East Liberty Presbyterian Church

2020 Summer Film Series | Moundsville
2020-08-16 12:00 - 13:00 (America/New_York)
As we continue our 2020 Film Series, the ELPC Mission Board and Mission Committees invite you to watch Moundsville. We will gather on Zoom to discuss the film on Sunday, August 16, following Sanctuary worship. Click here to participate on Zoom or call 929.205.6099. Enter meeting ID# 819.8076.6834 when prompted.
Moundsville, Biography of a Classic American Town, by John Miller and David Bernabo, is “A gripping look at a fascinating West Virginia town wrestling with its past and fighting for its future, with lots of surprises along the way”—Joe Barrett, The Wall Street Journal. Filmmaker and ELPC member John Miller will lead us in a discussion of the documentary.
Watch at PBS.org/show/moundsville.

About Our 2020 Film Series
As we live into our designation as a PC(USA) Matthew 25 Congregation, the Mission Board and Mission Committees selected movies and documentaries for our 2020 Film Series that will challenge us to continue our work as an anti-racist community and highlight the importance of environmentalism. Please watch the selected films and join our discussions after worship on Sundays, June 26; August 2, 9, and 16.

New PW Bible Study & Virtual Lunch
2020-08-18 12:00 - 13:00
How can we faithfully respond to difficult situations in the world? The ancients lamented to God, often in very explicit language. The lamenter finds strength to face the world as she remembers God, confident in the hope that God’s reign is coming. Prayers of lament are expressed in words, music, or art.
All women are invited to join us for Reclaiming Lament (introduction and virtual lunch) on Tuesday, August 18, 12 pm. Our first lesson, Heart of Lament, will begin on Monday, September 14, 7 pm, or Tuesday, September 15, 10 am. Lessons will then continue on the first Monday and Tuesday of every month, along with a mid-Month virtual lunch to share laments in writing, art, or music.
We hope you will join us as we begin to explore this ancient form of prayer and protest. For more information or to ask questions, please email PW.ELPC@gmail.com.

LGBTQ Ministry Game Night on Zoom
2020-08-28 18:00 - 20:00
Join in with friends for some end-of-the-week fun as we laugh and play games together over Zoom. All LGBTQIA folks and their allies are welcome. Contact Wil Forrest, LGBTQ Ministry coordinator, for information or to participate.

YAM Zoom Dinner & Dessert Meeting
2020-09-06 19:00 - 20:30
Sit down with some new and old friends over dinner on Zoom! We will spend part of our time catching up with one another, part dreaming up what the YAM group can be this fall/winter, and part learning about the African Healing Garden from Betty Lane, who started the garden. Located in Larimer, the garden is a place that folks can go to heal. It was inspired by friendship, community, hurt, loss, and hope for the future—and it has something important to offer to its neighbors and to us today. I hope you will come hear its story.
Contact Sara Hackett at SaraH@coh.net or 412.441.3800 x120 for the Zoom meeting ID.

Help Us Spruce Up
2020-09-12 10:00 - 12:00
Summer is in full force and so are the gardens (and weeds!) here at ELPC. If you are looking to connect with nature and the ELPC community, consider joining us for small group garden maintenance meet-ups!
Join us to weed around the perimeter of the church, particularly in the rain garden along Penn Ave. No experience is necessary, but consider bringing work gloves, water, a mask, and any small gardening tools you might have.
For more info, contact Megan Leisher at MeganL@coh.net or 412.441.3800 x122.

YAM African Healing Garden Workday
2020-09-12 10:00 - 13:00
All young adults are invited to join us at the African Healing Garden (located at 160 Meadow St.) for a workday. Some folks will work in the garden and others will work to lay pavement around the garden (there will be a professional on hand to give us instructions).
Everything is outside and there is plenty of space to work at a distance. Masks are required. Please RSVP to Sara Hackett via email SaraH@coh.net or phone 412.673.2926.
Visit @AfricanHealingGarden on Facebook to learn more about the garden.

LGBTQ Ministry Spiritual Gathering on Zoom
2020-09-20 12:30 - 14:30, 2020-10-10 10:00 - 12:00, 2020-11-15 12:30 - 14:30
All are welcome at this monthly spiritual gathering of LGBTQ Christians and their allies.
Contact Wil Forrest at 412.441.3800 X118 or Wil@coh.net to learn more and to get the Zoom info to participate.
God created you. God loves you. Be yourself.

Praying with the Elements
2020-09-27 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-10-04 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-10-11 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-10-18 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-10-25 13:00 - 14:00, 2020-11-01 13:00 - 14:00
Amidst this pandemic, many of us are experiencing Zoom fatigue and may feel stuck inside. Let’s Get Out In Creation!
Through Christine Valters Paintner’s book, Water, Wind, Earth & Fire: The Christian Practice of Praying with the Elements, we will discover the call of God’s creation with daily readings of scripture, poets, and mystics—and be invited to explore, connect, and pray with and in God’s creation. We will read, reflect, and pray with the elements on our own throughout the week and then gather on Sundays, October 4–November 1, 1 pm, to share reflections and insights.
Join us as we discover together how “the four elements of air, fire, water, and earth can act as spiritual directors or guides to help us along the sacred journey.”
You may order your own book on Amazon or contact the Rev. BJ Woodworth for assistance.
Click here to participate on Zoom. Enter the Meeting ID, 896 1843 1427, and passcode, Creation, when prompted.

Pastor Randy’s Drive-Thru Party
2020-09-27 13:30 - 15:00 | East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Pastor Randy’s turning 60, and you’re invited to the party!
This is a drive-thru birthday party! Pastor Randy and Beth Bush will be in the church’s staff parking lot (Baum Blvd), and you can pull in to give him personal birthday wishes. You might even receive a birthday treat!
In addition, several other members of staff will be on the sidewalk along Whitfield Street, so after you greet Randy and Beth, pull around the corner to wave or chat with staff for a couple of minutes.
Parking spaces along both Baum and Whitfield St. will be blocked off so that you can pull along the curb. Staff will also be distributing our new church directory at this time. All will be wearing masks. Join us for this happy and safe time of fellowship!
So that we don’t tie up street traffic too much, please move around the church clockwise. We also suggest that you plan your visit around these times, according to the first letter of your last name:

A thru G | 1:30–2 pm
H thru O | 2–2:30 pm
P thru Z | 2:30–3 pm

In lieu of gifts, Pastor Randy suggests that you bring a food donation to support Vintage Senior Center, right up Highland Avenue in East Liberty. Vintage usually provides much-needed companionship, activities, and meals for seniors in our area. During the pandemic, they’re providing alternative meals for seniors. Requested food items include: crackers, canned soup, peanut butter, individual fruit cups, canned vegetables, pasta (including instant mac & cheese), rice and bottled water. (NO perishables like milk, fresh fruit, or meat.) Since most of the seniors live alone, please choose smaller/individual-size packaged items. You also may choose to make a monetary or check donation (payable to “Vintage”), which we will deliver to Vintage for you.
If you have any questions, contact Laura Ristau at 412.780.5588 or Heather Lawrence at 412.266.8177.

So, Let’s Talk
2020-10-03 17:00 - 18:30, 2020-10-04 12:15 - 13:45
As a Matthew 25 church, the Mission Board of ELPC invites you to the next program in our work of dismantling structural racism: So, Let’s Talk. To understand others, we are told “to walk a mile in their shoes.” We hope that reading and discussing the story of “Routine Traffic Stop” (based on an experience and written by ELPC member, Beverly Harris-Schenz) will help others “learn about the shoes” that many Black siblings walk in daily.
Join us on Saturday, October 3, 5–6:30 pm, and/or Sunday, October 4, 12:15 pm.
Participate at Zoom.us/join or call 929.205.6099, and enter Meeting ID 827 8715 9714 when prompted.

A City Divided: Police/Citizen Violence, Police Reform
2020-10-04 19:00 - 20:00
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh Social Justice and Outreach Committee and Race and Reconciliation Commission invite you to a Zoom talk with Professor David Harris, who will discuss his new book, “A City Divided” Police/Citizen Violence, Police Reform.” The Rev. Dr. John Welch will provide a response.
Click here to join the Zoom meeting or call 312.626.6799. Enter Meeting ID 846 4004 1246 and Passcode [REDACTED] when prompted.
Event co-sponsors include: JCC Center for Lovingkindness; Christian Associates; St. Brendan’s Justice Ministry; St. James Episcopal Church, Penn Hills; St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Highland Park; St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Mt Lebanon; Episcopal Church of the Redeemer, Squirrel Hill; Community of Celebration, Aliquippa; Congregation Dor Hadash; and East Liberty Presbyterian Church.

About David Harris
David Harris currently serves as a professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law. He has worked with police departments, governments, and citizens’ groups in Pittsburgh and around the country.
About the Rev. Dr. John Welch
Rev. Dr. Welch currently serves as Board President of Gamaliel Network and Lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh’s Berg Center for Ethics and Leadership. He is a former vice president of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and Chief Chaplain of Pittsburgh Police.

Affordable Housing in the East End
2020-10-11 12:15 - 13:45
Please join us as the Neighbors Committee presents Becky Gloninger. Becky will give us an update on the families from East Liberty Gardens and future plans for even more affordable housing in East Liberty, as well as explore ways we can potentially walk with and help our neighbors who are in jeopardy of eviction.
Participate at Zoom.us/join or call 929.205.6099, and enter Meeting ID 827 8715 9714 when prompted.

Confronting Confederate Symbols
2020-10-18 12:15 - 13:45
In many U.S. cities and communities, people have come together to demand the dismantling of Confederate symbols. Some say these symbols celebrate heritage and history. For others, they are negative reminders of “America’s Original Sin.” Join us as the Peace Committee and other members discuss the Confederate symbol in our midst, disclose the history behind its inclusion in our church’s design, and suggest ways we can address its removal (or not).
Participate at Zoom.us/join or call 929.205.6099, and enter Meeting ID 827 8715 9714 when prompted.

Cathedral Concerts Online | Sunday Evening Jazz
2020-10-18 19:00 - 20:30
ELPC’s Cathedral Concerts series presents a live, online performance by Pittsburgh jazz legend Mike Tomaro and his combo. The performance will be livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook.
Joining saxophonist Mike Tomaro will be Eric Susoeff on guitar, Paul Thompson on bass, Tom Wendt on drums, and ELPC’s own vocalists Adrianna Cleveland and Denise Sheffey-Powell.
Selections to include:
Mike and his Combo:
Tenderly, Gather The Spirit, Renaissance Man, Sakura, Timeline, T.G.T.T., Freight Trane
Denise:
One Note Samba
Adrianna:
They Just Keep Moving the Line
Denise and Adrianna:
That’s Life
We offer our Cathedral Concerts free of charge. To help support these concerts, please donate to the freewill offering: http://tiny.cc/ELPCDonate

Tween Night | Pumpkin Painting
2020-10-23 19:00 - 20:00
We will meet together on Zoom to paint a pumpkin on our kitchen tables (or floor or wherever), chat, and show off our masterpieces.
RSVP with Sara Hackett at SaraH@coh.net or 412.441.3800 x120 by Monday, October 19, to have supplies delivered. Late RSVPs will need to pick up supplies at the church.

YAMs are Cooking Yaka Mein
2020-10-25 17:30 - 19:00
Let’s get together on Zoom as Nate Morley teaches us how to cook “yaka mein”—a New Orleans noodle dish.
For the list of ingredients and Zoom link, please RSVP with Nate.

Environmental Book Club: Braiding Sweetgrass
2020-10-29 19:00 - 20:00
The Environmental Team of the Justice Committee invites you to read Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer (2013, 390 pages), and then join us on Thursday, October 29, 7 pm, for a discussion on Zoom.
The subtitle of the book is “Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants.” As a botanist and professor of Environmental Biology, Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. She brings these lenses of knowledge together to show that the awakening of a wider ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world.
The book is a New York Times best seller, and people are finding this work to be grounding, calming, and quietly revolutionary.
Please contact Nancy Heastings for Zoom information or for questions.

Youth Mission Project | Baking for Our Neighbors
2020-11-08 12:30 - 13:30
Youth in grades 6–12 will gather via Zoom on Sunday, November 8, 12:30–1:30 pm, to bake cookies for ELPC’s neighbors.
Register with Sara to receive Zoom information, recipe ideas, and ingredients if needed.

Peace Committee Examines South Sudan
2020-11-19 17:30 - 19:00
The ELPC Peace Committee invites you to hear an update on the situation in South Sudan and discussion on the world’s newest country and it’s people. Our panelist include:

Sharon Stewart
Sharon is part of Pittsburgh Presbytery’s working group on South Sudan and Malawi, and the co-pastor of the Jefferson United Presbyterian Church
Benedict Killang
Benedict is the former head of the South Sudanese community in Pittsburgh

Click here to join on Zoom on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. Or dial in by calling 646.558.8656 and enter meeting ID 935 624 8828 when promoted.

Virtual Advent Retreat
2020-11-20 18:00 - 2020-11-21 19:00
The Spiritual Life Committee invites you to a virtual retreat for Advent, themed Wait Upon the Lord.
The retreat will take place Friday–Saturday, November 20–21. The cost is $25. All supplies will be sent to you in advance.
Please RSVP by Friday, November 6, with Norma Meyer. Contact the Rev. BJ Woodworth with questions.

Why Retreat? Amidst all that is happening and will be happening in mid-November, why would one go on a 24-hour retreat. Let me offer one metaphor from Ruth Haley Barton’s book, Invitation to Retreat:
“Going on retreat is like a boat entering into the lock in order to rise to new heights. When I don’t enter into the locks at regular intervals my life will just keep sinking to the level of the culture around me and to the level of my own unexamined inner world. However, when I entered the lock, that is retreat, when I allow the doors to close behind me and wait quietly for my soul to be lifted by the presence of God, I find that almost imperceptibly I am buoyed to new levels. When I emerge, I may not be able to say exactly what happened, but I know that I have been lifted to new heights and my sails are straight and ready to catch the wind of the Spirit as it fills my sails.”
Perhaps what we all need after nine months of a pandemic, continued racial injustice, and increasing political division and unrest is to take 24 hours to pull into the locks, rest, be still, attend to our breath, grieve, lament, light a candle, and find our strength in quietness and trust for the continued journey.
Secondly, a retreat at this time helps us prepare for Advent, a season in which we remind ourselves and get in touch with our longings and desires for the coming of God’s kingdom in fullness. It is a season about imagining and seeing what God’s dream is for us and the world. What are you longing, waiting, and hoping for this Advent? A retreat creates space to ponder and prepare our lives for the new thing God may want to birth in and through you.

Advent Gift Box Pick-Up
2020-11-21 10:00 - 12:00, 2020-11-22 12:30 - 14:30
The Faith Formation board is offering a gift to every family at ELPC—of every age and configuration! Since we won’t get to celebrate this special season together, we are bringing Advent materials to you, so that we might pray, anticipate, and celebrate together.
Your gift will include: materials for an Advent wreath, a devotional book, some items for “Advent Actions,” crafts, treats, and a “Christmas Pageant Scavenger Hunt” so that EVERYONE can participate in our Zoom Christmas Pageant this year!
Stop by the church to pick up your box by Sunday, December 13.
If you need to pick up your box during the week or need it delivered, contact Megan Leisher or call 412.441.3800 x122.
