Smithfield School notes

Smithfield School came to a close on May 11. Children's activities will continue through May. From June through August children over the age of 2 will remain with their families during worship. Activity bags will be provided to help keep them quietly occupied during worship.

Read the on-line edition of the April 2008 DIDACHE
– the Smithfield School newsletter.

Register your K-5 children for Pittsburgh's first-ever ecumenical Vacation Bible School "Camp Downtown: A City Walk with Jesus," June 23-27, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the First Lutheran Church. The children will explore the many cities in Jesus' life. Each day will feature music, crafts, stories, lunch, and excursions in the downtown neighborhood.

Smithfield UCC offers scholarships to church members and friends who are pursuing higher education. The application deadline for the 2008-2009 school year is June 1.

Read the letter of invitation and statement of requirements
and download the application (.pdf format).
Application forms are also available at the Hospitality Center in the church's entry lobby.

"And the children shall lead them – Pentecost 2008"
a photo story

Friday, June 6, is the date of our annual Strawberry Festial on Strawberry Way. Plan to join us between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. for shortcake, ice cream sundaes, delicious food, a bake sale, crafts, and of course live music by Horace Turner and the All Stars.

The Spire for May 2008

Keep in touch with what's happened or is about to happen at Smithfield Church.
Read this on-line edition of the current newsletter.

From the UCC national office

John Thomas, General Minister and President of the UCC, has written a letter entitled "Our Broad Range of Emotions," his thoughtful response to the controversy around the Rev. Jeremiah Wright. Read it here.

Read the UCC's full-page ad "Telling the UCC Story" recently published in The New York Times and the USA Today ad regarding a UCC-wide and ecumenical focus on race in the United States on Trinity Sunday, May 18.

Weekly opportunities

UCC Coffee Project –
Our congregation participates in this program, offering coffee, tea, and chocolate at reasonable prices and guaranteeing fair compensation to growers in developing countries. These "Equal Exchange" products are available Sunday mornings in the Social Hall. For more information about the project, see http://www.equalexchange.com/ucc


The sanctuary is open for meditation and prayer Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

Wednesdays, from 12:10 - 12:30 p.m., we offer a brief service for business people, shoppers, and passers-by who may want to spend part of their lunch hour in a restorative and spiritual way.

Thursday mornings, Women's Fellowship meets in the Blue Room to sew, knit, and crochet blankets for Project Linus, a national nonprofit organization that gives the blankets to seriously ill and traumatized children. All are welcome. Unable to attend weekday meetings? You can be among those making blankets at home.

Monthly opportunities

Last-Monday-of-the-month (watch for possible change in date) with a second discussion following worship the following Sunday: Smithfield's Brown-Bag Book Club with Liddy Barlow in the church library (behind and to the right of the first floor Social Hall). The club's next book is Plan B by Anne Lamott.

Thursdays: Smithfield Drum Circle meets with Jim Donovan at noon. The cost is $10 per person and drums are provided. Accomplished drummers as well as beginners and all those in between participate. Specific date each month will be announced in this space.

Community opportunities

May 20: Pittsburgh Festival Orchestra Bach's Lunch Concert featuring concert pianist Becky Billock. Doors open at noon with the concert beginning at 12:30. A $10 donation is suggested. It includes a complimentary box lunch if reserved ahead of time by e-mailing pgh.bachs.lunch@gmail.com. All proceeds benefit the Festival Orchestra.

June 1: Downtown Ministerium Festival on Strawberry Way for members and clients the downtown churches as well as Bethlehem Haven and other public and non-profit downtown service organizations. A sign-up sheet, information, and admission bracelets are available at the Visitors Center after the service. Reservations must be made by May 18. Donations will be appreciated.


Stay informed about hunger-related policy and legislative issues – both nation wide and state-related.
Pennsylvania Association of Regional Food Banks
Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center
Sign up for America's Second Harvest e-newsletter and action alerts

Why do state and national policy and budgeting issues matter to Smithfield Church?

Here in Pennsylvania the State Food Purchase Program enables the state's private charitable food distribution network, which includes our Walk-in Ministry, to provide nutritionally balanced food packages to low-income families, children, seniors, and those with disabilities.

Nationally, funding for the Emergency Funding Assistance Program helps make up for the erosion in commodity purchasing power and the loss of bonus commodity donations to local food banks. As the Farm Bill moves towards a final vote in the House and Senate this week, President Bush has signaled that he will veto the bill, and so the House and Senate will need to muster enough votes to override the veto.

The bill calls for more than $10 billion in funding for federal nutrition programs and critical reforms to the Food Stamp Program, both to provide much needed relief to the 35 million Americans facing food insecurity this year. Rapidly increasing fuel and food prices and the nation’s economic slowdown are making it increasingly difficult for many struggling families, seniors, and disabled individuals to make ends meet. Further complicating the situation are the rising prices of vital staples – wheat and corn products, milk, and rice in particular – because of world-wide shortages.

Civilian deaths

New to Smithfield? Parked in the garage?
Make the Hospitality Center your first stop.

Access

• Bulletins and hymns for the day are available in large print.
• Portable listening devices are likewise available.
• The worship service is recorded and saved to CDs. Copies are available through the church office.
• An elevator by the church's front entrance makes our second floor sanctuary accessible for anyone who has difficulties with stairs.

Parking

We're at 620 Smithfield Street. If you park in the public garage across from the church, bring your parking ticket with you, have it validated at the Hospitality Center when you enter the building, and be charged only $1 for parking.

Please note: if you exit the garage onto Smithfield Street, a one-way street, you must turn left into the middle lane. The lane nearest the parking garage is a bus-only lane headed in the wrong direction.

On Sundays, limited on-street parking is available on Smithfield Street.

Directions to the church

SITEMAP (Index of pages)
Many pages about past events are no longer directly accessible, but they may still be available. Check the Sitemap for them. For example, it is still possible to read the pages about the aftermath of the January fire, newsletters back to January 2007, and the 2007 intergenerational Christmas pageant. The sitemap is also a good place to start if you want to go directly to a particular page.

  We are committed participants
  in the United Church of Christ's
  God is still speaking initiative.

  "Never place a period where God has placed a comma."
                                                                      Gracie Allen


Questions or concerns? Call us at 412-281-1811