Partner Spotlight: Sojourner House
Sojourner House and Sojourner House MOMS
Sojourner House provides in-patient residential treatment to addicted mothers and their children. Mothers can bring three children with them and stay up to six months while receiving intensive treatment for their addiction. Sojourner House is proud to be the only program in Allegheny County that provides each family with their own apartment while the mother receives treatment. Mothers and children can begin to experience the joys and challenges of living as an independent, drug-free family while securely surrounded by round-the-clock support.
The MOMS (Motivation, Opportunities, Mentoring, and Spirituality) Program builds on Sojourner House’s experience in providing a holistic mind-body-spirit approach to treating addiction. MOMS provides permanent, supportive housing for homeless, single, dual-diagnosed women in recovery, as well as for their dependent children.
The staff at Sojourner House believe that women who are in recovery are best able to shatter the bonds of addiction when they are surrounded by what matters most to them: their children. Sojourner House additionally partners with other local community groups because they also believe in the importance of community in providing hope and meaning to women who are working on sobriety and financial independence. At every step of the way, they meet women and families with love and with the understanding that, while no one is perfect, if you deal with the trauma in your life, you can learn to cope and find healing.
Shadyside Presbyterian Church has helped to transform vacant property into a play yard for the children of Sojourner House MOMS. The church has hosted the mothers and their children at the annual Strawberry Festival, and also has held retreats for the mothers while providing craft projects for their children. In addition, the women of Sojourner House and MOMS are recipients of SPC’s “Giving Tree” program in December.
One way you can support Sojourner House is to attend the Strawberry Festival on Friday, June 3, 2022. Every dollar spent at the event will go directly to Sojourner House to support its ability to provide compassionate, faith-based recovery services to women and their families.
If you would like to help beyond attending the Strawberry Festival, Sojourner House is always in need of items for residents, such as toothbrushes, diapers, baby wipes, soap, hand sanitizer, face masks, craft supplies for children, and housewarming baskets with linens.
For more information, visit the Sojourner House website at www.sojournerhousepa.org.
New Mission Structure
Befriending, Knowing, Uniting with Neighbors
“ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ … ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” — Mark 12:30-31
Through Shadyside Presbyterian Church, members and friends engage our community in a variety of ways. Embracing Christ’s claim that the Kingdom of God is among us, we are called to serve and support mission partners, and together we witness God’s love in action. We join these efforts of building for the Kingdom as we engage both with and alongside neighbors locally and around the world. In journeying together, we come to know more fully others and ourselves.
This refreshed vision for our mission structure is “Befriending Neighbors, Knowing Neighbors, and Uniting with Neighbors.”
Befriending Neighbors (one-time opportunities)
“For I was hungry, and you gave Me food, I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you gave Me clothing, I was sick and you took care of Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.” — Matthew 25:35-36
We befriend our neighbors as we assist them with their immediate needs. Though Shadyside Presbyterian is committed to fulfilling these needs on a long-term basis, members and friends can join the ministry as their schedules allow. Opportunities such as providing meals at East End Cooperative Ministry and buying gifts for the Giving Tree which supports Sojourner House and POWER (Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery) are examples of Befriending Neighbors.
Knowing Neighbors (longer term opportunities)
“As long as Moses held up his hands, Israel prevailed. But when he lowered them, Amalek prevailed. … When Moses’ hands grew weary, Aaron and Hur held his hands up, one on each side, so that his hands remained steady until the sun went down.” — Exodus 17:11-12
Frequent and consistent interactions — either in a group or one-to-one — allow us to know our neighbors. In journeying together, we know that Christ is present, and these relationships may become long-lasting as we uphold our mutual goals. Opportunities such as mentoring a student at The Neighborhood Academy or helping refugee families arriving through Jewish Family and Community Services are examples of Knowing Neighbors.
Uniting with Neighbors (opportunities to engage more fully with our partners)
“… And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” — Micah 6:8
As we befriend and know our neighbors, we also must serve as advocates to address the barriers that prevent God’s love from being felt by all. We look for opportunities to link arm and arm with our mission partners to transform our world, do justice, and love kindness. Uniting with Neighbors is the third branch of our mission work.
A Request to Hear from You
Very soon, two requests will be shared: an anonymous survey and a personalized skills inventory will be published on paper and in email. The Uniting with Neighbors workgroup is keen to learn how mission work generates enthusiasm and what talents exist across our congregation. Your feedback will guide how we sustain awareness of the great work accomplished by our collaborations with mission partners. The skills inventory will help us link respondents to rousing activities directly suited to their interests.
These requests to hear your voice will be shared during the spring of 2022. The results will be shared in the summer, guiding the development of the calendar for fall 2022 through spring 2023.
If you have questions about the request for information or feel called to support any aspect of our mission framework, please contact Elder Laura Duncan through the church office.
Pittsburgh Marathon 2022
Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, May 1, 2022
Ten members and friends of Shadyside Presbyterian Church are preparing for the Pittsburgh Marathon on Sunday, May 1. The entire church is invited to “run” alongside them in a number of exciting ways:
Show Your Support
This year, we are again honored to be running with our local mission partner, Open Hand Ministries (OHM). Shadyside runners are running with a purpose to support OHM’s urban-renewal work in the Garfield and East Liberty communities. To support our runners financially, visit their fundraising pages:
Please also keep the runners in your prayers.
Slice Oranges and Make Signs
Volunteers are needed the day before the race, Saturday, April 30, at 1:00 p.m. to slice oranges in the church kitchen and make signs to encourage runners. Oranges will be given to runners during the race as they ascend Fifth Avenue, one of the most challenging portions of the 26.2-mile course. To help, please contact Kaysie Strickland in the church office.
Be a Fan
Shadyside’s cheer station will once again be located near the church at the corner of Amberson and Fifth Avenues. Not only will we pass out orange slices and fruit chews, we will be the words of encouragement as the athletes run their race with perseverance and strength. Rain or shine, be prepared to cheer with enthusiasm from 7:30 to 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 1. To help, please contact Kaysie Strickland in the church office.
Worship
Marathon weekend concludes with worship in the Sanctuary at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 1. Due to the church’s location within the marathon route, our service of worship has been re-scheduled from the morning to the afternoon. Wesley C. Smith, Student Assistant Pastor, will preach, and we will celebrate the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. (Communion will be served in a manner similar to our midweek services. Please read the invitation on our website.) Nursery care will be available during the 4:00 p.m. service. As a fitting conclusion to Marathon Weekend, this will serve as a reminder that acts of running, giving, and encouraging are all done in worship. Following the service in the Sanctuary, all are invited to enjoy an outdoor time of fellowship. (Worship will not be held at 11:00 a.m., and Christian Education classes will not be held on-site at 9:45 a.m.; the adult Christian Education study will meet via Zoom only, with an archival recording available for playback afterward.)
Farewell Letter to Congregation from Rev. Portz
A Parting Message from Our Associate Pastor for Parish Life
Dear friends in Christ,
First of all, Doug and I want to express our heartfelt gratitude to you, our beloved church, for the love and care you have extended to us during the past months while I have been undergoing medical treatment. Your many expressions of kindness, encouragement, and support have sustained us in untold ways; the power of your prayers has undergirded us and assured us that we are not alone in this journey. Thanks also to the Session, the Deacons, and the Care Team, and to Austin, Kendra, and the church staff for the special care you have offered to us. From the bottom of our hearts, we thank you all.
It has been said that life is a series of new beginnings. Indeed, our God is continuously calling us to follow into paths unknown, giving us wisdom and strength for every challenge, and often surprising us with unexpected delight.
In 2009, I was called to a new beginning as your Associate Pastor for Parish Life. In these years, we have grown together in our understanding of who God is, who we are as a church, and what we are being called to be and to do as God’s people. We have faced transitions with resiliency; we have prayed together for the Spirit to lead us; we have rejoiced and wept as one as we experienced both triumph and heartache in our lives, and in our community and world. What an honor it is to be a part of this faithful, dedicated congregation!
This past fall, I was faced with another unexpected new beginning, the journey of cancer. As unwelcome as this was, this time has provided many opportunities for me to experience more fully the abundant mercies of God. I have learned what it is, not only to care for others, but to be the recipient of gracious generosity and compassion. I have been reminded that, in spite of our best efforts, there are things in life beyond our control; yet God’s steadfast love never leaves us. I have experienced firsthand the power of Christ’s love made manifest in God’s people. I am so very grateful for all of these learnings, and so much more.
My times of prayer and reflection in these past months have led me to the realization that I am now being called to another new beginning: on Wednesday I announced to the Session my intention to retire, effective May 31, 2022. Even as I write this, my heart is full, for this brings both grief and anticipation. Indeed, I have dearly missed being with all of you during my medical leave, but in the future, my absence from Shadyside Presbyterian Church will be a more enduring one. I will miss having the privilege of walking, praying, and worshipping with you through the many new beginnings of your own lives; I will miss the joy of being a part of this new thing that God is doing at Shadyside Presbyterian Church in the years ahead. And yet, I am excited for the opportunity to be attuned to the many other ways in which God is calling me to be present in the lives of my family, and in the wider Church of Jesus Christ.
It has been my deepest honor to have served as pastor of four different congregations over more than forty years of ministry. In these years, our world has changed and the Church has changed. Through it all, Christ’s power and grace have sustained us, for we serve a God who will not let us go.
In the past thirteen years of ministry with Shadyside Presbyterian Church, I have been so very blessed to work alongside wonderful colleagues, committed staff, and leaders and members who desire above all else to serve God with energy, enthusiasm, and grace. I will treasure each one of you in my heart forever, and I will always cherish the memories of our times together.
I hope to rejoin you in late April/early May. My last Sunday with you will be May 22. My deepest desire in the time remaining is to have the opportunity to worship with you and enjoy conversation and fellowship, celebrating our time together, and praying God’s blessing upon all of the new beginnings yet to come in the life of Shadyside Presbyterian Church. I am so very thankful for these years spent in ministry together with you, and I know that God will continue to bless you abundantly in the years ahead.
“I thank my God every time I remember you, constantly praying with joy in every one of my prayers for all of you … that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full insight to help you determine what is best … the harvest of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” (Philippians 1:3-11 sel.)
In Christ,
Reverend Lynn M. Portz
Associate Pastor for Parish Life
Partner Spotlight: Orphan Care in Malawi
Care Center for Orphans and Vulnerable Children in Soche, Malawi
Moni mpingbo onse. Hello, Shadyside, from our Christian brothers and sisters in the Church of the Central African Presbytery (CCAP) and especially our sister church in Soche, Malawi.
Shadyside’s tradition of ministry and partnership in Malawi extends more than thirty years and includes the church sanctuary at Soche CCAP; the H. Parker Sharp medical clinic; the Emily House nursing student dormitory; and three centers for orphans and vulnerable children at Presbyterian churches in Chaweza, Bilila, and Mwanza. Our most recent visit to Malawi in 2014 included visits at each of these locations and a truly wonderful opportunity to share worship and Communion with our brothers and sisters at Soche. We have been there, and our friends from Malawi have been here. Most recently, Henderson, Evance, Lindirabe, and Ruth joined us to celebrate our sesquicentennial anniversary in 2016, when our congregation joined with their congregation’s dream of an orphan care center to serve the children in Soche’s surrounding communities.
The orphan care situation in Malawi is dire. In Malawi, a child is considered an orphan when the family’s primary provider is lost. Nearly one in every ten Malawians is an orphan, amounting to 1.5 million children — one million of whom lost one or both parents to AIDS. The strain on the family and the risk to the child are immense.
Malawians are a beautiful people — truly living their motto as “the warm heart of Africa” — and yet Malawi is among the world’s poorest countries. The Church in Malawi is helping to meet the orphan care crisis through the development of local-church owned and operated centers for orphans and vulnerable children. These centers provide children with a safe place to go during the day so their caregivers can work. Programming at the centers includes education, nutrition, and even a safe place to take a nap.
By God’s grace, and with our help and prayers, Soche is rapidly realizing their vision of an orphan care center. Together, we have witnessed what was an empty field last September has become a building with a roof already — and will be completed early this spring, more than six months ahead of schedule! Soche’s center will soon serve more than 120 children every day.
Scripture tells us that whatever we do to the least of God’s family, we do to Christ Himself. We are especially blessed to be a part of this ministry. It offers these children and their caregivers a future with hope.
Zikomo kwambiri. Thank you very much,
Elder Donald P. Coffelt
Refugee Crisis Response
In Partnership with Jewish Family and Community Services
“… For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, and I was a stranger and you welcomed Me … . Truly I say to you as you did it for one of the least of these, you did it for Me.” — Matthew 25:35, 40
Shadyside Presbyterian Church urgently requests that our church family uplift our mission partner Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) in their efforts to alleviate the refugee crisis. Resettlement efforts already strained by the upheaval in Afghanistan are now compounded by the war in Ukraine. Families are coming weekly to the Pittsburgh region and have considerable needs; we know our members and friends have been blessed with both the resources and the will to help.
Please consider contributing to our special collection this month and joining a team of SPC congregants who will serve imminently arriving families. We will partner with JFCS, whose long history of service includes serving immigrant and refugee families in our region.
Join the Ministry Team
If you are interested in directly serving a stranger and their family, please contact Elder Laura Duncan through the church office by Monday, March 21. Activities include shuttling families to and from the airport; securing and furnishing housing; and helping families integrate into life in America through learning English and navigating school systems and healthcare. These efforts can be embraced by young and old within our families, through small investments of time or longer commitments if desired.
Contribute a Financial Gift
If you would like to make a financial contribution, please do so before Thursday, March 31, by one of the following options:
- Visit our online giving portal at www.shadysidepres.org/give, click the “Give Now” button, then select “Spec. Mission Programs” in the drop-down menu and “Refugee Assistance” in the memo line.
- Place your check (payable to Shadyside Presbyterian Church, with “Refugee Crisis” in the memo line) or cash donation in an envelope designated for JFCS and place it in the offering plate. Designated envelopes are available in the Narthex and Sharp Atrium.
- Mail your check directly to the church office marked to the attention of the Finance Office.
Finally, we ask that you pray for our newest neighbors and keep the work of the ministry team and our mission partners in mind as we spread the love of Christ through our community and beyond.
A Lenten Message from Rev. Shelley
God’s Beloved Dust
The season of Lent begins with a necessary but unpleasant reminder: “Remember you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” As a pastor, I feel deep empathy for the people who approach me, awaiting this reminder along with the imposition of ashes on their foreheads. Sometimes the words catch in my throat as I say them, because the people who receive these ancient words are congregants whom I have been called to love.
Most of us who will hear this reminder of our mortality at the beginning of Lent are ordinary human beings living ordinary lives. And yet we believe that all people are treasured and held by the God who has created all things from the dust — galaxies strewn with stars, a biosphere of plant life, the fish of the sea, the birds of air, the beasts of the field, and us.
During the forty days of Lent, we prepare for the coming Easter season by taking time to reflect. We consider our lives and our relationships, our connection to all of creation, and our responsibility for a planet entrusted to our care. Some Christians choose to give up a creature comfort or two in order to be intentional about focusing on their relationship with God during this time. Others choose to take up a practice instead — giving weekly to a food bank or shelter, setting aside a specific time to pray or read Scripture, volunteering time at a school, or donating blood.
Lent is an invitation to be increasingly mindful of the commandments to love God and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Join us in person or online at Shadyside Presbyterian Church as we journey through this season which mirrors the forty days Jesus spent fasting and praying in the wilderness. Because, while it is true that we are dust and to dust we shall return, the lives we live in between matter — and we believe that you and I and all of us together are God’s beloved dust.
The Reverend Austin Crenshaw Shelley
Senior Pastor and Head of Staff
About Rev. Shelley
Read more about Rev. Shelley.
Watch a brief video introducing Rev. Shelley.
Partner Spotlight: EECM
East End Cooperative Ministry
Shadyside Presbyterian Church’s Mission and Urban Ministry partners with East End Cooperative Ministry in support of its work in the Pittsburgh community.
East End Cooperative Ministry (EECM) works to change the lives of individuals and families in Pittsburgh facing the impact of poverty. Founded in 1970 by the local interfaith groups, EECM continues to grow through direct hands-on services to the hungry, homeless, elderly, and disadvantaged urban youth. EECM’s three main areas of ministry are Community Food Service, Housing/Employment Services, and Children/Youth Services.
- Community Food Service is the most widely recognized part of EECM; Shadyside Presbyterian Church has been a long-term partner assisting to serve meals and running quarterly food drives.
- Housing/Employment Services include:
- An emergency homeless shelter with twenty-one beds also provides social service navigation assistance, such as connecting consumers to permanent housing, and health and social benefits.
- A ninety-day substance use recovery program offers housing and treatment for thirty individuals referred by a treatment facility or the justice system.
- Families Achieving Independence through Housing (FAITH) helps families impacted by physical or mental disability find affordable housing.
- SewForward, an apprenticeship sewing program, trains individuals for a career in commercial sewing.
- Children/Youth Services include summer camps, educational opportunities within media and the creative arts, and recreational sports for youth in their catchment area.
EECM is celebrating fifty years in providing services; learn more from our Minute for Mission during worship in February and join the festivities at EECM’s Golden Gala on May 21, 2022, at Rodef Shalom in Shadyside. Please contact the church office for details.
During the month of February, Shadyside Presbyterian Church coordinates a food collection and fundraising effort that supports EECM in conjunction with the Souper Bowl of Caring. Please read more in order to participate.
A Christmas Message from Rev. Shelley
Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ, the One whose birth we await during this holy season of Advent.
The Church marks time slightly differently than does most of the world. Though Advent falls at the end of the calendar year, it represents the beginning of a new year in the Church. Advent simply means “coming,” so, in these days leading up to Christmas, we prepare our hearts once more for the inbreaking of God into human history. We rehearse the story of the birth of Christ in Bethlehem once more, and we also hope for our attention to become more and more attuned to the many ways God enters into our lives today and every day to come.
As humans, we tend to make sense of our lives through the telling and retelling of stories. Over time, the stories we tell about our families, our friends, and ourselves take on lives of their own, reminding us who we are and what it is in our history, both good and bad, that compels us to live with integrity and intentionality.
The story of Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem of Judea remains captivating more than two thousand years later, in part because it tells the story of God’s coming into the world in an utterly surprising way — not as a military hero who would rescue Israel from Roman oppression as many had hoped, but rather as a vulnerable Infant of refugee parents. This helpless Child would become the Messiah, the Savior of the world, not through power wrought by violence, but rather through the power won through love, justice, freedom, and peace.
There is a Kenyan proverb that says, “When you pray, remember to move your feet.” During Advent, we pray that God’s love will continue to break into a violent world that longs for God’s peace, into a despairing world that longs for God’s hope, into a broken world that longs for God’s healing. And, as we pray, we move our feet. We wait for God’s coming by feeding the hungry, tending the sick, encouraging the downtrodden, and freeing those who are captive to oppressive powers that threaten to render them anything less than the beloved children of God that they are.
In the act of reaching out to a world in need, we believe we encounter and embody the love of Christ, who came that all might have life, and have it abundantly. If you have ever had the sneaking suspicion that the holiday season compels us into a deeper longing than all the marketers of consumer goods would have us believe, join us in prayer and worship at Shadyside Presbyterian Church, either in person or online. And while you pray, remember to move your feet. Together, we can do something that will bring a glimpse of unexpected kindness and mercy into the world. And if we do, we believe the story of Christmas — with its astonishing angels, lowly shepherds, guiding star, and dingy stable — will once again take on a life of its own.
To you, to the ones whom you love, and to the ones whom only God loves, we wish a blessed Advent season and a Merry Christmas.
The Reverend Austin Crenshaw Shelley
Senior Pastor and Head of Staff
About Rev. Shelley
Read more about Rev. Shelley.
Watch a brief video introducing Rev. Shelley.
An Invitation to Communion
Special Invitation to the Lord’s Supper
During the season of Advent, Shadyside Presbyterian Church offers multiple opportunities to celebrate the Sacrament of Communion, both on-site and online.
Morning Service of Worship on Sunday, December 5, at 11:00 a.m.
- Those who attend this service on-site may choose to bring their own elements from home; alternatively, pre-packaged elements will be available. (Gluten-free, vegan Communion wafers also are available in the Narthex for those who prefer them.)
- Those who are unable to attend worship in the Sanctuary may celebrate Communion virtually through our worship livestream. In this unprecedented time, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved the online celebration of Communion (Communion in an Emergency/Pandemic). Please see below for suggestions on celebrating Communion virtually.
Advent Vespers on Wednesdays, December 1, 8, and 15, at 7:00 p.m.
- Those who attend Advent vespers on-site may choose one of two options to participate in the Sacrament of Communion:
- Ushers will invite you to come forward by way of the center aisle. Please continue to wear your mask over your nose and mouth while moving throughout the Sanctuary. At the Chancel steps, you will receive a piece of bread from the pastor and a cup from one of the Communion servers. Please return to your seat using the side aisles and wait to partake of the elements until all congregants have returned to their seats so that we all may commune together.
- If you prefer to remain in your pew to commune, you may do so using elements you have brought from home, or you may use the pre-packaged elements available in the Narthex.
- Gluten-free, vegan Communion wafers also are available in the Narthex for those who prefer them.
- Those who are unable to attend worship in the Sanctuary may celebrate Communion virtually through our worship livestream. In this unprecedented time, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA) has approved the online celebration of Communion (Communion in an Emergency/Pandemic). Please see below for suggestions on celebrating Communion virtually.
Regardless of the way each of us will choose to receive the bread and cup, we remain in full communion with one another and with all the saints through our one Lord, Jesus Christ.
In this time when we are separated by space, yet united in the Spirit, we remember that Christ is always at work, gathering us in unique ways.
Preparations for Celebrating Virtual Communion
In preparation for the Sacrament, we invite you to look through your own kitchen to find “bread and beverage.” While there is rich symbolism in the elements we traditionally use to celebrate the Lord’s Supper, the Church also has a long history of using the most fitting materials that are readily available in any given time and setting. So feel free to be creative and use what you have on hand.
Prior to our time of worship, please prepare your worship space. Have ready the device on which you will view the service, the bulletin (available online in the worship archive) which will enable you to more fully participate in the service, and the elements you will use for Communion. Have your “bread” ready on a plate and your “beverage” poured. Any vessels will do, but you might consider using special dishes to help you remember that this is a holy meal, set apart from our regular meals. If it is safe to do so, you also may want to light a candle and place it by your prepared Communion elements. Through the light, may you be reminded that Christ is present with us all in this meal.
During worship, you will be guided through the celebration and reception of the Lord’s Supper. Whether or not you are a member of Shadyside Presbyterian Church, we invite you to prepare your hearts to receive this Sacrament as a means of grace. For Christ is our host, and He invites all who seek Him to partake of this holy meal.
Some possibilities for bread:
- any kind of bread
- crackers
- cookies
- chips
- tortilla
- pita
Note: If you have time and want to involve your family with a meaningful activity in preparation for Communion, consider baking a special loaf of bread together. Please contact Ellen Allston, Director of Children’s Ministry, who has shared several recipes with families by email.
Some possibilities for beverage:
- grape juice
- any other type of juice
- wine
- water
Photograph: The Chalice, Flagon, and Plate used on World Communion Sunday, October 1, 2017, were dedicated to the glory of God and in loving memory of Momoko H. Mills. For decades, Momoko faithfully prepared the Lord’s Table in our Sanctuary with humble reverence and deep love. Commissioned by Shadyside Presbyterian Church, the Communion set was fashioned by Deacon Garret B. Smith. We give thanks to God both for Momoko’s caring service and for Garret’s talented craftsmanship. Also visible above in detail is the damask linen from Damascus which was a gift from Mark A. Anderson to Shadyside Presbyterian Church. Photograph taken by Nick Conti.