Sharon Community Presbyterian Church

Eastertide 2020

The Good News

In This Issue...

Music Ministry News...2

Easter Memorials...3

Children’s Ministry….4

Special Offerings...5

Session News...6

Session and Deacons Directory...7

Generosity...8

Prayer Requests...9

Praying in Uncertain Times...10

Designated Prayers...11

Property Update...12

Behind the Scenes of Online Worship...13

Assistance...14-15

Food Pantry…15

VBS...Back Cover

Blessed Easter Sharon Church!

Hallelujah! Christ is risen! While we have not been physically togeth-

er at the church, I am so thankful that we have been able to be togeth-

er as a church—a fellowship of believers built on the love and grace

of God in Christ that stays together, loves God, loves each other, and

loves our neighbors no matter what difficulties we face. And while

our church building is closed, indeed, Christ our Lord is alive in the

work and people of Sharon Church.

I hope that most of you have been able to receive our online worship

each week as well as our weekly email, the eNews. Thanks to our ca-

pable staff and elders, we have quickly adapted to the digital world

and built an online church community for Sharon using Facebook and

YouTube tools. All worship services and eNews are sent to members

by email OR you may join “At Home with SCPC” on Facebook to

access church updates and Sunday worship.

We have not only created a digital worshipping community, but have

been convening session meetings, small group and prayer meetings

online. As well, our elders and deacons are also reaching out to all of

our members by phone to ensure that we remain connected through

this time of separation and offer our care, fellowship, and prayer.

If you have not been able to con-

nect with the church during these

past weeks, please reach out to

us immediately and let us know

how we may connect with you.

We are constantly updating our

database with the best phone

numbers and emails to reach

you.

So, if you have not heard from

us, then we do not have the best

way to contact you, and ask you

to please call the church office at

412-264-7400 or email

admin@sharoncpc.com to get

connected.

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This year for Easter, the good news of Jesus Christ is that we did not miss Easter!

The temple curtain was torn, the earth shook, and the risen Jesus walked out of that tomb so that we may never, ever be separated from the love of God. Indeed, even without the fattened calf, the Easter egg hunt and our friends and family around our dinner table, Christ was risen! And the essence and meaning of Easter—God’s eternal love and salvation—was and is still connecting us as we pray to-gether, worship together, and take care of one another and our community.

Beloved, I pray that you feel God’s guiding presence with you this Easter. If God can overcome death and raise Christ for us, then God can overcome our despair and raise Christ in us—reminding us that as Easter people, as God’s people, we are never without the abiding love and strength of God.

May Easter peace be in your hearts and minds this season. May the church be connected in Easter’s love and grace. And may God’s great power heal our world and bring us back together again!

Easter peace,

Pastor Becky

Music Ministry News The church graciously replaced the missing

electric keyboard and, at the same time, signifi-

cantly upgraded our piano quality for congrega-

tional singing and accompaniment by purchas-

ing a Roland digital baby grand piano.

It sounds good and looks beautiful. This will be

an excellent tool for our music ministry and

worship together. Here is a pic until you get to

see it in person!

Stay safe and healthy!

Many Blessings,

Rob and Amy

Sharon

Church

Wishes All

Mothers a

Joyful and

Blessed

Day

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Please keep our food pantry and all the volunteers and families in prayer. WHFP is doing the best

they can to make sure our food pantry families receive the help needed during this stressful time.

They will hold their next drive-thru distribution on Tuesday, April 28th.

In lieu of Easter memorial flowers this year, God’s people at Sharon Church have decided to do-

nate their flower contributions to the Food Pantry.

The Aber and Benard families in memory of Bill and Anna Aber

Kilee Bomgardner and Justin Young in memory of Grandma Judy and Nina

Patti Brunette in memory of Paul and Joyce Haskins

Barbara Cain in memory of Thomas Cain

Cratsley Family in memory of Anneliese Endress and

Horst Endress

William A. Crookshank, Sr. And Jr. in loving memory of

Vera M. Crookshank

Dave and Terry Doughty in memory of Loved Ones

Jan and Walt Gorr to the Glory of God

Rob and Kathy Hamsher in honor of Loved Ones

Nancy Handerhan in memory of Ruth Lockhart, and in honor of Debbie Handerhan

John Lundeen In memory of Carl and Betty Lundeen

George Hollis in memory of my parents

Mike and Joan Hubler In memory of Loved Ones, and in honor of our children and grandchildren

Lucie Lenz in loving memory of my parents, Carl Lenz and Ann Lenz.

Janet McGuire in memory of Loved Ones

Terry and Nancy Miller in memory of Loved Ones

Dan and Grace Peters in honor of the dedicated West Hills Food

Pantry Volunteers

The Sanderbeck and Stewart families in memory of William

Sanderbeck, loving husband and father

Kay and Harry Schurr II in memory of Edna and Harry Schurr, Sr.

Also in memory of Dolly and Howard McGinnis

Joe Sharkey in memory of Toni Sharkey

Susanne Udvari in memory of my husband, Joseph Udvari

The Zalucky Family in memory of Gail Zalucky

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Weekly Meet-ups

The children of Sharon Church have

been staying connected through virtual

play dates every Saturday at noon.

A link is emailed to parents Friday

night, then when it’s time for the play

date, all you have to do is click the link

to join our meeting.

We have fun drawing pictures, making

each other laugh, showing off hidden

talents, and so much more.

Miss Sarah said, “Everyone make a

funny face!”

Children’s Time and Sunday School

PreK – 2nd Grade and

3rd – 5th Grade Classes

Sunday-School-at-home will

begin in late April. Weekly

lessons will resume and continue

to follow our curriculum through-

out the Spring and Summer.

Parents can expect to receive

materials in the mail and may

also be sent downloadable content

through email.

6th Grade and older

Class

We are setting up a weekly time

to resume Christian formation lessons with the teenage girls class.

Our group has grown closer with each other and with God through these studies, so we look forward

to meeting again face to face through the wonderful technology of Zoom meetings!

Palm Sunday’s “Children’s Time” message with Miss Sarah and Caleb

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Special Deliveries

Throughout the Easter Season,

Children’s Church continued

at home after deliveries of Palm Sunday and Easter

Sunday lessons, as well as activities,

crafts, and coloring pages.

Every child also received an Easter

delivery of various candy-filled eggs,

and special surprises. Getting packages ready for delivery

Our next delivery is scheduled for May. This delivery will include Spring

themed crafts, and a planting activity that the whole family can enjoy!

ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING

Thank you everyone

who supported our

Lenten Mission ‘One

Great Hour of Shar-

ing.’ Together we

raised over $400!

For any of the kids

who still have their

fish banks, we will

collect them once we

are able to come to-

gether again.

6

Your Session welcomes you to the digi-

tal world! In March and April, Session

convened using the online platform

Zoom.com technology. We were able

to see each other, speak to one another,

and continue to conduct the business of

the church.

As we continue to practice “social

distancing,” your Session will continue

to create online communities for us to

be together—to pray together, worship

together and encourage one another.

Dear Friends,

As a church, we are blessed to be considered an “essential business,” and our staff has been working

tirelessly to care for the church and community, transition our ministries to digital and online plat-

forms, and manage church operations in this new and unusual world without the many hands of

God’s people around to help. We have maintained all staffing levels at this time because we are a

small staff and 100% of our staff has been committed to supporting the church.

With the addition of the PA Sate order that requires PPE at the workplace for all employees as well

as clients/guests/visitors/members, the Session has approved the following guidelines for our church

campus in order to provide protections for essential workers during the COVID-19 pandemic:

• Provide staff with appropriate PPE as well as clean and distant work spaces.

• Close the church campus to ALL people except for staff, the church Treasurer (Mark

Killmeyer), and the Food Pantry.

• The Food Pantry may occupy a designated YCC area on their distribution and receiving days,

and must likewise comply with the PA State requirements for PPE and social distancing.

• Reduce weekly contract cleaning from three days per week to one day (Fridays) and schedule

cleaning for the YCC after Food Pantry distribution days.

Decreasing the people-traffic in the church will yield the greatest benefit for stopping viral spread

and providing a safe workplace. Staff has been cautious and careful, but we need to do more to

keep people out of the buildings. The hope is that these stringent state guidelines will be short-lived

and we will be able to resume having leaders and members on the church campus in the very near

future.

Easter peace and God’s love,

Pastor Becky, Moderator of Session

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Ways We Can Rev. Becky Branch-Trevathan 407-949-2816 pastorbecky@sharoncpc.com

Children’s Formation

Sarah Painter 412-680-4228 children@sharoncpc.com

Cindy Roberts 412-559-6022 clhr55@yahoo.com

Finance and Generosity

Todd Carter 412-269-0780 thcarter702@gmail.com

Mark Killmeyer 412-262-2028 mark.a.killmeyer@peoples-gas.com

Mission and Membership

Kilee Bomgardner 717-580-4556 kileebee@gmail.com

Wayne Schuliger 412-262-4788 pumpkinpaxx@gmail.com

New Life

Dave Michaels 412-216-5988 david.michaels@dcsg.com

Stephen Ford 316-204-4412 swoody@ksu.edu

Nominating

Walter Gorr 412-262-5618 jwgorr@verizon.net

Personnel

Dick Shirra 412-264-9006 Shirras@comcast.net

Cindy Zwergel 724-350-9511 cindyz@vinyl-answer.com

Property

Doug Busch 412-264-6470 dvbusch@aol.com

Rob Hamsher 724-457-8740 rob.hamsher@verizon.net

Worship

Chira Cratsley 412-956-7489 chira.cratsley@gmail.com

Bob Lintner 724-457-8054 blintner1@verizon.net

Deacons

Patricia Brunette 724-457-6137 pattyb422@yahoo.com

Barb Cain 412-264-9080

Al Hiney 412-262-2911 ahiney@msn.com

Vikki Lukac 412-262-3912 lukacel@verizon.net

Jan McGuire 412-262-1781 pmcj210@msn.com

Lori Painter 412-299-0141 loripainter@yahoo.com

Lorna Phillips 412-331-0916 ljp6@comcast.net

Shirley Roberts 412-264-7722

Gladys Sanderbeck 412-264-6621 pabahoo1@verizon.net

Philip Squires (724) 366-0621 philip.squires@my.pittsburgh.chefs.edu

Kathy Smith 412-269-1382 kls522@verizon.net

Al Zalucky 724-788-1751 lovethecards2002@yahoo.com

8

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope you all had a happy and blessed Easter

and are enjoying the Easter season, even though it

is has been spent fairly close to home, perhaps

separated from family and friends. This time of

Covid-19 pandemic is a difficult one for all of us

as we struggle to adapt to a “new normal”. While

we all have too much uncertainty in our lives

these days, one thing we can take comfort in is

that our Sharon Church family is working hard to

reach you in new and different ways. We are still

actively doing ministry and living out our God-

given vision.

Here are some things that are now going on at

Sharon Church. Your elders and deacons are

maintaining telephone contact on a regular basis

with all of our members. The worship team is

preparing a weekly worship service which has

been available through the church eNews, our Fa-

cebook site, and direct email from Pastor Becky.

These services include prayer, scripture, music,

children’s time, and a message from Pastor Becky.

It is a personal worship experience designed to

continue our worship together almost like you are

participating in a worship service in the sanctuary!

A number of our small groups are regularly

meeting virtually using Zoom or other technolo-

gies to allow us to continue to connect, albeit

online instead of in person. Our office staff con-

tinues to keep the day-to-day operations of the

church going, and we send out a weekly eNews

with all church updates and programming. In sum-

mary, we are there for you in almost every way

that we were before this crisis interrupted all of

our lives.

We invite all members and friends of Sharon

Church to participate in the life of the church as

you are able, and encourage everyone to check out

our new online presence on Facebook at “At

Home with SCPC” and make sure the church has

your updated email so that you are receiving our

messages and updates. We continue to look for

new ways to reach out to the congregation so that

all are able to share in the excitement your leaders

are feeling about being God’s people during this

unusual time.

In order to help Sharon Church to sustain its

ministry and mission until we are able to return to

worship together, we hope that you will continue

to support the church with your tithes and offer-

ings. Sometimes we don’t think about what it

takes to keep the church up and running when we

are not attending worship services every week.

And our individual financial circumstances may

have changed as a result of the pandemic. Yet, we

still ask that you keep Sharon Church in your

hearts and prayers, and please give as you are able

until we resume in-person worship.

There are several easy ways to continue giving

to the church from a distance.

• Mail a check to the church office at: 522 Car-

not Rd., Moon Township, PA 15108

• Give online through the Online Giving portal,

which can be accessed at the church website,

https://www.sharoncpc.com.

1. Scroll down to the yellow “Online Giving”

box,.

2. Click on the blue “Give Now” button.

You will be taken directly to the online giving

portal.

Once there, it is easy to set up, and you can

give via a debit to your checking account or

use a credit card.

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• From you mobile device, you can use

the QR Code to reach the Sha-

ron Church online giving por-

tal (just as if you accessed it

from the church website).

I know we all hope and pray that we

will be worshipping together again very

soon. Until that happens, please stay

healthy and safe. We thank you from the

bottoms of our hearts for all that you have

done for Sharon Church in the past, and

that you continue to do to help your church

weather this storm that soon shall pass.

Todd Carter, on behalf of the Finance and

Generosity Committee

Patricia Hersh Arthur Christian

Pat Smith Barb Kephart

Thanet Kisow Joe Sharkey

Krupka Family Those in Need

Those who grieve

All Brothers and Sisters in Christ

Essential Service Providers

Medical Professionals

Medical Support Staff

Clinics and Hospitals

Scientists and Researchers

Prayer Requests

Email your request to:

sharonprayerchain@sharoncpc.com

or call the church office: 412-264-7400.

Dear Sharon Church Pastor and Members,

I and my family would like to thank you for your support and caring during Judy’s

illness and death.

Being able to have the timely

Memorial Service and having so

many members attend meant a lot to our family.

In God’s Love,

John Yeck and Sons

...of Judy Yeck, who died March 8th and has

now joined the church triumphant. Please

keep John and their boys in your prayers for

God’s comfort and care.

...of Kathryn Roth, who died March 23rd.

Kathryn was 98 years old and died peaceful-

ly in her sleep. Due to church and funeral

home closures, there will be a memorial

service for Kathryn when the church re-

sumes regular meetings times in the near fu-

ture. Kathryn now resides in God’s eternal

glory with her beloved husband Ray, and all

of the saints. Please hold the Roth family

and all of Kathryn’s friends in prayer—for

God’s comfort and consolation in this time

of loss and grief.

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One of the joyful byproducts of a melancholy time

like the present is that people are motivated to pray,

and often, we are prompted to pray based on certain

scriptures we know or have been taught.

There are the confident, protective prayers of Psalm 121: 1I lift up my eyes to the hills— from where will my help come? 2My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. 3He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.

…or the peaceful easy feeling prayers of Matthew 11:28-30: 28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” And both of these are great patterns for prayer.

However, when we experience prolonged periods

of disruption, distress, or need, it is sometimes

difficult to experience the presence of God and

feel the intended serenity of these prayers. Yet,

the Bible gives us more options for prayer than

simply peace and protection.

Indeed, the Bible offers what pastor and author

Talbot Davis calls a “library of prayer”—prayers

in scripture from the many voices of God’s faithful

who approached God in earnest and unique ways.

Pastor Davis, shares with us five different and

often overlooked biblical patterns for prayer in

a crisis that may not only ease our distress, but

accelerate our connection with God. So, please

get your Bible out and follow along:

One: the “how long?” prayers of Psalm 13, 44,

and 88. Read them. You’ll be shocked at the nerve

people have with God, as the psalm writers have

the freedom not only to vent their anger at God

but to question God’s job performance.

So, what does this teach us about God? Well, as a

church that believes the Bible really is “inspired,

eternal, and true,” we get the revelation that our

God is so emotionally secure that God can take it.

And if you ask in the middle of quarantine, “How

long, O Lord?” he will not reject your emotion; he

will honor your authenticity.

Two: The “doubting” prayers of Mark 9:24. In one

of my favorite verses of them all, an anguished fa-

ther pleading for the healing of his son says to Je-

sus, 24“I believe; help my unbelief!” What does Je-

sus do in response to his wavering? Rebuke him?

Ignore him? Condemn him? No. No. And no. Christ

heals the son. If you’re honest about where you are,

Jesus is faithful to show who he is.

Three: The wise silence of Job’s friends in Job

2:13. In the aftermath of losing everything, Job re-

ceives a consoling visit from three close friends.

The apex of their counsel is this scene: 13 They sat

with Job on the ground seven days and seven

nights, not speaking a word to him, for they saw

that he was in excruciating pain. If you’re trying to

comfort someone suffering anxiety, loss, or both

during the pandemic, clichés don’t help. Telling

them “Relax!” and “Don’t worry!” actually induces

the very emotions you’re trying to curtail! Instead,

remember those friends’ “good” moment in 2:13 …

It's when they open their mouths and start talking,

the story heads south for many chapters to come.

Four. The “perspective” prayer of Philippians 3:4-

14. When Paul compares all his accomplishments

and all his accolades and even all his family privi-

lege to a “dog pile,” he lets us know what’s

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11

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really important: a life defined by the life, death,

and resurrection of Jesus. Our circumstances

might not change a bit, but our identity in Christ

will sustain us even through pandemic.

Five. The “lament” prayer of Psalm 22. The

Bible is full of people who lament their loss; my

goodness, there is even an entire book

called Lamentations! As you check out Psalm 22,

you’ll hear familiar language, and you’ll under-

stand how Jesus saw his experience on the cross

through the lens of these words penned hundreds

of years earlier. If Jesus was free to lament to his

Father, so are you.

Our prayers are meant to connect us to God in

Christ. And the more we are able to confess our

every emotion to God, the more we allow our-

selves to be deeply heard by God and tended to by

God’s holy spirit.

Beloved, I invite you to engage the “library of

prayer” in scripture today and allow God to be

intimately present with you. Your honesty before

God will empty you of the difficult emotion and

stress you are carrying around, and grant you the

peace you may be searching for.

Designated Prayers

Baseball has designated players who come in

and offer specialty talents like hitting or base

stealing, just when the team is in need. Sha-

ron Church has “designated prayers” who are

here to offer a kind-hearted presence and

word of prayer for our team!

If you would like the comfort and assurance

of a word of prayer, please do not hesitate to

call any of the following members. God’s

faithful at Sharon are here to pray with and

for you. You may call at any time and your

conversation and prayers will remain confi-

dential, so please reach out...

Sara Kobak Myra Leigh Tokar 413-974-3329 (412) 974-3329

Grace Peters Chira Cratsley 412-264-7683 412-956-7489

Walt Gorr Dick Shirra 412-262-5618 412-327-0453

Cindy Zwergel Shirley Roberts 724-350-9511 412-264-7722

Al Zalucky 724-683-0133

Philip Squires 724-366-0621

Roger Behm 614-762-7871

Susanne Udvari (h) 412-262-0711 (c) 412-913-0826

Barb Cain 412-264-9080

Lorna Phillips 412-331-0916

Pastor Becky 407-949-2816

Excerpts from “Top Five Biblical Patterns for Prayer in a Pandemic” shared with permission from Talbot Davis.

12

I t’s spring and time for the

annual rite of spring clean-

ing. Our church is just like

your house - it needs to have

a good sprucing up once in

awhile.

Please come and join us in

our Spring Clean Up Day

on Saturday, June 6.

Since we do not know the

status of church lock down,

we will meet outside Fellow-

ship Hall at 8:00 AM.

We will be doing all outside work. Painting, trimming bushes, spreading mulch, cleaning up edges of

parking lot, if someone wants to work on some of our flower beds, that would be good too. I will have

a complete list for you to choose from that morning.

If we are still practicing social distancing, everyone will be required to wear a mask and gloves. Since

we will be outside, we should have no problem with keeping 6 feet apart. Access to the church build-

ings may be restricted, so bring you own tools.

Hope to see you outside in the fresh air!

W hile things have been difficult with the

virus situation, property maintenance has still

been doing some things in the background.

We have a contract out to get some much needed

roof repairs done. This has nothing to do with the

shingles, buy involves gutters, flashing, brick

work and some painting.

We have an issue with water damage to several

parts of the sanctuary and fellowship hall. After

the roof leak issue if repaired, we will proceed

with getting damaged plaster and ceiling tiles

repaired.

Also our ageing A/C for our office area needed

work. One unit was completely replace (inside

and outside) and another inside unit was repaired.

We are also working on updating our lock system

for different entrances to the buildings. This

would include a security camera system.

Hope everyone is safe and healthy.

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Behind the Scenes of Online Worship

God has blessed the church with an amazing church staff and leaders who

grabbed their iPhones and jumped into the great unknown of the online

church world when our church building closed to produce worship for Sha-

ron Church in ways that we had never before created worship.

We wanted to infuse new inspiration into our Sunday worship, so we em-

braced the online worship platform as an opportunity to be creative and try

some of our ideas. I hope that you have enjoyed the online worship experi-

ences we have been producing, and I want to thank the impromptu worship

team who is making it all happen each week:

Chira Cratsley—who serves as our Executive Producer. Chira is an elder and the co-Worship Chair on Session who imagines, designs, formats and imple-ments the technology necessary to produce our Sunday service each week. The quality of the Sunday services has been so good because Chira uses her artistry and technical know-how to make them meaningful and rich.

Rob Rucker—who serves as our co-Music Minister. You may

have noticed Rob’s outstanding work with the “online choir,”

solos and instrumental offerings each week, and, of course, the

Hymn Sing. Rob also produced the Holy Week Meditations and

has been a critical leader in our online efforts. Look for more

from the talented Concerto Roberto in the future!

Sarah Painter—who serves as our Children’s Ministry Direc-

tor. Sarah and break-out internet sensation, Caleb Painter, have

offered weekly children’s messages and Saturday play-dates de-

signed to engage our little ones in worship, learning and fellow-

ship. We will produce a Children’s Sunday in May and would

like all of our families and kids to participate in coming services.

Todd Carter—who serves as Clerk of Session and Generosity/Finance co-Chair. Todd likely did not

imagine himself as a weekly feature in worship a month ago. Nevertheless, we claim him as an ener-

getic and motivated member of the worship team who offers us weekly encouragement to be generous

and remember to support the work of the church in our giving.

Last, but not least, online worship would not happen without Amy Rucker and Chris Cratsley who offer their talent, technical expertise and patience to bring music and technology to life. They

faithfully support the whole team as we learn, grow, and build

worship together each week.

I hope and pray that online worship has been edifying for you as

we worship together in a new way and affirm that the church is

not a building, but the love we share as God’s people. Please con-

tinue to pray for your staff and leaders as we work together to

serve God’s people and God’s church.

Blessings, Pastor Becky

14

Union Aid Society

Since 1898, the Union Aid Society has been a safety-net for the 11 municipalities of the Quaker Valley School District. Quietly and with compas-sion, we help any neighbor in need. The Union Aid Society relies on generous support from our community to make assistance available.

Anyone needing assistance buying food, paying rent, utilities, medical bills or more, please call 412-741-9240 or visit www.unionaidsociety.org.

Sheetz Free Kidz Meal Bagz

Kids Meals are available at all Sheetz Conven-

ience Stores. Kidz Meal Bagz are free. Meals

are available all day and include a turkey sand-

wich, chips and a drink.

Families interested in the free Kidz Meal Bagz

program should visit a Sheetz location and ask

at the register for a meal.

Online and Phone Fraud and Scams

With the increase in digital, online and phone solicitations and traffic, please watch for scams and...

do not give out your credit card or bank account information to unknown people.

double-check email addresses before you respond or forward information.

double-check phone solicitations by hang-ing up and calling the known business with the number published for that business.

hang up or shut down your computer im-mediately if you’re are interacting with a suspected scammer.

Be aware of the source you are dealing with. AL-WAYS double-check and confirm the veracity of requests online or by phone, a legitimate business would never pressure you to act immediately on a call or online.

Grab and Go Location in the Greater

Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

Kids Covered: All Kids

Instructions: Grab and Go distributions provide

breakfast and lunch every Monday and Thurs-

day. 3 lunches and 3 breakfasts are given to any

child 18 and younger.

Hours: 11 A.M. to 1 P.M.

Location: Mooncrest Community Center

308 Hemlock Drive

Moon Township, PA 15108

Riverdale Portico Pantry

Riverdale United Presbyterian Church

1555 Brodhead Rd

Moon Township, PA 15108

For food: There are shelves outside the church.

If you need anything come and take. It’s open

24/7. We just ask that you take only what you

need and save some for others. If you have

needs let us know we will do our best to help.

To donate: You are welcome to leave essential

grocery items. Put food that animals can get into

in the cabinets with doors. (Currently need more

cabinets with doors) It’s open 24/7.

15

Hope and Healing Uninterrupted

God has not distanced Himself. His healing hand continues to work through our therapists. Their

compassionate listening, understanding, and skillful guidance are needed more than ever during this

time of crisis. Video (and phone) Therapy are excellent alternatives to in-office counseling during the

corona virus pandemic. Our therapists have training in this area and will advise you and answer any

questions you might have. Video Therapy has always been a great choice for you if:

• Traveling to and from counseling sessions is difficult

• You feel more comfortable receiving counseling in the privacy of your own home via your

desktop, laptop, iPhone, iPad, or Android phone

• You can also have therapy over any telephone if video therapy is not possible for you.

• You are 18 years of age or older and reside in Pennsylvania

Video Therapy has been around since the 1990s and studies have shown it to be just as effective as

face-to-face therapy. At Samaritan, we offer Video Therapy through an online video conferencing

platform. Using HIPAA compliant, encryption software ensures the confidentiality of your sessions.

So, give us a call at 412.741.7430 if you have questions or wish to schedule your appointment. All of

the major health insurance companies are currently covering therapy delivered via video conferencing

and telephone. Join us in hoping for better things to come. God bless you, stay safe, stay healthy.

The West Hills Food Pantry

continues to operate during the

Covid-19 pandemic, offering

much-needed food distribution

to existing clients, as well as

others from the community

who are experiencing hardship

during the current crisis.

Food distribution has changed

from weekly to every other week

in order to protect both clients

and volunteers; however, extra

food is supplied during each

distribution to help to cover the

two week period.

There has been a noticeable

increase in need in the communi-

ty since the pandemic began,

with the Food Pantry serving

nearly 200 families in our last

distribution on April 14th.

This level is up over 33%

from the pre-Covid-19 period

and may continue to grow as

unemployment levels rise

weekly. The next distribution

day is Tuesday, April 28th.

Sharon Church members con-

tinue to be very generous with

their faithful support of the West

Hills Food Pantry during this

time of uncertainty.

Of particular note is the kind-

ness demonstrated by the church

in donating the proceeds of East-

er memorials to the Food Pantry,

which will help to support the

growing number of families the

Food Pantry is now serving.

We are so very grateful for your

continued support.

Eastertide blessings to all

members of Sharon Church from

your friends at the West Hills

Food Pantry!

West Hills Food Pantry

News

Samaritan Counseling Center

202 Beaver Street 3rd Floor

Sewickley, Pennsylvania 15143

(412) 741-7430

bhealey@samaritancounseling.net

www.samaritancounseling.net

The Good News

Sharon Community Presbyterian Church

522 Carnot Road

Moon Township, PA 15108-2317

“Caring People Reach-

ing Out to Others”

Vacation Bible School has always

been a fun time, filled with fellow-

ship, mission, worship, and growth

for all involved. This year its im-

portance is even greater as we will

be welcoming everyone back after

this interesting year we have lived.

What better way to launch the new season than

with VBS?

It is impossible to know what life will be like

three months from now. Our leadership and

worship teams are not only working to provide

for our congregation during this separation,

but also planning for life after the self-quarantine.

For now, we plan to hold VBS from August 16th

to August 21st, in the evening

from 6 PM to 8:30 PM.

We are sensitive to the needs of

our church and the community.

We will continue to monitor the

situation in our community and

adjust our plans as needed. Soon

you will start getting information on VBS. The

registration page is active on our website. Please

sign up to make sure you receive updates on the

program as we move forward.

I look forward to talking to everyone in the com-

ing months and pray we all stay healthy and safe.

God Bless,

Chris Cratsley, VBS Director