South Side Speaks

So tonight at 7pm, South Side Speaks will be meeting at Brugger’s Bagels on Carson and South 18th. We will be canvasing the area to invite families with young kids (up to age to the South Side Kid’s Fall Festival! The Fall Festival is this Saturday, October 31st at 6pm at Big Dog Coffee .

Big Dog is located at 2717 Sarah Street in the South Side. If you are interested in vounteering, please contact Lori Chiapelli at lorichiappelli@hotmail.com. Lori is the project manager and would love to hear from you!

Come to South Side Speaks tonight to learn more about it! And bundle up, cause it will get into the low 50’s tonight. Not parka weather, but definitely a sweatshirt or jacket.

Tonight will be our last time meeting at Brugger’s. Next week, South Side Speaks will make two transitions. First, we will be meeting on Wednesdays at 7pm, NOT Thursdays. We made the switch beacause the Brashear Association has graciously opened their doors to us for a much larger meeting space! We will be meeting at the Brashear Association on Wednesdays at 7pm beginning next Wednesday, November 4th.

The Brashear Association is providing the space for FREE! God really gave us favor and supplied exactly what we needed! Plenty of room to bring friends and families! The Brashear Association is located at 2005 Sarah St. Pittsburgh, PA 15203.  And we will meet there starting next Wednesday, November 4th.

If you have any questions, please email me at gretchenl@lifestonechurch.com.

I am excited to announce to the public for the first time, that South Side Speaks is moving FROM Bruegger’s Bagel Shop on Thursday nights at 7pm TO The Brashear Association on Wednesday nights at 7pm (Directions Here).  This is a huge answer to prayer because our former venue at Bruegger’s was getting way too tight and it was hard to host a productive meeting in this tiny shop.  So God has opened this door for us and I can’t tell you how excited I am about it.  I feel like this is more than just a new venue, it is a representation of what God is about to do.  This new venue is a banquet hall that seats up to 100 people.  Everything we could need is already there and we have reserved it every Wednesday night from 7pm – 10pm.  Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the best part.  We have been allowed to use this banquet hall FREE OF CHARGE! God has literlally given us this amazing venue and it has everything that we prayed our new venue would have!!!  So excited!

This Thursday, we are meeting at Brugger’s on E.Carson and South 18th at 7pm. We’ll invite families to our very first South Side Kid’s Festival!! Which will be this Saturday at 6pm at Big Dog Coffee on Sarah Street. This will be for kids ages 8 and under. The focus is families with young kids.

If you know a family with young kids, by all means bring them! It will be a great time with activities and goodies! We’re providing a safe, fun environment where kids can enjoy Fall and be loved and appreciated!

If you have any questions, please email me at gretchenl@lifestonechurch.com.

This Saturday, October 17th we will be doing our second focus night of blessing the homeless community! Meet at 8pm in the Giant Eagle parking lot. Located on Wharton and South 21st street. From there,we’ll get into distribution teams.

Please email Tiffany with your RSVP or questions at tiffanyh@lifestonechurch.com.

Also, Saturday, October 31st we are meeting at Big Dog Coffee to host a Fall Kid’s Festival. 6pm-8pm.  This will be a pre-trick-or-treat event for kids up to age 10. Any questions or ideas, contact Tiffany, our Outreach Director.

If you know anyone who also has a heart to serve, bring them! All ages and familes are welcomed!

We will be meeting tomorrow at 7pm at Brugger’s on East Carson and South 18th Street! Ron will be sharing from the Word, and we’ll hear more details about upcoming outreaches!

All ages are welcome! If you know anyone else who wants to make a difference, bring them along! Together, we will be a voice of life and transformation to the South Side!

Last night was an awesome night as we hit the streets of South Side with one mission in mind, to bless the homeless.  Our teams went out in the pouring rain, ready to go talk to people and hopefully meet some physical and spiritual needs.  Let me first say this, South Side has a very large homeless population and they are very evident.  Since South Side is flamboyant by nature, it draws thousands of people from all over the city every single weekend.  So needless to say, the homeless are drawn to this community because of the people, the money, and the opportunity.  But tonight, seemed to be a bit mellow because of the rain.  There weren’t as many homeless out and about because the rain was coming down pretty good.  Once the rain subsided later on, is when our groups began to connect with people who are living on the streets.

What an awesome, faith building, team building, seed planting, life changing, need meeting event this was!  We do have a lot of donated materials left over and feel God wants us to be repetitive with this event.  We want to build a foundation for our church that is about serving people and serving our community with no strings attached!  What a tremendous night it was to do just that!  I am so thankful for a wonderful team and an awesome staff that helps tremendously in spearheading these events and making them happen!  Go TEAM!

Tonight, we ran into a guy who was sleeping on a stoop.  His name was Tony.  Tony has seven kids that all live in the city and none of them want anything to do with him.  Tony could barely walk because he was sleeping in the same position for so long.  We were able to give Tony a bag full of snacks, a new stocking cap, a brand new jacket, a thick blanket, a couple sweaters, some soap, shampoo, and deodorant!  Tony was so grateful and so were we!  We were able to pray with Tony afterwards and encourage him that He is worth something to God.  Homeless people need to know they are special to God.  That God has not forgotten them.  They might feel worthless because of decisions they have made that have got them to the point in life they are at.  But they are worth more than GOLD, worth more than FAME, and worth His SACRIFICE! This is the word we want to share with them! (Luke 12:6-7)

If you would like to get involved in our homeless ministry, please contact us through the contact page.  We would love to connect you with some great people!

Want to help the homeless in the South Side? Come to Brugger’s at 7pm. East Carson and S. 18th- we’ll be organizing items in the back parking lot.

Bring a friend or two! Everyone is welcome! Also, if you have any blankets or clothing from home to donate bring it all! There will be a team at Brugger’s at 6pm to help organize items, so feel free to come over a little early.

NOTE- tonight is the Penguin’s opening game. Make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to get through traffic.

We get to bless those who are usually forgotten. If you have a heart to make a difference, tonight is for you! Dress warm and wear a smile.

This Thursday at South Side Speaks is going to be very special! We will be getting ready for Friday night- our very first outreach to the homeless community! If you have been looking for an opportunity to make a difference, here it is!

Thursday night at 7pm at Brugger’s we will meet to go over important details for Friday. It will also be a time to be encouraged and strengthened by the Word and get to know the team! Then Friday, we meet again at Brugger’s at 7pm to organize teams and items for the homeless.

If you have items you want to donate, please bring them with you on Thursday. If you have any friends, relatives, co-workers or strangers you meet at Giant Eagle who enjoy helping others, bring them with you on Thursday! What a great time to invite those around us! If you’re not sure if they’d like to go, ASK!  No harm done if they say no. 

How interesting in Mark 16 when Jesus gives the Great Commission, He starts by “sending” them to their home town. Right where they live. Their city. Then He says to work outward from there to the ends of the earth.

We get to follow the Great Commission in a very real way on Friday. Actually, we have the opportunity to do that every day, but Friday we are joining corporately and focusing one particular area.

I also love how anytime Jesus served others, He never really said “So that you’ll join my synagogue” or “Because you are so needy”. No. Everything He did was to show people who exactly God is. And that He’s not far away. He’s very personal, approchable, huggable.

First and foremost the people we encounter Friday(and every day) are God’s treasures. His reason for living and dying down here. They are His sons, His daughters. Our brothers and sisters.