In the early 1970s, a group that quickly grew to hundreds of women began meeting in Monroeville, the local chapter of what was then called Women's Aglow Fellowship.
Today, it is called Aglow International, an interdenominational group of Christians with more than 200,000 members in 171 nations. The group started in 1967 in Seattle, Wash., and recently marked its 50th anniversary.
To celebrate in western Pennsylvania, members from local chapters will hold a Nov. 9 reunion at the Lamplighter Restaurant in Salem.
“We build relationships with one another to encourage and strengthen one another,” said Diane Moder of Dormont, who attended Aglow International's 50th anniversary jubilee, held in Virginia. “We want to bring a Biblical perspective to the governmental, economic and social issues we face today.”
Jean Pulsinelli of Murrysville has been a member of Aglow for more than four decades. She moved from Monroeville to Murrysville in 1976, just as a Murrysville Aglow chapter was getting off the ground.
“It was just a place where God was very alive, and I wanted to be there,” Pulsinelli said. “It was a great place to learn and grow together, to know God and grow in your knowledge of him.”
Moder said her mission is to live up to Aglow International's motto of “Every Nation Reached, Every Heart Touched.”
“We have an anti-human-trafficking group, we have a group that visits people in prisons, we have an Arabic-language television program,” Moder said. “I'm the chair for the Aglow Islam group, talking with people about reaching out to Muslims and understanding their religion. So for me, being able to build those relationships in- and outside the organization, has been wonderful.”
Moder will be a speaker at the Nov. 9 Aglow reunion, which will be at noon. Marcia Rhodes from Voice of the Bride Ministries will lead a worship service.
Pulsinelli said she is excited to reconnect with fellow members.
“Aglow has not been real active in Murrysville,” she said. “But that was what I enjoyed the most about Aglow. It's the ladies — knowing them, watching how we all come together and focus on what God has done and how wonderful He is.”
RSVP to lamplighteraglow@gmail.com or text 412-334-1836.
Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 724-850-2862, pvarine@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MurrysvilleStar.
