This June, children, youth, and adults from the downtown churches will come together for Camp Downtown, the Downtown Pittsburgh Ministerium’s annual Vacation Bible School program celebrating all our city has to offer.

Our 2013 theme is “Parables on Parade.” Through games, crafts, music, and snacks, we will explore the various parables Jesus told his disciples. We will share lunch together at one of the downtown churches each day. And every afternoon, we will explore Downtown Pittsburgh through excursions or service learning opportunities.  Of course, there will be plenty of time for splashing in the fountains and making new friends.

The camp will take place Monday, June 24 through Friday, June 28 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Children entering kindergarten through grade 6 are invited to participate as campers, and youth in grades 7 through 12 may serve as counselors.  This year, Camp Downtown will be at First Lutheran Church (615 Grant Street).

The suggested donation is $40 for the first camper, $30 for the second camper, $20 for the third camper and $10 for the fourth camper from each family.  This includes five days of lunch and snacks, a t-shirt, and all excursions.  Registration forms for campers, youth counselors and adult volunteers are available below.

Questions about the program?  Contact Cora Weiland, the Director of Christian Education & Youth Ministry at First Lutheran Church, at 412-877-7124 or clw@flcpittsburgh.org.

Adults are also invited to participate; the camp’s success depends on our crew of dedicated, creative adult volunteers.  If you can spend the week with us (or if you can help for a day, a morning, or an afternoon) we would love to have you! Please complete the Youth Counselor & Adult Volunteer Registration Form below or speak with Cora Weiland if you are interested in taking part.

Camp Downtown is supported by Smithfield United Church of Christ, First Lutheran Church, First Presbyterian Church, Epiphany Catholic Church, St. Mary of Mercy, and Trinity Cathedral. Together, learning more about our diversity and finding common ground, we live out Jesus’ prayer that “they may all be one.”

Camp Downtown 2013 Flyer
Camper Registration Form 2013
Youth Counselor & Adult Volunteer Registration Form 2013

The Southwestern Pennsylvania’s monthly synod youth event is coming to First Church on April 14^th for a city scavenger hunt.  (Some of you may remember this from the ELCA 2012 Youth Gathering in New Orleans; only this time, it’s all about Downtown Pittsburgh!)  The event will start at 5:00 PM.

PARKING: On Sundays, parking is available at the Mellon Square garage (which is on Sixth Avenue between William Penn Place and Smithfield Street) and Smithfield/Liberty garage (which is on Smithfield Street across from The Smithfield United Church of Christ) for $1.00. Tickets just need to be validated at the church to receive this rate. On-street parking is also available at metered spots.

PRAYING WITH POEMS

Looking for an opportunity to refresh and re-energize your prayer life? Maybe you should keep a book of poems next to your Bible and prayer book in that quiet place where you listen to and speak with God.

For six Sundays after Easter (April 7 – May 12) the Adult Sunday School Class will explore some ways of reading scripture and praying with poetry.

“Poetry,” said Robert Frost, “is when an emotion has found its thought and the thought has found words.” Whether you find it in the Book of Psalms, a Shakespearean sonnet, or an epigram by Emily Dickinson, a poem can suddenly move you by its beauty, soothe you with its rhythm, and surprise you that someone else has expressed exactly that feeling for which you could never find the words. Other poems surprise you with the clarity of their images, or how they see connections where before you had found only differences.

Paul Kane and Nola Garrett will lead us in this exploration of poetry for meditation. One of our retired Pastors-in-Residence, Paul Kane is emeritus professor of English at Concord University, where he taught courses in medieval and renaissance literature. Ms. Garrett, a member of First Church since 2012, is another emeritus professor of English, having taught writing and literature at Edinboro University. She is also a prize-winning poet and the author of several books, including The Dynamite Maker’s Mistress (David Robert Books 2009) and The Pastor’s Wife Considers Pinball (Mayapple Press 2013).

The poems read and discussed in class may be as old as the Bible, as familiar as a hymn-text, or as contemporary as one of Nola Garrett’s recent compositions, but a disproportionate number of them will be selected from the works of British poets of the seventeenth century. That’s because the idea for this class emerged when Cora Weiland and Pr. Kane discovered that they shared a passion for the writings of John Donne and George Herbert. Come, join us for “Praying with Poems.” Find out which poems best speak for you.

A child dies from malaria every 60 seconds.

Today we are in a special moment where we could turn this around. Working though Lutheran churches in Africa, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Malaria Campaign is uniquely positioned to provide mosquito nets, insecticides, medication, health care, education and more to help eliminate deaths from this disease—for good.

First Church’s Sunday School is collecting a special offering through the Easter season for this effort.  If you would like to contribute to this offering, donations can be made to First Lutheran Church, noting that it is for the ELCA Malaria Campaign.

If you would like to learn more about the Malaria Campaign, which began in 2011 and hopes to raise $15 million by 2015, visit: http://www.elca.org/Our-Faith-In-Action/Responding-to-the-World/ELCA-Malaria-Campaign.aspx

The Gift of Years by Joan Chittister

recommended by Pastor Roth as a great resource for growing older.

Part I, January 6, 2013

Download: The-Rev.-Dr.-David-P.-Gleason-Reflections-on-24-Years-of-Ministry-Part-I.mp3

As it is with many professions, it is common for pastors to participate in an exit interview. This time of reflection can be helpful for both the pastor as he concludes his ministry in and with a congregation and the congregation as they approach a pastoral transition.

On January 6, Pastor Gleason started to reflect on his 24 years of ministry at First Church by responding to a variety of frequently-asked questions. First Church members, Terry and Beth Caywood guided the conversation.

Pastor Gleason concluded this time of reflection on January 13th. Howard Friday and Cora Weiland guided this conversation. These conversations are available here for you to listen to.

The Rev. Dr. David P. Gleason – Reflection on 24 Years of Ministry (Part I)
The Rev. Dr. David P. Gleason – Reflection on 24 Years of Ministry (Part II)
(Right-Click and click Save As to download)

If you would like to receive a weekly email of Parish News, please contact the church office.

The group meets on Thursday evenings downstairs in the C.P. Krauth Room. Sessions begin at 5:30 PM and last one hour. Carl Hendrickson is the group’s moderator.

We need the following items:

• medium boxes of cereal
• canned vegetables
• spaghetti sauce
• pasta meals
• tuna
• peanut butter
• Flip-top canned food that can be easily opened by the homeless
• Deodorant

If you wish to make a monetary donation to the Walk-In Ministry you may do so by writing a check to “First Lutheran Church,” earmarked for the Walk-In Ministry.