May 2022
From the Desk of the Pastor
I am happy to announce that an agreement has been reached with Beulah Presbyterian Church to share their Christian Education director with Plum Creek Presbyterian Church. Please join me in welcoming Carolyn Leah as our new half time Director of Christian Formation. Carolyn will start with Plum Creek at the beginning of May. A specific schedule for her work will be developed during her first month, but I expect that she will be worshipping with us on May 1. Watch for an announcement of a coffee hour in the coming weeks where you will have an opportunity to meet Carolyn and welcome her to Plum Creek. The agreement with Beulah is that we will share both the time and expense of this position equally. From an employment perspective, Carolyn will remain a full-time employee of Beulah. Effectively, she will work for each church at approximately half time. Beulah will invoice Plum Creek for our share of her salary and expenses monthly. Carolyn Leah, welcome to The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek!
Now that the season of Lent is behind us, I am hoping that I can schedule more individual meetings with you! So far, I have been able to meet with 13 of you, and I have one more meeting with a family on my calendar. Several of you have suggested that we will schedule a time to talk in the coming weeks. If you have not yet received an email request for a visit from me, keep your eyes on your email inbox!
The feedback that I have received from this year’s Lenten Study was very good. My heartfelt thanks go out to the team, led by Laura Campbell, that prepared the meals for these meetings. Beside the wonderful food, the fellowship of this shared meal was priceless. I offer special thanks to Joy Smith for filling in for me on short notice for the first two weeks, when my wife had an operation. By the way, Maria’s surgery was very successful. Thank you for your prayers.
In addition to being your full-time pastor, I have the honor of being the moderator for the Kerr Presbyterian Church. They have on occasion asked me to be their pulpit supply. Since our service is from 10-11 and their service is from 11-12, and they are willing for me to arrive a little late to their service, that has worked very well. In fact, they had me preach on both Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday. Thank you for allowing me to support Kerr Presbyterian Church in this way. Because of this special relationship with Kerr, I can invite them to special services we offer that otherwise would be unavailable to their membership. I am pleased to let you know that five members of Kerr attended our Ash Wednesday service and six were able to attend our Maundy Thursday service. I will continue to look for ways that we can collaborate with Kerr for other worship and fellowship opportunities.
The Building and Grounds committee made an improvement to my office. I now have a door with a window! My door was exchanged with a door from one of the classrooms downstairs that is better off with a solid door. This is a true win-win situation at no cost for the church. Thank you to the Building and Grounds team.
Christian Formation reached out to a friend of the church for assistance with planning three Friday gatherings for the seventh graders. Heather McGarvey was able to plan one of those meetings and planned and conducted the other two. I met with Heather before the last of those meetings and will contact her in the coming weeks to ask that she provide a message for us during an upcoming worship. If we are lucky, maybe I can also persuade her to play her oboe for us!
Sunday, May 29th is not only the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, but it will be a service of baptism for Ashley Lynn Bitner. Ashley is the daughter of Scott and Julie Bitner. I invite you to be in worship that Sunday not only to worship our great God, but to offer our support to Scott and Julie as together we pledge to guide and nurture Ashley by word and deed, with love and prayer. We also will pledge to encourage Ashley to know and follow Christ and to be a faithful member of this church. Please take time out of your holiday weekend to join us in worship and pledge our support to the newest member of the household of God!
To God be the Glory!
Pastor Frank Hancock
Email: pastor@plumcreekpc.com
Office: (412) 793-4525
Cell Phone: (412) 860-3719 – Please feel free to leave a message
Thank You
The Deacons would like to thank everyone who donated to our Change Sunday collection. We have received an additional $70 in the mail. This brings our Spring Change Sunday collection to $200. Thank you for your generosity!
Garden News
Mulching
We will be spreading mulch on all the flower beds around the church, beginning around 6:30 pm, Wednesday, May 4th with Thursday, May 5th as a rain date, should we get rained out on the 4th. We have had an offer to have the mulch dumped in many places around the church so the hauling and shoveling shouldn’t be too much. Just spreading the mulch should be what is needed. To be an effective at weed control and help with water retention, the mulch should be about 3 - 4 inches deep. Please remember that the more workers we have, the less each will need to do.
Rummage Sale – Garden Table
There will be a gardening table at the rummage sale again this year where we will be selling lots of plants. If you have plants that need to be divided or more seedlings than needed, we would love to have them donated so they can be shared with others.
What a Turnout to Welcome Pastor Frank!
Thank you for helping us welcome Pastor Frank and his family to Plum Creek. It was great to formally welcome our new Pastor with so many smiling faces.
BLESSING BOX DONATIONS
Requested donations for the blessing box in May are:
Paper Products (Individually wrapped toilet paper and paper towels)
Boxes of Kleenex
Rice Side Dishes
Boxed Potatoes (au gratin, etc., not mashed)
Spaghetti Sauce
Liquid Dish Soap (small size)
Canned Meat (chicken, tuna, spam, etc.)
Crackers.
Other non-perishables are always accepted. Thanks for supporting this church ministry.
The blessing box is being used and you are making a difference.
Annual Rummage Sale
The Plum Creek Presbyterian Church has been providing a rummage sale to the community for the past 60 years and we’re still going strong!
There are going to be some changes that have been missed in the past couple of years! We are going to be serving lunch from 11am – 2pm on Friday, May 13. We will serve hot dogs, ham BBQ’s, water, pop, chips, potato salad, and a few “specials,” too!! We will also have our baked goods on sale this year – pies, cakes, specialty breads, and cookies.
There will be tents set up outside to sell garden plants and garden tools, another tent for children’s toys, a holiday tent, and a tent for our baked goods.
Inside the church there will be clothing, small working appliances, jewelry, purses, housewares, linens, and settings of good china.
In the pavilion, there will be furniture, sporting goods, luggage sets, rugs, books, vinyl records, and CDs.
Our hours will be from 8am – 7pm, Friday, May 13, and 8am – 1pm, Saturday, May 14.
We hope to see you there!!!
RUMMAGE HELP NEEDED!
We need bakers to bake cakes, pies, cookies, specialty bread (pumpkin, blueberry, etc.), scones, chocolate covered strawberries, fudge, etc. (but no cupcakes, please).
There is a sign-up sheet in the Narthex, or if you can call the Office and let Kathy Kirk know, we would certainly appreciate anything you could do!!!
We also need people to sort and price items, sell items on Thursday night (May 12) from 6pm – 9pm (for Congregation family and friends only) Friday (May 13) and Saturday (May 14) and help to clean up Saturday afternoon. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex, or you can call Kathy Kirk in the office.
Hoodies for the Homeless
We collected 30 hoodies to donate to folks in need! Thanks for supporting this mission project.
Women’s Retreat
Beulah Presbyterian Church Women’s Day Retreat
If you have already read May’s “From the Desk of the Pastor” article, then you know that we have entered a special arrangement with Beulah Presbyterian Church to share their Christian Education leadership on a half time basis. A side benefit of this new relationship is better visibility into program and worship opportunities in which we can take part. This is one such opportunity. Carolyn Leah is joining us in May as our half time Director of Christian Formation.
Beulah Presbyterian Church will be holding a day of fellowship, study, and reflection for women of all ages centered around the theme of Peace! We will look at scripture, practices and prayer that help us to build inner peace, peace in relationships, peace in our world and peace with God's creation. Carolyn Leah, Director of Christian Discipleship will lead us through the day. The retreat is open to women and teens of all ages. The retreat day will begin May 7 at 8:30 a.m. with check in, gathering time, and a continental breakfast. Our retreat program will begin at 9:00 a.m. and finish at 2 p.m. Lunch will be served at noon. The fee for the event is $10. Please indicate any dietary restrictions on the registration form at the link below. Beulah Presbyterian Church is located at 2500 McCrady Rd. Pittsburgh, PA 15235. For questions, contact Carolyn Leah at 412-242-4570 xt. 17.
To register please visit: https://www.cognitoforms.com/BeulahChurch1/SpringWomensRetreatDaySaturdayMay72022
What is Happening at Plum Creek in May!
Church Information
Church Address: The Presbyterian Church of Plum Creek
550 Center New Texas Road
Pittsburgh, PA 15239
Church Webpage: www.plumcreekpc.com
Office Phone Number: 412-793-4525
Email Address: secretary@plumcreekpc.com
Office Hours: Tuesday-Thursday
10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Pastor: Pastor Frank Hancock
Business Administrator: Kathy Kirk
Director of Media/Communications: Ian Kist
Worship Services: Sundays @ 10:00 a.m. (livestreamed & in-person)
Sunday School: Sundays @ 9:00 a.m.