Pick up your FREE Advent Wreath Kit in Fellowship Hall-one per household- available beginning Sunday, November 28th.
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). Please send a photo so we can share your creation with others!
Yes, It is time to order poinsettias for Christmas! Order forms are available in the narthex and in the church office. All orders must be turned in by Sunday, December 5, 2021. Orders with payments can be put in the offering plate, mailbox, or dropped off in the office. We have narrowed down the choice this year to red or white poinsettias, 8 inch, 3 stem for $16. Please call the church office, 412-372-2934, if you need access to the building to get an order form. This tradition is always a beautiful addition to the sanctuary.
Please join us as we honor the saints of The Good Shepherd who have passed away this year, as well as the saints in your own life whose faithful witness has brought you this far. We’ll light candles, toll a bell, and say a prayer of thanksgiving during our Sunday worship service. If you can’t join us in person, our livestream is available at any time.
We thank God for the beloved saints of our congregation!
Air filtration has become an important tool in fighting the spread of Covid-19. The disease is spread by aerosolized particles that can linger in the air for some time before settling. Masks help prevent the particles from entering the air we share with others – air filters are a good way of dealing with the viral material that finds its way into the air despite our best efforts.
Unfortunately, commercial air filters are expensive. It’s easy to spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on portable ones.
Thankfully, creative scientists and DIY types have developed the Corsi/Rosenthal box (named for its co-creators). This cube-shaped contraption can be built in about 20 minutes and costs around $100, but performs as well as a unit costing five times as much. Corsi/Rosenthal boxes are being deployed in schools and offices around the country as colder weather drives people inside.
We have installed two Corsi/Rosenthal boxes in our sanctuary to help keep our air free of viruses and allergens. Another has been installed in the office.
As part of our effort to make our building safer for staff and guests, we’ve installed three Corsi/Rosenthal boxes around the building. They’re an extra layer of defense as we spend more time indoors.
Please don’t touch or move the boxes unless you’ve checked first! They need to be handled with care, since virus particles will collect in the air filters that make up the four sides of the cubes. If you touch the filters, please wash your hands thoroughly right away, just to be safe.
And if you’re asked to move one of the boxes, please hold it by the plastic fan, and go slowly, so as not to shake any virus particles loose from the filters as you go.
We’re grateful that God has blessed us with such creative and resourceful neighbors with the ability to invent such a useful device!
If you’d like to learn more about our Corsi/Rosenthal boxes or how to build one yourself, Pastor Bob would love to lend a hand.
We are delighted to receive Carol Brumback into membership. Carol and her family were members almost back to the founding of the congregation. After a few moves in her adult life, Carol has come back home to The Good Shepherd. Welcome!
It’s November in PA – the nights are getting longer, the days are getting chillier and the leaves are turning colors and decorating our lawns. With the change in weather, we say goodbye to Worship at the Gazebo for the cold months, and have moved indoors.
Because Covid-19 has stubbornly plateaued at a high level in Allegheny County this fall, we still are taking measures to make indoor worship as safe as possible:
Vaccinations are not required, but are strongly encouraged for everyone eligible. The pastor and worship leaders are fully vaccinated.
Masks are required in the building. During worship the pastor and worship leaders may remove their masks to help with hearing, but will continue to wear masks when in close contact with worshipers.
Distancing should be practiced – the pews are marked, and we ask you to give others space as you move through the building, particularly during communion.
Ventilation will be increased by opening windows. We’ll do our best to make the sanctuary comfortable, but you may want to wear an extra layer or adjust your preferred seating based on the airflow.
Filtration has been added to the sanctuary that can remove about 90% of covid-containing particles from the air, once or twice per hour.
Livestreaming will continue to be offered for anyone who prefers to join us online.
As we look toward the winter, we are optimistically planning for an in-person Christmas. The worship committee is working on a plan to hold multiple services on Christmas Eve to allow for an appropriate number of people in the sanctuary.
Covid has thrown us many curveballs before, so nothing’s for sure, but we’re hopeful that we can gather in safety and joy this year.
Keep your eyes on this space for more information as we get closer to Christmas.
Don’t forget to set your clocks back an hour before you go to bed Saturday night! Daylight Saving Time ends at 2:00 am Sunday, Nov. 7. Enjoy your extra hour of sleep. 😊
Have you missed reading your copy of Living Lutheran, the magazine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)? Well, miss no more! There are copies of Living Lutheran dating back to March of 2020 available in the narthex. Just call the church office to make sure the secretary is in or just let yourself in! Copies can be found on the bookshelf under the coat rack. Please help yourself!!
Angel Tree– We anticipate receiving 25 names for the Angel Tree within the next few weeks. If you take a child’s name, remember to sign the sheet that corresponds with the number on the bell. Gifts are due back to the church by December 10. If you are purchasing a gift card, Pastor John suggested Target gift cards. If you would like to help but don’t want to go shopping, you can make a donation and we will do the shopping for you. Put your donation in a green envelope labeled “Service Committee/Angel Tree”. Unused donations will be put toward the men’s shelter for their “needs” list which includes essentials like socks, underwear, personal hygiene supplies, etc.
Harvest Sunday-Harvest Sunday will look a little different this year. We will collect food items, cleaning supplies, baby food, diapers, wipes and formula. Since the Good Shepherd Food Pantry is well stocked (thanks to Donna and the synod grant), we will take items that we need and donate the rest to the local food banks. Food collection is always on-going but this special collection will run from November 14-December 12.
Homebound Member Gift Bags-We plan to make small gift bags for our homebound members, but please remember them and send a card as the holidays approach, even if it is just some of the people you have not seen at church for a while.
Our Financial Secretary, Steve Smith, provides monthly reports to the Congregation Council – contents of which are available through financial reports made available in the church hallway and hard copies of the Council Meeting minutes. In addition, we are providing this same information here on the website. The spreadsheet below provides the actual financial information so far this year. Prior years’ information was available in the Annual Report that you would have received in January.
September 2021
Year to Date
Total Contributions and Income for Budgeted Items
$8,355
$90,207
Expenses
($17,214)
($133,631)
ActualSurplus/Deficit
($8,859)
$(69,761)
Transfer from Keeping God’s House
$1,826
$19,129
Adjusted Surplus/Deficit
($7,033)
($43,424)
Overall, the financial situation continues to present challenges for the Council and the congregation. The year-to-date deficit continues to grow. Contributions for budgeted items remains insufficient to cover expenses. The church has benefited from the use of the federal PPP Loan/Grant received in 2021 along with lower than normal expenditures from Committees such as Worship, Education, Witness and Service. One other positive is that contributions to Keeping God’s House have remained strong and have served to offset some expenses. Despite those favorable items, the year-to-date adjusted deficit sits at $43,424. Council is continuing to work through the Centennial Plan agreed by the congregation and prays for continued blessings as opportunities become available.
