A Congregational Mission/Service Opportunity for Winter 2024-25

Our Neighbors’ Place (ONP) overflow winter shelter will look different for the 2024-25 shelter season. If you have not heard in the news, after years of searching, leaders have decided Our Neighbors’ Place (“ONP”) will have a single-site this winter: the Community Resilience Center, 450 East 16^th Street. No more moving cots and supplies every two weeks. This is a newer facility and an Erie County-owned building, with beds for 50. It will provide our unsheltered neighbors with safe, warm, welcoming rest from the bitter cold Erie winter. Because of a steady decline in church sites available to house the ONP system, this move was necessary to continue offering shelter. Churches are staffing the shelter with volunteers. Erie United Methodist Alliance is providing some paid staff through county grants.

Even so, YOUR help is needed. First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant is hosting the opening of the season, November 13-26 and then March 5-18. Might other Presbytery of Lake Erie congregations adopt a yet-unadopted week or two this season (see season list, attached)? This would involve finding volunteers for 4-hour shifts through the night, gathering family or friends/groups to prepare 60 simple “bag meals” nightly, contribute funding toward the purchase of needed supplies (toiletries, paper products, etc.).

The  ONP Coordinators have met several times in June, July and August. They have visited the new site multiple times.  They wish ONP could sustain itself “the way it was”. Housed at churches. But it can’t. FPCC was one of the last viable sites. Seeing the recent decline, the coordinator group has been searching and praying for such a single-site for more than 5 years. Many possibilities have seemed promising and fallen through the cracks. This one seems as though God was like “50 beds, 25 to a room-check… kitchen-check… 2 bathrooms with 4 showers, 4 stalls, 4 sinks-each-check… storage space-check… safe, secure, new, ready-check.”

This is the most recent news story about ONP for 2024-25:

https://www.yourerie.com/news/local-news/permanent-location-now-being-provided-for-eumas-our-neighbors-place/

If you are interested in exploring this possibility, contact Ere United Methodist Alliance 814-456-8073 or Seph Kumer at First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant 814-566-0287. FPCC and other churches offer to work alongside you to assist your team. As a community, we are all in this together. Kurt Crays and the staff from EUMA are glad to meet with you. A rep from your group would be welcome at ONP coordinator meetings (mostly Monday mornings at EUMA office on West 9^th).

First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant has seen this become a vital part of the congregation’s discipleship and community service. They have been changed over the past 12 years: grown in awareness, compassion, wrestling with injustice, taking risks.

Any chance? It would be great to add another Presbyterian congregation or two to the schedule. Congregations could work in teams of 2 or more on this effort!

The hope is to fill the empty weeks by the end of September with reps from the breadth and depth of Erie’s diverse faith traditions.

 

Seph Kumer

Director of Community Engagement,

First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant

250 West 7th Street

Erie, PA  16501

814.456.4243, x105

Dear Friends,

As an Alumni of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, I am excited to share with you and invite you to register for the World Mission Initiative Conference and Don McClure Lecture featuring Dr. Harvey Kwiyani, a Malawian theologian and director of Centre for Global Witness and Human Migration at Church Mission Society.

It will be held in person and online at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, 616 N Highland Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, Oct 11-12, 2024.

I would also appreciate it if you could encourage your friends, family, and church members to join this gathering to think together about mission in the margins and how we can learn from the global church.

In addition to the lecture Friday evening, workshops will be offered (such as “Being Faithful Amidst Suffering: Learning from Palestinian Christians,” “Equipping Unexpected Leaders,” and “Lessons and Practices from the Malawian Church”), global worship opportunities, and an insightful panel discussion, including Rev. Dr. Philomena Ofori-Nipaah, on Saturday that will help us see the U.S. Church as some new immigrant pastors and evangelists do.

Would you be willing to include this invitation and the attached graphic/s in your church or presbytery newsletter and post it on your social media channels? 

Check out Harvey Kwiyani’s 2-minute video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GLVFqIOI4k) and see the website for more information and registration (https://www.pts.edu/WMI-conference-2024).

Thanks for your partnership in God’s mission,

Donna Cammarata

The Commissioned Pastors subcommittee of the Committee on Ministry is offering training for all interested persons in Spiritual First Aid on September 21, 10 AM – 2 PM at First Presbyterian Church, Corry. Spiritual First Aid is a biblically-informed, evidence-informed, trauma-informed, and peer-to-peer (e.g., neighbor-to-neighbor) spiritual and emotional care intervention/training program structured around the BLESS CPR framework. The co-founders of Spiritual First Aid, Dr. Jamie Aten and Rev Kent Annan, created the program to enable people to provide first level support to people who have endured trauma and mental illness.

The cost is $99.00 and includes materials and lunch. A wrap-up retreat will follow on Saturday, November 2 in Corry. For more information, or to register, contact Rev. James Bernhardt, facilitator, at james@wayside-erie.org or 814-833-7653.

This month, Anita Applauds . . . the work of the whole PC(USA) at the General Assembly.  I acknowledge that for some of you in your local church on these pretty days of summer, it matters little that the 226^th General Assembly (GA), our church’s biannual national gathering, has begun.  Yet, we are a connectional Church, believing that we can do more as a unified people of faith across many geographies than we can do independently.  We can be a stronger and more influential witness to Jesus Christ in the world.  So, I am attending the GA, along with our Stated Clerk, Rev. Dr. Tim Harmon, and our commissioners from the Lake Erie Presbytery, Rev. Britney Knight, Pat Tracy, and Paige Irwin (Young Adult Advisory Delegate).  I sent you an email this morning introducing you to the GA and telling you that I will be sending you daily emails from Salt Lake City beginning on Saturday.  Even if you are a skeptic, what I covet from you is your prayers – not just for the five of us, but for all the Presbyterians that will be gathering over these next 10 days.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us to make good decisions.  Pray that Christ will give us strength and endurance for long days.  Pray that God’s people will do and say what is pleasing to God and that which builds up the Church.   Pray, and join your siblings in the loving dialogue.  Thank you in advance, dear ones.

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

Update: July 4, 2024

Happy Independence Day!  Is it trivializing to say that there’s a definite anticipation of freedom as we come to the final day of the 226th General Assembly?  We’ve worked hard and had a series of long days and we’re ready for some rest!

On Tuesday morning we heard a powerful sermon on Christian freedom from the World Council of Churches General Secretary, Rev. Jerry Sillar.  He used an illustration of a kite on a string that longed to fly free of the arm tethering it to the ground and limiting its free flight.  Once granted the coveted desire to fly free, however, the kite was badly battered around by wind gusts and its string was soon entangled in the branches of a tree.  Then the kite longed for a return to the freedom it had previously known of floating loosely in the safe hands of a person on the ground.  Rev. Sillar compared this story of the kite with the safety and freedom we know when we are held by our loving Savior, even though it may limit our range of flight. “For freedom Christ has set us free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery….For you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters, only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become slaves to one another.” (Galatians 5:1, 13)

In other words, when we are held by Christ and we commit ourselves to service in Christ’s name, we limit our range of freedom – we can no longer be self-indulgent, for instance – in order to know true freedom and safe space.

As we celebrate the Independence Day of our country and the 226th General Assembly comes to an end, let us celebrate even more the love and freedom we know as those who belong to and are tethered to Christ Jesus our Lord.  Alleluia!  Amen.

Update: July 3, 2024 

After another great worship service, Wednesday morning quickly brought us to the sobering realization that we had 49% of the work of the GA in front of us with only 25% of the time, suggesting that today will be a long day!  We also quickly got to fairly controversial overtures like POL-01 (divided into 2 parts by the committee) which urges non-discrimination of LGBTQIA persons and pastors in the PC(USA).  That debate took over two hours.  However, I felt that the debate was engaged in a respectful and compassionate manner, based more on our collective understanding of the Church and less on personal convictions.   In the end, commissioners approved both parts of the overture.

While we are talking about overtures in a day filled with overtures, I want to tell you what happened to the three overtures brought to the GA from the Presbytery of Lake Erie.  As you may remember, we brought 3 overtures asking for flexibility in the Book of Order around shared ministries and small church pastoral compensation in a time of change.  The committee that reviewed our overtures (Ordination Committee) decided to answer all three overtures with an Authoritative Interpretation (AI).  An AI allows the concerns raised to be addressed in the commentary or interpretation on the Book of Order without actually changing the wording in the Book of Order.  LEP Commissioner, Rev. Britney Knight, Associate Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, who served on the Ordination Committee that addressed our overtures, had this to say about it:
“We need to be more creative and imaginative, as our vows state,” Knight said, “and what’s already in the Book of Order allows for such creativity. We need to make sure that the AI gets to all of our presbyteries, and that stories of shared ministry are lifted up so we can continue to imagine ways that churches can be served by pastoral leadership in all of its different contexts. We can help presbyteries be creative to create a full-time call for all in ministry.”

Among the many conversations, debates, and votes of these days, there have been many decisions made on behalf of the whole PC(USA).  We have shunned gun violence that injures and kills children.  We have asked the Board of Pensions to include advisors from the Association of Mid Council Leaders.  We have affirmed details about how the GA functions in the future, deciding items like the location of the 227th GA in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2026.  It will have the same hybrid format of the current assembly.  New Standing Rules for the General Assembly were also presented, discussed, revised, and approved.

In the midst of all the business, I still draw tremendous hope for this Church from all the amazing people – both those gathered here in Salt Lake City and those back at home – who lead, contribute to, and build up the body, of Christ that is the PC(USA).  God’s Spirit is alive and well, giving us reason to hope for a bright future!

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

Update: July 2, 2024

The General Assembly began a week ago today with the work of committees.  Now in the 4th day of the gathered, in-person assembly, we have fallen into a routine.  We begin each day with worship at 8:30 AM Mountain Time.  Worship is my favorite part of the General Assembly with its meaningful prayers, inspiring preaching, and fantastic (!) music.  After worship, we move into GA business in 3 daily plenaries (9:30 AM-Noon, 1:30-5:30 PM, and 7-9 PM). Scheduled between the weighty discussions of the plenaries are necessary breaks for meals, rest, mobility, and fellowship.  In addition, during the plenaries, there are musical interludes, short educational videos, timely prayers (like for those in the path of the category 5 hurricane in the Caribbean this morning) and encouraging comments from the moderators that help us to maintain our energy.

An important function of the GA is ongoing intelligent participation and old-fashioned perseverance!  As with previous GAs that I have had the honor of attending, by the time the Commissioners have decided on many weighty manners and are this far into the long list of business before the assembly, a certain amount of weariness begins to creep in.  That does not mean that more weighty decisions are not still on the docket.  Indeed, there are!  Endurance becomes an essential virtue.  Today, for instance the Assembly spent six (6) hours in the morning and afternoon debating, perfecting, and deciding on two overtures (ENV-02 & ENV-06) from the Environmental and Climate Justice Committee.  Your commissioners, Britney Knight, Pat Tracy, and Paige Irwin are working hard!  Tonight we went to dinner together and shared our perspectives on the GA so far.  Meanwhile, somewhat controversial decisions about overtures coming from the Polity Committee have been moved from today to tomorrow morning’s agenda.  Lord in your mercy, grant us perseverance!

Stay tuned, dear ones, for more from Utah!

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

July 1, 2024

Last night at 9:08 PM (after 11 PM your time) the assembly elected new Co-Moderators of the 226th General Assembly.  As the candidates were being questioned, I was impressed with the intelligence of the people running and the energy they brought to the discussion.  Dare I say, it was a stark contrast to the recent presidential debate!  The first question asked the candidates (from a Young Adult Advisory Delegate) was something like, “How can the Church be smaller and yet strong?”  Answers emphasized love, vitality, and a lack of concentration on numbers. Other meaningful and perceptive questions and answers followed.  I found myself thinking that any of the four individuals standing for a moderator role would represent our church well.

In the end, it was Rev. CeCe Armstrong, Pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in Charleston, SC, and Rev. Tony Larson, Pastor of Trinity Presbyterian in Surfside Beach, SC who were elected as Co-Moderators in a vote of 249 to 171.

Another important leader of our denomination was elected in a vote of 420-2 this morning.  The Rev. Jihyun Oh, a 1.5 generation Korean American, was elected and installed as the next Stated Clerk of the General Assembly.  Though small in stature, she will have a big role as the ecclesiastical voice of the PC(USA).  I met Jihyun early in my own leadership training as your General Presbyter when she sought to raise awareness of international cultural diversity.  Jihyun is a gifted and energetic servant.

Today the assembly also spends a significant amount of plenary time reviewing and voting on the work done in GA committees June 25-27th. This is work that will continue throughout the rest of the General Assembly.  To begin with, you should know that nearly 70 items of business coming from committees were approved without revision on the Consent Agenda.  That reflects a great deal of effective committee work!

Leaders elected, committee work being brought to the full assembly, countless conversations, motions, amendments, and votes – it is all the work of the Church at the General Assembly.  See it happen in the live stream if you like.  Read about it if you prefer.  Continue to let me tell you about it.  Whatever the method, may it help you lean into hope this day!

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

 

June 30, 2024

Worship is at the heart of everything we do in the Presbyterian Church.  It is the natural outcome of our love for God and our faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.  So, it is only fitting that on this Lord’s Day, as you gather with your congregation, the commissioners, Young Adult Advisory Delegates (or YAADS), Presbytery leaders (like me), national staff of the PC(USA), and members of our agencies and ministries, also focus on worship today.  Before most of the important business of the church comes for discussion on the floor of GA plenaries, we all begin with worship.

Two primary opportunities for worship are the focus of this day.  The first invites us to choose a local, nearby PC(USA) congregation in Utah and join in its regular Sunday morning worship service.  Ten congregations opened their doors to the crowd that is the General Assembly, offering transportation to their location and user-friendly orientation to their specific worship practice.  It is both welcome and hospitality, extending the hospitality that has already come from the people of the Presbytery of Utah in preparing for our arrival.  These are the people who have donned a bright aqua blue vest and met us at the airport.  They are the ones who directed us to the correct ground transportation, the TRAX train, into the center of Salt Lake City.  They are the same volunteers who stood at the exit of the TRAX train and pointed us in the right direction to walk to our hotels.  On Friday and Saturday, this is something they did in shifts all day long from 6 AM – 11 PM.  Then, on Sunday, they welcomed us again into their most vital activity – their worship.

The second opportunity to practice our faith in worship came at 2:30 PM with the opening worship of the whole General Assembly.  Again, before the business of the Church comes the worship of the Church.  And what an experience it is!  To sing and pray and listen to the Word read (today it was Isaiah 55) and preached with about 600 Presbyterians from all over is a mighty rush of exhilaration!  It’s like going on vacation and seeing the ocean for the first time – most of us don’t live there day-to-day but, wow, does it fill with a special awe!

Essential to leaning into and living into hope is to begin with worship.  I hope you have worshipped today.  If it hasn’t been with a crowd of ~600 enthusiastic Presbyterians at the GA, that’s okay.  Your worship and praise of Jesus Christ is just as essential to your life of faith and hope this side of the mighty, heavenly, awe-inspiring, throng you will someday join. To Almighty God be the glory.  Amen.

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

Preview:

At the national level, the PC(USA) meets every other year with members coming together in what is known as the General Assembly.  The 226^th General Assembly started Tuesday, June 25^th with the work of committees happening online this week and then plenaries at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah beginning on Saturday.  Your Lake Erie Presbytery Stated Clerk, Rev. Dr. Tim Harmon, will be participating online and your General Presbyter, me, will follow a hybrid format like our elected commissioners – Teaching Elder Rev. Britney Knight, Ruling Elder Pat Tracy, and Young Adult Advisory Delegate (YAAD) Paige Irwin of First Presbyterian Church of the Covenant in Erie.

Britney, Pat, Paige, Tim, and I will be connecting online this week as various committees do their work and then traveling to Salt Lake City at the end of the week (all except Tim) for the large in-person gatherings.  I’ve decided this year to invite you to travel with us through a daily email that looks something like a blogpost.  Beginning when the whole assembly gathers on Saturday, June 29^th, I will send you a daily post about the previous day’s activities and my reflections on them.  I hope this will be a way that you can share in the experience that is GA.  Since you can’t all be there sitting next to us in Salt Lake City, I’m offering you a chance to look over our shoulders, listen in on the voices coming from the microphones, and think about the thoughts we are pondering and praying about at GA.

I already have some initial ponderings.  The theme for the General Assembly this year is “Live into Hope”.  It’s a theme that resonates with my vision for the Presbytery of Lake Erie.  Ever since I started as your General Presbyter during the height of the Covid pandemic, I have been trying to pull us forward into a hope-filled future as disciples of Jesus.  I want our churches to lean into a promising future the way we lean into a lover’s ardent kiss.  The pandemic placed limitations on our ministries and forced us to minister in new, untested ways.  Now that we understand that ministry (and our churches) will never be the same again as it was in the peak of Christendom, I’m urging us to embrace a new hope.

In the bible, hope and faith are often understood synonymously.
“By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to set out for a place that he was to receive as an inheritance; and he set out, not knowing where he was going.” (Hebrews 11:8)

Abraham hoped that he and his family would have a wonderful future life in a new place if he was true to God’s leading.  Abraham did not know what would happen in the years ahead nor the end result, but, with obedience, he hoped.

Until the Holy Spirit reveals to us the path of faithfulness ahead for the Church’s disciples in the Lake Erie Presbytery, all we can do is lean into and live into hope.  It’s what our Committee on Ministry conversations are about, the plans that are made by our Coordinating Commission, the inspiration that emerges from Bubble Up, the invitations we extend to International Peacekeepers and other ministry partners (like in the Upper Northern Presbytery of Ghana), the faith we teach in our spiritual formation, and what our Sunday morning worship services reflect.  We live into hope.  We set out for a place where we expect to receive an inheritance and we start that direction, not knowing where we are going.  We set out anyway as we live into hope – hoping for a new life, hoping for growth, hoping for peace, hoping for answers, hoping for energy and a relief from weariness, hoping for inspiration, hoping for healthy relationships, hoping for vibrancy, and hoping for love.

In the Presbytery of Lake Erie, we lean into and live into hope.  Stay tuned to see where we might be headed next and what adventures we will have along the way by God’s grace!

Rev. Anita Bernhardt – General Presbyter/Presbytery of Lake Erie

“I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, and for this reason, I do not cease to give thanks for you as I remember you in my prayers.” Ephesians 1: 15-16

Presbytery Friends, Every morning I wake up grateful for the love of Christ being expressed through faithful disciples in our Lake Erie Presbytery.  Every day my prayers are full of joy for your commitment and service.  In my role as General Presbyter, I am privileged to see a broad view of church life in this presbytery.  I see ordinary acts of faith expressed consistently year after year.  I also see extraordinary expressions of loving service.  Both often go largely unnoticed as dedicated Christians quietly serve in Christ’s name without fanfare or applause.  With this in mind, I started “Anita Applauds.” Every month, I will highlight a mission or ministry of one of our churches that valiantly reflects the love of Christ.  I hope that you will join me in giving thanks for these ministries.

This month, Anita Applauds . . . Presbytery of Lake Erie Nominating Committee and its Chairman, Rev. Keith Sundberg.  Those of you who have served on your church’s Nominating Committee know that there are about three months of intensive work to set your church’s leadership for the coming year.  In the Presbytery of Lake Erie that work begins in January and culminates with the slate of officers and members of presbytery committees who are elected at the May Presbytery meeting (this year, May 21^st at 2 PM at Camp Lambec).  What you probably also know is that good church nominating committee work is becoming increasingly difficult.  We have fewer willing servants, more people with larger time constraints, and, significantly, it is no longer immediately obvious who would make the best leaders.   Beyond their simple diligence, what I appreciate most about the Lake Erie Presbytery’s Nominating Committee is that they are intentional about finding people with the energy, gifts, talents, and experience to serve in particular areas of need.  They do not simply fill in the vacancies.  Instead, they take the time to match a person’s interests and expertise with the roles that best fit them. They look for the skills that the presbytery needs in a particular leader.  Since last May, I have seen the fruits of that intentionality and have had the privilege of working with many fine leaders.  With this year’s nominees, I am looking forward to another year of such fine collegiality – thanks to the Lake Erie Presbytery’s Nominating Committee.  Thank you, Rev. Keith Sundberg, Rev. Jim Haas, Rev. Carl Hull, Ms. Jean Moore, Ms. Shelley Harvey, Ms. Pauline Kraus, and Ms. Nikki Jares, your current LEP Nominating Committee.  Thank you as well to all who have previously served and to all who said “yes” to using their talents in the service of our common good in the Presbytery of Lake Erie (and whose names appear in the May 21^st Presbytery meeting packet).  How blessed am I that I get to work for Christ’s kingdom alongside you!

General Presbyter Rev. Anita Bernhardt – Presbytery of Lake Erie

Members of Lake Erie Presbytery: Bubble Up: Conversations to Carbonate the Imagination is still fizzing!  We’ve taken a few months to re-shape this initiative and give it a new form in 2024-25.  Here’s what the new Bubble Up: Carbonated Imagination looks like:

• We’re inviting churches to assemble a mini team to participate in the new Bubble Up.  We’d like the pastor and 1-3 church leaders from a congregation to commit to participating, forming a small group that can share and collaborate locally.  The pastoral leader could be a solo pastor, a senior pastor, an associate pastor, a commissioned pastor, or the most regular supply preacher.  The church leaders could be ordained ruling elders or anyone who is influential in your faith community.
• The primary qualifications for participating in the new Bubble Up are a commitment to trying something new for the sake of Christ and a willingness to stick with it, even if first efforts disappoint.
• As with Bubble Up: Conversations to Carbonate the Imaginationin 2023, your co-leaders will be Rev. Anita Bernhardt, General Presbyter of the Lake Erie Presbytery, and Dr. Corey Schlosser-Hall, Deputy Executive Director of Vision, Innovation, and Rebuilding with the Presbyterian Mission Agency (PMA).  As previously, we will also be utilizing Courtney Hoekstra, Coordinator for Connectional Innovation with PMA, and a variety of other church leaders from across the nation.
• If you participated in 2023, you are invited to join us again.  However, this is also an opportunity to begin fresh with Bubble Up, if you were previously unable for any reason.
• A significant beginning is an in-person 26-hour Bubble Up retreat on Monday, September 16, 2024, 10:30 a.m.  – Tuesday, September 17, 2024, at 12 noon at Mount St. Benedict Monastery, 6101 East Lake Rd, Erie, PA.  We will conclude in plenty of time to get to the Lake Erie Presbytery meeting on 9/17 at 2:00 p.m. at Church of the Cross in Fairview.

To answer your initial questions and to prepare for the Bubble Up retreat on September 16-17, we will have two introductory Zoom meetings.  Please plan to attend both if you can. These will be on Thursday, July 18^th at 4:00 p.m. and Thursday, August 8 at 4:00 p.m. You can expect additional monthly Zoom meetings after the retreat on the 4^th Thursday of the month at 3:00 p.m. or 4:00 p.m. depending on what works best for the whole group.

Because we need to confirm our reservations at Mount St. Benedict Monastery more clearly, the sooner you can notify us (Anita or Melinda at the presbytery office) regarding who will participate from your church the better.  The space for single, private rooms is limited.  There are some hermitages/cottages that can accommodate several people as well but, we will need definite numbers in order to plan accurately.  We will be taking our meals with the Benedictine sisters and may join them for some of the daily prayers.  We anticipate it will be a richly rewarding experience – both the retreat and the whole of Bubble Up: Carbonate Imagination.  Come and join your colleagues in the Lake Erie Presbytery as we seek to carbonate our communities with Christ’s enduring love!

Contact Us: Presbytery of Lake Erie, 2816 Elmwood Ave., Erie, PA 16508 / 814-868-4891
Rev. Anita Bernhardt, General Presbyter at presbyter@pbylakeerie.org
Melinda Wingenback, Admin at adminasst@pbylakeerie.org

You are invited to a FUN SHEA BUTTER WORKSHOP on Saturday, June 1 , 2024 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Church of the Cross gym -5901 Millfair Road, Fairview 16415.  Learn how to turn raw shea butter from Ghana, into amazing shea butter creams, lotions, and soaps.No experience is necessary, and all ages are welcome! Following the workshop there will be a DELICIOUS LUNCH and a short presentation on Ghana and the Lake Erie Presbytery Ghana Partnership led by Donna Cammarata.

Shea Butter finished products will be available for donation and to distribute at your Church or group. Funds raised from the shea butter products will go to support two rural Health Clinics in Wapuli and Bladjai in Northern Ghana, West Africa. There is no fee for the event, but registration is requested by May 25, 2024, to help with preparations. Kindly fill out the registration form below or call/email Donna Cammarata.

Shea Butter Workshop Event REGISTRATION FORM: https://forms.gle/R5Zn24W5WV9FdN2y5

For more information, CONTACT: Donna Cammarata donna.camm@gmail.com or 814-873-4860

Church of the Cross contact: Mj Dillon 814-572-5798