 Re-Wilding Our Faith: Giving Up the Tame to Find the True
Lent is marked by desert stories. Wilderness stories. We see Jesus tested in the wilderness. Abram is called to leave his country and venture out into the wilderness. Moses strikes a rock and water flows forth to quench the thirst of God’s people as they journey through the wilderness. “Wilderness” is rich with metaphor and symbolism in scripture, but Wilderness is also a legal term. In U.S. law, a Wilderness Area is undeveloped federal land where "the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain" (the Wilderness Act of 1964). Last year, I listened to the “How Wild” podcast by NPR, and I was amazed by the depth of scientific thinking surrounding the idea of Wilderness. The host, Marissa Ortega-Welch, troubles this legal definition, as indigenous people have been in North America for at least 23,000 years, and human-caused climate change has left no creature unimpacted. Yet as more and more Wilderness areas are being used for human manufacturing and oil rigs, “Re-Wilding” has become a movement as small as your backyard and as big as the Amazon Rainforest. As the World Wildlife Fund explains, “Rewilding can mean a lot of different things. It ranges from not mowing grass verges, to restoring rivers, through to the reintroduction of wild species. Rewilding generally involves letting nature take the lead. This is done by restoring natural processes and reducing human management.” Wilderness is complicated, but there is so much it can teach us–if we let it. I once heard Rev. Paula Stone Williams say, “Lost is a place too, and there is wisdom to be gained there.” This has stuck with me for years. I think the Wilderness has a bad reputation, and like Lost, there is wisdom to be gained there. In fact, I wonder if Wilderness might just be the antidote many of us need for a faith that has been tamed by empire and modern life. What might it mean to Re-Wild our lives, our faith, ourselves? We may not know where we are going, but we need the Wilderness because it's a place of transformation. I hope you will join us on Ash Wednesday (Feb 18, 7 PM) as we begin the journey of letting the Wild God lead. See you in the Wilderness, Pastor Jason  FPCE is going to be building Blessing Bags following worship and Congregational Meeting on Feb 15th. In addition to everyone having the opportunity to distribute bags, we will be sharing bags with Operation Safety Net to pass out while helping those in need. Please feel free to purchase directly through our Amazon Wish List or purchase items and drop off at the church. We will also be accepting financial donations which will help fill in any gaps we may have with various items. Please limit donations to the following items: toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, comb, Chapstick, small packs of tissues, hand sanitizer (small), applesauce (squeeze packets), granola bars, crackers, chicken/tuna packets, jerky sticks, dried fruit, fruit snacks, bottled water, socks, plastic forks/spoons.
The Annual Congregational Meeting will take place on Sunday, February 15 immediately following worship. Ministry team and committee reports will be received and the final budget approved by Session will be reviewed by the congregation. All Committee/organizations’ narrative reports are due February 9 in order to include in the printed Annual Report. Submit to [email protected].   Our next installment of first Wednesday Community Meals will be a celebration of the SOUPer Bowl - a variety of tasty homemade soups to share with our friends and neighbors. Join us on Wednesday, February 4 at 6pm downstairs in the Social Room. As always, these meals are free and open to the community and run until the soup pots are empty (typically 60-90 minutes). Warm up with your neighbors and celebrate the big game!
 First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood is pleased to again offer a weekly yoga session at the church on Saturday mornings in the Gathering Place. Led by Heather Derby, Yoga will run for 9 consecutive Saturdays beginning on January 31 at 10am and ending on March 28, 2026.
Yoga at the Church is open to all and will operate on a "pay what makes you happy" donation model. Bring a mat (or borrow one!) and join us on Saturdays! Why Yoga? In recent years, the practice of yoga has found its way into various aspects of Western life, including discussions within Christian communities. For some, the Eastern origins of yoga raise questions about its compatibility with Christian faith. However, for many, including Christians practicing yoga, it offers a profound path to holistic well-being that can deepen their spiritual lives. The question "Can Christians do yoga?" is often met with a resounding "Yes" from those who approach it with a deep sense of gratitude and respect for its ancient history. The intention is not to "Christianize" yoga, but rather to embrace practices that contribute to a holistic Christian spirituality. Yoga, at its core, is a discipline of mind, body, and spirit, fostering mindfulness, physical strength, and inner peace – all elements that can complement a life of faith. One aspect of yoga that offers rich theological reflection for Christians is the greeting "Namaste." Often translated as "The divine in me bows to the divine in you," or "The light in me honors the light in you," Namaste resonates deeply with our understandings of Christ’s incarnation—fully God and fully human. Considering the incarnation, Namaste speaks to the truth that God, in Jesus, took on human flesh. The "divine" fully entered and honored "the human." When we offer Namaste, we acknowledge the inherent dignity and the image of God present within each person, because God has come to dwell among us and embody humanity. It is a recognition of the sacredness infused into Creation through the very act of God becoming human. “Namaste” is an affirmation that every human being carries the imprint of a divine design, ultimately pointing to Christ, and it acknowledges the Spirit’s indwelling in each of us. For Christians, practicing yoga and using greetings like "Namaste" can become a powerful embodied prayer, a way to honor God's presence in others, and a tangible expression of Christian love and respect for the sacredness of human life, rooted in the truths of our faith. It's an invitation to find common ground in shared humanity while deepening our understanding of Christian truths. Namaste.  Due to the snow storm over the weekend and cold temperatures, the church building is closed on Monday, January 26, 2026. The church office is closed, and the following groups will not meet in person at the church:
Join us at 8:00PM in the Sanctuary on Wednesday, December 24 for our annual Christmas Eve Communion & Candlelight worship service. Continuing with our Advent them "What do you fear?" from A Sanctified Art, the theme of the evening is "Good News is Louder Than Fear." The Christmas season can be filled with saccharine images of Mary, meek and mild, with a quiet, sleepy Jesus in her arms. But the host of angels shouts to the skies, “Glory to God in the highest!” What would it look like for us to proclaim the good news loudly, with overflowing joy? In a world that weaponizes fear, where algorithms decide what gets weight, what gets circulated, and what takes up space, let us be disruptive with our joy. Let us be loud and unruly, amplifying the good news like the shepherds running into the streets of Bethlehem. In a world where good news never feels loud enough to drown out fear, let us shout with the angels, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace!”   Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the worship at FPCE will still take place from the warmth of our homes. We have made the decision to move from in-person worship to a Zoom prayer service. The North Hills Singers visit has been canceled, and the congregational meeting will be rescheduled for a later date as determined by Session.
To view the adapted bulletin for today's worship, click the following link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18O26o_mi23uU-MhGI3b-Znnfcn8yPZnV5894pGud3Yw/edit?usp=sharing  Nothing beats A VC Holiday! Join Vocal Confluence for its annual holiday show, "A VC Holiday - A Cappella Sounds of the Season." Featuring our all-voice barbershop chorus as well as many talented small groups, there is sure to be something for everyone to enjoy. Shows are Saturday, December 13 at 7:30PM and Sunday, December 14 at 3:00PM in the FPCE Sanctuary. In the spirit of the holiday season, we will once again be offering the Pay What You Can ticketing model. Donations are greatly appreciated at the door, but no advanced tickets will be sold. Seating will be first-come, first-served. Don't forget to follow us on all social media platforms for all updates on this incredible holiday tradition!  The Edgewood Symphony Orchestra’s annual holiday concert will take place here at First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood on Saturday night, December 6 at 7:30PM. Always a favorite among residents, magical surprises await you in this joyful concert featuring the ESO debut of soprano Chantal Braziel. And, of course, no holiday celebration would be complete without a visit from dear old Santa! More information and a link to tickets for this concert, and all of this season’s concerts, are at www.edgewoodsymphony.org.  |
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First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood | The Community Church | 120 East Swissvale Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15218 | 412-241-4613