Parish Events and News

 

 

 

CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING

Brush Creek Church Council will meet on Monday, February 2nd at 12:30 PM for its regular business meeting.   The next meeting will be Tuesday, March 10th @ 6:30 PM.

                                                    WOMEN OF BRUSH CREEK

All women are invited to attend a “Galentine Lunch” at Persichetti’s, Jeannette, on Wednesday, February 11. Please arrive at 11:30 am.  A sign up sheet is posted in the narthex.

SOUPER BOWL SUNDAY – FEBRUARY 8, 2026

We are again participating in Souper Bowl Sunday this year as part of the Annual Tackle Hunger Event held on Super Bowl Sunday.  We will be collecting cans of soup which will be donated to Tom’s Turkeys and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church’s Food Pantry, East Pittsburgh.  The children will again create a sculpture out of the soup cans.  Last year following the ingathering, they created a soup can couch, (which they sat on) and a soup can television, with remote to watch the Super Bowl Game.  The more cans of soup, the more creative they can be and most importantly the more people we can reach!  If you have any questions, please follow up with Gwen.

LENT BEGINS IN FEBRUARY

According to our church year calendar, the season of Lent begins on Ash Wednesday, February 18th.  A service with the Imposition of Ashes will be held at Brush Creek on February 18th at 11 AM, and then in the evening at 7:00 PM at Penn Zion’s.  This morning and evening worship schedule will then be followed throughout the season of Lent focusing on a penitential theme yet to be determined.  Please mark your calendars now to attend these weekly offerings of reflection and worship.

                                                        MENS BREAKFAST

On Saturday, February 14th from 8:00 – 9:30 AM, we will meet at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Irwin, topic to be determined.  On Saturday, March 14th, we will meet at Penn-Zion’s with Pastor Scott Bryte (a seminary classmate of Pastor Steiner) as our guest presenter.  You won’t want to miss what he has to share.  Please sign up for our breakfasts so we know how many to provide for.

SOCIAL MINISTRY & OUTREACH UPDATES

There are a lot of opportunities listed in the upcoming months.  Please do not feel like you need to do everything.  We hope, though, that you will find something of interest and daily pray for this ministry. If you have any questions or suggestions for Project Hope and opportunities, reach out to Gwen Steiner at 724-882-4749.

HELPING HANDS

On Saturday, March 7th from 10 AM to 11 AM we will be meeting at Brush Creek to assemble kits and prepare in-gatherings and donations for distributing to our neighbors both near and far.  This opportunity is designed to be intergenerational with opportunities for children through adults.  If you have any questions, please let Gwen Steiner know at 724-882-4749.  Helping Hands will be meeting on a quarterly basis.

STITCHES OF HOPE

A HUGE Thank-You for the Scent Hearts that have been made for the organization Project Sweet Peas.  These hearts will be distributed to NICUs throughout the US!  We are back to knitting and crocheting hats for babies and children.  These hats will be distributed through several of the organizations we connect with who work with children throughout the world.  Any questions, please contact Gwen.

PROJECT HOPE

February Project Hope is collecting NEW children’s underwear, coloring books and crayons for A Child’s Place, PA, a non-profit Child Advocacy Center.  This organization coordinates services to protect children from abuse and neglect, provides forensic interviews, family advocacy, and mental health. This organization is headquartered at Mercy Medical Center with satellite offices throughout Western PA, including Westmoreland County.

March Project Hope is collecting items to make “4 Piece Hygiene Care Kits” for Operation Gratitude.  Operation Gratitude supports active-duty military personnel by sending various kits and support items.  Each kit focuses on oral hygiene.  We are collecting :  Breath mints or breath strips (i.e. Altoids, roll of mint Lifesavers, or Listerine breath strips), Lip balm (sealed only), Dental floss, and Travel-size mouthwash.

FAIR TRADE COFFEE AVAILABLE

We have some coffee available for sale to support fair trade farmers through Equal Exchange.  At this time, these are the only flavors we have on hand.  Please see Gwen with any questions or to purchase.

Breakfast Blend (9 oz)-$6.48   A medium roast w/tasting notes of vanilla, milk chocolate & citrus

Decaf (12 oz)-$9.22  A full city roast w/ tasting notes of sweet brown sugar and golden raisin

Hazelnut Crème (12 oz)-$8.55  A medium roast

Love Buzz (10 oz) -$8.32 A dark roast w/notes of molasses, toasted marshmallow and walnut

Mind, Body & Soul (12 oz)-$8.32 Mix of light & dark roast w/notes milk chocolate, vanilla & nutty

EASTER EGG HUNT

All children are invited to our annual Easter Egg Hunt.  This year’s event will be held at the playground in Penn on Saturday, April 4th  beginning at 1:00 PM.  A very special thank you to Suzanne Dreistadt and family, and all their helpers who are planning this special event!  The children look forward to our “hunt” each year.  If you are interested in helping, donating, or contributing to the Easter Egg Hunt, please contact Suzanne Dreistadt at 724-600-6493.

FRIDAY MORNING BIBLE STUDY

Faith, fellowship, and some fun happens around the Word of God on Friday mornings at Penn-Zion’s @ 10:30 AM.  Members of both congregations are invited and encouraged to attend.  Our current focus is working through Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians.  You DO NOT need to be a Bible scholar to attend. Questions are always welcome.  Please join us.

HURRICANE HELENE WORK TRIP TO NORTH CAROLINA IN MAY

The Southwestern PA Synod Lutheran Disaster Response Team is sponsoring a work trip to North Carolina for Hurricane Helene relief from May 3 – 9, 2026.  This trip is open for adults (18 and over) with a per person cost of $200.00.  We currently plan to stay at Lutheridge Camp & Conference Center in North Carolina with work details given to us through Lutheran Disaster Response.  People with carpentry or construction skills/knowledge are encouraged to consider being a part of our work crew to help those who are less knowledgeable.  We will be doing our own cooking while there.  Travel arrangements and possible expense reimbursements will be discussed closer to our time of travel and/or at our first planning meeting as a group.

If interested in joining this mission work of our synod to help neighbors in need, please register through the synod website with a $100.00 deposit BY THE END OF FEBRUARY.  The link to register is:  https://www.swpasynod.org/calendar/ldr2026.  Pastor Roger Steiner is coordinating our registration process.  He can be reached at 412-913-9391 for questions.  You are encouraged to seek financial and prayer support from your congregation or cluster of congregations to help defray costs for yourself or for supporting the entire group that is going.

USHERS AND COMMUNION ASSISTANTS

With our return to our formal communion practice we are in need of both ushers and communion assistants.  Please contact Rich Siniawski if you would like to volunteer as an usher .

 

 

CHURCH LIBRARY

Just a reminder to stop by the church library to check out our selection of books for both young and old.  We are certain there are books for all to enjoy!

THRIVENT ACTION TEAMS

All Thrivent members are encouraged to use the Thrivent Action Team Grants available to them through Thrivent as a way to give back to our church and our community. Each Thrivent member is entitled to two $250 grants per year to support an activity or mission project. This equals several thousand dollars of Action Team grants available through the number of Thrivent members we have within our parish. Let us be good stewards by not letting this money pass us by…see or contact Gwen Steiner if you would like suggestions of possible programs you can support through these grants and Project Hope or application support.