Westminster United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 210 Westminster Road, Sarver, PA 16056, 724.352.1376, www.westminsterchurch.net, Rev. Deborah Huffmyer, Pastor.

Bob's thoughts:

With the rural setting of this church I expected an older facility, but beyond the Sanctuary, the restrooms, and Social Hall were modern. I appreciated the signage outside, and at the Sanctuary level little was needed as restrooms were in view and identified. Not sure where the nursery might be, and I noticed no signage in the short look we had downstairs.

We were welcomed as we looked around downstairs and invited to stay for a 90th birthday celebration. What a way to greet visitors, as three cakes were paraded by!

The Sanctuary is nicely trimmed and has a pressed tin ceiling.

The birthday honoree got to enjoy a number of her favorite hymns accompanied by two relatives on piano and viola. The music was enjoyable, but the program was a little confusing and took a half hour from the worship service.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was woven around the question: what do you do when you are up against it? The answer: retreat, regroup, and reconnect. The message was that when we take it to Christ He always provides more than enough.

I noticed that the prayer requests were for those serving as Marines, and this message reminded me of the Marine Corps adage, "improvise, adapt, and overcome."

Jan's thoughts:

Today we found ourselves in the midst of a 90th birthday celebration! It was obviously a very happy occasion for the church family and for the many other (family) visitors attending today.

The church is situated in a beautiful rural area, a perfect, peaceful setting for this surprisingly mostly-new facility. The outdoor signage especially was helpful. We were early enough to have time to conduct a self-guided tour, during which we encountered some folks carrying three cakes to the new Social Hall for the luncheon following worship. They were very friendly and invited us to join the celebration following the service. (We had to decline because our grandchildren were expecting us...they understood.)

The bulletin was user friendly with nice large print. The words to some of the songs were included in a handout, also in large print. The first half hour of the service was dedicated to singing some of the favorites of the birthday girl, with a piano and a viola leading the music then as they did during worship. The joy of these two ladies (mother and daughter) was apparent, and they were excellent.

From what we saw on display all around, there seems to be a fair amount of mission going on here.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was wound around Genesis 32:22-32 and Matthew 14:13-21. The Pastor began by asking what we do with the grief, pain, fear, stress, and guilt in our lives, and stated that 2/3 of the conditions currently being treated medically are caused by stress which, of course, can also lead to burnout. She pointed out that Jesus felt all these human emotions too and dealt with them by retreating, regrouping, and reconnecting with His Father...good advice for us as well. A spiritual retreat, even if brief, can reconnect us with our Heavenly Father and help us regroup and prepare to face whatever is next.

She pointed out that in the Genesis passage, Jacob could have run, or refused to face the truth, but he didn't. Instead he faced God and wrestled with his situation, and when the One with Whom Jacob wrestled asked who he was, Jacob owned up to who he was, as his name means "schemer." God then gave Jacob a new name - Israel, which means "prince of God."

When Jesus fed the 5,000 He began with little, but in His hands it was more than enough, and Jesus will give us more than enough too. Like Jacob, we must meet Him, tell Him honestly who we are, and hold on until He blesses us.

This sermon touched me for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has caused me to consider the idea of a spiritual retreat. Reconnecting with my Heavenly Father is always an appealing idea.