Westminster Loving God & Neighbour

Today while Pastor Ruttan is on his final day of Study Leave, our service is led by Jeff Walther, an active part of our Westminster Church family. People and families in our church, our community and across the country are about to experience one of the most difficult financial climates in many years. Local organizations such as the Food Bank and Christmas Cheer as well as international charities such as World Vision and The Red Cross are already warning of empty shelves and hungry children. As Christians, what should our response to this situation be? Knowing that “God loves a cheerful giver” but realizing that we are all limited to how much we can do to help the situation, what can we do to help? This Sunday we will look at the “ripple effect” that becomes the tidal wave of love when we all give, serve and encourage in the name of Jesus Christ. Our music leadership will be by Nena LaMarre. We will sing, pray, be encouraged and encourage others. There will be nursery care, Sunday School and fellowship time.

On Monday, November 21st at 1 p.m. we will hold a memorial service for Kaye Lockwood, a member of our congregation, who passed away on November 5th at the Bob Rumball Home for the Deaf. Kaye and her husband John ("Jack") were very active in the congregation. Kaye was a member of the Bible study group and was helpful in the church office and in many other groups. She was a nurse by profession and even spent time in Angola doing missionary work. Kaye was a woman who gushed kindness. We will miss her greatly but rejoice that she is now with the Lord! Her last line in her favourite hymn is "When the roll is called up yonder, I'll be there"... and now she is! Obituary Passed away peacefully at the Bob Rumball Home for the Deaf, Barrie on Saturday November 5, 2022 at the age of 94. Predeceased by her loving husband Jack (January 2018). Survived by her daughters Lori and Dianne. Predeceased by her siblings Earl Hull, John (Bunny) Hull, Wendell Hull, and Ella (Penny) Broderick (according to Kaye, her best friend). A private graveside service was held on Thursday November 10th at Innisvale Cemetery, Innisfil. The family will honour her life with a service of remembrance at Westminster Presbyterian Church, 170 Steel Street, Barrie on Monday November 21st at 1pm. As an expression of sympathy donations in memory of Kaye may be made to Westminster Presbyterian Church or to Furry Friends Animal Shelter, Barrie and may be made through the funeral home Obituary wording above taken from tributearchive.com - It can be viewed here.

Advent begins! The word “Advent” means “coming,” and refers to the coming of Christ at Christmas, or even to his second coming. It is a season of anticipation and preparation for our gracious King. On Sunday, November 27th, Pastor Ruttan returns from study leave and we will light the advent candle of hope. We will sing and pray together. The Rev. Paul Sakasov will help Pastor Ruttan lead the music. And we will open our Bibles and explore John 13:1-30 and the significance of Jesus washing his disciples dirty feet. There will be Sunday School, nursery care, and fellowship time. We will also commission our new Communications Coordinator, Kristin Stouffer, to her new role!

Saturday December 3 from 9 a.m. to Noon at Westminster...don't miss it!

*Please note: If you are only coming for pizza and movie, those parts of the event will be held at the church - see below* Join your church family on Sat. Dec. 10th for a Joy Skizzie! (Skating + Pizza + Movie). You can come to some of it or all of it. It's free! Skating is from 3:30-4:30pm at the East Bayfield Arena. Pizza will be at 5:00 p.m. at the Church, followed by a movie; "The Nativity Story" (PG13), which will play in the sanctuary and "The Star" (animated) which will play downstairs. Reviews for both can be found at PluggedIn.com.

We worship as God’s people on this third Sunday in Advent, lighting the candle of Joy! We will also formally thank Jenn Harris for her 12-plus years of service and leadership as our Music Director! (And yes, there will be cake.) Jenn has provided leadership and friendship, encouragement and hope in so many ways. We will also welcome hats, mittens, scarves (and thermal underwear) for our Mitten Tree! It’s in the sanctuary in front of the choir loft. Thank you for any help you can provide. They will all be given to the client of the David Busby Street Centre. Pastor Ruttan will take us through John 14:1-14 and focus on Jesus’ words in verse 6 which have been a source of great comfort for many and controversy for others. “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” What did he mean by “the way, the truth and the life,” and aren’t his words very exclusive? We’ll unpack this text and explain the phrase “exclusive inclusion.” We will welcome Kathy Kuehl who will provide musical leadership. We will pray, sing, learn, and will benefit from Sunday School ministry, nursery care, and fellowship!

The fourth Sunday in Advent will be a service of lessons and carols. Here’s what that means. The service will include a lot of singing as we move into Christmas carols, including pieces like “Angels we have heard on high,” “What child is this,” “It came upon the midnight clear,” and several others. There is no formal sermon, but will include prayers and readings which help centre us in Christ and allow us to lift up our concerns and hopes to God. It is also White Gift Sunday; these are donations for the Food Bank which has seen a massive increase in need. The name comes from a traditional practice of wrapping donations in white; however, this is not necessary and will most likely be removed by the Food Bank employees as they organize and distribute food. (See separate announcement for more details.) We light the candle of love, have Sunday School and nursery care, and fellowship time after the service. We are delighted that Nena LaMarre is able to help lead the music.

On December 24th we have two Christmas Eve services at Westminster. 1. A Super-Family Friendly Christmas Eve This is a very short service of 35 minutes, from 5:30 to 6:05pm. It’s fun for everyone and is definitely friendly to those with very young children. If they make noise, that’s okay! It will include singing and a fun re-telling of the nativity story in the form of a puppet show. A donation can be made to Teen Challenge Canada, an organization which helps people 18+ overcome addiction. Note that this service is in-person only and not live-streamed. 2. Traditional Candlelit service This is from 7-8pm and will include carols, a reflection on the meaning of Christmas, and singing carols in the dark by candlelight. Everyone will be given a candle on their way in to the building. A donation can be made to Teen Challenge Canada, an organization which helps people 18+ overcome addition. This service is in-person and also live-streamed on YouTube. It’s been a difficult few years. Let’s celebrate Jesus’ birth in a way that is joyful and meaningful.

On Christmas Day we will have an uplifting 40-minute ‘all together’ service; there will be no Sunday School, but there will be nursery care. Christ is born! Don’t forget to join us Christmas Eve for our 5:30 family friendly service (including a nativity puppet show) and/or our 7-8 p.m. traditional candle-lit service. Read the blog post for it here, or watch the 30 second video that Pastor Ruttan put together here. We look forward to celebrating the birth of Lord and Saviour with you! Merry Christmas!

On New Years Day, the Reverand Claude Cox will be leading our service with a sermon titled ‘Beginnings, beginnings and beginnings’. He has been the chaplain for many years at Grove Park Home for Senior Citizens and adjunct faculty at McMaster Divinity College—Old Testament and Hebrew, for almost as long. His wife Elaine, has been a nurse in the ICU for a bit longer. They have 3 grown children, Michael, Jason and Laura. The text is Mark 1:1–13. Being New Year’s day it seems like an appropriate moment to talk about the place of beginnings in Scripture, beginning at the beginning ( ! ), from the beginning to the beginning of the Gospel, and from that beginning to our own beginnings. Sounds like a lot of beginnings, doesn’t it? Of course, we have the synonym “start,” but it’s not quite the same as “beginning,” is it? There will be worship, fellowship, music led by Kathy Keuhl on the piano and Sunday and Nursery school.