Dear Church Family, The timeline for Chris s arrival is the following:

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1 2016 Dear Church Family, What an exciting week we have had! On Sunday we announced the coming of the new pastor, Rev. Dr. Chris Denny. I have met Chris and know without question that you are going to enjoy having him as your pastor. He is smart, funny, spiritually oriented, and he cares about people. What a great combination! He and his wife Alle (pronounced Allie) and his son Charles (not Charlie) are very excited about being a part of this church family. Chris s parents are in Sumter and Alle s are in Chapin. In a way, this is very much a homecoming for them. The timeline for Chris s arrival is the following: Carol s last Sunday: October 16 Presbytery meeting at First Presbyterian Church, Aiken: Tuesday, October 18 Rev. Denny s first day in the office: Wednesday, October 19 Chris will be joining Trinity Presbytery at the meeting in Aiken. All members of WPC are welcome to attend the meeting in celebration of his arrival. As you can see, we still have a month and a half before our new pastor arrives. During that time, we will begin our new InVerse study, begin a new season of GoGetters, continue the Prayer Study, commission our new PW officers, and go about being the best church we can be. Rev. Larry Bates will be our guest minister this Sunday, September 4. I will be out of the office the week of Labor Day, but will be back in church on Rally Day, September 11. As Summer turns to Fall this month, so are we beginning a new season here at Westminster. I will miss you as I say good-bye, but I leave with a smile on my face because I know that the Lord has provided the one we have prayed for over the past year and a half. God is good and God is faithful. Thanks be to God! Blessings, Carol

2 September September 4: Guest Minister - Rev. Larry Bates Discipleship : All that God asks for is. Deuteronomy 30:15-20; Luke 14:25-33 September 11: Standing on Tip Toe Psalm 147:1-11, 20b; Romans 8:18-28 September 18: Something New! Isaiah 43:1-7, 18-21; John 13:31-35 September 25: Feed My Lambs Isaiah 40:1-2, 9-11; John 21:15-19

3 A NOTE FROM REV. DR. CHRIS DENNY : Dear Brothers & Sisters in Christ, I am a Child of God! I grew up knowing this truth because of the love of my family. My parents, Glenda and Charlie Denny, regularly shared (and still do share!) God s love with my older brother, Jeff, and me. We had regular family devotionals, and participation in First Presbyterian Church in Sumter, SC was an expectation and a joy! In many ways, that congregation was my extended family. Random/fun facts about me: I love music all kinds. My Pandora and Spotify stations range from classical to rap, piano to jazz, Christian Contemporary to bagpipes. I also love to make music: singing, playing piano, trumpet, and mostly now guitar. I love to dance. I met my wife, Alle, while dancing the Shag (the South Carolina state dance!). Years later we are still dancing and even taught our son, Charles, how to walk by dancing! Every year I look forward to the Friday night barn dances in Montreat, NC. Montreat Youth Conference Energizers are the best! I love movies and TV mini series. On Netflix, I am currently watching "M*A*S*H" and "Friends". Both explore the importance of relationships in times of war, hardship, joy, success, and daily living. The best part of my day is coming home to my family and hearing my eight year old son Charles shout, "Daddy's home!" Alle and Charles are a great source of encouragement and strength for me. As a child, I would put on a red choir robe and preach to my stuffed animals while standing on my children s Bible. Now I m living that childhood dream proclaiming God s good news rooted in the stories of the Bible with passion and energy to those who will listen. When we were teenagers, my older brother, Jeff, and I would pretend to be radio DJs. Little did I know that I would have the chance to be on the radio! Thanks to radio host Don Arnsan and the folks at Cool Beach 105.3FM of Whiteville, NC I got to be "The Rev on the Radio" as a periodic guest! I loved it. My college classmates voted me Most likely to be a televangelist. While I have not been on TV yet, I am active on the web through a blog sharing prayer reflections on scripture: almostdailyprayer.com My sermons are also available online at revchrisdenny.podomatic.com As preacher & worship leader, I am passionate about excellent engaging worship of the whole people of God. As teaching elder in the PCUSA, I love teaching the faith through Bible study and spiritual formation. As pastor, I seek to extend care to congregation and community demonstrating the love of Christ and God s presence in times of joy and difficulty. As a member of session and presbytery, I seek to embody and encourage leadership for the people of God in the congregation, presbytery, and wider community. My family and I are excited to meet the people of Westminster Presbyterian Church. We hear so much about the amazing things God is doing among you and through you. We look forward to celebrating God's love with you! God Bless You, Rev. Dr. Chris Denny

4 WELCOME BACK! We are happy to announce that our new organist Is Norman McCorkle. He will begin on September 18th. Welcome back, Norman and Linda!

5 SUMMER CELEBRATIONS & FAREWELL July 17th - Baptism of Allie McGrady Holmes Bauknight at our 4th of July Picnic Saying goodbye to Organist Ken Anderson

6 Please keep in prayer: Family of Cita Ferguson (Ester Haymond s Mother), Blake Owens, Percy McNeill, Frances Johnson, Dave Easley, Jeanie Gigliotti (friend of Linda Schmidt), Marion Lewis (Ruth Getty s brother), Ginette Smith, Family of Sara Ann Pope, Mary Owens (sister in law of Alan Owens), Sara Green, Daniel Kulynych (Allyson Carricato s brother), Emily Cummings (esophageal cancer, friend of Jean Lefler), Karen Navy, John Stock, Jonathan Jowers, PNC, Victims of floods in LA and fires in CA. Concerns - If you know of someone who could use a meal, a visit, or simply a word of encouragement, please let us know by calling the church office at or sending an to Liz at westminstercolumbia@gmail.com. I would like to thank everyone from Westminster Presbyterian who brought food to me after my knee surgery. I appreciate it very much. It was a very thoughtful and wonderful thing to do. My mom belongs to a very kind and caring church. Thank you again. Christina Rossi

7 INVERSE The new season of InVerse will begin Sunday, September 18th with dinner at 5:30 and the study to begin at 6:15. This year we will be studying a series called Believe with Randy Frazee. Like last year, our children and youth will be learning the same lessons as the adults. The purpose of the study is to help Christians to think, act, and be more like Jesus. We will be studying 10 key beliefs of the Christian faith, 10 key practices of a Jesus-follower, and 10 key virtues of a person who is becoming more like Jesus. We will be reading small portions of the Bible with reflections on these three main areas of thinking, acting, and being. The cost will be $10 for the book. Inverse Dinner is $5 a person with a $10 maximum per family and is free for children. We re very excited about the new study and hope that we have a great turnout like last year.

8 Rally Day September 11, 2016 BREAKFAST In The Amazing 9 a.m. Please bring your favorite breakfast item to share! It s time for the season of GoGetters to begin. Please join us in the Amazing Place at 12:00 noon on Monday, September 19th, for lots of fun and fellowship. This will be a Covered Dish, so please bring your favorite dish to share. There is no charge for this meal, but please be prepared to pay your $7.00 dues that day. Large print bulletins and hymnals are now available for church members who want them.

9 Early American Hymn Tunes & Spiritual Concert On Sunday, September 25th, we will share in our annual Combined Choir Event at St. Andrews Baptist Church. The choirs of Westminster Presbyterian, Virginia Wingard Methodist, St. Andrews Lutheran, and St. Andrews Baptist will sing their Early American Hymn Tunes and Spirituals Concert. The event will begin at 6:30pm. Get there early for a good seat! We have some members of the church that are in need of rides to and from and other events. An online signup sheet has been created for Nancy Anderson and the Esaw family if you would like to help with picking them up for church. The links are listed below: For Nancy : For Mary and Monica Esaw: If you have any questions, please contact Joyce Green at We thank you very much!

10 WCDC Security - Please remember that all doors leading to the WCDC should remain locked at all times when the WCDC is open and children are present. Thanks for your help in ensuring that our little ones are safe at all times! Macaroni and cheese Pork and beans Canned vegetables Canned fruit/fruit cups Rice Instant mashed potatoes Canned meats Crackers Soups Peanut butter Jelly Cake mixes Pancake mixes Sugar Oatmeal Flour Cereals Juice boxes Boxes of raisins Spaghetti sauce Spaghetti Mr. Bee s Kids Café needs our help! They are in desperate need of food donations for their pantry. Please bring your donations by the church in the next few weeks. There will be donation boxes available in the Narthex, Gathering Room, and the Lobby of the Amazing Place. PLEASE NOTE, WE DO NOT NEED OVERSIZED PORTIONS OF THESE ITEMS REGULAR SIZED BOXES/PORTIONS ARE PREFERRED. If you would like to volunteer with your time to the program, they can always use more help! Please contact Ann Nichols: annwilsonnichols@gmail.com for further information. WCDC is currently in desperate need of the following items to be donated: Kleenex Paper towels Snacks for the kids Dole Fruit Cups: mixed Bag of Apples Juice Boxes, assorted Crock Pot Thank you for your continued support!

11 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat :15 PM 9:00 AM S.S. 10:30 AM 11 Rally Day 12 8:15 PM 9:00 AM Breakfast (No SS) 10:30 AM 4:30 PM Session Mtg :15 PM 9:00 AM S.S. 10:30 AM 4:30 PM Deacons Meeting 5:30 PM InVerse 25 8:15 PM 9:00 AM S.S. 10:30 AM 6:30 PM Concert OFFICE CLOSED FOR LABOR DAY 11:30 AM Lunch Bunch at M Kitchen Harbison 12:00 PM GoGetters Covered Dish :00 PM Noon Prayer 6:00 PM Presbyterian Women Council Meeting in Conference Rm :30 PM Deacon Lunch at Presbyterian Homes 7:00 PM Circle 2 meets in Gathering Rm 20 7:00 PM Circle 5 meets at Sylvia Shoemaker s Home 21 12:00 PM Noon Prayer :00 PM Noon Prayer 8 Mr. B s Kids Cafe 15 No Mr. B s Kids Cafe 22 Mr. B s Kids Cafe 29 Mr. B s Kids Cafe