Tucked along Dutilh Road in Cranberry Township, just minutes from the Route 19 corridor and across from the Giant Eagle shopping center, Dutilh United Methodist Church serves a community of about four hundred households in the northern suburbs of Pittsburgh. The congregation describes itself with three simple phrases: Love God, Love Others, Love to Serve. Visitors quickly learn that those words are lived out through a packed Sunday morning, an unusually deep music program, a thriving preschool that shares the building, and a stream of outreach efforts that reach into Cranberry, Ambridge, and beyond.

Two Sunday Services, One Sermon

Worship happens twice on Sunday morning. At 9:30 a.m., the contemporary service fills the sanctuary with praise music led by Praise For, the church's Sunday morning band. At 11:00 a.m., the traditional service features Dutilh's adult choir, handbell choir, ukulele ensemble, cantors, soloists, and smaller ensembles performing traditional hymns and choral anthems. Both services offer the same sermon and childcare, so worshipers can choose the style that fits while staying aligned with the week's teaching.

For those unable to attend in person, both services are livestreamed on Dutilh's YouTube channel, with the stream opening about five to ten minutes before each service. Recordings are posted afterward, and the Dutilh Sermon Podcast carries each week's message in audio form on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, iHeart, Google Podcasts, and Amazon Music.

The building itself is fully wheelchair accessible, with ramps to the restrooms, sanctuary, fellowship hall, meeting rooms, and classrooms, plus an elevator in the education wing. The greeting area features a "New Here? Start Here!" table staffed by greeters and loaded with a welcome gift and a connect card. Newcomers are not asked to stand up and introduce themselves during services.

A Music Ministry That Doubles as Outreach

Music is one of the clearest signatures of Dutilh. Rob Lynch directs the traditional ensembles, while Maureen Konopka leads the contemporary side. The traditional service alone draws on a remarkable roster of musicians:

• The Adult Choir sings every other week at the 11 a.m. service and rehearses Thursday evenings at 7 p.m. Auditions and prior choral experience are not required.
• The Handbell Choir rings once a month at 11 a.m., rehearsing Thursday evenings at 6 p.m.
• The Ukulele Ensemble strums once a month at 11 a.m. and rehearses every other Monday at 6 p.m. The church has ukuleles available for newcomers.
• Cantors and soloists lead hymnody and offer special music.
• Seasonal Cantatas bring together singers, instrumentalists, actors, and narrators for Christmas and Easter celebrations, performed at a 6:30 p.m. Saturday service and the 11 a.m. Sunday service.

Children have their own musical home in the Kingdom Choir, made up of ages three through thirteen. They rehearse Sunday mornings at 10:30 a.m. during the school year and perform for special holidays throughout the year.

Children, Students, and the Pathway of Discipleship

Sarah Hogue oversees children's ministry and member formation, and the children's wing of the building is busy from 9:30 a.m. until 12:15 p.m. every Sunday. The nursery, called Kingdom Cradle, is staffed by professional adult caregivers with clearances and assisted by teen helpers. A sign-in procedure and paging system give parents peace of mind for babies through age three.

During both services, children ages three through third grade are dismissed partway through worship for Kingdom Kidz, gathering in the Fellowship Hall for a kid-focused worship time before breaking into small groups for deeper Bible exploration. Kingdom Quest, offered during the 9:30 a.m. service, serves fourth through sixth graders (plus sixth graders not in Confirmation) with lessons that apply Scripture to pre-teen dilemmas. Kingdom Builders, meeting roughly twice a month during the 9:30 a.m. service, gathers Confirmation students in sixth grade and up. Parents must register their child and attend a summer parent meeting for participation.

The Dutilh Student Ministry, known as DSM, reaches students in seventh through twelfth grade. With about fifty middle and high schoolers, DSM meets weekly on Wednesdays and develops small groups on Sundays. Mission trips have included a Serve Orlando trip and Uth 4 Mission at Jumonville with the WPAUMC Youth Ministry Team. The ministry emphasizes mentors who "get it," high-energy worship, real conversations, and service.

Dutilh practices infant baptism and also offers baptism at Confirmation or at a personal profession of faith for older children joining the church. Five scholarship funds (Shaw, Anderson, Polnisch, Alexander, and Clark Edwards) support graduating seniors and current members pursuing post-secondary education, including a Christian college or seminary track and a preference for those entering the medical field.

Adult Formation Through Small Groups

Small groups are where Dutilh's mission becomes personal. The church gathers regularly for fellowship, prayer, Bible study, and spiritual care. Opportunities include:

• Sundays at 9:30 a.m. in Classroom 1: a Bible study led by Peggy Dressler, Eric Ray, and Gary Schwartz.
• Sundays at 10:45 a.m.: a sermon discussion group led by Clyde Cameron, plus separate women's and men's Bible study groups in various rooms.
• Wednesdays at 6:15 a.m. in the cafe: a prayer circle with coffee and goodies, led by Mitch Lenhard.
• Thursdays at 10 a.m. in Classroom 1 and on Zoom: a Bible study with Pastor Jim Gascoine that explores the historical and cultural context of each book.
• Thursdays at 7 p.m. in members' homes (monthly): the men's small group led by Ramesh Subramaniam.
• Fridays at 6:30 a.m. in the Parlor: a men's Bible study working through Paul's letter to the Romans.
• Fridays at 7 a.m. in the Cafe: a men's coffee and conversation group.
• Saturdays, fourth week, 8 to 9:15 a.m. in Classroom 1: a men's leadership study with Pastor Tom Parkinson.

Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. (second and fourth weeks) bring three small groups: a women's group with Amy Parkinson, a young families group with Sarah Hogue, and a young adult group led by Heather Shoffstall. Childcare is available for infants through sixth graders at these Tuesday meetings, with advance sign-up.

Men's Ministry

Men's ministry at Dutilh is active and varied. In addition to the small groups above, men gather for the Big "C," an area-wide monthly Saturday gathering that draws worshipers from more than forty local churches for worship with the Big C Band and at least two speakers. The kitchen ministry team prepares the Faithful Followers luncheon, and an annual Father-Daughter Dance has been a recurring highlight.

The Food Ministry: Feeding Neighbors Near and Far

Food ministry is among Dutilh's most visible outreaches. Coordinated today by Debbie Mariotti, the ministry supports local families in three ways: year-round donations to community food ministries (VOICe, an emergency crisis shelter for women and children; the Southwest Butler Food Cupboard; and the Unionville UM Church Food Pantry); spring and Thanksgiving food drives serving families identified by the Mars and Seneca Valley school districts, with each family receiving non-perishables and a gift card for perishables; and quarterly monetary donations to Gleaners Food Bank and the Evans City Food Cupboard to underwrite fresh dairy, meats, and produce.

The children themselves get involved. The FISH children's group has helped pack boxes, and the preschool students and their families participate too. Donations are gathered in an alcove outside the Music Ministry office at the bottom of the lobby ramp, and an Amazon Wish List through the SW Butler CUPBOARD keeps the supply pipeline stocked.

Senior Center Lunches and the Kitchen Ministry

Once a month, the Loaves & Fishes kitchen team serves lunch to seniors at the Cranberry Township Municipal Building. The same Kitchen Ministry, founded by Susan Boddy roughly fifteen years ago and now contributing more than 1,600 volunteer hours annually, also keeps Dutilh's hospitality running. After each Sunday service, the Cafe serves coffee and cookies (a volunteer slot that families with young children particularly enjoy). The team prepares funeral luncheons, Vacation Bible School snacks, the annual Christmas breakfast, the Lenten Dinner series, the Fall Kick-Off event, and Faithful Followers luncheons. The Helping Hands ministry, coordinated by Kim Zacherl, grew out of this work and provides occasional meals for families welcoming a new baby or coping with illness. Extra food is shared with VOICe, MHY Family Services, New Hope, and other ministry partners.

The Center for Hope and Fabric Ministries

Since 2008, a small team of Dutilh members has driven monthly to the Center for Hope in Ambridge, a faith-based community ministry offering food, clothing, family programs, and senior nutrition. Led by Clyde Cameron, the crew typically works in the food pantry on the third Wednesday of each month from 9:00 a.m. to noon, helping clients select groceries with dignity. Other volunteers with trucks, vans, or SUVs meet Cameron at the back of Costco on Monday mornings at 10:00 a.m. to load donations for transport to Ambridge.

Another layer of that outreach is the Fabric Ministries. Quilt & More meets the fourth Monday of each month, welcoming anyone working on thread, yarn, or fabric projects, including quilts for MHY Family Services. The Fabric Bags group meets the first Wednesday of each month from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. to cut, sew, iron, and pin tote bags for Center for Hope clients. Past projects have included school-supply bags for the United Methodist Committee on Relief.

MHY Quilting is its own story. Started in 2011 by then-pastor Debbie Peyser, Louise Warner, and Cathy Mahoney to provide bedding for MHY Family Services, the ministry now partners with the Mars chapter of Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit that builds beds for children who would otherwise sleep on the floor. Each quilt is labeled, "Made for you with love by Dutilh United Methodist Church." A single twin-bed quilt takes about two days on Bud Warner's long-arm quilting machine, and the team typically completes around forty quilts a year. The youngest volunteer is eleven.

Dutilh Preschool

Dutilh Preschool shares the church's address and weaves biblical themes into a curriculum aligned with Pennsylvania Learning Standards. The preschool runs three programs:

• 3-year-old program: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9:15 a.m. to noon; $170 per month.
• 4-year-old program: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, 9:15 a.m. to noon; $220 per month.
• 5-year-old program: Mondays through Thursdays, 9:15 a.m. to noon; $255 per month.

Students participate in Bible Story Time, music classes, Children's Chapel, and monthly mission projects. Spacious classrooms with active learning centers, an indoor play area, and an outdoor playground fill out the facility. Robyn Mullin directs the program. Teachers learn each child's favorite snacks, a snack prayer travels home to family dinners, and an unhurried preparation for kindergarten shapes the year.

Camping Ministry

Dutilh supports United Methodist camping through Camperships of $400 for a full-week camp and $200 for a mini-camp. Three regional sites serve campers of all ages: Jumonville, set on a mountaintop about ninety minutes from Cranberry Township; Camp Allegheny, with 300-plus acres in the Laurel Highlands about a two-hour drive; and Wesley Woods, in the northwest Pennsylvania countryside near Titusville. In the 2025 season, the Camp Fund supported nine individual campers, sixty-one kids and teens at FISH & DSM Camp, twenty-five children at HOPE Camp (for kids from at-risk, low-income communities), nine children from MHY Family Services, and a "camp buddy" for Jumonville's Autism Initiative.

Beliefs and Wesleyan Roots

As United Methodists, the Dutilh congregation shares a common heritage with all Christians. From The Book of Discipline, the church lifts up four core affirmations. God is described in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (sometimes called Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer), and is one God who created the world, rules the universe as sovereign, and is loving. About Jesus, the church affirms that he was both human and divine, that he died on a cross, and that God raised him from the dead; "Christ" and "Messiah" both mean God's anointed. Believers receive abundant life and forgiveness of sins through him and are called to follow his pattern as Lord.

The mission statement of Dutilh Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others, and love to serve. The vision is a community where everyone is known by name, loved for who they are, and empowered to follow Jesus Christ. The aspirations are to be a church that is Christ-like, outward-focused, relational, discipling, and multi-generational.

Staff and Leadership

The staff is led by Senior Pastor Tom Parkinson, whose warm, story-shaped voice welcomes visitors. Pastor Emeritus Jim Gascoine continues to teach a Thursday Bible study. Sarah Hogue oversees children's ministry and member formation. Rob Lynch directs traditional music, while Maureen Konopka directs contemporary music and leads Praise For. Matt Cosgrove heads media ministries, and Robyn Mullin directs Dutilh Preschool.

A Leadership Board, made up of professing members who demonstrate an active, committed faith and the gifts of leadership, wisdom, and discernment, meets at 7 p.m. on the third Monday of every other month. Meetings are open to the congregation, and agendas, minutes, town hall slides, the master plan, and the 2024-2028 strategic plan are all posted online. A Safety Watch Team, staffed by trained volunteers over eighteen who have completed background screenings, promotes a safe environment during services and events.

Getting Connected

The Church Center app serves as Dutilh's hub for events, worship check-in, sign-ups, giving, and the church directory, which is private and accessible only by invitation. Five weekly rhythms are easy to plug into: Sunday worship at 9:30 or 11 a.m., a Sunday morning small group, a Wednesday morning prayer circle, a Thursday Bible study, and a Friday men's group. Volunteering runs from greeting and reading Scripture on Sunday mornings to gardening, the Cafe, communion, check-in, online service support, and seasonal mission trips.

Giving is available online through Church Center, by check in the offering plate, by automatic withdrawal through a bank's bill pay (using account number 6014075), and by stock or RMD transfer coordinated with accountant Tanya Schley. Stewardship teaching invites proportional, prayerful giving, with tithing presented as a spiritual discipline and a starting point rather than a strict requirement.

Dutilh's podcast library includes not only the sermon podcast but also Your Story Matters Here, a monthly interview series that looks for God's fingerprints in the lives of people from the church and the community. Vacation Bible School returns each summer (a "Rainforest Falls" theme marked 2026, with "CRAVE" registration opening in February 2027). The Fall Feasts dinner series gathers the congregation on Wednesday evenings for a meal, a mini-concert, and an intergenerational study, with youth dismissed to DSM Connect and children dismissed to their own Bible study.

The building sits at 1270 Dutilh Road, with easy access from Route 19, Interstate 79, and the Pennsylvania Turnpike, next to UPMC Passavant in Cranberry. The phone is 724-776-1094, and the general inbox is info@dutilhumc.org. Whether someone walks in on a Sunday morning looking for a place to belong, signs up for a small group on a Tuesday night, joins a delivery run to Ambridge, packs a food box with the FISH kids, or sits down with a ukulele in the Sanctuary on a Monday evening, the path at Dutilh runs through the same doorway: known by name, loved for who you are, and sent out to serve.