Westminster Loving God & Neighbour

REMEMBRANCE SUNDAY is always held the Sunday prior to November 11th (Remembrance Day). So this year it is on November 8th. We gather in gratitude, give thanks to God for his promise of peace, and honor the memory of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice and who have served and died in the horrors of war. There will be the Act of Remembrance (including God Save The Queen, the laying of the wreath by a veteran, The Last Post, Reveille, and O Canada), In Flanders Fields (read by one of our young people), and Lighting the Candles of Remembrance and Hope (so be sure to have your tea lights with you!) Plus, some of our choir members will put together a virtual anthem of Let There Be Peace on Earth! Pastor Ruttan will continue teaching about James 4 with a message called "In but not of the world."  You can find sermon notes for this message here. It will be a special Sunday. Please join us for our live stream service.  You can find that here.  

Currently our services are live stream only.  You can find it here. Sunday is Day 1 (not 7). It's the day of worship that sets the tone and pace for the rest of the week! So that's what we do on November 15 at 10:01am via our live-stream. Pastor Ruttan and Jenn Harris will lead the service, and the sermon will be about envy, fatigue and Psalm 73, offered by a special guest, Joe Bae, lead pastor of the English-speaking ministry at Vaughn Community Church. Mary Colvin will help explain this week's faith-at-home focus, and we will sing to God, offer up prayers, and learn from God's word. Hope you can join us.

This Sunday at 10:01am we worship via our YouTube live-stream to lift high the name of Jesus! Pastor Ruttan will continue with the Down-to-Earth series and having patience through suffering. You can find sermon notes for this message here. Talk about a timely topic! We will also sing songs, pray, and learn about a new faith-at-home activity with a service focus. Let's worship: The more you stare at God, the bigger you know him to be! Our service is live stream only.  You can find that here. Hope you can join us.

This Sun. Nov. 29 at 10:01 on the live-stream we start Advent and light the candle of hope! We will enjoy the first entry of the Christmas/Advent Praise Challenge, a new service-based faith-at-home focus, and be blessed by a special musical guest. During the announcements Pastor Ruttan will share an update from the elders about the church in light of Covid-19. We will also sing praises to God, prayer, exalt our coming King Jesus, and learn from God's word with Part 9 in the Down-to-Earth series: Believers live like believers. (sermon notes here) After the service, Pastor Ruttan will host this month's Q&A Forum and it is the first of two Sundays collecting for Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions. The people in darkness have seen a great light... Currently our services are live stream only.  You can find it here on Sunday morning.

We continue to wait and prepare for the Lord during Advent. This Sunday, December 6th at 10:01am (EST) via live stream we will fix our eyes on Christ, worship God, and be nourished by his Spirit, song, prayer, and words. We light the candle of Peace and celebrate Communion (virtually), so be sure to have your bread and juice/wine ready! This will occur right after the kids' time. Parents and grandparents are encouraged to use this resource to discuss the meaning of the Sacrament with the young people in your household. We will enjoy a new praise challenge entry, and bring the Down-to-Earth series to a close! You will find this week's sermon notes here. After the service, it is the second of two Sundays collecting for Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions. Currently our services are live stream only.  You can find that here on Sunday morning.

The first-ever virtual Christmas pageant is here! Tune in on Sunday, December 13th at 10:01am EST for this uplifting and creative re-telling of the Christmas story with contributions from 50 of our young people! We will also light the Advent candle of joy, sing Christmas carols, pray, enjoy some new praise challenge submissions, and be encouraged in the path of Christ! A challenge: invite someone you know to watch the service! Just direct them here: https://westminsterpc.ca/youtube-stream/  . You can also donate food to the Food Bank at the church between 12 & 2pm. Financial donations can be directed to the Food Bank through cheque, e-transfer or our smartphone app. Currently, our services are live stream only.  You can find that here on Sunday morning.

We'll be hosting a special worship service (online here) on Thurs. Dec. 17th from 7-8pm. It is a challenging season and year. So this service, led by Pastor Ruttan, Jenn Harris and Cathy Clark, will be a time of singing, praying, comfort and encouragement from the Lord. Join in!

Join us this Sunday at 10:01 for the 2020 choral cantata! This year's cantata has been put together virtually and features 16 voices (and faces!) from Westminster's Adult Choir. We will also be blessed by live narration from our own Steve Sainsbury. While this year's cantata certainly looks different than previous years and in fact doesn't even have a title, it features a few of our favourite and beautiful songs from past cantatas. We hope that this music will be a wonderful and worshipful start to your Christmas week! We will also continue with our December Community Outreach initiatives.  This Sunday is typically our Mitten Tree Sunday where we collect hats, mitts and scarves for the clients of The David Busby Centre.  We won't have a tree this year but Christine Wilkinson will collect donations in the parking lot between 12 & 2 pm for delivery to them.  Thanks for your support. Currently, our services are live-stream only.  You can find it here Sunday morning.

READY TO MAKE YOUR PLANS FOR CHRISTMAS EVE?  We have two worship options available! Something new is a Use-At-Home service for those looking to try something different this year!  It has suggested readings, times to pray, and even includes different carol options (including words). You can download it here. You can view the other worship option, our live-streamed service here.

One of our Christmas Eve options is an online service from 5:30 to 6:30pm here on our live-stream. It will include a family-friendly focus for the first half, and a more traditional feel (with candles) for the second half.  Although not our traditional Christmas Eve Services, this service will be a wonderful blend of the two in a shorter, online friendly format. It can also be viewed at any time throughout the evening on our YouTube Channel here. You can view our other Christmas Eve worship option, the Use-At-Home liturgy here.