TRINITY Fall 2014

A PUBLICATION OF THE ANGLICAN DIOCESE OF PITTSBURGH

TRINITYFall 2

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In This Issue...Assembly 2014

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In Ministry with Collin and Elizabeth Messer

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Meet the Archbishop Foley Beach

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Dear Friends,I have always loved this verse. The writer of Hebrews longs for beleaguered Christians to stand firm in their faith, and so reminds them (and us) of the majesty, power and approachability of God in Jesus Christ. And then this fur-ther prod: “Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds.” We are challenged to push each other forward in faith – provoke is the word used in the NRSV translation. It is not a passive or gentle word. We are called to incite or irritate or aggravate one another to be the people God is called us to be. We are meant to be pushy with each other when it comes to challenging our fellow Christians to be loving and good. We may not like being pushy – but Hebrews challenges us to be so, out

of love for God and love for our fellow believers. We’re meant to be passionate about helping each other to love and to do good.”

Hebrews goes on, “not neglecting to meet together…but encouraging one another.” Encouraging is another interesting word. It literally means “being called alongside” and is used to describe the Holy Spirit – the One who is called alongside us to help and guide. It is much more than say-ing nice things. It involves figuring out what will strengthen our companion – what will help him or her endure in suf-fering, grow in faith, shine with Christ’s love – and giving such help.

I think many of us fall short of this call because we do not want to be obnoxious or judgmental. We are afraid to do and say faith-inciting things to one another

because we don’t want to hurt feelings or make people mad. But I wonder if such fears keep us from being vibrant and strong. What would it look like in

your life if you were to be one of those who provoked others into love and good action? How would your congregation be different if you were a band of people who were pushy in their encouragement of each other?

This issue of TRINITY is filled with examples of people and congregations who are engaged in provoking love and good deeds. May they inspire you – indi-vidually and along with others – to get pushy in your encouragement of one another. n

Faithfully,

Provoking Love and Good Deeds“And let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good deeds.” –Hebrews 10:24

By The Rev. Canon Mary Maggard Hays, Canon to the Ordinary

We are meant to spur each other on when it comes to challenging

our fellow Christians to be loving and good.

O N T H E S U R E F O U N D A T I O N

2 TRINITY Fall 2014

Editor Jordan Markley

Design Kostilnik & Associates Graphics, Inc.

Columnists Canon Mary Maggard Hays

Contributors David Rucker Charles Treichler Jacob Stubbs Kurt Dudt Peggy Noll

CONTACT INFORMATION

Communications DirectorJordan Markley

Phone: (412) 281-6131

Email: [email protected]

Web site: www.pitanglican.org

Fax: (412) 322-4505

SUBMISSION INFORMATION

TRINITY is a quarterly publication of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. Submissions for the next issue of Trinity must arrive at the diocesan offices by Nov. 30 to be considered for publication. Documents that are not created in MS Word should be sent as text documents. Photos should be minimum 300 dpi. Photos to be returned must be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope with proprietary information on the back of each photo.

The Most Rev. Robert Wm. Duncan, Archbishop and Bishop

Fall 2014 TRINITY 3

FEATURES4 • A New Day by Jordan Markley

4 • Interview with an Archbishop by Jacob Stubbs

6 • White Wins National Honors for Work in St. Stephen’s Library by Peggy Noll

8 • In Ministry with Collin & Elizabeth Messer by Jordan Markley

10 • ARDF: Partner with Anglicans in South Sudan to Provide Education and Discipleship for Young Women by Charles Treichler

13 • Seeking Fellowship, Clergy Band Together by Jordan Markley

14 • Gaining a Hearing for the Gospel in the Secular University by Jonathan Warren and Tish Harrison Warren

18 • Assembly 2014 by Jordan Markley

20 • Franklin Graham’s Festival of Hope Proclaims Gospel Message in Pittsburgh by David Rucker

22 • Clergy Milestones | Diocesan Calendar: September through December

23 • Kickstarting Your Bible Reading Habit by Kurt Dudt and the BLTF

24 • St. Stephen’s Turns 150

EDITORIALS2 • On the Sure Foundation: Provoking Love and Good Deeds

The Rev. Canon Mary Maggard Hays

On the Cover: Acolytes lead the recessional at a service of Thanksgiving, held at Church of the Ascension in June. The Service, which preceded Assembly

2014, was held to honor and thank Bishop Bob for his service to the province.

I n T h i s I s s u e . . .

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TRINITY

The ACNA has a new Archbishop, the

Most Rev. Foley Beach.

Collin and Elizabeth Messer work together to minister to

students at Grove City College and Grace Anglican Church.

Assembly 2014 was an exciting gathering punctuated

by joyous celebrations and enthusiastic expressions of our

Anglican faith.

Correction: In the previous edition of TRINITY, we mistakenly said that the Archbishop Emeritus Duncan’s consecration of St. Peter’s Anglican Church in Tallahassee, FL was a unique event. In fact, Duncan was invited to participate in many consecration services during his time as archbishop. In most cases, these were churches in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh in which he presided as the diocesan bishop. He did however consecrate another major facility, Christ Church Montgomery, in Alabama.

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4 TRINITY Fall 2014

A New Day By Jordan Markley

When Assembly 2014 drew to a close this June, the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) experienced its first changing of the guard, as the Most Rev. Robert Duncan passed on responsibility for leading the

112,000 member church to the Most Rev. Foley Beach.

Over 900 church members, ecumenical partners, and international dignitaries attended the four-day conference that culminated in a 10am service at the basilica of the St. Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. During the service, Archbishop Beach delivered the sermon, encouraging the church to move boldly forward into the future, and asking for prayer as he begins this new season of ministry.

“Our responsibility is to be faithful and diligent in preaching the Word; it is up to the Holy Spirit’s timing for that Word to bear fruit,” Beach told the crowd. “Some of us will preach the Word with sermons. Some of us will do this with service. Some of us will do this with sacrifice.”

After becoming the official head of the ACNA, Beach was handed the primatial cross; a symbol of the office’s authority.

The new archbishop was elected unanimously by the college of bishops after a three-day conclave held in the crypt of the basilica at the St. Vincent Archabbey.

“I am delighted by this election and how the College of Bishops, after much deliberation and prayer, came to a unanimous decision,” Duncan said. “This is a happy day for the Anglican Church in North America, a happy day for the Anglican Communion, and a happy day for the Christian Church.”

The new archbishop will serve a five-year term and is eligible for re-election.

Beach has served as bishop of the Diocese of the South since 2010, when he was consecrated by Duncan in front of an audience of more than 800. At the time, Duncan was the first archbishop of the ACNA and Beach the first bishop of the newly created Diocese of the South. He also served as rector of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, Georgia from its founding in 2004 until December of 2013.

A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the School of Theology at the University of the South and Georgia State University, he has served in ministry with Young Life, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church.

His passion is to share the Word of God in such a way as to help others discover the incredible living Jesus. He and his wife, Allison, have two grown children and make their home in the Metro-Atlanta area.

They have been married more than 30 years,

A formal service of investiture will take place in Atlanta, Georgia on the evening of October 9, 2014 with expected attendance and participation by archbishops and bishops from throughout the global Anglican family. n

Interview with an ArchbishopThe following are excerpts from an interview conducted by Jacob Stubbs for the website “Juicy Ecumenism.”

Q: How would you define the Anglican identity?” What does ACNA distinc-tively have to offer both Christians and non-Christians in America? Should Anglicans have more of a “confessional” identity? Is the new catechism an attempt to develop a more confessional identity, especially given Dr. Packer’s recommendation to teach it in ACNA parishes at the Provincial Assembly?

Abp. Beach: Let me answer that last question first. I think a lot of us get in trouble when we think we have the Anglican identity, because we’re a diverse lot. From our formation days back in the Reformation, we’ve been a diverse group. Currently—and this is something I think that’s very distinctive about who we are— we are a group that is Anglo-Catholic, Evangelical and Charismatic. Some call that the ‘Three Streams,’ and that’s a simple way of explaining it. But, even some of our most Anglo-Catholic folks would be more charismatic than I am. All of us tend to have those three streams somewhere in our mix.

I think that’s very unique for American Christianity today. All of us have our core; my core would be evangelical. Although I have the other two pieces, my core or default is evangelical. But, these streams enable us to bring the richness of the breadth of Christianity, and it’s truly powerful when these streams are together.

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Q: Can you tell us a brief version of your testimony? How did the situation in which you grew up shape your call to pastoral ministry? How has it shaped your social vision for the Anglican Church?

Abp. Beach: Well, I think the simplest way is, I was raised in a broken home. Out of that brokenness, I got involved in the Baptist church where I received Jesus as my Lord and Savior. I then went off to high school and got involved in the min-istry of Young Life, which really helped shape me and get my relationship with the Lord on track.

This influenced me in many different ways. Because I was in and out of so many different schools, I learned how to relate to many people. So, when people are walking in a crowd, or seeing people come into our church that I don’t know, it’s not difficult for me to meet them.

I think another aspect is that it has given me a sensitivity to the brokenness in our families and the need [for] the church, in the name of Jesus, [to] try to minister and care for the broken people in our midst. Of course, in the culture, that broken-ness exists as well. And so, trying to have a heart for people in pain and bringing God’s healing touch through Jesus, I think that’s a big part of how the situation in which I grew up shaped me.

Q: Who are your models or inspirations for your ministry as both a priest and bishop?

Abp. Beach: To have one person is really impossible. I think one modern person I would say that’s had a good impact is a man by the name of Sam Shoemaker. He was an Episcopal priest in Pittsburgh, and was really behind the emphasis of “let’s let Pittsburgh be known more for God than for steel.” He was a spiritual leader who created a lot of social ministries and family ministries to reach people with the Gospel. He was the person who was behind AA (Alcoholics Anonymous).

There’s a book he wrote and a poem out of that book called “I Stand at the Door.” The whole thesis is about a person who comes to the Lord and into the door of the House of God. The poem talks about all of these vast rooms in the House of God. Some go down the theological wing, and some get involved in ecstatic experi-ences. But, Shoemaker said, ‘My place is by the door. I stand near the door.’

This theme weaves throughout the whole poem: ‘To help people put their hands on the doorknob. To help people get in the door. To help people find their way into the House of God.’ I would say this theme is something that’s at the center of all of my ministry—helping people find the Lord wherever they may be.

Q: In a Q&A at the Provincial Assembly, you were asked how you will be treating the issue of women’s ordina-tion. As bishop of the Diocese of the South, you did not ordain women. In your response during the Q&A, you demonstrated great charity toward both sides of the debate. Would a volun-tary moratorium on the ordination of women help ease tensions until the task force finishes its work? Does the ques-tion of women’s ordination show the limit of charity in theological disagree-ment?

Abp. Beach: First, let me say that I think a voluntary moratorium would actually not ease the tension. I think it would pour gasoline in the fire. Part of that is, in our constitution and canons, we have left the issue of women’s ordination for each diocese to decide. A lot of people came into the ACNA in good faith that their perspective – including those who ordain women—would be protected and guard-ed. And, people who believe in ordaining women hold their position by conscience

and can Biblically argue it, although I disagree with them. This issue is a very important thing to them, and so I think it would create a lot of tension.

A lot of the women priests in ACNA have stood side-by-side with a number of our bishops and clergy who are against wom-en’s ordination when they were in The Episcopal Church. These women argued for the right of these bishops to have the freedom to not ordain women. Women’s ordination is a very complicated issue, because we’ve got people who have given their heart and soul on each side. And, these people are sincere; they’re godly. And so, I think a voluntary moratorium on women’s ordination would add so many more flames to the fire.

As far as the limit of charity, I think women’s ordination does the opposite; I think it gives us the ability to be charita-ble. Because, here you have someone who you, in your core, disagree with on an issue; and yet, they’re a believer in Jesus. How am I going to treat them? How am I going to act toward them? How am I going to respond to them? I think wom-en’s ordination gives us the opportunity to be charitable. n

Stubbs is a M.A.R. student at Yale Divinity School. Previously, he has researched at a state-level policy organization in Atlanta, GA, and has served as a Fellow at the John Jay Institute. He first discovered the Anglican Tradition at St. Andrew’s Anglican Church in Rome, GA. Follow him on Twitter @theweeklystubb.

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White WinsNational Honors for Work in St. Stephen’s LibraryBy Peggy Noll

Ruth White of St. Stephen’s Church in Sewickley has been named the Outstanding Congregational Librarian of 2014 by the Church and Synagogue Library Association (CSLA), a national organization consisting of over six hundred congregations and syna-gogues throughout the country.

As a new parishioner at St. Stephen’s in 1993, White was asked to help with the library, then comprised of a few bookcases and boxes of donated books, 600 vol-

umes in total.

Over two decades, White supervised the growth of the col-lection to more than 6000 titles, all catalogued with Dewey classification, transforming it into a resource for local chil-dren, parishioners, clergy, seminarians and lay teachers.

“I’ve learned that if it’s something God wants me to do when I say yes, my head just fills with ideas,” White said

White is quick to acknowledge that the growth and develop-ment of the library has been dependent on the many volun-teer helpers she has recruited and trained over the years.

White’s vision of the library as a ministry, undergirded with prayer and shared with the Library Advisory Committee she has gathered around her, is one of her greatest contributions.

Fall 2014 TRINITY 7

Another is her realization that the volunteers themselves are part of the library’s ministry.

One young volunteer gained the courage to apply for a pay-ing job outside the church after learning from Ruth how to handle the filing and alphabetizing of cards in the library.

Another, Kim Cunnard began volunteering 16 years ago. At the time she was confined to a wheelchair and couldn’t hold books between her knees to apply labels to their spines. Thanks to White, her physical limitations proved no obsta-cle; White covered two bricks with felt so that Cunnard could stand books up between them and the two went on apace, working side by side, improving the library. Today Cunnard calls White her “spiritual mother.”

The assistant pastor of St. Stephen’s, Steve Palmer, credits White with making the library a resource for those who want to study theology and the history of the faith.

“She has complemented our collection of basic materials with several academic commentaries and resources to service the clergy and lay teachers in our parish,” Palmer said.

The library is now a comfortable study place for parishioners, including some nearby seminarians.

Carol Meisinger, President of the Southwest Pennyslvania CSLA chapter, nominated White for the award.

In her nomination, Carol called White a “visionary,” who “thinks of something that would be good to add to the library, whether a book, program, or a special new service to members, and she makes it happen.”

White also invited and supported two contributions of artwork by parishioners that grace either end of the high-ceilinged room. At one end, the late Ellie Oliver painted “Thy Word/a Light to our Path/a Lamp to Our Feet,” verse 105 of Psalm 119, a fitting motto for a church library. At the other end, Ellie designed and parishioner Maxine Holmes , a professional quilter, executed a fabric hanging with angels in the heavens above the people below along with the words Ruth saw as the theme of the library ministry, “To God be the Glory.

Ruth received the award at the Annual CSLA Convention luncheon at Lake Oswego in Portland, Oregon, on July 31.

As a diocese we join in congratulating Ruth White and St. Stephen’s on this national recognition for her work by the

Church and Synagogue Library Association. Any members of the Diocese who are out in Sewickley or attending an event at St. Stephen’s are welcome to take the elevator to the third floor to visit the Library Resource Center for themselves. n

In Ministry With

Collin & Elizabeth

MesserBY JORDAN MARKLEY

8 TRINITY Fall 2014

Collin and Elizabeth Messer live on a tree lined street in Grove City, PA. Collin, a professor of American Literature, teaches at nearby Grove City College. Elizabeth is a campus minister partnered with the Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) and Grace Anglican Church in Slippery Rock. During the school year, the Messers’ home serves as an anchor for many Grove City College students, tethering them to the community outside the college.

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Saturday mornings in the summer are comparatively quiet in the Messer house, but you wouldn’t

know it if you were to stop by. Nine year old Mac is running up and down the stairs on his way from the backyard to his room and back again. Cammie, the family’s oldest, is helping Collin. They’re bustling about, tidying the living room; there are former students coming to visit before a wedding on campus. For the Messers, this is as quiet as it gets.

Every year, a new group of English majors cycle through Collin’s American literature surveys while other students encounter Elizabeth in ministry on campus as she meets with students from Grace Anglican to disciple them.

“It is really fun to work together because he meets students that he sends my way and then I work on things where I’m bringing in a speaker for CCO, and he says, ‘I’ll have them speak to the literary magazine students too,” Elizabeth said. “It’s not like everything we do is together, but it’s such a privilege.”

Their ministry isn’t confined to the classroom or small group studies. It’s a ministry woven together from strands that start in the Hall of Arts and Letters, the cafeterias and the small sanctuary in Slippery Rock where Grace Anglican meets. It’s a ministry that finds its center in the Messer home.

Students come to the house for hot meals, bible studies, and to step outside of dorm life, a space that often feels like a mono-culture. To really get an idea of their ministry, they say you have to ask the students that have lived in their basement, the ones who have seen the dirty laundry pile up and the children disciplined and the frantic pace that the Messer family’s life can take on, even in a sleepy Western Pennsylvania town.

The two joke that they embrace the “muddle through” model of ministry.

Rather than try to emulate the idealized notions of marriage and family that per-vade American, and particularly evangeli-cal, culture, they invite students into the nitty-gritty of family life. It’s a ministry members of Falls Church Episcopal mod-eled for them when they were in their early twenties.

Both Collin and Elizabeth spent a year working with the National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. after col-lege. Though they were in the capitol at different times, they both ministered to college students, connecting them with Christian political leaders. They were also adopted into the larger family of Falls Church.

Leaders and friends of the NPB housed and fed them, they ministered to them, and they even introduced them to each other.

For Collin, the network of friendships, acts of service, communal meals, shared cars and shared burdens provided a new insight into family, one that was much broader than he had known.

“The friends that shaped us, our friends in DC, were so concerned with the heart, and so concerned with these questions of how your life in faith is applied to your life and your marriage. They had this commitment to being reconciled,” Collin said.

It’s a lesson he’s carried with him into his career as a professor.

“I think a lot of my students come to the question of spiritual formation from sort of a worldview thing which is, Jamie Smith calls it, ‘ex-carnate.’ It’s really all cerebral,” Colin said. “We’ve been put in this community of students and we are really excited about opening our home to them. The second step for us is ask-ing how we can thoughtfully connect the academic project, and their calling here, to a robust Christian life.”

That syncretism, the connection of heart and mind and action, is something that few students glean from the classroom. By serving as older, wiser friends as well as teachers and ministers, they hope to bridge that gap.

When Elizabeth left UT Austin to work in the same ministry in D.C., she was similarly welcomed and included. It was seeing an incarnational ministry at work that inspired her and gave her a vision for the ministry they carry on today, a ministry that’s about sharing the work of orienting the heart toward God amidst the details of the everyday.

“A barrier, I think, is when people say ‘only when I have it all together will I be willing to invite people into my life.’” Elizabeth said. “I think it’s the broken-ness and imperfection that makes people feel welcome, because they have broken-ness and imperfection and feel just like I do. I can relate to that, I can’t relate to perfection.”

That ministry started when she married Collin and moved into a historic dorm. For the first five years of their marriage, they lived on campus at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill while Collin pursued his PhD. They spent the time serving students, sharing their newlywed lives with them. Since arriving in Grove City they’ve committed to providing counsel and a respite to their students, they want to see them integrate their faith in their lives.

The two a talk openly about the risks involved with a ministry that’s all about pouring into students who come into their lives for a short time. Both Collin and Elizabeth field questions about how they can keep the student’s names straight, or deal with the crises that emerge when you become friend and mentor, while serving as teacher.

Continued on page 15)

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Partners with Anglicans in South Sudan to Provide Education and Discipleship for Young WomenBy Charles Treichler

In South Sudan, only 16% of women and girls are literate, but thanks to a new ARDF funded project female students in the Anglican Diocese of Aweil and Abyei will receive a quality Christian education and hope for a better future.

ARDF

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A Nation in Crisis:

South Sudan suffers from the world’s worst literacy rate, and by far the highest maternal mortality rate of any nation. Ongoing violence has destroyed the edu-cational infrastructure, and children—especially girls—desperately need safe places to study and find hope for a better life. In many places, schools simply do not exist, teachers are rare, and textbooks are too expensive for students to afford.

A New ARDF-Funded Project Brings Hope:

However, local Anglican churches are getting involved on a grass-roots level in South Sudan to make sure that young women can receive an education and gain the skills necessary to earn an income and fight for their property and inheri-tance rights.

In the Diocese of Aweil and Abyei, local leaders came up with a bold plan to con-struct a Christian secondary school for girls that can accommodate 320 students and house at least 40. Funding the proj-ect locally was impossible, so the Diocese approached ARDF and shared their simple vision with us: the school will be a place of safety and discipleship where girls can learn about God’s love as they

study and acquire valuable vocational skills.

We were delighted to partner with the Diocese of Aweil and Abyei, and in July we were even more thrilled to learn about the incredible progress they have already made. Despite ongoing civil war and heavy rain, the classroom and office walls are up, and construction of the dormitory is underway!

Local Connection:

A portion of the funding for this project came from a local team of young Anglicans from St. Stephen’s in Sewickley who ran the Pittsburgh Marathon in order to raise money for the school. Their involvement was a

beautiful example of the Body of Christ working across national boundaries and continents despite oppression and bro-kenness, reminding us that we are part of a vibrant Global Anglican Communion that boasts 85 million members world-wide.

ARDF and the Global Body of Christ:

Most of us think of the Church primarily in terms of its local expression in a par-ish, diocese, or national church. But this project reminds us that Christ’s Body is much bigger than that.

The connection that we in the Diocese of Pittsburgh have with Anglicans in places like South Sudan is real, and the Gospel sets us free to express that organic connection through mutual giving and receiving similar to what we read about in II Corinthians 8 and 9. The suffer-ing saints in Jerusalem were worlds away from the wealthy believers in Corinth, yet St. Paul still considered it a privi-lege for them to be connected in Christ through ministries of mercy.

He wrote, “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (9:12). One

Ongoing violence has destroyed the educational

infrastructure, and children—especially girls—desperately need safe places to study and

find hope for a better life.


of the greatest privileges of being involved with ARDF is seeing firsthand how true this Biblical theme remains today.

Our faithful brothers and sis-ters in South Sudan are deeply

encouraged by this part-nership and literally

give thanks to God on our behalf. We

pray that their example of faith and love for their neighbors in the midst of crisis will serve as a powerful example to us as well.

Thank you so much for your wonder-ful support. Please continue to pray for our Anglican family in this war-torn part of the world.

Find out more and donate online at www.anglicanaid.net n

Education Around the World:In the United States, most of us take our education for granted, and for good reason: literacy rates have remained at 99% since 1970 for both men and women. However, in many parts of the world access to education is only an aspiration:

• 781.2millionpeoplegloballycannotreadorwrite--64%arewomen.

• Ofthe58millionchildrenages6-11whocannotattendschooleachyear,more than half live in Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Moreover,inSub-SaharanAfrica,2/3ofallgirlsmayneverattendschool.

Imagine what it would be like not to be able to read a good book, or the instructions on your child’s medication--or the Bible. Not having access to education can have terrible consequences for individuals and societies. However, the good news is that education is relatively straightforward to provide, and can have immediate positive effects:

• Everyadditionalyearspentinschoolcanincreasepersonalincomeby10%.

• Indevelopingcountries,educatinggirlscanpreventchild-marriage,anddeathin childbirth.

• Thechildrenofeducatedmothersarefiftypercentmorelikelytosurvivepastthe age of 5.

There are few more effective ways to empower the poor and marginalized than to help them pursue their dreams of education and opportunity. Christian education in particular can bring dignity, economic opportunity, and hope in Christ. n


Seeking Fellowship, Clergy Band TogetherBy Jordan Markey

After the Diocesan Clergy Conference of September 2013, The Rev. John Paul Chaney was feeling isolated. In the wake of reorganization after realignment, Chaney felt the loss of regular and close fellowship with many of his friends and colleagues within the diocese. The annual clergy gathering had brought his hunger for more time with his colleagues to the fore. So he decided to do something – and he started small.

When John Paul Chaney called David Rucker and said, “let’s get together for lunch,” he was

hoping to connect with an old friend who he hadn’t had time to talk with at Clergy convention.

It was at that lunch that Chaney and Rucker discovered they shared a desire for more fellowship and more connection with their fellow clergy.

“Parish ministry is changing rapidly,” Rucker said. “We’re learning on the fly and that can be extraordinarily stressful. I’ll admit it - I need to walk with friends that truly understand the unique call we find ourselves in.”

In the weeks following Chaney and Rucker’s meet-up, they invited several oth-ers to lunch. By year’s end, a number of Rectors, including the Rev. John Bailey, the Rev. Dennett Buettner, the Rev. John Fierro, the Rev. John Heidengren and the Rev. David Wilson were meeting regularly to share their journey together.

“After numerous conversations with clergy colleagues, I realized that I was not alone in being isolated and feeling the need for regular clergy support,” Wilson said

Beyond addressing their own needs, the group realized that there were others among the local clergy that were alone in a rapidly changing ministry field. They saw the blessings they were experiencing together, and it inspired them reach out to other clergy.

One of the first persons they reached out to was the Rev. Canon Mary Hays.

Parish ministry has always been a source of stress and a factor in the isolation of clergy, but Canon Mary said Pittsburgh’s clergy have felt the brunt of the impact of shaping a new province in North America. Ministering to the region Archbishop Emeritus Duncan once called the “cock-pit” of Anglican renewal is stressful, and it has been dislocating.

“Our clergy have led their congrega-tions through major changes, especially in terms of finances and facilities,” Hays said. “At the same time, our culture is changing dramatically. This has been spiritually and emotionally costly, even if it has also led to a fresh sense of mission.”

With the support of and encouragement from diocesan leadership the group began to discuss and pray for ways to bless the diocese, its clergy and leadership.

“We met to reflect on what our ministries would look like if we each felt like oth-ers had our back and better understood both the specific challenges each of us faced and the rapid cultural changes that assault the spread of the Gospel,” said Heidengren.

While they considered other roads, they decided to leave the group much as it was.

“For all the needs that exist within our ministries, the simple blessing of fellow-ship remains uniquely powerful and the group’s focus,” Rucker said.

This summer they hosted a cookout at Riverside Park in Oakmont. Over 50 people attended and several insisted the group begin planning for next year. They also organized a Pirates game attended by nearly 30 people on August 27. Discount tickets, excellent seats and a clear after-noon drew clergy from all corners of the diocese.

Canon Mary said it was the simplicity of the group, coupled with their desire to share their lives together, that made it a success.

“When clergy gather in a focused way to discuss the real issues they are facing in ministry, the results are surprisingly helpful,” Hays said. “The key to this group’s success was a shared commitment to honesty, vulnerability and homework assignments. We don’t just meet to social-ize – although we end up having a lot of fun together, too.”

As Dennis Buettner put it, the goal of creating fellowship opportunities is to enhance the relationships between broth-ers and sisters called to love one another.

“The common task of extending God’s Kingdom through the Anglican move-ment in the Diocese of Pittsburgh neces-sarily demands that we work together,” he said. “We will work together much better, the better connected we are.” n


Gaining a Hearing for the Gospel in the Secular UniversityJonathan Warren and Tish Harrison Warren

How does one go about making a case for Christianity in the contemporary academy? The majority of students, fac-ulty, and administrators hold to at least three seemingly

unshakeable dogmas that are almost entirely at odds with the faith we profess: First is a commitment to perspectivalism – no truth emerging from a single community can be universally true for all. Second is a commitment to ontological and methodologi-cal naturalism – scholarship cannot be practiced as if God exists. Third is a strong commitment to the fact/value distinction. “Religion” as such can only be practiced as private devotion and cannot be invoked as authority in public discussion. These dog-mas by no means sit easily with one another and at times clearly conflict, but the proclamation of Christ is often met with one or all of them. How, in such a context, can one get a public hearing for the truth of the gospel?

The Veritas Forum

Over the past two decades, in the midst of this difficult context for mission, the Veritas Forum has winsomely and thoughtfully proposed the Christian faith as a legitimate source of insight in the academy. Veritas partners with registered university minis-tries at colleges around the country to hold events that examine key questions on topics of faith, scholarship, humanity, and cul-ture. They create events featuring accomplished scholars in the natural and social sciences and the humanities who have invest-ed considerable energy thinking through how their particular discipline intersects with faith and transcendent questions about truth. Veritas forums can take a number of forms- ‐- ‐ from panel discussions with agnostic or atheistic professors to scholarly lectures. (InterVarsity Press has published a collection of Veritas Forum talks under the title A Place for Truth if you are inter-ested in examining the range of issues that have been covered as well as the different formats that have been used.)

We moved to Austin, TX just over a year ago out of a sense of calling to bear the good news of Jesus among scholars in the largely post- ‐Christian context of the typical American universi-ty. We began the Texas Christian Scholars Network, a chapter of InterVarsity’s Graduate and Faculty Ministries, at the University of Texas. Previously, we were on staff with InterVarsity at Vanderbilt University and had helped to put on a Veritas Forum there. So when Veritas had access to NT Wright as a potential speaker at UT, they contacted us to help organize a forum.

NT Wright: “The Bible: Gospel, Guide or Garbage”

Even though our small seedling of a ministry has just begun here, we couldn’t pass up the chance to have NT Wright, one of the world’s most articulate, prolific, and engaging bible scholars and defenders of the relevance of Christian orthodoxy, speak on campus. We formed a team with several other campus groups and together brought him in to speak on “The Bible: Gospel, Guide, or Garbage.” At the event, Wright engaged in a dialogue with a Christian philosophy professor, Dan Bonevac, followed by Q & A from the crowd. Wright’s talk was attended by over 700 people, a testament both to his popularity and to the curios-ity and longing that this sort of event is capable of unearthing.

Wright displayed a compelling understanding of how to approach the apologetic task in the contemporary academy. He knows how implausible Christian belief is for late modern, tech-nologically driven people – but he also knows how implausible Jesus was for the Romans who were ultimately won over by him. Many in the contemporary west, as in the Roman empire, believe that at the heart of reality is conflict, power- ‐struggle, and violence. Christians believe that at the heart of reality is a loving relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Jesus as the incarnation of the second person of the Trinity reveals and


embodies the hope that the heartbeat of creation itself is peace rather than violence. As Wright puts it, pagan Rome (and the contemporary west) “understood wisdom comes from the point of a sword, or as we would say today, out of the barrel of a gun. Jesus’ wisdom, and Jesus’ kingdom, are not of that sort. He has spoken, throughout the gospel, of the sovereign love of God, active through his life and work and supremely in his death. Now, as he goes to meet that death, John wants us to see that the power of love is greater than the powers of the world.”

Perhaps the most powerful part of the event was Wright’s clear and passionate presentation of the compelling evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. In the bodily resurrection, Jesus and the kingdom that he announces and enacts are vindicated. God proves that love is stronger than death. The resurrection is not private belief, it is public truth, because if it is true, it is truth for everyone. Everything is different in its light. In the context of the contemporary academy, the relevance of the Bible is that it witnesses to this truth that changes everything.

Much of the work of evangelism in the context of the univer-sity is “pre- evangelism”—the work of bringing up compelling questions about reality and goodness and witnessing to the fact that Christianity is relevant to those questions. Texas Christian Scholars Network and the Veritas Forum share a goal to change the climate of the university so that scholars are will-ing to entertain Christian voices at the table of ideas. Simply to bring people from a place of antagonism toward people of faith to a place of neutrality and then to curiosity takes time, patience, and much prayer. We are hopeful that Texas Christian Scholars Network can be part of an ongoing relation-ship with Veritas, bringing speakers to UT who can continue to thoughtfully engage the campus with the gospel, and that these events can serve to bring skeptics and questioners into contact with the gospel of Christ. n

The Warrens are canonically resident priests in the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh currently serving the University of Texas at Austin.

“[Wright] knows how implausible Christian belief is for late modern, technologically driven people–but he also knows how implausible Jesus was for the Romans who

were ultimately won over by him.”

“That’s part of the messiness we’ve been called to,” Collin said. “I think [there are real] benefits to worshipping together and trying to say “I’m going to relate to this person, not on the basis of their academic performance, but on the basis of my belief that God is doing something new in them just like God is doing something new in me. I like living in that ten-sion, but it doesn’t mean it’s always easy, and it doesn’t mean that I don’t let people down.”

Some years are harder when they draw to a close. Elizabeth said saying goodbye to the most recent Grove City Graduates was hard. Mac, their youngest, has known them for half of his life. But she said the yearly departures of these friends encour-ages them to fully engage while they can.

“I think it reminds you too to be present,” Elizabeth added. “We were really close to this class of seniors and we’re think-ing, not in a sentimental way, but ‘This is the last year we have them, until they go and they’re going off to Spain and Charlottesville and Chicago.’ But you’re present in the lives of the people God has in your life for a season, and that’s all we have, that’s all anybody has, really.”

“We stay here and age, and everyone else is forever 21, so this is always very fluid. It’s fun to welcome young people and have these generations of young friends who come through, but you never arrive,” Collin said, adding, “And I take comfort that somehow, when all things are consummated that there will be this wonderful sense of connection with one another. This is hopefully a glimpse of eternity, these moments around a table.”

Sometimes those glimpses come early. At graduation and at homecoming, a steady stream of students past and present trek down Grove City’s main street to the Messers’ place. They’re greeted at the door with a bear hug or a firm hand-shake and ushered into a chair. There’s hot soup and hot cof-fee on hand. n

IN MINISTRY Continued on page 15)


Diocesan Convention Voting Guide

The Rev. Jeffrey Wylie

The Rev. Canon John H. Park

The Rev. John Paul Chaney

The Rev. Ethan Magness

Jay Gilmer

Elizabeth J. Delgado

Not Shown: Dr. Jerry Martin

Mr. Roger Foley The Rev. John Heidengren

Judy Gorecki The Rev. Karen Stevenson

Dr. J. Todd Wahrenberger Mike Shiner


In anticipation of this year’s Diocesan Convention, we’ve put together a voting guide to help readers familiarize themselves with candidates for various roles in the diocese. Below you will find a list of the groups that handle the everyday business of the church as well as a brief description of each group’s role.

The Array: This body serves as the Ecclesiastical Trial Court of the Diocese.

Positions Open: Two clergy, One lay

Clergy: The Rev. Jeffrey Wylie Christ’s Church, Greensburg

The Rev. Ethan Magness (confirmed) Grace Anglican Church, Slippery Rock

Lay: Mr. Roger Foley Mosaic Anglican Fellowship, Moon Twp.

Committee on the Canons: At the direction of the Bishop the Committee on the Canons reviews the existing Constitution and Canons and recommends to convention changes or additions as they are deemed advisable.

Positions Open: One clergy, One lay

Clergy: The Rev. John Heidengren Prince of Peace Church, Hopewell

The Rev. Canon John H. Park

Lay: Jay Gilmer Church of the Ascension, Oakland

Growth Fund Committee: The Growth Fund Committee receives and evaluates applications for loans and grants from the Diocesan Growth Fund for the ben-efit of congregations, ministries and programs of the diocese. The Growth Fund committee recommends to the Board of Trustees the amounts and manner of the loans or grants to be made.

Positions Open: One either clergy or lay

Lay: Judy Gorecki Christ Church Anglican, Brownsville

Standing Committee: The Standing Committee serves as the chief council of advice for the Diocesan Bishop. It also serves as the Ecclesiastical Authority of the diocese when there is no Bishop, Bishop-Coadjutor, or Suffragen Bishop, or no one of them is capable of acting.

Position Open: One clergy, One lay

Clergy: The Rev. Karen Stevenson Trinity Church, Washington

The Rev. John Paul Chaney Seeds of Hope Anglican Church , Bloomfield

Lay: Elizabeth J. Delgado Joshua’s Call, East End

Dr. Jerry Martin St. Peter’s Anglican Church, Uniontown

Dr. J. Todd Wahrenberger Church of the Ascension, Oakland

Board of Trustees :The Board of Trustees oversees the diocese’s finances and transac-tions. The board’s duties are to collect, receive, hold manage, and properly dispose of all property that is conveyed or transferred to the diocese, for its benefit or the benefit of any of its congregations, bodies, or associations.

Positions open: One lay

Lay: Mike Shiner Christ Church, Fox Chapel

Diocesan Convention Voting Guide


June 25-28 in Latrobe, PABy Jordan Markley

From the opening Eucharist, Assembly 2014 was filled with a sense of energy and momentum as friends reconnected and the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) cel-

ebrated another year.

The gathering offered Anglicans the chance to gather together for teaching, worship and fellowship during an important time of transition within the life of the province.

While the biggest news of the week was the passing of authority from Archbishop Emeritus Robert Duncan to Archbishop Foley Beach, June 25-28 was punctuated by moment after moment of connection, engagement and growth.

St. Vincent College in Latrobe played host to 922 church offi-cials, international dignitaries and friends of the movement. A longtime friend of Duncan, St. Vincent Arch Abbot Douglas Nowick welcomed the crowd to Wednesday afternoon’s plenary session featuring Eric Metaxas. Metaxas’s speech, “Proclaiming Christ in a Post-Christian Age,” set the tone for the conference.

“The good thing about living in a post-Christian world,” Metaxas said. “Is that it forces us to be [truly] Christian, not just culturally Christian.”

Nominal Christians, especially those in leadership roles, pro-duce cynicism in unbelievers, he noted. But where Christianity is a distinctive, with a different message from the cultural norm, Christians can offer truth, compassion, and hope to broken and hurting people. In fact, our own era may not be so different from the rest.

“The golden past does not really exist,” Metaxas said, adding that in every age, “There has always been a holy remnant.”

In every age, a holy remnant’s responsibility is to proclaim the gospel into the predicament in which men and women find themselves. It was that message that Thomas Janzen, a youth lay delegate from the Diocese of Pittsburgh took away from the event.

Assembly2014


“The vibe at assembly was definitely one of thankfulness and optimism,” Janzen said. “Thankfulness for the past five years and the work that the Lord has done through Bishop Duncan and through so many others in the ACNA. Optimism for Archbishop Beach and for the direction of the province as we continue to plant churches and proclaim the gospel of grace for sinners and liberation for captives.”

Hannah Miller, who attended Assembly 2014 while serving as the Anglican Relief and Development Fund’s communica-tions intern, said she felt an unequalled sense of unity with the church during her time in Latrobe.

“It is nearly impossible to describe what it feels like to par-ticipate in the Body of Christ in this way: together and con-nected from every nation, tribe, and tongue,” Miller said. “Just watching partnerships and friendships develop from Australia and Canada, to South Africa and Sudan was a true joy. The Assembly was a time of encouragement, and deep community.”

Assembly also provided an opportunity to recognize those who had served the church with distinction. In addition to thank-ing Archbishop Emeritus Duncan for his years of service, the Rev. Dr. J.I. Packer received the Saint Cuthbert’s Cross.

The Saint Cuthbert’s Cross was presented on Friday, June 27, 2014, by Duncan “with immense gratitude, appreciation and affection” for Packer’s “unparalleled contribution to Anglican and global Christianity.” n


Franklin Graham’s Festival of Hope Proclaims Gospel Message in PittsburghBy David Rucker

Franklin Graham’s Three Rivers Festival of Hope ministered to nearly 30,000 people from Western Pennsylvania this August.


Powerful music, uplifting testimonies and the preaching of Graham com-bined to make for a life changing

experience for thousands of people in our region.

The festival, held in Pittsburgh’s Consol Energy Center, stretched across the week-end of August 15-17 and was made pos-sible by the efforts of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, pastors and churches from a variety of denomina-tions including the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. Many clergy and parishioners attended the event.

The younger Graham’s Festivals look dif-ferent from his father’s Crusades, Saturday night’s event incorporated music from the hard rock band We As Human and rap-pers Lecrae and Tedashii among others. The weekend was also mc’d by spoken word artist Amena Brown.

Still, as Deacon Carolyn Nunnally put it, “the Gospel remains the same.”

“Whether it was the music or the message or both, many people did commit their lives to Christ,” Nunally said. “The message in this for the church is to look at how we present the message of the Gospel in this culture and ask ‘What is the un-churched person actually hearing?”

The Rev. Dennett Buettner, Rector of Church of the Savior in Ambridge enjoyed his time inside the arena as well. He appreciated Graham’s straightforward pre-sentation of the gospel and social critiques. He also enjoyed the music from Saturday’s youth focused event.

“Despite my generation, I loved the hip-hop music of Tedashii and Lecrae,” said Buettner. “Both of them are theological

thinkers, brilliant writers and clearly in love with Jesus.”

Hundreds came forward to receive Jesus Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior over the course of the weekend. Hundreds more came forward to recom-mit their lives to Jesus.

Inside the Consol Center, the Body of Christ acted as one, with leaders from denominations across the city joining in worship and in prayer, serving those that had a decision to make.

Easily the most powerful part of the week-end was the opportunity many clergy had to witness so many lost people respond-ing to God’s call– the Kingdom of God rejoiced along with thousands of witnesses as new life was born in so many.

Shepherd’s Heart, a congregation of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh

that serves the homeless and veterans in Uptown, had a special approach to Sunday evening’s event.

The Rev. Mike Wurschmidt, Rector of Shepherds Heart, said “many homeless would have been embarrassed to attend the Festival and would not have felt safe in such a large venue.”

So he and his team brought the festival to their congregation. They rallied together to stream the event live at his church on Sunday night.

“When Franklin Graham invited the people inside the Consol Arena to come forward to make a public profession of faith, we at Shepherd’s Heart made the same invitation to those in our service,” Wurschmidt said. “Some 20 to 30 people came forward to confess their faith in Jesus and others recommitted their faith. By the time we were serving dinner to the homeless, we had 160 people eating din-ner to the music of Michael W. Smith.”

In the wake of this outpouring of love and cooperation by the church in Pittsburgh, together with the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, new doors have been opened for ministry in Pittsburgh. As Barb Harmon of All Saints Rosedale put it, “This city needed this, our nation needs this. Those of us who serve Jesus in the Church must do our utmost to continue this ministry to the lost.” n

“This city needed this, our nation needs this. Those of us who serve Jesus in the Church must do our

utmost to continue this ministry to the lost.” – Barb Harmon,

All Saints Rosedale


Diocesan CalendarSeptember through December 2014

Bishop’s Schedule (as of August 25)

September & October, sabbatical

November 2014 2 Proper26 AllSaints,CranberryTwp. St.AndrewCollegeHill,BeaverFalls-PM 6 Thursday InvestitureofC.Masters/Canada 7-8 DiocesanConvention Johnstown 9 Proper27 TrueVine,Monongahela OrdinationtoPriesthood EricRodes,Grace,SlipperyRock–6PM 12 Wednesday St.Alban’s,Murrysville 16 Proper28 KairosClosing/Waynesburg 19 Wednesday St.Martin’s,Monroeville 22 Saturday SeedsofHope,Bloomfield 23 LastPentecost Trinity,Beaver 30 1Advent SomersetAnglican,Somerset

December 1-10 FAMILYTIME 11 Thursday St.James,PennHills 13 Saturday DiaconalOrdinations 14 3Advent Trinity,Patton 21 4Advent St.Mary’s,Redbank 28 1Christmas Shepherd’sHeart,Uptown

Clergy GatheringsOctober 2 1:00-3:00pm LigonierGathering,BethlenHome 9 8:30-10:30am CharleroiGathering,St.Mary’sChurch 9 1:00-3:00pm CityGathering,DiocesanOffice 21 8:30-10:30am SewickleyGathering,St.Stephen’sChurch 21 1:00-3:00pm CranberryGathering,AllSaintsChurch 23 8:30-10:30am AmbridgeGathering,TrinitySeminary 28 8:30-10:30am CityGathering,DiocesanOffice

November 6 1:00-3:00pm LigonierGathering,BethlenHome 13 8:30-10:30am CharleroiGathering,St.Mary’sChurch 13 1:00-3:00pm CityGathering,DiocesanOffice 18 8:30-10:30am SewickleyGathering,St.Stephen’sChurch 18 1:00-3:00pm CranberryGathering,AllSaintsChurch 20 8:30-10:30am AmbridgeGathering,TrinitySeminary December 2 8:30-10:30am CityGathering,DiocesanOffice(offpatterntocoverNov&Dec) 4 1:00-3:00pm LigonierGathering,BethlenHome 11 8:30-10:30am CharleroiGathering,St.Mary’sChurch 11 1:00-3:00pm CityGathering,DiocesanOffice 16 8:30-10:30am SewickleyGathering,St.Stephen’sChurch 16 1:00-3:00pm CranberryGathering,AllSaintsChurch 18 8:30-10:30am AmbridgeGathering,TrinitySeminary

Clergy Milestonesn The Rev. KeiTh Allen PozzuTo

transferred to the Episcopal Diocese of Texas effective August 16, 2013.

n The Rev. AndRew Kelly GRoss and The Rev. Summer Joy Gross trans-ferred in from the Diocese of the Great Lakes.

n The Rev. PhiliP ChARles zAmPino transferred to the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic on May 12, 2014.

n The Rev. AndReA heRlonG hAle transferred in from the Diocese of Boga on May 23, 2014.

n The Rev. miChAel mCGhee will serve as Assistant Priest at St. John’s, Franklin, TN.

n On June 7, 2014, Archbishop Duncan ordained eRiC miChAel Rodes, ChARles TReiChleR and JosePh GAsbARRe to the transitional diacon-ate. GReG mCbRAyeR was ordained to the vocational diaconate. Eric serves as Curate at Grace Anglican Church, Slippery Rock. Charles is the Communication Manager at Anglican Relief and Development Fund. Charles is also serving at South Side Anglican. Joseph is serving at St. Andrews College Hill, Beaver Falls and All Saints, Cranberry Township. Greg serves at Prince of Peace, Hopewell.

n On June 18, 2014, Bishop Robert Ames ordained The Rev. JessiCA dePRee hAndy to the priesthood on behalf of Archbishop Robert Duncan. She is serving as Assistant Pastor at Resurrection, West Chicago, IL.

n The Rev. don bushyAGeR will serve as Priest-in-charge at Church of the Advent, Brookline starting July 7, 2014.


Kickstarting Your Bible Reading HabitBy Kurt Dudt and the BLTF

A U P D A T E F R O M T H E B I B L E L I T E R A C Y TA S K F O R C E

Reading is a fun, informative and exciting recreational activity for some. Others find it unenjoyable

and unrewarding. As a result, many Christians and non-believers find reading the Bible regularly a challenge.

Recently, the Bible Literacy Task Force (BLTF) discussed what books of the Bible we would recommend to a person that is new to the Bible or that habitually does not read it. Some of the books provide challenges even to mature Christians and would discourage those just getting started. Fortunately, there are several books that give a short introduction to biblical history, proclaim the power and strength of God that is available to us all and highlight the life and ministry of Christ and His salvation message.

Which books would we recommend? Here are the books and a short description of why they were selected.

• Mark Mark presents the gospel and the

life of Christ in a short, easy-to-read book. Most readers will be able to get through it, providing a successful experience that encourages future reading.

• Acts Acts develops the themes of Mark

and presents information on the risen savior. It tells of Christ’s ascension into heaven and describes the early church and expansion of Christianity.

• Judges Judges contains stories of many

influential Israelite believers carrying out the Lord’s commands as they deal with their own fallen cultures. It shows the power and strength of God when events suggest all is lost.

• Ruth Who doesn’t like a love story? This

book also has a deeper meaning that foreshadows the plan of salvation, redemption and ultimate protection.

• James James is a short book that talks

about how we should live as Christians. Good deeds are expected and Christians are to be changed people that live differently.

• John John presents eternal and universal

theological doctrines and restates the gospel of Christ in a slightly different manner than Mark’s gospel.

The Bible is a thick, daunting book to a person that does not read much. This list provides a way to get started with a good story (Mark, Acts, and Judges), a romance (Ruth), and passages on how to apply biblical truth (James and John). n

Leading Adult Bible Study in Your Church: Starting, Growing, Keeping, LastingWhat: The BLTF is hosting a FREE training session for Bible Study leaders and lay teachers throughout

the diocese. Consisting of four sessions spread across a single morning, this program is meant to stimulate the start of new Bible studies in the diocese and equip those who feel called to share God’s Word. The program will help teachers hone their skills whether they lead two people or twenty.

When: Saturday, October 18, 2014 from 9:00 a.m. to Noon, Continental Breakfast 8:15-9:00 a.m. Where: St. Stephen’s SewickleyWho: •LaityteachingtheBibleinanadultoryoungadulteducationsetting •ClergywishingtoshareandbuildBibleteachingskills •MatureBiblereadersthinkingaboutleadingBiblestudy •YouthleadersseekingtoconnectBiblereadingmoresolidlywiththeiryouthgroups

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Phone: (412) 281-6131 Fax: (412) 322-4505 Email: [email protected] Web site: www.pitanglican.org

Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh One Allegheny Square, Suite 650 Pittsburgh, PA 15212

St. Stephen’s Turns 150

With great thanksgiving, St. Stephen’s Church in Sewickley celebrates the 150th year of its life – a century and a half of sharing the love and life of Jesus Christ in the Sewickley and Quaker Valley communities.

The parish was founded in 1862 with only 11 members. A year later the cor-nerstone of St. Stephen’s Church was laid, and in 1864 the parish completed its first sanctuary and opened for public worship. The major portion of the present church building was completed in 1894. In the 1970’s and 80’s, the church saw another season of expansion, becoming a regional and national hub for Gospel renewal, touching hundreds of lives with the good news of Christ.

“We love this city and these communities, and it has been a great honor to be one of the churches our Lord Jesus has placed here for all these years,” said senior pastor, Geoff Chapman. “Christ’s love for people is something we take great joy in sharing, because it brings his healing and hope to our lives. How good it would be to serve here for another 150 years!”

The parish has a large and vibrant membership, many of whom live in the Sewickley borough, and many more who come from the communities up and down the Ohio River. The parish has a special heart for children and students, and works regionally with ministry partners inside the Anglican Communion as well as with many other churches to serve people in the Quaker Valley region, the city of Pittsburgh, and overseas. n

mailto:[email protected]

http://www.pitanglican.org

TRINITY Fall 2014

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