Annual Conference 2010 Summary: Focus on Connection

 Western PA Annual Conference  June 10-13, 2010 Grove City College, Grove City, PA Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton told the 1,800 members that he sees signs of hope in the Western Pa. Conference, despite significant challenges facing the denomination. Among the hopeful signs he cited in a State of the Church address at the June annual conference session were: formation of a Laity Cabinet and a “reverse mentoring” program where superintendents and laity cabinet members each...

You Are Not Christ, Kusserow Reminds New Clergy

 “You are not the Christ! Remember this!” Bishop Kurt Kusserow told 11 clergy about to be ordained as elders at the Western PA Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in June. Kusserow, who leads the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America’s Southwest PA Synod, was invited to preach at the ordination service by his friend Bishop Thomas Bickerton in recognition of the new concordant agreement establishing full communion between the denominations. Kusserow...

Light of Life Rescue Mission: Changing Lives in Pittsburgh and Haiti

Walter Van Clief is working toward recovery at the Light of Life Rescue Mission on Pittsburgh’s North Side, but after a nine-day mission trip to Haiti, he’s also focused on helping Haitian earthquake survivors recover and rebuild their lives. Van Clief was one of three Light of Life clients and four staff members on the mission team organized by the Rev. Pam Armstrong, manager of Education and Employment at Light of Life. He and the other clients had to apply for the team, be...

July 2, 2010 The Journey Continues...

After 128 days at sea, the founders of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in the New World, arrived at Cape Henry, Virginia, on April 26, 1607. When they disembarked, these grateful settlers raised a large wooden cross and thanked God for their safe arrival on the soil of their new home. It wasn’t all pleasant from that point forward. There were dark and dismal days for these new settlers.  Disease-filled swamps, skirmishes with Native Americans, and untold challenges...