While most of the time I am a road cyclist, occasionally I get the itch to explore somewhere new on my mountain bike. This will inevitably include a season of finding myself completely and hopelessly lost, usually in a deep valley where any choice I make will involve lots of hill climbing. A mistake will mean lots of spent (and ultimately, wasted) energy. And so I’ve found myself suddenly with a d…
Produce to People is the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank’s large-scale produce distribution program. They operate 17 distributions each month at 17 different locations. Each family receives 30-50 pounds of food, mostly fresh produce. Westminster provides all of the volunteers at the north side location 3 Saturdays a year and has done so for at least the past 9 years. We register folks, pr…
I have worn glasses since high school, and although I once wore contact lenses, my glasses are now my daily companion and essential. My glasses are on my face nearly the entire time I am awake each day. If I take my glasses off while around my grandchildren they look curiously at my face and will tell me to put on my glasses back. I don’t look like myself. They do not recognize me without glasses o…
When I was in the 5th grade, my family moved to Murrysville to our new home. We lived on the corner of a cul de sack, which was the epitome of cool for a young child growing up. That circular street would over the years be the arena for all manner of sporting events. It was our hockey rink. It was our baseball field. It was our battlefield for snowball fights. It was a legitimately safe place,…
"I believe in God, the Father Almighty, the Maker of heaven and earth..." (Sarah) I've recited the Apostles' Creed many times, and I've addressed God as Father (and Mother), but I didn't truly grasp the meaning of God as my parent until after Julian and Joshua were born. They were only a few days old and I was up in the middle of the night feeding one of them. Though I was groggy and…
