 from the April 2010 issue of The Spire
InSPIREd Dear Friends,  I haven't seen one lately, but every once in a great while you'll see one on somebody's desk or even in a classroom. I'm talking about a device called "Newton's Cradle" or, more commonly, an "Executive Ball Clicker." Five steel balls are suspended by two wires each from a framework of metal or wood. The balls, touching each other, remain motionless until one is lifted up and released. As it falls it strikes the other four causing the ball on the other end to swing up and away from the three in the middle, which appear to remain motionless. Scientifically, this demonstrates conservation of momentum and, to me at least, the more fascinating principle of energy transfer. Two balls on opposite ends react to one another through the energy transfer of motionless objects. And our attention is focused on the balls on either end, paying little attention to the ones in the middle. You've probably experienced this in your life and wondered how it can happen. You might be emotionally happy, ecstatic even, but somebody says something to you and the very next thing you know, you're depressed and angry. One ball goes down and another one comes up. An athletic team scores at the buzzer and rushes onto the court to celebrate but, upon further review, is informed that the shot was no good because it came after time was out and their thrill of victory is immediately changed to the agony of defeat. One ball goes down and another one comes up. Jesus was alive, and then he was dead. Jesus was dead, and then he was alive. One ball goes down, and another one comes up. Life and death: what a phenomenal transfer of energy! That's what the Easter message is really all about. You say you want stability in your life, with no highs and lows — no surprises? Boring. As you experience all that life has to offer, be continually grateful that God's energy is moving through you. Sincerely, Special Music Planned for Easter Sunday Dear Friends,  As many of you know, the work on our pipe organ will not be completed until sometime after Easter. However, the choir has been working on some wonderful anthems for Palm Sunday and Easter. We've been concentrating on the works of Will C. Macfarlane and Harold Friedell, two giants who are responsible for some of the finest American sacred choral compositions of the early to mid-20th century. Both were New York City musicians holding important church positions. On Palm Sunday, the quartet sang Friedell's ":The Way to Jerusalem,": a powerful rendition of the events of that dramatic day. On Easter, the full choir will be singing a large a cappella anthem, ":Open Our Eyes": by Macfarlane. Also on Easter, the quartet will be singing another Friedell piece during communion: ":Come, My Way, My Truth, My Life,": a beautiful setting of the George Herbert (1593-1633) text. The service will conclude with the piece ":I Have Joy in the Morning": by Natalie Sleeth. However, I believe that thrilling hymn singing is at the core of our worship experience. That means: Come! Participate! Sing! See you in church. Peace and joy, Be Part of a Hospitality Team Our hospitality program is looking for friendly people to serve on a Hospitality Team. Team members welcome people, answer questions, and guide visitors to programs, coffee, and whatever is needed. In addition team members serve as ushers and collect the offering during worship. Being a team member is a great way to meet people. We are looking to add several new members to replace people who are no longer able to volunteer because of a transfer, illness, or other reasons. Volunteers are asked to commit to about 8 Sundays a year. Scheduling is flexible and training is provided. If you are interested, please contact Regina Sewall or the church office.
Dear Friends, When I was a junior in college, I studied abroad in Ireland and Northern Ireland for my spring semester. I spent the month of March meeting with individuals and groups in the North on both sides of the conflict. Military police, paramilitaries, and hatred preached from the pulpit took a huge toll on me. This cyclical violence and hatred was central in my thoughts when entering my rural home stay in county Galway. In contrast to the guns and riots and self-righteous "us" and "them" propaganda, I found quiet.  I spent the first few days walking around the countryside and allowing the physical tension in my body to slowly release. I sat in ruined cloisters and listened to birds, a sound I hadn't even realized I missed. And then on Sunday morning, I got up and walked to a local church for Easter service. I don't remember the service being all that extraordinary, but I do remember the feeling of singing a familiar hymn. After months of hearing about and speaking with people who used religion as a way to maintain centuries-old barriers, I was completely caught off guard by the simple joy of faithful communion. So many people have faced tougher times than ever this past year, and losing yourself in negative experiences can sometimes feel unavoidable. I hope that each Sunday you are able to find some small piece of the comfort I felt on that rainy Easter. Yours sincerely, Meet the Members of Your Church Council Our 2010 church council was voted into office at the congregational meeting of January 10. Last month, we featured four members of the council. Here are four more of the men and women who have stepped forward to guide our church into this new decade. Rebecca Flowers is the newly-elected president of the council. "I love coming every Sunday to a place where I can feel a strong sense of community," she said. "I hope that we can be a place of spiritual growth and sanctuary." Rebecca has been married to her husband, Eric, for almost five years. She works as a speech-language pathologist with adults who have had strokes and traumatic brain injuries. Rebecca enjoys singing (she is a soprano in our choir) and "anything outdoors - hiking, camping, etc. - as long as it doesn't involve heights." John Axtell is the council treasurer, a role he took on in 2008 after previously serving as facilities chair. John's great-grandparents, Philip and Beth Osterling, were members of Smithfield from the 1870s through the early 1900s. "As Pittsburgh's downtown UCC church, Smithfield and its members can help those in need and be peacemakers in our community and beyond," John said. "I hope that Smithfield's congregation can make wise decisions about the difficult challenges and great opportunities that lie ahead for us." John and his family (wife Diana and daughter Sarah) love to travel and enjoyed a recent visit to Germany. Jon Colburn has been on council for two years and serves as facilities chair, taking care of our aging building's many needs. He came to Smithfield shortly after moving to Pittsburgh from Muskegon, Michigan. "The 'UCC' in Smithfield UCC is what got me in the door, the architecture brought me back, and the people keep me coming!" he said. This year, Jon said, "I will work toward the formation of a Capital Campaign committee. We must find funding to fix and improve our building so it will continue to house vital ministries in downtown Pittsburgh." Jon recently celebrated nine years with his partner, David Anderson. He is an enthusiastic tenor vocalist, and has sung in choirs at various churches for over thirty years. Jeanette Thomas is new to the church council. She serves as council secretary, taking minutes of meetings and being sure all records are up to date. Jeanette said that "Doug's sermons always inspire me," and that she hopes to see the congregation grow in the coming year. Professionally, Jeanette has owned her own company, Tachyon Solutions, for nineteen years, designing and supporting e-commerce Web sites. She has two children, age 24 and 20, and loves to ride her bike. Read about more church council members in the next issue of The Spire! A Team Effort Brings Easter Gift Baskets to Our Shut-Ins There are many members of Smithfield UCC who are in fragile health and cannot come to worship on a regular basis, if at all. So, Smithfield UCC goes to them, in the person of Rev. Susan Cherian, Rev. Doug Patterson, and other members of the congregation who visit our shut-ins in hospitals, nursing facilities, and homes. Last year, Susan made 174 visits, bringing company, conversation, prayer, and Holy Communion. At Easter and Christmas, Susan visits each person on our list - seventeen in all - to deliver special gifts. Often, these gifts are prepared by the members of Women's Fellowship. This year, however, our Easter gifts were a true team effort, involving people from age 3 to age 83 in the creation of Easter baskets! First, our children made baskets during Pilgrim Adventures, the educational activity period during the worship service for children age 3 through grade 3. During Lent, the children have been exploring each of the spiritual disciplines that the adults have explored, and making baskets was the perfect way to exemplify the discipline of charity. With markers, crayons, stickers, and pipe cleaners, they decorated the baskets with great gusto. After worship, the members of Women's Fellowship filled each basket with special treats: chocolate crosses, eggs full of jelly beans, and other seasonal delights. Then, Susan delivered the baskets to all the shut-ins on.: By working together, we were able to bring Easter cheer to our Smithfield friends who need it. Happy Easter to one and all! Rev. Liddy Barlow Prepares for Summer Maternity Leave — Rev. Liddy Barlow and her husband Greg will welcome their first child this May, and Liddy will be on maternity leave for the months of May, June, and July. She is looking forward to having time to adjust to motherhood and to get to know her new daughter. In accordance with UCC personnel guidelines, Liddy's leave will be a blend of paid and unpaid time away from work. "Having met with Liddy, I know we can all rest assured that she has everything for our education programs for adults and children organized," said Connie Connelly, Smithfield's personnel chair. "She has people lined up and ready to do their jobs to help her through this wonderful period of time." Liddy might be away from Smithfield, but our educational ministries are not taking a break! There are many ways you can be involved in educational opportunities for children, youth, and adults this spring and summer, whether as a leader or a participant. Smithfield School will continue through Pentecost, May 23. Classes for children, youth, and adults will be offered each week at 9:45. (The only exception will be Marathon Sunday, May 3, when classes will be cancelled due to street closures.) Rev. Doug Patterson plans to offer a special adult Bible study on the book of Proverbs during May. You won't want to miss it! Children's Chapel and Pilgrim Adventures will also continue through Pentecost, under the able leadership of Adriane Harrison and volunteer adventure assistants. The children will be exploring Jesus' parables. On Pentecost, we will again celebrate Smithfield School Sunday as we recognize the leaders who have given so much of their time and energy to make our education programs great. If you would like to help organize this event, please speak with Liddy. Throughout the summer months, we will offer worship activity bags for children during Sunday worship. A team of leaders will be helping to prepare the bags each week, keeping them stocked with fun learning activities. Camp Downtown, our Vacation Bible School program, will take place June 21-25 for campers in Kindergarten through grade 6 and youth counselors in grades 7-12. Many adult leaders are needed to make Camp Downtown a success! Please speak with Liddy if you would like to get involved in helping to plan or lead the camp. Liddy will return to Smithfield on Sunday, August 1, and looks forward to preparing for the launch of the new Smithfield School program year on Sunday, September 12. Ostomy Society Provides Support to Surgery Survivors For at least the past 20 years, the Pittsburgh Ostomy Society has met in our Social Hall on the third Sunday of every month. The group numbers 175 members from throughout greater Pittsburgh. We spoke with the group's president, Terry Soffa, to find out more about the society's activities. Q: What is the Ostomy Society? A: We are a non-profit, self-help group that is dedicated to the rehabilitation of persons having some form of ostomy surgery. We offer mutual aid, informative meetings, appropriate literature, and moral (and sometimes financial) support. Q: How do prospective members find out about the society? A: We have a trifold brochure that we distribute to local colorectal surgeons, gastroenterologists, and urologists: the doctors who perform ostomy surgeries. We try to get our message and pamphlets into those doctors' offices. There are also nurses at all the local hospitals who are specialists at taking care of ostomy patients, and we work closely with them. We also work with some of the local suppliers of ostomy products. Q: What are some of the society's activities? A: If someone has recently had the surgery and needs someone to talk to, our visitation chairman matches him or her with someone around the same age who had the same surgery, for moral support. We also have a lecture committee whose members go out and talk to student nurses; they explain to them what we do and what ostomy surgery is. [The surgery] isn't really covered closely in their regular schooling, so there are a few nursing schools that regularly call on us. At our monthly meetings, we always have a speaker. In March, the speaker came from the American Cancer Society. A lot of our members are cancer survivors and had ostomies because of cancer, but many are not: they had the surgery because of Crohn's disease, diverticulitis, accidents, and so on. After the speaker, we break for refreshments and round-table discussions. We try to have nurses attending each meeting, so if people have personal problems they can discuss them with the nurses. Q: Why does the group meet at Smithfield UCC? A: Being downtown, it's in the middle of the north, south, east, and west: people can come to a central location. There's great public transportation. And our meetings are on a Sunday, so it isn't usually crowded like it is during the week. Q: What value does the society have for its members? A: People who really need help in adjusting [to having an ostomy] get that benefit, at first. Most of us who have been in there for a long time get the satisfaction of helping others who are having problems. Most people who come in to our meetings and see us fluttering around are surprised: you can't even tell that anyone's got an ostomy. It makes us feel good to be able to help. See the sitemap for earlier issues of the newsletter
3/26/10 |
From the President's Pen
– through you and me!