{"id":6519,"date":"2024-08-05T13:47:45","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T17:47:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/?p=6519"},"modified":"2024-08-05T13:49:35","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T17:49:35","slug":"giving-glory-to-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/?p=6519","title":{"rendered":"Giving Glory to God"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

From a medical emergency to a modern miracle<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Like many \u201cNew Songers,\u201d Jeanie Wolny arrives on Sunday morning and places her purse on the chair that is her regular spot. It\u2019s near the doorway leading into New Song Community Church\u2019s sanctuary \u2014 a place where the church holds worship and Pastor Herb Shaffer shares biblical truths during Sunday sermons. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On this particular day, July 7, 2024 \u2014 only a day after she celebrated her 77th birthday \u2014 Jeanie almost contemplated taking a \u201clazy Sunday,\u201d she says, which would have meant staying home from church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut I suddenly had the strong sense to get ready and go,\u201d said Jeanie, who after arriving that day started heating up water for tea, wiping down the glass windows of the building\u2019s front doors, and folding a large stack of bulletins to help the church prepare for the day. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJeanie is like a sweet grandma,\u201d said Alex Wright, 29, of Brookline, who can count on a hug from Jeanie as soon as he walks in the door. \u201cShe\u2019s very loving and comforting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alex connected with Jeanie when they participated in New Song\u2019s \u201cWelcome to the Family\u201d class and were baptized at the church last summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo see her coming and greeting us that morning and then to see her come out on a stretcher\u2026\u201d said Alex. \u201cI was very scared.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Miracle in the Making<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe\u2019s going to have a miracle.\u201d Those were the words that came out of 7-year-old Zoey\u2019s mouth soon after the 911 call was placed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pastor Herb had just led a meditative prayer where he had asked everyone to open their hands on their laps as they surrendered everything to God. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe said if you feel you need prayer, if you feel you need God, open your hands and accept and talk to Him,\u201d said Jeanie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo I had my hands open and I was totally still. But I then realized I could not move.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eric Hoellein, 54, of South Park, was one of the first to respond. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI heard a faint \u2018help me,\u2019 said Eric, who was sitting a couple seats away from Jeanie. \u201cI looked over and knew something was off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Others quickly sprung into action. Jeanie was displaying several signs of what was later diagnosed by doctors as an acute stroke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all surrounded her and heard her say, \u201c\u2018God with me,\u2019\u201d said Michael Scott, 57, of Brookline, who made the 911 call.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe all confirmed and said \u2018Yes, God is with you, Jeanie,\u2019 and she said \u2018No, God is here,\u2019\u201d said Michael, gesturing with his hands to show that Jeanie meant with the church body at New Song. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll never forget it. It still brings tears to my eyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Faith in Action<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, several members of the church body prayed and laid hands on Jeanie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was praying, \u2018Please God, help me to know what to do at this moment,\u2019\u201d said Victoria Sabo, 49 of Bethel Park, who was one of the members leading the prayer while also monitoring Jeanie\u2019s symptoms. \u201cThis was very serious.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeanie recalls the men at New Song trying to help her sit up, but even the EMTs who arrived could not straighten her legs that seemed to be frozen in a seated position. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI was able to speak to the ambulance driver only with my eyes. Blink once for yes. Twice for no,\u201d said Jeanie, who was first treated inside the ambulance parked in the New Song parking lot. \u201cI remember drifting off and the (EMT) pinching my skin really hard to keep me awake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She heard them suddenly yell: \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get her out of here!\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeanie said she could feel God\u2019s presence the entire trip to Mercy Hospital. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI could hear His soft voice say, \u2018You will be alright.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the time the ambulance reached Mercy Hospital from the church, Jeanie\u2019s body was no longer paralyzed. \u201cI could move my arms, legs, and face,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I got inside the hospital, I said \u2018God healed me,\u2019\u201d said Jeanie, who was able to maneuver herself onto the hospital bed. She also quickly regained her speech and motor skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During her brief overnight stay in the hospital, Jeanie also had an opportunity to be bold in her faith. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said when a nurse came to her aid while she was coughing, she heard a man\u2019s voice say in a mocking tone, \u2018Why didn\u2019t she call on her God?\u2019 The person was among the other patients partitioned in hospital beds next to her. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI immediately took everything off that was pinned on me,\u201d said Jeanie. \u201cI even took out the needle and went running to the nurses, calling \u2018Who said that?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGood thing I had on underwear,\u201d she laughed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sharon Burkes, one of the New Song members who visited Jeanie in the hospital, described her friend as \u201cglowing\u201d in the emergency room. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe was sharing her testimony with every human that walked in the door,\u201d said Burkes, who attends weekly women\u2019s bible study sessions with Jeanie at the church. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShe kept saying \u2018I’m defending my God,\u2019\u201d said Burkes. \u201cNobody talks about my God!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

God’s Handiwork<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The following Sunday, Pastor Herb led a sermon on John 9 about a man who had been blind from birth who was healed by Jesus. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In John 9:1-3, Jesus\u2019s disciples asked him: \u201cRabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?\u201d Jesus answered, \u201cIt was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeanie was invited to speak in front of the church body to give a full account of what happened and the miracle that had undoubtedly taken place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI needed to be here in church,\u201d she said. \u201cSo people would see it.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the service, Pastor Herb commended New Song members for working together as a church body during this time of crisis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis congregation responded in the way a church should respond,\u201d said Herb, who founded New Song Community Church in 1991. \u201cPeople just went into action.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Alex, that action was prayer. He instinctively reached out to his friends and co-workers to pray for Jeanie whose life hung in the balance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When he received the news of her miraculous recovery, he said that his hands immediately went up into the air \u2013  \u201cThat is the power of the Holy Spirit,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSeeing how God worked in Jeanie\u2019s life is truly amazing,\u201d Alex said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to share that story and tell others about the power of God.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From a medical emergency to a modern miracle Like many \u201cNew Songers,\u201d Jeanie Wolny arrives on Sunday morning and places her purse on the chair that is her regular spot.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6522,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6519"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6521,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6519\/revisions\/6521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6522"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6519"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6519"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsongpittsburgh.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6519"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}