Westminster Presbyterian Church 2016 Annual Report
Dear friends, In 2017 Westminster marks its 160th year of ministry in the city. The congregation, formed in August 1857 by eight immigrants from Wales and Scotland, today numbers 3,144 members. In April 2016 we launched Open Doors Open Futures, began demolition, and authorized construction of the parking garage. Campaign progress through the year was significant, as the financials in the Annual Report show. By November the Session and Trustees gave final approval to move ahead with the full project, following congregational approval of the financing. We look forward to construction completion in early 2018, with our new space allowing Westminster to broaden outreach, enhance education, and host new worship. The church will also welcome its new on-site mission partner, St. David s Center for Child and Family Development. Through this past year Westminster staff members and the church s lay leaders have kept the worship and ministry of the congregation going strong, even without parking! In Creative Time we found new ways to continue our life as a church. Central Lutheran provided space for Wednesday programs, and committees met in various venues around the city. We taught our children and adults, welcomed new members, and found new ways to serve God. We said farewell to several staff members in 2016. On the administrative staff team: Claudia Kapitan, Paola Ercole, and Gloria Hudson. On facilities team: Rick Sherwood. In educational ministries: Mary Alette Davis, Sarah Henrich, and Anne Klimisch. We are grateful for their dedicated service at Westminster. We welcomed Deb Wagner to the administrative team and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu in choral ministries. We also lost many beloved church members in 2016, and give deep thanks for each one of them. This Annual Report covers facts and figures of 2016. It is more difficult to describe the impact of Westminster s principal activity: On Sundays and in memorial services and other gatherings, this congregation continues to worship God with beauty and dignity, as it has done for 160 years. As Westminster s pastor, I give thanks to God every day for the health and vitality of this congregation s telling presence in the heart of the city. Grace and peace,
scripture texts read & hymns sung during worship people reached during the broadcast of A Bridge of Song, a community sing-a-long to help heal from the tragic events in Minneapolis and Dallas Music performed from different countries in different languages by the Global Choir rehearsals Cherubs, Seraphim, Choristers, and Recorder choirs
Worship Dignity, joy, warmth, and beauty are the hallmarks of our worship, steeped in a rich Westminster tradition that engages the heart and mind. We sustain ourselves as individuals and as a congregation through worship experiences filled with diverse artistic expression. Music and art reinforce and heighten the meaning of Scripture and the spoken word. With stirring worship services, beautiful traditions, and a progressive church culture, Westminster is a home for people of all ages and backgrounds to deepen their faith and make a difference in the world. In 2016 we welcomed nearly 100 new members, from near and far, who joyfully became active in ministries throughout the church.
Grow Every week we grow our faith and deepen our understanding Westminster s many ministries and activities offer abundant ways for children, youth, and adults to learn and grow in a community of deep faith and caring. Every week Westminster brings opportunities to the congregation to explore, discuss, and learn. Adult Education classes on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings bridge our faith with real life. Weekly Social Justice Forums on Sunday mornings offer keen insights and perspectives on current and emerging social issues. Throughout the year, the Westminster Gallery offers exhibitions and related special events that generate thought, stimulate conversation, and demonstrate the connection between art and faith. The Westminster Town Hall Forum provides unique opportunities to explore the key issues of our day from an ethical perspective with nationally and internationally known speakers. More than people attended Westminster Town Hall Forums annually gallery exhibitions in 2016 original pieces of art donated by Liz Heller to the Westminster Collection s
church school teacher and youth education hour leaders actively engaged in our education ministries miles traversed during our youth mission trip to New Orleans Wednesday evening meals served and shared Westminster welcomes the unique energy and spirit that children and youth bring to the life of the church. Westminster s ministries for families, youth, and children offer a wide range of programs, including Church School on Sunday mornings, children s church, choirs, fellowship opportunities, and summer programs and camps. Westminster provides quality care and engaging, age-appropriate activities for our children, as well as a place of welcome and connection for parents. Middle and high school youth share in fellowship and service through retreats, activities, and mission projects. Our Families, Youth and Children ministries focus on fulfilling our baptismal promise to love, encourage and support one another. From our youngest to our oldest, we find delight in learning and sharing together while being shaped by the creative Spirit of God. Rev. Brennan Blue, Associate Pastor, Families, Youth, and Children
Connect Westminster provides connection, care and support for people at all stages of their life. Fellowship, or koinonia, as the early Christians called it, is an ancient Christian tradition. When we come together over a shared meal, in a small group, or at an event, we strengthen our community, build on our shared relationship in Christ, and deepen our spirituality. In 2016 we spent time with one another through men s and women s retreats, WestConnect Young Adult Ministries, Beyond Sunday Connections events, the Faith Nixon Symposium, Men s and Women s Wednesday morning Bible Studies (WOW) at Central Lutheran Church, and the long-term men s small groups. We also engaged the whole congregation in fellowship events like Great Gatherings, Coming Together Picnic, Cocoa and Carols, All-Church Bowling, and the Maundy Thursday Supper. These many fellowship opportunities continue to advance a welcoming atmosphere of community and hospitality at Westminster. I am thrilled with what God is doing in this large community to create and sustain relationships through our fellowship with one another. There is a place for every person at Westminster to connect and grow, and it is my call to help each one find that place, or make a new one! Rev. Sarah Brouwer, Associate Pastor for Congregational Life More than attended this year s All-Church Picnic More than young adult Bible studies and twelve fellowship events in 2016 Weekly 20 receptionists, 30 coffee hour hosts, 20 greeters, and 17 tour guides
Young Adult Ministries Working with our Meisel Scholar Students is one of the most inspiring aspects of my work. These are students dedicated to furthering the mission of the church, to discerning their vocation with boldness and courage, and to making a difference in their communities. I also appreciate the program for the ways it connects our young people with adult mentors in the congregation who are committed to guiding and nurturing them along the way. Rev. Meghan Gage-Finn, Executive Associate Pastor 1,400 miles driven visiting college students on campus 6 Meisel Scholars serving in two states and three countries
Act Through leadership, resources, and service, we put our faith into action. At Westminster Presbyterian Church, we put our faith into action to advance social justice in our city and around the world, both corporately as a congregation and individually as members and friends. Since Westminster s Session adopted a guideline in 1998 to commit 20% of the congregation s annual pledge total to the Faith In Action ministries, the church has met that commitment every year. In addition, 20% of funds raised in each capital campaign has supplemented the annual commitment. This past year scores of us went on mission trips, around the state, across the country, and around the world. We served meals, built and maintained gardens, advocated at the legislature, and disbursed more than $925,000 in mission projects. The collaboration among Westminster, Plymouth Congregational Church, and Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative found over $14 million in tax credit financing to build the Great River Landing in 2016. Great River Landing offers single room occupancy and efficiency apartments for 72 adults, primarily African American men who have experienced incarceration, unemployment, and homelessness. Rev. Douglas Mitchell, Associate Pastor, Faith in Action of every annual budget dollar spent on mission More than disbursed in mission projects years volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and the Paint-a-Thon FEAST meals guests served at
Care & Support Westminster provides comfort, care, and support for people in times of need. Westminster expresses the compassion of Christ by providing care, comfort, support, and advocacy in a personal and compassionate way to both families and individuals. Westminster cares for its members through hospital and home visits, prayer shawls knit for those in need, support for those grieving the loss of a loved one, flowers for the homebound, one-on-one visits and companionship, accessibility advocacy for programming and the church building, providing worship at two Presbyterian Homes, and supporting the ministry of the Westminster Counseling Center. Congregational Care is all about being present and sharing life, its joy and its sorrow, with our church family. We seek to embody the compassionate presence of Christ so to testify God s inclusive love for all people and to live fully into what God created all of us to be. Rev. David Shinn, Associate Pastor Congregational Care member-tomember visits yards of yarn per prayer shawl miles driven for pastoral visits
Open Doors Open Futures In early 2016, Westminster s Session and Trustees voted to break ground on Open Doors Open Futures, an initiative that began percolating four years earlier. On Sunday, April 10, 2016, Governor Mark Dayton and Minneapolis City Councilmember Lisa Goodman led a festive congregational groundbreaking celebration, and just a few days later, demolition began on the unoccupied eight-story office building adjacent to Westminster. This past fall, after a two-year discernment process, Session and Trustees approved St. David s Center for Child and Family Development as the on-site, direct service mission partner in the new wing. In this new 8,000 square foot space, St. David s Center will focus on the developmental outcomes of children who have faced significant adversity and trauma, who are in and at risk of out-of-home placement, and who need easier access to services. At the beginning of the project, church leaders set guiding principles to ensure ecologically sustainable building practices and a commitment to caring for the earth. As a result, the new wing will be one of the city s greenest buildings, with a host of environmentally sustainable features, including a cutting-edge stormwater management system that will capture and store rainwater and reuse it internally to flush toilets and externally for irrigation and to supply a stormwater demonstration fountain. The Mississippi Watershed Management Organization, in cooperation with the Metropolitan Council, is partnering with Westminster to provide $700,000 to fund this system as a leading demonstration project for rainwater reuse. On November 29, 2016, Westminster took an historic step when the Session and Board of Trustees voted to approve the final designs and full plan for Open Doors Open Futures the culmination of nearly five years of work that involved hundreds of church members discerning together God s will for Westminster s vibrant future. Rendering by James Dayton Design
Give At Westminster, we believe that God calls us to be generous and joyful givers of our time, talent, and resources. Stewardship is a year-round ministry that takes seriously its charge to provide funds for the church and encourage lives with God at the center. Stewardship calls us to be in harmonious relationship with God, self, and all of creation. We work towards fulfilling God s intentions for humankind, and Westminster s hope for the world: love, joy, justice, sustainability, and peace. The ministry team is comprised of members from all walks of Westminster and explores together the faith basis for financial stewardship, and how giving leads to spiritual transformation, generosity, and joy. We are grateful to the volunteers who serve in the areas of annual, capital, or legacy giving all with an eye towards encouraging Westminster members to prayerfully consider how to respond gratefully to God s limitless love. We re pleased to welcome others who would like to join in this important ministry! One of the best parts of my role is witnessing, first-hand, the deep joy that people experience when they express their faith through personal generosity. They are their best selves, and it s clear that God is at work, in the here and now. Mary Hess, Director of Stewardship More than 70 attendees at the Legacy Circle luncheon to honor those who remember Westminster in their wills 86% of Westminster s operating budget from pledges; 14% from the endowment
Westminster Presbyterian Church 1200 Marquette Avenue Minneapolis, MN 55403 612.332.3421 westminstermpls.org The photos used throughout this brochure were taken by Westminster member Tom Northenscold.