Westminster Town Hall Forum: An Inspired Idea

By Barbara Mauk, Town Hall Forum board

The Town Hall Forum has been a Westminster institution for 31 remarkable years. From its first speaker, Archibald Cox, to its most recent, Tom Brokaw, the Forum has reached audiences in all parts of Minnesota and beyond. It was founded in 1980 by the Rev. Donald Meisel and Westminster members Dianne and Paul Neimann. In a reminiscence presented to TGOF in 2004, Dr. Meisel recalled those early days when the idea of a forum was taking shape:

"In the winter of 1980, parishioners Diane and Paul Neimann were having dinner with Eleanor and me at the manse on East Lake Harriet Parkway. They knew that Westminster had come up with a new mission statement with a commitment to be A Telling Presence in the City, and they wanted to do their part to make this happen.

During our conversation over the dinner table, an idea emerged. Paul remembered the Noon-day forums he attended while a student at the University of Pittsburgh. Why not a forum like that at Westminster? It seemed a splendid fit, given the church’s location on the Nicollet Mall in the heart of the city and given a Presbyterian heritage that calls people to be responsible to and for the society around them. A few days later, Diane came to my office, and we formulated the overarching rubric for this endeavor - Voices of Conscience: Key Issues in Ethical Perspective.

We also made a decision to follow the National Press Club format with a 30-minute speaker’s presentation followed by a half-hour of questions and answers. Minnesota Public Radio championed the forums from the beginning, and with rare exception, they have broadcast each presentation. While the Forum does not receive funds from Westminster's operating budget — an agreement made with Session when the idea was first proposed to them —support comes from individual church members and from friends in the community and co-sponsoring organizations.”

At the conclusion of his remarks, Dr. Meisel offered a comment from one of the Forum’s most distinguished speakers, Elie Wiesel, who summed up the power of the Westminster Town Hall Forum in his 1983 address:

“I admire you for what you are doing here. To break up the day in the lives of so many people, to bring them out of their doors and away from their endeavors, and to say to them, ‘Come and meditate together with us for one hour.’ I wish this could be imitated all over the world — simply to stop for an hour and think.”

And that’s the blessing of the Westminster Town Hall Forum.

A Long Tradition of Sharing Our Blessings

During the Stewardship season, Westminster has a tradition of inviting members to speak from the pulpit during a worship service. In this Moment for Stewardship, folks will speak of how their faith has been impacted by Westminster and its programs and the importance of keeping those programs healthy, vibrant and successful. 

On Sunday, October 30, JoAnn and Jim Sanders told how their connection to Westminster began over 100 years ago because of Westminster’s long tradition of sharing its blessings with others.

Moment for Stewardship

Counting the Blessings of New Members

by the Rev. Annika Lister Stroope, Assoc. Pastor for Evangelism & Fellowship

'Tis the season--for a new member class!

Each mid-October another group of fascinating people seeks to serve God through Westminster. We have had new members who were born mere blocks from Westminster, and new members who were born as far away as Togo and Taiwan. We have had new members in their late teens and those who have been 80 some years young. We have had new members who grew up Roman Catholic, Christian Scientist, and in the Church of Southern India. "Cradle" Presbyterians—those who were born and raised in a Presbyterian congregation—are far from the norm.

New Member class enjoys a potluck picnic

Even the most staid and lifelong churchgoer finds a fresh perspective in the process of Westminster's new member classes, because together we experience a kind of Pentecost. In the story of Pentecost in the Bible, some of the earliest Christians gathered together from disparate places and then suddenly had the ability to understand one another, even though they spoke different languages. In a way, modern Christians who join a particular congregation come from so many different places--different countries, different family situations, different life callings—that we might find it very difficult to understand one another. If not for the common commitment to come together as one part of the body of Christ that is called Westminster, what appears on the surface to be barriers of difference could seem too significant to overcome.

What happens in new member classes is that the richness of God’s creation is manifest as the global church. I count the blessing of each and every new member who comes to Westminster, to serve God and serve God’s people.

Learning From the Wind Mills

by the Rev. Annika Lister Strooope, Assoc. Pastor, Evangelism & Fellowship

If you've driven on I-35 between the Minnesota border and Des Moines, or on I-80 between Des Moines and Omaha in the past couple of years, you have noticed a change: the landscape now includes large swaths of occupied skyline. What were once open views now have groups of wind turbines that stretch for miles.

 I was thinking about this blog the last time I was driving on I-35 and I-80. I pondered the intersections of technology and things and places that don’t move as fast as technology seems to move. I pondered the fact that the wind turbines in Iowa have not made Iowa any less rural -- it is, in fact, the large swaths of land with low populations that have allowed for corn and soybeans farms to now also be wind farms.

Whenever churches try to keep up with technological trends, we often ponder: will we be less of the church we are familiar with if we adapt to modern technology?

It seems that a church blog and a wind turbine have something in common: both are new technologies that utilize the strengths of the community they inhabit. The Christian church has always embraced communication to the farthest reaches. Paul's letters traveled hundreds of miles -- distances that the average person at that time would have never dreamed of traversing. The Spirit, which is called by the same word as breath and wind in both biblical languages of Hebrew and Greek, does not know borders and boundaries. Technology actually tries, I think, to keep up with the Spirit!

Just a Closer Walk with Thee…

by Meghan Gage-Finn, Associate Pastor for Children, Youth & Families

“Just a closer walk with thee…”

These were the opening words of Anna's solo this past Sunday as we welcomed Confirmation students into membership and heard as they shared their faith stories with us. The song speaks of the desire to walk closer with Jesus, understanding that Jesus is our strength and guide. (Scroll to the bottom of this post and click the link to listen to Anna’s incredible singing in worship.)

In their Statements of Faith, our Confirmation students shared with us what they believe and what they hold onto as they grow in their faith, but they also shared their doubts and their questions. They expressed their wonderings about how big God is, how complex the Holy Trinity is, and how hard it is to grasp God’s saving love for us. These 20 young people gave voice to the questions so many of us wrestle with, and with honesty and integrity they took risks together this year as individuals and as a class. It is with joy and thanksgiving that we welcome them into the membership of Westminster and Christ’s church. They have a vision for Westminster Confirmation Class, September 25, 2011the church and their place in it. In the words of one of our students:

“When I think about Westminster, I think of an inviting and friendly place, where I know I am always welcome. I think that is one of Westminster’s roles, to be welcoming to anyone who wants to worship with us. Another one of our church’s roles is to get involved with important issues in the community and to help people who need it. I believe our church fulfills these roles. I think my role in our congregation is to listen and learn from leaders in the church. I also think it is to be a part of our youth group, and to help serve others with the church.”

It is truly a privilege to walk with our Confirmation students and their mentors through the year of listening and learning and discernment. My own faith is strengthened by the challenging questions they ask of me and of each other. They build us up as the Body of Christ and as a church and they reflect the grace, love, and nurturing they have received as children of Westminster over the years. These 20 new members are indeed a blessing, and we are blessed to be part of a church family where the promises of baptism are real and abide from generation to generation!

Just A Closer Walk With Thee, sung by Anna K.