2020 March Newsletter

Cornerstone and COVID-19

Link to Biblical Touchpoints

I was standing in the hot Fort Lauderdale sun at a Habitat for Humanity work site when I got the text from a friend, “It looks like Pitt is going to be shutting its doors.” Because of this “inside information,” I had the chance to prepare the 34 Pitt students that I was with. When the official announcement came, the tone was somber but expected. Even in the midst of their grief, many students could not focus on themselves. Many came up to me and asked, “What does this mean for you or Cornerstone?” It was because of their selflessness that I too had to ask myself the question they asked me, “What does this mean for me and Cornerstone?” Obviously I would still have a job, but Cornerstone would have to adapt and look drastically different.

Our world, within a matter of days, has been flipped upside down. Humans, who I believe are wired to be communal creatures, are now told to isolate. Businesses are being shut down, whether it be temporary or permanent, and cities and towns look vacant. People are dealing with the disease by either denying it, or by hoarding. These are strange times, for the world has changed. But our God, he does not change. As Hebrews 13:8 says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” A true solace we must rely on.

And now, a digital world has become our means to communicate. Cornerstone large group and small groups will now be held online. Instead of meeting people face to face, I will now meet them screen to screen. My blog will probably be updated a lot more, since I am now (mostly) working from home. I am now creating a weekly video series, called “Biblical Touchpoints” in order for students to become Biblically literate and theologically astute (link). The world has changed, and we must adapt. Yet, God’s truth will remain...even digitally. So stay safe, adapt, and rely on the Lord.

Cornerstone Student Testimony

Meet Mike Stolarz, and listen to how God has been ministering to him through Cornerstone.

Cornerstone has had a major impact on my life over the past year. I began attending Cornerstone just over a year ago after being recommended that I attend by various members of my home church Hebron Presbyterian in Penn Hills. I had been raised going to church for the majority of my life, but, because of some struggles I went through in high school, I started coming less and less to the point where I stopped coming entirely (unless my parents forced me to go). By the time I started college in August of 2018, I wanted nothing to do with the church or God. I saw signs for Cornerstone around campus, but I wanted nothing to do with them. I thought they were lame, and if I wanted to be a cool college student I had to party and live recklessly; smoking weed and drinking instead of anything God related.

During this time, I was in a rock band with some friends from high school and I was in charge of the band's money. My drug use became so bad that I no longer could afford my habits. So, I began to dip into the band’s money, and by the end of 2018 it was all gone. I felt an intense shame at all times based on these actions, as I knew full well at the time that I had sinned greatly. But, I hid this sin and shame from everyone. In hiding this shame I went into a deeply depressed state where I felt trapped and with no way to get out. Eventually my band found out that I had stolen all of the money, and I became even more depressed. I had told my mom what I had done, and she prayed with me every day that week. By the end of the week, I had been kicked out of my band, lost the majority of my friends, but somehow miraculously was able to pay back all of the money that I owed. That Sunday I went to church with my family, and I felt extremely convicted of my sin but at the same time loved and forgiven by God and the members of my church. After the service some members came up to me and asked if I was at Pitt, and they recommended that I come to Cornerstone which they had attended and loved years ago. That night I gave my life to Christ, and that Wednesday I attended Cornerstone for the first time.

The first time I went to Cornerstone the theme for the month was “shame.” I found this to be a true sign from God, as it was exactly what I was dealing with at the time. That night we were asked to discuss with our tables any experience we had with shame, and I felt called by the spirit to share all of my testimony with people who were complete strangers at the time. That night the music also had a major impact on me, and I asked one of the worship leaders if they needed a drummer. It turns out that they had been praying for a more consistent drummer for that entire year! Soon after, I was able to attend the Jubilee Conference which was truly life changing and eye opening. Now, a year after this all took place, my life has completely changed all thanks to the grace and love of Christ. I am now part of Cornerstone’s worship team, playing drums and leading worship every week. I have been able to stay clean and sober from drugs for over a year now, and plan on staying sober long term. This would not be possible if it weren’t for my support system that God has provided in my friends and family. God has completely changed my life through Cornerstone, the leadership that Andy, Mark, and Bobbi have provided to me, and the love and encouragement I have received from all people in Cornerstone, through Christ.

Spring Break Testimony

Meet Ethan Pohlman, and listen to how God ministered to him through the Habitat for Humanity Spring Break trip.

My Cornerstone campus minister, Andy Moore, reached out to me in the fall semester one night after Cornerstone. He asked me if I wanted to go to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, for spring break with Panther Habitat for Humanity. I was a little skeptical at first, but it wasn’t a lot of money and seemed like it could be fun. The catch was that he needed the commitment and money pretty much the next day. Somehow, he convinced me to go for it. God was working through him that night, because, while I didn’t know it then, this trip to Florida would end up being what I now consider the best week of my college experience so far.

The Saturday of the spring break trip I got into a van with Mike, a friend from Cornerstone and also the only other person I knew on the trip, and 5 strangers. Honestly, I was a little nervous. I had no idea what to expect, and I was trapped in a van with these people for the next two days. But I very quickly came to realize that I had nothing to worry about. We jammed to a ton of different genres of music, played ridiculous car games, and began to open up about our lives. That first car ride was very symbolic of this trip as a whole- God challenged me with obstacles, tasks, decisions, new people and new experiences, but He also gave me the tools to overcome everything that I was faced with, and in the end turned it all into a rewarding experience. The main focus of this trip was the workdays, where we built homes for low-income individuals. This presented a challenge, simply due to the nature of the work. Patience was key. Often the tasks that we were accomplishing seemed small and insignificant, but the fact is that each of us was a small part of achieving a greater goal. For me, the most rewarding point on the trip was after finishing laying the tarpaper on a roof. It had taken a day and a half to complete, and afterwards we were able to stand back and know that we accomplished something real that was going to help someone who needs it.

This spring break trip was full of accomplishments. God challenged me, either by placing me in an uncomfortable position, or surrounding me with unfamiliar people, or by presenting me with a physically demanding task. Yet out of that, he inspired friendships that will last a lifetime. He filled my heart with a love for service. He opened my eyes to a great organization made up of caring people. He inspired conversations about Him. I had the blessing many times on this trip to share with others my involvement in the church, and what my faith means to me. God was at work in my life this trip, and was working through me to help others, starting with that seemingly impulsive decision to say “yes” to going on this trip.

Donating to Our Ministry
Because of this pandemic, we realize that finances are tight for many of you, but we could use your help now more than ever.  If God leads you to donate, we ask that you click the following link:

https://secure-q.net/Donations/CCO/15954

Thank you, stay safe, and God Bless!

In Christ,
Andy Moore

April 2019 Newsletter

Jubilee Testimony

Meet Jordan Helsel, and read about her experience at the Jubilee Conference:

In February, Cornerstone attended Jubilee, a Christian conference held at the convention center Downtown. On day two of the conference about 17 students walked to a local pierogi restaurant for lunch. We all came in and were seated right away, but weren’t given any menus and no one took our drink orders, which was odd. We all started to get a little nervous because we had a limited time for lunch, but we decided to wait it out for a few more minutes. Time went by, and still no one came to our table. Half of the group decided to leave, and the other half decided to stay and wait it out. As we sat there waiting, we noticed that there was only one girl working the entire restaurant. They only had one girl working as a waitress and as a bartender, and two guys coming up from the downstairs kitchen bringing up food. We were so shocked that she was working all alone.

Finally we started to see two other girls taking drink orders and serving food, so we thought, “Awesome, they were able to call in for back up, and maybe things will get moving.” The one girl came over to our table to take our drinks and I noticed that she had a Jubilee lanyard on. I was so confused. Did this girl work here, happened to go to Jubilee this weekend, and then they called her in to work? I couldn’t figure it out. When she came back to our table with our drinks I asked her, “Do you work here?” and she replied, “No, but this girl is in trouble and she needed my help.” We were shocked. I couldn’t believe that this random girl just got up and started serving tables to help this poor waitress. The girl stayed for about 30 minutes, but had to go back to the conference.

One of the cooks from the kitchen came up with a tray and I could tell he was struggling to figure out where the food went. I saw the tray and thought it was our food, so I walked over and said, “Don’t worry about it, this is our food I’ll take care of it.” He replied, “Thanks so much, I’m not a waiter and I really don’t know what I’m doing.” Well it turned out that the food on the tray wasn’t our food, but it was the table’s next to ours. After I carried the food over to the right table I got to thinking, “I waitressed for three years, and I am fully capable of running food. I think I should help her.” So, I walked behind the bar and asked the waitress if she wanted some help. She immediately accepted. So there I went; I grabbed a tray and ran downstairs to start serving. I served the Cornerstone kids their food and went back to the kitchen. The Cornerstone students ate their food and then stood up and asked, “How can we help?” I just looked at them and in my head was thinking, “Okay... I guess we are doing this.” So, I told them to buss the tables. So here we are, one student serving tables the other eight bussing tables. I couldn’t believe what was happening. When I came back to our tables, I noticed that there were two $20 bills on each table. I just assumed one of us was paying with cash, but then one of the students informed me that a random lady saw us working and wanted to pay for part of our meals. We talked about it and all agreed that we couldn’t accept the money, so we decided to give the waitress the money as part of our tip.

We got everything under control, so I collected the Cornerstone students’ debit cards so I could help her ring us all out. We went to the register and she said “Thank you so much for all of your help. This is my first week. No one showed up to finish training me, and none of my managers are answering their phones. Plus, the computers are broken so I have to manually type in everyone’s credit card number.” I couldn’t believe it: everything that could go wrong went wrong, and she was all alone and brand new to waitressing! I helped her ring out all the students which meant that I saw what our students tipped the waitress. Seeing how generous these eight students were amazed me! I have never been prouder to be a part of something so wonderful. We left that restaurant with a memory that I don’t think any of us will forget. When God calls you to serve, even if that means literally serving at a random restaurant, you do it!

Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Testimony

Meet Jack McAuliffe and Megan Graybill, and read about their experience on the Habitat for Humanity Spring Break trip:

As college students, spring break is something that is looked forward to with great anticipation. This year, our spring break looked a little bit different, as we had the opportunity to travel to Fort Lauderdale, Florida with Panther Habitat for Humanity. During our time in Florida, we partnered with the Broward County chapter of Habitat and spent four days working on a stretch of homes that would one day be a part of a 77 home Habitat community. Throughout the week, we painted the exterior of the homes, shingled three roofs, and did interior work and cleanup. At the end of the week, it was incredible to look back at the amount of work we were able to accomplish in such a short period of time and it left us with feelings of both satisfaction in how much work we had done and anticipation of the work that is still going to be done to bring this community to fruition.

One of our favorite parts about working with Habitat for Humanity is coming together with complete strangers to build homes for people we will never meet. We saw God show up every, single day, as He fostered new relationships between, not just students, but between contractors from across the country, Broward community members, and individuals who would one day own a Habitat home. It was especially humbling to work alongside these future homeowners, as they are required to work a minimum of 300 hours, and it reminded us just how blessed we are to have a roof over our heads and a place that we are able to call home.

There is a common misconception, that as college students, there isn’t much we can do to make a difference in the world. This week, we experienced that this is not the case. God has called us each to serve and to pour ourselves and our time into other people and in partnering with Habitat, we were able to do just that. Looking back over our time in Florida, we are thankful that we were able to accomplish so much in the name of Jesus Christ and grow together with a wonderful community of people. This was a special opportunity for us to serve together as a couple and we look forward to working with Habitat again in the hopes of making a difference in the community.

Financial Update

March was a great month for us! As you can see from the chart, we made 96% of our monthly goal! That’s incredible! Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our ministry. Cornerstone, and ministering to students like Jordan, Megan, and Jack, would simply not be possible without you. Just because we made our goal for a month does not give me an excuse to rest or be lazy, however. We are always in need of help financially, and are always looking for new supporters. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer. I am asking that my current supporters give an extra 10% to 25% on top of their usual giving. This will help to make my goal. Remember that any gift is a good gift. 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

For Benjamin, Joshua, and myself, baseball is back in full swing (pun intended). After taking a baseball sabbatical for a year, Ben and Josh will be joining the Cubs, and I will be the assistant coach. They had to shake off the rust a bit, but it didn’t take too long. It helps that their new head coach really isn’t new at all, but coached them in a season of Fall Ball. Now, I will just have to get over my Pittsburgh Pirates pride as I dawn on a Cubs baseball cap.

Asher continues to do well at Fulton, and continues to have a love of art. We have enrolled all three boys in an art class on Tuesday nights, and he seems to love it the most. He has also found a passion for old school video games, and we recently discovered a retro arcade and took him there. Needless to say, he was in heaven.

Emily keeps herself busy working at Haiti H2O and nannying. She plans on running the Pittsburgh half marathon at the beginning of May to raise funds for Haiti H2O, and has been training regularly for it.

I hope you are well, and that God continues to reveal himself to you.

In Christ,
Andy Moore

February 2019 Newsletter

Cornerstone Update
The new Cornerstone Large Group format continues. This semester, we have had students voluntarily plan our Wednesday nights with the staff. They came up with some great themes, speakers, experiential ideas, and unique worship nights. Not only did they help plan the nights, but the buy in is through the roof. Students have been not just enjoying the night, but growing in their relationship with God because of it. They have been so excited that they are bringing their friends, so we are seeing quite a few new faces. Pray that God continues to work within Cornerstone, and that it would be a welcoming environment where the Holy Spirit is evident.

Habitat for Humanity Spring Break Trip
As many of you know from reading past newsletters, I took over as the adviser for Habitat for Humanity four years ago. This role has given me the unique opportunity to meet and work with students. One such opportunity is taking part in a spring break trip to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida (March 9-17) to help build and work on houses. I cannot, however, do this alone. The trip costs $600, so I would like for you to prayerfully consider supporting students, my intern (fellow), and me in this endeavor. The expenses include transportation, housing, and food for the week. If you are able and willing, I’m asking for your support to help to cover trip expenses for students and me. I realize that some of you already support me and I am thankful. So, I am asking that you to pray about giving an extra $20-$100 on top of your usual contribution. If you would like to help support me on this trip, please make a separate check out to:

Bellefield Presbyterian Church
Attn: Habitat Trip
4001 Fifth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Meet the Students

Meet Josh Young, a sophomore Worship Team leader, who is also involved in the Pitt marching band. Read more about him:

Cornerstone has been a huge blessing in my life during the last two academic years. I always knew that I wanted to get involved with a campus ministry group when I got to Pitt, but as a member of the Pitt Band, which practices four days per week, it was hard to find a ministry group that would fit into my schedule. A friend from my church at home was involved with Cornerstone, and he invited me to attend. I figured I would try Cornerstone out since it met on the only day that I did not have band practice. I am so glad that I decided to try it out. As soon as I walked into the fellowship hall of Bellefield Presbyterian Church, I felt at home. Everyone was so welcoming and kind, and the atmosphere gave me instant peace and rest from the stressors of college life. I quickly became a regular attendee, and now only on rare occasion will you not find me at Cornerstone on Wednesday nights.

During the spring semester of 2018, I went on a backpacking trip with Cornerstone that focused on spiritual disciplines, such as prayer, silence, and solitude. The trip was a very eye-opening experience for me because it showed me a new realm of ways to spend time in the presence of God, and it humbled me, as I realized that most of the people on the trip were more theologically and spiritually knowledgeable than I. That trip gave me an opportunity to just dwell in the presence of God in a way that I had not before, and I felt that I returned from spring break with a renewed soul and sense of purpose.

This fall, I applied for a leadership position on worship team for the 2019 calendar year so that I could give back to Cornerstone, and that leadership position has also been such a blessing for me. As a leadership team, we have seen a lot of turnover in singers and musicians this semester, and God’s presence has been very prevalent. He has brought in a lot of musicians for us that are not necessarily believers. People come to play on the worship band because they just want to play music, and then they stay for the message. One of our musicians has even started attending a Bible study. To see God working so obviously right in front of my eyes is an extremely exciting feeling, and I am very grateful that I have gotten the opportunity to see His work unfold. Cornerstone has been a huge blessing to me, and I have had the privilege to see God at work and grow spiritually in my first two years of college.

Financial Update

January was a pretty good month for us! As you can see from the chart, we made 87% of our monthly goal! Thank you to everyone who has supported us in our ministry. Cornerstone, and ministering to students like Josh, would simply not be possible without you. Just because we made our goal for a month does not give me an excuse to rest or be lazy, however. We are always in need of help financially, and are always looking for new supporters. If God leads you to do so, we would love for you to be a part of this ministry through gift and/or prayer.  I am asking that my current supporters give an extra 10% to 25% on top of their usual giving. This will help to make my goal. Remember that any gift is a good gift. 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

Sorry for the lack of updates, but things have been unusually busy. Between my schooling, work, and family life, along with the boys schooling and Emily’s work, I have felt a bit breathless. I have finished one of my three classes, so things should cool down...a bit.

Ben has been thriving at Sci-Tech. It not only integrates classic learning styles, but integrates some more hands-on, tactile learning styles. He has created science projects and robots, as well as composed some various songs in his music class. They are pretty darn good. Soon, he (and Josh) will be back to enrolling in baseball. We took last year off, so the will be a welcome reunion for them.

Josh has officially been accepted to Pittsburgh Schiller, a STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) Magnet School serving students in grades 6-8 on the Northside of Pittsburgh! We are thrilled that he got in! It will be challenging having three kids in three schools next year, but we are excited! He continues to be busy on the Fulton Basketball team. It is a joy to watch him play.

Asher recently won Student of the semester at the gifted center! He has enjoyed the gifted center so much, and we are so proud of what he has accomplished there. Asher continues to love anything that involves art, creativity, and storytelling. Recently he told us that he would like to direct movies as an adult. That’s right up his alley!

Emily continues to keep herself busy with her new work at Haiti H2O and nannying. In May, she plans on running the half-marathon portion of the Pittsburgh Marathon. It will be the second half marathon that she has ran.

I pray that you all are well!

In Christ,
Andy Moore