Buda Named Executive Director of 'The Pittsburgh
Buda Named Executive Director of ‘The Pittsburgh Experiment’ Local organization, founded in 1956, continues mission to make Pittsburgh as famous for God as for steel PITTSBURGH, Aug. 1, 2017 – Attorney, U.S. Marine and ordained pastor Christopher Buda of Pittsburgh, who since 1998 has been regional director of Young Life River Region, and since 1999 as pastor of Grace Fellowship Church of Pittsburgh, has been named the new executive director of the Pittsburgh Experiment. The Experiment is a Christian non-denominational ministry providing spiritual resources to business, professional and working people and churches. Co-founded by Jones & Laughlin Steel Chairman Ben Moreell, father of the Navy's Seabees, and by Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step author Rev. Sam Shoemaker, rector of Pittsburgh’s Calvary Episcopal Church, its mission since 1955 has been to make Pittsburgh as famous for God as it is for steel. It has been built on helping Western Pennsylvanians to apply their faith in day-today business relationships and assisting those suffering from job stress and corporate downsizing. “Chris Buda will use his wide variety of talents and experience to plant Experiment groups in the city’s 25 tallest buildings so that everyone in this city can experience the love of God through the availability and acceptance offered by prayerful Experimenters,” said Experiment board chair Phil Hetzel, senior vice president at Federated Investors. “Our mission is for the Experiment to once again be the leading provider of service and spiritual support for Pittsburgh’s heavily-worked professional and business community.” More about Buda: Buda is well known to WORD-FM listeners as an afternoon drive-time talk show host and fill-in host over the years. In 19 years with Young Life, Buda grew his staff from 15 employees and 500 volunteers to 50 staff and more than 1,200 volunteers in western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and West Virginia. He raised and managed an annual budget of $5 million, up from $1.5 million in 1998. During the past 10 years, Young Life tripled its non-denominational Christian outreach to teenagers in the region and today reaches more than 30,000 adolescents each year. Since 1999, he also has been teaching and lead pastor at Grace Fellowship Church, a congregation in Upper St. Clair which meets Sunday mornings at Streams Elementary School. Earlier in his career, Buda was a practicing attorney, first with Meyer Unkovic & Scott and then with his own private firm. He is a 1988 graduate of the Dickinson School of Law and received his bachelor of arts in political science in 1985 from Millersville University. As a student at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary, he has obtained 35 credits toward a master of divinity degree. He served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1982 to 1984. More about Founder Dr. Shoemaker and the Pittsburgh Experiment: The Rev. Samuel Moor Shoemaker (1893-1963) strongly influenced the founding of Alcoholics Anonymous. From 1952-1961, he was as Rector of Calvary Episcopal Church of Pittsburgh, following a 26-year career as Rector of Calvary Protestant Episcopal Church in New York City. In 1955, Newsweek named him as one of the 10 greatest preachers in the United States, and Time pictured him and Moreell in the story "God & Steel in Pittsburgh." In 1956, the Pittsburgh Jaycees named him Man of the Year in Religion. His now famous poem, I Stand by the Door, encapsulates the Experiment’s mission. The Experiment name is a reference to the organization’s well-known "30 Day Prayer Experiment." This activity revolves around two or more people joining together daily in prayer for 30 days to pray about a circumstance in their personal or professional lives. More: http://www.pittsburghexperiment.org/.
