A Parish Built Around Many Tables
St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church stands on Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell, a small city along the Allegheny River in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. The parish describes itself in its mission statement as a hard working, diverse, strong Catholic presence in the community - one rooted in baptism and called to proclaim and celebrate Christ's love for all. The phrase that runs through the parish's identity is the motto PROCLAIMING AND CELEBRATING CHRIST'S LOVE FOR ALL, and the image that shapes its ministries is the act of gathering at various "tables" of human encounter that lead to the Eucharistic Table of Christ.
Four priests, a permanent deacon, and a team of lay ministers keep the parish running. Fr. Daniel Blout serves as pastor, with parochial vicars Fr. Elpidio (Bimbot) Alcontin, Fr. Rodolfo Mejia, and Fr. Roselo Melloria. Deacon Jerome (J.T.) Tuskan assists in liturgical and pastoral ministry. Mary Murphy directs the liturgy and music program, Timothy Ruflin is the regional director of faith formation and discipleship, and Heather Hensley serves as pastoral associate for youth and young adult ministries.
Mass, Adoration, and Reconciliation
The week at St. Margaret Mary centers on the Eucharist. The Saturday Vigil Mass is celebrated at 4:00 PM, and two Sunday Masses follow at 8:30 AM and 11:00 AM. Daily Mass is offered Monday through Thursday at 7:30 AM. On Fridays, the church shifts its prayer to Eucharistic Adoration from 12:00 PM until 5:00 PM. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is heard on Saturdays at 1:00 PM.
The parish keeps preparation for Mass as a priority. Readers, musicians, and the assembly are encouraged to enter the liturgy through Scripture, and the parish highlights resources like the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops daily readings and the Center for Liturgy at Saint Louis University as aids for prayerful study during the week. Visitors traveling or searching for other area Mass times can connect through Masstimes.org.
The Seven Sacraments, From the Womb to the Tomb
Sacramental preparation is woven into nearly every age and stage of parish life.
Baptism is celebrated on weekends, generally after the 3:00 PM hour on Saturday or at noon on Sunday, with arrangements based on priest availability. A baptism preparation process is required for first-time parents and offers them an opportunity to grow in their own faith, traditions, and practices.
First Reconciliation and First Eucharist are prepared together, following the Code of Canon Law's instruction that the sacrament of Penance precede First Communion. Parents and guardians participate in monthly intergenerational sessions beginning in September. Children preparing for these sacraments must be baptized, and a baptismal certificate is required for those baptized in another parish.
Confirmation is celebrated according to the bishop's schedule and is prepared gradually following First Holy Communion. The parish shares its Confirmation program with the neighboring Catholic parishes of Lower Burrell and New Kensington, with parent meetings, sponsor forms, and service hour requirements built into the year.
Marriage preparation aims to begin at least one year before the scheduled wedding date. Engaged couples schedule the wedding date, attend a wedding workshop, complete the FOCCUS inventory with a priest, participate in marriage preparation through sponsor couples, an Engaged Encounter Weekend, or the Marriage Group (an online option), and meet with the music director. They return for a second interview to complete the marriage forms. Both Rite of Marriage within Mass and outside of Mass are supported, with the parish providing sample worship aids, planning sheets, and a Freude Room contract for receptions.
Anointing of the Sick, along with pastoral care for the homebound, the hospitalized, and the bereaved, is offered through the parish's pastoral team. The Funeral Mass is supported with a planning form, sample sheets, and a curated library of music from OCP, GIA, Hope Publishing, and others. Readings come from The Order of Christian Funerals, with the family selecting two readings and the presider generally choosing the Gospel. The parish highlights hymns such as "On Eagle's Wings," "Be Not Afraid," "Here I Am, Lord," "Shepherd Me, O God," and "Song of Farewell" among many others.
OCIA (the Order of Christian Initiation of Adults) prepares unbaptized adults for Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist, and welcomes baptized Christians from other traditions seeking full communion with the Catholic Church. Formation sessions begin in August and combine prayer, study, community, and liturgical rites, with no obligation beyond an initial exploratory meeting.
Music: A Choir for Every Voice
Music at St. Margaret Mary is built around a vision articulated by the Second Vatican Council's Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy: that the entire assembly should be able to contribute active participation. Mary Murphy, the director, oversees a network of choirs that rehearse throughout the week and sing at Sunday, feast day, and funeral liturgies.
The Adult Choir rehearses on Wednesday evenings from 6:45 PM to 8:45 PM, singing contemporary, traditional, classical, and gospel music for Sunday and feast day liturgies. The Liturgical Handbell Choir rehearses on Thursday evenings from 6:45 PM to 8:20 PM and welcomes new ringers even without prior music reading experience. Cantors lead the assembly in sung prayer and are encouraged to inquire through the parish office.
Younger singers have their own ensembles. The Youth Music Ministry welcomes singers in grades 6 through 12 and sings approximately twice a month. The Junior Youth Music Ministry, for grades 1 through 5, sings for Christmas and Easter season Masses, Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, and other moments throughout the year, and helps teach music to second graders preparing for Holy Communion. Small ensembles called Scholas sing four-part harmony several times a year. The Resurrection Choir lends its voice to funerals, a ministry meant to bring glory to God and consolation to the bereaved.
The People Who Make the Mass Happen
The Worship Committee and the Director of Liturgy and Music oversee the parish's liturgical life. Behind every Sunday Mass stands a team of ministers coordinated by Mary Murphy.
Readers are ministers of the Word who proclaim the first and second readings, introduce hymns, and read petitions and announcements. Adults and youth in fourth grade and above are welcome to serve, and training sessions are held throughout the year. Altar Servers assist at weekend and weekday liturgies, with yearly training for youth age 10 and above and ongoing training for adults serving at daily Mass and funerals. Greeters offer hospitality and a warm welcome at the door. Ushers help the assembly find seats, take up the collection, direct the flow at Communion, and distribute bulletins at the close of Mass.
Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion (EMHC) distribute the Eucharist at parish liturgies and must be commissioned, with annual formation and required recertification. The Homebound EMHC branch brings the Eucharist to people in nursing homes and to those who cannot leave their homes, providing a vital connection for parishioners no longer able to attend Mass in person.
The St. Anne and Joachim Ministry accompanies the pastor to Belair Nursing Home and Logan Place once a month each, with members serving as altar servers, lectors, singers, musicians, and Eucharistic ministers. Sacristans, working in teams, prepare the sanctuary for daily, weekend, holy day, wedding, and funeral Masses. Candle Bearers hold candles during funeral processions. The Art and Environment team, led by Linda McAlpine, adds beauty and solemnity to the church through the liturgical seasons.
Faith Formation for Children, from Toddlers to Tweens
Faith Formation for Children in Grades K through 5 is offered in several formats. A traditional classroom model uses the Augustine Institute's Word of Life curriculum. Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, a Montessori-based program for ages 3 through 12, gathers children in an Atrium - a hands-on space prepared for engagement with Scripture and liturgy across three levels. Families who homeschool receive the Word of Life student book and access to the catechist portal, with monthly Family Faith Nights offered to all faith formation families.
Liturgy of the Word for Children invites younger parishioners, beginning at age four, to be called forward during the 11:00 AM Mass for a Word of God and psalms shared at their own level. They return to their families during the preparation of the gifts. The opportunity is available during the 11:00 liturgy without sign-up.
Sacramental preparation is treated as a partnership between parish and family. Children must be enrolled in a faith formation program or Catholic school before beginning sacramental preparation.
Youth Ministry Across Two Parishes
St. Margaret Mary shares a regional youth ministry with the Catholic parishes of Lower Burrell and New Kensington. Heather Hensley, the pastoral associate for youth and young adult ministries, coordinates the program, and the parish also partners with the Diocese of Greensburg for events such as the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC). Life Teen resources, Catholic Exchange, and Francesco Productions are among the Catholic media recommended for teens. Confirmation preparation ties into the same regional structure, with 7th and 8th grade parent meetings and required Confirmation retreats.
Food Bank, Haiti, and the Work of Going Out
The parish's identity calls its members to share Christ's love not only with one another but in the community and in the world. Two long-standing programs give that call legs.
The Food Bank was founded more than twenty-five years ago to help meet the needs of the less fortunate. It serves residents of Lower Burrell and Upper Burrell and parishioners who meet income guidelines. Each month, 25 to 50 volunteers unload the delivery truck and break food down into household portions, providing monthly food assistance year-round.
The Haiti Project builds solidarity with the people of St. Antoine's in Fondwa, Haiti, a relationship sparked in part by the catastrophic January 2010 earthquake and continuing in a long-standing friendship. "Change for Haiti," collected following all Masses on the first Sunday of each month, sends funds to St. Antoine's. An annual second collection, usually in the fall, brings a speaker to share news from Fondwa and lifts up the partnership of a parish in the fourth poorest, third hungriest, and most water-poor country in the world.
Mercy for the Homebound and the Bereaved
The Homebound Ministry visits parishioners and residents of local nursing and personal care homes once a month, usually on the third Sunday. Ministers visit, pray, and present the Eucharist to those who cannot regularly attend Mass, whether long term or for a season of recovery.
The Ministry of Consolation surrounds the bereaved with the parish's presence. After a death is reported, Consolation Ministry teams deliver a sandwich ring and potato salad along with a sympathy card on behalf of the parish. At the one-month, six-month, and one-year anniversaries of a loved one's death, a member of the team lights a candle in the church and makes a supporting phone call, reminding the family that they remain part of the parish and that the pastor is there when needed.
The Hospitality Ministry frames this work as an extension of the central ministries of Word and Sacrament, and includes the practical Mercy Meals program, in which parishioners prepare and serve food for families who experience the death of a loved one.
Prayer Chain and a Vocal Vocation
A Prayer Chain connects parishioners to one another through intercessory prayer. The Vocations page links to the Diocese of Greensburg vocations office and the World Day of Prayer for Vocations, asking the parish to pray for and support vocations to the priesthood, diaconate, and religious life.
The Festival of Friendship, Nut Rolls, and the Annual Flea Market
Tradition binds the parish together in ordinary ways too. The Festival of Friendship, a long-standing parish tradition usually held in mid-August, brings the community together for two days of food, games, and children's rides and serves as the parish's primary annual fundraiser. The Holiday Nut and Apricot Roll Baking transforms the week before the holidays into a working gathering, with more than 100 parishioners turning out to bake nut rolls and apricot rolls for sale, and many finding new friendships in the process. The Annual Flea Market, run out of the Sullivan Room, the church lobby, the food bank room, and an outside tent, has become a community tradition in its own right, with housewares, jewelry, books, records, seasonal items, toys, tools, bikes, and medical and yard goods sorted across four sections.
Catholic Schools in the Diocese of Greensburg
Parish children attend Mary Queen of Apostles School, the regional Catholic school of the Diocese of Greensburg serving Pre-K through grade 8. MQA operates two campuses, the Freeport Road Site and the Greenwald Site, both in New Kensington. For high school, Saint Joseph High School in Natrona Heights, founded in 1915 and recognized as a School of Excellence, educates students in grades 9 through 12 across multiple dioceses, parishes, counties, and school districts.
A Parish Office Open to the Community
The Parish Office is open Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to noon and 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. Visitors may use the call box in the Parish Lobby for admittance, and drop-offs are accepted through the lobby doors during normal business hours. Those who would prefer to handle parish business off-site are encouraged to use the Virtual Office, email, or the phone line (724-335-2336). Online giving is available through WeShare, and the parish maintains a livestream on its YouTube channel for those unable to attend in person.
St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church sits at 3055 Leechburg Road in Lower Burrell. Fr. Daniel Blout and the pastoral team welcome anyone who wishes to join them at the Eucharistic Table, whether for the Saturday Vigil, a weekday morning Mass, an hour of Friday Adoration, or the Reconciliation that draws the whole week back to its source.