A New Era of Responsibility: Faith & Determination

From President Obama's Inaugural Address:

"... For as much as government can do and must do, it is ultimately the faith and determination of the American people upon which this nation relies. It is the kindness to take in a stranger when the levees break, the selflessness of workers who would rather cut their hours than see a friend lose their job which sees us through our darkest hours. It is the firefighter's courage to storm a stairway filled with smoke, but also a parent's willingness to nurture a child, that finally decides our fate.

Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends -- hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism -- these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths. What is required of us now is a new era of responsibility -- a recognition, on the part of every American, that we have duties to ourselves, our nation, and the world, duties that we do not grudgingly accept but rather seize gladly, firm in the knowledge that there is nothing so satisfying to the spirit, so defining of our character, than giving our all to a difficult task...."

Next Meeting: February 15, 2009

Please mark Sunday, February 15th, as the date of our next Church and Community Committee meeting. We'll meet in the Ridinger Room around 12:15 PM (however long it takes us to grab a cookie and a cup of coffee after worship and make it down the steps!).

By the time of this meeting, we should have an approved budget for 2009 and can begin to prioritize our work and funding for the year. In addition to deciding which organizations we want to give funding to and how much, we also need to start setting some priorities around volunteer efforts.

The Neighborhood Academy (lunches, study halls), Global Links (packing supplies), and the CROP Walk (walking, collecting sponsors) will continue to be areas of focused attention for volunteer efforts. What about key projects for the Muscles & Mops group? For More Light?

GA Amendments & Ecumenical Statements

The 218th General Assembly sent ten amendments and four ecumenical statements to all Presbyteries for prayerful consideration and yes/no votes. They affect the life and ministry of our churches and merit our full attention. Click here to read the full text of these amendments and statements.

The section, "On Amending G-6.0106b, G-14.0240, and G-14.0450 (Item 05-09)", addresses the elimination of some exclusionary language regarding ordination and installation, which is particularly of interest to Sixth Church and other More Light churches.

As Pittsburgh Presbytery considers the proposed amendments to the Book of Order and Ecumenical Statements, six listening and discussion sessions have been arranged by an Advisory Committee of Pittsburgh Presbytery. Members of the Advisory Committee will attend each session to facilitate discussion, record questions and summarize comments shared. It is hoped that church members, officers and ministers will participate in these sessions as preparation for the Presbytery vote on these pending matters in spring 2009.

Wednesday, January 14
10:00 -11:30 am at Lebanon PC (2800 Old Elizabeth Road, West Mifflin)

Saturday, January 17
10:00 -11:30 am at Cross Roads PC (2310 Haymaker Road, Monroeville)

Thursday, January 22
7:00 - 8:30 pm at Northmont UPC (8169 Perry Highway)

Saturday, January 24
10:00 - 11:30 am at Southminster PC (799 Washington Road)

Monday, January 26
10:00 - 11:30 am at Fox Chapel PC (384 Fox Chapel Road)

Wednesday, January 28
7:00 - 8:30 pm at East Liberty PC (116 S. Highland Avenue)

Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day!

EECM’s 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Sunday, January 18, at 3:30 pm
Eastminster Presbyterian Church

This January marks the 25th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration to be held by EECM and the Council of Congregations. It is the only time each year when all of the congregations come together in an interfaith worship service.

The service will be held on Sun., Jan. 18, at Eastminster Presbyterian Church, 250 North Highland Ave. Music performed by several groups and individuals will begin at 3:30 pm. The Worship Service will begin with a Congregational Role Call at 4 pm. Bishop David Zubic, of the Pittsburgh Catholic Diocese, will speak.

Prior to the worship service, Bill Wharton, ‘the Sauce Boss’, will play and sing spicy Florida blues, while cooking gumbo for all. Lunch will begin at 1:30 pm, in Eastminster Presbyterian Church’s Fellowship Hall. There’ll also be a vegetarian soup. The suggested donation for the lunch is $8/ person over 12 years of age.

A reception will follow the worship service. Please come for the afternoon, and help us celebrate at this year’s very special event! For questions or more information, call 412.361.5549 x411.

2008 Allocations: A Look at the Pie

LOL! OK, at Sue's request, here's my attempt to post the pie chart on the blog.

How 'bout them slices, eh? And the little square raindrops where a legend to the chart used to be.... It looks better as a powerpoint slide, promise.

This pie shows how the Church + Community's funding pot was allocated this year.

The light blue slice shows the portion of our budget that went to local cooperative ministries (EECM, Wilkinsburg).

The royal blue slice is the portion that went to local hunger relief (Just Harvest, EECM Food Pantry, Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank).

The teal slice is the portion that went to Presbyterian mission efforts: Church World Services, Presbyterian Disaster Relief, Camp Crestfield, Malawi Partnership, and the Lazarus Fund.

The pea green slice is for local social justice efforts at the Mars Home for Youth and the Neighborhood Academy.

The gray slice shows support for the people of developing countries through gifts to Global Links, support for the CROP walkers, Goats for Gifts (Rwanda), and the March for Darfur.

There's a very slender black slice to represent the amount remaining in our budget.

Those Boots Were Made for.....

Walking! And caring! And giving!

The CROP Walk envelopes have now all been turned in, and Sue Koehler proudly reports that Sixth Presbyterian Church walkers collected donations totaling $4,064, the largest East End church contribution by a mile!

Congratulations and a big round of applause for all the walkers and donors.

Lunch at the Neighborhood Academy

Diana reports that Friday's lunch at the Neighborhood Academy was "enthusiastically devoured."

Many thanks to all those who helped: Sue Koehler, Louise Craft, Carol and Bill Beggs, Michael Schrecengost, Dave Wood, Jan Fisher, Jim McDowell, Larry VanDyke and Louise Ford. And very special thanks (and a round of applause) for the woman who pulled it all together: Diana Wood.

Diana will be proctoring the NA study hours tomorrow (Tuesday, 5:30 to 7:30 PM). That's a volunteer opportunity open to all, so please let Diana know if you're interested.

The next Sixth-in-the-Neighborhood-Academy is scheduled for WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 11. Cooks and servers are needed -- just let Diana know if you can help out. We have funds to help reiumburse the cost of the food!