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A New Year

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As we embark on a new year, changes will occur. Some changes are by choice and others come naturally.

Many of us willingly make New Year’s resolutions to do something that will improve us or our circumstances for the next year. However, if you are like me, sticking to these new ideas past January is an accomplishment. How many times have I set out with determination to read through the Bible and reach Leviticus and give up???

Then there are the changes that life naturally brings with getting older. I have noticed these changes during my years at Westminster. When we joined this church, Hal and I were young with two pre-school children. We quickly recognized the strong leadership in the church from men and women our parents’ age or older – the “senior” group. At that time, there were also many families with junior high and high school children as well. They all quickly became our church family. My family still has fond memories of the girls baking cookies with Nancy Collins, Lucille Pillow’s crocheted Christmas hats, and Mrs. Betty Jim Morgan teaching Sunday School. Hal and I quickly became involved. Our Sunday School group was large and we made lasting friendships.

Of course, through the years came changes. Westminster moved locations, members came and went, members passed away, children were born, children left for college, etc. Another year, another birthday – who’s counting? Life goes on. The girls who are your babysitters leave for college and you must find new, younger babysitters. Then the older girls get married, have children and soon my girls became their babysitters. The measuring stick of time at Westminster, for both young and old, is the progression through Sunday School classes.

My age defining event occurred about 12 years ago when we hired a new pastor that was much younger than me. Pastors are supposed to be older because that makes them wiser. How could I expect to be pastored by someone who had not lived and experienced more years than myself? Reluctantly, I accepted that this was bound to happen one day (albeit much quicker than I cared for) and I realized that I was well on the path to the “seniors” group. I am entering the age group of those that I remembered being such an influential part of my family. I must admit I do not feel mature enough to fill their roles.

Today, I am energized and excited by the changes at Westminster. There are so many young families with small children and new babies. We are inviting visitors and reaching out across the community. Our leadership is passionate about Christ and it is contagious. And oh, they are young, but wise beyond their years.

Also, there is an effort to cross barriers of age and backgrounds in order for our congregation to love each other more. A couple of years ago we started Dinners for Eight. Everyone seems to agree that this has been a successful event. The WIC hopes to build on this idea by beginning “Sister Family Trees”. Each lady will be placed in a family of 5 or 6 ladies of various ages. Over this next year, we hope the ladies in each family will develop stronger friendships.

Along with this activity, the WIC plans to have a quarterly social event. In November we had the mug swap and it was so much fun. We feel this is another opportunity to share time with each other as well as an outreach to our friends in the community. If you have any suggestions or would like to plan an event, please let us know.

We are going to have two Bible studies this spring. We are planning a morning study with prayer time. We did not offer this study last year, but many ladies requested that we do it again. Along with this, we will continue to offer a study during the lunch hour. Lunch will be provided and we will end promptly at 12:45 so you can return to work. The nursery will be available for both studies. You will hear more details regarding these two studies in the next few weeks.

“For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…” (I Cor. 12 – 13)

2 Comments

What a great blog post Kathy. Harper and I already appreciate your wisdom and leadership at Westminster!

Exciting times Kathy! Thank you for your leadership among our women!

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