our spiritual growth and faith journey.   

Tomorrow we begin the season of Lent.  This season of repentance and preparation is an opportunity for us to reflect on how we are living out the vows and affirmations we made when we were baptized or when we made our own professions of faith.  How are our lives being molded by our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior?  What difference does this affirmation make in the way we are living our life today?    How are our lives being shaped by our reliance on God's grace?  Are we faithfully living out our promise to actively participate in the worship and mission of the church?  What difference does our baptism and our professions of faith make in the way we live, in how we spend our money, in what we do with our time, in how we relate to others?  Are we intentionally living our lives in ways that are consistent with these promises?  As a time of preparation, the season of Lent is an invitation to consider anew these important vows and how they shape who we are and what we do.

We invite you not only to prayerfully reflect on your baptismal vows in the season of Lent, but to begin Lent with us at West on Wednesday, February 6 at 7:00 PM when we gather for an Ash Wednesday Service of Worship.  Please join us for a quiet, reflective and prayerful time.  The service will include the imposition of ashes for those who desire to receive them as a sign of our repentance.

       

 

Worship at West on Sunday, Feb 3

At West Church this Sunday we will have a special opportunity to reflect on our own responses to God's call in our lives, and to celebrate the ways that some in our congregation have answered God's call to serve.  4 members of West were recently involved in a mission trip to New Orleans  to help rebuild homes and lives.  Despite the time that has passed since Katrina, the Gulf Coast still struggles in the aftermath of flooding.  We will hear about this trip on Sunday during the Service of Worship.

In addition, we will install new officers who will serve on the Session.  These men and women were elected by the congregation last November, underwent a period of study and preparation, have been examined by the session and now they will begin their active service on the session upon their installation on Sunday. 

As we welcome new officers, we also will be offering thanksgiving for the gifts and leadership of those who are rotating off active service.  Our congregation's life is richer because of the gifts these members have shared through their service on the session.

Installing new officers, saying thanks for those who are rotating off, and hearing about a mission project to New Orleans encourages us all to ask ourselves how God calls us to respond to God's love each and every day.