Mid-August odds and ends

Sunday was nice because a number of good things happened in worship at Central. We were able to present a scholarship certificate from Westminster College to Jessica Mriso. During the service Jessica sang a duet of "Close to Thee" with Renee Shreffler, accompanied on the piano by Verne Bergstrom, Jr. One of our shut-ins who had not been in worship for about a year was able to surprise us with a visit. And it seems that some people are starting to invite their friends to accompany them to worship.

The sinkhole in the Giant Eagle Plaza access road is now a month old. When the hole first appeared I think it was a sign of grace that no one fell into it. They promptly filled it in, but the next morning the hole had sunk again. There is now a lot of equipment all around the site, with a larger area fenced off. Everybody says that the area is heavily undermined, but there is no definitive explanation for the hole. The store is right on the route I follow between home and work, but the repair site has interfered with the shortcut I had been accustomed to using. The lack of an explanation for the hole leaves doubts about the efficacy of any repair job that will be done. I am looking forward to the opening of the Aldi Foods in Lower Burrell; it will also be on my usual route, but some distance away from this other shopping plaza. And the sinkhole.

Tuesday the weather was glorious. We decided to take our Bible Study outside from the Tuesday Meal and Ministry. It was a nice walk to Riverview Park, and on the way we ran into a number of old friends. The Bible Study was the beginning of the story of David and Goliath.

Wednesday I was disappointed to see that Lee's Chinese Restaurant had a break-in overnight. Restaurant owner Laurie Hayden told me that in addition to breaking glass in doors to get in, the robbers trashed the place. They didn't steal anything valuable but did take some food. Laurie told me she was glad that at least someone was not starving.

Tarentum's police worked fast to find and arrest the alleged culprit(s).

Wednesday evening was the sixth of Tarentum's 2007 Summer Concert Series. The group was Titanium Hip, and they played music from the 60's to the present. I really enjoyed this concert, as I also enjoyed the frequent comments from those present that it was "too loud." (When I ordered some supper at the food stand, it was hard to communicate with the people inside the stand.) Make whatever comments you want about the volume of the music or the slowness of the audience to get on their feet and clap their hands, but I think the most telling comment on the performance was that when it started to sprinkle halfway through the concert no one left. It was a great group and a lot of fun.

The concert series will include a performance of the Rankin Jr. Troup of Tamburitzans today at 1:00 PM.

I also did some visiting at the Lund Center at Concordia in Cabot this week. I really appreciated the stained glass windows in the chapel there.

File under : Central Presbyterian Church, New Kensington, Tarentum, art, education, music, wierd