Several areas of southwestern and central Pennsylvania experienced flash flooding in early September ahead of Hurricane Florence, which made landfall around Wilmington, NC on Friday, Sept. 14. Both the Western PA flooding and the continuing flooding as Florence moves slowly through the Carolinas, has increased the need for UMCOR cleaning buckets and hygiene kits. Pastor Calvin Cook, WPAUMC Disaster Response Coordinator offered an update on Western PA conditions and some advice on helping with ...

Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and the Rev. Keith McIlwain, pastor of Slippery Rock United Methodist Church launched a four -session study based on Living Faithfully: Human Sexuality and  the United Methodist Church on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at the Slippery Rock Church. Future sessions are set for 6:30 - 8:30 p.m., Tuesday Sept. 18 and 25 and Oct. 2.  Living Faithfully, a four-week, small-group study that is part of the Faultlines collection of books, was created especially for United Methodist ...

Call for UMCOR Kits! With flooding in many areas of Western PA and Hurricane Florence making landfall, the Eastbrook Mission Barn put out a call for cleaning buckets and hygiene (formerly known as health) kits. For up-to-date kit recipes, visit umcor.org/UMCOR/Relief-Supplies. Drop buckets and kits off at the Mission Barn or one of its satellites. Locations are at www.wpaumc.org/missionbarnsatellites. Disaster Response: Disaster Response Coordinator Calvin Cook reports that cleaning buckets and...

--By Jodale Barnhart**-- Oh, the places you’ll go… Will you visit a college or hospital in India… or hang out with a missionary in Brazil or Zimbabwe… or learn about the United Methodist Church in Lithuania… or help at a refugee relief center in Texas… or learn how Methodists are combatting human trafficking in Hawaii?  There are lots of places to go and lots of people to meet!   As a 2019 – 2021 Mission Ambassador you will help choose what world-wide locations you visit that are tied to the ...

Two young adults with ties to Western PA are among 10 selected by the Council of Bishops to participate in United Methodist Ecumenical and Interreligious Training. They are the Rev. Jack Tickle, pastor of Fairview UMC in the Erie-Meadville District, and the Rev. Michael Mullin, who grew up at Ingomar UMC and now serves as a pastor in the Upper New York Conference.  The 10 participants selected for the UMEIT Young Adult Network (UMEIT: YAN) will be trained in group leadership skills, the history...

Cabinet Retreat: Stephanie Hixon, executive director of the JustPeace Center for Mediation and Conflict Transformation in The United Methodist Church, shared tools and insights with members of the WPAUMC Coordinating Cabinet during an Aug. 28-30 retreat at Camp Allegheny. See photo album Bishop’s Bible Study Update: There is no need for a reservation to join in the four-session study led by Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi and the Rev. Keith McIlwain, pastor of Slippery Rock UMC, on Living ...

Bishop’s Bible Studies: Bishop Cynthia Moore-Koikoi will team with Rev. Keith McIlwain, pastor of Slippery Rock UMC, this fall to lead a four-session study based on Living Faithfully: Human Sexuality and  the United Methodist Church. The sessions are set for Tuesday evenings Sept. 11,18, and 25 and Oct. 2 from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at Slippery Rock UMC. In the Spring, the Bishop and the Rev. Alyce Weaver-Dunn, will lead a Lenten Bible study Plenty Good Room, based on African-American Spirituals. ...

Thanks to generous funding from the denomination’s Young Clergy Initiative and the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, four college students served as interns in the Western PA Conference this summer. Students applied for the program because they felt some sense of call to ministry.  The internships were designed to give them opportunity to explore that call and discern the next steps.  Noah   Noah Manalo, a Pitt student from Christ UMC in Bethel Park,  says he applied because the...

Transplant “Engineered by God”: On Aug. 7, Rev. Cyndi Bloise, pastor of Jefferson UMC, donated a kidney to Amy Scott, an active layperson at First Bethel UMC. Both are recovering well. Bloise said she never intended to be an organ donor, but God engineered the whole thing. Read more. Listening Posts: The first of 20 listening posts to discuss recommendations for A Way Forward for the UMC was held Monday at Somerset Grace UMC with 183 attending. Sessions in other districts continue through ...

--By Jackie Campbell, Communications Director-- Amy Scott, an active member and youth leader at First Bethel United Methodist Church in the Pittsburgh suburb of Bethel Park, got a priceless gift a few days after her August 3 birthday this year -- a new kidney donated by the pastor of a church in a neighboring community, the Rev. Cyndi Bloise of Jefferson UMC.  Amy Scott   The donor match was made as the result of United Methodist connections, but “it’s really God’s story,” said Rev Bloise. “...

Bike-a-Thon Underway! WPAUMC’s team of bicyclists made it from Cumberland to Hancock, Maryland on Wednesday, the third day of their 315-mile ride from the McKeesport area to Washington, DC, to raise money for camping scholarships. You can support them. Learn more and see photos See Chris Kindle's daily video updates at Facebook.com/wpaumc/ Pre-Retirement Seminar: Registration is now open for the 2018 Clergy Pre-Retirement Seminar, held every two years for those looking toward retirement in the...

-- By Jackie Campbell, Communications Director-- Thirteen United Methodists from around Western Pennsylvania jumped aboard their bicycles at the Boston United Methodist Church near McKeesport on Monday, Aug. 13 and headed onto the Yough Trail for the first leg of a 315-mile journey to Washington, D.C. They're raising funds to support the Deeply Rooted, Upward Reaching capital campaign to ensure that funds are available so that anyone can have a camping experience regardless of ability to pay....

Clergy Pre-Retirement Event: The biennial Clergy Pre-Retirement seminar will be held on October 24 and 25 at the Pittsburgh North Marriott (Cranberry Twp., PA). It will feature  presentations from Wespath and EY advisors, as well as segments on Social Security, healthcare in retirement, financial planning and more. Participants will be able to sign up for one-on-one personal pension projections with Wespath. A tentative schedule will be on the Conference website when registration opens August ...

Five  clergy from the Florida, North Georgia, South Georgia and Baltimore-Washington  Conferences will be in Western Pennsylvania September 24-25 to offer workshops, preaching resources and inspirational messages on contemporary topics during Preach! A panel of Western PA preachers will discuss aspects of preaching and share their insights during this time apart for worship, fellowship and learning. The guests will address Preaching for Transformation, Vision, Spiritual Revival, Millennials, ...

Support Bike-a-Thon! Ten intrepid bicyclists leave Western PA from Boston UMC on Aug. 13 for the 315-mile ride to Washington, D.C. to raise money for camperships. The group includes Ellen Gainer of Central Highlands UMC, Lee Baker of Titusville First UMC and Michael Sahlaney of Seward UMC, Pittsburgh DS Dawn Hand, Mission Engagement Coordinator Sandra Matoushaya, Discipleship Director Chris Kindle, and Pastors Matthew Blake, David Ewing, Jason McQueen and Raphael Koikoi. Donate online through ...