"Forget the fo rmer things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!" Isaiah 43:18-19a In the fall of 2025, our Church Conference established the goal of developing a new vision statement for our church during the present year, to guide our ministry in the years 2027 and beyond. Our Church Council has been working on this task during each of its monthly meetings this year. As our inspiration and starting point, we have used the new vision statement for The United Methodist Church, which was established in May of 2025, as follows: The vision states: The United Methodist Church forms disciples of Jesus Christ who, empowered by the Holy Spirit, love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously in local communities and worldwide connections. This vision statement complements the Church's longstanding mission statement, inspired by Matthew 28:1-20: "The mission of The United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world." The vision encourages United Methodists to embody the following principles: Love Boldly: Passionately love God and, like Jesus, embrace and include people of every age, nation, race, gender and walk of life. o Inspired by Matthew 22:37-39 and John 13:34-35 Serve Joyfully: With a Christ-like heart, journey alongside the most vulnerable, offering care and compassion with joy. o Inspired by Psalm 100:1, Nehemiah 8:10, John 13:14-15 and 1 Peter 4:10 Lead Courageously: Follow Jesus’ example by resisting and dismantling all systems of evil, injustice, and oppression, striving for peace, justice and reconciliation. o Inspired by Joshua 1:9 and Ephesians 6:10 This fall, we would like to urge all members and friends of Mt. Lebanon United Methodist Church to engage with this process. I would ask you to reserve the date of Sunday, September 27th, 2026, on your calendars. Our usual Sunday schedule will be fundamentally changed on that morning to include a single service of worship, followed by a meal, and a vision-casting exercise in which your input is sorely needed. Our goal is to accomplish all of this prior to our dismissal at Noon. Would you devote a single Sunday morning to this worthwhile task? I thank you in advance for doing so. I have asked all of our Sunday School classes to stand down their operations on that day, and they have agreed to do so. Childcare will be provided to enable our younger families to attend also. Please consider this your invitation to attend! In 1908, clergyman and poet Frederick L. Hosmer penned the words for a hymn that was inspired by the early social gospel movement. His hymn was included in the 1989 United Methodist Hymnal as #555, “Forward Through the Ages.” The words of the first stanza and refrain are these: “Forward through the ages, in unbroken line, move the faithful spirits at the call divine; gifts in differing measure, hearts of one accord, manifold the service, one the sure reward.” May Hosmer’s words ring true in our hearts as we contemplate moving “Forward in Faith” this fall. I’ll see you in church! Pastor Tom Strandburg
Four (4) long-standing food ministries fall under the umbrella of the Missions and Outreach Committee, most notably the Food Pantry, the Northside Lunch, the Food Lift, and the East End Cooperative Ministries Dinner. The Food Pantry (led by Liz DiPietro and Tom Wagner) has been in existence for over 20 years and provides perishable and non-perishable items twice a month to approximately sixty families (totaling 160 individuals) in our surrounding communities. The Food Pantry’s reach increased during 2025 when it added families involved with the fledging Spanish ministry that our Church is sponsoring. The Northside Lunch (led by Louanne Baily and Francie Robb) has been in existence for over 40 years and provides lunch on the first Thursday of every month to approximately 150 impoverished individuals in the North Side neighborhood. During the height of Covid, these lunches were supplemented with sanitary and protective supplies. The Food Lift (led by Monica Kao) has been in existence for over 15 years and receives/distributes perishable food items daily (year-round), not only to our Food Pantry but also to churches and social service organizations in economically challenged neighborhoods throughout the Pittsburgh area. The Food Lift also supports a monthly food distribution (third Tuesday of every month) by the Beulah Baptist Church in the Beltzhoover neighborhood. The East End Cooperative Ministries Dinner (led by Rob Spicher) has been in existence for over 30 years and provides dinner on a bi-monthly basis (4th Sunday of the “even” months) to the EECM housing/social service facility in the East Liberty neighborhood. The dinner feeds approximately fifty residents transitioning from homelessness, addictions, and incarcerations. MLUMC was recognized earlier this year as the “Volunteer Group of the Year” for our long-standing service to EECM. In addition to the folks mentioned, many other volunteers contribute their time and talents to these food ministries to ensure their success and sustainability. MLUMC is certainly making a positive impact on the lives of all whom these food ministries touch, both recipients and volunteers alike. If you would like more information on any of these food ministries or wish to help with any/all of them, please contact Rob Spicher, Missions and Outreach Committee chair, at robert.spicher@pnc.com or 412-720-4589. Volunteers are always welcome!
For the 2025-2026 program year, the Diversity, Equity and Belonging Committee (DEB) sponsored an overview of the UMC Social Principles, which were updated at the 2024 General Conference. Each month we explored a different area using a variety of methods and materials including guest speakers, large and small group discussions, book studies, and Sunday School class lessons. Many of these topics were difficult to tackle and left us with more questions than answers. So, what is next? Over and over again we discover that the Social Principles at their heart are about loving our neighbors and bringing God’s justice to an unjust world. As our VBS 2026 attendees learned, Micah 6:8 spells out God’s requirement of God’s people: “…do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God.” These words are deceptively simple, but not easy to put into practice. Each part of the verse begins with an action verb: Do. Love. Walk. What should we DO when we know that justice is withheld from certain people? How do we actively LOVE those in need of physical and emotional care? How do we answer the call to WALK with our God to bring peace to a troubled world? In order to explore these questions and more, DEB’s focus for the coming program year will be Peace with Justice. Each quarter we will dive into a topic that addresses a broad group of marginalized people. Our first quarter (September, October, November) we will be Celebrating Diversity in the church, our nation, and the world. Please watch the announcements for specific activities. If you would like to help with planning for the year, please get in touch with Kim Rhoton (krhoton@mlumc.org).
