The following article is reprinted from the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review of July 13, 2006
Faith at work
By Rob Amen
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Thursday, July 13, 2006
On a recent sunny Thursday about noon, Michael Greb traded his financial planning models for the book "My Utmost for His Highest" and retreated to a secluded room in a North Hills restaurant.
For little more than an hour, Greb, 57, of Ross, dissected a biblical passage and discussed its relevance in today's society with Jim Franks Jr., 52, of Ohio Township, and Carter Birely, 60, of Moon.
The gathering was small but signified the impact of The Pittsburgh Experiment, a Christian outreach ministry open to people of all religions and founded on the concept of applying faith in daily business relationships.
"It's an oasis in the desert for me," said Greb, a vice president of investments with the Parker Hunter division of Janney Montgomery Scott LLC. "The stress of being in my (profession) ... this helps give me some stability that I can look at things in a more objective manner."
The Rev. Samuel Shoemaker, then at Calvary Episcopal Church in Shadyside and whose ideas helped launch Alcoholics Anonymous, founded the Experiment in 1955 to provide spiritual resources to business professionals and area churches.
Like AA's 12 steps, the Experiment emphasizes 12 "crucial ingredients" that its groups follow, including "We do not criticize or condemn what others share" and "We don't give advice unless it is specifically requested."
Groups usually meet weekly in restaurants or conference rooms across the region and range in size from two to 20 people. Participants do not proselytize, but often ask the others to pray for them.
Most sessions last about an hour. What's said during a meeting stays at the meeting, said Birely, an ordained Episcopal minister and the Experiment's executive director.
Topics vary from week to week and from group to group, ranging from workplace stress and a confrontational boss to an unfaithful spouse and illness of a parent.
"It's a safe place to let your hair down," said Birely, a former atheist who began attending meetings 25 years ago while he was an investment banker with Mellon. "There's probably a bigger need (for the ministry) today than ever before."
The ministry also attempts to help group participants who are unemployed by offering the Collaborative Employment Network. The network provides job leads and links to prospective employers.
"It's being connected," Franks said. "I do it selfishly to get re-energized. It's part of belonging to something bigger than me."
The Experiment has grown, with similar groups being established in dozens of cities including Cincinnati, Boston and St. Louis, as well as in Canada, Australia, Sweden and Zaire.
"I really truly feel encouraged," said Donna Hudson, of Franklin Park, who for two years has participated in a group that meets at the City Deli in the basement of the Koppers Building, Downtown. "It's a spiritual fill-up."
It's not so much that groups discuss ways of incorporating faith into the business world as they do ways faith can help working professionals, said Battle Brown, 49, an entrepreneur from Friendship.
"We focus on family problems and other issues," Brown said. "But we're meeting in the context of a work environment.
"I'm involved in a lot of small groups and prayer groups. What I like about this group, it's a much more diverse group."
Greb met then-Experiment director Paul Everett about 20 years ago, and began supporting the ministry and talking with Everett on a regular basis.
"Paul was always like a mentor to me," Greb said.
When Greb's youngest daughter died in a car crash in 1994, "Paul dropped everything to be with me," he said. "It just solidified a relationship that will go on into eternity, in my opinion. That's how the Experiment is."
After finishing their lunches and taking one last sip of their drinks, Greb, Franks and Birely paused to pray.
Then they went their separate ways -- with the comfort of knowing they're not alone.
Rob Amen can be reached at ramen@tribweb.com or (412)-320-7982