Fairhaven United Methodist Church

Fairhaven will open for in-person worship this Sunday, Feb. 7th. Please wear your mask and carefully follow social distancing guidelines, and we look forward to seeing you! Church Council will meet before worship at 8:15.

Some good news at the very end of a hard year: today at Fairhaven, the Squirrel Hill Health Center is vaccinating EMS and other medical workers against COVID-19. Thanks be to God for miracles performed every day by doctors, scientists, and nurses. We are grateful to be a small part of this healing work. Continued prayers for those fighting through COVID infection and grieving the loss of loved ones.

https://www.laniganfuneralhome.com/obitu/RevJoseph-YurkoJr

Though the pandemic has made many usual holiday traditions difficult, there was a strong desire at Fairhaven to make sure we could do our annual Angel Tree gift drive for the Ward Home (a residential program for foster youth). In just a few days, the congregation managed to gather gifts for fifteen residents. Thank you to all who participated, and to Cathy Speicher for organizing. Pray that these gifts can be a true blessing!

As you know, Fairhaven and Hill Top chose to suspend in-person worship a few weeks ago, amidst an unprecedented rise COVID-19 rates and increasing stress put on... our region's health systems. In light of the commonwealth of Pennsylvania's COVID mitigation measures, taking effect today, Spencer and Carnegie are doing the same. Our governor's order limits indoor gatherings to ten persons, and we are choosing to do our part and adhere by suspending worship in our buildings through the end of the order on January 4th. Assuming the order is lifted on that date and the pandemic has been brought under greater control, we hope to be back to in-person worship on Sunday, January 10th. In the meantime, we will worship online at 10am. Christmas Eve plans will be forthcoming. This is, of course, a heartbreaking end to a heartbreaking year. And this will, in many ways, be a lonely Christmas. I ask you to keep one another in your prayers every day, to stay in touch, and to be the church of Jesus Christ however you can in these difficult days. Above all, rest in the assurance that our Lord is coming: to dwell with us in human flesh, to love us and to love alongside us, and to take upon himself our greatest joys and our deepest pains. Together, we lift up our hearts before God: O come, Thou Dayspring, from on high, And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, And death's dark shadows put to flight. Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Fairhaven has partnered with the Squirrel Hill Health Center to offer free COVID-19 testing. Today was the first day, and over two hundred tests were administered. Testing at the church is presently on a variable schedule, but signups at Fairhaven and all the other free sites in Allegheny County (including in South Side, Mt. Washington, Knoxville, and Carrick) are available at curative.com/alleghenycounty.

It's Election Day. But, more importantly, it's the Fairhaven UMW Election Day soup sale! Stop by and take home some homemade soups or a sausage sandwich for lunch.It's Election Day. But, more importantly, it's the Fairhaven UMW Election Day soup sale! Stop by and take home some homemade soups or a sausage sandwich for lunch.

It's hard work being a local landmark. Praying that all our neighbors keep safe and healthy!

Two reminders! This Sunday morning (11/1) at 8:30, Fairhaven will have a church council meeting. Please also remember to set your clocks back an hour. Best of luck on this extra challenging Sunday!

Even during this hard time, we hope to bring a smile to the face of those who pass by. All are invited to try out our disinfected pews any Sunday!

Thank you to Jim Campana for planning and leading today's Laity Sunday. It was a beautiful day of celebrating the ministry of Fairhaven.

Fairhaven's Sunday service is live now! https://youtu.be/-giZaaxZd_s