June 2016 Newsletter

Changes
This month marks the end of an era. My beloved boss and coworker for the past nine years, Chris Ansell, has decided to move on from his position at Bellefield/Cornerstone. I actually first met Chris even before I started working at Bellefield. It was at a CCO staff seminar, and we were in a group together. After we were done talking, he asked me to apply to the Bellefield position. I did, and here I am today.

When I first started working at Bellefield, Chris and I didn’t get along too well. Chris is a type A personality, I’m a type B personality, and I think our work styles just clashed at times. As the years went by, we learned to complement each other and our differences. I had strengths where he had weaknesses, and he had strengths where I had weaknesses. Not only did our work relationship develop, but our friendship also developed. I now consider Chris Ansell (aka “Chransell” as known as by the students) to be one of the best friends that I have.

I am heartbroken that Chris is leaving, but I am so excited about how God will use him and his family.

With that being said, we now have a new coworker: our former fellow (intern) Mark Michaelis. I was so happy when Mark applied for the job. He has been a tremendous fellow, and really brings a lot to our team. This year will definitely not be the same without Chris, nor should we expect it to be. I expect it will be downright weird at first. I am, however, super excited to work with Mark, Bobbi, and our two new fellows. Cornerstone will look different, but God will still be there and in control.

Meet the Students

Meet Emily Wenz, a junior Rehabilitation Sciences major, with a Certificate in American Sign Language, from New Hope, PA. Read more about her and her experiences at Cornerstone.

1. What is your favorite childhood memory? I have many, but the first memories that come to mind are my birthday parties growing up. I’m a triplet, so we always had huge birthday parties for my brothers and I all together during the summer. One year, we had a giant water fight party with about 50 kids simultaneously sliding down an inflatable water slide and chucking water balloons at each other. It was awesome, but now I can see why my parents were always so stressed during those parties….Anyway, one of my babysitters would always make a cake with three different sections because my brothers and I could never agree on what we wanted to put on it (some things never change).
Note: I was going to write about the time I attended Farm Camp and learned how to groom and show cows (aka we gave them baths and then walked them around on a lease in a circle) because it was hilarious and more enjoyable than expected, but I now realize that really the only funny/sad thing about that memory is that I was barely still a child when I attended (I was 14), so I wasn’t sure if it counted as a childhood memory.

2. What has been your involvement in Cornerstone? I’ve been involved in Cornerstone since my freshman year. I started attending every few weeks and slowly got more involved. I joined the worship team at the end of my freshman year and I am now one of the worship leaders. As a musician, worship was one part of Cornerstone that kept me coming from the beginning, so serving as worship leader and growing in my faith through music has been a great opportunity. I am also involved in the outreach team and I attend bible studies.

3. How has Cornerstone helped you during your years at Pitt? Cornerstone has been a huge help to me throughout my time at Pitt. My faith has grown tremendously throughout college, which is one thing I never would’ve expected. I’ve been through a lot of ups and downs over the last few years, and without having Cornerstone as a community to lean on and to hold me accountable, I don’t think I would have grown nearly as much as I have during college so far. I’ve learned that liking a place or what you’re doing there is not nearly as important as liking the people around you. Cornerstone has allowed me to meet some incredible people who have taught me what it means to really care for each other and to strive to serve God through everything I do.

Financial Update

You may have seen from the chart that our monthly giving is $3176, 81% of where we need to be. It is because of all of you that I am here and will get to where I need to be. I have been raising this support so I can minister to students like Emily, and see how God has worked in her life during her years at Pitt. Working with College students, and seeing God transform them, is a true blessing and I thank God every day for this opportunity. If you would like to help this ministry, we are always looking for new supporters. This is what makes ministry possible. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. We trust that God will provide. He always has, and He always will. Remember that any gift is a good gift. We thank you, and may God bless you richly because you have given to advance His kingdom! Please be in prayer that God will continue to build our support team and that we would be faithful in doing our part.

Moore News

The boys’ school days and baseball season are at an end. Ben’s team won their World Series, placing them 1st in their league, while Josh’s team ended the season in 2nd place. All the boys on both teams worked so hard this year, and were led by great coaches. With baseball done, it is feeling like summer is finally beginning. So far, our future summer plans consist of joining my entire family for Beulah Beach Family Camp, followed immediately by a cross country trip to visit Emily’s family and friends in Colorado. This (along with some summer training) will pretty much take up our entire July. It’s going to be a bit chaotic, but a good chaotic. Emily has also volunteered to spend a week helping to lead Bellefield’s youth by doing the Pittsburgh Project, a Christian nonprofit community development organization with a nearly 30-year track record of developing leaders and serving the city’s most vulnerable residents. Throw in some baseball “lessons” with the boys, and you pretty much have a description of our summer

In other news, I have decided that the time is right to start taking seminary classes. The CCO offers discounted classes through Trinity School for Ministry in Ambridge, PA. I have decided to take them up on that offer, apply, and was accepted. I know that working on my MAR (Master of Arts in Religion), will take up extra time, but I love learning about the Bible and am really excited for this opportunity.

I pray that this letter finds you well, and pray that God continues to bless you.

In Christ,
Andy Moore