EECM Food Pantry Expands Hours to Meet Growing Need

From the Post-Gazette:

East Liberty food pantry expanding hours
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
By Liyun Jin, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The East End Cooperative Ministry will expand the hours of its food pantry beginning Monday, according to a press release today.

The pantry, which currently operates for two hours in the afternoon every weekday at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, will expand to include morning hours from 10 to 11:15 a.m. Monday through Friday.

"This dramatic step is being taken in response to growing requests for assistance," the press release said.

Pantry clients are encouraged to use the morning hours to discuss additional household needs with the food services case manager, as well as to obtain food.

The East End Cooperative Ministry will also offer more substantial meals and expand the hours of its soup kitchen beginning Monday, said Development Director David Dix. It will operate from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Current hours are 11:45 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.



Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09181/980847-100.stm#ixzz0JweYeNHt&C

PC(USA) Moderator in Action

Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow will speak Saturday evening at the New Wilmington Mission Conference (held July 18-25: see http://nwmcmission.org/ for details). Reyes-Chow is currently serving as PC(USA) Moderator. An ordained minister since 1995, he is a California native and the founding pastor of Mission Bay Community Church, a new church development of San Francisco Presbytery. He graduated from San Francisco State University with a special major in Asian American Studies, Sociology, and Religion and from San Francisco Theological Seminary. Bruce has served the PC(USA) over the years as a preacher, worship leader, and keynoter.

Bruce is "firmly convicted that life is just chaotic and that the key to finding security amidst the chaos is not to put life in a rigidly controlled box, but to embrace and claim God's presence in the ambiguity-a difficult way to live, but a way that honors the authenticity of our lives and strengthens our relationship with God." Bruce is a prolific blogger and has a large social networking presence.

P.S. Not only is Bruce Reyes-Chow a 'social networking presence,' but so is Sixth! If you're on Facebook, check out the Friends of Sixth Church group.

Lazarus Fund Suspends Applications

An update from Presbytery:

By God's grace at the June 8 meeting, the Lazarus Fund Ministry Team distributed $200 grants totaling nearly $10,000 to help local families pay their rent and utility bills. This will not happen in July because the fund is out of money and the ministry team has stopped accepting applications. As a result, a vital ministry in nearly 20 churches has been suspended at a time of crisis for many households.

The team thanks everyone for their past generosity, especially most recently on Lazarus Sunday in March, which has kept the fund going thus far. They are now asking for your prayer and your contributions. If you want to support the Lazarus Fund ministry, checks can be sent to Pittsburgh Presbytery, 901 Allegheny Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15233, with "Lazarus Fund" noted on the memo line. For more information on the fund go to
http://www.pghpresbytery.org/justice/lazarus_fund.htm

EECM Off-to-College Kit

EECM expects to have 15 students who are heading off to college this fall and who will need a little TLC in the way of school/dorm supplies. The C+C Committee has agreed to be a sponsoring congregation for one of the students; Margaret Miller and Louise Ford have graciously volunteered to organize the contributions!

Priority items include: towels & washcloths, plastic shower caddy, laundry detergent, dryer sheets, twin extra long sheets, laundry basket, mesh laundry bag, and plastic clothes hangers. Other items needed include a 1" three-ring binder, stapler and staples, dry-erase board for door (with markers), highlighters, mechanical pencils, pens, sharpies, planner/organizer, spiral bound notebooks, and pocket folders.

Miscellaneous items that would be nice to include: tissues, liquid hand soap, roll of quarters, and a $25 calling card.

Congregations are asked to collect and present the items to EECM in the laundry basket (of whatever appropriate size) by June 30th, if possible.

Tie the Knot

Margaret Miller told us about this great awareness program that is so very timely with all of the news about legislation regarding same-sex marriages and partnerships. The program is called Tie the Knot and is symbolized by white ribbons with a single knot tied in the middle - a simple but meaningful way to say that everyone should have the right to tie the knot. Here's a link to the website with more great information about it:

www.whiteknot.org

We'll be having white ribbons of our own to give out at the Sixth Church booth at PrideFest this year! Thanks Margaret !!!

Fred (always a groomsman, never a groom ...)

Sixth Church: Affirming our Unity – More Light Sunday 2009

Our Sixth Church More Light Sunday is fast approaching and promises to be a great one! All in one jam-packed day of excitement we’ll have our More Light Sunday Worship Service, a team of Sixth Church folks marching in the Pride Parade, and a Sixth Church booth at PrideFest. For you calendars, we have:

Sunday, June 14th --

1. More Light Sunday Worship service at 10:00 AM at Sixth Church (note summer start time!)
2. Pride Awareness parade at Noon from Grant St at 1st Ave to Liberty Ave at 7th St
3. Sixth Church booth at PrideFest from 1:00 until 6:00 PM near the corner of 9th St and Liberty Ave

Our worship service that day will include a celebration with uplifting music, a video/photo slideshow, and a procession of signs proclaiming personal expressions on themes of unity, pride and connectedness.

The parade and booth will feature banners, signs, new Sixth Church More Light t-shirts, refrigerator magnets and ribbons in support of same-sex marriage legislation. We’ll also be showing off one of our two new More Light flags.

The parade starts at from Grant St at 1st Ave, moves onto the Boulevard of the Allies, down to Stanwix St, and turning onto Liberty Avenue finishing at the stage at PrideFest on Liberty Ave at 7th St. BEST PARKING NOTE: First Avenue Parking Garage . Rachel Rothenberg is coordinating the marchers this year. To join us for this part, you can contact Rachel, sign up on the sheet in the Chapel, or shoot Fred an e-mail at fjo@city-net.com .

The booth will be near the corner of 9th St at Liberty avenue and is a chance for us to share with Pittsburgh all of the great things a welcoming More Light Church like Sixth has to offer! The festival runs from 1:00 to 6:00 PM and is free to all. We’ll have t-shirts, a slide show, information about Sixth and the More Light Presbyterians movement, refrigerator magnets, candy, music and more fun than the bumper cars at Kennywood. If you’d like to be part of the booth team for a short shift, please contact Fred. BEST PARKING NOTE: Ninth and Penn Parking garage .

More to come -- stay posted!!