NEXT VESTRY MEETING
Sunday, September 6
St. Luke's vestry will meet on Sunday, September 6 following the service. All are invited to participate.
Please email Padraic Farrell at info@stlukesaltoona.org if you plan to attend.
INVITE WELCOME CONNECT
Invite Welcome Connect is a framework that helps congregations transform their approach to evangelism, hospitality, and belonging from a maintenance mindset to a mission-driven culture rooted in the Gospel. St. Luke's new parish team for this initiative is Alice Drus, Padraic Farrell, Caleb Gwinn, Bradle Jasper, Emily Letsche, and Olin Mittan. Woody Pyeatt will serve as an ad hoc member helping with organization. The group will attend three shared Zoom meetings this fall and work locally to review the program's resource materials, reporting back to the congregation regularly.
CHOIR REHEARSAL SCHEDULE
Our choir is taking a well-earned break, but they do plan to return in the fall. If you or anyone you know might be interested in joining them, please contact the church office at 814-942-1372.
COMMUNITY LUNCH!
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 at Noon
St. James Lutheran Church
You're cordially invited to join us for lunch on
Wednesday, September 9 at
St. James Lutheran Church,
1407 Eighth Ave., Altoona.
The meal is available for dine-in or take-out. The luncheon is free, though we gladly accept donations.
Interested in volunteering? We could always use your help. Contact info@stlukesaltoona. org.
POLLUTION TO SOLUTION: Saving 86,000 Miles of Pennsylvania Waterways
September 12, 2026, Doors open 1 to 5 p.m.
This film series and resource fair is sponsored by: Blair County Conservation District, NatureWorksPark, and Episcopal Churches of Blair County. This is a free event where four films will be shown about protecting our waterways. The films will be shown at the Devorris Center, 1431 Twelfth Avenue in downtown Altoona.
Our Church in the Park worship service will be held on Sunday, September 13th at 1:00p.m. at the Valley View Park. There will be no service at St. Luke’s that day.
The park is located at 301 Valley View Blvd., Altoona, PA. Immediately following the worship service will be a potluck lunch. All are welcome. We hope to see you there!
PAWPAW FESTIVAL
September 20, 2026, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
A pawpaw festival is a celebration of America’s largest native fruit, the pawpaw. This event typically features pawpaw tastings, cooking demonstrations, tree sales, live music, and educational talks on growing and foraging for pawpaws. It's a wonderful event and it's free. It's held at Duncansville Memorial Park at 822 8th Avenue. It's great fun in support of this wonderful plant.
By Cbarlow - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/ w/index.php?curid=123852197
ST. LUKE'S FOOD PANTRY
Thursday, September 24th
2:00-5:30 p.m.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Eighth Avenue and 13th Street, Altoona, will hold its next monthly food distribution on September 24th from 2:00-5:30 p.m.. Food distribution is done on a drive-through basis. Line up along Eighth Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets.
YOUR help is always needed to feed our neighbors, and new volunteers are always welcome, especially for the food distribution and the two days previous. In March we distributed food to the largest number of households we have ever done.
Tuesday the 22nd, we will pick up pet food starting about 1:30 p.m.. We will load pet food into Greg's van, and it will stay there until we unload it onto the table on 8th Avenue on Thursday the 23rd. It saves handling and aching backs!
Wednesday the 23rd, we will be packing boxes for our neighbors starting about 10:30 a.m.. Hopefully, we should be done by about 4:00 PM. The order has to be separated, shelved, refrigerated, and so on. We will then start packing boxes for our neighbors.
September the 24th, we will gather about 10:30 a.m. and continue packing boxes, moving food boxes into the rear of the sanctuary, putting out signs and tables, setting up tents, etc. so we are ready to begin distribution promptly at 2:00 p.m., continuing until 5:30 p.m.. Then we have to put it all away; the signs, tables, tents, and any undistributed food. Luckily, we have often been able to start this process earlier, sometimes as early as 4:00 p.m., so the whole process goes smoothly. Even so, folks who can stay till the end are GREATLY APPRECIATED!
We need your help! WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! Come when you can, leave when you must, and remember that your help and your prayers are a blessing for all involved. If possible, let Woody or Greg know when you can be there to help.
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS!
Special Requests for April: canned chicken or tuna, canned pasta, cereal (any kind), jam/jelly, peanut butter, pasta, and pasta sauce
Contact Laura Gottfried-Letsche or Woody Pyeatt.
Monetary donations may be sent to the church or done by using this Paypal link. Thank you!
Food Pantry Facebook Page
2026 Food Pantry Schedule
WORK, EAT, PRAY AT MT. ETNA
Saturday, September 26 9:00 a.m.-noon
Directions to Mt. Etna
St. Luke's Episcopal Church and Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light have hosted a monthly Work, Eat, Pray at Mt. Etna for many years and this particular section of the Lower Trail has been transformed by our work. Since the Fall of 2025, we have been experimenting with scheduling our work at different times of the day, so please be sure to note the time as well as the date of our next gathering. At each work party we spend the first 2 hours doing habitat restoration- removing non-native invasive plants which don't feed our native insects so we can replace them with native plants to help heal the planet that God has given us. This will be followed by a half-hour shared snack and conversation and end with Morning or Evening Prayer from the beautiful monastic tradition.
THIRD ANNUAL PRIDE PARADE & FESTIVAL
October 9, 2026, 5:00 p.m.
St. Luke's is proud to announce that we will once again be part of the Altoona Pride Parade this fall. The festival portion with various vendors will be at Heritage Plaza beginning at 5 p.m., and the parade begins at 6. If you would like to participate in any way - decorating and/or riding on the trailer, walking/passing out flyers/candy, donating for the decorations, candy, printing, or in any other way, please contact info@stlukesaltoona.org
SAVE THE DATE: St. Luke's Date
October 18, 2026, 6:00 p.m.
St. Luke's is planning a musical fundraiser for the food pantry on St. Luke's Day (October 18). This will be the first of a series of fundraisers, this one featuring a number of local musicians who are volunteering their talents. While there will not be an admission fee, all donations will go to support the food pantry ministry. If you know of a musician or musical group that might be willing to participate in one or more of these events, please contact the church office by email (info@stlukesaltoona.org) or phone (814-942-1372).
Dedicated to serving our community. Our monthly Food Pantry is open to anyone in need.
rsday, May 28, 2026
2:00 - 5:30 p.m.
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Eighth Avenue and 13th Street, Altoona, will September 24th from 2:00-5:30 p.m.. Food distribution is done on a drive-through basis. Line up along Eighth Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets.
YOUR help is always needed to feed our neighbors, and new volunteers are always welcome, especially for the food distribution and the two days previous.
Tuesday the 22nd, we will pick up pet food starting about 1:30 p.m.. We will load pet food into Greg's van, and it will stay there until we unload it onto the table on 8th Avenue on Thursday the 29th. It saves handling and aching backs!
Wednesday the 23rd, we will be packing boxes for our neighbors starting about 10:30 a.m.. Hopefully, we should be done by about 4:00 PM. The order has to be separated, shelved, refrigerated, and so on. We will then start packing boxes for our neighbors.
Thursday the 24th, we will gather about 10:30 a.m. and continue packing boxes, moving food boxes into the rear of the sanctuary, putting out signs and tables, setting up tents, etc. so we are ready to begin distribution promptly at 2:00 p.m., continuing until 5:30 p.m.. Then we have to put it all away; the signs, tables, tents, and any undistributed food. Luckily, we have often been able to start this process earlier, sometimes as early as 4:00 p.m., so the whole process goes smoothly. Even so, folks who can stay till the end are GREATLY APPRECIATED!
We need your help! WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT YOU! Come when you can, leave when you must, and remember that your help and your prayers are a blessing for all involved. If possible, let Woody or Greg know when you can be there to help.
IT'S ALL ABOUT LOVE FOR OUR NEIGHBORS!
Special Requests for February: peanut butter, jelly/jam, cereal (any kind), and canned soup.
Contact Laura Gottfried-Letsche or Woody Pyeatt.
Monetary donations may be sent to the church or done by using this Paypal link. Thank you!
Food Pantry Facebook Page
2026 Food Pantry Schedule
The Episcopal Church
Welcomes You
