Modernize the Meeting Room

At Meeting for Business on December 11, Friends agreed to form an ad hoc committee to discern how to modernize our Meeting Room. House Committee is aware that this room has some immediate needs such as replacing the torn and faded brown velvet covering the walls. But, if we’re going to take down the velvet, then shouldn’t we put insulation into the walls to keep the room warmer and save on heating costs, before we recover them? And shouldn’t we, once the walls are “open,” replace the electric wiring? We’ve also learned recently that the Meeting Room has much less radiator capacity than it needs; as one of our members put it, “We are essentially heating the Meeting Room with a Hummer, and we should be heating it with a Prius. Do Pittsburgh Friends really want to be driving a Hummer in the age of global warming?” In sum, you can see that this level of repairs could quickly add up to significant expenditures, in the many thousands of dollars.
House Committee is reluctant to move ahead with these projects without looking into the longer-term issues. We need a vision, not just a list of repairs. This is the time to “think big”: To what extent are we willing to “green” the Meeting House? Do we really want to make our building accessible to all ‒ not only to the disabled, but also to the elderly and the frail among us? Does that mean installing an elevator to go from the ground all the way to the third floor? Given the erratic functioning of our chairlift, might we build a ramp along the parking-lot side of the Meeting House that would end in a door on the side of the Meeting Room?
In order to begin to answer these and other questions, the Meeting is inviting members of the community to let the Nominating Committee know of their interest in serving on an ad hoc committee to explore and share their vision of future directions for our building. The Nominating Committee currently consists of Ali Aghbar, Nick Coles, David Kuhn, Gina Godfrey, Eva Mergner, and Mary Parish; their contact information is in our Directory.
Once the committee has been established, other Friends will be welcome to share their own visions with its members.
Thank you from the House Committee,
Rosemary Coffey and Steven Suarez, Co-Conveners
See our website at www.quaker.org/pghpamm/

The Rakers (and Others) Did It Again! by the House Committee

The Work Party on the afternoon of Saturday, Nov. 19, pulled together members of the House Committee and other valiant workers to accomplish the following tasks:
OUTDOORS
Repairing the parking lot lights and setting the mechanical timer switch in the basement (Chris Hollingshead, Joe Rosansky)
Raking leaves throughout the yard (Betsy Bangley, Jim Beggs, Rosemary Coffey, Bill and Kim Crawford, Martha Harris, Dale Keairns, Natoka Reilly, the entire Suarez family, Dou-Yan Yang); Betsy also hauled away 15 bags of leaves in her truck.
Trimming and thinning the flower bed and lots of ivy along the parking lot (Dave and Dolores Avner)
Pruning the mock orange trees alongside the parking lot (Martha Harris, Jon Smith)
Planting a rose bush contributed by Nancy James (Steven Suarez)
Taking down the privacy fence by the Carriage House and replacing some loose stone steps with square concrete steps on the back patio terrace (Steven Suarez)
INDOORS
Preparing and serving lunch, along with some kitchen cleaning (Rosemary Coffey)
Washing kitchen counters, appliances, woodwork, doors, and tables in the parlor and library (Nancy James)
Rationalizing the computer wiring (Evan Schnell with Owen)
Lowering the stuck storm window glass on one of the kitchen windows (Chris Hollingshead)
EVERYWHERE
And here’s where we acknowledge our House Manager, Tim Field, who provided the tools, the reminders, the instructions, and the overall support needed to accomplish the above-listed tasks.
THANK YOU, ONE AND ALL!

First Day School Art Party

On November 12, there was an amazing party that people of all ages attended. It was the third annual First Day School Art Party. Their mission: to create art to sell as a fund raiser for Doctors without Borders. They made holiday greeting cards, most of them with calligraphy, ceramics, and wrapping paper. There were also ribbon ornaments that were made by blowing up balloons, and then putting a mixture of ribbon and glue on the balloons. Then they popped the balloon, and got a beautiful ornament. Some of the people attending the art party were: Yelena Forrester, Becky Wallis, Kathy Rubel, Claire Cohen, Eric and Joy Laurensen, Eva Mergner, Betsy Bangley, Jon Webb, Beth Rubel, Sarah Bangley, Norma Cusin, Wynston and Wesley Peters, Nicholas and Louis Suarez, Farah & Sean Strickland and me. Thanks to Tim Field, who set up for the party, and to everyone who participated, and bought art.
Betsy Bangley

Homeless Shelter Needs

EECM’s Men’s Homeless Shelter Coordinator has put out an emergency request for the 40 men coming into our shelter each night that are ill-equipped for the chilling temperatures hitting Pittsburgh in the past few days:
New or lightly worn: hats, gloves, scarves
In addition to these cold-weather needs, the men also need:
Disposable razors and deodorant.
Please drop off any of the items between 7:30am – 1:30pm at East Liberty Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Penn Avenue and S. Highland Avenue. The entrance to the Men’s Homeless Shelter is on S. Whitfield Street across from the Carnegie Library, East Liberty Branch. You can ask for Bret or Jim when dropping off your donation.
Thanks for your help this Holiday Season!

3rd Sunday

Young Friends Needed to Read Children’s Queries. Children’s Queries are posted on the 2nd floor bulletin board with a sign-up sheet for volunteers. This is an excellent way to serve the Meeting and a way to help the Meeting to get to know our young Friends a little better.
7:30-8:30 pm Friends in the South Hills: Mtg. for Worship at Unitarian Universalist Church in Mt. Lebanon (1240 Washington Rd.). Contact person: Robert Sterbal

Annual Holiday Program

Annual Holiday Program, presented by FDS: Dec. 18, at the rise of 10:30 Meeting for Worship. Friends are encouraged to bring simple food that could be accessible without the need of utensils. Please drop the food off in the kitchen. Thank you!
See our web page, www.quaker.org/pghpamm/

13 December, 2011 10:17

The Quake That Rocked the Midwest – Winter Quaker Youth Retreat: MLK weekend Jan. 13-16, 2012, Evanston Friends Meeting, Evanston IL. Join us for fellowship with other Quaker youth and a service project creating hygiene kits for Night Ministries in Chicago. Vanessa Juyle, coordinator for FGC’s Committee on Racism, will be presenting a workshop for youth. Contact/RSVP Javaughn Fernanders, 574-289-8060.
See our new web page, www.quaker.org/pghpamm/

Rehearsal this Saturday

FDS students are asked to participate in the Holiday Program Rehearsal at the Meeting House this Saturday, Dec. 17th, from 2-5 pm for a dress rehearsal. Attendance is very helpful, though not mandatory.
See the new meeting web page! www.quaker.org/pghpamm/

Ministering to the Meeting

“Arriving on time… is the simplest, everyday way of caring for the tenderness of the meeting.”- Patricia McBee

Mid-week Worship Opportunity

Every Wednesday, 7-8 pm, George Fox room upstairs. For Friends seeking a full hour or longer, of silence centered in waiting in the Light – no committee, no clerk, no childcare. All are welcome!