Westminster Loving God & Neighbour

Sunday October 13th, Thanksgiving Sunday, we will gather together as a church family to give thanks to God for all that he has provided. Pastor Ruttan will lead the service.  We'll continue with our new series called "Crop," an in-depth look at Jesus' parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20. In short, the "seed" in the parable is God's word to us, and the different kinds of soil correspond to our hearts. Are we receptive and will we bear a crop that honours him and gives other hope with the legacy of our lives? On Sunday we'll look closely at these two verses which discuss the 2nd kind of soil: "Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away." There will be nursery care and the full Sunday School will be in operation.  Hope to see you there!

Sunday October 20th, we will gather together as a church family to praise our incredible God. Cathy Clark will lead our service during Pastor Ruttan’s vacation week.  Her message “Lessons from the Labyrinth” is based on Psalm 99, the Holiness of God. There will be nursery care and the full Sunday School will be in operation.  Hope to see you there!

Join us on Wednesday, October 23rd at 12pm for a lovely luncheon to celebrate fall and give thanks for all that we are blessed with.  There will be plenty of food and fellowship! You will enjoy fresh baking, sandwiches and desserts galore!  The price is $15.00 for adults and children are free. Tickets will be available in the Fellowship Hall after church on Sundays and in the church office during office hours.  Call 705-728-0541 to reserve your tickets Tue - Fri 9am - 12pm. All proceeds will go to support the work of the church. For more information speak to Ann Macklem or call the church.    

On Sunday October 27th, we will gather as God's people to honour his name! We will sing, worship, pray, encourage one another, and learn (upstairs and down). Pastor Ruttan will return to lead worship and will offer Part 3 in the current "Crop" series, an in-depth exploration of Jesus' Parable of the Sower. He'll explore the third possible response to the message of and about Jesus, which he describes in Mark 4:18-19 as "seed sown among thorns" who "hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful." What does he mean by this? And how can we avoid the word being chocked out of our lives making us unfruitful? Also, during the kids' time, he'll share a video with everything that was put on the Gratitude Wall! There will be nursery care and the full Sunday School will be in operation.  Hope to see you there!

Our 2019 ASC continues with our second fall dinner meeting on Friday November 1st. at 6:30pm. Our October gathering resulted in 23 attendees, some members who have been around for a while, some new and a couple of people from outside Westminster. Our dinner location is: PIE Barrie South End 34 Commerce Park Dr, 705 725 9663. Everyone is most welcome to join us and to bring their friends. The reservation is in the name of 'Westminster'.  Please contact Gayle Atkinson 705 627 9790 (vmail or text) or David and Linda Holloway 705-722-4032 no later than Wednesday Oct. 30th  at noon, if you would like to participate. Please call the restaurant after this deadline to make any changes.  Thanks!

November 3rd we will gather together as a church family to worship our incredible God! On Sunday, Pastor Ruttan brings the Crop series to a head. In it we look at Mark 4 and Galatians 5 about how to be "good soil" for God that produces a divinely-ordained "crop" in our lives. This is a source of hope and nourishment, not only for the people around us now, but in the years to come. The crop of our lives is a part of the legacy God wants to work through each and every one of us! There will be nursery care and the full Sunday School will be in operation.  Hope to see you there!

November 10th is a very special day: Remembrance Sunday.  It is always the Sunday before November 11. We gather in gratitude, and give thanks to God for the peace he offers in Christ, and to honor the memory of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and who have served and died in the horrors of war. Our service begins with the Act of Remembrance. This includes singing God Save The Queen, the laying of the wreath by Ralph MacGibbon (a World War Two veteran), The Last Post, Reveille, and O Canada. Jayden Jackson will bless us by reading In Flanders Fields. There will be our full nursery and Sunday School program. And as a part of our service, we light the “candles of remembrance of hope.” This has become a meaningful part of our service. People are invited to the front (if they wish) to light a candle at the front in memory of someone who has died in war, or as a prayer for peace. Pastor Ruttan will also welcome Captain the Reverend Andrew Cameron, Chaplain, CFB Borden, who will help lead some of the prayers. Together, let’s praise and glorify the Prince of Peace.  

We are once again participating in the Barrie Santa Claus Parade.  It is on Saturday November 16th and the parade begins at 5pm.  Please see the sign-up form at the Welcome Centre to help with assembling/disassembling the float, riding on the float or helping provide some supervision and hospitality for the kids following the event. 10am - 12pm - Set-up float 1 - 2pm - participants collect costumes for those riding on float at church (need to be at float for 4:30) 5 - 7pm - parade and downtown Tree Lighting 7pm - 8pm - dis-assemble float & provide hospitality for participants back at church It's a great way to celebrate Christmas and offer a joyful reminder about what the season is all about! The route will be the same as last year: departing from Tiffin and Lakeshore, heading straight up Tiffin to Bradford Street. We will then head North on Bradford to Dunlop, then through Downtown Barrie, where we will be part of the Downtown Barrie Tree Lighting festivities! Be sure to join in!  Any questions or want to volunteer - connect with Guy Gagnon at guy@hockinghomes.com

Sunday November 17th, we will gather together as a church family to praise our incredible God.  We will sing, pray and worship together. This week, Pastor Ruttan starts a new series called "Armageddon: What we know about the end of the world (and the difference it makes)." During the sermon time he will interview Associate Professor of Old Testament/Hebrew Scriptures at Knox College in Toronto, Dr. Brian Irwin, also a friend of Pastor Ruttan. It will be a great Sunday to kick-off a topic of much speculation, confusion... and importance. There will be nursery care and the full Sunday School will be in operation.  The Sunday School continues their preparation for our annual Christmas Pageant.  Hope to see you there!

This Sunday we will gather as God's people to worship and honour him! We will do this with singing, prayer, learning and mutual encouragement -- upstairs and down. There is nursery care, and the Sunday School will have a pageant practice (everyone can be included). Pastor Ruttan will continue with the Armageddon series, address preliminary questions, and answer 'Why will the world end, and how?' After worship we will have the first monthly 'Q and A Forum' in the sanctuary.