Good News!

Good news!

1) This morning's Post-Gazette reports that UPMC will not close House of Hope: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08341/933262-114.stm

Excerpts from the story (including quotes from Mary Louise applauding the wisdom of keeping the program alive):

"The House of Hope -- the program in Braddock that helps pregnant women who are working to overcome addictions -- will continue operating, but eventually it will be moved....."

"Word was spreading and hopefully the outpouring of support caused this change," said the Rev. Mary Louise McCullough, pastor of Sixth Presbyterian Church in Squirrel Hill. "It's wise on the part of these folks at UPMC to realize that this is a facility that should not go."

After learning of UPMC's initial plan to close House of Hope, the Rev. McCullough sought to persuade churches to donate money to keep the program open for a few months until alternative funding could be found.
She also spoke of the planned closing from her pulpit, which prompted leaders of her church to write letters on behalf of the program to board members of UPMC and Heritage Health Foundation, the charitable arm of UPMC Braddock.

"We so often are angry and upset and think there's nothing we can do about things," she said. "Sometimes you lose the sense that people will actually respond. But I'm very happy and I'm sure the people in my church who were involved will be very happy.""

2) Pittsburgh Presbytery rejected a proposal from Bellefield Presbyterian to eliminate a perceived "loophole" in presbytery's ordination standards. See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08341/933252-53.stm

Excerpt follows (guess we'd be included in the "foes" category!):

Pittsburgh Presbytery refuses to change policy on gay pastors
Court would have stricken rule, foes say

Pittsburgh Presbytery, which has a history of opposing gay ordination, has rejected a proposal intended to close a loophole that supporters believed could open the presbytery to openly gay pastors....