Wissmann Famiy

We are so excited to have the Wissmann family come to Pittsburgh again this year on October 8th.  The Wissmanns are a musically gifted, homeschooling family with 13 children (ages 3-27) that all play an instrument! Loren and Gloria Wissmann and their 13 children hail from Milford, Nebraska, but have spent much of the past few years traveling in family music and teaching ministry. With their 15 instruments, each song is a kaleidoscope of variety and depth. Drawing mostly from their bluegrass roots, they blend a mixture of southern gospel and smooth vocals to their numerous instruments. Featuring many original selections, beloved hymns, and gospel favorites, each concert is a musical experience filled with life, encouragement, and challenge from God’s Word. Since their family’s beginnings, they have sought the Lord specifically in the area of deepening their Christian walk and the principles of passing down a godly heritage to the next generation. Whether starting an industrial business, teaching home Bible studies, of ministering through music, their goal is to utilize God’s design for the family unit. Working together as a team, the Wissmanns share both the labor and joys of serving the Lord and investing in eternity. (II Cor. 4:18)

Please come and enjoy and consider making a contribution to their ministry.  6:30-8 pm free concert followed by a time of fellowship. Visit their website and check out their music ministry here. The concert will be at Ascension Lutheran Church; 8225 Peebles Rd., Pittsburgh, 15237, Friday evening, October 8, 2010 – Time: 6:30 pm w/ fellowship following.  RSVP to Laurence Elizabeth Gaertner by email or call 412.369.7649 If you would like to bring a refreshment, please let us know when you RSVP… we would greatly appreciate it.

The age groups were comprised in three 9-12 year old teams and one soft-pitch team of 7-8 year olds. Kahlil Morris, President of Homewood Community Sports was our partner in this initiative. Special thanks go out to Concordia Lutheran Ministries who was our financial sponsor. The teams: Astros, Reds, Blue Jays, and Cardinals competed in the Wilkinsburg Little League Association.

In addition to the full schedule of games White Fields sponsored a Pirates outing vs. the White Sox in June as well as a baseball clinic (w/cookout) done in collaboration with Christian Sports International (CSI). Sid Bream and other ex-players conducted a skills clinic on June 23^rd at Stargell Field in Homewood with almost 50 young people in attendance. The day was closed with Sid sharing his faith in Christ and calling the young men and women in attendance to respond to the invitation of God’s love in the gospel. A day-camp experience is planned for the kids this summer as well.

Bryan McCabe was a key person all season long assisting us in the community as well. Brian lives in Homewood along with his wife and two children and directs the LAMP program with Faison Elementary and Intermediate Schools.

The Homewood coaches, Leo Wisniewski, and Kahlil Morris led this effort along with volunteers from our men’s ministry. Plans to expand teams in 2011 and secure a long-term commitment to the program are underway. Brennan Gaertner from White Fields was a key leader in re-starting little league baseball on the North Side in 2007 with financial help from Concordia Lutheran Ministries. He has witnessed through that experience how mentoring relationships through baseball can become a great bridge of love to children and their families.

Kahlil, along with his leadership team, Moe and Monte Robinson, have developed a powerful youth football program in Homewood over the last several years. They are eager to expand baseball in 2011 to serve more children in the area.

Click here to see some pictures from our Little League.

We will go from 7:00 am to 8:45 am ordering from the menu as usual. No charge for attendance just your breakfast & gratuity.

We are tentatively scheduled for Vivo’s in the private room downstairs to enjoy a private buffet and our good friend Fr. William. We will gather at approximately 6:30 p.m. and began serving appetizers at 7pm with dinner following. Dinner cost TBA. Our special guest is William Wilson who was a Trappist Monk for over 25 years also serving as a missionary among the poorest of the poor in Cochabamba, Bolivia. He will share his unique and amazing story and how through our life of faith, with Jesus indwelling presence, we are enabled to be the body of Christ to a broken world! Make sure to get this one on your calendar as many of our brothers have been impacted in a powerful way by Will in past years.

More About William Wilson:

William Wilson grew up amidst alcoholism and poverty in the inner-city of Philadelphia.  Seeking union with God, at nineteen William became a silent Trappist monk for the next 25 years.  Seven of those years he lived in solitude as a hermit monk.   At 37, William was called out of the hermit life to serve as Chaplain and confessor to Trappistine Nuns and also as Novice Master in his own monastery.  In these pastoral roles he became a spiritual director and taught classes in the history, theology, and practice of classical Christian spirituality.

In 1981, at 44 years of age, William went to live and serve among the poorest people in the world in the Bolivian Andes.   During these years, aided by Christian friends in the United States, Fr. William founded Amistad Mission, which now supports a school and operates a medical clinic and an orphanage in Cochabamba, Bolivia.

As a Trappist monk William had learned the ancient ways of union with God in solitude.  As a missionary among the poor, he learned to seek and find union with God while loving people.  In 1989 he married a medical missionary, Dr. Susan Winchester.   Excluded from the priesthood in the Roman Catholic tradition, he was received by the Episcopal Church.    In recent years, Father William earned a Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University.  Most marvelous of all, since 1996 God has made Dr. Susan and Fr. William proud and grateful adoptive parents of two children.  The experience of parenthood has given the final enrichment to his practice of contemplation in the world.

Now an Anglican priest of the Diocese of Bolivia, William is Director of Ministries of the Spiritual Life Ministry Foundation in Birmingham.  In this role he offers the ministry of retreat leadership, lectures, and spiritual direction to people in many parts of the United States. His recently published book, FOUR ESSENTIALS: Classical Disciplines of Christian Spirituality, is currently receiving glowing reviews.

We will be gathering for our annual Christmas breakfast Tuesday December 21st at the Rivers Club downtown (1 Oxford Center, PGH, 15219, Suite 411) from 7-9am. Cost for the buffet breakfast is $20.

Kim Costanza will kick into 5^th gear your Christmas spirit by playing some selections from his brand new CD on his saxophone! He will also bring the word along with Craig Whitlock who will be sharing some thoughts from his year-long service with Samaritan’s Purse in Mozambique.

Our theme this year is: God is speaking, are you listening? The author of Hebrews tells us that “God has spoken to us by His Son, whom he appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” Hebrews 1:2-3

Please email Leo at leo@whitefieldsfoundation.org or call 412-445-8842 to confirm your attendance. This is important as seating is limited and for our breakfast count to the chef.