Did you pick up your Advent wreath making supplies yet? They are available in Fellowship Hall. Here is a picture of what one member did…
Show us what your family has created with your Advent Wreath!
Angel Tree-Every one of the 25 names from our Angel Tree was claimed! We have received some monetary donations that we will use to cover gift requests. Remember to bring your gifts/donations to the church on or before December 6. Service Committee members will be in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, December 6 from 11am until 1pm.
The Good Shepherd Virtual Choir is featured on the SWPA Synod website! Deacon Beth Caywood writes in her article “What About Christmas Music?” about the process of making music virtually. She draws on an interview with Pastor Bob, whom she calls “our resident expert” on virtual choirs, noting that he has “explored, experimented with, and perfected many tools necessary to provide beautiful music online.”
Congratulations to the musicians of The Good Shepherd for being at the cutting edge of musicmaking in our synod!
Pick up your FREE Advent wreath kit in the Fellowship Hall – one per household.
Advent is a very special season in the church year. It is a time of preparation and anticipation for the coming of Christ both in the past in His incarnation as the baby Jesus, but also in the future with His promised second coming as Christ Triumphant. Furthermore, Advent is a time to focus on His present coming to us in the Word and Sacraments.
The Advent Kit included here will provide you with a way to experience this beautiful season of light in your own home. The ritual of lighting a new candle each week and sharing God’s word of promise and hope in our Savior, Jesus Christ may make the darker days seem brighter!
The Advent Kit includes 4 Candles, Instructions for Creating your own Wreath and Liturgy to use each week when lighting your candle(s).
We are still planning to have the Angel Tree! We have 25 names this year. In communicating with the Director of The Northside Common Ministry, the suggestion was made to provide gift cards this year. Target, Amazon, and Dollar General are all stores accessible by most families in the program. If you wish to donate money, the Service Committee will purchase the gift card for you. If you are donating money, bring the donation to the church in an envelope labeled Service Committee/Angel Tree. You can come to the church to select a name from the tree or call the church office, 412-372-2934, to get a name. Please have your donation to the church by Sunday, December 6. The church will be open on Sunday, November 22 from 11am to 1pm, Monday, November 23 from 10am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 7pm, and Tuesday, November 24 from 10am to 2:30pm for drop-off of your donation or pick-up of a name from the Angel Tree. Again, we Thank You!
Reminder- Sunday, November 22 is Harvest Sunday. Since there is no in-house worship, please bring your donations to the church. If you have a key to the church, you can bring your donations anytime. The church will be open on Sunday, November 22 from 11am to 1pm, Monday, November 23 from 10am to 2:30pm and 5pm to 7pm and Tuesday, November 24 from 10am to 2:30pm. The food collected for Harvest Sunday will be donated to local food banks. Let’s take a big bite out of hunger, one mouth at a time!
The Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) is reminding residents of a series of free COVID-19 testing events that will take place in the parking lots of faith-based organizations over the next few weeks.
The Allegheny County Health Department along with the Allegheny Health Network, Cornerstone Care Community Health Center, Metro Community Health Center, Northside Christian Health Center, Primary Care Health Services, Inc., Sto-Rox Family Health Center and 21 congregations representing both the Faith Based Health Collaborative of Pittsburgh, and the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction of the Churches of God in Christ have joined together with the Pennsylvania Department of Health for this program.
More information about the faith-based COVID-19 testing is available here: https://www.health.pa.gov/topics/disease/coronavirus/Pages/Faith-Based-Testing.aspx.
The tests are free. Prescriptions or referrals are not needed. Insurance is not needed, but those with insurance should bring their information for tracking purposes only. Pre-registration is not required.
Testing events will occur outdoors where participants may drive through or walk up. On average, the turnaround time to receive results will be two to three days after testing.
Testing will occur at the following sites this week and next:
Wednesday, October 21
Petra International Ministries
235 Eastgate Drive, Pittsburgh, PA, 15235
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Thursday, October 22
The Hill House Family Health Center with Calvary Baptist Church
2629 Wylie Ave., Pittsburgh, PA 15219
11:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Mount Ararat Church
271 Paulson Ave, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Monday, October 26
Jerusalem Baptist Church
12 S. 5th St, Duquesne, PA, 15110
12:00 PM to 2:30 PM
Hilltop Community Health Center with St. Paul AME Church
151 Ruth Street, Pittsburgh, PA, 15211
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
Wednesday, October 28
Mt. Olive First Baptist Church
451 Park Ave., Clairton, PA, 15025
12:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Thursday, October 29
Pentecostal Temple Church of God In Christ
6300 E Liberty Blvd, Pittsburgh, PA, 15207
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
The Service Committee would like to thank everyone that contributed to the making of the Personal Care Kits. We made 48 kits for Lutheran World Relief and were able to donate toward the shipping cost of the kits. Thanks to Mary Jo Batley, Jeanne Lewis and Mary Duggan for assembling the kits and to Harry McCollum for taking them to Zelienople to the in-gathering church.
The Service Committee will once again be sponsoring the Angel Tree for holiday gifts to those in need. We have requested 25 names. We are not sure how the sign up will go, (to maintain social distancing), but we will work something out.
We will also try to do something for our home bound members for the holidays.
Men’s Shelter Meal – we continue to provide a monthly meal. To help you can call the church office to add your name to the list of items needed, or, place a green envelope marked “Shelter Meal” in the offering. We just confirmed with the Pleasant Valley Men’s Shelter our commitment for 2021. Your support of this is also appreciated!
I just wanted to thank everyone that helped make my Eagle Scout Project successful and for allowing me to complete it at the church. Thanks to everyone in the congregation that made donations and also to Thrivent Financial for their generous contribution. I am happy that the project was finished just in time for the Sunday worship services to begin at the Gazebo. It definitely made all of the work worthwhile. Thanks again!
Nathan Mauser