Parish Events and News

The church council meetings for the summer months are as follows:

June – Tuesday, June 9 – 6:30  pm
July – Monday, July 13, Joint Council meeting at Penn-Zion’s beginning at 6:30 pm
August – Tuesday, August 11th – 12:30 pm

As these are open meetings, members of the congregation are invited to attend if they so desired.

 

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.  Sessions continue through the summer months.  You DO NOT need to be a Bible scholar to attend.  Questions are always welcome.  Please join us.

 

We invite all our children, teachers and school personnel to join us for a special blessing on Sunday, August 23rd.  As we pray for the next year of school, let us give thanks for our teachers, staff, and bus drivers, as they prepare for the year.  May our students learn and grow and develop a joy for learning.

BLESSING OF THE ANIMALS

On Wednesday, June 24th at 7:00 PM, our worship service at Zion’s will include the Blessing of the Animals.  Our pets are part of our family and creatures created by God.  This is a special service where we can give thanks for them.  Animals must be on leashes or in pet carriers.

 

During these summer months we are not having weekly Learn & Grow.  Instead, we are going to offer one evening each month where we will have a meal together, learn Bible lessons and other activities.  These are open for children 3 years through 5th grade.  Registration is not required but is helpful in preparing for the number of children.  If your child has a food allergy, please let Gwen know so we can be prepared.  The dates are Wednesdays June 17th, July 8th, and August 12th   from 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM at Penn-Zion’s.  If your child hasn’t been able to attend our weekly program, this is a nice opportunity to sample some of the activities.  Any questions or if interested in helping out, please contact Gwen at (724) 882-4749.

 DAY-LONG STUDY OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

With our United States of America celebrating its 250th Anniversary here in 2026, you are encouraged to sign up now to attend a day-long seminar on the United States Constitution.  Last summer, Pastor Steiner took a series of classes which certified him through Hillsdale College to teach an 8-hour class on the United States Constitution for Law Enforcement personnel and other groups.  In this class, the entirety of the “Declaration of Independence” and the “United States Constitution” will be read with commentary and historical context provided by Pastor Steiner.  In today’s United States of America when everyone is quoting the Constitution in support of or in protest against various issues, it behooves us as citizens to not only have read the Constitution in its entirety, but to understand the underlying historical context under which it was written and why it is framed the way it is.  You may be surprised at what you learn in our time together.

This “Class/Seminar” will begin at 9:00 AM on Thursday, August 20th and end by 4:30 PM.  Lunch and other refreshments will be served.  We will meet at Brush Creek in the newly updated Choir/Social Room for comfort and convenience.  You are asked to sign up by Sunday, August 2nd so teaching materials can be ordered on time.  Friends and others from outside our Cooperative Ministry are invited, although we will limit the class size to the first 25 who sign up. If we run out of room for this class, there will be another opportunity provided at another time to be determined.  Please direct any questions to Pastor Steiner.

 

LUTHERLYN AND CAMP AGAPE

• Our synod is blessed with two church camps with varied programs and activities.  Over the years, Camp Agape’ and Lutherlyn have played vital roles in the faith formation of many children and adults.  Many pastors in the life of the church, and particularly our synod, attended church camp as their first step toward growing in faith and ministry.  Both camps provide nurturing experiences in the great outdoors/creation for people to grow in their relationship with God.  With the summer season fast approaching, now is the time to plan ahead for your children/youth to spend a week at camp.  Both congregations of our Cooperative Ministry stand ready to help with the cost of camp.  And in fact, there are other resources available to help with costs for those who have need.  The commitment of our synod and its camps is that no child is to miss camp due to finances.  You are encouraged to send your child to camp.  Please speak with Pastor Steiner if you have any questions.  Brochures are now/or will soon be available, or you may visit these camps online.

 

ANNUAL SYNOD ASSEMBLY

The Annual Synod Assembly for the Southwestern PA Synod will be held with all voting members representing their congregations gathering at PennWest California University, Friday, June 12th through to Saturday afternoon, June 14th.

We need a couple of volunteers from each of our congregations to represent us at this important annual meeting.  If interested, please speak with Pastor Steiner ASAP as we need to get all registrations in soon. This is a good opportunity to see and experience how the wider church operates.

A Penn-Zion’s Brush Creek Lutheran Co-operative Ministry Event

Take me out to the ball game!

A trip to see the Pittsburgh Pirates play the Boston Red Sox is planned for Friday, August 14, 2026.  The cost per person is $34.00 which includes a $5.00 concession credit.

A 40 passenger bus has been reserved for the evening for those who do not wish to drive.  Pickup is at 5:00 p.m. at Brush Creek with drop off at 11:00 p.m.

Tickets must be reserved and paid for by Sunday, June 14th.

A sign-up sheet is posted in the narthex.

Make checks payable to Penn-Zion’s Lutheran Church.

More tickets can be ordered if needed, but not guaranteed to be in the same area as the original 30.

Gwen.

 

Brush Creek Lutheran Church Annual Strawberry Festival

Our annual Strawberry Festival will be held on Thursday, June 11 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  This year’s menu will include a sandwich, strawberry shortcake and a drink.  The evening will provide an opportunity for not only delicious food by also Christian fellowship.  Sign-up sheets are posted in the narthex.  A free will offering will be accepted.  We look forward to seeing you there.

A sheet is also posted in the narthex for those willing to bake an angel food cake for this event,.

We are pleased to announce that the Sweet Adelines will provide entertainment throughout the evening.  Thanks to Diane Brant for making this happen.

 

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

Helping Hands will meet on Saturday, May 2nd from 10AM-11AM at Brush Creek.  We will organize and prepare items, make kits for delivering or mailing to various nonprofits we are connected with.  This is an activity that may be completed by children and adults.  It can be a fun intergenerational or family opportunity to serve together.  If you have any questions, please contact Gwen at (724) 882-4749

PROJECT HOPE

The May Project Hope is Welcome Summer kit items.  We are collecting NEW, sidewalk chalk, bubbles, sunglasses and flip-flops, or any items related to outdoor play.  These items will be provided to summer programs supporting children in our communities.  Any questions, please follow up with Gwen.

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.