To serve as a lighthouse emanating the light of Christ to the world and to be a spiritual safe haven of God's presence and healing for visitors, present parishioners, and future parishioners.
Meeting the spiritual needs of the people in and outside of our community through ministries, worship, Christian education, fellowship, providing a spiritual family with meaningful relationships, and a healing environment.
We are a beautiful community and have wonderful gifts to offer to the local community, greater Pittsburgh area, and indeed to the world. The world outside the walls of our church building is in distress. The people outside and inside of our community are seeking something more, something deeper, something more meaningful than what the secular world has to offer. We encounter these people every Sunday and even during the weekday services. Many are seeking a place where they belong, are loved, have family, and can find God and spiritual peace. Our community has been all those things to many people, many of whom have joined our community in recent years.
Our location in the city, on a busy street corner, and stationed upon a hill, allows us to serve as a beacon or witness emanating the light of Christ. Truly the illuminated stained-glass icon of St. George will serve as a lighthouse for many souls in Oakland and provide a reminder of God's presence to all who travel the Boulevard of the Allies in the evening. It can be a source of hope and strength in this world where so many are weary. It would indeed be symbolic of our mission in this world. It is time for us to embrace this identity and God given calling. It is our God given calling as a community to be a safe-haven for all those souls in the world who are seeking a sense of community, relationships, family, love, and Christ. We minister to those within, receive those who come from outside with the love of Christ, and venture out to those outside the community through our ministries. It is clear that God is using our community in this way and an opportunity has been opened to us to have synergy with God as we cooperate with His mission for us. Our community has the opportunity and ability to be a vehicle through which God can act, to provide God with a presence in the midst of Oakland. Indeed, this world wounds many, we are being called as a parish family to be the Good Samaritan and to mend the wounds of those on the streets and neighborhoods around us. Truly our church building has become the Inn in the great parable of the Good Samaritan, a place where the wounded are sent to be healed.
The ministries of our community are to meet the needs of the various age groups of parishioners and help organize our interaction with the larger Pittsburgh community. They are also created to give each one of us our own identity in the church as co-ministers with one another. The ministries give each member an expression of their God given talents and gifts. Each ministry is designed to meet an aspect of our spiritual life that is well pleasing to God.
Finally, we are called to be a healing presence and family to one another and to those who visit us. Most importantly this involves us as a parish family and how we treat ourselves and others. It also involves maintaining an inviting church building and temple which houses our activities and ministries and plays a role in itself in glorifying God. The ability to provide a church building that meets the needs of the ministries, age groups, and is in a condition that is not a constant source of distraction is critical. The impending purchase of adjacent property will enable us to meet those needs.
To provide parishioners with the opportunity to fulfill Christ's command to feed the hungry and minister to those in need. This ministry also provides us with the opportunity to interact with and bear witness to the larger Pittsburgh community. In its short existence this ministry has already established relationships with shelters throughout Pittsburgh.
To promote awareness of activities and events both within the parish and outside of the parish. This ministry also will help maintain the Cathedral website, the Flocknote messaging system and the Church Directory. It will also assist in supporting retreats that are hosted by our parish. This ministry will also display creativity in hosting events that involve interaction with the larger non-Orthodox Pittsburgh community. This ministry also performs the livestream services for the church.
To provide the children (ages 5-12) of the parish with opportunities to learn Christian service, fellowship, and to be more aware of those in need. There will be a special emphasis on helping the children understand that they bless our community just by being who they are and to become more aware of their talents and gifts.
To provide food and resources to the community through food packages that can be picked up at the church and brought home. This ministry also collaborates with the with local community food banks. The St. George Food Pantry helps our community to be Christian neighbors to the Oakland area.
To provide fellowship and support for the mothers of the community who are engaged in raising children in the Christian faith. This ministry is for moms of all ages and demographics. We strive to have moms from all age groups. The presence of older moms gives opportunities for mentoring and support. The activities involve discussion groups, meals, and social events.
To provide stewardship education to the parish, supervise the stewardship health of the community, to assist in meeting the financial needs of the ministries, and to steer the annual stewardship activity towards meeting the financial goals for carrying out the vision and mission statements. The stewardship ministry may also make recommendations to the annual budget committee.
To provide fellowship, peer support, Christian education, and service opportunities for the men of the parish. The activities involve discussion groups, service projects, meals, and social events.
To provide fellowship, peer support, Christian Ed, and ministry opportunities for the women of the parish. The Antiochian Women of each parish play a key role in supporting the Antiochian Archdiocese's yearly projects.
To provide ministry, fellowship, peer support, and service opportunities for the seniors of the parish. The Society of St. George has also committed itself to helping to beautify the church and to helping to minister to the shut-ins of the community.
To provide youth ministry, fellowship, Christian Ed, peer support, and service opportunities for the Teens (age 13-19) of the parish. The activities involve service projects, social events, and discussion groups.
We are blessed with two choirs. The St. George Byzantine Choir chants Orthros, Vespers, and weekday Liturgy services. The St. George Liturgical Choir is a four-part choir that sings during the Sunday Liturgy and select services during Holy Week and Pascha.
St. George Church School meets on Sundays at 9:30AM in the Church School Building. Classes are offered for each age group and teens. Adults who wish to deepen their knowledge about Orthodoxy meet in the Cathedral Hall on Sundays at 9:45AM. An additional adult education program, Applied Orthodox Spirituality Class, meets on Wednesday evenings at 6:15PM before Vespers at 7PM. It is free discussion and moderated by the pastor.
The St. George Bookstore has been a mainstay in our parish as it is a ministry of learning as well as glorification of our Holy Orthodox faith. It is also a way to quietly and subtly evangelize the church and its beauty. The St. George Bookstore purchases many items from monasteries within the U.S. and also Orthodox distributors. If ever you are in need of a special gift, please contact Khouria Tammy Makoul for more information. As St. John Chrysostom writes, "The Holy Scriptures were not given to us that we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our hearts."
Many in recent years have been drawn to our community as a result of their search for the true Apostolic faith. Their first point of contact in the community is nearly always the liturgical services. Both the weekend and weekday services play a key role in welcoming visitors and inquirers into the church. The hymns themselves play a role in Christian education. The choirs also provide fellowship and a ministry role in the church. The services also provide an opportunity for fellowship after the services have been concluded and an opportunity for the priest to establish contact with the visitor or inquirer. An active liturgical life is essential in maintaining a healthy parish and in helping to provide that sense of "family" throughout the week and not only on the weekends. Nearly all of our new members over the past several years participate in the weekday services.
Every faith-based community needs to provide a formal time and setting so that those who are interested may learn more about their faith or the faith they hope to join. In our community we place special emphasis on educating parishioners and catechumens on applying their Orthodox faith to their everyday life in the right way. There is emphasis placed on avoiding extremes such as being a marginal practitioner of the faith and the other extreme of fundamentalism. The Orthodox spiritual life is based upon balance. Many catechumens and new members need to be taught this balance as they learn to apply their new faith. They are also eager to be fed spiritually through Christian Education. It is also essential that a parish offer its families assistance in educating their children about the faith. Each one of us is saturated outside of the church with secular and worldly messages. Christian Education helps counter those messages and influences that often carry us away from God.
*Christian Ed also occurs in individual catechism sessions for individuals or families who are preparing for entrance into the Orthodox faith through Chrismation. In addition, Christian Education takes place through sermons and also in retreats that are scheduled throughout the year.
It is through events that provide fellowship that our relationships are forged and grow. It is through these events that we establish our spiritual familial relationships in the church. These events help decrease our own loneliness and feelings of isolation and become experiential reminders that we are all members of one body, i.e. the body of Christ. They also give us opportunities to reflect Christ's love to others. Many of our parishioners are not from Pittsburgh originally and so are lacking having relatives in the area. The fellowship events help fill this need and absence. We welcome individuals and families. We are a child friendly parish. The presence of children is a sign of a healthy community. Presently, our designated, more formal fellowship events take place in the form of the Parish Community Nights that occur two times a year in which a free meal is offered as well as fellowship and activities following the meal. There is also the annual church picnic and the annual hafli. However, fellowship also occurs at every ministry event. It should also be noted that fellowship occurs after each worship service, whether that be coffee hour following Sunday liturgy or the socializing that occurs after Vespers, Orthros, and other weekday services. The presence of food greatly enhances fellowship events. However, it must be noted, that Christian fellowship and joy is more fully present when it is a non-profit event. This allows the focus to be purely on fellowship and not on profit and exchanging of money. When the focus is profit, there tends to be a business focus. The more the community can offer food as hospitality, as an expression of Christian love and less for profit, the more freely the Holy Spirit can act and move through our community. This is due to the fact that hospitality has been dispensed and given freely out of love and not for a fee or charge. Occasional for-profit events will take place; however the frequency must be monitored.
As members of the one Body of Christ, we are all brothers and sisters to one another in Christ. Each of us has a calling to be available to and play a significant role in the life of another. This means expanding the border of our heart beyond our own biological family. This is a ministry. A recent study showed that one key ingredient that brings people to join a parish are relationships. Many visitors to the parish may not have family in the area and provide us with opportunities to expand the borders of our heart and to welcome them into the St. George family. Our St. George family has the ability to decrease the loneliness and isolation of another. As each person joins our St. George family, they soon after discover their own talents and abilities, and discover their ministry. It is important to give new members time and space to settle in, to allow them to deepen their involvement when they are ready. The world inflicts enough feelings of powerlessness and uncertainty, we do not want the parish to ever be responsible for such experiences or feelings in an individual. For those members not from the local area, our parish community can become a home away from home or indeed, a home one never had.
One of the great strengths of our community has been that it has a low tolerance for hurtful or ugly behavior. A healthy parish environment is one where we can feel safe emotionally and spiritually. We do not shame one another, nor deliberately do anything to wound another, or cause another to stumble. If we are to redirect a fellow parishioner, we are to do so privately and in a spirit of gentleness and love. As a church, we pattern ourselves after the Kingdom of heaven, not after this fallen world. Our minds know when we are in a safe place, our spirit can sense it. It is in such environments that we are able to lower our defenses and allow ourselves to experience all of the grace filled experiences that God wants us to have. We are able to heal. We are able to love and be loved more fully. We are also able to focus more readily on ministry without being constrained by fear and conflict. Many in our community and many that enter our community have had difficult life experiences. Indeed the church is a hospital. When a parish community has a healthy atmosphere, it offers those members experiences they have never had before which has a healing effect. In essence, just as many were healed in the gospel through an encounter with Christ, so can individuals be healed when they encounter a healthy parish family.
SATURDAYS
5:00 pm GREAT VESPERS
SUNDAYS
9:30 am ORTHROS
10:30 am DIVINE LITURGY
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CHURCH SCHOOL:
Sundays at 9:30AM in our church school building. There are classes for each age group and also for teens.
ADULT EDUCATION CLASS:
9:45am on Sundays in the Cathedral hall.
CONFESSION SCHEDULE:
Saturdays After Vespers
Wednesdays After Vespers
Thursdays during the Confession, Counsel, or Candle Session
Online Sermons - Click here