The Tuesday evening Bible Study group is moving their meeting time to 1:30 pm each Tuesday beginning on November 4, 2025. We are always open to new members and would welcome anyone who might like to join. The group is currently reading in the Old Testament and will be moving to 2 Kings for November.
If you are interested, please contact Leigh Pogue or feel free to just show up in the Luther Room on Tuesday, November 4th!
The following message was shared with the congregation during the worship service on September 28, 2025. Copies of this message are available in the narthex.
Greetings to all-
When we last updated the congregation, we announced that the Council authorized the company intending to buy our property to investigate, at their expense, the possibility of moving a portion of our main building from its current location to a portion of our existing land that they do not intend to use. Since that time, they have determined that the sanctuary portion of the building would not maintain structural integrity if moved, therefore, that option is not feasible. However, they have offered to investigate the feasibility of moving the Parish House to that same portion of land where they considered moving the sanctuary.
The Council met to consider this option and have agreed to authorize the buyer’s continued study into moving the Parish House as our future home. If this option were both financially and structurally feasible, it would allow us to have our own building on our own land. We understand that it would require renovation to make the space usable for worship, meetings, kitchen and fellowship. The Council would be prepared to hire an architect to design such a renovation plan including the building of an accessible, finished basement or a small addition to ensure sufficient space for our needs.
We will not know until the buyer has had sufficient time to investigate this option as to whether or not it is feasible. Until then, the Transition Coordination Team (TCT) and the Transition Workstream members will continue their work in anticipation of the closing of our church building as planned, regardless of where we end up moving the congregation. The Council and TCT are committed to keeping you informed and we welcome any feedback or questions from you. If you do have questions, please contact any of the Council members or submit your question using the “Ask the Council” forms available in the Narthex.
Bob Rossetti, Council President John Lowe, Council Vice President
As we continue to plan for the eventual closing of our church building and the future disposition of its contents, we are making available any of the plants in the garth for those with a green thumb who would like to repurpose them to their homes or other gardens. Anyone interested is invited to contact Maya Asars.
Join us on Sunday, September 7th for our annual GWOH event. The Service Committee will be hosting a service event to assemble personal care kits for Lutheran World Relief immediately after worship. The committee will provide many of the items and are looking for donations of soap (4 oz. bars – no Dove or Irish Spring, please) and toothbrushes (individually packaged are preferred) to add to the kits. Financial donations are also accepted.
The Sunday School children will also be doing a service project at the same time.
Sandwiches will be provided for anyone wishing to join. You are welcome to bring a side dish or dessert to share.
This day is an opportunity to celebrate who we are as the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America — one church, freed in Christ to serve and love our neighbor.
Service activities offer an opportunity for us to explore one of our most basic convictions as Lutherans: that all of life in Jesus Christ – every act of service, in every daily calling, in every corner of life — flows freely from a living, daring confidence in God’s grace. Help us to celebrate with Lutherans around the United States in giving back what God has first given us!
The following message from the Congregation Council was shared during the announcements at our worship service on Sunday, August 10th. At our last congregation informational meeting on Sunday, July 13, 2025, we shared with the congregation that the sale of our property was progressing as expected and that we were actively investigating two very different options for where we would be moving in the near term: 1. Lease space from a local non-ELCA church and 2. Lease space from a commercial property. Since that meeting, we have been approached by the Sampson Morris Group, the intended buyer of our property, to investigate a third option which would potentially allow us to preserve a portion of our existing church building by moving it to a portion of our existing land that they do not intend to use. Most likely that would be in the parking lot area used by Golden Triangle, the contractor that is leasing space from us today. We do not know if this is truly possible and it will take up to 6 months to get a thorough enough proposal/feasibility study from which to make an informed decision. To facilitate the feasibility study, Sampson Morris Group, has sought an additional extension on the original due diligence period from 6 months to 12 months. The feasibility study will be at Sampson Morris Group’s expense.
In simplest terms, what has changed is this:
Our original Due Diligence Period commenced on February 12, 2025, and expires on February 12, 2026. This has not changed. In the original agreement, the buyer had the option to request a 6-month extension to August 12, 2026. This did change. The buyer now has the right to opt for an extension of 1 year, expiring February 12, 2027. The buyer must provide written notice to us on or before February 12, 2026 to enable the one-year extension. This extension was agreed to so the buyer can investigate the church building move near the parking area now leased to Golden Triangle Construction Company.
Here’s what this means for us and our plans for vacating the building:
To be clear – the only thing that has changed in concrete terms is the timing of our move out and we’ve added a possible third option to where our new home may be. We don’t know yet whether this new option will be viable, but we believed that we owed it to you, our congregation, to consider it seriously while continuing to do the work of transition.
To that end, our Transition Work Stream Teams will need to carry on as outlined in the July meeting. We have some volunteers for the teams and are seeking more. The only thing that has changed is that the date when we must be out will be later than the “worst case scenario” of the original sales agreement with Sampson Morris. It is still necessary but timing is uncertain.
Your Congregation Council continues to work to find the most effective alternative for our future. We know that this will generate more questions – and while we may not have many new answers, we want to hear from you. If you have questions, please submit them using the “Ask the Council” forms that are available in the Narthex or contact the office. The Council and the Transition Team commit to informing you of any new developments.
We are excited to be joining some of our neighboring ELCA Lutheran churches for an outdoor worship service and picnic on Sunday, August 17, at 10:30 am at the Silver Beaver Pavilion at Boyce Park. This worship service will replace our regular Sunday worship here at the Good Shepherd on that day. The service will also be streamed on YouTube for those who prefer to participate remotely.
The picnic will be potluck style and everyone is invited to bring something to share. Zion Penn Hills members will provide hamburgers and hot dogs. You may also want to bring lawn chair(s) and drinks.
All are welcome for worship, food, fellowship and fun!!
Thank you to all of our members, friends and families who sat for their directory photos or submitted a photo on line! We are actively working to capture photos of all of our formal and informal groups and committees and hope to have that completed this summer. Our goal is to have all of the photos taken and ready for publication in September. If you have a group that would like to be represented and haven’t had their photo taken, please reach out to Pastor Bob. Also, we are still able to receive downloaded individual, couples or family photos for the directory. You can find the way to do that on our website.
Looking forward to completing our 2025 GSLC Photo Directory soon!
We are celebrating the accomplishments of our two high school graduates on Sunday, July 13, 2025. Please join us on Sunday for worship and a reception for Bella and Gianna!
On Sunday, June 8th at our 10:30 am worship service, we will be celebrating Pentecost; when the Holy Spirit descended like a dove and all were who heard them heard them speak in their own native language. Our worship service will take on a unique international flavor featuring readings- read in Latvian, Swedish and Spanish – read by members of our congregation! The sanctuary will be adorned in the traditional red and we will be using hymns and other musical selections that originated from nations outside of the US. We are excited about this special worship service remembering the coming of the Holy Spirit and the celebration of a new church made up of all nations! Join in this special worship service and don’t forget to wear red!
Join us for the Celebration of Women event on Saturday, May 31st from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm. This is a day to come together, celebrate and make meaningful connections. Sign-up, bring a friend, meet new ones and enjoy an afternoon of food, games, and laughter. Bring extra cash for raffle tickets and Bingo cards!
Tickets are available now through Sunday, May 25th. The luncheon will be catered so we appreciate having tickets purchased in advance to be sure that we have lunch for all. Tickets can be purchased after Sunday worship in the Narthex or in the church office during weekday business hours. This year, we are supporting Genesis of Pittsburgh – a social service agency dedicated to offering life-affirming programs and services for pregnant women, children and adoptive families. A list of requested donations will be posted in the Narthex.
Tickets: Adults $15.00; Children (under 10) $7.00
Doors Open at 11:30 am, Lunch begins at noon.