The April, 2014 monthly newsletter supporting the diocesan Children's Ministry Team is now available.

This issue features Lenten and Easter practices in local parishes, tips on evaluating your children's ministry program, and an online training opportunity for anyone involved in children and youth ministries.

Click here to download the printable PDF. 

Saturday, April 26, 2014

The Rev. Canon Dr. Catherine M. Brall, Celebrant

Additional details and registration information available here.

"Little drops of water, little grains of sand make the mighty ocean and the pleasant land"   -children's nursery rhyme 

Using Blue Boxes in homes throughout the year is an old tradition of offering thanks for daily blessings. Every penny collected in the parishes of our diocese, combined with those from other dioceses, goes toward changing lives here in Pittsburgh and around the world. Because of its missionary nature, all UTO collections are awarded in grants to help others in need. None is used for administrative purposes.

Click here for additional information and instructions to order the free-of-charge boxes.

Anyone interested in pursuing lay or ordained leadership is encouraged to attend Ministry Exploration Day on Saturday, April 12 at St Paul's Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon. This is our annual opportunity to meet with individuals to explain our vision for ministry and to discuss our discernment and ordination process for those called to ordained ministry.

Addition details are available by clicking here.

Christ Episcopal Church, North Hills is offering acrylic painting classes.  Classes are scheduled from 1 to 4 p.m. on May 1, 8, 22 and 29.  If there is enough interest a morning class may also be scheduled from 9 a.m. to Noon on the same dates.

The instructor is Jim Guentner, a celebrated local artist, who has been teaching and painting for many years.  His work has been shown at the Christ Church Art Fest. Other works have been purchased and hung, not only in Pittsburgh, but at locations around the world.

Approximate cost for the classes is $90.  Last date to register is April 16, 2014. 

Call Janet at Christ Church, 412-364-2442.  She will arrange for a supply list to be sent to you.

Christ Episcopal Church is located at 5910 Babcock Blvd., Pittsburgh PA 15237

The Wardens, Vestry and Congregation

of

The Episcopal

CHURCH OF THE REDEEMER

cordially invite you to attend

THE CELEBRATION OF A NEW MINISTRY

at which

The Right Reverend Dorsey W. M. McConnell

Bishop of Pittsburgh

will institute

The Reverend Michael B. Foley

as the Eighth Rector of

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

in the City of Pittsburgh

Saturday, the seventeenth of May, two thousand and fourteen

at ten-thirty in the morning

The Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

5700 Forbes Avenue

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania  15217

(412) 422-7100

Your prayers and presence are requested

RECEPTION FOLLOWS

Clergy: choir dress with red stoles

From the Pennsylvania Council of Churches:

The Institute on Disabilities at Temple University with funding from Pennsylvania Department of Health is accepting applications from Faith-Based and Community organizations for mini grants up to $5000 to develop or expand a volunteer respite program for families of children with special healthcare needs, including a disability or chronic illness.

If awarded, the organizations will recruit and train volunteers to support families of children and youth with special health care needs, including disabilities and chronic illness, by providing families with an occasional break from care giving.

Click here for the program description and application.

The tomb is empty, and nobody knows where the body is.  Mary Magdalene tells the others about the mysterious disappearance, but they give up and go home.  Mary stays behind, weeping, and then fails to recognize the risen one before her.  As the days pass, each resurrected encounter begins in surprise or anonymity - the disciples fishing all night without catching, Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach, the two on their way to Emmaus.  Nobody recognizes him at first sight.

Clearly the risen body is not identical to the Jesus who was crucified.  People mistake him for a stranger.  He enters locked rooms.  He walks along the path to Emmaus for a long time without being recognized.  Crucifixion, death, and resurrection result in a transformed body - with evident scars, but changed nonetheless.  When he reminds others of God's banquet, meant for the whole world - when human beings are fed and watered, delivered from prison, gathered from exile across the earth, and healed and reconciled into a community of peace - his companions discover that he has once again been in their midst.

Click here to read the rest of the message.

April 28, 2014, 8 a.m.- 4:30 p.m.

Frick Fine Arts Building Auditorium, University of Pittsburgh

Americans are believers, but most mental health professionals are not.  For decades polls have consistently shown 95% of Americans have a faith belief while only 33% of mental health professionals are believers. As faith is an important component in the lives of patients and a central component for their coping in times of trial, it is essential for professionals to be informed and be able to speak to the role of faith in treatment. 

The keynote speaker for this conference, Tanya Luhrmann, PhD, is a psychiatric anthropologist and Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. Dr. Luhrmann is an author of a number of books regarding the role of psychiatry in modern society and most recently the author of When God Talks Back. In this conference participants will gain important insights into helping Evangelical and other religious believers when they seek mental health treatment. Additional speakers will address issues related to neuroscience, contemplative practice, and historical perspectives of psychiatry and religion in society.

Click here for additional information and registration details (PDF).