www.westfieldchurch.org 1

FEBRU ARY 2017

The CORNERSTONE

2 Pastor Paul

2 Community Meal

2 Special Friends

3 David Champ

3 Stewardship

3 Think Globally

4 Foundations of Hope

A publication of Westfield Presbyterian Church

VBS in February!

Family Fun at VBS

Have you heard of Christmas in July?

How about VBS in February? Something

new this year is a weekend version of

VBS for children age 3 to grade 6 and

parents. Separate sections and combined

events will feature the curriculum taught

by the What’s in the Bible? characters and

writers.

Please spread the word about this exciting

FREE weekend. Kickoff is Friday, Febru-

ary 17, from 7 - 8:30 P.M. and continues

Saturday, February 18, from 10-3 with

lunch and snack included.

Registration is recommended but not

required. Look for the sign up sheet in

the bulletin or register online. If you

have any questions, please ask David

Champ (youth@westfieldchurch.org).

What’s INSIDE

Stephen Ministers Offer Hope

For some people, Valentine’s Day is a

painful reminder of a broken relationship,

the death of a loved one, a chronic illness,

or another life challenge. If you are going

through a difficult time, our Stephen Min-

isters can bring Jesus’ love (God’s ulti-

mate Valentine) back into your life.

Stephen Ministers provide confidential,

one-to-one Christian care. They will meet

Cheer On Your Team

On Super Bowl Sunday, February 5, join us at 6:00 P.M. to

watch the game and cheer for your favorite team. Will it be

the New England Patriots or the Atlanta Falcons?

Bring a potluck dish to share and invite some friends,

neighbors, family, or co-workers to watch the biggest

sporting event of the year.

Blankets for Babies

Please join us for our sewing day

on February 25 from 9:30—3:00.

There will be jobs for experienced

and novice sewers including cut-

ting, pressing, tying, folding and

machine sewing. Bring your own

machine.

Nurse-Family Partnership in New

Castle and the community health

clinic in Langano, Ethiopia are the

recipients of our blankets.

with you privately on a weekly basis to

listen, to support and encourage you, to

pray with and for you, and to walk with

you for the duration of your struggle.

To find out more, please contact Pastor

Paul or one of Westfield’s Stephen

Leaders: Linda McBride, Evan Ernst, or

Lorraine Book.

www.westfieldchurch.org 2

We have started our journey through

2017. I am sure that most of us have

goals and/or expectations, things we plan

to do, places we plan to go, milestones we

plan to experience. The same is true for us

as a church. Foundations of Hope moves

to its next stage and the congregation will

need to decide if, how, and when to move

ahead. The mission trip, Vacation Bible

School, the Christmas Dinner Theater,

community meal, a couples and a senior’s

ministry are in the planning stages even

now.

As a church and as individuals we have

expectations, hopes and dreams. And we

are moving forward by faith. Will it all

turn out exactly the way we want it to?

Probably not. Will there be ups and

downs, disappointments and successes?

There’s no reason to think otherwise.

Will we agree on everything? Hmmmm,

let me think. No! And that’s a sure thing.

Nevertheless, with all that might happen

or might not happen, we move forward

with confidence and joyful expectation

that God is at work in us, through us,

and at times, in spite of us. But in all

things we will stand upon the Word of

God, go forward in the strength of God,

make decisions that glorify God, respond

to one another with the peace of God,

live our lives in a way that pleases God,

build in a way that builds the Kingdom

of God, and serve others as Christ served

and serves us.

God blesses us so we can be a blessing

to others.

And so we will “…walk in a manner

worthy of the calling with which you

have been called, with all humility and

gentleness, with patience, show-

ing forbearance to one

another in love, being

diligent to preserve the

unity of the Spirit in the

bond of peace.”

- Ephesians 4:1-3

Community Meal Offered Monthly

Westfield offers a free community meal every month. We invite

you to join us on Wednesday, February 22, from 5-7 P.M. for our

next meal. Stop in on your way home from school or work. Join us

between evening activities. Stretch your food budget. Don’t eat

alone. Interested in volunteering? There are a variety of ways you

can help on the night of our meal or earlier in the week. Please con-

tact Lorraine Book or any Deacon to find out more.

Moving Forward with Confidence by Paul Votaw

The CORNERSTONE

God’s Hands

Special Friends

Russ & Judy Bryan at their residence

Alice Fullerton at her residence

Shirley Gibson at her residence

Harry Jolley

at his residence

Mary Lou Williams at her residence

Our life is like the dial of a clock. The

hands are God’s hands, passing over and

over again — the short hand of disci-

pline and the long hand of mercy.

Slowly and surely, the hand

of discipline must pass,

and God speaks at each

strike.

But over and over passes the hand of

mercy, showering down sixtyfold of

blessing for each stroke of discipline

or trial. And both hands are

fastened to one secure point: the

great, unchanging heart of a

God of love.

—Virginia Brandt Berg

www.westfieldchurch.org 3

Our year is off and running with YO! On

Sundays we will be studying the Book of

Proverbs and discussing what it means to

live wise, Godly lives in the teenage

world of today. On Wednesdays we will

be studying World Religions and how

they compare and contrast with Christian-

ity. This will give our students tools to use

when they encounter people of different

world views.

During February our family Super Bowl

party is the 5th and we will have a week-

end retreat at Westfield on the 16th -

19th. Our first fund-raiser for the mis-

sion trip is a soup sale, with pre-paid

orders ready on the 4th and 5th.

We need volunteers to make dinner for

our Sunday and Wednesday programs.

Please sign up on the YO! Bulletin board

by the offices and help support our youth

ministry.

Teens Study Proverbs and World Religions by David Champ, Director of Youth & Family Ministry

The CORNERSTONE

Supplies for Vacation Bible School

Although summer VBS is months away (June 12 - 16) we are collecting some items right now.

Maker Fun Factory: Created by God, Built for a Purpose, is a place where curious kids will be-

come hand-on inventors who discover they’re lovingly crafted by God. Our inventors will need

metal cans in all sizes. Do not crush, but please wash and remove labels and place them in the do-

nation bin in the back of the church.

Mission & Outreach Updates John and Cathy Rug John and Cathy Rug will be our spe-

cial guests on Sunday, March 26.

Join us at 9:45 to learn more about

their work in Chile.

Kevin & Wendy Mason The Masons report that serious strate-

gic planning and project development

for work in Asia continues to move

forward. Other joys include having

son Cameron home with them for a

few weeks. Please continue to pray

for their spiritual vitality and focus

and for their total financial provision.

Other Prayer Concerns Other missionaries are dealing with

changes in work areas, conflict

among believers and unbelievers, the

loss of a team member’s baby, and

the persecution of a Christian leader.

Pray for the Christmas Shoe boxes

as they travel to their destinations.

May each child be touched by the

items and the story of salvation.

We hope that Fitness to Faith will

resume soon. Watch for details.

Beginning this month, your Stewardship

Committee will be providing some “food

for thought” in The Cornerstone. A good

place to start is defining stewardship.

Most of us think of the Sunday morning

offering plate when we hear the word,

but stewardship is so much more than

that.

Webster defines it as, “the careful and

responsible management of something

entrusted to one’s care”. This is another

way of saying grateful and responsible

caretaking of the gifts we receive from

God.

We are to be good stewards with all

we’ve been entrusted with from God.

Yes, our money is part of that, but we

also have been entrusted with family,

friends and talents. Plus our homes, cars,

tractors, and so many other things! Per-

haps the most precious “thing” we have

is time.

Over the next few months we hope to

give ideas on how to be good stewards

of all the wonderful gifts given to each

of us by God.

Stewardship for Everyone! by Brad White

www.westfieldchurch.org 4

The CORNERSTONE

The Cornerstone is a monthly

publication of Westfield

Presbyterian Church.

We are a congregation of the

Covenant Order of Evangelical

Presbyterians.

We worship together every Sunday at

11:00 A.M. We welcome all members,

friends, and visitors to join us.

Editor & Office Secretary:

Maribeth Jones

Church Staff:

Rev. Paul Votaw

Pastor

David Champ

Director of Youth & Family

Ministries

Sarah Phillips

Organist/Choir Director

Stacy Cosgrove

Financial Secretary

Dave Micco

Custodian

God’s Conversation Hearts Those familiar conversation hearts that show up every February can be more than just

trite romantic or friendly sayings. Use them to remind you — or to teach a child — of

the greatest love of all: God’s love for us, which empowers our love for others. For

example:

• TRUE LOVE: What love is truer than giving up one’s only Son so people might

have everlasting life? (John 3:16).

• MINE: Jesus knows us intimately, as a shepherd knows his sheep. No one can

snatch us from him (John 10:27-29).

• FOREVER: God loves us with an “everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).

• LOVE ME: The greatest commandment is to love God with our whole being (Luke

10:27).

• TRUST ME: “Let not your hearts be troubled.” We can count on Jesus, now and for

eternal life (John 14:1-3).

• SWEET TALK: God’s words are sweeter than honey (Psalm 119:103).

• BE GOOD: We show our love for Christ by keeping his commands (John 14:15).

• CALL ME: God longs to be in fellowship with us. We can talk to him anytime in

prayer (Jeremiah 33:3).

• FRIENDS: The greatest love involves laying down your life for your friends (John

15:13) — precisely what Jesus did.

• #1: “We love because [God] first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

Food Pantry Donations Needed

Each time you shop for groceries this

month, remember to shop for the Project

HOPE food pantry. Items to look for in

February include the following: canned

fruit, coffee, dish soap, juices, laundry

soap, cereal. Items may be placed in the

labeled bins in the coat rack area. Our

HOPE representatives Janet Wigg and

Becky Summers will deliver items to the

food pantry, located in Bethel Church.

Thank you for your help!

Foundations of Hope

Capital Campaign Update

January Receipts (through 1/15)

$ 1,530.00

Inception to Date

$56,311.00

Extravagant Love

The love St. Paul describes in 1 Corin-

thians 13 is “no mild, tepid thing,” writes

Mark Buchanan in Your Church Is Too

Safe (Zondervan). “It is no flight of fancy,

no frisson of giddiness, no mere ruffle of

sensation. This love is neither nice nor

prissy nor fragile nor coy. This love is

fierce and wild and dangerous and un-

breakable. It is sublime and subversive.

It is indefatigable and undefeatable. It

is nothing less than the love God has

for you, to bind you and to loose you,

to take you captive and then set you

free. This love is extravagant.”