East Liberty Presbyterian Church

Dog Treat Baking
2024-02-11 12:00 - 14:00 (America/New_York)
Children, Youth, and Families are baking and decorating dog treats in the Good Samaritan Room following Sanctuary worship on Sunday, February 11 from 12–2 pm. We’ll be making peanut butter dog treats for Ellie’s Pet Pantry, a program at Humane Animal Rescue. Pups and their humans will be thrilled to receive the homemade treats and the love we will put into them!
This event is open to children of all ages with a parent/adult and youth in grades 4-12 may come on their own. Lunch will be provided.
Call Sara Hackett at 412.673.2926 with any questions.

LGBTQIA+ Ministry-Hosted Christian Education Class
2024-02-11 09:45 - 10:45, 2024-02-04 09:45 - 10:45, 2024-01-28 09:45 - 10:45 (America/New_York) | ELPC – McKelvy Room (114), 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
All are welcome as we have our first-ever LGBTQIA+ Ministry-hosted Christian Education series on three consecutive Sundays in late January to early February 2024. The topic will be examining what the Bible does and does not have to say about homosexuality. Come ready to learn and ask questions.

Connections @ Blues is the Roots
2024-02-10 19:30 - 21:30 (America/New_York) | O’Reilly Theater, 621 Penn Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, 15222, United States
Join ELPC’s Connections Group on Saturday, February 10, 7:30 pm, for Blues Is The Roots, presented by New Horizon’s Theater, written by Charles Dumas, and directed by Herb Newsome. The performance will be in the Helen Wayne Rauh Rehearsal Hall at the O’Reilly Theater (621 Penn Ave.) downtown in the Cultural District.
Tickets are available online at newhorizontheater.org. Please buy your own ticket in advance. They cost $35 general admission; $30 for seniors and students. We also are organizing dinner at a nearby restaurant before the show. RSVP to connectelpc@gmail.com so we’ll know to look out for you.
Buy Tickets

Taizé Prayer Service
2024-02-07 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-01-31 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-01-24 19:00 - 20:00, 2024-01-17 19:00 - 20:00 (America/Halifax) | ELPC – Chapel, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ELPC offers evening prayers with chants from Taizé every Wednesday, 7 pm, in the Chapel. The hour-long service includes sung prayers, beautiful music, a time of silence, spoken and silent prayers, and opportunities for individual prayer and anointing. For more information, view our Taizé page.
Download this week’s bulletin.

About ELPC’s Taizé Prayer Service
Our Taizé prayer service is based on a style of worship developed at the Taizé community in France founded in the 1940s by the late Brother Roger. Originally a refuge during the war, Taizé has developed into an ecumenical prayer center for visitors from all over the world. Today, the Taizé community is made up of over a hundred resident brothers, both Catholics and from various Protestant backgrounds/traditions. Taizé wants to be a sign of reconciliation between divided Christians and between separated peoples.

Cathedral Yoga
2024-02-07 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-31 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-24 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | ELPC – Sanctuary, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Yamuna Morgenstern offers Cathedral Yoga class on Wednesdays, 6–7 pm! Join her and others in the ELPC Sanctuary or your own home via Zoom (Meeting ID:893 0942 2894; password: [REDACTED] as she guides you through gentle poses. No yoga experience is necessary to enjoy the class, which Yamuna continues to offer with joy, light, and her uplifting playlists and spirit. Have a strap, scarf, or belt handy and experience time to heal your body, mind, and spirit.
Commune with the Divine through breath, gentle stretches, mindful music, and guided meditation. See you on the mat! Om shanti and Namaste.
A donation from the heart, to the church, is very much appreciated.
Join via Zoom

Club 116
2024-02-07 16:30 - 18:30, 2024-01-31 16:30 - 18:30, 2024-01-24 16:30 - 18:30, 2024-01-17 16:30 - 18:30 (America/Halifax) | East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Youth in grades 1–12 are welcome to attend an evening of fellowship, study, and worship. Programming includes homework help, open gym, educational workshops, dinner, and Bible study each week.
Participation requires a completed 2024–2025 Enrollment Form.
SCHEDULE:
3:30 pm: Gathering time, homework help, and open gym
4:30 pm: Opening worship and welcome
5:00 pm: Dinner
5:30 pm: Bible study, gym, and crafts
7:30 pm: Dismissal
Weather reminder
Club One Sixteen follows the City of Pittsburgh school closings, so if Pittsburgh schools are closed due to inclement weather, Club 116 also will be closed.

Meditation Hour
2024-02-06 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-30 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-23 18:00 - 19:00, 2024-01-16 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | ELPC – Chapel, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
“The ladder leading to the Kingdom is concealed within you, that is, in your soul”—Saint Isaac of Syria.
Meditation is the practice of “looking deeply.” In silence and withdrawal from the world of everyday concerns, we turn our attention inward and calm our bodies and minds. In this emptiness, we may see the world as if for the first time. We may see others as they are and we may find that the Kingdom of Heaven is truly within us; that we are living in God and God in us.
The Spiritual Life Committee invites you to join John Benedict in the Chapel on Tuesdays, 6–7 pm, for an hour devoted to meditation. The session will include an opening reading, silent sitting, and walking. No experience necessary, all are welcome.
John Benedict is a retired psychologist and a longtime student and practitioner of Insight Meditation.

Online Prayer Service
2024-02-06 08:00 - 08:20, 2024-01-30 08:00 - 08:20, 2024-01-23 08:00 - 08:20, 2024-01-16 08:00 - 08:20 (America/New_York) | ELPC – Online, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
ELPC offers an online prayer group each Tuesday morning, hosted by ELPC member Steve Evrard. These 20-minute sessions feature scripture readings, responsive prayer, and interactive dialogue. All are welcome at this opportunity for fellowship and prayer.
Join us by clicking the link below, or you may call in by dialing 929.205.6099. Enter meeting ID 896 9680 6662 and passcode 116 when prompted.
Join via Zoom

Lift Every Voice
2024-02-03 19:00 - 21:30 (America/New_York)
On Saturday, February 3, 7 pm, join the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and special guests for an evening that pays tribute to the spirit and richness of Black music in America—and its enduring strength in times of tumult and trouble. The concert features GRAMMY® Award winner Oleta Adams and the Lift Every Voice Unity Choir.
Learn more and buy tickets at PittsburghSymphony.org.

A Wintering Retreat
2024-02-02 18:00 - 2024-02-04 11:00 (America/New_York)
Join us for a time of rest and retreat, community and conversation, and play and prayer at the Villa Maria Retreat Center in Pulaski, Pennsylvania, Friday–Sunday, February 2–4. Lean into the simple, slow, and still rhythms of winter. Our retreat schedule will flow naturally with morning, midday, and evening prayers that gather us together and scatter us in time alone; inviting us into community; and sending us into solitude, stillness, and silence.
RSVP to Norma Meyer at 412.441.3800 x211 by Sunday, January 21. Cost Options:

1 Night: (Friday–Saturday or Saturday–Sunday) Shared Bath | $70
1 Night: (Friday–Saturday or Saturday–Sunday) Private Bath | $110
2 Nights (Friday–Sunday) Shared Bath | $85
2 Nights (Friday–Sunday) Private Bath | $135

Consider the gift and invitation of winter in the words of Katherine May: “Plants and animals don’t fight the winter; they don’t pretend it’s not happening and attempt to carry on living the same lives that they lived in the summer. They prepare. They adapt. They perform extraordinary acts of metamorphosis to get them through. Winter is a time of withdrawing from the world, maximizing scant resources, carrying out acts of brutal efficiency and vanishing from sight, but that’s where the transformation occurs. Winter is not the death of the life cycle, but its crucible.” (Source: Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times)
Here are some reflections of the gift of retreat from others:
This was the perfect opportunity to carve out a space for peace and reflection at the beginning of an always-busy time of year. The combination of solitude and community was exactly what I needed to disengage from my “shoulds” and re-engage with the blessings in my life for which I am deeply grateful. ELPC retreats are a great blend of structured and unstructured time, and that gives each person permission and opportunity to truly customize their experience; and Villa Maria is beautiful during every season.
“I am learning to change obligations, responsibilities into opportunities for which I am grateful. I am so grateful for the silence and beauty of the retreat experience.”
“On retreat at Villa Maria, I can’t help but encounter God; the beauty of its extensive land and woods, and the peace of its indoor spaces are ideal for contemplation. As an introvert, I often forget that I most frequently encounter gratitude in community. I remain grateful to have attended this retreat with this particular community. One practice from the retreat has really expanded my framework: seeing my daily obligations as opportunities. Rather than “having to” get through a daily (or weekly, etc.) to-do list, I “get to” engage in these activities. Simply rewording my obligations has immense power. This practice has made me not only grateful for my daily graces, but has highlighted the privileges I experience routinely. I look forward to the next retreat.”

Living While Black Book Launch
2024-01-28 13:30 - 15:30 (America/New_York) | ELPC – Social Hall, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
The Facing Systemic Racism (FSR) Committee and the Faith Formation Board are co-sponsoring a book launch of Beverly Harris-Schenz‘s new book, Living While Black: My Experience with Everyday Racism on Sunday, January 28, 1:30–3:30 pm, in the Social Hall.
Beverly is a member of the congregation and active in the FSR Committee. She will present an ”interactive reading” in which she will read personal stories from her book and engage the audience in a discussion of the issues presented.
All congregational members, their children, friends, and the general public are warmly invited.

JourneyDance Class ONLINE ONLY
2024-01-19 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Halifax)
Due to weather, today’s JourneyDance class will be held on Zoom. Click the button below to join.
JOIN CLASS

Join Yamuna Morgenstern for JourneyDance on the third Friday of every month from 7–8:30 pm.
Come experience one of ELPC’s unique spiritual practices and offerings. JourneyDance takes you on a journey within through playful dance in a non-judgmental environment. The playlists are designed to open up your chakras, move your Spirit, experience positive vibes, and have fun! JourneyDance is all about responding to music the way you want to respond—no rules, no groping, no ugly lyrics. Join us and dance in healthy community to release tension, feel good, relax, restore, and renew your body, mind, and spirit.
All ages and bodies are welcome. No dance experience necessary, just a joy of moving. Young children should be accompanied by their care givers. Wear comfortable clothing, and you may want to have a water bottle handy!
A donation from the heart, to the church, is very much appreciated.

NO Cathedral Yoga
2024-01-17 18:00 - 19:00 (America/New_York) | ELPC – Sanctuary, 116 South Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
Cathedral Yoga is canceled this week, January 16. We hope to resume our regular schedule next Wednesday.

Yamuna Morgenstern offers Cathedral Yoga class on Wednesdays, 6–7 pm! Join her and others in the ELPC Sanctuary or your own home via Zoom (password: [REDACTED] as she guides you through gentle poses. No yoga experience is necessary to enjoy the class, which Yamuna continues to offer with joy, light, and her uplifting playlists and spirit. Have a strap, scarf, or belt handy and experience time to heal your body, mind, and spirit.
Commune with the Divine through breath, gentle stretches, mindful music, and guided meditation. See you on the mat! Om shanti and Namaste.
A donation from the heart, to the church, is very much appreciated.
Join via Zoom

January LGBTQIA+ Ministry Spiritual Gathering
2024-01-14 12:30 - 14:30 (America/New_York) | East Liberty Presbyterian Church, 116 S. Highland Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, United States
You are invited to the next Spiritual Gathering of ELPC’s LGBTQIA+ Ministry to share food and fellowship at the church. Allies and LGBTQIA+ folks alike are welcome.
Contact Wil Forrest at 412.441.3800 X218 or Wil@coh.net to learn more, to RSVP, and/or to participate. A Zoom option will be available if expressed need is communicated to Wil before the Friday preceding the gathering.
GOD CREATED YOU. GOD LOVES YOU. BE YOURSELF.
