 Excerpts from the July 2010 issue of The Spire
InSPIREd Dear Friends, This summer marks the 35th anniversary of my ordination as a minister, and twelve years as the pastor of Smithfield UCC. Time does fly! Just two days ago I visited the office of an ophthalmologist who wanted to examine me because I was seeing some flashes of light in my peripheral vision. Turns out I have something called vitreous detachment. She says it's nothing serious, just something that's age related — "quite common in people in their eighties." Oh, brother, time does fly! I graduated from high school forty years ago. My oldest "child" is thirty years old. Time really, really does fly!  I was in an elevator yesterday with another passenger, a man in his mid-twenties, when the doors opened and a woman stepped in carrying a book bag and holding a milkshake-type drink from a fast food place. She had already consumed about a third of it. The young man asked her if she had just purchased that around the corner. When she said that she had he said, "Well, I got one of those there last week and after I drank half of it I found a roach in it." She didn't say a word. But just then the doors opened to her floor and she stepped out. As the doors closed I saw her throwing the drink in the garbage can on the other side of the hall. I have a friend who asks me the same question every time I return from a meeting, retreat, or vacation: "What did you learn?" One thing I've learned from my 58 years on the planet is that you can't discard every idea, opinion, or ambition just because somebody else had a bad experience with the same thing. I've learned to trust my core, value my experiences, fine tune my faith, and do cool stuff each and every day. In my youth I, too, would have thrown out that shake. Not today, however, and not tomorrow. I've learned to live authentically and make my own judgments. Enjoy your summer. Drink any shake you love. Sincerely,
Organ Restoration: Phase One Nears Completion All the pipes that had been strewn about the sanctuary and other areas of the building have been cleaned and returned to their rightful place in the organ chambers. An organ of this size is a complex affair and a tremendous amount of highly detailed attention has been given to each pipe. This includes cleaning, voicing, repairing, and tuning. There were also repairs to the wind chests (what the pipes sit on; filled with leather-pouched valves for each pipe), the wind reservoirs, and winding system (the mechanics of delivering air through the system). This is not to mention the electrical issues that have been attended to. Part two of phase one will be much smaller and will involve the choir division located on the pulpit side of the chancel. There are some repairs in that chamber which we are hoping to complete by the end of summer. When they are finished, phase one of the current organ project will be completed. Over the next several years we will focus on phase two: rebuilding the swell division (currently not playable) located high on the pulpit side of the chancel. The great news is that we are being responsible stewards of this magnificent instrument so that those who come after us will also get to hear its glorious music. It will all be done step by step. The work on this project has been done in an inspired fashion by Walt Adkins and Associates. We are grateful to them and also our own Jon Colburn for his dedicated and skillful coordination of many aspects of this project. — Jim Varner Huellas Latinas Concert Series  Carlos Feliciano and Liz Benvin, two members of the Smithfield Church Choir, have joined talents to form The Huellas Latinas Concert Series. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Carlos Feliciano, our tenor soloist, the organization will present a series of concerts focusing on Spanish and Latin American classical and folkloric music. Its mission is to unite the community and promote Hispanic culture through music by creating programs dedicated to celebrating historically important dates and events of the Latin American and Spanish culture. Students from CAPA will have an opportunity to showcase their talents in conjunction with local professional artists, and students in the communication departments of local universities will write articles about the concert series and promote them on the upcoming HLCS website. Latin American and Spanish composers have been invited to participate in the concert series by composing new music. In addition, local restaurants will be invited to sponsor the receptions following the concerts, giving audiences an opportunity to interact with the performers over authentic cuisine. Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. at Smithfield United Church of Christ. Tentative dates and musical focuses of the five concerts are:
November 20, 2010: Music of Puerto Rico January 15, 2011: Art Songs influenced by Spanish poetry March 12, 2011: Ariel Ramirez and music of Argentina May 7, 2011 - Music of Mexico and s de Mayo! The Spire — A View from the Top
There are many things that make Smithfield United Church of Christ unique: its people, its history, and of course, its architecture. Over the past few months, The Spire has been examining the many stained glass windows that line the sanctuary. In this issue, The Spire shifts its focus to the exterior of 620 Smithfield Street. 
Built in 1925 and designed by noted Pittsburgh architect Henry Hornbostel, the current Smithfield United Church of Christ is home to many architectural marvels. Yet none are more striking than the building's crowning glory: the spire. Constructed of aluminum with steel supports, the 80-foot high spire has the distinction of being the first architectural use of aluminum in the world. "The spire is both powerful and delicate, a rare balance in an architectural feature," notes church archivist Donn Neal. The original design called for the entire spire to be made of aluminum, but building codes coupled with the relative uncertainty of aluminum as a building material dictated otherwise. In the end, the spire frame was built of steel and the panels were made of aluminum. During the 1930s, the spire was regarded as so valuable and noteworthy that it even had its own insurance policy. Curiously, the policy was against the building being hit by aircraft. The spire is Smithfield's calling card, an immediately recognizable landmark visible from many points downtown. As the skyline of Pittsburgh changes, the spire remains a constant. It continues to pique the curiosity of passers-by and draw in visitors from out-of-town. From its finely detailed Gothic-style pre-cast stone exterior to its historic rose window to the spire, Smithfield Church has an embarrassment of architectural riches. For anyone interested in visiting the building, the church is open Monday-Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Smithfield School update  An exciting new curriculum from the United Church of Christ, Faith Practices, is coming to Smithfield School this fall! Smithfield School resumes Sunday, September 12, at 9:45 a.m. with learning opportunities for children, youth, and adults. You won't want to miss a single week! For an early preview, see http://www.ucc.org/education/practices/ See the sitemap for earlier issues of the newsletter
6/24/10 |
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– through you and me!