Food Bank Sunday: Feb. 8th

The February collection for the Bridgeville Area Food Bank is Sunday, February 8th.
The “items of the month” are CEREAL & BREAKFAST ITEMS. Items may be placed in the wicker bin in the narthex near the coat rack. 

During the January 17th distribution, 95 families were assisted. Thank you for supporting this vital community service! 

Zion is a church partner of the Bridgeville Area Food Bank, which is operated out of Bethany Presbyterian Church on Washington Rd. in Bridgeville. The food bank distributes non-perishable food and hygiene products to needy families within the CV and SF communities. Our congregation collects food monthly for the Food Bank (monthly announcements -- like the one at the top of the page -- are in each Zion newsletter). 

Following is a snapshot of the local impact made by the Food Bank in 2025 thanks, in part, to the generosity of Zion members and friends. 
By Timothy Anderson, Coordinator, Bridgeville Area Food Bank 

The Bridgeville Area Food Bank, after 43 years of operation, continues to serve the needy families of our community. Throughout 2025, the food bank gained an international flavor. Immigrant families from Costa Rica, Mexico, Türkiye, Vietnam and Iraq came to us for help. 

We continued our partnership with the Locking Arms (men’s prayer ministry). They provided prayer and spiritual guidance for all our recipient families and in November hosted a coat drive. 

Our mission is successful due to the generosity of individuals, businesses and churches in the community who provide not only their time and monetary support but also routinely sponsor food drives. We are blessed by the many prayers that the food bank, its volunteers, and recipients receive. We benefited from over 9 food drives throughout 2025. Often food would be dropped off and we had no idea where it came from! 

Of the over forty regular volunteers from various local churches, five members constitute the core officials. Members of the 2025 board are as follows: 

• Coordinator: Tim Anderson 

• Distribution Records and Angel Tree: Barb Oechslein 

• Treasurer: Rita Rozell 

• Supply and Inventory: Dan Rozell 

• Security: Cliff Snitzky 

Organizations that Sponsored Food Drives in 2025: 
Bethany Golden Oldies, Boy Scouts Troops 860 and 9860, Chartiers Valley girls’ soccer team and boosters, Chartiers Valley Interact Club, Chartiers Valley National Honor Society, Chick Fil-A Bridgeville, Ciesielski twins holiday food drive and fundraiser, Corpus Christi Knights of Columbus, Hunting Ridge homeowners, Kiddie Academy, Knights of Columbus Lenten food drive, National Association of Letter Carriers Bridgeville Post Office, One Music Festival, RBC Wealth Management, South Fayette Students , South Hills Women’s Club, Sturgeon Volunteer Fire Dept., The Club at Nevillewood, Zion Lutheran Church, Vacation Bible School 

All churches in the Bridgeville Ministerium contributed in some way. Bethany UP, Corpus Christi parish and Zion Lutheran have monthly/weekly collections. 

Faith/Service Groups that Have Been Generous to the Food Bank in 2025: 

Bethany Golden Oldies, Bethany Presbyterian Church, Concordia Lutheran Ministries, Various ministry groups within Corpus Christi parish, Covenant Community UP Church Crossroads UM Church, SF & Bridgeville Rotary Clubs, St. George's Antiochian Orthodox Church, Zion Lutheran Church and Preschool 

Bulletin: Wednesday, February 4, 2026

View the bulletin for Wednesday, February 4, 2026
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2:00 p.m. - Worship Service
2:30 p.m. - Bible Study (Galatians)

Sunday School News

In the Classroom: 
During February, we finish our study of Enduring Faith Unit 3, "Jesus Teaches His Church" and move on to Unit 4, "God Calls A Nation": 

Sunday, February 1
Unit 3: Lesson 13 A Soldier Believes: A Philippian Jailer 

Sunday, February 8
Unit 3: Lesson 14 A Returning Truth: Christ Returns 

Sunday, February 15
Unit 4: Lesson 1 Handmade - Adam and Eve 

Sunday, February 22
Unit 4: Lesson 2 A Sign & Promise - God’s Covenant with Abram 

Sunday School Mission
Please don't forget our fundraising project, "Praise Him Africa", where we are raising money for song books printed in Swahili! Each five dollars collected buys one song book. Remember your M&M ("Mission Money") tubes that we handed out earlier in the year - a good place to collect your change! And if you have extra change, please contribute to LWML. Container for both contributions will be located in the school lobby on Sunday. 

Class for Littles 
The infant/toddler Sunday School class has re-started for children under the age of 3. It's being taught by Deaconess Joanna Lee. A parent is encouraged to attend the class with their child. Please join them in Room 206 in the Preschool at 9:15 am. 

Pastor’s Corner

Return to the Lord 
“Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love.” Joel 2:13 

On February 18th we will begin the season of Lent with Ash Wednesday. We begin the season wearing ashes. We begin the season confessing we are nothing but “dust and to dust we will return.” How humbling for all of us. However, the penitential nature of this season can quickly take a turn for the worse. Many people will start to make sure they don’t eat meat on Fridays; fish only. Others will decide to give something up for 40 days. In and of itself there is nothing wrong with doing these things. This type of self-denial can be good for our souls. So long as one thing occurs - we dwell more upon Christ and His sufferings rather than focusing upon our own and what we are giving up. 

On Ash Wednesday we begin the season wearing ashes. We begin the season confessing we are nothing but “dust and to dust we will return.” How humbling for all of us. Since we confess we are dust and to dust we will return, where do we go from there? After all, that is a pretty serious confession we are making. If we truly believe we are dust and one day our bodies will return to dust, who can save us from this tragic fate? You know who. Only Jesus and Jesus alone can rescue us from our dusty fate. Thanks to His death, our sins, which turn us to dust, have been removed. 

Lent is an invitation for us, and for all people, to return to the Lord our God. As the prophet Joel said, “Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love” (Joel 2:13). God is indeed very gracious to us. God is not gracious because we refrain from eating meat on Fridays. God is gracious to you because of Christ. God is merciful to you not because you gave something up for 40 days. God is merciful to you because Christ gave up His very life for you on Good Friday. May this coming season of Lent be a time we rejoice in God’s mercy shown toward us all because of the work of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

-- Pastor Grimenstein 

Mardi Gras Lunch and Bingo - Sign Up Now!

Mardi Gras Lunch and Bingo
Sunday, February 15th starting at 12 Noon
Bring the whole family to eat Jambalya and Po’boys and play bingo
Sign up in the Narthex so we can plan accordingly

VIDEO: Sunday, February 1, 2025 - Complete Service

View the bulletin for Sunday, February 1, 2026
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Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
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Audio: Readings & Sermon for Sunday, February 1, 2026

View the bulletin for Sunday, February 1, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

First Reading -- Micah 6:1–8 
Hear what the Lord says:
Arise, plead your case before the mountains,
and let the hills hear your voice.
Hear, you mountains, the indictment of the Lord,
and you enduring foundations of the earth,
for the Lord has an indictment against his people,
and he will contend with Israel.
“O my people, what have I done to you?
How have I wearied you? Answer me!
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt
and redeemed you from the house of slavery,
and I sent before you Moses,
Aaron, and Miriam.
O my people, remember what Balak king of Moab devised,
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him,
and what happened from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the saving acts of the Lord.” 

“With what shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
and to walk humbly with your God? 

Epistle Reading -- – 1 Corinthians 1:18–31 
The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, 

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 

Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 

For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Therefore, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the fifth chapter
Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. 

And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 
“Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 
“Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 

“Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” 

Choir – Christians Join to Sing (8:00 a.m.)
+ Bell Choir