South Side Speaks

We concluded the week of City Reach with the NOH Community Block Party & Backpack Giveaway!

This was LifeStone’s 1st City Reach Blockparty and it was a BLAST! The party consisted of: Cotton Candy, Popcorn, Facepainting, Balloon Animals, Games, Prizes, Bounce House, Inflateable Obstacle Course, Free Food, Vision and Dental Screenings, and best of all- 250 FREE Backpacks stuffed with school supplies for the elementary age students in our community. South Side is an extremely diverse community and every kind of family was represented at the Block Party- it was great!

At LifeStone we desire to be more than just another church that only wants to talk to people if they are in our pews- it’s about getting out into the community- loving and serving with no strings attached and hoping through that- people will experience the love of God.

One of the coolest things that happened at the block party was when a mother, who found out her child was almost legally blind after doing the vision screening, started crying when we gave her a voucher for her son to receive a free pair of eyeglasses- she said there was no way that she could ever afford a pair and couldn’t thank us enough.

That’s what it’s all about.

Enjoy some pics from the Block Party- a big thanks to the extremely talented photographer Rebecca Chiappelli who took these pics!

A HUGE thanks to our LifeStone Church Team and the Youth Group from Allison Park Church- ya’ll are amazing

Can’t wait for City Reach 2011!

Once a year the network of churches that we (LifeStone Church) are connected with (Multi Church Movement or MCM Network) comes together and does a weeklong series of outreaches at each of their church sites called City Reach!

As we just launched this past June, this was LifeStone’s first City Reach and what a great week it was! In this post, I’ll be sharing what all took place during the first 3 nights of City Reach (Aug 10th-12th), which was JUNGLE MANIA!

We are planted in a community (South Side) where most people wouldn’t think kids even exist in put as we got to know the community more and heard what South Side residents would like to see more of- kids activities were on everyone’s list- which is why we do as many family centered activities as we do. Jungle Mania took place at WYEP (a local community radio station’s broadcast center) and it was transformed in to a jungle in a matter of 30 minutes thanks to the help of some pretty great youth!

For 3 nights we had kid focused interactive service packed full of worship, games, videos, prizes, and a Bible story that the kids could relate to. On 2 of the 3 nights we filled the building to capacity with South Side families and a great time was had not only by the kids but by our team as well; and the best part about these 3 nights? 15 kids asked Jesus to come into their lives!

It is always great to connect with families in our community and a blessing to serve alongside the great people we have at LSC. Tomorrow I’ll talk about the final day of City Reach which was the Block Party and Backpack Giveaway- an AMAZING night!

Here are some pics from Jungle Mania!

The kids worshipping!

The black light puppets- can’t lie- they were pretty amazing!

Justin, one of our youth helpers, setting up the stage!

The kids playing the scripture game!

Jungle Jess and Captain Cortney leading the kids in worship.

The Week’s Scripture: ” I (Jesus) am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the father except through me (Jesus)” John 14:6

Can’t wait to share all about the blockparty!

Here are some pictures of the most recent outreach we did in South Side.  The South Side Chamber of Commerce asked us if we would help organize this awesome community wide event!  South Side Speaks was able to connect with so many people and families during this event!  We were specifically in charge of all of the kids festivities: cookie decorating, ornament decorating, and even face painting.  We had 34 people from our team there serving in any way we could along with set up and tear down.  We hope we were a blessing to the chamber and the community and are looking forward to next year’s Light Up Night already!!!  Just a huge shout out and thank you to the Chamber of Commerce for inviting us to be a part of this great night!  THANK YOU!

A BIG THANK YOU TO KIMBERLY FLEEGER FROM SOUTH SIDE SPEAKS WHO TOOK THESE PHOTOS!

Bring a friend this Wednesday to South Side Speaks! We will be talking about our third core value and get important info about our role at Light Up Night!! What an honor to be invited by the Chamber of Commerce to help with a huge event! And we’ll get to see the same parents from Kid’s Fest! How great is that! And if you know any family or friends that have children, they should come too! There will be pictures with Santa, carolling, sncaks, cookie decorating and more! Check out our Facebook page “South Side Speaks” for more details!

Woo-hoo!! Finally, tomorrow night (Wednesday) South Side Speaks will meet at the Brashear Association on the corner of 20th and Sarah St. We will be there at 7pm. Bring a friend or two, cause we’ll have plenty of room for all!!

Thank the Lord for providing in such a phenomenal way! He went before us and gave us exactly what we needed. What a loving, caring Father we have! He always provides where He leads. The fact we have a larger venue in which to grow reminds me that He already has the plan figured out.

So we continue to walk by faith, not looking at what we have or don’t have. We choose to believe  and trust in His Word. His vision. And as we take those steps, He will make a way. He will continue to do what we cannot do on our own. How wonderful to be part of His church!

If you have any questions, please email me at gretchenl@lifestonechurch.com. We will see you tomorrow at 7pm at Brashear!

Here are some shots of our first ever South Side Kids Fall Festival.  It was a HUGE success!  So many kids and families came, I’m telling you, it was truly a great night!  Can’t wait till next year!  Shout out to Big Dog Coffee for their partnership in this event!  Thank you for your support and friendship.  We appreciate you guys more than you know!!!

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!