Pittsburg day two

Outside the fish market at the Strip.
Local team The Steelers colours are black and gold (Pic by Kat)

On the evening of my first full day in Pittsburgh  I went with Alex and Kat to PubClub, a kind of Christian discussion group that meets in a room over a pub in downtown Pittsburg. There's a bar, a speaker, and usually some discussion and Q and A.

On this occasion a local minister, Tish Harrison Warner, a friend of Alex and Kat, was speaking about her book 'Liturgy of the Ordinary.' It's all about how our faith relates to ordinary everyday events and it has intriguing chapter titles like: Brushing Teeth, Losing Keys, Checking Email, Sitting in Traffic and Calling  Friend. Afterwards I was chatting with her about her book and she very kindly gave me her own copy of it (and signed it). A great evening.

Next day we went to a local cafe and had the kind of breakfast that you can only have in America and which just about sates your hunger for the whole day. As well as a cup of coffee, endlessly refilled by the waitress as soon as you drink any, my mega breakfast consisted of Corned Beef hash, fried potatoes, toasted Ciabatta bread, and two eggs (cooked 'over easy' as the Americans say). It was superb - especially the corned beef hash.

Then we visited the Church of the Ascension in Pittsburgh (where Tish and her husband are on the staff team). It's a large and lively church doing great church in the city. It has an impressive Victorian building (with a picture of the Ascension), a great suite of modern rooms, and a basement entirely given over to the youth group.

Later in the day the Rector, Jonathon (another Brit), popped into Alex and Kat's house and we had a fascinating discussion about the work of the Ascension, and the way Anglican churches with their liturgy, are appealing to a fresh generation of young Americans, many of whom are moving from mega churches.

Part of the youth area at the Ascension

Next we visited The Strip in downtown Pittsburg, an area of markets, independent food stores, full of character and life. After that Alex said 'let's go and have a beer at Church Brew Works. This is a micro-brewer cum pub that has taken over a disused Roman Catholic Church. The Latin version of 'This life I life in the body I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me' from Galatians is still prominently displayed over the chancel (which now holds the giant vats in which the beer is brewed). It was a very enjoyable if somewhat surreal experience, sitting in this beautiful historic building, sensitively adapted for a radically different purpose.

The Strip

The strip

After a relaxing afternoon and a visit to Ben and Hannah's school - just a few feet away from the Rectory and next door to the church - and a chat with Rev Jonathon it was time to bid a fond farewell to Alex and Kit and head for the Railway Station in Pittsburgh where I due to catch the overnight sleeper to Chicago, departing Pittsburgh a minute before midnight.

Alex and Kat at Church Brew Works

I loved my time with Alex and Kat. It was lovely to see them so happy and settled in their church community - and, it was clear from the members of the church I spoke to, that their ministry has been deeply appreciated for the new ideas and vigour they brought, for their love of people, for their commitment to biblical truth, and above all for their wholehearted desire to grow God's kingdom. May God bless them richly.

Finally, I loved this quote from JC Ryle, the great 19th century Bp of Liverpool, that Alex had in his study: (click on the picture to enlarge it)