Author: Leigh Pogue

As the Lenten season is well underway, the Altar Guild is making preparations for the festival of Easter. You are invited to join in the adornment of our sanctuary for Easter Sunday by purchasing flowers in honor or memory of a loved one. Flower orders are due by March 15th.

You can choose from a variety of flower types, sizes and colors including lilies, tulips, hyacinths, azaleas and a spring combo. Order forms are available in the church narthex and office. Help us to fill our sanctuary with the beauty of spring and the joy of the resurrection!

The responsibility of the Church Council is to lead the direction and vision of our church on behalf of the congregation. This is an important calling, and we are grateful for those who have stepped forward to serve in this role.

Our newly elected officers are:

President – John Lowe

Vice President – Matt O’Donnell

Secretary – Cathy Holm

Financial Secretary – Steve Smith

Treasurer – David Pogue

In addition, we welcome two members to Council, Cathy Holm and Carol Rader.

We thank each of the individuals on the 2026 GSLC Council and to our new officers for their continued commitment to the leadership of our church family.

The following message was shared with the congregation on Sunday, February 22, 2026.

In late September 2025, the Council communicated that Sampson Morris Group (the buyer for our property) offered to investigate, at their expense, the feasibility of moving the Parish House to the portion of the property that they do not intend to use.  A representative from Sampson Morris has recently informed us that while they believe it is structurally possible to move the building, the cost for the move including required renovations to make the space suitable to serve as our future home would be close to $1.5 million.   The cost would include the moving of the structure, a full walk-out basement and a completed parking area.  In addition, the estimate assumes needed renovations to include first floor bathrooms, new windows, kitchen, a new heating and cooling system, doors and other necessary improvements.

The Council carefully considered this option, however, after discussion concluded that this would not be a prudent financial decision for the longer-term viability of the congregation.  In order to effectively support the annual operating budget for the next several years, we need to invest a larger amount of the proceeds of the sale of the property.

While the Council was disappointed that this option did not turn out to be viable we are confident that we will find a suitable space for the Good Shepherd to continue its ministry and we are anxious to move forward with the other options that are still available to us. 

We will be actively pursuing the other two options that we shared previously:

• To rent commercial space in Monroeville that can be modified to serve the needs of worship, office, classroom and meeting space.
• To rent space from an existing, non-Lutheran, church in the Monroeville area for worship, office, classroom and meeting space.

As a reminder, per our agreement, the Sampson Morris due diligence period will expire on February 12, 2027.  It is still expected that we will need to vacate our buildings sometime between now and then – the specific date remains uncertain.  We will need to continue the transition work to clean out our buildings and prepare for the move.

We appreciate the congregation’s continued patience and support of your Council and the ministries of the Good Shepherd.

John Lowe                                                      Matt O’Donnell

GSLC Council President                                  GSLC Council Vice President

The season of Lent is upon us and we will be holding the following events to mark Ash Wednesday, February 18, 2026

Ashes to Go – Between 11:30 am-1:30 pm – Come and receive ashes and prayer in the parking lot in front of the church in your car (or on foot should you choose).

Worship with Holy Communion and Imposition of Ashes – 7:00 pm

Join us for a Souper Bowl Sunday celebration of food and fellowship on Sunday, February 8, immediately following worship.

After the final “amen,” we’ll head to the fellowship hall for a winning lineup of soup, bread, and dessert. As part of our game plan, we’ll also be collecting canned goods and other donations to support those in need—because sharing is always a winning play.

Everyone is invited to come to the table, enjoy the meal, and be part of a truly souper afternoon of generosity and community. The lunch will be provided by our Sunday School families and the Education Committee.

Please sign up on the posting in the narthex or contact the church office so we can plan for a full house. We hope you’ll join us for this great team effort!

The Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Monroeville is offering a box of traditional food items for Thanksgiving.  Food boxes will include items like stuffing mix, instant mashed potatoes, canned vegetables and dessert mixes.  Anyone interested in picking up a Thanksgiving food box should contact the church office at 412-372-2934 during business hours to arrange pick-up. We are located at 4503 Old William Penn Highway, Monroeville, PA.

Boxes will be available November 24, 25, 26 from 9 am – 1pm.

Monroeville United Methodist Church (MUM) will host a FREE MARKET on November 22, 8 am-2 pm. The Neighbors Helping Neighbors Free Market will include household items, small furniture, décor, kitchenware, small kitchen appliances, toys, and more which will be free to anyone in need of these items. It will NOT include clothing or electronics (such as computers, TVs, etc.). Everything will be in good, usable condition. The MUM church is located at 219 Center Road, Monroeville, PA 15146; phone is 412-372-7474.

If you or anyone you know is in need of such items, please check out the Free Market event on November 22nd. If you have items to donate (see list above), they can be received at Monroeville United Methodist Church from November 9th through the 19th; Sunday mornings or Monday-Thursday from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Items should be left at the Church library near the back door.

Our neighbors at the Garden City Methodist Church are offering a free Thanksgiving dinner delivery to anyone who may be interested. 

Delivery Dates/Times

• Wednesday, November 26^th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm
• Thursday, November 27^th from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm

Delivery locations are Monroeville (15146) and Pitcairn (15140)

If you or someone you know is in need of a free Thanksgiving dinner, please register by calling 412-373-0391 (M-W-F 9:00 am to 1:00 pm).  Registration is required by November 14, 2025.

Volunteers needed – If you are interested in volunteering to help cook, assemble/ package meals or deliver meals, please sign up by using the following scheduling link.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C084FA4A72BA6FBCE9-59558417-thanksgiving

We are grateful to our neighbors for offering this opportunity! 

October 26, 2025 – The following message was provided to the congregation from the Congregation Council.

We updated you in September that the buyer for our property was investigating the possibility of moving the Parish House to a portion of the property that they would not be using as the possible new home for our congregation.  At this time, there is no new information on the study.  We are hoping to hear something back from them about this in the coming weeks.

The buyer for our property – a real estate developer – has presented a proposal to the Monroeville Planning Commission and Council to place a Sheetz on the property once the sale is final.  To be clear, we are selling the property to a real estate developer, not to Sheetz. The real estate developer is making the arrangements with Sheetz for the property.  The Monroeville Council has approved the proposal.  This information did make the local news and social media platforms which has raised some questions about the state of the church.  We have taken steps to refute the misinformation that the church may be closing or is closed and will continue to monitor those communications to ensure that our neighbors know that we are a viable, active congregation and plan to continue to be well into the future.  We thank any of our members who have also addressed the misinformation by speaking up and providing an accurate perspective.

Finally, our efforts to prepare for a move are well underway.  You will see that more stained-glass windows have been removed and are being preserved for possible future placement in our new home.  In addition, several of our groups such as the Altar Guild, music program and property teams have been actively reviewing, inventorying and deciding on disposition of the items in their care. While we don’t have a definitive date for a move yet, we don’t want to wait till the last minute to clean out and dispose of things that should not be moved.

The Transition Coordination Team and the Congregation Council are continuing to plan and prepare for this congregation’s future.  We appreciate your continued prayers and support!

Bob Rossetti, President                                         John Lowe, VP

Please join us in the celebration of the Protestant Reformation on Sunday, October 26^th!  It is this day that we give tribute to Martin Luther, the founder of the Lutheran Church and leader of the reformation.  It’s been over 500 years since he brought his 95 Theses to the church at Wittenburg, Germany to challenge the leaders at that time.  Through Luther’s true understanding of God’s word we have come to know with confidence that the truth of the Gospel is that salvation comes by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, through Christ alone and to the glory of God!  We are planning an exciting worship service which will include special musical offerings and messaging in thanksgiving for God’s grace!  Come and celebrate!