In addition to enjoying the great decorations throughout the neighborhood, there are a couple events scheduled in the coming days that you can check out to celebrate Halloween.
First up is the Fulton Halloween parade, scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m. The route will start on Mellon, head along Bryant, down Highland Ave. and back to Fulton on Hampton. If you’re nearby, peak outside to see the kids in costume!
On Sunday, festivities begin at 10 a.m. mass at St. Andrews, where children are invited to attend in costume. Father Chris will bless the costumes and have a special homily for the children. From 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. families can return to St. Andrews for the Halloween Spooktacular Organ Concert and trick-or-treating. Anyone is invited to walk through the Church or sit and stay awhile to enjoy the fun, spooky music. The church requests that anyone coming inside the building please wear a mask.
Official trick-or-treating is from 5 to 7 p.m. on Sunday. The city has issued the following guidelines this year, with COVID safety in mind:
Avoid direct contact with others who do not live with you.
Make a cloth mask part of your costume, but do not substitute a costume mask for a cloth mask.
Bring hand sanitizer to use throughout trick-or-treating and wash your hands before eating any treats.
Follow distancing on sidewalks and when approaching homes. Stay at least 6 feet away from others outside of your household.
Wear reflective clothing and bring flashlights for visibility while trick-or-treating.
On Oct 17, the neighborhood welcomed crisp fall weather and the HPCC’s second annual Pumpkin Patch! Folks of all ages came to enjoy the decorations, choose pumpkins, and pick up grab-and-go Halloween craft packs. Over 75 visitors stopped by including long-time, new, and former residents. You can still stop by the Bryant Street parklet to see the fall decorations.
Donations raised support the HPCC’s activities. Extra pumpkins were distributed to businesses on and near Bryant Street. Special thanks to the volunteers who came down on Saturday for the parklet clean up!
Check out the new calendar of events board at the park.
This month’s HPCC Zoom Community Meeting will feature the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA) providing updates on upcoming projects in Highland Park that are part of the larger Water Reliability Plan and sharing information about our growing stormwater program, which includes information about the pending stormwater fee.
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church continues to offer three Sunday services. At 8:00 a.m. we have a spoken word Eucharist service on the lawn (weather permitting) or in the chapel. A 10:00 a.m. service with choir and children’s chapel for children ages four through eight. This service is also always live-streamed on Facebook and available later that Sunday on YouTube. Finally, at 5:00 p.m. we have a forty-five minute service with a short mediation, a time for reflection and the Eucharist. The second Sunday the 5:00 p.m. service is one of Evensong. On November 14 this service will feature the voice talents of Sariah Seare. In addition to those services we also have a service of Eucharist on Wednesdays at noon. We do ask that anyone who is coming inside our building for any reason to please wear a mask regardless of vaccination status.
Looking ahead this fall and early winter we have a busy schedule. You may want to save the date for some of these exciting events. Sunday October 31, children are invited to wear their Halloween costumes to Church for the 10:00 a.m service and stay for a special children’s homily. Later that evening the Church will be open for an Organ Spooktacular from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Children are invited to trick or treat inside the Church while enjoying some scary organ music. We will celebrate the Feast of All Saints on Sunday, November 7 with a Choral Eucharist. The Syrian Highlanders Bagpipers will join us to celebrate St. Andrew’s Day on Sunday, November 21 at 9 a.m. between the services and at 11 a.m. They will return to welcome Saint Nicholas on Sunday, December 5 at 5:00 p.m. At that time we will be collecting packages of new white crew socks for children and teens that will be sent to our ministry partner in Uganda. And we will have our annual Christmas Lessons and Carols on Sunday, December 19 at 4:00 p.m. That will be followed by a high tea reception.
Also look for announcements on upcoming Outreach events as we close in on the holiday season. Those announcements are always shared on the HPCC listserv and our website. We hope to partner with Hello, Neighbor again this holiday season. These events are successful thanks to the generous support of our neighbors in Highland Park.
Check out our Facebook page, our website, http://www.standrewspgh.org or our outgoing phone message for the very latest information on what is going on at St. Andrew’s. As always it is our goal to be the best neighbor possible. To that end please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you are in need. May the light of the Lord shine upon you. God Bless.
