Welcome to First Notes!

If you have articles for our notes we ask that they be submitted to the office by email no later than Wednesdays at 9:00AM.

GIVE ONE, TAKE ONE

This familiar saying can often be seen next to cash registers and referring to pennies. Give a Penny if you have one, take a Penny if you need one. Well, this saying applies to our Cold Weather Gear collection boxes as well. We will have two brightly wrapped collection boxes outside the Aiken Avenue entrance during the day. If you are able to give items such as hats, gloves, scarves, socks, coats or blankets, drop them in the box at any time. And if you or anyone you know needs cold weather items, please take one out of the box, use it and stay warm! 

RACE AND RACISM AT FUMC SURVEY

First United Methodist Church of Pittsburgh wants to hear from you! As part of our efforts to become an anti-racist church, we’d like to hear from the congregation and attendees about general experiences and perceptions of race and racism at FUMC. Your answers will help guide a team of FUMC members in creating an Anti-Racist church vision statement as well as the church’s next action steps on racial justice. Be on the lookout for virtual round table discussions early next year!

The survey is less than 10 questions and can be found at this link: https://forms.gle/vGjTY95jNEVkWGMy8

Thanks for your participation!

WEDNESDAY NIGHT PRAYER VIGIL FOR BLACK LIVES MATTER—6 PM AT FUMC 

Over the last several months, each Wednesday at 6:00 – 6:30pm, there has been a faithful gathering at the corner of Aiken Ave and Centre Ave to be a voice of support for BLM. During this time, we pray in voice and in silence. 

There is a constant stream of horns honking in support for the BLM. Voices can be heard from cars saying, “Thank you for your support,” and “We love you!” Conversations with those walking their dog, those coming off their shift at the hospital, and those just walking by have started. Some folks have even joined in the vigil.

Along with the growing affirmation, recently we have encountered voices of distraction. This coming Wednesday, there will be additional guidelines for safety for all to follow. This prayer vigil is a visible expression of FUMC’s voice to be a church that stands for justice. 

Everyone and your neighbor is invited to come. Adherence to social guidelines for mask wearing and physical distancing is required. If you do not have a mask, FUMC will provide one. 

***Looking for a volunteer to expand the vigil on social media. Could you help, or do you know someone who could?

Dear First Church Family,

Now more than ever, our thoughts, prayers, worries, time, and commitments are being pulled in endless directions. Many causes, both personal and national, fight for our attention. Knowing this, I would like to invite you to join our weekly prayer vigils on Wednesdays at 6:00-6:30pm in front of FUMC to pray for racial justice.

Being present at these vigils for a brief 30 minutes allows me to feel hopeful. I often feel paralyzed by the idea that no thought, prayer, or action ever seems to be enough. Our street corner vigils may not “solve” racial injustice (if only it were that easy). Instead of looking for The Answer, I cherish the ability to come together in a time when we are so isolated to pray, to reflect, to grieve, and to reinvest in our commitment to fighting for a more just nation for our siblings of color. 

If one person passing by feels seen because we acknowledge that our country does not default to valuing Black lives in the way that we should, we have taken a step in a positive direction. If coming together in this way restores in us our commitment to allow God to guide us to seek racial justice in a world that has been imperfect long before we got here, we have gained the stamina to be a part of creating something better.

Olivia Migliori 

AN UPDATE ON THE FAMILY PROMISE PROGRAM

COVID-19 has taken its toll on the Family Promise Program. At the present time they are not housing any families. However, the expenses of operating, continuing to support the families who have found housing, and managing through the transition of leadership means there is still great need to support them. Two ways that we can be of support during this time are:

• Online donations at https://familypromiseswpa.org/donate-now/
• Volunteer to do a food pick up at distribution sites and deliver to a family. Contact Glenna Wilson if you wish to do this. glennapw@gmail.com or 412.519.5062

Thank you for your continued support of this vital ministry.

CALL TO ADVOCACY

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened our awareness of deeply rooted inequity within our institutions and our communities that have been built on systems of white supremacy and oppression. We would like to create space in our weekly worship video to share moments where we have grown in our awareness and understanding of inequity, and have felt the call to take action to promote a more just world. As we are all on a journey of growth, there is no step too small to be significant.

So, we invite you to share your heightened awareness to an injustice or inequity in a short video and, if you’ve taken action, describe what you’ve done to respond to that new awareness.

 If you are interested in recording a video, or want to learn more, please contact either Anais (anais@fumcpittsburgh.org) or Claudia (cdetwiler@icloud.com). We look forward to continuing this justice-seeking journey together! 

FUMC SUNDAY CAST FOR CONGREGATION AND THE WORLD

Most of you by now have seen or heard of our weekly worship experiences we are posting on YouTube. We hope they have been meaningful to all of you. We invite you to share the experience with friends and family far and wide. If you search for “fumcpitt” on YouTube it will take you to our church page where you can find all past videos and also the live SundayCast . 

An email will still be sent out to the FUMC email list each week by early Sunday morning with a link for each “live” experience. We are grateful to be able to connect in this way.

NEW!! SUNDAY NIGHT BIBLE STUDY

Joe is starting a new weekly Bible study on Sunday evenings beginning January 24th, 6:30-8:00 pm. The first couple of weeks we’ll explore Heaven, Hell, and Everything In Between. RSVP to joe@fumcpittsburgh.org

Join the study at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82354512499

Meeting ID: 823 5451 2499

CHRISTIAN EDUCATION AND SPIRITUAL FORMATION 

Our commitment to appropriate social distancing doesn’t mean that we can’t connect. Many of our regular Sunday School classes continue to meet each Sunday at 10:00 am by Zoom. 

The Seekers Class begins at 9:45am

Due to the increasing concerns about strangers logging into Zoom calls to cause trouble, we are not publishing invitations to Zoom meetings publicly. So to receive a weekly invitation to a Sunday School gathering, please email the convener: 

Seekers – Kristi Woolsey Woolsey.Kristi@bcgplatinion.com

Spirit of Justice – Sam Procter sam.procter@gmail.com

Coffee and Chat – Michele Jury mcjury@gmail.com

High School – Alyssa Stadelman alyssastadelman@gmail.com

Middle School – Joe Smith joe@fumcpittsburgh.org

And Godly Play is now offering a virtual story time each Sunday morning at 9:30 am on our FUMCPitt YouTube channel.

Haven’t been part of a Sunday School class before? This may be a better time than any! 

At a time when children are spending more time at home than ever, families are beginning once again to take a more active role in children’s spiritual formation. We offer the FAITH5 as a simple yet profound model for families to engage in conversation and meditation together: https://faithink.com/about-faith5

Online Events

Baldwin Community United Methodist Church will be hosting an online event in connection with a Mr. Rogers theme. 

Community discussion entitled “Who is my Neighbor?” with the editors of the book Mr. Rogers and Philosophy, Eric and Holly Mohr, Jan. 31st at 4:00pm. 

Both events are free and open to the community. Register at: bit.ly/BCUMCRogers

A prayerful reading

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part, but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we shall see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. (1 Cor. 13:8-12 NRSV)

STAFF