 from the January 2007 issue of The Spire
InSPIREd Dear Friends, 2007 is a year of significant anniversaries. In January, the 18th to be exact, Ramona and I will celebrate ten years of marriage. I'm sure it seems more like seventy to her (I'm told I'm not the easiest person to live with), but it certainly has been the best ten years of my life!
Our own Women's Fellowship should be recognized for their 120 years of service to this congregation. I tease Doris Duncan by introducing her to others as a charter member of this great group of ladies who meet on Thursdays working on crafts and mission projects. All of us are indebted to them for the numerous ways in which they corporately live out their faith. Of course, our congregation will engage in a year-long observance of 225 years of witness and ministry to our great city. Smithfield is the oldest congregation in Pittsburgh, officially organized in 1782. And we've been in the same location since 1787, on land given to us by members of the William Penn family. No other organization has spoken with more clarity, or expressed more confidence in the welfare of the metropolitan area than ours. Many anniversary activities have been planned. Enjoy! On a personal note; I'm sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are deeply grateful to Liddy Barlow for her four months of service to our church through her work in our church office. Although her time with us was brief, her accomplishments were outstanding! Liddy, as most of you know, is preparing for ordained ministry in the United Church of Christ. The congregations she'll serve will truly be blessed. Sincerely, Get Ready to Celebrate: Our 225th Anniversary Begins Conway Keibler and I have the honor and the privilege of leading Smithfield's 225th anniversary committee. We are very excited about this upcoming year and have been blessed with a very energetic and talented group. The group's mission is to raise awareness of our church and the great things we're doing, to continue to build membership, and to have an even greater impact on the Pittsburgh region. It is our intent to celebrate our rich history but really to focus on our rich future! We expect to have a fun and entertaining year, and we are planning things for the young, old, and everyone in between. Each month will have a theme that we will be planning around (January will be Community, February will be Education, March will be Diversity, and April will be Environment). We have almost locked down the first quarter's events and are planning a lot of activities both inside and outside of Sunday worship. So keep an eye out – you won't want to miss them. As soon as we get a final schedule, we'll get it out to you.
We have a lot to celebrate. Our congregation is celebrating its 225th year, Women's Fellowship is celebrating its 120th year, our building is celebrating its 80th year and the UCC is celebrating its 50th year. However, the most important thing that we have to celebrate is God's love for us. This celebration really is about the future and what's in store for this beacon of light in downtown Pittsburgh. I hope that you will be inspired and join us in this years festivities and help us to Glenn Callihan Notes from the Next Steps Committee: How Our Building Can Better Serve Smithfield's Ministries and Programs
The architects' study also identified ways in which our building does not meet the needs of Smithfield's ministries and programs. This should not be surprising, since what was a state-of-the-art facility when it was completed in 1927 has only been minimally updated in the years since, most recently with the remodeling of the fellowship hall and Sunday school areas in the early 1960s. Listed below are some of the building improvements that the study identified as priorities if Smithfield is to fully carry out our mission as a vital downtown church and home for key social services – shelter, food, education, health, drug and alcohol addiction:
Total cost of all needs identified in the building study exceeds $9 million; these program-related items constitute slightly less than half of that amount. This is a breathtaking sum that far exceeds any project undertaken by Smithfield since our construction of the current building in the 1920s. But what some call needs, others see as opportunities. The Next Steps Committee is now exploring ways in which Smithfield's congregation and the larger Pittsburgh community can act on these opportunities for renewal and growth. The Next Steps Committee: Women's Fellowship Marks 120 Years of Friendship and Service Next year is the year of anniversaries. Our church will be celebrating 225 years of existence and 2007 will also mark 120 years since the of the founding of Women's Fellowship.
We have a couple of new people coming to work on the Linus Project and a few ladies are working on blankets at home We stay after church on the third Sunday and we meet on Thursdays. We can always use monetary help to buy supplies and any bright, pretty material suitable for children is always welcome. Dee Fickley Providing Warmth to Children in Need As many of you know, Project Linus is a worldwide ongoing project that provides homemade quilts and blankets to children who are traumatized or seriously ill. The quilts and blankets that we in Women's Fellowship make are sent to hospitals and fire departments in the Pittsburgh area. I recently discovered just how important our blankets can be. My friend Bernice got a much dreaded call one morning a few weeks ago from her son-in-law in California that her four-month-old grandson, Jackson, was in the hospital in critical condition. He had been eating and suddenly started to bleed from the nose and mouth, choking on the blood. His father performed CPR, and he was rushed to the hospital.
When they were getting little Jackson ready to go home, the nurse said that the quilt in the crib was for them to keep. It was a very lovely hand-worked quilt and it pleased Alice to have it. Bernice looked at it and saw that it was a Linus quilt made by loving hands from a women's group like ours in a nearby church. She was excited, telling Alice and the nurse that I was in a similar group making blankets and quilts for our local children. I know of two other little children in our area that have also received Linus blankets; it gives me a warm happy feeling to know that my work might give comfort to a child. Dee Fickley Join a Mission Trip Hurricanes Katrina and Rita are still very real in Mississippi and Louisiana. This winter, you can help the ongoing recover efforts by joining a mission trip sponsored by the Penn West Conference.
Participants will cover their own expenses during the trip and share in the cost of the vans or trucks the group will use for travel. Participants should express interest as soon as possible, and need to make final commitments by January 20. For more information, call Sherm Dick at 814-793-2463. Donations to help the mission team cover expenses can be sent to the conference office. Church Receives Generous Bequests Sadly, recent years have seen the passing of Helen Dunlap and Russell Schultz, two long-time Smithfield members who are still familiar to many current members of our congregation. Both were known as wonderful people who truly loved Smithfield United Church of Christ. Recently, we found out that both Helen and Russell would continue to bless the church for generations to come through the designation of Smithfield United Church of Christ as the recipient of their estates. Since they have no surviving immediate family to thank, we wanted to bring their gifts to the congregation's attention. Although some arrangements are still being finalized, the scope of their generous gifts are quite large. Helen left her estate of over $100,000 in the form of a cash gift, which will help to fund several ongoing repairs to the church, with the remainder to be deposited into the portfolio to support the church in years to come. Russell left his estate in the form of a trust, with the church as the sole income recipient. We are expecting to receive roughly $18,000 per year, which will provide much-needed support for our operations, mission, and ministries. We ask God's blessing on Helen Dunlap and Russell Schultz and pray that all members of the Smithfield family will remember their kindness and generosity. Dave Cavenaugh, Church Treasurer Be a Star on UCCTUBE The United Church of Christ is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. As part of the fun, the denomination is looking for short videos about what UCC identity means to church members. The videos are being posted on the Web site YouTube, and some will be shown at the church's General Synod in Connecticut this summer. Liddy Barlow, our former church secretary, made two UCC videos as part of a contest at Andover Newton Theological School; you can see them here. No special equipment is needed to make the videos: just a digital camera or even a cell phone. Perhaps we can make and submit a Smithfield UCC video – or two, or three, or more! – to add to the excitement. For more information, visit UCC Tube.
The city of Pittsburgh is making a promise to inner city students. Did you hear it on the news? The promise is that students will be able to have their college educations paid for if they meet certain criteria (which I understand are yet to be determined). What a promise! When I heard the news story this week, I was thrilled, because it means a future for many families who are struggling to find their way. A promise is based on a relationship of trust. In our relationships, we make promises to love, to forgive, to walk together. Behind every promise, there is a ton of hope, courage, and guidance from God. In this winter season, renewed by the experience of the birth of Christ, we remember that we are people whose faith is nurtured by promises. We trust that God has brought us to this point, and we believe in God's promise to carry us in the future. We are also a people who make promises. We promise to make life better, not only for ourselves but also for our community, the city, the country, and beyond.
What if we claimed Strawberry Way and had a European Christmas Market, inviting all the city's artists to come sell their work? What if Strawberry Way were a fresh air market when fruits and vegetables were in season? What if our building were the home for . . . ? Who are we and why do we exist as a congregation? I believe that we exist to serve beyond the walls of our church building. I believe that we exist not to just repair a building, beautiful as it is. I believe that we exist to make bold promises that come from our Spirit life together. I wonder what those promises will be . . . Yours sincerely, Liddy Barlow Says Farewell Thank you so much for the gift you presented to me on my last Sunday here at Smithfield, and for all your kind words of praise. My husband Greg and I are so grateful for your generosity, which will make my final semester of seminary much easier. I have had a wonderful time as your secretary these past four months; it's been a delight to get to know each of you and to experience life at a downtown church. Congratulations on your 225th birthday - it is obvious from your enthusiasm and dedication that you can look forward to a future even brighter than your past. Yours sincerely, (Rev. Doug Patterson presents Liddy with a thank-you gift during worship on her last day at work. During her brief time in the office, Liddy worked to prepare a new pictorial church directory, performed a comprehensive membership audit, and made improvements to The Spire newsletter. She is returning to Boston to finish her divinity degree.)
2/5/07 |
It also is the year that our denomination, the United Church of Christ, gives thanks for fifty years of ministry. Although our heritage goes back to the Puritans, our UCC identity was solidified by a merger of like-minded churches who believed that a more cohesive body could proclaim the message of freedom and responsibility in an increasingly powerful way. On Sunday, April 15, 
We do have some important dates already that you should mark off on your calendar. Please plan on joining us on January 7 for our kick-off celebration. We will have the Horace Turner jazz ensemble during worship. On April 15, the General Minister and President of the UCC, John Thomas, will be preaching. (He is the closest thing we have to a pope!) Plan on getting to church early that day as we are expecting to have a lot of visitors from other UCC churches in the area. On October 28, the Rev. Pete Weaver, who served as pastor here from 1977 to 1988, will be preaching. This is another special treat and we expect a high attendance, so get here early! 
In previous articles about Smithfield's building needs identified by Strada Architects in their recently completed study we have focused on issues that many agree to be critical priorities: first, making the building safe and sound – particularly the exterior masonry – and, second, making the building more accessible to persons with disabilities.
The ladies through the years have supported the church in all ways including buying carpets for the social hall and Sunday school rooms, purchasing a freezer and other equipment for the kitchen, and, just recently, providing high chairs for the little ones. We are a very small group but dedicated to helping out when able.
Bernice and her husband made all the necessary arrangements and flew out to be with their daughter Alice and her husband. After a couple of terrifying days at the hospital while they did tests, it was decided that it had to be a simple nosebleed and that Jackson was going to be all right. They plan on keeping a close eye on him and doing another test in coming weeks.
Organized and led by Sherman Dick, a member of Salem United Church of Christ in Martinsburg, the mission trip to Ocean Springs, Mississippi, will depart on February 10 and return on February 17. Participants will work on relief projects in Ocean Springs from Monday through Friday. Both skilled craftspeople and general laborers are needed.
From the President's Pen: Smithfield Promise
Dear Friends,
– through you and me!