Coronavirus challenges affecting all religious denominations

From Pittsburgh-

“While I believe it is of great importance that we continue to worship on Sundays, to offer the ‘sacrifice of praise’ on behalf of the church and the world, I do not want our public gatherings to contribute to a public health crisis,” said Bishop Dorsey W.M. McConnell of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.

McConnell said at least five Episcopal parishes in the Pittsburgh diocese are making plans to offer online services.

Among those canceling services for the time being is Cornerstone Ministries, a nondenominational mega church on Route 22 in Murrysville.

“After prayerful conversation with our church elders and staff, we are temporarily postponing all ministry events” through March 27, the church posted on its Facebook page, where it intends to livestream this weekend’s message.

More here-

https://triblive.com/local/westmoreland/coronavirus-challenges-affecting-all-religious-denominations/

Coronavirus Changes: St. Paul’s Episcopal Church Streams Services On Facebook

From Pittsburgh-

Last week, the Catholic Diocese of Greensburg suspended the obligation for parishioners to attend Sunday mass and on Sunday, the Diocese of Pittsburgh canceled all masses. 

On Sunday, St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mount Lebanon held it’s usual Sunday worship service.
Except, there was one change. 

For the first time ever, the service was delivered before an empty church. 

“Everything in our world is changing right now but our god is not changing,” said Rev. Noah Evans.
There was nothing but sitting room during Sunday’s mass, which was streamed on the Church’s Facebook page. 

The pews were completely empty as Rev. Evans preached before the virtual audience while looking into an iPad. 

More here-

https://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2020/03/15/st-paul-episcopal-online-church-service/

St. Andrew’s Church in New Kensington holds final service for its faithful

From Pittsburgh-

St. Andrew’s Church in New Kensington has sat empty for seven years. On Thursday, roughly 30 parishioners filled the pews one last time.

Together they prayed, received Communion, and listened as Episcopal Bishop Dorsey W.M. McConnell deconsecrated the 71-year-old building, which is in the process of being sold.
“This is a hard thing to do under any circumstances,” McConnell said.

The church, part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, has been without an active congregation for several years.

It was last used by a congregation of the Anglican Church in North America, which moved out of the building in 2013. The original St. Andrew’s congregation was among the 42 parishes that left the Pittsburgh Episcopal Diocese in 2008 to join the Anglicans.

The diocese attempted to restart a parish at the church after the Anglican congregation left, but it was unsuccessful, the Rev. Canon Kimberly Karashin said. She said congregations that looked at the church told the diocese it was too big and would be too expensive to maintain.

More here-

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/st-andrews-church-in-new-kensington-holds-final-service-for-its-faithful/

Dorsey McConnell Bishop of Pittsburgh to retire

From Pittsburgh-

The Feast of Saint John of Damascus

December 4, 2019

 

My dear friends and colleagues in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, 

Today is the 36th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood, and I am now well into my eighth year among you as your bishop. These facts seem hardly possible, especially that my time here has passed so quickly; that I am now 66 years old; that we have been through so much, accomplished so much, in what seems to me the twinkling of an eye. 

However, I know it is now time for me to plan for the future – yours and my own. With the consent of the Presiding Bishop, I am calling for the election of the ninth Bishop of Pittsburgh, who will be consecrated on April 24, 2021. I will remain the Ecclesiastical Authority, and will retain full jurisdiction, until the moment I hand the crozier to my successor on that day, which will also be the effective date of my retirement.

https://myemail.constantcontact.com/A-Letter-to-the-Diocese-From-the-Bishop.html?soid=1102573040587&aid=YtJkigvOsEI

Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life shul to hold High Holiday services at local church

From Pittsburgh-

Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life congregation will hold its High Holiday services in an Episcopal church located just down the street. 

The Calvary Episcopal Church reached out to the congregation just days after the October 27 attack that left 11 Jewish worshippers dead, offering its building for any of the congregation’s needs, the Episcopal News Service reported. 

The congregation, known formally as Tree of Life*Or L’Simcha Congregation, has been holding Shabbat services in the social hall of Rodef Shalom Congregation, another Pittsburgh-area congregation, but it needs a location that can hold at least 800 people for services for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle reported. The church’s sanctuary can seat 1,000 people.  

More here-

https://jewishnews.timesofisrael.com/pittsburghs-tree-of-life-shul-to-hold-high-holiday-services-at-local-church/

St. Barnabas Episcopal Church celebrates 60 years in Brackenridge

From Pittsburgh-

There was a time, not so long ago, when the congregation of St. Barnabas Episcopal Church had all but disappeared.

When the Rev. Frank Yesko arrived in 2011, he didn’t know if they’d end up closing their doors, but he knew he had to try.

Now, the church has about 100 members.

“It stayed open,” he said, smiling. “We really put our trust in God.”

On Sunday the congregation got to reflect on the history of the church as they celebrated 60 years at its Morgan Street location in Brackenridge. The church moved there in 1959 after outgrowing its first location in Tarentum.

Bishop Dorsey McConnell delivered the sermon for the service.

“60^th anniversary — congratulations,” he said. “That’s a beautiful thing.”

More here-

https://triblive.com/local/valley-news-dispatch/st-barnabas-episcopal-church-celebrates-60-years-in-brackenridge/

Mt. Lebanon Episcopal church looks to the heavens for its electricity

From Pittsburgh-

St. Paul Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon is the first church in the area to “go solar.” The church’s array of 51 rooftop solar panels were dedicated and blessed with holy water at a recent “moving off the grid” ceremony.

The Right Rev. Dorsey W. M. McConnell, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the Rev. Noah H. Evans, rector at St. Paul, dedicated the solar panels at the June 8 event.

The panels were activated at the end of March. For the first full month of use, the church saw a 70% reduction in the amount of purchased electricity. The church, which is a three-story building that is in use seven days a week, previously had a monthly electric bill of $1,000 to $1,300.

Some months, the panels could even make more electricity than the church uses, and generating rebates from the church’s electricity provider, Duquesne Light. So far, the church has received about $400 in reimbursements.

More here-

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/south/2019/06/11/St-Paul-Episcopal-Church-Mt-Lebanon-solar-energy/stories/201906130009

Mt. Lebanon, Pennsylvania, church goes solar

From Pittsburgh-

St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Mt. Lebanon will celebrate its “moving off the grid” when it formally inaugurates its newly installed solar panels during a blessing ceremony to take place on Saturday, June 8 at 3:30 p.m.

Bishop Dorsey McConnell of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh will officiate the service from the roof of the church.

St. Paul’s is the first church in southwestern Pennsylvania to install its own solar panels on-site, while others have switched to solar power through cooperatives or third-party electric providers, according to Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, a State College-based organization that helps communities of faith respond to climate change.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/pressreleases/mt-lebanon-pennsylvania-church-goes-solar/?fbclid=IwAR02BfH518_JKJhZbpTTUci8YLJ9VLP4_3VYOUFtySY5lQ7E3MbwknNPi_k

A different calling? Episcopal Diocese to market Trinity House for leasing or redevelopment

From Pittsburgh-

It has served as a spiritual hub for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and a set for “The Dark Knight Rises” movie. Now the Trinity House, a 20,000-square-foot building in the heart of Downtown, is being marketed for leasing or potential redevelopment.

Diocese officials have hired the Colliers International real estate firm to find a potential tenant or a development partner for the early 20th century building at 325 Oliver Ave. adjacent to Trinity Cathedral.

The historic Gothic-style cathedral itself, completed in 1872, is not affected by the decision.
Trinity House currently houses offices for the cathedral and diocesan staff, meeting space, and social services.

Colliers will pursue two separate paths for the building — finding a tenant or tenants to lease the property or a developer interested in partnering with the diocese to redevelop it.

It plans to issue a request for proposals within the next couple of weeks to judge interest from developers in retrofitting the building or perhaps even demolishing it and starting anew.

Also to be investigated is whether air rights — the right to develop above a property — can be used to expand the four-story building.

More here-

https://www.post-gazette.com/business/development/2019/06/03/Trinity-Cathedral-Trinity-House-Episcopal-Diocese-Downtown/stories/201906040067

Prayer service honors flood victims, church’s history

From Johnstown-

At the beginning of a community prayer service held Sunday to commemorate the 130th anniversary of the 1889 Johnstown Flood, rumbles of thunder and the sound of rain spread throughout the sanctuary of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church. 

“You know, I didn’t ask God for the sound effects, but God provided them,” said the Rev. Nancy L. Threadgill, priest in charge at St. Mark’s. 

The service honored Father Alonzo Potter Diller, rector of St. Mark’s, his wife, Marion Diller and their children, all of whom perished at the church, as well as other victims of the flood. 

Behind the altar, an inscription reads, “to the glory of God and in loving memory of Alonzo Potter Diller – many waters cannot quench love.” A stained glass window at the church pays tribute to Marion Diller, displaying the date of her birth and her death. 

Threadgill said Diller was known to spend time out in his community and, about a month before he and his family were killed in the flood, he turned down an offer at a larger rectory in Pittsburgh. 

More here-

https://www.tribdem.com/news/prayer-service-honors-flood-victims-church-s-history/article_75508cf0-7ab1-11e9-b34a-cbc017c0fd3c.html

1889 Johnstown Flood commemorated Guided tours will be available at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church

From Western PA-

In the aftermath of the 1889 flood and despite considerable damage to the 1874 church building and rectory, the death of its rector, and over half of its communicants, St. Mark’s congregation continued meeting in the “Ark,” a temporary small wooden structure furnished by the American Red Cross. The response to the 1889 Johnstown Flood marked the first time the Red Cross was mobilized. The head of the organization, Clara Barton, decided to build “Red Cross Hotels” to house the homeless of Johnstown and surrounding areas. 

Bishop Cortlandt Whitehead of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh gave the St. Mark’s site to the American Red Cross for use in the Johnstown recovery efforts. The first “Red Cross Hotel” was built on the St. Mark’s site. 

Later, the site of St. Mark’s was returned to the Diocese and the present day church was built and consecrated on May 31, 1891, the second anniversary of the 1889 flood. 

More here-

http://www.altoonamirror.com/life/area-life/2019/05/1889-johnstown-flood-commemorated/

Amid Pittsburgh division, a priest revives the parish that raised him

From ENS-

When the Rev. Kris Opat returned to St. David’s Episcopal Church in suburban Pittsburgh in 2012, only 20 people were there to start over as a congregation with him. The sanctuary, which seats 300, made the group look even smaller. The building’s previous occupants, part of the Anglican Church in North America, had just decamped.

Ordained for only three years, Opat had never been a priest-in-charge.

Today, St. David’s is a growing parish with almost 300 members, mostly busy young families in a growing suburb who have no previous Episcopal ties. They hear the message of Christ’s unconditional love preached every week from Opat, 38, a trained engineer with dreadlocks who grew up in this congregation.

Opat’s entire career as a priest has unfolded amid the rancor and litigation in the Diocese of Pittsburgh, and weathering that conflict has influenced his welcoming, no-nonsense approach to ministry.

“The split in 2008 was terrible, but since then some wonderful things have happened,” said the Rev. Lou Hays, a retired priest who served in the diocese and mentored Opat. “St. David’s is the top of the list.”

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/01/23/amid-pittsburgh-division-a-priest-revives-the-parish-that-raised-him/?fbclid=IwAR16f9kqxgfQWBnwfxC03v0RSLz7yF_ry18XZl-D2L8XDZr-kcq65N6x9AM

Tiny Brookline Episcopal church feeds hundreds on Christmas Day

From Pittsburgh-

In a Brookline kitchen that is a tight fit for two and packed with six, 900 meals are made to roll on Christmas Day.

The Church of the Advent has a congregation of just 20 to 30 worshipers, but their big hearts are contagious. They have been feeding the lonely and the needy on Christmas since at least 1951, as near as anyone can figure. The church also offers free meals on Wednesdays throughout the year.
About a decade ago, when Jacqueline Hohmann arrived, the church stepped up its Christmas game, and others followed. Today there really is such a thing as too many cooks in a kitchen — but only because the tight squeeze won’t allow for more.

When the parish administrator from Bethel Park began as a volunteer, there were a few delivered meals, a few pickups and a few people who came to eat in the dining hall alongside the kitchen. Ms. Hohmann took over the free holiday meals in 2008, and that year she began advertising in Brookline Boulevard storefronts and wherever else her flyers were welcome.

More here-

https://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2018/12/25/Tiny-Brookline-Episcopal-church-feeds-hundreds-Christmas-Pittsburgh/stories/201812250079

Pittsburgh, 9 Churches Settle Disputes

From Pittsburgh-

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and nine churches of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh announce that they have reached an agreement regarding disputed properties:

“Even though the issues resolved here originated through division and were often the cause of great pain, we know that as Christians we are called to be ambassadors for Christ and ministers of reconciliation, first among ourselves, and then with the larger world. The Episcopal Diocese and the Parishes have come to recognize that our mutual desire to live according to the Gospel and to share with others the Good News of Jesus Christ far outweighs any differences we have with each other, and this agreement frees us to carry out that mission as we believe God is calling us to do,” said Bishop Dorsey McConnell of the Episcopal Diocese.

Bishop James Hobby of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh issued the following statement in support of the parishes entering into this agreement: “I feel that the settlement is quite remarkable, given the litigious culture in which we live. Clearly, hard work and difficult conversations were part of the negotiations. But, biblical principles and a shared commitment to follow Christ provided a healthy context for pursuing the discussions with mutual respect and understanding. A commitment to our fundamental mission was greater than our differences. While differences remain between the parties, I pray that Jesus’ prayer for unity in Him and His truth will one day find expression throughout the Church.”

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/2018/12/11/pittsburgh-9-churches-settle-disputes/

Anti-Semitism in the Episcopal Church

From The Living Church-

After the shooting at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, the Rt. Rev. Dorsey McConnell, Bishop of Pittsburgh, released a statement inviting Episcopalians “to refute in every way, in every forum, the philosophical foundations of anti-Semitism wherever they have gained a foothold in our churches and our society.” In the spirit of McConnell’s call for self-examination and repentance, perhaps it is time for the Episcopal Church to reflect on its complicity in anti-Semitism.

This may strike some as surprising since the Episcopal Church seems to be the vanguard of progressive mainline Christianity. Citing the single most-quoted clause of the Baptismal Covenant, Episcopalians have been quick to condemn instances when racists or neo-nationalists have violated the dignity of human beings. Robert Bowers’ deranged attack at the Tree of Life synagogue seems to have been motivated by these forces, lately given new life by the populist politics of the extreme right. However, anti-Semitism is not only a problem of the neo-nationalist right; it is increasingly a problem of the progressive left.

Lord Jonathan Sacks, former Chief Rabbi of the United Kingdom, describes anti-Semitism, or the attitude that denies the right of Jews to exist collectively as Jews, as a “virus that has survived over time by mutating.” He continues,

More here-

https://livingchurch.org/covenant/2018/11/08/anti-semitism-in-the-episcopal-church/

Statement from Pittsburgh Bishop on Synagogue Shooting

From ENS-

A short time ago, a gunman entered Tree of Life Synagogue in Squirrel Hill, apparently shouting anti-Jewish slogans and shooting into the crowd of worshippers gathered for the Sabbath. As of this writing, eight people are known dead and others injured.

The newscasts, sickeningly, are referring again and again to this horror as a “tragedy.” It is no such thing. A tragedy is inevitable. This was not. It was murder, murder of a particularly vile and poisonous kind. Human beings have moral agency. Someone chose to hate, and chose to kill. And now we are faced with a choice as well— to do nothing, or to reject this hatred in the strongest possible words and actions, and to refute in every way, in every forum, the philosophical foundations of anti-Semitism wherever they have gained a foothold in our churches and our society.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/pressreleases/statement-from-pittsburgh-bishop-on-synagogue-shooting/

Rev. Torrey O. Johnson new ‘Priest in Charge’ at Holy Cross Episcopal Church

From Pittsburgh-

The Rev. Torrey O. Johnson has accepted the call to be the Priest in Charge of the Historic Holy Cross Episcopal Church in Homewood.

A native of Chicago, Rev. Johnson comes to Holy Cross with more than 15 years of ministry work in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He has a proficient background in community development and multicultural ministry.

A Service of Institution for Rev. Johnson was held on April 22 at the church, 7507 Kelly St.

Reverend Dorsey McConnel, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese and Bishop Kurt Kusserow, Bishop of ELCA Southwestern Pennsylvania presided over the service.

In a statement, Rev. Johnson said: “I am excited about the opportunity to serve as the Priest in Charge for the Historic Holy Cross Episcopal Church. The church has over 144 years of ministry serving the disadvantaged. I believe wholeheartedly in this legacy of service, and I am humbled by the opportunity to be a public theologian and continue this rich tradition of service to the community.”

More here-

https://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2018/06/10/accepting-the-call/ 

A higher chime to God? The mysterious 11th bell at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral

From Pittsburgh-

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral was ready to rededicate its 10 bells in December, after refurbishing its steeple. Forty trash bags of guano had been cleared out, screens had been put up to keep out the pigeons, the bells had been safely rehung, and a new programmable system to play them had been installed after the 60-year-old electric keyboard had broken the previous year.

After work on the tower was finished, the new superintendent turned his attentions to a corner in the basement that had been used as a dumping site for building materials. Amid the debris of bags of cement and mortar, Ken Alexander found one crate too heavy to move. He pried open the box, made out of heavy hardwood planks, and found an 11th bell.

It had been made by the same long-closed Meneely Foundry, of Watervliet, N.Y. that manufactured the other 10 bells. As far as anyone knows, it never has been in the steeple. Maybe it was supposed to be, but the cathedral staff does not know that either.

The bell, while smaller than all 10 in the tower, seems to fit the set, a half-step above the current highest pitch. But the church had no records of ever having it, and has been unable, so far, to identify how or why it ended up in the basement.

More here-

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2018/05/02/eleventh-bell-Trinity-Episcopal-Cathedral-pittsburgh-rededication/stories/201805020194

Stand-off ends between Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and breakaway parishes

From The Church Times-

THE US Episcopal diocese of Pittsburgh has reached an “amicable” agreement with a group of breakaway parishes over the ownership and use of church property, after a decade of dispute and confidential negotiations.

Nine congregations voted to leave the Episcopal Church in October 2008 (News, 9 October 2008) to form the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, five years after the Episcopal Church in the US ordained its first openly gay bishop.

They were: St Peter’s, Butler; St Mary’s, Charleroi; Christ Church, Fox Chapel; Christ’s Church, Greensburg; St Alban’s, Murrysville; Church of the Ascension, Oakland; St Stephen’s, Sewickley; St Peter’s, Uniontown; and Trinity, Washington.

The congregations have been at loggerheads with the Episcopal diocese over who has ownership of the church buildings.

A joint statement from the Episcopal and Anglican Church of North America dioceses states that the breakaway parishes officially own the properties in which they worship and conduct mission, from the date of the breakaway — 4 October 2008 — but that they are not permitted to sell, lease, or use the property for any other purpose than that for which it was intended when it was created by the Episcopal diocese.

More here-

https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2018/9-march/news/world/stand-off-ends-episcopal-diocese-of-pittsburgh-breakaway-parishes

Me Too founder advocates for community changes

From Pittsburgh-

Tarana Burke remembers the first day she saw “Me Too” used on Twitter — Oct. 15, 2017, when actress Alyssa Milano used the phrase in response to the sexual assault allegations against producer Harvey Weinstein.

Burke, who is known as the first person to use the now-popular phrase, is a supporter of the #MeToo movement on social media, but she doesn’t want people to see the viral slogan as a solution to the problem.

“The solution is listening to the people who’ve had experience, not making more hashtags,” Burke said.

Burke, a civil rights activist and community organizer, stopped by Pittsburgh Tuesday night while traveling around the country to speak about what the movement means to her.

At the event hosted by PublicSource, about 1,000 people gathered in the Calvary Episcopal Church on Shady Avenue to listen to Burke discuss how the movement came about and how it has affected other people. The #MeToo movement spread on social media after sexual misconduct allegations against Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, but Burke began using the term in 2006.

More here-

https://pittnews.com/article/127418/featured/me-too-founder-advocates-community-change/