Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Glenshaw, Pennsylvania takes seriously the call that we receive in baptism to, “strive for justice and peace in all the earth.”  We do this most directly by advocating on behalf of the poor and marginalized in our region.  Members of our congregation work with traumatized youth at Glade Run Lutheran Services.  Other members work with Hearth, a local organization that provides safe and affordable housing for families fleeing domestic violence.  We have several teams of volunteers that deliver meals to Pleasant Valley Men’s Shelter as well as the Myriam Women’s Shelter, both in Pittsburgh.  Members of our congregation staff and sustain what we call, “New Start Furniture Ministry,” which provides household goods and furniture to families in need.  Each year members of the congregation spend a week in West Virginia volunteering our time with the Appalachia Service Project, renovating homes.  We support the Northside Common Ministries food bank, as well as the North Hills Community Outreach foodbank.  This is a sampling of the work in which members of our congregation consistently invest.  We give thanks for the opportunity to serve in these ways and see this important work as an essential part of who we are, not only as a congregation, but as Lutheran Christians.

— The Rev. Daniel Smail