Where do you fit? … The Board of Trustees

WHO: 
Any adult man or woman who is a member of Zion. 

WHAT: 
Maintain all the buildings (interiors and exteriors) and grounds of the church campus. 

WHERE: 
Tasks and oversight of physical property are conducted throughout the church campus. Meetings held in Conference Room 

WHEN: 
Tasks are performed throughout the month as needed. Meetings are the first Monday of the month at 7 PM. 

WHY: 
As stewards of the physical property God has entrusted to Zion, Trustees seek to ensure the church campus is functional, attractive, and safe to support and enhance congregational use and outreach. 

HOW: 

• Utilize board members’ time and talents when possible to perform tasks 

• Establish and utilize professional services when warranted 

• Encourage congregational participation through all-church workdays and TO DO LIST sign-ups as needed 

• Contact Trustee Chair Mike Debowski: mike.j.debowski@gmail.com 

Bulletin: Sunday, September 21, 2025 + This Week at Zion

View the bulletin for Sunday, September 21, 2025
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

THIS WEEK AT ZION

Saturday September 20
No Events Scheduled

Sunday September 21
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
7:00 p.m. - Youth Group Board Game Night - (Additional Information)
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

Monday September 22
6:00 p.m. - Confirmation 1st Year
7:00 p.m. - Confirmation 2nd Year

Tuesday September 23
6:16 p.m. - Bell Choir Practice
7:15 - 8:15 p.m. - Adult Choir Practice

Wednesday September 24
2:00 p.m. - Midweek Worship with Communion
2:30 p.m. - Bible Study (30 min.) Psalm (More Details)
(Wednesday’s service will be streamed on our YouTube channel)

Thursday September 25
No events scheduled

Friday September 26
No events scheduled

Saturday September 27
6:00 p.m. - Men’s Bonfire near backyard pavilion - (Additional details)

Sunday September 28
8:00 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
9:15 a.m. — Adult/Teen Bible Study & Sunday School
10:30 a.m. — Worship Service with Communion
(The 8:00 a.m. service streamed on our YouTube channel)

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CLICK THE UPCOMING EVENTS GRAPHIC to go directly to our UPCOMING EVENTS page

Youth Bereavement Care: Paws & Relax

Youth Bereavement Care (YBC), a ministry of Good Samaritan Hospice, will host Paws & Relax, a free stretching, prayer and animal connection event, at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 27, at its Middlesex campus, 116 Browns Hill Road, Valencia, PA 16059.

This unique program offers young individuals and their families an opportunity to recharge through calming and engaging activities, including guided prayer, stretching and movement led by instructors Domenique Oshlick and Jennifer Protivnak, bubble art and more. Friendly animals from Orphans of the Storm animal shelter will be on site, and a light lunch will be provided.

All children must be accompanied by an adult.

Whether participants are coping with grief or simply seeking a day of relaxation, everyone is welcome. The event is also open to non-grieving youth and their families as part of YBC’s ongoing mission to support youth mental well-being, raise awareness of available resources and share God’s love.

Please do not bring personal pets to this event, as all animal interactions will be provided by Orphans of the Storm.

Youth Bereavement Care is rooted in the Christian faith and welcomes individuals of all faiths and backgrounds.

Registration is highly encouraged by Monday, Sept. 22. Walk-ins are welcome.

To register online fill out the form on this page.

For questions or to register by phone, call 1-800-720-2557.

Click here to learn more about Good Samaritan Hospice.

Zion is starting a Men's Fellowship Group!

Have You Heard? ... 
Zion is starting a Men's Fellowship Group!
All men of the congregation 18 and older are cordially invited to attend our first gathering on Saturday, September 27th from 6:00 -8:00 p.m. at the picnic pavilion on the church grounds. We'll have a bonfire with hot dogs, lots of snacks and drinks (BYOAB -- Bring Your Own Adult Beverage). Also, please bring a lawn chair and -- if you have them -- roasting sticks.  Sign up on the sheet in the church narthex, or email Rich Berardelli at p.richardberardelli1950@gmail.com so we know how many will attend.

Psalms Bible Study — This Coming Wednesday (9/24)

In the Psalms God speaks to us, His people. God speaks to us about many different topics in the Psalms like: His existence, the Messiah, forgiveness, doubt, thanksgiving and many more! Join us each Wednesday for worship at 2:00 p.m. followed by a 30 min. Bible Study hosted by Pastor Grimenstein (starting at 2:30 p.m.) as we study a different Psalm each week for a total of 12 weeks. God truly is speaking to us, come and hear what He is saying!

Psalm 137

1 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept
    when we remembered Zion.
2 There on the poplars
    we hung our harps,
3 for there our captors asked us for songs,
    our tormentors demanded songs of joy;
    they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4 How can we sing the songs of the Lord
    while in a foreign land?
5 If I forget you, Jerusalem,
    may my right hand forget its skill.
6 May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth
    if I do not remember you,
if I do not consider Jerusalem
    my highest joy.

7 Remember, Lord, what the Edomites did
    on the day Jerusalem fell.
“Tear it down,” they cried,
    “tear it down to its foundations!”
8 Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
    happy is the one who repays you
    according to what you have done to us.
9 Happy is the one who seizes your infants
    and dashes them against the rocks.

Psalm 139

1 You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
    and you lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
    too lofty for me to attain.

7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
    if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
    if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
    your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
    and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
    the night will shine like the day,
    for darkness is as light to you.

13 For you created my inmost being;
    you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
    your works are wonderful,
    I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
    when I was made in the secret place,
    when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body;
    all the days ordained for me were written in your book
    before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts,[a] God!
    How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
    they would outnumber the grains of sand—
    when I awake, I am still with you.

19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
    Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
    your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,
    and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
    I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
    test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
    and lead me in the way everlasting.

Member Change of Address

Our brother Ted Siek has moved from his apartment at Friendship Village into the Health Center building. His new address is: 1290 Boyce Rd., HC Room 137, Pittsburgh PA 15241. Ted would welcome cards and notes of encouragement as he transitions to his new home. 

Things You Can Do, No Matter What

Things You Can Do, No Matter What 
by, Rev. Dr. Aric Fenske, Executive Director | LifeDate, Fall 2025 

It is very common in our society to attempt to place a value on other people based on their output or ability to perform certain tasks. It is often assumed that the more a person can do, the more valuable they are. Not only has this line of thinking led to the destruction of thousands of precious lives to abortion and physician-assisted suicide, it has also driven many people to the point of despair. Pastors will often hear their aging parishioners tell them that they feel worthless and unfit to live because they can’t be useful or productive anymore. 

We must always keep in mind that we are all saved by grace through faith, which is the “gift of God, not a result of works” (Eph 2:8-9). This means (among many other things) that no person’s value is determined by their ability to perform a task or be productive. Every person’s value is bestowed upon them by Christ Himself, who made us and redeemed us all with His precious blood. This makes every human life priceless in the eyes of God and worthy of His care and protection, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. 

But St. Paul goes on to remind us that “we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Eph 2:10). Those who have been redeemed by Christ rightly desire to love and serve. So, while our worth is never determined by our ability to serve, we must also recognize that someone’s desire to serve their neighbor is a good, godly desire. Likewise, the frustration that many of our aging brothers and sisters experience as they grow weaker is legitimate and should be handled with love and compassion. 

I have often turned to St. Paul’s words to the Philippians when talking with someone who is bearing this cross. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better” (Philippians 1:21-23). 

Through Paul, God leads us to remember several wonderful truths. First, that while death remains our enemy and is never to be sought as the answer to our suffering, the death of a Christian means eternal gain. And second, that as long as our earthly life remains, it is Christ’s will. And if it is Christ’s will that we remain, He has fruitful labor laid up for us! No matter a person’s age or physical condition, if God has given them life, He has also given them great purpose. 

The following is certainly not an exhaustive list, but it does provide a few ideas of what this might look like for someone who has reached the age where they can no longer provide the loving services they once did. 

• You can preach and pray. As the Psalmist proclaims, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come” (Psalm 71:17-18). There is no greater service you can provide for another than to tell them about the love of God in Christ and to intercede for them to the Father in heaven. 

• You can serve as an example of faith and perseverance to others. God promises us that “… even to your old age I am he, and to gray hairs I will carry you. I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and will save” (Isaiah 46:4). The Lord will sustain us until the day that He calls us to His nearer presence. Bearing the cross of aging with grace and dignity by the faith that God supplies will be seen by others and can strengthen them to do the same. 

• You might become the instrument by which God teaches others to bear their crosses. As a person reaches the stage of needing more assistance from others, God uses them to teach others (spouse, children, grandchildren, etc.) how to patiently love and serve as He has loved us. 

Again, our worth is never determined by what we do. God has given us value by creating, redeeming, and calling us as His own. Still, we can be comforted knowing that even as we age and reach the point where we can no longer be active, God not only watches over us and cares for us, He accomplishes great and wonderful things through us. May the Lord of life grant us the faith and the strength to bear the crosses of aging in such a way that others are led to see the love of Christ manifest in us!