Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania

Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania works for Christian unity with its 27 member Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox church bodies in greater Pittsburgh. Since 1970, Christian Associates has been a unifying voice in the name of Jesus Christ for the mission of the Gospel and the wholeness of communities.

Christian Associates seeks the mission of the Gospel and the wholeness of our communities through:

• Collegiality: convening Christian leaders to build relationships grounded in trust and common values
• Collaboration: mobilizing church bodies to speak and act for the common good
• Communication: sharing news, events, and information to help churches connect and thrive
• Connectedness: bringing the voice of the church to civic, community, and interfaith partnerships.

In the past year, we have pursued these priorities in diverse and innovative ways:

• We started SPARK Conversations, a series of informal lunch gatherings for Christian leaders who share a common role, identity, or interest. The first SPARK series included meet-ups for clergy under age 40, church planters, campus ministers, and other groups. Watch for another season of SPARK beginning this winter.

• Our Council of Bishops and Executives spoke out on the refugee crisis in the Middle East and Europe, underlining the Christian mandate to welcome the stranger and care for people in harm's way. We continue to work to equip Christian leaders with the information and connections they need to extend welcome in our communities.

• We will soon launch a brand new Web site at www.casp.org, and continued our paper newsletter, "The Call," and our e-newsletter, "Unity n'At." Please like us on Facebook and visit http://signup.casp.org to add your name to our e-newsletter list.

• Working with partner organizations, we created worship resources such as "Feed My Lambs" (exploring childhood hunger) and "Ending Gun Violence," to help clergy connect Sunday worship with important community issues.