Eastern
Home Missionary
Newsletter
Rev. Jai
Mahtani
216
Thornberry Drive
Pittsburgh PA 15235
Tel: (412) 371-2299
E-mail: jaimahtani@msn.com
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world. Amen.” Matt 28:19-20
February 2003
To:
Council & Congregation of Southwest Protestant Reformed Church,
PR congregations, denominational mission fields & contacts in eastern US
Greetings in the love of
our Great God and Savior, Jesus Christ! We
are thankful for your prayers and we continue to experience the Lord’s faithfulness
and care as we labor in the cause of eastern home missions.
The labors in Pittsburgh continue to flourish under the blessing of God. Allow me to reflect with you on recent
developments, proceeding to give you highlights on the upcoming events that are being
anticipated.
Annual
Reformation Celebrations
Our Reformation Celebrations 2002 again saw good attendance. We had several local visitors as well as others
who came from as far away as Chicago and Philadelphia.
Our western home missionary, Rev. Tom Miersma, who was the first missionary to
labor in Pittsburgh, PA, lectured and preached to a group of about seventy. Rev. Haak, who led the contingent of ten from
Chicago, led a sectional in our newly acquired catechism room at the mission office. The celebrations even included an Indian lunch at
a local restaurant — to the joy of many, but also to the chagrin of some. All in all, it was a wonderful time of rallying
around the great truths of the Reformation in the context of a mission field that is
growing spiritually and numerically.
New
Visitors
Three of the local visitors to the Reformation Celebrations continued to come for
several weeks — a neighbor friend of the missionary, a teacher from the school where
we hold our services, and a radio listener who heard our ongoing radio promotions. As you can well imagine, this brought excitement
and encouragement to the saints here. Of the
three, one has continued to come on a regular basis and is now part of the mission group. He heard us on the radio – a couple years ago
– and continued to tune in to the Reformed Witness Hour from time to time. But when he finally came to the Reformation
Celebrations November 2002, he found his church home, and has been with us at every
worship service since. We continue of course
to labor with the other two visitors, as well as several other contacts in the Pittsburgh
area.
Special
Services
Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the Old and New Year’s all came and went by so
quickly. The annual Thanksgiving feast was
once again held at the missionary’s home, and yes, no man has yet taken his crown at
the ping-pong tournament. Some tried really
very hard, especially the missionary’s older children, but they did not succeed. We had visitors at all the special services. This is another reason to hold special services on
the mission field. Opportunity is given for
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be preached and heard, and members of the mission
are encouraged to bring along friends and loved ones. But there is also rich blessing for
the members of the nucleus group; they gather together with those of like-precious faith
to encourage and inspire each other on these special holidays.
A calendar of events for 2003 is attached with this newsletter. You might want to review it and consider visiting
the Pittsburgh mission field this year. Allow
me to highlight some of the events. Please
note that the activities are being organized for the spiritual edification of the group
but also in order to attract visitors to our mission field. In addition, we should add, all this, the Lord
willing.
Covenant Christian High School Band
We will be privileged to have Covenant Christian High School’s band visit
Pittsburgh at the end of March this year. They
hope to have a chance to visit with the saints here, interact with the students at Trinity
Christian, as well as present a concert at the school.
Some seventy young people plan to come, and we hope they will have a good taste of
the Pittsburgh mission field.
Annual Memorial Day
Picnic
It has become an annual affair here in Pittsburgh when the mission group gets
together on Memorial Day to spend an entire day in fellowship around God’s Word. Usually there are visitors and friends who join
with us, and usually one of the members of the Steering Committee gives a devotional
message. Various groups of young people from
our churches have also come in the past to spend the Memorial Day weekend in Pittsburgh. We have reserved a pavilion at the King’s
Mountain Resort, which is about an hour’s drive from Pittsburgh. All are welcome.
If you plan to come, please contact us for further details, directions, etc.
Fourth of July at
Kennywood Park
This year we are also planning a group activity on the Fourth of July. Those of you who have visited Pittsburgh may have
heard of Kennywood Park. Although I
personally do not enjoy raising my blood pressure via thrill rides, many people do. This is a family-themed park, so there are
activities for all ages. This would be
another opportunity to visit Pittsburgh and get to know the saints in the Pittsburgh
Mission. Yes, I have dutifully offered to
look after the younger children and enjoy the smaller rides at Kennywood.
Reformation
Celebrations 2003
We are already firming up our plans for Reformation Celebrations 2003. Our guest speaker this year will be Professor
Engelsma. He will be speaking to us on
“The Reformation’s Influence on the Family – Blessing and Bane.” Plans call for a lecture Friday night and services
on Sunday revolving around the same theme. We
usually have a special activity on Saturday, and this year it will be really special. After a luncheon to honor our guest speaker and to
give opportunity to visit and fellowship, we plan to hold a forum on “The Trials and
Blessings of Christian Marriage.” We
have invited not only Professor Engelsma but also his wife and his mother to be involved
in the forum. So mark your calendars early:
October 31st to November 2nd.
Regular Study Season
In addition to these special activities, we are of course in the middle of our
regular study season. We have five catechism
classes, all held Wednesday evenings, and a mid-week Bible study on the book of Romans,
held Thursday evenings. The young adults and
the ladies have a monthly meeting to discuss various topics doctrinal and practical. We encourage all our local contacts to attend
these classes, and we are encouraged to see visitors from time to time. All meetings during the week are held at our
Mission Office, at 2140 Ardmore Blvd. Call
(412) 371-2299 for specific times for these various classes.
Worship Services
It is a joy to see God’s people worship faithfully under the preaching of the
Word. There are usually between thirty-five
and forty at our regular worship services. We
are always encouraged by visitors. Since most
of the area churches do not hold services on special holidays, we are happy to be able to
present the gospel of grace also on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Ascension Day, Pentecost,
Thanksgiving, Christmas, Old Year’s and New Year’s. We would like to encourage all our local contacts
to take advantage of these services and come worship with us. Regular services are 9:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Look
out for flyers that we usually send out with details on our special services, or feel free
to call us anytime with your questions.
Other Eastern Mission
Labors
Although the focus of my labors has been and will probably continue to be mostly in
Pittsburgh, I do want to add some notes here with regard to other labors in eastern USA.
Fayetteville, North Carolina
Understandably, the saints in Fayetteville, NC were discouraged by synod’s
decision last year not to call for another home missionary to labor in their midst. The Domestic Mission Committee continues to send
pulpit supply to Fayetteville. I have been
asked to go, but have not been able to leave Pittsburgh. Hopefully, in the not too distant
future, I can make a return visit there. Let
us continue to remember the saints there in prayer.
Allentown, Pennsylvania
We have received additional requests for help from the Allentown, PA area. Although I have not visited the saints there in
the recent past, we are making plans to do so in the near future. We continue to send tapes and we regularly
communicate with them over email and telephone. Time
will tell if the work there develops, according to God’s good pleasure. We are thankful to God for continuing to give us
open doors to pursue.
Lanham, Maryland
Grace Presbyterian (USA) continues to be without a pastor. Because of our ongoing contact with them, they
asked us to return to preach for them twice this past year.
This we have done in the hopes of pursuing open doors in the area. We sow the seed, but God gives the increase.
Our family continues to grow. Johnathan and David just turned eighteen, and our
youngest, Martha, just turned five. We face
many new challenges, especially with the rearing of teenagers. We realize this is not only a difficult time for
us as parents, but especially for them. Our
prayer is that, amidst all the struggles for freedom and independency, they may find their
Rock in Jesus Christ.
Attached to this newsletter is also a latest update on directions and
accommodations in Pittsburgh. Please note in
particular three things. Our morning services
are now held at 9:30 a.m. instead of 11:00 a.m. Due
to this time change, we no longer have a lunch fellowship after the morning service. Instead, however, we have a dinner fellowship
after the 6:00 p.m. evening service, to which all are welcome. Finally, please note that the Monroeville Holiday
Inn has upped their “special” rate from $39.95 to $49.95 per night, for up to
four people. The last time I checked, this is
still a very good rate for this area. Please
keep the information handy so that you can use the telephone numbers and directions when
needed.
I trust that the reflections and highlights presented in this newsletter have
proven helpful to you. Do continue to support
your missionaries in prayer. Thank you for
taking the time to read. May God bless and
use us all in our witness for Jesus Christ, wherever we are, whether at home or on the
mission field.
In His love,
Rev. Jai Mahtani
Jan. 1 New
Year Worship Service
9:30 a.m.
Missionary
Building Fund
March 12
Prayer Day Service 7:00
p.m.
Missionary
Benevolence Fund
March 27
Dinner
7:00 p.m.
8:30 p.m.
Ride Mt. Washington
March 28
AM Rehearsal/Tour Pittsburgh
Concert at Trinity
7:30 p.m.
April 18 Good Friday
7:00 p.m.
Missionary
Benevolence Fund
April 20 Easter
Sunday
9:30 a.m.
Missionary
Regular Collections
Special Lunch
Keith/Peggy
May 29 Ascension
Day Service
7:00 p.m.
Missionary
Building Fund
May 26 Memorial
Day King’s Mt.
10:00 a.m.
Brian/Ron/Keith
July 4th Kennywood
Day
10:00 a.m.
Keith/Peggy/Bobby
July 10-14
Southwest Delegates Visit
Missionary/Brian
Aug 19 Begin
Annual Review 2003/2004
Steering Committee
Oct 15 New
Study Season begins
Steering Committee
Oct 31 – Nov 2
Reformation Celebrations
Prof. Engelsma Missionary/Ron/Keith
Ref. Expenses
Nov. 1 Luncheon
12:00 p.m.
Family Forum
2:30 p.m.
Nov. 2 Prof.
Engelsma preaching
Regular Collections
Nov 27 Thanksgiving
Service
9:30 a.m.
Missionary
Benevolence Fund
Feast
12:00 p.m.
Esther/Peggy (at parsonage)
DECEMBER/JANUARY
Dec 25 Christmas
Day Service
9:30 a.m.
Building Fund
Dec 31 Old
Year’s Service
7:00 p.m.
Missionary
Benevolence Fund
Jan 1, 2004
New Year’s service
9:00 a.m.
Missionary
Building Fund
*All, the Lord
willing…
Welcome to the Protestant Reformed Mission of Pittsburgh
This is useful (and updated)
information for all who plan to visit the Protestant Reformed Mission of Pittsburgh. Please keep this information so that you have it
when you need it. Thank you. We continue to have several out-of-town visitors
to our mission. When do you plan to
come?
We continue to enjoy special
arrangements made with the Holiday Inn, Monroeville, east of Pittsburgh and close to
Trinity Christian School, our Mission Office, and the Mahtani residence.
Visitors to the PR Mission stay at the Holiday Inn, Monroeville at a special
nightly rate of $49.95 per room per night. Reservations
must be made directly with the sales department by calling to speak with Larry or Andrea. The telephone number is (412) 372-1022. You must mention that you are making a reservation
as a guest of the PR Mission in order to get this special rate.
From Airport: Follow route 60
to Pittsburgh, merges onto route 22/30 still heading for Pittsburgh, route number will
change to 279 North still approaching Pittsburgh, go through Fort Pitt tunnels and exit to
the right for route 376 East. Follow route
376 East to Monroeville exit. Make a left at
second light for the Holiday Inn.
Via Turnpike: Exit 6
(Pittsburgh/Monroeville), bear to the left for Business route 22. At first traffic light, make a left turn onto
route 48, proceed 500 yards to next signal light, turn left into driveway.
From North: Follow route 79 to
intersection with route 279 south and proceed to route 376 east, to Monroeville exit, make
a left at second traffic light.
From South: Follow route 70 to
intersection with PA Turnpike (US 76) and use the directions above "via
Turnpike."
Exiting Holiday Inn, make a right onto
Mosside Blvd. and proceed to first traffic light. Go
straight through that intersection and take 376 West toward Pittsburgh. Take the Churchill exit from left lane. Turn left at second traffic light (Graham Blvd.). At stop sign bear left onto Greensburg Pike. Get in right lane.
You will pass Woodland Hills High School. Just
past the High School turn right onto Braddock Road. At
the third stop sign turn left onto Ridge Avenue. Entrance
to Trinity will be just past the track and field on right.
Turn right into school and left to the playground.
We worship in the school’s Library, located at the rear of the school. The address is 299 Ridge Ave.
* Lord’s Day Worship
Services 9:30 a.m. & 6:00 p.m. We have a
dinner fellowship after the morning service, where everyone brings a dish to share in the
meal. All are welcome!
To Mission Office —Tel.: (412) 371-2299 *
Follow directions above
from Holiday Inn to Trinity Christian School, but instead of turning left onto Ridge
Avenue, continue on Braddock Road till you come to the main road, which is Ardmore Blvd. When you come to Ardmore Blvd., turn left at
traffic light. We are located a couple miles
down that road, on the right hand side. The
address is 2140 Ardmore Blvd., 2nd Floor, Suite A.
* Catechism Classes Wednesday
6:30-9:30 p.m. Bible Study Thursday 8:00-9:00 p.m.
Follow directions above from Holiday
Inn to Trinity Christian School, but instead of turning right onto Braddock, go on to the
traffic light and turn left onto Lewin. Take
an immediate right onto Thornberry, and look for the fifth house on the left. The address is 216 Thornberry Drive.
* Please note we are located east of Pittsburgh. The Missionary’s residence is in Church Hill, while both Trinity Christian School and the Mission Office are located in Forest Hills.