Many pastors and even lay volunteers offer counseling to troubled people. Yet they may not have had the opportunity to receive much training in the right way to offer such counsel, and the risks involved if its offered in the wrong way.
Such training is being made available on Wednesday, Feb. 6 in Mount Ararat Baptist Church, East Liberty, with a seminar on “Ethics in Counseling and Pastoral Care” sponsored by the Metro-Urban Institute of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Continuing education credits are available. The featured speakers are Taunya Tinsley, a licensed professional counselor on staff at Mount Ararat and the Rev. Joan Prentice, an associate pastor at the church.
The seminar is open to the community, and is recommended for seminarians, clergy and lay ministers. It starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, lasts about two hours, and costs $25. For registration details contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call 412-657-2063.

“Bully: The Movie,” a documentary that explores peer-to-peer bullying in schools, will be shown free Sunday morning Feb. 3, 2013 in Squirrel Hill, followed by a discussion on how to stop bullying.
The event, which is open to the public, is sponsored by the Agency for Jewish Learning, Jewish Family & Childrens Services and Rodef Shalom Congregation, with funding from the Lauren Webster Young Adult Initiative. Ms. Webster, whose grandparents live in Pittsburgh, was a 25-year-old student and volunteer paramedic at the University of Virginia who committed suicide last year after a long battle with depression. Sunday’s anti-bullying program is the first of two local programs the initiative is sponsoring to address leading causes of suicide among young people.
“There is a tremendous pressure among young adults and teens to be a part of the crowd. Some kids for one reason or another aren't able to handle it and finally do a terrible thing by taking their own life. They think there is no hope. It is important to instill that hope early on, not just in the kids but in the parents,” said her grandfather, Norman Weizenbaum who, with his wife Marilyn, is funding the effort.
“I would feel vindicated if only one person was in fact rescued, but I would hope this awareness would grow from small roots to make an impact on young people and parents alike.”
The movie, which is rated PG-13 is intended for those in the eighth grade on up. Teens are encouraged to attend with their parents. It will be shown at 9 a.m. in the Manor Theater. After the movie participants will walk to the nearby Jewish Community Center for a discussion with experts on how to stand up to to bullying.
A second suicide prevention program, which will focus on the academic and performance pressures that young adults face, will be held this summer.
For more information contact Beth R. Goldstein at the Agency for Jewish Learning This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Catholic sisters throughout Western Pennsylvania are sponsoring a food drive for the poor as part of the global church’s World Day for Consecrated Life. It’s the second time they’ve done this, and last year’s drive brought in more than 13 truckloads of food and more than $2,000 in donations for local food pantries.
The drive is going on now and ends Sunday Feb 3, 2013. Suggested food items are canned vegetables, soups, beans, tuna, pasta (including mac & cheese), rice, baby food, forumula, cereal, peanut butter & jelly or sauces.
A complete list of collection sites and contact information is on the sisters’ web site.