Last Saturday morning, Oct. 13th, eighteen Elders and Deacons,
together with five staff members, convened for a three hour
mini-retreat to discuss together matters of mutual interest
and potential for the greater good of the entire church. In
my opinion, it was a wonderful event which allowed us to get
to know each other at a deeper level than most formal meetings
allow, review where we are in our transition process, get
a bird's eye view of the overall structure of both the Session
and the Board of Deacons and how the various components
function, examine concrete plans for the future, and enter into
a hearty discussion on something which is on the minds of
many folks in the church, namely, "Inreach."

It was a pleasure for me as Moderator to offer some conclusions
on "the state of the church" in this transition time, the
bottom line of which concluded that from the standpoint of
finances, stewardship, worship, education, new officers, new
members, and outreach, and the high quality of each, we are
thankfully very healthy. We are, in fact, a church of faith moving
forward with hope and confidence in God's purpose.

The overview of the committee structure, which was led by
our new Clerk of Session, Doug Wellemeyer, and Walt
Beckwith, chair of the Board of Deacons, was extremely well
received and gave us all a perspective on how things happen
at the church.

Nancy Rozak then led us in a discussion and process on the
main topic of the morning, "Looking at Inreach In Our Church
Community." Small groups then discussed four assigned questions:

1. What are some common responsibilities that Elders and
Deacons share?
2. What is expected of Elders and Deacons in relation to
inreach?
3. What in your opinion constitutes inreach at WPC?
4. What are some ways that we can improve and increase our
inreach at WPC?

A wide variety of responses were given centering on the multitude
of activities that constitute the total program here at
Westminster, with the observation that just plain "Fellowship"
is a high priority for most members.

It was a great morning. The Book of Order mandates that the
Session and Deacons meet at least once a year. The meeting
had such a positive result that it was observed we might do
this somewhat more often, but we mutually concluded that
we need not do this every Saturday morning!