Easter Sunday Worship Service 11:00am

Easter is celebrated with 11:00am worship led by Rev. Larry Homitsky and featuring music by the Renewal Choir, organist Brian Burns, and the South Hills Brass. Children's sermon and music are also highlights. A light luncheon for all follows the service.

Worshipers are surrounded by Calvary's restored Tiffany windows, including the 30-foot Resurrection Window, depicting the women at the tomb, disciples, the Roman guards, and Christ stepping from the burial place.

The season of Easter, or Eastertide, begins at sunset on the eve of Easter and ends on Pentecost, the day we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church (see Acts 2). Easter is also more than just an extended celebration of the resurrection of Jesus. In the early church, Lent was a season for new converts to learn about the faith and prepare for baptism on Easter Sunday. The initial purpose of the 50-day Easter season was to continue the faith formation of new Christians.

Today, this extended season gives us time to rejoice and experience what it means when we say Christ is risen. It's the season when we remember our baptisms and how through this sacrament we are, according to the liturgy, "incorporated into Christ's mighty acts of salvation." As "Easter people," we also celebrate and ponder the birth of the Church and gifts of the Spirit (Pentecost), and how we are to live as faithful disciples of Christ.

This special service has a need for additional greeters and ushers.

Sunset Through Tiffany's - Summer Solstice Open House - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Please join us as we view the Tiffany windows in the height of their glory during the Summer Solstice. The evening is accompanied by chamber music featuring Calvary's Music Director Brian Burns on our historic "Farrand & Votey" pipe organ. This event is sponsored by the Calvary United Methodist Women.

The Tiffany Windows

Louis Comfort Tiffany changed the physics of making stained glass in America by re-creating the medieval techniques of using solid stained glass instead of painting on glass to create glass designs. He added additional techniques of twisting the glass to get new colors, throwing confetti made of glass onto molten glass, and sandwiching up to five pieces of glass behind each other in a single composition.

And here in the North Side of Pittsburgh, we have Tiffany's three largest windows executed between 1894-95. The subject matter for his windows was chosen by Calvary Methodist Church patrons, but the design was done by the artist. Women in his shops made most of his windows.The Resurrection window is on the northwest side of the church. At the summer solstice, light through the magnificent window is at its peak during the year. Due to the physics of refraction, Tiffany's layered glass changes colors only when the sun comes through at unique angles, such as on Solstice. The Resurrection window has everything - layered glass, confetti glass in the dappled tree leaves, streamer glass, and drapery glass as well as the three panels being a "time-lapse" of events on the day of the resurrection. The Jesus figure, which for most of the year is walking out of an Allegheny Cemetery-like mausoleum, appears suspended on a cross of gold which extends down the steps and transforms the Roman soldiers from blue armor to silver and gold. In the other sun-swept window of the Parousia, the angels wings seem to flutter as they change colors before your eyes.

This event is sponsored by the Calvary United Methodist Women. The bulk of the volunteers required for this event come from this group. However, the Calvary United Methodist Women would still love to have additional volunteers that are not part of the group. Volunteers are needed for poster distribution prior to the event; then refreshments, set up, and tear down on the day of the event. Volunteers typically work a 2-hour shift the day of the event.

Fourth of July Open House - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Our doors are open each year on July 4th so that Calvary friends and members may welcome fireworks-goers and Allegheny West neighbors to come by for some refreshments and to visit the Tiffany sanctuary.

To make each year's open house a success, we need donations of the following: individual bottles of water, and single-serving bags of chips/snacks. Donations will be accepted beginning in June each year. Please drop off donations at church during office hours which are 9:00am-3:00pm, Monday-Friday. We also accepting monetary donations to purchase any items that are still needed.

Not only are your donations appreciated, but we hope to see you at the church to help out and spend some time on the Fourth of July with your friends at Calvary. The Open House begins at 6:00pm, but we ask you be there by 5:00pm for setup. We look forward to seeing you there!

Vacation Bible School - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Every summer, we host our annual Vacation Bible School for all the children in our community from ages 3 thru 11. For one week, our church is transformed into a different world to tell the story of Jesus through music, games, art, storytelling, and snacks. The church is alive and bursting forth with enthusiasm like no other week in the entire year! We involve many, many adult and youth volunteers who have as much fun as the children.

Serve as a guide, leader, or helper in art, games, stories, outdoor activities, or meal preparation to lead children ages 3-11 on their faith journey in a summer program. There is also a need for people to help with decorating, set up, and tear down.

Annual Pittsburgh Parish Family Church Picnic - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

This annual picnic is a time for us to get together with the congregations of the other churches in the Pittsburgh Parish. Bring your lawn chairs, picnic blankets, board games, and lawn games as we celebrate another season together. Please bring your favorite side dish, salad, or dessert to share; snacks and the main course will be provided. We hope to you there!

Volunteers are needed to transport church members to and from the picnic. Also, volunteers are needed to help out with food preparation, set-up and clean-up.

Old Allegheny Antique Show - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

The Pittsburgh antique and collecting scene has become a lot more exciting! A fantastic show comes to town each Fall – the Old Allegheny Antique Show! This show is held the one weekend either September or October here at Calvary. The show brings together up to 20 dealers from Pennsylvania and Ohio specializing in a diverse assortment of fine antiques and collectibles. Whether you are looking for that perfect accent piece for your home, that missing item in your collection, or a unique gift for that someone special – this show is the place to be!

Admission: General $5.00 / Early Buyers $10.00

Past Vendors Include:

• Brandon Riggans
• Michael LaBate
• Zita Reis & Dorothy Fels
• Kensington Court Antiques
• This Is The Day Antiques
• Timeless Treasures
• Karen Vassilaros
• Maxwell & Todd
• Patrick Hastings
• Joan Rudolph at Antique Junction
• Woven Rug Gallery
• Shaw Galleries
• B.J.'s Antiques & Collectibles
• Dovetail Joint Antiques
• Calvary Consignment
• Josh Hvizdos
• Sewickley Antiques

Members of Calvary UMC: You have the opportunity to either consign or donate items for the Calvary table. If an item is consigned, a price will be agreed upon for the item, and the consignor will receive 50% of the selling price. If items are not sold, the consignor is responsible for retrieving the item from the church after the sale. If an item is donated, and the item does not sell, it will be kept for a future sale unless the donor wants it back after the sale.

Also, volunteers are needed for help with the Calvary Cafe (food preparation, handling food, cleaning eating area, cashiers), set up, and tear down. Volunteers typically work a 2-hour shift the day of the event.

For more information or questions, please contact: Kim Butler at kimberly.butler@bnymellon.com / 412.638.7773 or Linda Ehrlich at laehrlich927@aol.com / 412.512.7246

Family Fall Festival - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Each Fall, Calvary hosts a Fall Festival, a time of family fun and fellowship for our church family and the community. There is face-painting, fall-themed games, snacks, and a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

There is a need for help planning, decorating, and cleanup. There is also a large need for help with the meal preparation and serving of the meal. The Family Fall Festival includes a turkey dinner with all the trimmings including pumpkin pie. After dinner there is a need for help with crafts, games, and face-painting.

Handel's Messiah Sing-Along Concert - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Bask in Handel's inspiring Messiah, surrounded by candlelight and Calvary's magnificent Tiffany stained-glass masterpieces!The performance is a community "sing-along," with professional soloists, an orchestra, and an amateur chorus. The annual concert started six years ago out of a desire to provide the Northside community with a sing-along rendition of Handel's most beloved work, "Messiah". The sing-along was founded on a principle of openness - everyone is welcome in the choir, and everyone is welcome in the performance. No audition is required to sing, just join the rehearsals. As an audience member you are not required to sing, but you are certainly invited to sing.

This holiday tradition now brings over 400 people to Calvary UMC to sing selected choruses including the famous "Hallelujah Chorus". Audience members are asked to bring 1-pound non-perishable food items for the pantry at Northside Common Ministries. Cookie reception with the artists follows in the Victorian Chapel. It's a fantastic way to kick off the holiday season, and we invite everyone to join us and sing for the joy of it!

Volunteers are need for publicity, poster distribution, ushering, box office, refreshments, parking, set up, and tear down.

Old Allegheny Victorian Christmas House Tour - THIS EVENT IS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

Experience a By-Gone Era

Our tour features six (6) restored Victorian homes plus the historic Calvary United Methodist Church, famous for its beautiful Louse Tiffany stained glass windows, all decorated to celebrate a Nineteenth Century Christmas.

These personally guided tours afford a rare opportunity to glimpse a by-gone era and experience to warmth of the season in a truly old fashioned style. Most homes in Allegheny West are over 100 years old and Victorian in architectural style. Lavishly decorated for the holidays, they recall the late 19th Century birth of the traditional American Christmas: elaborately decorated mantels, towering Christmas trees and pine, holy and mistletoe on stairs and chandeliers.

Volunteers are needed for help with the Calvary Cafe (food preparation, handling food, cleaning eating area, cashiers), set up, and tear down. Volunteers typically work a 2-hour shift the day of the event.

Children's Christmas Party

The children of Calvary and our community enjoy a Sunday afternoon full of fun activities that celebrate Christmas. Also, even though he's very busy, each year we always manage to book Santa as a special visitor for the children.

There is always a need for plenty of help for decorating, setup of stations for crafts, help with the crafts, and cleanup once the party is over.

Candlelight Christmas Eve Service

You are invited to discover a more meaningful holiday season by celebrating Advent and Christmas at Calvary. Let the words of beloved carols and scriptures set the foundation. Stirring choral, organ, and handbell music will set the scene. The peaceful illumination of Advent builds to an unforgettable Christmas Eve Service as both young and old remember the birth of Jesus, our Savior.

This special service has a need for additional greeters and ushers.