The View August 2019 Page 1

A NEWSLETTER FROM ST. MATTHIAS LUTHERAN CHURCH

Visit us on the web at www.stmatthiasgreensburg.org

Volume XLII Issue XXXXIII August 2019

Rally Day – Sunday, September 8

th

Please note that Rally Day will be on Sunday, September 8

th, and

will include Sunday School at 9am. Beginning on Rally Day,

our Sunday morning worship will change to 10:15am. We’ll also be having our annual church picnic after worship. All are welcome. We’ll look forward to seeing you there!

St. Matthias Fall Cleanup Day

Saturday, September 7th

Our church's Fall Cleanup Day has been scheduled for Saturday, September 7

th, from 9am - 12

noon. Any available men, women, and children are welcomed and encouraged to come along and help us with cleaning, repairing, and beautifying God's house as we prepare for Rally Day. Please feel free to bring along work gloves and any tools that you may have that could be helpful in our work. We'll look forward to seeing you there!

August 18th

- Blessing of Teachers

and Students (and Backpacks!)

Believe it or not, our kids will be returning to school soon! With that in mind, we invite our youth to bring their school backpacks with them to worship on August 18

th,

as Pastor Paul will share a special prayer and blessing for our school-age youth and their new teachers. We'll look forward to seeing you!

In just a few weeks, our

youth will be heading back

to school, and on the

weekend of August 18,

we’ll be having our annual

“Blessing of Teachers and Students” during worship.

During my senior year of high school, my Physics

teacher, Mr. Mahoney, passed away unexpectedly of

a heart attack over a weekend. The following

Monday, my English teacher, Mrs. Graebner, gently

spoke to our entire senior class (we only had 88

students!) about her colleague. She said to us, “It’s

wonderful to hear everyone saying so many

wonderful things about Mr. Mahoney, and how much

they’ll miss him. Too often, we wait until someone

has died before we say those things. I urge you to

tell others how you feel about them, and everything

you think is wonderful about them… now, while

they’re still with us.”

What a gentle and wonderful lesson Mrs. Graebner

was teaching us. I, too, often hear so many loving

and kind words spoken at the funeral home, and I

wonder if the person who has died has ever heard

them. Don’t wait until someone has died to tell them

how much you love them, and all of the wonderful

things about them. Tell them now, today, in person.

And when you do, you’ll be sharing God’s love with

them, and you’ll be letting them know that they are

loved, in spite of their sins and flaws, just the way

they are. What a wonderful gift to give one another,

and what a wonderful way to remind one another that

God loves us more than we can possibly imagine.

And God calls us to love one another in the same

way. Thanks be to God!

In Christ,

Pastor Paul

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2020 Budget Requests due

All 2020 budget requests are due by Sunday, September 1st. If you have any items that you'd like to be included in the 2020 budget, please pass them along to the Finance committee or to Eliot Moore, our Financial Secretary. Feel free to contact Eliot or Pastor Paul with any questions.

CPR Classes at St. Matthias

CPR classes at St. Matthias are planned for : Aug 1

st & 2

nd 7:30am-6:00pm (full days)

Aug 29th 6:00pm-8:30pm

Sept 21st 9:30am-12:00pm

Harvest Table The Harvest Table has been a

St. Matthias tradition for over 10 years. It is a cross between a

farmer’s market and a flea market. Stop by each week throughout the summer to see what garden related items,

crafts, or other treasures are available. Remember, your free will offering will benefit

the Westmoreland County Food Bank. Please sign-up to be a Harvest Table

Attendant for a Sunday. Sheets are on the clip boards in the Narthex

Stamp Camp On the 3

rd and 4

th Monday of each month, Kim

Peles is leading a fellowship group at St. Matthias called “Stamp Camp”. All are welcome for fellowship and to make personalized greeting cards together, which you can use to share God’s love with others. There’s a nominal fee to cover the cost of supplies. There are 2 sessions on the 3rd Monday, one beginning at 10am, and the other beginning at 6pm. On the 4th Monday there is only one session at 6pm. Please feel free to contact Kim at (724) 875-0049 for more information.

As a result of an unsettling

incident that occurred recently

before a Saturday night

service, Church Council held a

discussion concerning the

securing of the building during

worship service.

As you know, the front doors remain unlocked during

the service. Given the situation during the Saturday

night service and numerous incidents that have

occurred at places of worship across the nation,

Council felt that we needed to find a way to add an

extra layer of security for parishioners while

maintaining an open and welcoming environment for

all who wish to worship with us.

After much discussion and prayerful deliberation,

Church Council decided that the front doors should be

locked at the beginning of the worship service. A

doorbell system has been purchased which will

replace the current bell. During the week an alert will

sound in Amy’s office and Pastor’s office for those

who wish to enter. During worship service one

person in the congregation will have a device that will

vibrate when the bell is rung and will then go to the

front door to welcome late comers to worship. A sign

will be posted at the front door stating “Welcome to

St. Matthias. Please ring the doorbell and someone

will come to greet you”. As a council we feel that

this helps to provide a safe environment for everyone,

but especially for those who need to leave the

sanctuary during the service, such as our elderly and

our children. These procedures will be put into place

beginning on August 1, 2019.

While we realize that no one is in favor of locking

church doors, we live in a time when places of

worship can no longer be considered unaffected by

the actions of those who wish to do harm. Church

Council feels that this is an acceptable solution to

providing a safe environment while maintaining an

open and welcoming presence in our community.

Respectfully submitted,

Church Council

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C h u r c h C o u n c i I H i g h l i g h t s

Voting Council members Sharon Marks, Andrew Harrold, Wayne Himler, Sally Brier, Norb Georges, and Pastor Paul were in

attendance. None were absent. Also in attendance was our Treasurer, Eldora Crist, and our Financial Secretary, Eliot Moore.

Devotions were read by Sally Brier at 7:01pm. The meeting was called to order at 7:05pm. The agenda was reviewed, and under

“concerns”, the item “church phone” was added. Andrew Harrold made a motion to approve the agenda, as amended. Motion

seconded by Sally Brier. Motion carried. The minutes from the June 10 Council meeting were reviewed. Norb Georges made a

motion to approve the minutes, as presented. Motion seconded by Wayne Himler. Motion carried. Eldora Crist, Treasurer, presented

the Treasurer’s report. Sally Brier made a motion to approve the Treasurer’s report. Motion seconded by Norb Georges. Motion

carried. Pastor Paul presented his report for June. His verbal report included presiding at the funeral for non-member Penelope Mock

at Mason-Gelder Funeral Home, presiding at the Blessing of the Animals worship service on the front lawn of St. Matthias on June

19, and nursing home visits with Lillian Reno and Virginia Turner. He also served as the chairperson for the elections committee at

this year’s SWPA Synod Assembly at California University of PA from June 12-15.

Concerns: Church office copier: Last month, our office secretary Amy brought to our attention that the church office copier is

becoming unreliable, and that we may need to replace it, since it’s 10 years old. Council has asked John and Tina Weimer to

investigate possible options for the timing and cost of replacement. Worship Time: A few people approached Pastor Paul and Sharon

Marks regarding the Sunday morning worship time at St. Matthias. Council members will proactively talk with other parishioners to

see if they have the same concern, and report their findings at next month’s meeting. Church Telephone: Around July 2, our office

secretary Amy reported that the church’s land phone line wasn’t working. Callers were receiving a busy signal, even though all the

church phones were hung up properly. John and Tina Weimer verified that it was an issue with the Verizon telephone lines, and

Verizon indicated that it would take several days for the issue to be fixed. Since our contract with Verizon is completing in October,

John and Tina Weimer offered to look into Comcast as a possible better alternative. Council appreciates John and Tina’s willingness

to research this issue.

** Committee Reports **

Worship and Music: The committee met on Apr il 2nd to plan for the seasons of Easter and Pentecost (through the summer).

Chuck Vita began serving as our Organist and Choir Director on June 2, and has been doing a wonderful job. Madison Sano provided

a wonderful treat for our fathers on Father’s Day weekend. We celebrated the baptism of Anthony James Blankenship on July 7. The

committee will meet on July 10 to plan for the fall season (from Rally Day through the beginning of Advent).

Christian Education and Youth: Our Vacation Bible School program was postponed due to low registrations. We’re working

on choosing dates for later this summer to see if we can have a better turnout. Once decided, this will be posted on our website and

announced during worship services.

Fellowship: On July 7, Lindsay Gruesu provided pastr ies and the church provided coffee so that she could offer her thanks to

the congregation for the many years of love and support they’ve offered her.

Evangelism and Social Ministry: Items have been placed on the harvest table. The Evangelism committee is planning on

offering a workshop on the ideas they learned at their May 11 Evangelism event.

Property: J im Frye painted the front doors of the church, and they look wonder ful. The committee met br iefly to choose a

vendor to seal the parking lot later this summer.

Ad Hoc Committees: Women of the ELCA: The committee will meet on July 11, Community Garden: The garden is thr iving,

and harvested plants will be donated to the Westmoreland County Food Bank, Doorbell Procedures: See old business for an update.

** Old Business **

1. Delivery of semi-annual Financial Statements at end of June

The semi-annual financial statements were printed and placed on the table in the narthex for the weekend of July 7 th.

2. 2020 budget requests

2020 budget requests should be submitted to the Finance Committee (and to our Financial Secretary, Eliot Moore), by the end of

August, since the Finance Committee will be prepar ing the 2020 budget in the month of September , and presenting the

proposed budget to Council at the October Council meeting, and to the congregation at our Annual Meeting, Part 1, in November. All

committee liaisons should pass this information along to their committees and see if they have any additions, changes, or subtractions

for their 2020 budget.

3. Doorbell procedures review

An article for the August newsletter has been prepared, which will announce the purpose of these new procedures. We’ll also be

making verbal announcements in July during our Saturday evening and Sunday morning worship services, and begin implementation

of the procedures on August 1. The newsletter article was reviewed by Council and a few small updates were made.

** New Business– None **

The August calendar and Worship Assistants were reviewed, and no updates were necessary. The next Council meeting will be on

Monday, August 12, at 7pm. The deadline for the August newsletter is July 8. Norb Georges volunteered to lead devotions at the

August Council meeting. Andrew Harrold made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Wayne Himler . Motion

carried. Meeting adjourned at 8:05pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Pastor Paul Gruesu

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LUTHERAN MARRIAGE ENCOUNTER COMING TO CRANBERRY Lutheran Marriage Encounter is coming to Hyatt Place Cranberry/Pittsburgh on October 11-13. Don't miss your opportunity to enrich your marital relationship at this lovely, convenient location! Remember that because we are celebrating 50 years of Worldwide Marriage Encounter, we are offering 50% off on all reg-istration fees for 2019, so the registration fee is $50 instead of $100. Whether your marriage is practically perfect or if you have some struggles, couples overwhelmingly report that the Weekend is the best thing they have ever done for their relationship! (We are also taking reservations for our November 1-3, 2019, at Hampton Inn Berkshires in Lenox, Massachusetts.) Please go to the website: www.GodLovesMarriage.org to see the cost for the Weekend of your choice. Two nights lodging, 5 meals for each of you, and all sup-plies are included. Financial assistance is available for those in need. Fill out and submit the form, and complete your registration with a credit card, or you may choose the option to mail a check. For ques-tions, please contact Northeast US Directors of Lutheran Marriage Encounter, Fred & Julie Schamber, at 724-325-3166 or fjschamber@comcast.net.

Remember The Lily Project. This is “going home” clothing for patients undergoing forensic

examination at Excela Hospital in Latrobe, Mount Pleasant and Greensburg. This is new cloth-

ing in unisex styles in medium. The items of clothing are hooded sweatshirts, hooded sweat-

ers-loose with buttoned or zipper front; sweat pants or regular pants- loose with elastic waist ,

under pants and socks. No bright colors. When the sales go on, please look for an outfit or

pieces. We need men’s clothing too.

Lessons from Esther

Join the Women from Cluster 4 for our summer Bible Study. It is down at Zion’s Lutheran

Church in Greensburg. Session 3 -August 21. All are welcome. Br ing your Bible. We

will examine how we, like Esther, can find and use our voices to stand up for those in need.

August 8 will be our regular meeting in the

fellowship hall. Our hostesses will

be Lorraine Howell & Evelyn Malinish.

Women of the ELCA, SWPA new officers are

President-Jennifer Schaefer, Vice-President-

Jeanne Christensen and Treasurer is Donna

Petrell.

September 13-15—Fall Retreat at Camp

Lutherlyn. This will be a fun packed weekend with Bible Study, Worship, Workshops and

more based on the theme “Praise, Pray and Play.” Our Bible Study Leader will be Rev. Susan

Irons.

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Prayer List Steve Ritt— Friend of Pastor Paul Greg Ferrier— Member Phil Nowakowski— Friend of Nancy Ferrier Mariam Bowman— Keith Bowman’s Cousin Mary Ann Fresco— Friend of Arlene Wohlin

Tom Gehredes— Friend of Nancy Ferrier Darlene Markazene– friend of Mary Lou Wolff Bruce Dalena— Darla Dalena’s Son Pete Winslow— Sharon Mark’s Friend Karen Biest — Arlene Wohlin’s Friend’s Daughter Izak—Friend of Valetta’s Grandson Ed Ferrier— Bob Ferrier’s Brother Ron Bowman—Keith Bowman Brother Jeanie Bowman—Keith Bowman Niece Evelyn Malinish— Member Judy Himler—Wayne Himler’s Sister in Law Rita Miller— Doris McDonnell’s Sister in Law Ray Bowman— Keith Bowman’s Brother Jim Bartolomucci— Member Dave Santavy & Family— Member Pastor Fred Heitzenroder– Member Kate & Baby Annabelle— friend of Norb & Vicki Georges Helen Holleran — Vicki Georges’ In Law Don Ohr — Member Virginia Turner —Member

Bob Marks — Member

Barry Santavy — Member Ted Wohlin — Arlene Wohlin’s Husband Names will remain on the list for three (3) months after which they will be removed unless the request is renewed with the church office. To contact the prayer chain, please call: Joan Wilson at (724) 836-3055 PRAYING is the first of our Faith Practices Medallions...and is lifted up in this way so that all may remember these folks who are in some way related to St. Matthias Lutheran Church. We appreciate this opportunity to inform you of an active ministry going on throughout our congregation on a daily basis. Remember these brothers and sisters in Christ in your prayers.

Teresa Frye August 3 Virginia Bowman August 4 John Wohlin August 5 Amber Dudash August 12 Barbara Hoffman August 17 Meredith Schmadel August 18 Maryann Himler August 20 Adam Harrold August 21 Robert Wolff August 22 Donald Kauffman August 23 Fred Oestreicher August 30

Amber & Kevin Organiscak August 9 Joseph & Bernice Gruesu August 15 John & Tina Weimer August 16 Richard & Kristin Paullet August 20

Faith Works Envelopes Faith Works envelopes are on the back pew in the sanctuary. Please use these envelopes to support any of the following ministries:

Bethesda Children’s Home Camp Agape Camp Lutherlyn Gettysburg Seminary Glade Run Lutheran Services Lutheran Campus Ministry in Oakland Lutheran Senior Life Lutheran Service Society Synod Mission Support Thiel College Check off which agency you wish to contribute to and place the envelope with your donation in the offering plate. Please remember to indicate your envelope number.

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Cleaning Committee In an effort to conserve our financial resources, our congregation has started cleaning the church with the

help of our own members. So far, we have enough members to cover nine weeks. We certainly would appreciate more volunteers. It actually isn’t very hard work. We have a list of what needs done and all the supplies to do the cleaning are in the janitor’s room. Anyone willing to help out, please contact Pastor Paul or the church office! Thank you!

Cleaning Dates: July—week of: 28-August 2– Valetta, Mary Lou & Bob Wolff August—week of: 4-9– Valetta, Gayle & Bob Kunko 11-16– Valetta, Dana, Bernice& Lindsay Gruesu 18-23– Valetta, Sharon & Bob Marks, and Doris McDonnell 25-30– Valetta, Andrew & Shawn Harrold September—week of: 1-6--Valetta, Alycefaye Stewart, Joe Welling & Arleen Hawk 8-13-Valetta, Jeff, Jennifer and Madison Sano 15-20-Valetta, Fred & Bobbie Oestreicher 22-27-Valetta, Mary Lou & Bob Wolff 29-Oct 4-Valetta, Gayle & Bob Kunko October—week of: 6-11-Valetta, Dana, Bernice, & Lindsay Gruesu 13-18-Valetta, Sharon & Bob Marks and Doris McDonnell 20-25-Valetta, Andrew & Shawn Harrold 27-Nov 1-Valetta, Alycefaye Stewart, Joe Welling & Arleen Hawk November—week of: 3-8-Valetta, Jeff, Jennifer and Madison Sano 10-15-Valetta, Fred & Bobbie Oestreicher 17-22-Valetta, Mary Lou & Bob Wolff 24-29-Valetta, Gayle & Bob Kunko December—week of: 1-6-Valetta, Dana, Bernice & Lindsay Gruesu 8-13-Valetta, Sharon & Bob Marks, & Doris McDonnell 15-20-Valetta, Andrew & Shawn Harrold 22-27-Valetta, Alycefaye Stewart, Joe Welling & Arleen Hawk 29-Jan 3-Valetta, Jeff, Jennifer & Madison Sano

The 2019 Mowing Schedule The following is the mowing schedule for the 2019 season. On the dates that your as-signed, we ask that you try to mow toward the end of the week, if possible, so that the yard is mowed for the weekend. Feel free to switch with someone if you have a scheduling con-flict. If you have any questions or problems, please contact the church office at 724-834-2457 or any member of the Property Commit-tee. If you need fuel, fill the red 5 gallon con-tainer, and give the receipt to Eldora Crist for reimbursement. If you cannot mow on your week due to weather conditions, please make arrangements to help the next scheduled per-son the following week. Thank you for serving God in this important ministry.

The Property Committee Dates listed are Monday through Sunday Week of: July 22-Aug 4— Bob Wolff Aug 5– Aug 11— Norb Georges Aug 12-Aug 18—Brian Hixon Aug 19-Aug 25— Fred Oestreicher Aug 26-Sept 1— Ray Wasilowski Sept 2– Sept 8— Andrew Harrold Sept 9– Sept 15— Jeff Sano Sept 16-- Sept 22— Keith Bowman Sept 23– Sept 29— Eliot Moore Sept 30– Oct 6— Jim Frye Oct 7– Oct 13— Bob Wolff Oct 14– Oct 20— Norb Georges Oct 21– Oct 27 — Brian Hixon

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St. Matthias Evangelical

Lutheran Church 100 Chapel View Drive

Greensburg, PA 15601-1002

Address Service Requested

DATED MATERIAL

THE VIEW ST. MATTHIAS EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH August 2019

Visit us on the web at www.stmatthiasgreensburg.org

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS: Monday, Tuesday & Friday 8:30am-11:30am

SERVICES OF HOLY COMMUNION: Saturday 7:00 pm Sunday 9:30 am

Paul M. Gruesu, Pastor Secretary: Amy Repak

Organist/Choir Director: Chuck Vita