NOVEMBER 2016

The CORNERSTONE

2 The Pastor’s Pen

2 Special Friends

3 Community Worship

3 David Champ and YO!

4 Military Update

4 Christmas Shoeboxes

A publication of Westfield Presbyterian Church

Kwetu Faraja: Our Comforting Home Executive Director Lorien Knapp to Visit Westfield

Lorien Knapp is Executive Director for

Kwetu Faraja and her husband Paul Alex

Sayayu serves as Manager of Operations.

We are thrilled that they and their children

will be with us at Westfield on Sunday,

November 13, during the Sunday School

hour and worship time.

Lorien’s background in engineering and

community development and Paul’s Tan-

zanian heritage and street smarts have

combined in a beautiful and remarkable

way to create this ministry for street boys

in Tanzania. The home is located on 35

acres fronting Lake Victoria and provides

refuge, education, hope and a new life for

orphans and vulnerable children.

Lorien’s parents Jason and Betty will also

be with us. Pastor Paul and Jason have

been friends since childhood and it was

through that connection that Westfield

learned of Kwetu Faraja.

Our GLAD offering on Palm Sunday last

year provided over $1600 in support to

this ministry.

What’s INSIDE

Cooking Baking Calling all cookie bakers, young & old! We will once again be baking cookies for the Touched By Nathan Foundation on Saturday, November 28, from 9-12 with a light lunch pro-vided. Look for a sign-up poster in the Narthex soon! The Touched By Nathan Founda-tion offers education, help, comfort and support to families with babies born with fragile conditions. Learn more at touchedbynathan.org.

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The Kwetu Faraja Campus on Lake Victoria

A few of the 30 boys living on campus

Judy & Russ Bryan

at their residence

Alice Fullerton

Sun City Center, Florida

Shirley Gibson

at her residence

Mary Lou Williams

At her residence

This Season of Gratitude It All Begins with God’s Love by Rev. Paul Votaw

“Give thanks to the Lord for he is good,

his loving kindness is everlasting.” This

is a quote from scripture but I did not site

a source because it appears in so many

places. So what does that have to do with

the price of turkeys at Thanksgiving?

Well, nothing...and everything.

The frequency in Scripture of the praise

quoted above should point us to the

source of all thanksgiving. The source is

God and God’s loving kindness toward

us. But it doesn’t stop there. It is a loving

kindness that never ends. It cannot be

defeated. It cannot be diluted. It cannot

be thwarted by any action on our part, no

matter how despicable. God’s love is

fixed. It is permanent. The only way it

cannot touch and embrace us is if we re-

fuse it by refusing the greatest gift of love

A Blessing-Filled Birthday!

Dear Friends at Westfield,

Thank you for the many, many beautiful cards, prayers

and well-wishes I received for my birthday. They brought

back many fond memories. Thank you all again and God

bless you. - Alice Fullerton

P.S. I ate the cake!

The CORNERSTONE November 2016

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ever known, Jesus Christ. And even

if Christ is not accepted, God’s love

and grace still touches people through

the bounty and generosity of creation.

That said, only Christ and accepting

him can bring us God’s love in its

fullness.

So as you give thanks during this sea-

son of gratitude always begin with

God’s love, knowing that all else

comes to us through and because of

that love. Have a blessed and joyful

season of gratitude.

Thanksgiving in Other Lands We tend to think of Thanksgiving as a

holiday unique to the United States. But

America’s neighbors to the north and

south celebrated it even earlier than the

Pilgrims’ famed meal in 1621.

Canada’s first Thanksgiving feast, held

by English explorer Martin Frobisher,

occurred in Newfoundland in 1578. The

country’s Thanksgiving observance is

now on the second Monday in October,

with holiday fixings that are similar to

those enjoyed by Americans.

In Mexico in 1598, a large group of

explorers, soldiers and Franciscans

traveled on sand dunes in what’s now

the American Southwest. They were

running low on water, so when they

reached the Rio Grande, they ex-

pressed gratitude to God by feasting

on fish, duck and geese. No official

date is set for Thanksgiving celebra-

tions in Mexico.

People of all nationalities have been

giving thanks to God for as long as

we’ve been on the earth.

Missionaries Dan & Kim Scheel (SIM)

have been evacuated from Langano,

Ethiopia until at least mid-November.

During the worst of significant unrest in

the area the local Langano people sur-

rounded their compound in a human fence

to protect them. A week prior to this a

state of emergency was declared in the

country.

Please pray for the peace of Ethiopia and

wisdom for their mission leadership. This

was a humbling time and they are thank-

ful to be safe.

During this impromptu trip to the states

they will attend Dan’s brother’s wedding

in California and are thankful they have

a place to stay in Rochester, New York

near family and friends. As always, they

remain steadfast that God is in control.

D-Now Retreat Coming Soon by David Champ

The fall semester is off and running! We

have seen great success with our Sunday

and Wednesday programs as well as our

5th Quarter Bonfires after each home Mo-

hawk football game. On Sundays we are

wrapping up our series on Colossians and

will begin a study of Galatians. On

Wednesdays we have been focusing in on

social issues surrounding the upcoming

election and how as Christians we are to

view it. We also had our annual Fall Festi-

val at Irons Mill Farmstead this year.

There are a few photos here. Thanks to

everyone who came out!

In November we will have a 3-week se-

ries on Stewardship. Our annual Fall Dis-

cipleship Now weekend begins on No-

vember 4. We will be staying in local

homes and having a retreat here at the

church. Our focus on this retreat will be

missions. Students will be broken into

groups to perform a “mission project” and

connect with missionaries around the

world. We will have live

Skype conversations with

missionaries currently in

the field and learn about

medical clinics and church

plants in other parts of the

world. Please pray for this

event as we hope it will be

a huge success!

Coming up in December

will be a Josh Wilson Christmas

concert and our annual Christmas

Party.

Please continue to pray for these

students as they grow in their faith

and tell their friends about all that

YO! has to offer! Thank you for

every one of you who pray for

these students and support the min-

istries of YO!

Community Worship is November 20

The Mohawk Area Church Association plans a community Thanksgiving Worship Service for Sunday, November 27, at 7 p.m. It will be held at St. Lawrence Church (Christ the King Parish) in Hillsville. This celebration of talents and testimony will feature participants from our community. Refreshments and a time of fellowship will follow in the church hall. Everyone is welcome.

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Pray for the Peace of Ethiopia

November 2016 The CORNERSTONE

A Stanza for Veterans Day

Honoring Our Military

As we remember America's veterans on

November 11, we would do well to read

again the third stanza of Katherine Lee

Bates' America the Beautiful:

O beautiful for heroes proved

In liberating strife,

Who more than self

Their country loved,

And mercy more than life!

America! America!

May God thy gold refine,

Till all success be nobleness,

And every gain divine!

Here is an update on two of Westfield’s

members serving in the military.

Sergeant Joel Hopper

Joes is a sergeant in the 838th military

police unit based in Austintown, Ohio. He

is a senior at Youngstown State Univer-

sity majoring in civil engineering and

plans to graduate in December 2017.

Remember: Shoeboxes Due November 20

Christmas shoeboxes are due on November 20. In past years

you’ve blessed many children through this ministry that grows

every year at Westfield (106 in 2011, 122 in 2012, 163 in 2013,

205 in 2014 and 250 last year). Let’s keep up the good work.

“Just one more” box will save one more child!

Captain Brian Yorns

Brian enlisted into active duty in the

US Army as a combat medic, and

served his active duty time in Ger-

many. After completing his active

duty enlistment, he joined the Penn-

sylvania Army National Guard’s C

Co 128th Brigade Support Battalion.

Shortly after completing nursing

school, he was commissioned as an

Army Nurse Corps officer and de-

ployed to Ramadi, Iraq in support of

Operation Iraqi Freedom with the

28th ID, 2nd Brigade Combat Team.

Brian continues to serve in the PA

Army National Guard, with 24 years

of total service and was recently se-

lected for promotion to Major.

In his civilian career, Brian currently

works at Heritage Valley Beaver in

the Intensive Care Unit as a registered

nurse and recently completed his

Master’s degree as a Family Nurse

Practitioner and will be transitioning

into that role over the next several

months.

The CORNERSTONE November 2016

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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 Minis-

tries

Sarah Phillips

Organist/Choir Director

Stacy Cosgrove

Financial Secretary

Dave Micco

Joel with son Padraic and “friend” at a recent visit to Liv-

ing Treasures

November 6 Brunch

A Veterans Day brunch will be held in our Fellowship Hall on Sunday, November 6, following worship. Westfield members and friends and those who have served or are currently serving in the military are invited to morning worship and the brunch following. A display of fresh fruits, homemade muffins, pastries and hot and cold beverages will be offered. Our church family looks forward to recognizing and honoring our Vet-eran members on November 6.