 April 13: Palm/Passion, 11 AM
"shouting and silence" We will join in Communion, and worship will be guided through select songs from "Jesus Christ Superstar!" April 17, 2025: Maundy Thursday, 7 PM "power and humility" We will join in Communion, and worship will be in the style of Taize. The service will start in the Gathering Place and move to the Sanctuary. April 18, 2025: Good Friday, 11 AM "acceptance and resistance" We will use Richard Rohr's Universal Christ Liturgy: "It Can't Be Carried Alone" as we gather on a day of mourning. Following this service, we will decorate the sanctuary for Resurrection Sunday! April 20, 2025: Resurrection of the Lord, 11 AM "grief and hope" We will join in Communion, celebrating the joyful feast Christ shares with us. Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash  April 9, we will enjoy a simple potluck dinner (6:00-6:30 PM) with discussion to follow (6:30-8:00 PM). We will gather at the Apessos Home to discuss our next book: Queer Virtue: What LGBTQ People Know About Life and Love and How It Can Revitalize Christianity by Rev. Elizabeth M. Edman. You don't need to have read the book to join in conversation and fellowship!
 Save the date! We are kicking off our season of community dinners our Second Annual Chili Cook-Off. Who will win the Apron this year?
Want to enter a chili? Reach out to the church office. Photo by American Heritage Chocolate on Unsplash  We seek your help in making our sanctuary a place of graceful beauty and meaning on Easter morning. Through your donation, we can accomplish this! Be sure to fill out the form HERE by March 31, 2025.
 Are you interested in taking the next steps in your journey with the Spirit and with this community? Are you baptism-curious? Or wondering about committing yourself to this community and local presence of God's Kingdom?
In the Presbyterian tradition, we believe that all people are ministers of the gospel, so we believe that membership is a commitment to participate in Christ’s mission alongside a local congregation. If you are interested in being baptized, making a declaration of faith, or officially joining in the work of this community by becoming a member, please reach out to Pastor Jason, as he is hoping to schedule an intro class in the coming weeks. So much has happened in the last month. There is so much pain and grief and fear.
Many of us are experiencing anxiety and uncertainty, and in the midst of that, I have hope. I have seen the church operate under the radar other countries. I have seen the faithful work and fruit the church bears when it is pushed into a pressure cooker, but while we are in there, don’t forget to breathe. This is going to be marathon, not a sprint. But we are going to act. The first thing we will be doing is having hope and continuing to gather as a community. The season of Lent is a time for growth in faith—through prayer, spiritual practices, and self-examination in preparation for the commemoration of the dying and rising of Jesus. In many churches, this is a time to nurture those who seek to be baptized or make a declaration of faith. Reconciliation is a key theme in Lent—reconciliation with God and one another through the grace of Christ. We live in a world that wants to put everything into neat and separate boxes, claiming “in v. out,” “right v. wrong,” “black v. white.” However, faith is what happens in the [in] between places. Our theme comes from A Sanctified Art, and this is what they have to say about it: "We invite you to look beyond black and white binaries and easy answers. We encourage you to notice the dichotomies that define our lives, but also imagine where God might be meeting us beyond the categories we create. This theme may resonate with anyone who is in discernment or trying to find their way through an undefined space. It will speak to anyone who feels as if they are living in a divided world. It is for those who seek a spiritual life that engages with complexity instead of avoiding it. This Lent, we're trusting that God shows up in shades of gray, rainbow hues, and everywhere in between." Throughout Lent, we will be making paper cranes during coffee hour in the Gathering Place to decorate the sanctuary for the Easter Season. In Japanese, this practice is called senbazuru—the making of 1,000 paper cranes. It started sometime in the 17th century and has been thought of as a prayer for hope, healing, and peace. This will become our communal Lenten practice, as we strip away the distractions in our lives, allowing for a deeper connection with God, ourselves, and each other. The completed cranes will be displayed in the sanctuary as a symbol of our collective prayer and commitment to action on behalf of the hungry, thirsty, stranger, naked, sick, and in prison (Matthew 25:34-35). Additionally, if you are interested in being baptized, making a declaration of faith, or officially joining in the work of this community by becoming a member, please reach out to me. When we say “Jesus is Lord,” that means “Caesar is not.” Another thing we can do is stay grounded. Rev. Bruce Reyes-Chow, former moderator of the PC(USA) General Assembly, recently posted these questions on his blog:
Be gentle with yourself. Don’t forget to go outside and look at the moon or bend down and look at a leaf on the ground. God is with us. God has not abandoned us. God is moving through us. In Christ’s Love, Pastor Jason |
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First Presbyterian Church of Edgewood | The Community Church | 120 East Swissvale Avenue, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15218 | 412-241-4613