THE CENTERPIECE
May, 2004
The Newsletter of the
Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind
535 North Neville Street
Pittsburgh, Pa. 15213
PHONE: (412) 682-1800
Bob Mates, Director
Sherri Crum, Associate Director
The Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for the Blind seeks to reach out to the visually
impaired of Pittsburgh, feeling their needs, and touching them with the love of
Jisus, so that they may reach out and touch others with the love of Jesus.
THE CENTERPIECE is available in the following formats: Braille, large print,
audio cassette, and E-mail. You may also read the newsletter on the World
Wide Web, by going to: www.firsttrinity.net
and clicking on the "Center for the blind" link.
Terri Watson, Editor
From The Editor
Every morning between 7:20 and 7:30, Father Clifford on EWTN (Eternal
Word Television Network) offers thought-provoking reflections, one of which I'd
like to share in this month's column. I have chosen the following
reflection because I consider it such a poignant reminder of how heart-breaking
it can be when we wait too long to seek and desire forgiveness:
At a funeral Mass which Father Clifford celebrated, there was an elderly
man who wept bitterly throughout the service.
"You must have been very close to the man who died," the priest
offered empathetically as he approached the mourner after the service.
"He was my brother," the bereaved man replied. The
grief-stricken survivor went on to confide that, though the men were brothers,
they hadn't spoken for fifty years!
Non-judgmentally, Father Clifford asked the man just what the trouble had
been.
"I don't remember," was the brother's wistfully honest answer.
My friends, forgiveness can often be so difficult that it can seem
virtually impossible. But when forgiveness seems too big of a pill to
swallow with a taste too bitter to bare, reflect on and pray over the three
parables which can be found in Chapter Fifteen Luke's gospel which address both
loss and forgiveness:
First, we have the story of the housewife who loses one of ten coins.
This determined woman responds by lighting her lamp and sweeping the floor until
she finds the lost coin, and, having found it, she shares her joy with her
neighbors.
Similarly, a shepherd, while tending a flock of one hundred sheep,
notices that one of them has strayed. Knowing what peril could befall the
ninety-nine if he leaves to search for the one, the concerned shepherd
nonetheless leaves the flock to search for the one lost sheep. Upon
finding it, the shepherd's big heart is filled with rejoicing.
And last--but certainly far from least when it comes to agape love and
unconditional forgiveness--we have the frequently told and very familiar story
of The Prodigal Son. When the younger son squanders his inheritance, uses
it to live an immoral lifestyle and then returns to his father hungry, dirty and
broken, his father could have said, "Well, don't come back to me! You made
your own bed, so you just have to lie in it!" But what did the disobedient
son's father do and say instead? Upon seeing his son from a distance, the
"father was moved with pity, ran to his son, kissed him and embraced
him." The joy-filled father goes on to put sandals on his son's dusty feet;
a robe on what must have been a sweaty body from days of travel and a ring on a
hand that had been performing the degrading task of feeding swine. When
the elder brother responded angrily to merry-making that included "killing
the fatted calf and providing music for dancing, the forgiving and rejoicing
father !
pleaded with his elder son to join in the celebration by explaining, "We
had to celebrate for your brother, who had been dead, has come home."
We may rightly wonder if Jesus is saying that this is how unconditionally we
must always forgive. Though I am far from a Bible authority or scholar, I
would nonetheless humbly express my opinion that we are not always called to
forgive to that extent; that, in fact, there are times when we can forgive but
discontinue a relationship.
If I were to summarize, though, my points about forgiveness, those points
would be:
1. To the best of our abilities within the framework of our human
frailties, and even if we are not going to resume a relationship with the
offender, we are called to forgive others as Christ has forgiven us.
(Sometimes this means forgiving "seven times seventy" as Peter was
told to forgive.)
2. Remembering how blest we are to have a Father who is loving and
forgiving.
3. Being inspired to be a people of forgiveness by reflecting on
the following words:
Where you are not, we have naught, nothing good in deed or thought, nothing free
from taint of ill. Heal our wounds, our strength renew; on our dryness
pour your dew; wash the stains of guilt away: Bend the stubborn heart and will;
melt the frozen, warm the chill; guide the steps that go astray. (The
above was taken from the SEQUENCE which is part of the Catholic Liturgy of
Pentecost.)
As I conclude this month's column by wishing the church a HAPPY BIRTHDAY,
I also wish all of us a Happy Rebirth in the waters of Christ's baptism.
Blessings,
Terri Watson
APRIL's MEAL
Between fifteen and twenty people enjoyed Debra TERHUNE's sweet meat-loaf and
each other's fellowship at the April meal that was held on Saturday the 24th.
In addition to the great food and even greater fellowship, there were also
prayer requests, a Bible study and Vespers.
As always, tons of thanks go out to Sherri Crum, Cindy Fenger, Mike
Fenger, Bob Mates, Mike O'Connor, Norma Jean Rossi, Leigh Spittel, Pastor
Spittel, Debra Terhune and all without whose efforts, hard work and dedication
the Center's monthly meals would not be possible.
More on Jeremy Feldbusch
You may remember that, on February 28, 2004, we honored Jeremy Feldbusch, from
Blairsville, Pa. He is the young man, blinded while serving his country,
in Iraq. Well, we received an article concerning him, from the Detroit
News, and thought we'd share it with you.
Despite the heartaches of war, there's hope found in 2 blind soldiers
The Detroit News Saturday, May 01, 2004
Despite the heartaches of war, there's hope found in 2 blind
soldiers
By Marney Rich Keenan
In the span of one week recently, we were hit with more than our
share of gut-wrenching war news: the three sisters serving in Iraq and the death
of one, along with the agony of the surviving two, and the loss of Pat Tillman,
killed in Afghanistan after enlisting in the Army instead of playing in the NFL.
So when an uplifting story comes out of Iraq, I welcome it.
Surely, we all deserve to have our hearts lightened.
On Tuesday, such story aired at the tail end of NBC's "Nightly
News." It was about an unlikely pairing of two men: two different veterans
from two different generations who served in two different wars. What
brought them together was their similar combat wound.
Jeremy Feldbusch, 24, from Blairsville, Pa., a fit, driven, highly
capable Army Ranger, knew full well the risks of combat when he left his small
hometown in February 2003 for Iraq. Two months later, he came home blind.
Sitting at his side was Thomas Broderick, 80, of Michigan City, Ind., who served
in the 82nd Airborne Division in World War II.
After parachuting out of a plane in Holland, Broderick was in a foxhole
one night when a German sniper shot him. The bullet went through his
temple and severed his optic nerve, blinding him for life.
First, the young Feldbusch spoke: "I woke up and I thought to
myself, why am I hearing my parents' voices? I know I'm in Iraq. What's
going on? I must be dreaming. And I thought to myself, well, I'll wake up
here in a little while -- and when I did, I thought there's no way this is
happening to me, there's no way I'm going through life as a blind man."
With his eyes peering straight ahead, Broderick said, "What happens
is you're up, and then you're down, until you get into a consistency of
something hopefully closer to optimism. I admit I prayed. I said
what I really want is to meet the right gal, get married and God, if you want to
throw in the eyes too, that wouldn't be bad either. But," he paused.
"ABAPA. Have you heard that one?"
"No," said Feldbusch, shaking his head.
"Well, it is a word we like to use when we knock over dishes
at a restaurant, or brush our teeth with Preparation H. It's an acronym
for "Ain't Blindness a Pain in the Abdomen"? Feldbusch laughed.
The segment ended, and I couldn't stop smiling. I got the feeling that
these two just might be companions for life, soldier to soldier, the blind aptly
leading the blind, the wise old man mentor guiding the trepid young rookie.
After several calls, I found the group that arranged for Feldbusch and
Broderick to meet. It is the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), a nonprofit
organization of more than one million veterans disabled during time of war or
armed conflict.
"What you saw on TV is the kind of thing we do every day,"
David Autry, deputy national director of communications, told me.
"Just last week at Walter Reed Medical Center, one of our volunteer
leaders, a triple amputee from Vietnam, talked to the guys there, many of them
new young amputees from Iraq. And here's our guy, a huge success, telling
them about his career, his great family and kids. You should have seen the
look on these guys' faces. It was so heartwarming. Essentially, this
is what we are here for. It's what we do."
Formed in 1920, the DAV provides America's disabled veterans, their
families and survivors a nationwide network of services, free of charge.
The DAV provides everything from counseling to transportation by volunteers to
and from doctors. It is important to note that the DAV receives no
governmental funding and relies solely on membership dues and contributions.
"These are our unsung heroes," Autry says. "The ones
that have made extraordinary sacrifices that you don't much hear about."
When Jeremy Feldbusch first came home, he spent two months recovering at
Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio. His parents lived at his
bedside. Last December, in an interview with the New York Times, the
Feldbusch family (Jeremy has two younger brothers) said their lives had been
turned upside down. Jeremy needed help getting dressed, fixing meals,
finding his way around the living room, past the coffee table, to a chair.
No one would blame him for sounding bitter.
"What happened to my plans to become an officer? Gone," he
said. "Can I ever jump in my truck again and just take off? No.
Do I always have to be with my mom and dad now? Yep."
But this past week on TV, Feldbusch sounded like he's gaining acceptance.
"I feel good to go with everything, but it is hard to know what my future
is going to bring," he said. "God has dealt me a new deck of
cards, and it is time for me to learn how to play those cards."
His compatriot, Broderick, said of his long-ago prayers that God may not
have tossed in the eyes, but Broderick did find the right gal to marry.
They went on to have seven children. As Feldbusch's steps are now measured
by his sweeping white cane, it's safe to assume Broderick will help lead the
way.
For more information on the Disabled American Veterans, including
the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial Foundation (to be built in
Washington, D.C.) contact www.dav.org.
You can reach Marney Rich Keenan at (313) 222-2515 or mkeenan@detnews.com.
CONTRIBUTOR's CORNER
Recipe for Miracles
NOTE: We'd like to thank Sue Starfas, of Baltimore, MD., for sending do our way.
"Recipe for Miracles"
Ingredients:
1 part of knowing who you are
1 part of knowing who you aren't
1 part of knowing what you want
1 part of knowing who you wish to be
1 part of knowing what you already have
1 part of choosing wisely from what you have
1 part of loving and thanking God for ALL you have
Combine ingredients together gently finely blended. Use thoughts,
words and actions for best results.
Bake until Blessed.
Give thanks again
Yield: Unlimited servings
In Sickness and in Health
by Kathy Susany
Well, summer's almost here; actually it's been more like summer than it has been
like spring lately. Since it is so close to summer, and since I'm not
certain whether or not this newsletter will be published in June, July, or
August, I've decided to take a departure from my Blood Article series and write
about something else that is near and dear to me--clinical research. I
will take up with my Living River series again when the summer is over. I
hope you will enjoy this column as much as my preceding ones. So now,
let's get on with the main attraction: my column.
You can Make a Difference
By Kathy Susany
Science marches on. It has progressed almost immeasureably through the
centuries. You may wonder: how do scientists know what they do? How is it
known that one treatment is better than another one for this or that condition?
Or, Can dietary intervention help to stave off heart disease before it kills
you? Why is it important to know such seemingly inane stuff? How does your
doctor know which drug to prescribe for your diabetes, arthritis, or high
cholesterol?
Or, Do people with certain diseases or disorders have different sleep
patterns than do people without said disease?
These and countless other questions are answered by doing clinical
research.
Research is the "engine" that moves science forward; it is
absolutely crucial and essential for the advancement of science. Some
research is conducted in the laboratory; this is called basic research.
Drugs, chemicals, products, and processes are developed and evolved through such
basic research. Applied, or clinical, research is done in the field or the
clinic; it endeavors to find the best ways to put basic research developments in
to practice, or it can endeavor to find out which treatment is better, or how
well a treatment works when compared with the standart treatment or procedures.
In order for clinical research to proceed, one thing is desperately and
unequivocably needed-subjects, i.e., people or patients-people like you and me.
Unfortunately, it is often difficult to find willing participants for research
studies. There can be many reasons for this dearth of study subjects.
Sometimes, people just don't have the time or interest to participate in
studies. !
Sometimes, people can't afford to take off from work to help out in a study.
People have often heard of horror stories about research; about bad conditions,
unethical treatment, etc. Indeed, such bad studies have been done,
especially in the past before stricter rules were enactedc to govern clinical
research in this country. Most research done today is ethical and
well-done. Safety of study participants is much emphasized. Despite
this fact, research is often put in a bad light; subjects are referred to as
"guinea pigs". I feel that research participants are doing
humanity a great service; I have felt honored to be able to parcipate in several
research studies. I am writing this article to help you to better
understand how worthwhile and beneficial clinical research can be. Indeed,
I would like to recruit your possible participation in a particular study in
which I have just begun to be involved. One way of possibly interesting
you in the research process is to tel!
l you about some of my personal experiences with several studies.
Perhaps I should explain generally how s study works. Let's suppose
that I would like to examine the possibility that blind people who regularly
attend the PLCB's monthly meal are less likely to develop depression. This
particular idea of mine is, in scientific lingo, called a hypothesis; I am
hypothesizing that the blind who attend the PLCB's monthly meal will be less
depressed. I design an experiment-a controlled experiment-to test this
hypothesis. To do this, I would recruit a number of blind people and
divide them in to two groups at random. One of my random groups of blind
people would attend the PLCB monthly meal; the other group would not go to the
meal. I would follow both groups of people very carefully over the
months-let's say for a one-year period-and check for signs and symptoms of
depression in both groups. The only variable that is different between the
two groups would be whether or not my study subjects attended the PLCB's monthly
meal. If my hypot!
hesis is true, then those who went to the monthly dinners on a regular basis
would not be depressed as those who did not go to the dinners. Actually,
my experimental design would probably be somewhat more complex than I've
outlined, but you get the general idea, don't you? This wan of conducting
research is called the scientific method.
Some studies, such as those involving the filling out of a questionnaire
or being interviewed, are rather simple for the participating subject and
non-invasive insofar as the body is concerned. Some studies involve one or
more out-patient visits to a hospital or clinic. Some studies involve one
or more overnight stays in the hospital, and some "grand-daddy"
studies, as you may call them, involve a protracted stay in the hospital.
I've been involved in all these types of research.
One of the simpler studies in which I've participated, speaking of
depression, involved depression and measuring certain chemicals in the blood.
I went to the clinic one morning in a fasting condition. Some blood was
taken from a hand vein, and then I was asked to complete a depression
questionnairs. That was all there was to it, as far as I was concerned.
I was paid ten dollars for my voluntary participation.
In another study, I underwent several different tests and procedures; it
was a bit more invasive. First, an IV line was started in my arm.
Then, a very thin needle was placed in a nerve under my knee to record that
nerve's impulses as the other tests progressed. Actually, the needle
couldn't be positioned in just the right place because the doctor doing the
study couldn 't quite find the particular nerve in question, so that part of the
study was omitted in my case. Then, after all that trying in vain to find
the right nerve-no pun intended--, three different procedures were done to
elicit a sympathetic, or "fight-or-flight", neural response.
First, they put me in to a "can-like" device from my waist down; then,
they proceeded to pump the air out of this partial chamber, which elicited a
rather weak sympathetic response. They measured my blood pressure in my
arm and in one of my fingers. For the next test, they asked me to blow
very hard in to a mouthpiece; this is !
called the Valsalvo maneuver. This elicited a stronger neural
response-they measured my blood pressure for this test as well. For the
final test, they injected me with a drug called yohimbine which "pulls out
all the stops" insofar as sympathetic responses are concerned. It
provoked a super-strong sympathetic reaction which I really felt; my blood
pressure went up, and my heart began pounding, among other things. After a
time, I also got nauseated. After a while, though, the symptoms passed.
You may wonder: why did they do all this? Well, it's rather a long story, but,
basically, they wanted to compare my responses with those of normal, healthy
volunteers. I have a condition called Addison's disease which renders my
body unable to make steroids whereas normal volunteers are able to make
cortisone and other steroid hormones. That was quite an interesting
experience.
For another study, I was required to stay overnight in the hospital for
several days. This study also compared my results with those of normal,
healthy volunteers. First, I was given a steroid called dexamethasone
every six hours for three days to supress the outflow of one of my pituitary
hormones. Then, on a nice Monday morning, they did something called a
petrosal-sinus blood sampling. The petrosal sinuses, on each side of the
head, drain the pituitary gland. A small, thin tube called a catheter was
threaded through the arteries on each side of my groin-under local anesthesia
and IV sedation, of course-up to my head, and to the petrosal sinuses.
Blood was then drawn. The doctor used X-rays to guide the placement of the
catheter. Ogther than feeling a bit weak and having a backache after the
procedure, things went just fine.
In het another study, I stayed at the National Institutes of Health
hospital in maryland for what turned out to be three weeks. This was a
rather comples study. The aim was to examine sleep patterns, biorhythms,
and various aspects of blood chemistry. My rectal temperature was taken
throughout the day and night with a special thermometer that made a constant
record of temperature. I was given either cortisone or an inactive pill at
10 a.m. and 10 p.m. My brain waves were monitored and recorded
throughout the night, and blood samples were collected at various times,
especially during the night. It would take too long to describe all the
ins and outs of this one, but the primary question that they wanted to answer
was whether or not it makes a difference what time of the day or night cortisone
is given; how does that affect sleep patterns and biorhythms, etc. That
was a neat experience as well.
When you become involved in a study, you must sign and initial an
informed-consent form which tells you everything you would want to know about
the study, and, perhaps, some things you don't want to know. It details
such things as the purpose of the study, the principal investigators involved,
the sources of funding, exactly what will happen to you, or what will be done to
you, risks and benefits to you, and countless other bits of trivia and
non-trivia. You have the right to drop out of the study at any point, if
you so desire. Some studies provide monitary compensation, and some do
not. Usually, before you can get involved in a study, you must be screened
first. The criteria for whether or not you may participate in a study can
be very strict; I have been excluded from several studies because I did not meet
the qualifying criteria for one reason or another. Safety of study
subjects is of paramount importance. In one study, though I went through
much of it, I was d!
isqualified from finishing it because my liver blood tests were somewhat
abnormal; I was rather disappointed because I thought it really wasn't that much
of a concern, but the study was discontinued for me anyway. Safety is a
very big deal. Incidentally, I was paid for my participation in that
particular study, even though I couldn't finish it.
The latest study in which I've become involved is called Heartscore; its
purpose is to see whether or not community intervention can reduce the risk of
heart disease for those at high risk, or even stave it off before it can do too
much damage to the individual. I'm not going to go in to that much detail
in this particular column due to space limitations, but this is one study that
might interest many of you. If you are interested to know whether you are
at high risk for heart disease, and what you can do to minimize such risks, then
this study may be for you. If you qualify, you will be given about
two-thousand dollars worth of free testing to determine if you have heart
disease; you will also be asked to complete a fairly lengthy questionnaire.
If you are found to be at high or moderate risk for heart disease, you will be
randomized in to one of two groups, an intervention group or a control group.
If you are put in the intervention group, you will meet periodically!
with a doctor, a dietician, an exercise physiologist, and a personal
counselor. You will be followed over a four-year period.
Control-group participants will be followed by telephone over the same four-year
period. For more information about this, or any other Pitt-related health
study, or if you wish to be a subject, call the Pitt Health Studies Recruitment
Office at 412-624-0937.
Science is the hand of curiosity reaching out to touch the world.
Please help support scientific research whenever, wherever, and however you can.
Science is people, not just scientists themselves, but regular, ordinary people
like you and me. With out you, science could not happen. You,
personally, can, and do, make a difference. See you next time. God
bless you.
A LITTLE HUMOR ... VERY LITTLE
By Bob Mates
Those of you who have read this column before know that it really
contains a lot of humor ... quite a lot! because our dashing director is
also wonderfully witty! (I'm going to get that raise yet, aren't I?)
Well, enough of that before Bob gets enough of me! So, before that can
happen, here's "A Little Humor ... very little."
Thanks, Terri. Okay, okay, okay, you'll get your raise. We'll pay ya
twice as much as we did last year!
CHURCH FUNNIES
(Note: Our thanks to Louise Chuha, for these priceless gems--priceless, I say,
because, well, you wouldn't expect to be paid for this stuff, would you?)
Thank God for church ladies with typewriters. These sentences actually
appeared in church bulletins or were announced in church services:
1. Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight
at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
2. Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER and
FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer
Conference includes meals."
3. The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water."
The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
4. Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in
the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
5. "Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance
to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't
forget your husbands.
6. The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled
due to a conflict.
7. Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community.
Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "Hell" to someone who
doesn't care much about you.
8. Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.
9. Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way
again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
10. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a
nursery downstairs.
11. Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They
need all the help they can get. 12. Barbara remains in the hospital
and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble
sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
; 13. The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the
choir will sing: "Break Forth Into Joy."
14. Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24th in
the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
15. A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church
hall. Music will follow.
; 16. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be
"What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
17. Eight new choir robes are currently needed due to the addition
of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
18. Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles and other items to be
recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
19. Please place your donation in the envelope along with the
deceased person you want remembered.
20. Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a
healthy lunch.
21. The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb
entertainment and gracious hostility.
22. Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 PM -- prayer and medication to
follow.
23. The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind.
They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
24. This evening at 7 PM there will be a hymn sing in the park
across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
25. Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10 AM.
All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is
done.
26. The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the
congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast
next Sunday.
27. Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM.
Please use the back door.
28. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in
the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The congregation is invited to attend
this tragedy.
29. Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian
Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
30. The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing
campaign slogan last Sunday: "I Upped My Pledge -- Up Yours."
31. Our next song is: "Angels We Have Heard Get High."
IRVING, the JEWISH DOG
Sol visits Abe and sees a dog in the house. "So what kind of dog is
this?" asks Sol.
"It's a Jewish dog. His name is Irving," says Abe.
"Watch this," continues to Abe as he points to the dog.
"Irving, fetch!"
Irving walks slowly to the door, then turns around and says, "So why
are you talking to me like that? You always order me around like I'm nothing.
And then you make me sleep on the floor, with my arthritis... You give me
this fahkahkta (terrible) food with all the salt and fat, and you tell me it's a
special diet...X tastes like dreck! YOU should eat it yourself6... And do
you ever take me for a decent walk? NO, it's out of the house, a short pish, and
right back home. Maybe if I could stretch out a little, the sciatica
wouldn't kill me so much!"
Sol, amazed, tells Abe how remarkable this is, to which Abe answers,
"I don't know, I think this dog has a hearing problem. I said FETCH,
and he thought I said KVETCH. (complain)
REMEMBER: Laughter is medicine for the soul, so, be sure to take a healthy dose
of medicine every day! We'll see you in September.
Our Monthly Devotion
By Bob Mates
In all of his devotions, Bob delves into Scripture with great diligence.
With such spiritually significant events as Ascension Thursday, which occurred
on May 20th, and the completion of the Easter season with the celebration of
Pentecost that will take place on Sunday, May 30th, I've no doubt that the
following devotion will be exceptional. You'll never know, though, just
how exceptional Bob's devotion will be unless I stop talking, so by becoming
silent (quite a feat for me), I give you Bob Mates!
The Importance of Pentecost
by Bob Mates
We are about to celebrate Pentecost. This is one of the most important
days in the church year. It is the day on which God gave the gift of the
Holy Spirit to the church. But, what did that accomplish? Were things
really any different, after that day, than they had been before? Let's look at
it, and see.
First, why Pentecost? Well, Pentecost was a very important day for the Jews.
It occurred fifty days after Passover, and it was a feast in which everyone made
an offering of bread and flour. In the Old Testament, and was called the
"feast of weeks" because it occurred approximately seven weeks after
Passover. (The word "Pentecost is Greek for fifty.) This was a very
important feast, and all Jews were expected to come to the Temple, to take part
in it. That's why there were so many Jews, from so many different places!
God, in His great wisdom and providence, chose that particular day, with that
great multitude of people present, on which to pour out His Spirit. What
better testimony, that the Spirit of God was being manifested, than for all of
these people, from different parts of the world, to hear the works of God, with
each person hearing it in his own language. And that's not all. The
people, who were speaking it, were Galileans, who probably just knew Hebrew,
Arama!
ic and a bit of Greek! The multitude present had to know that something
extraordinary was happening. That's why they were so ready to receive
Peter's explanation, and that's why they were so ready to repent, and receive
Christ!
But, how did that change anything? Well, it changed the apostles from men of
fear, to men of boldness. Peter, who had denied Christ three times, went
on to preach many wonderful sermons, do many great works, and write two
epistles. While he had his struggles, he was a great man of faith,
eventually being martyred. Whereas, the apostles had previously been
afraid of capture, they now counted it an honor to be beaten and jailed and even
killed for their faith.
That boldness of the apostles spread throughout the church, too.
Persecuted as it was, it did not fold, but, rather, spread! Each time Christians
were thrown out of an area, they took their religion with them, making new
converts as they travelled. The more the church was persecuted, the more
it spread. This was exactly what Jesus meant, when He said that the
apostles would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judaea, Samaria, and the uttermost
parts of the earth.
Pentecost, then, marked a great change in Christianity and Christians.
From a rag-tag bunch of men and women, always afraid of capture, they were
transformed into the greatest force ever, in the history of the world.
Christianity has literally shaped civilization, as we know it.
Today, the Holy Spirit is still doing the same work. He is filling people
that power, to be His witnesses. It is He which sanctifies the believer,
and draws the un-believer to God. He motivates people to do great things,
not because they have to, but because they want to.
Pentecost is a very important day. It was important for the early church,
and it's just as important for us. I pray that the gift of the Holy
Spirit, which indwells every believer, would change all of us into people of
power and boldness, equipping us to do the work of the kingdom of God.
Amen.
A THANK YOU Ayn
Those of you who read April's CENTERPIECE know that Ayn Apelman wrote an
excellent article for CONTRIBUTOR's CORNER. In thanking Ayn for her superb
submission, I also urge and encourage each of you to consider writing a poem, an
article, a prayer or a joke for this column. To submit your writing to a
column that is truly yours, call Bob Mates at 412-682-1800 or Terri Watson at
412-683-9935. (If you call Terri, I promise that you'll get the real McCoy
and not her clone.)
Personal Profiles
So many of you have been active with the Pittsburgh Lutheran Center for
the Blind since the first meal was served in March, 1999, that I'd love to
tell your story. I'd love to help you share with fellow meal attendees how
you learned about the Center, when you became involved in its events and what
the presence and mission of the Lutheran Center mean to you. To tell your
story, call Terri Watson at 412-683-9935.
Looking Ahead
May's meal, which will also be the last dinner until September, will take
place on Saturday the 22nd from 5 to 7 PM. To attend this meal, which will
be pot luck, call Bob Mates by 4 PM on Thursday the 20th at 412-682-1800.
Regarding the food to be brought, Sherri Crum is coordinating that.
(But remember: whatever you provide, you have to take out the calories because
this editor is getting too fat, and no comments from you, Jim!!)
Just as May's meal will be the last one until September, so, too,
will this issue of CENTERPIECE. Be assured, though, that my prayers will
not be discontinued until September: They will be with you always!
Bible Bits
The following Biblical questions and answers are designed to provide
information about the Scriptures that Jesus opened first to the disciples and
then to us:
1. In Chapter One of the Acts of the Apostles and in Chapter
Twenty-four of Luke's Gospel, Jesus instructs His disciples to remain in what
city:
A. Judea
B. Samaria
C. Corinth
D. Jerusalem
2. Also in Chapter One of the Acts of the Apostles, Jesus says that
John baptized with water and adds that soon the disciples would be baptized
with:
A. the Holy Spirit;
B. God the Father;
C. The Holy Trinity;
D. God the Son.
3. All twenty-one chapters of the Book of Revelations contain vivid
and symbolic descriptions of the visions of what disciple?
A. Matthew;
B. Mark;
C. Luke;
D. John.
4. In Psalm 104, we read: Lord, send out your --com, and renew the
face of the earth:
A. Spirit;
B. Lyre;
C. harp;
D. voice.
5. In what Letter does Saint Paul talk about the Spirit interceding
with inexpressible groanings?
A. his Letter to the Galatians;
B. his Letter to the Ephesians;
C. his Letter to the Collosians;
D. his Letter to the Romans 6. Chapter 7 verses 55-60
of the Acts of the Apostles, describes the stoning of whom?
A. Paul;
B. Barnabas;
C. Stephen
D. John. 7. The Acts of the Apostles is Volume Two of
whose Gospel?
A. Matthew
B. Mark
C. Luke
D. John
ANSWERS
1. D. The disciples were instructed to stay in Jerusalem
until they received the Holy Spirit. 2. A. John
baptized with water but soon the disciples would be baptized with the Holy
Spirit.
3. D. It is John whose visions we read about in the Book of
Revelations.
4. A. The psalmist wants God to send out His Spirit and renew
the face of the earth. 5. D. Although Saint Paul also writes
letters to the other churches mentioned, it is in Chapter 8 of his Letter to the
Romans that he talks about "the inexpressible groanings of the Holy
Spirit."
6. C. It is Stephen whose stoning is described in Chapter 7
of the Acts of the Apostles. (Regarding Paul as a possible choice, it is
worth noting that at the time of Stephen's stoning, Paul was still Saul and had
not yet had his conversion on the road to Damascus.) 7. C. The
Acts of the Apostles is thought to be Volume or Part Two of Saint Luke's Gospel.
(May you grow daily as you read God's holy words through Scripture.)
Prayer Requests
1. Jim Winaught has recovered from a severe episode of bronchitis and for
that, I thank You, Lord, and I praise you.
2. Jesus, I pray for physical and emotional healing for Carol who
continues to endure many challenges.
3. A close friend recently asked me to pray for her unborn grandson
because ultrasounds had revealed that he had no bowels and also that much of his
spinal cord was missing. The most recent ultrasound, however, revealed
that the missing bowels are now in place and the spinal cord is now intact.
Thanks be to God!
4. I thank my loving Lord that Alan Christopher, my
great-nephew, is off of a respirator, home from the hospital and thriving in his
mother's care. Because he was two months premature, though, I continue to
ask your prayers for him and my niece (his mother).
5. I give you all of the glory, Jesus, for a center that constantly
reaches out to the blind of Pittsburgh, "feeling our needs" and
touching us with the love of Jesus.
6. Lord, may your rich and abundant blessings be on Bob Mates, the
Center's Director, Pastor Spittel, his family and all who guide the Center on
its loving and dedicated mission.
7. In the Acts of the Apostles, Chapter 2, verses 1-11, we read
that, staying in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples
were "Jews from every nation under heaven." Just as the Jewish peoples
staying in Jerusalem heard in their native languages what the disciples were
saying as directed by the Holy Spirit, may we hear the Spirit's language of
salvation and allow the Spirit to kindle in us the fire of faith and love!
8. We pray for Valerie Vaughan, Vicky Vaughan's mother, in her battle with
cancer.
9. We pray that Terri Watson might be healed of stomach trouble.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
1. Bob Mates.
2. Mike O'Connor.
3. Cindy Perseo.
4. Kathy Susany.