Pastor Janet Hellner-Burres was honored to present at the General Assembly during Missionfest 2019 - please click here ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9AMi2a6_0fM&feature=youtu.be ) to watch her presentation, "Peace in the City & Building Hope."

Hello. My name is Leon Turner, I am 13 years old diagnosed as having Autism and ADD. I have been in the JBB and Codename for 7 years. I warn to first thank Jesus who is my Lord and Savior, the family of Joseph, Pastor Janet, Mr. Tillman and the volunteers that made a huge impact in my life for the last 7 years in these programs. I hope one day I can be a volunteer as well.

First, I enjoy going to both programs because it provides a safe environment for kids and teens to play sports and games. Its a program that detours kids from hanging in the streets and provides a christian understanding on how we are to treat others with respect. I am grateful for the program because it provides meals and for some of us growing up in a single parent home its rough to make sure all meals are provided for. Then there are other families that just can’t afford anything so I know I am fed for dinner and a snack is provided. I thank the program for it also has a low cost snack machine just incase I want to get another snack.

Second, The rules of both programs are specific and to the point. If our parents instilled them in us like my mom did the kids would not have a problem abiding to their rules. The rules help keep order especially with the kids who grew up with no rules. Respect is taught throughout the program and I am safe from bullying.

Thirdly, the games are pretty cool. Basketball teaches us how to have sportsmanship and how to shoot baskets. I have to say basketball isn’t my strongest but I can say I can shoot baskets now. It may have taken me some time to learn but with consistency I did it.

Next, The volunteers are helpful and it’s good to see others that care enough to take time out of their schedules on saturday to be a positive role model for us. It’s a jungle out there.

Lastly,the staff are role models to us and knowledgeable to handle any situation that occurs with the kids and I hope the program stays open because there are not too many christian programs that provide a safe environment in the city of Pittsburgh that meet on Saturday evenings that aren’t shut down. Where would we go on saturday evenings? but the streets. I go to JBB or Codename Saturday.

Thank You
Leon Turner

Last spring, I drove around Pittsburgh looking for ideas for a new banner for the side of our building. I found one I liked over the front door of a sister congregation: LOVE THY NEIGHBOR! NO EXCEPTIONS! It expresses well the challenge of the Gospel not only to treat all as neighbor, but to become a good neighbor in this time when our world is divided by politics, race and nationalism.

Being a good neighbor took our church dancing in the parklet on Penn Avenue last summer for Jazz Nights as we offered refreshments and talked with our neighbors. Being a good neighbor has expanded our New to You Shop mission so that we serve refreshments and offer a quiet place for neighbors to meet on Thursday afternoons. Through those chats we discovered that there was a homeless couple who we cared for through the frigid winter months until they found safe shelter. The Faith and Fundraiser Team took on the challenge of being a good neighbor by providing free soup suppers to the community every Friday night in December for those who were hungry or lonely during the holiday season. In November, we offered a Prayer Breakfast for caregivers knowing how stressful that job is and, in the spring, we offered a Free Health Fair. Being a good neighbor takes us to the Allegheny County Jail where we teach forgiveness every Wednesday to leading three trainings in racial reconciliation last spring for United Church of Christ ministers. At the end of each training, Carol Calloway issued the challenge of doing one thing to stop racism. That resulted in a pastor from a rural congregation two hours away bringing skilled workers last summer to help us with our capital campaign renovations They were so impressed with our ministry that they came back for Santa’s Open House in December loaded with toys! What a God-thing!

Youth from across Pennsylvania and West Virginia worked alongside our neighbors during a summer regional mission camp. Five colleges lived in our building and worked in the community during their alternative spring breaks. Not only did they touch the lives of our neighbors in need, but they also learned about racial disparities and urban neighborhoods. Now they can teach others how to be good neighbors back in Missouri, Michigan, West Virginia and Philadelphia.

Being a good neighbor sent us to the Jewish Community Center. Last September, I was invited to speak at the Yom Kippur services about our work with the Wilkinsburg Sanctuary Project for Peace in walking with our neighbors on Franklin Avenue after their tragic shooting. One month later, the Tree of Life Synagogue shooting took place. It was as though God was preparing them for their tragedy. Since then, a deep friendship has developed between our communities. Rabbi Ron Symons even attended our Christmas Eve worship service! Being a good neighbor also has called us to reach out to our Muslim neighbors as we work together for peace on our streets.

Truly our Lord is teaching us to go deeper in our understanding of what it means to be a good neighbor. Like the banner says, He is teaching us to Love Thy Neighbor. No Exceptions!

Our church is blessed with amazing young people who inspire us every Sunday! Below are two statements of purpose by our young people working with Mrs. Brown.

I, Alyssa Castelli am committed to ALWAYS be a disciple of Christ. To always help people no matter the circumstance. I will be kind, faithful, and honest no matter what. I am always going to love and cherish The Lord Jesus Christ and the others around me. Yes it will be hard to keep this pledge, but if this is what the Lord wants me to do then I will. So therefore I promise to keep my word to the best of my abilities before God and man

Shaun Jackson, A day of signing for young disciples. So I will always be trying to do my best in school. So I can be a FBI, Marine biologist, coach, lawyer, or a Doctor. I plan a college in Arizona to stay there for a couple of years to have degrees. When I’m confronted or challenged I will still try my best. Like when one of my teachers said if anyone is trying to bring you down there already below me. So that inspired me so I will use that when I get older, because people will try to bring you down so remember that. Another quote is that Never quit believing in yourself. I learned that you have to achieve no matter how hard your goal or opponent is. I pledge before God and the church be my best and do my best.

“We will never change the world by going to church. We will only change the world by being the church.” - Author unknown

For as long as I could remember, I had been taught the importance of the church being the church. But try as I might, I couldn’t quite get a handle on that. What was that supposed to mean?

As the years have drifted by and my faith has matured, I’ve found myself wondering what the early church must have been like. Were they as self-absorbed as it seemed we had become? Had we lost sight of our God-ordained purpose? Thus began my quest for truth.

According to the Word of God, those first disciples devoted themselves to four things: the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. Healings took place, many came to faith in Christ as a result of their witness, they gave to anyone who had need and they continually praised God for all He had done. How beautiful and so very simple. I couldn’t help but think the modern-day church was missing the mark. We’d forgotten what it means to truly be the church.

“Lord, if there are any who are still getting this right, please show me,” I prayed. At the time that simple cry was uttered, I wasn’t aware that the answer had been right in front of me all along.

It has been my joy to attend the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg every year as part of my annual trek from upstate New York to visit my beloved Aunt Gena. I have always been so warmly welcomed that it has felt like home every time I walk through the doors. Each year I look forward with great anticipation to the genuine smiles and hugs that eagerly await me, and I feel like family.

I’ve come to count on the fact that each minister is appointed by God and anointed by the Holy Spirit, for they never fail to speak His timely words, and I leave challenged and changed. I’ve listened to the heartfelt requests and prayers of this congregation and have been blessed to witness the hand of God move on their behalf as they are always careful to give Him the credit. Many are drawn to Christ because this body of believers represent Him so well.

If the truth be known, I’ve seen pieces of these attributes in many other churches. But the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg has something that’s not always recognizable in other congregations. They consciously search for those in need, making every attempt to be the hands and feet of Christ in a very hurting world. I’ve heard story upon story of the impact of their outreach to the community. Hearts and lives have been changed because of their devotion to their Lord and their desire for others to come to know Him. But it doesn’t stop there. This body truly cares for their own, embracing the hurts and needs within their congregation with an agape kind of love.

Are they perfect? Of course not. After all, there are no perfect people. But I can say with all sincerity that the Christian Church of Wilkinsburg has truly shown me what it means to be the church, and it has helped me be a much better pastor as a result.

Dan’s childhood was difficult beyond imagination. He was physically, mentally and psychologically abused by his father. Often he was deprived of adequate food and clothing. Dan left home at 28, when his dad came at him with a knife in the midst of a heated argument. Like many who have had abusive childhoods, Dan slipped deeper and deeper into a life of addiction and depression. After many years, Dan’s father decided to move to Kentucky to be near a friend who could care for him, since his health was deteriorating. Because Dan did not want to have any regrets, as he did when his mother died suddenly, Dan wanted to talk with his father one more time. Moved by our congregation’s focus on forgiveness, as well as his many years of hard work in therapy and spiritual direction which resulted in being clean of his addiction, Dan looked his dad in the eye and said, “You were a poor excuse for a father and I have hated your guts for years … But, I understand now that you did the best you could. I forgive you.” Then Dan reached inside his shirt and found the nail on the purple yarn we had blessed during our Lenten journey of forgiveness. He gave the nail to his father and explained that it represented how Jesus suffered so that we could be forgiven. “Let this be the first nail in repairing our relationship”, said Dan. Though at first his father appeared not to want the nail, he took it with him when he moved to Kentucky. A few months later, Dan received a call that his father was critically ill. He was on life support in a hospital in Kentucky and was dying. Dan called Pastor Janet and they talked about what Dan could do to bring his father to the Lord before his death. They created a service of healing prayer with scripture and anointing oil. Then Dan and his sister made the trip to Kentucky where they made the decision to take his father off of life support. During this time, Dan was constantly being held in prayer by several members of the congregation who knew how painful Dan’s relationship with his father had been and how hard this death would be on him. One day in the hospital Dan was able to spend a few minutes alone with his father during one of his father’s lucid moments. Dan read to his father the scriptures and anointed him with oil. He felt called to stand in the gap for his father’s salvation. After the healing prayer, Dan walked across the room to reach for his small wooden cross. “Dad, do you know what this is?” Though terribly weak, his father had the strength to reach out for the cross and said, “Forgiveness.” Dan responded, “I love you, Dad.” To which his father grabbed his hand and said clearly, “I love you.” Dan’s father died within a few days. Later Dan’s “Uncle” (his father’s friend) returned the nail of forgiveness to Dan. Through it, father and son were reconciled to each other, and Dan’s father went home to live with the Lord eternally. Today Dan acknowledges that there is still more work to be done in forgiveness, but through his experience with his father, he knows he will be led and given the power to do it. Forgiveness works through the power of our Lord Jesus Christ!