Every July for the last 10 years Peace and Justice has sponsored a multi-Sunday series focusing on a wide range of social justice issues, The series is held in July at 9:45 a.m. in the Galbreath Chapel.

This summer’s topic is Welcoming the Stranger: A Look at Immigration in the U.S. Visit the Westminster Seminars page to view/hear past discussions.

2019 -- Caring for Creation: Faith, Science & Change

2018 -- Bringing Good News to the Poor: Poverty in the USA

2017 -- Many Faiths Doing Justice: Social Justice in other religious traditions: Catholicism, Judaism, Islam

2016 -- Thirsting for Justice: Israel/Palestine, Refugees, Hunger and Public Policy, Criminal Justice

2015 -- Who is My Neighbor: Discussions on Racism

2014 -- Creation Care: Our Footprints in Eden

2013 -- Pittsburgh Peacemakers: The Courage to Act (PIIN, Violence against Women, Gun Violence)

2012 -- Speaking the Truth in Love: Civil Conversations in an Age of Rancor

2011 -- Justice for the Poor (Sojourners DVD and study guide)

2010 -- Jimmy Carter’s book We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land

One of the ways that we can serve others is by working for fairness through legislation. In recent years we have addressed a number of issues by inviting Westminster members to write letter to congress following our worship services. We provide background information, stamps, envelopes, addresses and sample letters. We have worked primarily with bipartisan organizations such as Bread for the World on issues such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and other nutritional programs, and also with Citizens’ Climate Lobby on the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act. So far we have sent nearly 500 letters to Congress on various topics.

Watch for upcoming Letter Offerings on nutrition (Spring) and immigration (Fall).

NOTE: Due to COVID-19 restrictions and guidelines, the group is currently meeting online via Zoom, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Mondays. Contact Bobbie Hartman for the Zoom link and codes to join the next meeting.

On alternate Mondays a small group of Westminster members travels together to Grace Memorial Presbyterian Church, in the city’s Hill District, to meet with a group of their members. Growing out of a February 2016 Faith, Race, Justice and Mass Incarceration workshop at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary developed along with three inner city churches, this little community of black and white Christians has been meeting since May 2016 to share concerns and discuss issues of racial and economic justice. Because all of us care deeply about these issues but none of us are experts, we have been reading and learning together from a range of authors…below are the books we have discussed so far.

TITLE	AUTHOR
Currently reading The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story	Nikole Hanna Jones
The Color of Compromise: American Church’s Complicity in Racism	Jemar Tisby
White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity	Robert P. Jones
African Americans in Pittsburgh	John Brewer
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America	Richard Rothstein
This is the Fire: What I Say to My Friends About Racism	Don Lemon
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Us and How We can Prosper Together	Heather McGhee
His Truth is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope	Jon Meacham
The Purpose of Power: How We Come Together When We Fall Apart	Alicia Garza
How to Be an Antiracist	Ibram Kendi
One Person, No Vote	Carol Anderson
So You Want to Talk About Race	Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility	Robin DiAngelo
Why are all the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria	Beverly Tatum
White Awake	Daniel Hill
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion	Gregory Boyle
The Common Good	Robert Reich
Rising out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist	Eli Saslow
Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI	David Gramm
The Souls of Black Folk	W.E.B. DuBois
Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust	Immaculee Ilibagiza
The Third Reconstruction: How a Moral Movement is Overcoming Politics of Division and Fear	Rev. Dr. William J Barber III
Ministry for Prisoners and Families, The Way Forward	W Wilson Goode
Tears We Cannot Stop: A Sermon to White America	Michael Eric Dyson
Ferguson and Faith, Sparking Leadership and Awakening Community	Leah Gunning Francis
The Other Wes Moore, One Name, Two Fates	Wes Moore
Executing Grace, How the Death Penalty Killed Jesus and Why it’s Killing Us	Shane Claiborne
Urban Ministry, An Introduction	Dr. Ronald Peters
Letters to a Young Brother	Hill Harper
Locked Down, Locked Out, Why Prison Doesn’t Work and How We Can Do Better	Maya Schenwar
America’s Original Sin, Racism, White Privilege and the Bridge to a New America	Jim Wallis
Just Mercy, A Story of Justice and Redemption	Bryan Stevenson
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness	Michelle Alexander

At least as important as what we are learning is what we are becoming…a community of people who care for one another…we are learning about each others’ life experiences, fears, challenges, and hopes for the future. We are not colorblind…we are exploring the ways in which race affects all of these.

If you have an interest or a concern in this area you are welcome to join in. We typically ride together in Westminster’s van.

On the first Sunday in October we celebrate both World Communion Sunday and receive the PC(USA) Peace and Global Witness Offering We celebrate both by preparing communion breads from all around the world. The offering funds are used to provide honoraria for the Summer Discussion Series