Worship Service 9:45 a.m.

Purpose: To inform, encourage, and promote engagement in Mt Pisgah’s

mission in the community, and opportunities for spiritual transformation.

To invite reflection on the process of personal spiritual growth.

To emphasize the bond that holds us together, and avoid magnifying the

differences that separate us.

Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church

DECEMBER 2020

Jesus said: “I have come as a light

into the world, so that everyone

who believes in Me would not remain

in darkness.”

John 12:4 HCSB

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Mt. Pisgah VIEW – December 2020

The Waiting is the Hardest Part!

Can’t you just hear Tom Petty’s voice belting out that line from the

chorus of his hit song, The Waiting? Indeed, waiting is hard. Waiting on

the birth of a child, waiting on the results of a test, waiting on direction

for the future – within our family at Mt. Pisgah are those who are

waiting on such matters! We find ourselves waiting on a vaccine,

waiting on the results of an election, and waiting to see what the Lord

has next for the people of God at Mt. Pisgah. The church is a bride-to-

be, waiting on her wedding day!

This Advent Season we will highlight the Biblical resources that help us

wait faithfully, patiently, and free from worry and anxiety. The Advent

lessons we will consider reveal the Lord’s purposes for the birth of

Jesus. The incarnation of the eternal Son on Christmas morn is the

Lord’s answer to the age-old problem of human rebellion, death,

and the enemy. Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem is the Lord’s answer to years

of waiting for the Lord to act decisively and finally on behalf of his

covenant people, saving them from sin and death. Just the same, Jesus

was born, lived, died, rose, and has ascended to the throne from which

he continues to encourage his people “wait on it!” The Kingdom is

here, the Kingdom is coming!

Let’s take this Advent season to practice waiting, to sharpen our focus

on that for which we wait, and to be in prayer for the Lord to grant us

peace and freedom from worry and anxiety in the midst of it all.

Waiting on the Lord is an inevitable part of our discipleship. We will do

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well to develop habits of healthy waiting. Those habits will serve us

well in this season of Mt. Pisgah’s life and ministry, as well as our daily

walk with Jesus.

Here are the passages on which we will focus over the course of the

Advent season:

November 29 ......... Wait on It! Part 1, Kingdom and Tribulation – Revelation 1:9, Mark 13:1-24; Acts 1:6-8; 14:19-23

December 6 ............ Wait on It! Part 2, Remember Your First Love – Revelation 2:1-7

December 13 .......... Wait on It! Part 3, A Call for Endurance – Revelation 14:1-13 (at Union Church, 10 a.m.)

December 20 .......... Wait on It! Part 4, Before Paradise – Wilderness – Revelation 12:1-6

December 24 .......... Wait on It? The Wait is Over – Matthew 1:18-25,

Galatians 4:4-7

Please spend some time each week reading the passage for the coming

Sunday. Feel welcome to take in larger portions of the surrounding

passages. Do not be intimidated by the imagery of John’s Revelation.

Let your imagination wander. The apocalyptic style of writing is

intended to stimulate the imagination. It is not meant to be a literal

description – it contains symbol and metaphor that conveys God’s

truth that evades the human capacity to describe with simple prose.

The Lord’s truth conveyed in John’s Revelation is the bedrock upon

which we stand as we wait on the Lord! Let’s wait patiently together!

Peace,

Tom

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The Session recently called a meeting of the congregation to be

held on November 29th following worship. The purpose of the

meeting was to act on the Session’s recommendation to begin the

sale of our property.

To review, this process began in September when the Session, with

assistance from the Deacons, began discussions concerning our

future ministry.

At that time, the congregation was surveyed so their concerns and

suggestions could be considered as the Session discerned the best

direction for the church.

After considering all aspects of our current ministry and possibilities

for the future, the Session was led to recommend sale of the prop-

erty. A Transition Team was established to complete the process if

approvals were received from the congregation and the Presbytery.

The meeting on November 29th included testimonies from a number

of members. Some spoke in favor of the recommendation to sell.

The consensus among this group was that our building has become

too expensive to maintain and that resources could be better used

for the church’s mission of reaching people with the Gospel. They

stressed that the church is “the people” and not “a building”. Oth-

ers spoke against the sale. The consensus among this group was

that the decision was being made too quickly and waiting would

Session News . . .

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allow us time to pursue other options. They expressed concern for

the importance of Mt. Pisgah to the Green Tree community and a

concern for the number of church buildings that are no longer

places of worship and are instead used for other purposes. They

questioned if all revenue streams had been pursued. Everyone in

both groups acknowledged that this is a difficult decision.

Following the discussion, and based on the motion to sell the build-

ing for a market price of $246,900.00, those in attendance voted

by paper ballot and those participating via Zoom or phone voted

electronically or verbally. The result was 32 in favor and 7 against

the motion to sell.

Tom concluded the meeting with words of encouragement and a

reading from Philippians chapter 1. Paul, addressing his brothers

and sisters in Christ, says “I thank my God every time I remember

you. Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in

you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”

The next step will be to send an application to Presbytery

for its approval. The application will be reviewed by the Property

Committee and, if approved, will be presented at an upcoming

Presbytery meeting for a vote.

Please continue to keep the Transition Team and the Session in your

prayers.

Submitted by Marta Pletz

Clerk of Session

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Hello and Greetings from the Worship Team!

I hope all of you are well. At the Worship Team meeting

on November 15 we had a great discussion and are getting

ready for the Advent season. In attendance were: Kim

Fickley, Jean Burgess, Dana Yevak, Rich Yevak, Darin

Carlini, Marta Pletz and Tom Ribar.

We will be decorating the front of the sanctuary with

wreaths. The Advent candles will be on the Communion

table, and the minister will light them. There will be

wreaths on the front doors, and a Nativity on the front lawn.

The Team will also place luminaria along Warriors Road.

Tables will be set up in the social hall for assembling the

luminaria on Christmas Eve. We'll need volunteers to fill

the luminaria and light them before the 7 pm Christmas Eve

worship service.

After research and discussion, Session has decided we will

resume singing during worship. Thank you for wearing

appropriate face covering, and maintaining social distancing

while lifting your voices in song.

We're looking forward to the events planned for Advent and

Christmas.

Thanks,

Mike Carlini for the Worship Team

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PREPARING FOR OUR FUTURE: TRANSITION TEAM

A Transition Team has been formed to guide us through the sale of our property and plans for new ministry space.

This Team will meet regularly and report their findings and progress to the Session.

If you have questions or suggestions to offer, please feel free to contact any member of the Team.

Please keep the Team in prayer as they discern God's will for Mt. Pisgah.

Members of the Transition Team Session Representatives:

Darin Carlini ........ 412-915-7531

Don Folkmire ....... 412-378-3947 Deacon Representative:

Mary Stroup ......... 412-331-8529 Members at Large:

Don Fickley ......... 412-736-7939

Jill Standley ......... 412-508-4219

Submitted by Marta Pletz

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DayTimers Meeting

SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!

A DayTimers meeting WILL NOT BE HELD in December. We wish everyone a Blessed Christmas and may your hearts know the Love and Promise for us with the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

We hope that we can meet again in the NEW YEAR! Please check your email as we will be alerting everyone a week before the meeting date to advise whether there will be a meeting or that it will be postponed. We pray you, your families and all our friends keep safe to enjoy the New Year 2021!

DayTimers wish to thank EVERYONE who participated in this year's annual Christmas Giving for Northside Common Ministries in this time of COVID-19 Pandemic. We have been very lucky as all names have been assigned to people with a few additional names also given to us! Just to remind those who signed up for this: We are planning to deliver all the gift cards the first week of December so please have them to Luella by then.

At this time, if anyone wants to donate to the Crafton-Ingram Food Bank, we suggest you send a check instead of donating food items. At the November meeting, DayTimers and Mt. Pisgah gave two $25.00 Giant Eagle Gift Cards to the Food Bank. The Food Bank is very busy this year with about 140 families seeking assistance. These winter months

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ahead may see an extra amount of families unable to put food on their tables so please do not forget them! Any amount can be used and is deeply appreciated.

Make check payable to: Crafton Ingram Food Bank

Mail to: Crafton Ingram Food Bank

c/o Ms. Andi Sevacko 10 Bell Avenue, Apartment 2 Pittsburgh, PA 15205

If you have any comments or questions, please email Luella Brazier, luellabbrazier@aol.com or call Linda Polaski, 412-921-8605 to leave a message.

DayTimers usually meet the last Tuesday of the month from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM.

Blessings, Linda and Luella

The deadline for January VIEW articles is December 16

Email your articles to Sharon Devey:

37.s.devey@gmail.com

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What if we could have Christmas all year round?

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of

where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or over-

whelmed by what’s going on around us.

I have a challenge for you. Consider taking time to be mindful of

Christmas and its meaning not just this month, but all year round.

Discipline yourself to find a quiet place. Take in a deep breath. Let

that breath out slowly as you focus your mind and your heart on Jesus.

Visualize the scene at His birth. Ponder on each phrase. Begin…

Starlight shines, the night is still

Shepherds watching from a hill

I close my eyes, I see the night

when love was born

Perfect child gently waits

A mother bends to kiss God's face

I close my eyes, I see the night

when love was born

Angels fill the midnight sky, they sing,

Hallelujah, He is Christ, our King!

Prayer Corner

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Emmanuel, Prince of peace

Love’s come down for you and me

Heaven's gift, the Holy spark

to light the way inside our hearts

Bethlehem through your small door

came the hope we've waited for

The world was changed forevermore

when love was born…

What a remarkable gift, when love was born! May we strive to live

each day for Christ in love of one another, and most importantly, in

loving the unlovable. It helps to remember “love” the action rather

than “love” the emotion as we practice selflessness.

Just as Jesus did, in Him we can change the world forevermore.

The Kingdom of God, of love, is all around us! We “can” have Christ-

mas all year round.

There is no greater gift; there is no greater love. Praise Him, again and

again!

Submitted on behalf of the

Prayer Room Team by Luann Walton

December Prayer of the Month

Breathe In: The Kingdom of God

Breathe Out: is all around us.

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DayTimer Devotional Thoughts

from Luella Brazier, October 27, 2020

Reading Deuteronomy 34:1…Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo, from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. When I was a youngster growing up in Mt. Pisgah I was very proud of this scripture. A few years ago, Dewey and I were challenged to read scriptures that offered a Year with the Bible. The guide was from the Westminster Presbyterian Church. It took us more than a year. To read further in Deuteronomy 34:4…Then the Lord said to him. “This is the land promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said; 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it. Tears came to my eyes feeling the disappointment Moses must have felt. When disappointment comes our way we need to trust in God’s purpose for each of us. Mt. Pisgah has been a guiding force for six generations of my side of the family as well as my husband's. It has been a blessing for many long-time and short-time families of this congregation.

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One of the lessons in Jesus’ teaching is found in Mark 2:22...you do not pour new wine in old wine skins. I believe that is what has happened to our Mt. Pisgah building. Time to move on to whatever God has in mind for us. Prayer is the way, the truth, and the light. Scripture has the answers to the way and the truth and the light. One of my most favored is Psalm 119: 105...Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Let us Pray: Lord Jesus help us to not be anxious about the days and years to come. We must put our trust in you. We ask for your blessing on those of our congregation dealing with cancer, and our prayer is for the children of the coming generation that they will listen and learn, even if it is not in a typical school setting. We offer prayers for the coming election that Thy will be done. We also hold up in prayer those who suffer as the result of the COVID-19 virus. We pray that a vaccine will be developed to outweigh the devastating germ. Again we pray for the decision makers of the Mt. Pisgah Church. All in Jesus precious name. Amen

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CRYPTOQUOTE FOR DECEMBER

A Cryptogram (Cryptoquote) is a sentence or quotation in which different letters are substituted for the correct ones.

The solution appears at the end of this month's VIEW.

Enjoy solving the puzzle!

Hints: D = C Z = S

B M M U I B U W Z

A J U V U V F A B M

W Z V U V F A B M M L

__ .

J T U J H O B U V .

. .

D . Z . M V K W Z

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On the

Lighter

Side . . .

Submitted by

Sharon Devey

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Solution for November Cryptoquote:

D e c e m b e r

2 0 2 0

All that is not eternal is eternally out of date.

C. S. Lewis

1st Montana Whitehouse

4th Marte Morales

11th Keaton Sevacko

13th Sarah Sherman

16th Nevaeh Whitehouse

19th Kim Fickley

19th Bob Johnson

24th Tami Ribar

25th Jesus

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Dates to remember…

10th Pleasant Valley Dinner

13th Worship Service at Union Church 10 am

14th Admin Team Meeting, 2 pm

15th Live worship service at Union, 10 am

16th December VIEW articles deadline

20th Christmas Love Offering

24th Christmas Eve Candlelight Service 7 pm Christmas Love Offering

25th Christmas

27th SCRIP order placed

29th DayTimers (see article on page 8)

Every Thursday: Narcotics Anonymous 8:30 pm

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Mt. Pisgah Presbyterian Church

31 Warriors Road

Pittsburgh, PA 15205

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