Three Simple Rules: Rule # 1 Do No Harm

Good Morning Church Family!

I hope you are well and blessed this day after a wonderful weekend! Yesterday was a great day all around (other than the Steelers losing)! Rally Day kicked off with joy around this place and our Church picnic was well attended by many hungry church goers! We had enough food, didn't we?

Our worship time centered around the new series "Three Simple Rules." Yesterday's focus in Sunday School and worship was on "Do No Harm" If you have been reading the Three Simple Rules book given to you by your church last month, you will have read that Job calls us to examine the way you live and practice your faith. To do no harm is a proactive response to all that is evil- all that is damaging and destructive to humankind and God's good creation, and ultimately destructive to us. Job also calls us to be on guard so that your actions and even your silence will not add injury to another of God's children or to any part of God's creation. We are called as Christians to bring healing instead of hurt. I'd like to thank Jeremy Peffer for his imagination and video of "Butler Dad." It is a spoof off of the now famous "Pittsburgh Dad." Jeremy's video's have given us a taste and will continue to give us a taste of these three rules in "Butler Dad" fashion! Great work on the "Do No Harm" video! You can see it here:  Butler Dad - Do No Harm

Yesterday, Stacey Burk, Staff-Pastor-Parish Relations Chair presented each of our paid staff a token of our appreciation for all the hard work and commitment they have to Christ Community! We thank our paid staff for their love and dedication to Christ Community and to our Lord Jesus Christ!

Kaylee Aul shared her gift of signing with music in our 11:00 a.m. worship. Thank you Kaylee for your talent!

Yesterday's picnic was just incredible! Thanks to Linda Carrigan for her leadership in this picnic and to the picnic planning team! A few rain showers came and went, but the food, fellowship, music, "Laugh-In," ice cream, games and face painting were a hit! A special thank you to Kaleido Kone Creamery for donating the ice cream and cart for us! Kaleido Kone Creamery  Also, we would like to thank Christine for her great talent of facepainting and balloon twisting! A great crowd from our church attended! Jon Hiser and Arlene Sutton took some great pics! I will include some below!

Connect @ Christ Community on Wednesday Nights!

This Wednesday, we kick off Wednesday Nights @ Christ Community! A new ministry here! Dinner will be at 5:30-6:30. Adult choir is dismissed at 6:15 p.m. Our classes and children's ministry begins at 7:00 p.m. Dismissal will be 8:15 p.m. or before depending on your class. We welcome you all to come out Wednesday night for a great new way to grow in your faith!

Next Sunday, in worship and Sunday School we will examine Rule #2 in your Three Simple Rules book: "Do Good." Hope to see you along the journey somewhere this week! It is an honor to serve and lead as your pastor.

click on each picture to enlarge

Labor Day E-News

Good Evening!

I hope you are well and blessed as you read this week's E-news! It was a great weekend to be together in worship!

A special thank you to Jon Pincek for leading us with special music at the 11:00 a.m. worship.

Our focus yesterday in worship centered around Traditions. So often, we take tradition, which are an essential part of our faith development as Wesleyan United Methodists (Wesleyan Quadrilaterial) and let tradition cloud our opportunity to grow closer to God. I took the example of the electronic organ. In the late 1800's, the electric organ began to be seen in larger churches. It was thought of as an ungodly instrument by many and those many people strained their faith journey because the traditional piano was being replaced by something new and they would not get past the "tradition" of the piano in worship.People allowed an instrument to close off any possible avenue of growing in their faith journey. Over the years, the organ has won the hearts of many, but as time moves on, it's things like drums, video projectors, new ways of worship that can replace the issues churches faced in the late 1800's. How do we deal with "tradition?"

In Mark 7, the Pharisees were so disheartened by the disciples not washing their hands before they ate. Jesus quoted Isaiah by saying, "They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." The Pharisees and scribes were worried about clean (hygiene) hands and Jesus centered around creating and keeping a clean heart.

Do we just "go through the motions" or are we truly making attempts to grow in faith?

Tuesday, September 4, we welcome our Super Sprouts Preschool back! It's our largest group yet!

This weekend is a big weekend at Christ Community! It's Rally Day! Sunday School begins this Sunday! Our new series, 3 Simple Rules begins in worship!

We also have a church picnic! First one in years! Come on out to Meridian Vets Club to be a part of the fun! Bring a covered dish, tableware and your lawn chair! We will have games, facepainting by Christine, music and so much more! Spend the day with your church family!

Next Wednesday, September 12 is the kickoff to our new Wednesday Nights @ Christ Community! Dinner begins at 5:30 and goes through 6:30 p.m. Choir is 6:15-7:00 p.m. and Classes begin at 7:00 p.m. Nursery is available too! We would love to see you there!

Have a blessed week church and know what an honor it is to serve and lead as your pastor.

Multiply!

Good Morning Church Family!

I pray this finds you well and blessed this day! Yesterday, we concluded our Christians Got Talent Series with a focus on "Multiply." Each of you have been given "talent(s)." As with the Parable of the Talents, each of us have a responsibility to yield a return on those by utilizing what God has blessed us with.

How well will you use yours? Yesterday, we got to watch talent all around the church. At both services, Dave and Lil Griffith used their acting talent to encourage each of us to come to the church picnic on Sunday, September 9 at 1:00 p.m. at the Meridian Vets Club! Dr. Bob Todd also discussed the Mosquito Run this weekend. If you would like to register, go to www.wpaumc.org

At the early service, we heard the always talented praise band! We were also blessed to watch Sydney and Alayna dance after the message. We also welcomed Sara Buffington into membership on Profession of Faith!

At the 11:00 worship, we listened to Marilyn Stephenson on Organ and Deb Pincek on Piano! Our summer hymnsing is in full swing! Thank you all for submitting some of your favorites! The Mens' Quartet sang two pieces during worship! Thanks Jim Sams, Ken Killby and Jon Pincek!

Mark your calendars for Wednesday, September 12! Our new Wednesday Nights begin! Class listings and sign-ups are in the church lobby! More info will be mailed to your home soon. Invite your friends and neighbors! This can be a great community event!

I will be out of town August 16-31. Rev. Hughie Orsborn will be covering for me in case of any pastoral emergencies. His phone number is listed in Sunday's bulletin as well as at the church office.

Have a blessed week church family and I look forward to sharing in ministry with you in September!

It is an honor to serve and lead as your pastor!

Joy, Joy, Joy!!

Blessings Church Family!

This past weekend, we continued our Christians Got Talent Series with a focus on joy! It was a great day of worship at both services! We welcomed back Rev. Mary Grey Emmett and her husband John to Christ Community. They moved from Christ Community just before I arrived in 2011. It was great to be in worship with them!

We celebrated the work of the women who worked on the Sari Bari quilt! We sent it off with a blessing. You can go to www.saribari.com to see it go up for auction in October. We thank the women for their countless hours of work as the monies received through auction will go to Sari Bari in India to help women who have been enslaved in the sex trade, escape and find employment. Mary Ann Hiser headed this ministry and we thank her for her hard work and determination to get this project finished with the ladies of our church and a few other churches.

As we focused on joy, some of our church teens shared their gifts in ministry with us. Sydney and Amy, you were great! Sydney shared her gift of dance and Amy shared her talent of singing. At the 11:00 a.m., Deb Pincek led us with the piano in the first summer hymn sing.

We celebrated the Sacrament of Holy Communion at both worship services and were thankful for this expression of Christ's love for us as we celebrated it with joy. Our Scripture passage centered on Philippians 4:4-9, seeking and experiencing joy even in the midst of life's struggles.

I'd like to thank all of those who worked so hard this weekend on the Rummage Sale. It was a great success!

This weekend will be the last of our Christians Got Talent series as we focus on "Multiply." I encourage you to come and grow with your church family in worship and begin marking your calendars as we get ready for Wednesday Nights beginning on September 12. More information on classes will be coming soon. Stop by the lobby in the church to see some of the classes that will be offered. Each week nearing September 12 will bring more information regarding this new ministry at Christ Community.

Have a blessed week church and know that it is an honor to serve and lead as your pastor.
Jeff

Forgiveness

Good Morning Church Family!

I pray you are well and blessed this morning! It was a great day of worship! We were blessed with the talents of Ben Todd and Sabrina Leksill as they shared their gift of music with us in worship! Thank you both for sharing your heart, your passion for music with your church family!

We were also blessed to see some families that came to our church awhile back that have lived out of town for years! It was a joy to see a "reunion" of sorts!

We welcomed some first time visitors at both worship services! May they feel the Christ Community welcome and hospitality that has brought so many into our doors!

Our message yesterday centered on Forgiveness. To be open to forgiving or being forgiven breaks the cycle of retaliation and can open the door to reconciliation. To forgive or to be forgiven means life and freedom in Christ. That is a blessing!

This Sunday we celebrate Joy in our Christian Got Talent Series! We will celebrate the Sacrament of Holy Communion at both services!

Our rummage sale begins Friday! If you are willing to help serve or bake for the bake sale, it will be greatly appreciated! Last year's rummage sale was a huge success!

Get ready for our Church Picnic on September 9! Many fun things are being planned! Come on out!

Meridan Vets Club! Site of our Church Picnic September 9! 

Have a blessed week church and know what an honor it is to serve and lead as your pastor!

It Really Was A Fun Weekend

Good Morning Church!




I pray you are all well and blessed this day! We had a great weekend! Early Saturday morning our youth and leaders left Butler for a weekend full of surprises. Cherie Loomis, youth director told me that one of the reasons for this retreat was to open the youths' eyes to the growing needs of those around us. So often, we filter out many of the "things" throughout this world and even around us and miss out on so many ways to serve the Lord in ministry.

Vines all over the garage at New Hope UMC

A beautiful "After" shot of the garage!

Some of our awesome youth from Christ Community!

Much work needs done! 

The youth left for New Hope UMC on the Northside of Pittsburgh. There, they met Rev. Larry Homitsky, director of Church Union and a part of a multi-church site ministry on the Northside. Larry gave our youth a great task of working on a garage, owned by the church. Our youth did incredible work! We are so proud of them for the work they did!

Saturday evening, we celebrated one year of ministry together! That year flew by! Thanks to all who made that evening such a memorable one, filled with surprises and laughter! Jennifer, the girls, Aaron and I would like to say "thank you" to all who send cards and gifts and even those who gave the pastor "a ride, a tattoo, and a Harley Hat!" I can cross off bike riding on my bucket list!

Cross it off the Bucket list! 

The food at this event had to be one of the best pot-lucks I'd ever been to! Thanks to everyone who brought their best dish forward! A special thanks to the Killby and Hankey families who organized this event. It was a great night, one that I will forever hold dear to my heart.

Laura Killby with a great "Journey" cake!

The spread at the party! 

This Sunday we began the "Christians Got Talent" series with a message on "Encouragement," based on Paul and Barnabas' journeys. As Paul got up after being stoned and left for dead, he was determined to continue on proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and strengthening and encouraging new converts to grow in their faith as they became disciples and then made disciples.

To encourage is a key element of being a disciple of Jesus Christ. It counters the world's view of criticism and negativity and finger pointing. To encourage others and to be encouraged is essential in the growth development of self and other believers. I encourage you to grow in faith. One way that we can grow will be the start of Wednesday Nights @ Christ Community as we embark on a new wave of discipleship throughout the church. I highly recommend to you this night of dinner, fellowship and discipleship that will be coming in September.

I thank Jon Pincek for offering his gift of music at both services as he shared that talent and encouraged us with beautiful music. Thank you Jon!

Davie Melder put together a beautiful video of our church's first year of ministry together! Thanks Davie!
Here's the link:
1st Year Together

Have a blessed week church and know how grateful and honored I am to serve and lead as your pastor! - Pastor Jeff

Jurisdictional Conference Is Completed

It was an incredible week of ministry. A long one, days that lasted 14-16 hours, but after it was all said and done, Jurisdictional Conference was a time of blessing for me and I know many. To see and meet new people of our common faith and tradition was overwhelmingly affirming.

Sharing time with sisters and brothers from our Annual Conference was some of the greatest experiences! I now know that Eric Park can dance! I was blessed to share a room with Larry Beatty, Director at Jumonville and I got so many opportunities to sit next to Louise Patterson, CCN chair of our Annual Conference. Louise is a sweet spirited woman of faith. I could go on about so many from our Annual Conference and just who they are and what they mean to me know that I shared this intimate and profound week with them. I thank them for being so warm, loving and kind; in our deliberations, meals, meetings and even in the elevator!

We all thought for sure Bishop Tom and Sally would be moving on. When it was announced that they were coming back for four more years, our concerns were suddenly replaced with great peace and joy. Following the announcement, each delegation had the opportunity to meet with their new bishop. When Bishop Tom came into the room, we were filled with smiles and tears. The Northeast Jurisdictional Episcopacy Committee (the ones who make the assignments of Bishops) met until a little after 5 a.m. that morning. We prayed heavily for them as they had such hard and long work to do. I thank God for Pat Morris and Joel Garrett, who represented our Annual Conference on the Episcopacy Committee. They worked diligently along with so many others through the night and into the early morning hours.

Joel Garrett, our clergy rep for the committee spoke of the strongest Holy Spirit moment he ever had was at 4:00 a.m. that morning in the meeting. He shared the Spirit's prompting led him to confirm that the Holy Spirit is going to lead our Annual Conference like never before. As I heard this, I was brought to tears and I experienced the Holy Spirit's confirmation in his speaking. It is one time I will never forget. I sensed God speaking to me in that particular moment saying that what is in store for our Annual Conference over the next four years with Bishop Bickerton's leadership will be one like we never have experienced before. Joel's talk was profound as we are in need of great renewal in the church and I believe this is the time to move forward, to Rise Up, Encounter God and Engage the World.

Consecration of Bishops - July 21, 2012 NEJ Conference

Moment of Announcement when Martin McLee became Bishop

Bishop-Elect Mark Webb giving his first few words as Bishop

My great friend Allan, lead pastor at Baldwin Community was there to be with his best friend William Meekins Jr. who was an Episcopal Candidate. 

A gift by our Annual Conference to Bishop Bickerton. (Picture of Pittsburgh)

A Dear Sister in Christ, Joan Reasinger

Our newly elected Bishops, (Ball, McLee and Webb)

Bishop Bashore was there too! 

Bishops Peggy Johnson and Tom Bickerton in the Processional

A Continuation of the Procession into St. Mark's UMC, Charleston, WV

So... hold on to your seat church. We our looking forward to "the Journey Continues" with Bishop Tom! Be blessed!