Summer is officially here. Have you planned your vacation? There are great deals everywhere due to the weak economy so take advantage of the deals. If you can get away on short notice you can really find bargains. How about a trip to Disney World? I have not been there in years and I’m like a kid in a candy store in places with people dressed in costume.

Do you love Las Vegas as much as I do? There are deals galore in Sin City. If you want to be surprised you can log into a site and let them chose what hotel you will stay in. You can determine if you want to stay in a three- or four-star hotel. Do you want a king size room or suite? Just pick something.

by Paige K. Mitchell
For New Pittsburgh Courier

Change definitely came knocking at the door when Senior Pastor Jason A. Barr Jr. suffered from a brain aneurysm in 2007, and was out of the church for six months. Macedonia Baptist Church of Pittsburgh was left to find a way to continue.

During his time of recovery, the ministers of the church continuously shifted services trying to maintain the church, and successfully delivered God’s word. Brian James Edmonds, a minister at Macedonia, stepped up to the plate to keep the church moving in the right direction as smoothly as possible.

PASSING THE BIBLE—Rev. Dr. Jason A. Barr Jr., right, senior pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church in the Hill District, hands a Bible to Brian Edmonds. Edmonds will preach the noon service for young adults.

Kudos to the planning committee of Alpha Weekend 2010 (Alpha Omicron Lambda Chapter). May 28-31 had something for everyone. The Memorial Day weekend kicked off on Friday with “An Evening with the First Family” with a party at Bossa Nova hosted by Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.

WE ARE ALPHA FAMILY—Chase Patterson, Jamil Alhassan and Sammie Dow.

Saturday night was made for smoking with the Brotherhood Smoke at the Executive Cigar Lounge. After a good smoke it was on to Tana’s Ethiopian Cuisine in the East Side of the city for a culture collision of jazz and cuisine. Guests dined, chatted and enjoyed the comfortable atmosphere of one of Pittsburgh’s newest minority-owned restaurants.

Congratulatory messages were sent from across the state as Pittsburgh City Council proclaimed May 23 as Rodman Street Missionary Baptist Church Day. In recognition of 125 years of ministry, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl issued a proclamation declaring the church has “withstood the sands of time and great destruction, and stands as a message of oneness with God as our foundation.”