Who is Westminster Presbyterian Church?

WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, P.C. (U.S.A.)

HOUSTON, TEXAS

DECEMBER 2005

WHO IS WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH?

The word that best describes Westminster Presbyterian Church (WPC) is “family” and we claim all the joys and sorrows, strengths and weaknesses, positives and negatives that word carries with it.  In true Presbyterian fashion we can agree to disagree and still live together.  We are not a “tall steeple” and do not aspire to be.  Our mission is to proclaim Jesus Christ to this community and to reach out and welcome new members to our worship, work and fellowship.  We value the homey, come-as-you-are spirit that has developed.  Our congregation is culturally and socially diverse as is the community in which we live.  Learning how to meet the needs of this diverse congregation and community is perhaps our greatest challenge.   Westminster seeks to support our community by sponsoring programs aimed at meeting human needs.  Our goal is to greet our visitors with warmth and openness and do our best to include them in all our activities.  We are a multi-talented group but can be guilty of relying on the talents of a few, creating situations where that few can become exhausted. 

God feeds our church family through preaching that focuses on living the Good News of Holy Scripture.  On most Sundays we worship in what could be called traditional fashion, but on occasion we enjoy stepping out of the mold.  The weekly service includes a strong music program supported by an enthusiastic choir, pipe organ and hand bells as well as a number of member-musicians.  Although our diverse congregation is generally comfortable with the traditional style of worship some of us would like to see more contemporary elements included in our weekly worship.  Inclusion of visuals, more musical instruments, and drawing from the traditions of our multicultural congregation are some of the ways we might further enrich our time of worship.  We are faced with making decisions about ways to attempt to introduce these changes in our worship services while continuing to feed those who draw spiritual sustenance from a traditional style of worship.

We are blessed to have a strong Christian Education program.  Our Sunday School and youth activities are central to the life of our congregation and are complemented by Vacation Bible School, mission trips and a variety of Bible studies.  Our youth groups are an active and vital force in our congregation, presbytery, synod and General Assembly.  The recent departure of our Director of Christian Education presents us with some challenges in continuing this vital ministry. 

We communicate joys and concerns of the church through Shepherd groups under the leadership of our Deacons.  Our church family enjoys gathering for fellowship and worship opportunities in retreats, camp-outs, Fifth Sunday brunches, BBQs, game nights, book groups and women’s and men’s Bible study.  We are experiencing limited participation by some parts of the congregation and are working to find better means of connecting across the broad generational and ethnic spectrum of this family.

Our church building is located on the western edge of Greater Metropolitan Houston.  Sunday morning worship is conducted in a multi-purpose room that serves as the sanctuary and fellowship hall.  We have classroom space that supports our current membership and a growing library.  Additionally we are blessed with a well-equipped and well-used kitchen.  Members generally provide day-to-day facility maintenance services as a part of their offering of time and talents.  Fiscally, our session and congregation are willing to step out in faith, but we do not take very big steps, striving to be good stewards sometimes at the expense of expanding our ministry.  Our annual budget is faith-based.  In recent years we have dealt with emergency needs through special fund-raising campaigns. 

We support the greater church through per capita giving and participate in the benevolence programs of the P.C. (U.S.A.).  In addition we join with another Presbyterian church in the area in support of a local Vietnamese New Church Development.  We strive to serve our community through a number of service programs and activities.  The Mother’s Day Out Program is an important weekday ministry of this church as is the Mission Bells Food Pantry, an ecumenical ministry affiliated with the Houston Food Bank.  Our church building serves as a distribution point that is staffed by members of several area churches.  We also charter a Boy Scout troop and provide meeting space for Alcoholics Anonymous.    

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