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TRANSCRIPT
www.westfieldchurch.org 1
FEBRU ARY 2019
The CORNERSTONE
2 Pastor Mark
2 Special Friends
3 Sarah Phillips
3 Trudy McEwen’s New
Book
4 JOY!
4 Pastor David
See Our Missionary
Update Special Feature
A publication of Westfield Presbyterian Church, New Castle, PA
Man Camp at Seneca Hills
The Grace that Delivers
What is Man Camp? A gathering of men
who come together to worship, fellow-
ship, build relationships, reflect, relax,
refresh and reset.
Featured this year is Worship Leader Rev.
Brad Anderson who currently serves as
lead Pastor at Valley Springs Presbyterian
Church in Roseville, California. Joining
him is musician Brian Campbell who has
toured with bands like Jars of Clay, Sleep-
ing at Last and others.
Activities for the weekend include: sling
shot range, skeet shooting, rifle golf,
archery, steaks, dodge ball, shooting
range and amazing worship.
Registration for this February 15 - 17
event is open now at senecahills.org. Fee
is $155. Early birds who register before
February 8 pay only $125. Westfield
offers a 50% fee scholarship for any
registered camper. Pick up a brochure in
the Welcome Center and please contact
the church office for more details.
What’s INSIDE
Fabulous February at JOY!
Celebrate Valentine’s Day with a
Special Luncheon for you and a guest!
NOON on
Thursday, February 14 Westfield Church Fellowship Hall
♥Reservations Encouraged ♥
Experience more JOY on page 4
Loved and Known
“Jesus knows me, this I love,” read the
church sign. That twist on the classic chil-
dren’s song emphasizes the importance of
being both loved and known. “It’s not one
or the other; it’s hard truth and ridiculous
grace,” sings contemporary Christian art-
ist Tauren Wells in “Known.”
Timothy Keller, in The Meaning of Mar-
riage, describes the duality this way: “To
be loved but not known is comforting
but superficial. To be known and not
loved is our greatest fear. But to be fully
known and truly loved is, well, a lot like
being loved by God. It is what we need
more than anything. It liberates us from
pretense, humbles us out of our self-
righteousness, and fortifies us for any
difficulty life can throw at us.”
VBS Directors Needed
Life is wild, God is good! Our Christian Education committee
is looking for new directors for ROAR! our 2019 VBS pro-
gram. Experience God’s love in a new way as you share the
Gospel with children and create an opportunity for them to
come to God and experience His amazing love. You’ll be sur-
rounded by our volunteers who love VBS! Please contact Linda
McBride, Pastor Mark, Pastor David, or the church office.
www.westfieldchurch.org 2
Special Friends
Russ & Judy Bryan at their residence
Shirley Gibson
at Carriage Court
Eleanor Gwin Mary Lou Williams
at Avalon
Hazel Hassig at her residence
Pearl Jolley
at her residence
As I type this newsletter article out on a
cold winter day, with snow on the ground
and a bright blue sky above, I am moved
by the great excitement of what is about
to happen at Westfield Church this spring.
When the weather breaks, and the ground
begins to thaw, construction is scheduled
to begin on Westfield’s new ministry life
center. It has been a true blessing to me,
moving here as an outsider less than one
year ago, to experience your devotion, and
sacrificial giving, to make this ministry
vision a reality.
As I consider this powerful dream, which
is about to become a reality, I am re-
minded of the words of the Lord Jesus
when he was challenged by a Pharisee
regarding the purpose and intent of God’s
Law,
“Teacher, which is the greatest com-
mandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “’’Love the Lord your God
with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind.’ This is the first
and greatest commandment. And the sec-
ond is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as
yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets
hang on these two command-
ments.” (Matthew 22:36-40 NIV)
These words of Jesus are powerful and
challenging. As we continue to move
forward with the ministry life center, we
must always bear in mind that we do not
do mission. Rather, we have been called
by Christ Jesus to participate in what
God is already doing in our community.
Another way to think about this subject
is to state that we (the church) do not
DO mission FOR God. Rather, we ARE
the mission OF God. As one missiologist
eloquently states, “God does not have a
mission for his church. Rather, God has
a church for his mission.”
As we enter into a new season within the
life of Westfield Church, I am asking
each of you to be praying earnestly
about how God will use this new build-
ing for his mission. How will we serve
others through it? How will we be a
blessing through it? How will God be
glorified through it? How will our
neighbors truly be loved through it?
I am excited to be on this ride with you
and am fortunate to call Westfield home.
Food Pantry Needs
During February please shop for the following items for
Project HOPE: pasta & sauce (macaroni and cheese,
rice). Items always needed include coffee, juice, laundry
soap, dish soap and cereal. Please leave your items in the
labeled bins in the Welcome Center.
The MARK of the Times by Pastor Mark Hughes
The CORNERSTONE FEBRUARY 2019
Blessed to Be With You We want to express our sincere thanks
for all of the cards, gifts, well-wishes,
and holiday greetings over the past holi-
day season. Westfield is truly filled with
kind, warm-hearted people who care
deeply for their pastor and his family.
We are very blessed to be with you all as
we serve Christ Jesus
together. 2019 is
going to be a
wonderful year
within our shared
life together.
Mark, Shaylene, Rebecca, and Isaiah Hughes
www.westfieldchurch.org 3
Bible Quiz
In Luke’s account of Jesus calling the first disciples from their work as fishermen to follow
him and “fish for people” (NIV), which disciple is not named?
A. James B. John C. Simon D. Andrew
The CORNERSTONE FEBRUARY 2019
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir is a 270-
voice choir, which for the most part is
comprised of vocally untrained church
members. The choir has recorded three
videos, three DVDs and numerous al-
bums, winning five Dove Awards and six
Grammy Awards. Their concert venues in
NYC have included Carnegie Hall, Radio
City Music Hall, and the Madison Square
Garden Theater. They had the honor of
singing at the Billy Graham Crusades that
were held in NYC’s Central Park and
Flushing Meadows Park.
The recognition that the choir has re-
ceived has provided them with an open
door for ministry in presenting the gospel
message through music to people all over
the world.
After thirty years of recordings and live
performances, the choir continues to rely
on the Lord for His grace and direction in
their ministry. The Brooklyn Tabernacle
Choir is a highly unlikely group of peo-
ple, a mixture of ethnic and economic
backgrounds, in the heart of a city syn-
onymous with coldness and decay.
Made up of doctors, attorneys, former
street people, nurses and ex-crack addicts,
the choir is a unique cross section of hu-
manity. Director Carol Cymbala explains:
“None of us would have met if it weren’t
for Christ. Our backgrounds are just too
diverse. But all of us have one thing in
common: we have all been lifted up and
changed by the power of Jesus Christ. So
the choir sings, not about a mere theo-
logical doctrine, but about what has hap-
pened to them. It’s not just the lyrics of a
song; it’s a reality to each of them.”
Starting each rehearsal with prayer rein-
forces that principle as the choir asks the
Lord to bless their music and anoint their
songs for the services. They minister at
three 2-hour services weekly and occa-
sionally at Tuesday Night Prayer Meet-
ing.. They do a myriad of special re-
cordings and productions.
I have loved their concept and sound for
a long time. They take established songs
and re-mold them into the choir’s own
inimitable style: a palette of colorful
sounds, soulful ballads, up-tempo con-
gregational stanzas, dynamic solos, and
an eclectic collection of worship an-
thems.
I am hoping to incorporate some of the
anthems and arrangements used by the
Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir with our
own Westfield Chancel Choir. We have
a great men’s section, and we are look-
ing for a few more ladies to join us and
expand the female section of the choir.
We will be rehearsing on Wednesdays
7:30-9:00 P.M. as we prepare music for
the upcoming season of Lent, Palm Sun-
day, and Resurrection Sunday. Please
prayerfully consider joining us and being
a part of this important ministry.
The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir by Sarah Phillips
...all of us have one thing in common: we have all been lifted up and changed by the
power of Jesus Christ.
Westfield’s Trudy McEwen Publishes New Book Author Trudy Strawhecker McEwen
has written a new book titled Kitti
Puppi: The Abandoned and Rescued
Siamese Cat.
Told from Kitti Puppi’s point of
view, this true story is based on
Trudy’s journal entries over many
years that chronicle the cat’s life be-
ginning in April 2007 after being
rescued by Trudy’s parents George
and Mary Ann Strawhecker. Forty
short chapters and eighty-three pic-
tures taken by Mary Ann and Trudy
reveal an amazing cat with quite a
personality!
Trudy has graciously shared a copy
with Westfield for our church library.
The book also may be found at Ama-
zon.com and will be available soon as
an e-book.
Answer: D (See Luke 5:1-11.)
www.westfieldchurch.org 4
The CORNERSTONE FEBRUARY 2019
Are you looking
for an inexpensive
way to treat a
friend or two on
Valentine’s Day?
JOY (Just Older
Youth) will be
having a Special
Valentine Lunch-
eon on Thursday,
February 14, at
noon. It will be a great time to enjoy good
food and fellowship and to share a day
with a friend or a “date”! Reservations
are encouraged. Sign up at church or send
an e-mail to [email protected].
Another special offering at JOY during
February will be our exercise classes for
all with an emphasis on improving bal-
ance. Those with canes or walkers are
encouraged to come and will
be included in these exercises.
Bethany Thomas will be lead-
ing us on February 7, 21, and 28, begin-
ning at 11:00 A.M. each of those days.
There will be no exercise class on Febru-
ary 14 because of the Special Valentine
Luncheon.
On February 21, Emilee Waldo, a Li-
brary Scientist, will give us some point-
ers on researching our roots. I under-
stand that she has a lot of good ideas and
am anxious to have her share them with
us.
Filling out the month, we’re ready for
another cooking day (Feb. 7) and an-
other favorite, JeOpardY (Feb. 28). It’s
going to be a month short on days but
not on activities!
Christ is Our Focus by Pastor David Champ Thank you for all of your prayers and
support as we, together as a church, min-
ister to the students and families of this
community. Please continue to pray for
our students. The pressures and stress of
our culture constantly surrounds them.
Pray that they may experience the release
and peace of Christ.
We have a busy couple of months coming
up for YO! In February we have our Su-
per Bowl party on the 3rd from 6-8 P.M.
We are asking every student to bring a
dish to share.
We have our annual Winter D-Now from
February 8-10. For this retreat, we will be
teaching our students the importance of
investing in their own community as well
as what it means to be a man and woman
of God. On February 15 we will attend the
Winter Jam Concert in Pittsburgh.
In March, we will be attending the Lauren
Daigle concert at the Benedum Center on
the 10th. We will be having dinner in the
city as well. The cost for this concert is
$25 plus the cost of dinner. Please sign
up ASAP as tickets will go fast for this
concert.
I want to ask you for your prayers for
our students as well as our youth team ─
Kevin & Jen Byers, Elizabeth Champ,
Cyndee Patton, Jason Patton, Jared Pat-
ton, Mickayla Nero, Miranda Nero,
Tim Wallace ─ who give up so much of
their free time to serve these students
and help them grow into deep, passion-
ate followers of Christ. Please pray that
Christ would always be our focus.
Fabulous February at JOY!
Christmas Miracle!
As the temperatures dip dangerously
low this season, we are especially
grateful for your generosity! Al-
though there was only one Sunday
to get hats, mittens, scarves, gloves
and socks in for the Salvation Army
before Christmas, it was a true
Christmas miracle that over 160
items were donated! Thank you!
JOY tip of the Month: Send a valentine to brighten
someone’s day! (Dollar Tree
has some inexpensive religious
ones.)
Sewing Day Planned
Blankets for Babies Sewing Day is
Saturday, February 23, from 9:30 to
3:00. There will be jobs for experi-
enced and novice sewers including
cutting, pressing, tying, folding and
machine sewing. Bring your own
machine.