To see the pretty version:  https://mailchi.mp/31307b1c5a54/wpc-newsletter

Text version:

Dear Westport Presbies and Friends,

My heavens, there’s a lot going on right now!  I hope I caught it all!

News in and around the Community: 

• We bid farewell to Emily Davidson, our music director for 11 years. Congratulations on her new path! We send our love and appreciation to her for the many years she has shared her musical talents with us. Her farewell letter is below.
• We welcome Renee Zimmerman as our bridge music director.
• We also bid farewell to Dawn Day, as she is moving to Hawaii to help her mother. We enjoyed getting to meet her son during his visit to helping her pack up. She’s already sent a Hello from Hawaii!
• In case you missed our last worship service, our microphones are working again!
• Many of the plants that were donated to our church are apparently infected with scale. The monstera plant that was weeping sap all over the floor has been adopted by someone determined to figure out how to save it. As for the rest, if there are any green thumbs in our congregation interested in attempting the challenge of nursing them back to health, please let us know.
  If anyone knows where the mums we were going to plant in the flower beds wandered off to, let Deanna know.
• Rental news:
  *The Warwick theater (who moved in upstairs after their building caught fire) is restored enough that they have moved back home this month! Congratulations!
  *We are in discussions with other groups interested in renting the space.
  *Standup KC will be renting the basement from 10-6 for a training on 10/11 and 10/12.
• Centering Prayer & Meditation is moving back to Tuesdays, 4:30-5PM.

Emily’s Farewell Letter:

September 7, 2025
Dear Westport Presbies,
I opted to write to you rather than to speak…I would be too emotional.
As I drove to church this morning and passed by the Villa, so many memories came flooding back—when I started playing here in 2014, I was supposed to play for a few months until the church’s new building was completed. After that, I forgot to leave! We went through the transition to our new building, Covid lockdown, too many losses of dear people to count, joyous weddings…
It’s been more than eleven years now and I cannot begin to tell you how much happiness this church brought to my life. I have tried to do my best for you—you’ve always done your best for the whole community and I appreciate all of you so much.
I’ll pray for you (I already do!) as you welcome your next chapter.
Emily

Upcoming Events:  We have a couple exciting events coming up!

• Tues, Oct 14th – Happy Hour at Harry’s (501 Westport Rd) at 5:30 pm
• Sun, Oct 19 – The Dialogue Institute will be visiting our church during our after church coffee hour (and bringing baklava!). The Dialogue Institute, founded by Turkish-Americans, is “dedicated to building mutual understanding, respect, and cooperation at the grassroots level among people of diverse faiths and cultures, with the ultimate intention of contributing to global peace.” Come get to know these lovely families, but especially come to enjoy their absolutely amazing homemade Baklava!
• Wed, Oct 26 – We are having a Halloween Sing-a-long on October 26 at 6PM! (the Wednesday before Halloween)

Volunteer Opportunities:

• We are short on Sunday School teachers!  20 min commitment a month, we have a curriculum to follow… Contact James Capps if you have the time!
• Many of our plants (we think it’s primarily the ones the women’s AA group left in our care) are infected with scale.  If anyone is willing to take on babying them back to health, let us know!
• Westport Center for the Arts, an organization founded by our church that has dedicated itself to bringing free art exhibits, concerts, dance performances, etc to the neighborhood, has several positions that need filling. They need a president to set a meeting agenda and keep track of who is doing what, and they are looking to fill several paid positions that periodically involve some work: Marketing person (email newsletter, website updates, figure out where to advertise), Photographer, grant writer, art exhibit coordinator.  If interested, email [email protected] or speak with Josh Stark or Deanna Capps.
• As always, volunteers are needed at the Sunday Showers and hot breakfast ministry, especially as one of the volunteer churches has decided to emulate our effort and form its own group that helps the homeless.
• Needed for our shower ministry’s CLOTHING CLOSET include: Sneakers, T-shirts, Underwear (Men’s Boxer Briefs), Socks, Women’s pants/shorts size 0-8, Men’s pants/shorts size 28-40, Bandaids, Sweatpants, Leggings, Belts, Backpacks, Body wash, Sports bras, & Washcloths.

Prayer List:

• Prayers for Rita Marie’s family as they mourn the death of her mother.
• Prayers for Greg Lindsey’s family.  Obituary link here
• Prayers for Josh’s mother, who is in the hospital
• Prayers for those who lost family members last month:
  James Capps’ mother
  Sarah Baxter’s father-in-law
  Drew’s Aunt Sue

If you have information that should make it into next month’s newsletter, please let Martine know.
Keep the faith! WPC