Spotlight

Holy Week and Easter Services
During the week between Palm Sunday and Easter, several worship opportunities are available for reflecting on the passion of our faith, including Palm Sunday, Wednesday Taizé, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday services (two at ELPC and one at St. James AME), and a Saturday Easter Vigil, plus services and special fellowship times on Easter Sunday. For complete details, click here. Special lighting in the sanctuary will add a richer dimension to the experience of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter worship—read more below about the lighting project.

March 28 Worship Services

• 8:00 am: Good Samaritan Worship; Dr. John Burgess preaching, Professor, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Ground floor dining room.
• 8:45 am: Journey Worship; the Rev. Heather Schoenewolf preaching. Third floor music room.
• 11:00 am: Sanctuary Worship; the Rev. Dr. Randall K. Bush preaching. Sanctuary.

March 28 Christian Education, 9:45 - 10:45

• Contemporaries: Last session, Preparing for Easter and All It Means, led by Dr. John Burgess, James Henry Snowden Professor of Systematic Theology at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. We will explore images and explanations that the Bible and church have used to portray heaven, hell, and life after death. Are they consistent? Where do they leave us with questions? What kind of hope does Easter offer us? Second floor parlor.
• Journey with Scripture: Isa. 50:4-9a; Ps. 31:9-16; Phil. 2:5-11; Luke 22:14-23:56; Luke 23:1-49. Led by Jan Irvin. Second floor library.
• Parenting Circle: We finish reading Jan Johnson’s Growing Compassionate Kids: Helping Kids See Beyond Their Backyard. Coffee. The discussion is easy to join. Books available in class. Led by Frances Irvin. First floor, Harambe room.
• Seekers: “Sharing my trip to Israel and Palestine,” led by Gwen Puza. Gwen will present pictures, news, and reflections from her trip this past summer. Second floor, room 234.
• Soul Food, a new adult class offering, led by the Rev. Cynthia Jackson. We will continue our study Joyce Rupp’s book Fresh Bread. (Please bring a journal.) Copies of Fresh Bread are available to purchase in class. Second floor, pastor’s conference room.

Additional worship, classes, and prayer opportunities during the week

• Wednesday Connections, March 24: Join the Revs. Bush and Schoenewolf in the second floor parlor for an adult bible study, discussing this week’s bible scripture.
• Taizé prayer service: Every Wednesday, 7:00 pm in the Chapel. Childcare available from 6:45 pm to 8:15 pm. March 24 Taizé service will be followed at 8:15 with celebrations! Do you celebrate a birthday, milestone or anniversary in March? Write it down and put it in the collection plate—we’d like to celebrate with you!
• Labyrinth Prayer Walk: Wednesday March 24, 10:00 am - 9:00 pm; Monday, March 29, 10 am - 3pm. In the Social Hall.
• Centering Prayer: Tuesday, March 30, 7:00 pm. Room 250.

Youth and Young Adults

• Club One Sixteen, March 24: “God's Love for Us: A Journey to Easter.” Come enjoy free Hope Academy classes and more!
• Youth basketball: For young men, grades 9–12; Saturday evening March 27, from 6 - 8 pm. In the gym.
• Young adults March coffee house: Sunday, March 28, at 7 pm: Come by to chat or to say hello and enjoy some coffee, ice cream, and waffles at Oh Yeah’s.

ELPC weekly news highlights

One Great Hour of Sharing, March 28 and April 4
The One Great Hour of Sharing special offering shares God’s love with people experiencing need.The offering is used to fund Presbyterian hunger programs, Presbyterian disaster assistance, and the self-development of people. ELPC will join with Christian brothers and sisters throughout the world and receive the One Great Hour of Sharing offering on Palm Sunday, March 28 and Easter, April 4. Please give generously.

Special lighting project in ELPC’s sanctuary during Holy Week and Easter
Theater and architecture students at Carnegie Mellon are doing a class project of designing special lighting for our Holy Week and Easter worship services. This special lighting will highlight details of ELPC’s sanctuary, the architectural artwork related to the Holy Week events of Christ’s life, as a way to add to the experience of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter worship. This collaborative venture embodies our church’s ongoing commitment to the arts and to creative engagement with the community.

Easter Lily Orders, due March 28
Won’t you consider donating one or more 6.5” potted lilies? The flowers will be placed in the chancel for the 11am service on Easter Sunday. You can either take the plant home after the service, or leave it for delivery to hospitalized or homebound members. And as before, you might choose to make a donation to the EECM Food Pantry either in lieu of purchasing a lily—or in addition to it! The names of those honored and memorialized will appear in a bulletin insert. Order forms are available on tables throughout the church. Return order forms with payment (check or cash) to the church office by March 28.

Hope Academy Spring Music Festival, March 27
Join Hope Academy as we celebrate our young musicians, singers, dancers, actors and artists during a day-long marathon of recitals, capped off by an evening performance of our Wednesday vocal and drumming ensembles (Voices of Hope), our new community orchestra, EL CEO (East Liberty Community Engagement Orchestra); our “Bard to the Bone” Shakespeare students; and the premiere of an animated music video of the They Might Be Giants song, “Happy Doesn’t Have to Have an Ending,” created by our Wednesday Animation Club in collaboration with Squonk Opera.

Pittsburgh youth artworks, last Sunday
Our third exhibit will feature youth artwork from students at the Neighborhood Academy and the Schumann Youth Detention Center. Displays in Room 234 and the Second Floor Parlor through March 28. Exhibit coordinated by ELPC member Sue Bailey. For details, .

Lenten crosses
Lent is an opportunity to deepen our relationship with God. The Spiritual Life Committee invites you to imagine what you want to give to God during Lent. Offerings can be expressed on paper; there is no limit to what you can give to God: prayers, concerns, celebrations, and more.

 

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ELPC in the Community

Thomas Merton Center Fashion Show and Lunch, March 27
The Thomas Merton Center will hold its annual Fashion Show and Luncheon on Saturday, March 27, from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm. ELPC’s Social Hall. Tickets are $15; $5 for students and low income. Proceeds benefit the Thomas Merton Center and Sojourner House. For more information, call (412) 361-6010.

East End Cooperative Ministries (EECM) Men’s Shelter
During the month of March, the Deacons are collecting razors and men’s underwear (M-XL) for EECM’s Men's Shelter. Donations may be left in the hallway baskets. Thank you for your support!

East End Cooperative Ministries (EECM) Food Pantry
The EECM Food Pantry provides food for individuals and families facing hunger in Pittsburgh. March’s “Food of the Month” is jelly, jam.