.church.

What can I say besides WOW! Literally this is all that comes to mind when I even try to think about how much of a blessing it has been to be at Covenant Church of Pittsburgh.  
I visited the church during each of my 3 visits to Pittsburgh prior to moving here and I had decided months ago that this was going to become my new church home.  I have been attending since July and I became a member of the church (officially)  and began singing in the choir in August.  I just completed my New Members workshop 2 weeks ago so now I am really officially official.....lol.  
Let me give you a bit of background about the church - the purpose statement of the church is as follows, 

"Covenant Church of Pittsburgh is a multi-cultural congregation that exists to exalt God the Father, and to know Him as revealed in His Son Jesus Christ. We are called to be a house of prayer, to bring reconciliation and healing to every individual, to equip them to extend God's love to our city and the nations." 

For those of you blog followers that are a part of the HFCN family, this should sound very familiar.  It is simply a longer way to say: Know God. Grow Together. Go Serve.  I knew from the beginning that God was saying that this was the new church home for me.  The preaching is wonderful and the music is amazing.  For those of you who are not musicians, this is the point at which you can turn away.......
As for the music, this is one of the first churches that I have found that has been able to really blend what is known as a "multicultural music" sound.  We sing all kinds of music: top 40 CCM, gospel, hymns and everything in between.  On any given Sunday, you may hear songs by David Crowder, Hillsongs, Israel Houghton and Kirk Franklin.  And it isn't forced - we just worship and the songs seem to flow one to the next.  Speaking of worship, it is like going to church with 100 Ms. Agnes' - no joke.  Everyone is so free - raising hands, clapping, yelling and dancing.  I cannot wait for you all to come and visit.  For those who may have never attended a Pentecostal service, never fear - we don't get too far out of hand! :)
Starting this Tuesday, we begin the yearly Presence Conference.  This years theme is: Designed to Worship II.  Speakers include: Apostle Joel Brooks, Bishop Tutor Bismark, Dr. Mark Chironna, Pastor Cheryl Brady and Bishop Joseph Garlington.  Musical guests include: Ashmont Hill, Brian and Ramey Whalen, Wayne and Libby and wait for it.....Israel Houghton and New Breed.  I am so excited.  Israel and New Breed are on tour right now (check out their new CD, Love God: Love People) so they are bringing the whole tour bus and all of their people.  They are like transforming our whole church to fir their staging.  Can you tell I'm excited?  The best part?  Our choir and worship team will be performing with each guest every night.  Yes, I am going to be singing on stage WITH Israel and New Breed!!!!! :)
This is like a worship leader's dream come true.....
Speaking of the worship team, for those of you who have been following my Facebook, you see that I have been asked to join the worship team.  At CCOP, they are called BGVs (Background Vocalists) but it is all the same.  Tonight was my first rehearsal and I have earned a spot on the mikes for two services during the conference.  They are day sessions, so I am not sure if they will be recorded, but if they are, I will bring copies home for all of you over the holidays! :)

Let me close this post by saying that my CCOP church family will NEVER replace my HFCN family.  You all are my home base, my family church - I love and miss all of you and can't wait to worship with you soon.....my dream is to have both choirs sing together - that would ROCK!

Go out and buy the new Israel CD, it is great.  Let me know if you want the DVDs of the conference, I can get some for you.........check out LIVE webcasts of our church services at CCOP.org!

.school.

I have been in classes now for 5 weeks.  Time is flying by but I am attempting to enjoy every minute.  Since I am on fellowship this semester, I am taking 12 credit hours (4 classes).  In graduate school, this is known as an overload but I have been very blessed to be able to balance assignments and reading - as well as still make time for some fun activities.
My classes are really good, I feel like I am learning so much but I must admit that the most enjoyable part is bonding with my classmates and my professors.
In my graduating class, there are 8 of us.  We have aptly named ourselves "The Octohort."  We have such great chemistry with one another and even when we disagree on points of departure in the text or other things we are working on, we are able to leave all of that in the classroom and still move on to be friends.  So to Cherod, Piper, Chloe, Nick, Ali, Martin and Iffat, I say thanks and I am looking forward to what the future has to bring us.
At the moment, I am working on a grant application.  I am applying for the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Diversity Fellowship.  I am really excited about this opportunity because if I am chosen, I will have 3 years of funding in which I can spend my time focused on my research.  Believe me, I enjoy teaching but it has been a very long time since I have had the opportunity to focus on my writing and even have the chance of getting an article published in an academic journal.
My advisors (Ron and Mary Zboray) have taken me under their wing and are really guiding me throughout this process.  Whatever happens, I am grateful for the experience.  But, I won't lie, I will be even more happy with a letter that says that I am a Ford Fellow.
I will keep you all posted on the outcome, but prayers and well wishes are much appreciated.
As I said earlier, classes are great and I am really excited for the projects that I am working on.  I won't lie, this is some hard work - we are reading on average about 400 pages a week.  It is grueling but such an accomplishment to come to the end of each week's to do list and cross everything off......
At times, I feel like my brain might explode and come oozing out of my ear but it hasn't happened yet, so  I'm guessing that it isn't a possibility.  :)
Attached to this message, you will see my wordle.  This just simply gives you a glimpse of my research agenda/interests.  It may not make much sense, but it looks really cool.  You all know how I feel about looks......lol.  You have to click on the wordle to see it in a separate screen (the print will be large enough to read there.
So, I'd say, thus far, this has been a successful venture - the beauty is that any venture you do with God is always successful.

Life in the PGH so far......

So, I have been getting settled into life here in Pittsburgh for about two weeks and for the most part: I LOVE IT.
This is a great little town with sooo much to do, it never gets dull.  For those of you who may be following my FB posts, you know that for the most part this has been a smooth transition and it may seem that I do not miss Virginia at all.  I'm sure that I sound like a infomerical  so far so I will pause and talk about the things that are driving me batty:
 - NO PARKING in the city for much of anything.  This may not matter to some, but to someone with a disability, parking is imperative.  There are some places that I must say I have yet to venture to alone because there is no close parking.
 - Lack of parking has caused me to have to venture off the beaten path for certain things.  I have been spending a lot of time at The WaterFront and in Tarrentum, PA.  Why?  Stores/Places that I am used to with AMPLE PARKING (are we seeing a theme here)?  The WaterFront is super close to the city and has most of the comforts of home (great grocery shopping, Target, movies and good food).  Tarrentum, PA is a hidden gem.  It is about a half an hour outside the city but it has all you need (Wal-Mart, JC Penny, etc.)
 - PA Drivers are crazy!  I apologize to anyone who reads this who learned to drive in PA, but your driver's ed course taught you only two things: Drive Fast and cut everyone off.  There is such a thing as the PGH left, which is cutting off cars going straight in traffic to make your left turn whenever and however you please.  I have literally thought that I was going to loose my front bumper more than once so now, I just wait.  I usually get honked at, or glared at or even yelled at through the window - but its okay.  My car is STILL registered in good 'ol VA so folks just think I don't know where I'm going! ;)
 - I can't read a bus schedule or figure out the route map so I'm just flying by the seat of my pants on that one.  However, I have yet to get on the wrong bus or miss my stop.  But, I'm totally certain that the drivers are already tired of me and my 20 questions EVERYTIME I ride.
 - TRAFFIC.  I could say more on this issue but that may cause me to loose every bit of Jesus that I have, so I'm just going to leave it at UGH!!! :(
 - CITY AT NIGHT.  I couldn't sleep for the first two nights because of all of the night noises.  Yes, I know that we have country night noise, but that mostly consists of bugs, chirping or mooing.  This noise consists of loud voices, honking, car alarms, yelling, etc.  I have begun to adjust which is a blessing; for a minute or two, I thought I was going to have to invest in ear plugs!

Enough of the bad, let's move onto the good:
 - MY ROOMIES.  Elizabeth and Marie are the greatest.  They have made me feel like I have been a part of the quasi-family from the beginning.  Their boyfriends, Joe and Drew, have also been lifesavers.  It has been so nice to have people around to help me move heavy objects, keep me from getting lost and to just have someone to come home to.  Living alone in a strange, new city would have been so lonely.  I am so thankful that God brought us together.
 - MY NEW CHURCH.  Let me begin by saying that no one or nothing could ever replace my First Church family but Covenant Church of Pittsburgh is running a very close second.  The ministries and the people are so loving and welcoming.  Again, I just feel like I belong.  Services (including the teaching and the music) are AMAZING.  They do many of the same worship songs that we do at First Church but because the majority of the musicians are African-American, they have more of a gospel feel.  CCOP is the home church to the wife of Israel Houghton - yes, it is true.  So, the Houghton's come to town fairly regularly.  All of my musician friends just took a deep sigh - needless to say, the Sunday's that he leads worship are simply priceless.  I will begin attending rehearsals with the choir in a few weeks, can't wait to be singing again.
 - MY ADVISORS.  Ronald and Mary Zboray are angels sent from God.  Since I first visited the department (back in November), they have worked tirelessly to make me feel at home.  They take such good care of all of their advisees, they are almost like parents in the field of Communication Studies.  Again, they are another example of God's favor during this time.
So, as you can see - things are going according to God's plan.  This was a tough choice to make to leave a great job and my family and friends but God is providing in so many ways - I can see how He orchestrated this so well.
Life in PGH has its issues but so does life everywhere.  All I can do at this point is be thankful.
So much more to say, I save it for another day.
Hugs and love to all of you!
Erica

T-Minus 10 Days......

Well, I am down to my last 10 days in the 'Burg before I head to the 'Burgh! :)

This summer has been a fabulous one, spending time with friends and my precious godson. I couldn't have asked for a better way to decompress before starting the biggest undertaking of my entire academic career.

May was a great month - first, my sisters and friends at church threw me a celebration to congratulate me on moving to Pitt. It was an amazing time. It is so nice to know that there are so many people who genuinely love and care about me (and my family). We spent the evening eating great food, playing Spoons and Apples to Apples and talking about old (and new) times. Speaking of Spoons, thanks to Libby Richie who gifted me with my own engraved spoon so that this newly minted "country gurl" can teach all my new "city friends" our fun past time. By the way...Pastor Margaret (aka: Pastor Piledriver), I have not forgotten about our plan to set up a spoons tournament for Ladies Retreat. I will practice and I am gunning for you!!! :)

Then, I left town the next day to spent 5 days with Michai and my girl, Kessa. Michai is the light of my life. He truly is the closet thing I have to a son and I am so thankful for the relationship that I have with him and his mother. Kessa and I have been friends since I graduated from Wesleyan in 2005. We have seen many ups and downs in our relationship, but we are still as thick as thieves. I was more than honored when she asked me to be her son's godmother. Our week consisted of taking Michai to see his first movie (Shrek 3), heading to Nathan's end of the school year picnic and a girls night in Philly at Warmdaddy's. Can't wait to see them again in August!

I ended the month catching up with Marybeth (my R.O.P., or Roommate of Power). Marybeth and I have known each other for 8 years. I was in her wedding but I hadn't seen her since before her daughter Lucy was born. This summer, she gave birth to her second child, a son named Jude. We spent the day doing what we have always done best: eating Chick-Fil-A and catching up on old times. I was also able to see her lovely sisters, Lydia and Stephanie. It was the best. Can't wait to see them again soon! Love all of you girls like family!

Since then, I have been lunching, taking in tons of movies, learning to play Guitar/Band Hero and a host of other activities. All of this may seem mundane to the untrained eye, but this is the first summer in six years that I have allowed myself the freedom to simply "sit back and enjoy the view." It has been an experience that I will not soon forget.

I have a few more plans slated between now and July 22nd.....I can't wait to see how it all turns out. Attached to this blog, you find the following pictorial representation of my many adventures: Peggy and I headed to girls night (Dinner and Eclipse), a shot of one of the many hours wasted on Peggy's couch playing Guitar/Band Hero, my beautiful godson, Michai, getting bunny eared in the movies, Celebrate Erica party group shot, Spoons Match, Lunch on the Richmond Trip. Please enjoy!

Until next time, my faithful followers.....

.great weekend.

I had the honor and privilege to accompany the Novice and JV debaters of JMU to Novice/JV nats this past weekend.
I forgot how awesome and utterly tiring debate is. Imagine it: hundreds of really intelligent kids carrying 50 lb tubs of evidence all across a college campus to see who can out-talk each other until there is only two people standing - it is a blast.
Congrats to the teams, they did an amazing job. I was really proud to say that I was JMU faculty this weekend.
Thanks to Paul and Mike as well for letting me come along - I will miss my opportunities to do this in the future.
In the words of one of our lovely debaters (Nikki), "Debate is Life, everything else is just Prep Time."
Well said....

.the beginning.

Hi All:

I want to begin this post with a shout out of thanks to my friend Bethany Harrison Suhr for inspiring me to start this blog.

It was in reading her blog that I think I discovered what my new activity (and hopefully mindless pastime) will be: blogging. Beth, I hope to do this justice. You rock sister, love you lots!!

So, what can I say? I hope this space will give a forum to keep my family and friends abreast with day to day of my life as I begin this new journey.

For those of you who may not know (or for those who have been living under a technology rock for the last few weeks), I am moving. Yes, again!

I have received a fellowship to attend The University of Pittsburgh starting this Fall. I will be pursuing my Doctorate of Philosophy degree in Communication and Rhetoric (with a concentration in Media and Culture).

So, in about four (hopefully short) years, I will officially be able to be addressed as Dr. Erica Clarke! ;) Although some of you have been addressing me this way for awhile, it will not be official until 2014.

Hence the blog....I am banking on the fact that this is going to be an interesting journey and that someone may have an interest in how it unfolds. So, I am going to attempt to keep track of all the beauty and pain, joys and sorrows and the stuff in between.

Hope that you enjoy it as much as I do - maybe we will learn something along the way.

They say, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

I am praying to be a body builder in May, 2014! ;0