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 Calvary Camp Readies 2013 Summer Camping Season
Calvary Camp has announced the schedule for the summer of 2013. A full description of each session is available on the programs page of the camp's web site. Coed Session I, June 16-22; Coed Session II, June 23-29; Ready, Set, Camp!, June 30-July 3; Day Camp, July 1-5; Coed Session III, July 7-13; |
 Youth Leader Breakfast The Pittsburgh Youth Initiative would like to invite anyone involved (or interested in being involved) in youth ministry around the diocese to a light breakfast. The event will take place at Calvary Episcopal Church in East Liberty from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 19. The get-together will provide an opportunity to discuss past and future events and share experiences in order to help one another be more effective in ministry. Please come to promote any youth events you have coming up, find out what other events your youth group may like to join, ask questions, and suggest ideas for the Youth Initiative. RSVP by January 13 so we can be sure to have enough food for everyone. For more information or to RSVP contact Victoria O'Brien at 412-295-5616 or email vobrien@episcopalpgh.org
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 Anti-Racism Workshop Reunion
Dear Participants of any diocesan Anti-Racism Training Workshop, The first reunion of workshop participants was a huge success last year and those attending requested another. Please come to our second Anti-Racism Training Reunion - January 25, 6- 9 p.m. at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 378 Delaware Ave., Oakmont, PA 15139. Appetizers start at 6 p.m. and dinner at 6:30 p.m. followed by a program and discussion. There is no charge for this dinner, but we need to know how many plan to attend. Please e-mail your RSVP to me by January 21. See you at the reunion! Regards, Darrell Powell |
New Habitat for Humanity Project  Based on the success of the 2010 Habitat for Humanity project, the diocesan Social Justice and Outreach Committee (SJOC) has identified and plans to adopt another house to renovate in partnership with Habitat in 2013.
In the spring and summer of 2010 the SJOC helped renovate a house in Sharpsburg for a refugee family from Somalia. Bringing together an entire diocese, the project fulfilled its goal to Build a House, Unite a Diocese, Change Lives.  There are now have more parishes and more people in the diocese who can participate - more people we need to get to know, more need for construction expertise, electricians, plumbers, and also those who can learn to put up dry wall, pound a nail, and paint. There are jobs for young and old, from making lunches to holding creative fundraisers.
An informational program will be held Sunday afternoon, January 13th, at Calvary Episcopal Church, East Liberty, from 2:30 to 4:00 p.m. Habitat staff will be there to talk about a house identified in Sharpsburg; the seven-member family from Burundi that will be helped; the volunteers needed; and most important, how this can fulfill our vision as the Body of Christ and churches working together to fulfill our mission.
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 4th Annual Winter Wake Up Call! Youth Concert
Pittsburgh Youth Initiative will be attending the St. Peter's Youth Group's 4th annual Winter Wake Up Call!
The youth concert will take place January 26th at St. Peter's Episcopal Church 4048 Brownsville Road in Brentwood.
Doors open at 6 p.m., with the concert starting at 6:30. Tickets are only five dollars!
Bands include: Sanctified, All We Are, Wendigo, and Half n' Half. The groups are a mix of professional, amateur and local high school bands. Come support and enjoy live music with other youth from around the area. All ages welcome.
For tickets or more information contact Brent Hansen at 412-491-9738 or bhansen@episcopalpgh.org
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 2013 Absalom Jones Day Celebration
A Celebration of the Life and Ministry of the First African American to be ordained in the Episcopal Church
"Reconciliation and Healing Through Knowledge"
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Trinity Cathedral
328 Sixth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Celebration Day Events:
Program Video and Panel Discussion
Luncheon - $8.00 per person or $15 per family
Frank E. Bolden Literary Contest Award
Performance by youth of the Neighborhood Youth Outreach Program
Holy Eucharist - Bishop Dorsey McConnell, Celebrant
Guest Preacher - The Rev. Canon Angela F. Shepherd
If possible, please register online at www.episcopalpgh.org/ajd and pay at the door. The registration deadline is January 25, 2013.
Questions? Call Nancy Travis Bolden at 412-683-8888 or the Rev. Nancy Chalfant-Walker at 412-243-6100
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 Interfaith Service Celebrates Week of Christian Unity
The Pittsburgh Gospel Choir will be providing the music, under the direction of Dr. Herbert V.R.P. Jones. The choir consists of 70-100 members of different Christian faiths. Refreshments follow the service. |
 Agreement Supporting Homeless Ministry Approved
The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and Shepherd's Heart Fellowship have put into effect the terms of the agreement they reached in October 2012.
Shepherd's Heart ministers to homeless veterans and others in similar need. More than a dozen congregations in the Episcopal Diocese regularly support that ministry.
After Common Pleas Court approved the agreement in late November, Shepherd's Heart was able to favorably refinance the mortgage debt on property in Pittsburgh's Uptown neighborhood. At the same time, the diocese made good on its commitment to transfer its rights to the property to Shepherd's Heart, while leaving the value of the current equity in place as an investment in Shepherd's Heart's unique ministry. These steps were completed on December 28.
The diocese will continue to be a principal collaborator in Shepherd's Heart's mission of serving the poor. Read more here.
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2013 Lenten Devotional Focuses on Hunger, Healing
Episcopal Relief & Development's tenth annual Lenten Meditations booklets are now available in English and Spanish. PDF booklets and other Lenten resources can be found on Episcopal Relief & Development's website at www.er-d.org/Lent, and daily email devotionals can be received by signing up online. The Lenten Meditations can be ordered from Episcopal Marketplace online or over the phone by calling 1-866-937-2772. Hope chests, prayer cards, bookmarks and offering envelopes are also available and can be used in accompaniment with the devotional booklets. Churches and individuals are encouraged to place their orders by Friday, February 1, to ensure that the materials will arrive by Ash Wednesday, February 13.Congregations are also invited to commemorate Episcopal Relief & Development Sunday on the first Sunday in Lent, February 17, or another convenient Sunday during the season. At the 2009 General Convention, Lent was officially designated as a time to remember and support the organization's life-saving work. On this special Sunday, congregations pray for those living in poverty and dedicate an offering in support of the Episcopal Relief & Development's Global Needs Fund, which helps where most needed. |
 Theological Reading Group for Lent
Calvary invites you to join a theological reading group for Lent this year. The last two years have brought together a broad range of participants into a deep and reflective conversation about both ancient and modern theology, moving from Rowan Williams in 2011 to St. Gregory of Nyssa in 2012. This year, the group will be exploring a collection of essays by Dorothy Sayers (1893-1957) titled Letters to a Diminished Church: Passionate Arguments for the Relevance of Christian Doctrine. Although perhaps best known for her fictional mystery stories, Sayers was also a renowned theological essayist and her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy is still in print today. From the text: "It is only with the confident assertion of the creative divinity of the Son that the doctrine of the Incarnation becomes a real revelation of the structure of the world." The group will meet in Calvary's McClintic Hall (the choir room) from 7-9 p.m. on Monday nights beginning on February 18. Please email Jamie McMahon if you are interested, jamie.mcmahon@gmail.com. Copies of the book will be available in the Calvary Bookstore. |
 Episcopal News Service Offers Reader-submitted Obituaries |
 2013 Frank E. Bolden Literary Contest
Each year the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh celebrates the life and work of Absalom Jones (1746-1818), the first African-American priest ordained in the Episcopal Church. In conjunction with this event, the diocesan Commission on Racism sponsors a literary contest named for the late Frank E. Bolden, a noted Pittsburgh-based African-American journalist. The contest is open to all middle and senior high school students in southwestern Pennsylvania. A cash prize of $100 will be awarded to the author of the winning entry at the Absalom Jones Day Celebration to be held at Trinity Cathedral on Saturday, Feb. 2, 2013.
The contest is on the subject of racism with a specific theme. This year's theme is:
"Reconciliation and Healing Through Knowledge"
Students are invited to submit a literary work that describes or gives an example(s) of the theme, either from the past, present or future. Entries may be essays, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, and will be judged on originality, clarity, and composition. The maximum length is 200 words and should be typed double-spaced.
Entries should include the following information: author's name, age, grade, school, teacher's name. Also include the author's home address, phone number, e-mail address, hobbies and interests, extra-curricular activities, and plans for the future. Entries may be submitted by email to dpowell2010@hotmail.com or by regular mail to Literary Contest, PO Box 419, Oakmont, PA 15139. Entries must be post marked no later than January 23, 2013. If you have any questions about the contest, please call one of the following: Al Mann at 412-661-5947; Nancy Travis Bolden at 412-683-8888; or Darrell Powell at 412-828-0502. |
 Around the Diocese
Bishop McConnell's Visitation Schedule
January 13: All Souls, North Versailles
January 20: Atonement, Carnegie
January 27: St. James, Penn Hills
February 3: Holy Cross, Homewood
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Parting Shots
On December 16, 2012, a special service was held at All Soul's, North Versailles, in honor of the Rev. John Fetterman's 50th anniversary of his ordaination to the priesthood. His ordination was Dec. 19, 1962 at St. Peter's, Rome, Italy. Co-celebrating with John is the Rev. Harvey Peters, a Lutheran pastor from Bethlehem, Pa., a long time friend.
Photos courtesy All Souls Junior Warden, Patty McDowell
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All submissions to the Grace Happens weekly newsletter are welcome should be sent to asmuhl@episcopalpgh.org. Material should be sent before the close of business on Monday to be considered for inclusion in the current week's newsletter. Please be sure to include your contact information with any submission.
Submissions for publication of items on the diocesan web site and calendar should also be sent electronically to asmuhl@episcopalpgh.org.
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