Category Archives: News

Pastor’s Pen

Each year, as November approaches, I start to think about thankfulness and that is exactly what our sermons will be focusing on this month. We will start our month of thankfulness on November 2 when we celebrate All Saints’ Sunday. It will be a full service with communion and a time of remembrance for members and friends who have passed away in the last year. This meaningful Sunday is one where we remember with gratitude the people who have gone before us. It is a wonderful way to start off this month focused on thankfulness.

On the second Sunday of the month (November 9), we will pause to remember and honor the veterans from our congregation. We will also explore what it means to be thankful by looking at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17.

On Sunday, November 16, we will welcome a guest preacher, Rev. Rebecca Young. Rev. Young is a Presbyterian minster currently serving in chaplaincy.

November 23 is Christ the King Sunday. What could be a better way to kick off Thanksgiving week than focusing on our thankfulness for Jesus?

On Wednesday, November 26, we will be participating in the Community Thanksgiving Service at Elfinwild Presbyterian Church. I hope to see you there!

On Saturday, November 29, we will do our annual Hanging of the Greens. This is always a fun morning getting the church ready for the Season of Advent.

The final Sunday of the month (November 30) begins the new church year with the first week of Advent. This year, our Advent journey will be shaped by Our Dear Christ Enters In developed by Creative Communications for the Parish. We will have Advent devotionals available in the narthex, as well as bookmarks with daily reading suggestions. I can’t wait to welcome Christ into our hearts and homes this Advent season.

Blessings,

Pastor Emily

Adult Education Classes

Feasting on the Word

Our Adult Education classes meet each Sunday morning, from September through May, in the church parlor from 9:30 AM to 10:15 AM.

For the 2025-26 program year, our classes will be led by Pastor Emily.  She will use the Feasting on the Word curriculum. The topics for each week will dovetail with the scriptures we use in worship.

Here is our schedule for the fall:

September 14  Luke 15:1–10  Parables of Lost Sheep and Lost Coin
September 21  Luke 16:1–13  Parable of the Wasteful Manager
September 28  Luke 16:19–31  Rich Man and Lazarus
October 5  2 Timothy 1:1–14  Guard the Good Treasure of Faith
October 12  2 Timothy 2:8–15  Living with Christ
October 19  Luke 18:1–8  The Persistent Widow and the Judge
October 26  Luke 18:9–14  Pharisee and Tax Collector Pray
November 2  Luke 19:1–10  Zacchaeus Meets Jesus
November 9  2 Thessalonians 2:1–5, 13–17  The Coming of Jesus Christ
November 16  2 Thessalonians 3:6–13  Do What Is Right
November 23  Jeremiah 23:1–6  The Promise of a Righteous King

We hope to see you there!

Grab-and-Go Lunch

Game Day Lunch fundraiser

The Deacons are holding a boxed lunch fundraiser on Sunday, November 16. The “grab-and-go” lunch includes a homemade pulled pork sandwich, baked beans, coleslaw, cookies, and chocolate candy.

You can pre-order your lunch in the narthex each Sunday morning before and after worship until Sunday, November 9. They are $15 each and must be pre-paid when you sign up. Order some for friends and neighbors too, or donate one to a homebound member! 

Cheer the Steelers on to victory while enjoying a delicious homemade lunch and supporting your Deacons’ charities at the same time! We thank you for your continued support!

The Neighborhood Table

The Neighborhood Table

The Neighborhood Table, founded and organized as a part of the Roots of Faith Ministry, is a free community dinner in Sharpsburg. It is not a soup kitchen or a handout, but a place for the Sharpsburg community to gather to support, encourage, and serve one another in the name of Jesus Christ. For the past 8 years, GPC members and friends have served fried chicken dinners there to approximately 100-150 people on the second Thursday of every month.

We are thankful for the many people who are working together to help feed hungry people in our local communities. The Giant Eagle Express in Harmarville is excited to be working with GPC in this ministry and to know that their food is helping others. GPC in turn is thankful to our team leaders, our many volunteers, the GPC Deacons, and the GPC Mission and Outreach Ministry who gave monetary donations.

Finally, we are thankful that God is guiding us.  Being a Christian brings with it the duty and the privilege of a lifetime of service. Service allows us to practice doing what Jesus would do. It connects us to those we serve and gives us a kind of satisfaction that self-interest can never offer.

Our next GPC mission service event at the Neighborhood Table will be held on Thursday, November 13 from 5:30 to 7:15 PM.  How can you help? Consider volunteering as a server.  We need about 12 to 16 people each month to help with the dinner. We welcome all who are interested in greeting, meeting, serving, and eating with our neighbors in Sharpsburg.

If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Larry or Cindy Bock, Henry or Diana Long, or Pastor Emily.  Thanks!

Community Thanksgiving Eve Worship

You are invited to the annual community Thanksgiving Eve worship service.  This year, it will be held at Elfinwild Presbyterian Church on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:30 PM.  We will be led in worship by ministers from various churches in the Etna, Glenshaw, and Allison Park area.

Please join us as we come together as one community to give thanks to God for our many blessings.

Hanging of the Greens

Hanging of the Greens

It is time to decorate our church for the Season of Advent.  We will meet on Saturday, November 29 at 9:30 AM in the narthex. After enjoying some coffee and donuts, we will break up into small groups and decorate various areas of the church with trees, garlands, wreaths and candles.  With enough helping hands, we should be done in an hour or so.

Please RSVP to Diana Long at 412-486-1789 if you are willing and able to volunteer for this event.  Thanks for your help!

Book Club

The Things We Cannot Say

The GPC Book Club meets monthly to discuss a book we have read and enjoy a dessert. We welcome all who would like to join us.

Our next book is The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. We will meet to discuss this book on Wednesday, December 3 at 7:00 PM. Our hostess will be Jane Hackett. Please let Jane know if you have any questions.

Gift collection for Bread of Life Food Pantry

Toys for Kids tree

Our friends at the Bread of Life Food Pantry are planning for the Christmas season. Again this year, they are going to distribute toys and gift cards to at least 45 qualified families. They would really love to have the children in the community experience an enchanted Christmas.

With this in mind, the Bread of Life Food Pantry is requesting the following donations:

  • Gifts cards (in any amount) to Walmart, Dick’s, Target, Kohl’s or Five Below or any other store where parents can use the cards to purchase toys or clothing items for their children
  • Boxes or bags of candy and small items for stocking stuffers
  • Toys for children 1 month old through 15 years old
  • Wrapping paper and gift bags
  • Monetary gifts (checks should be made out to Glenshaw Presbyterian Church with “Santa Shop” in the memo line)

Please bring your donations to GPC by Sunday, December 7.  The collection box is in the narthex by the Christmas tree.  We will deliver them to the food pantry in time for their Santa Shop in mid-December.

Thank you in advance to each of you whose generosity and kindness will bring happiness, smiles, and joy to all these children and their parents on Christmas morning.