Happy Friday Westminster! Hope you get to enjoy this cold snap we are having with a cup of hot chocolate or coffee and a good book over the weekend. I have a couple of items to share with you all:
Sunday is Stewardship Commitment Sunday in the life of our denomination. It is also the day that our pledge cards are asked to be turned in here at Westminster. Pledges received are a huge help to the Stewardship Ministry Team in trying to decide what our asking budget will be for the 2011 Operating year. As you already know, the asking budget for 2011 is a 6 % overall increase from the 2010 Operating budget for a total of $ 686,765.14. So far, 33 pledges have been turned in for a total of $75,172.00. We hope that the number of families needing contact from the members of our Stewardship Ministry Team will be small due to pledges being turned in on Sunday. I’ve put extra pledge cards in the pews as well as the narthex for your convenience.
Sunday School Classes for this coming Sunday:
Contemporary Issues Coming Home: Hurricane Katrina Five Years Later (DVD)
Faith Topics Soul Feast, by Marjorie Thompson
Special Topics Boundaries in Marriage, by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Thompson
Bible Experience led by Scott Brunger and Ellen Anderson
I love teaching 3rd and 4th grade Sunday school. I find it is an age where children are beginning to have the ability to discuss topics and form their own opinions. I love watching children discover what the world looks like through their eyes.
Hello, my name is Debbie Babelay. This year I have the wonderful opportunity of teaching the 2-3 year olds in our Sunday School program. They are all precious to me. We have fun learning about God’s love and how each of us is a special child of God. I look forward to their smiling faces each Sunday morning. This is my 3rd year teaching in the Sunday School program. I have also worked with vacation bible school.
I have known Westminster my entire life! I grew up in the church since birth. My faith is rooted in so many wonderful experiences at Westminster such as going on trips with Choristers, Montreat, and a Mission experience to Mexico. I went to college in Alabama at Birmingham-Southern. After college, I lived in Birmingham where I worked in sales. I met and married my husband Wiley there. Jim Carter (former Westminster minister) married us at Independent Presbyterian in Birmingham. Wiley’s career has taken us to New Mexico and Arkansas, and now back to Knoxville. We have been here since 2011. We have 3 children, Ella (11), Grant (7), and Walker (5). I work as the Assistant Director of the preschool at Central Baptist which allows me to have a similar schedule to my children. My favorite job is being their Mom!
Bio: Junior at the University of Tennessee 
I am a senior at UTK majoring in Global Studies with a focus in Economics. I am currently in the process of apply to graduate school for CSP. I love to be outdoors and travel. I also work as an Resident Assistant at Volunteer Hall on campus and enjoy babysitting and baking.
My name is Malena D’Alessandro and I’m a junior studying marketing at the University of Tennessee. I’m originally from south east Michigan where I attended high school at Oxford High School. I am currently part of Spring Sports Ambassadors, Volunteer Team and Best Buddies at UT.