YOUR STORY MATTERS HERE: Allyson Marcinko

By Jenny Monahan

Eighth grader Allyson Marcinko frequently attends DSM events at Dutilh Church, but July 19 – 23, 2021, marked her first experience at Uth4Missions.

Alongside her DSM friends, Allyson spent the week staying at Jumonville Camp and serving in the Connellsville area as part of Uth4Missions, an outreach effort of the Western Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church (WPAUMC).

Allyson said she decided to participate because the event sounded fun. Her older brother Nick attended Uth4Missions as well.

“I thought it would be nice to know I was doing something active to help other people this summer, rather than just sitting around,” Allyson explained.

Her group spent the first day serving at Calvary UMC, where Allyson’s team cleaned the kindergarten rooms, sanitized toys for the preschool, pulled weeds, and pressure washed concrete. They also packed meals to share with people who are homeless and did some painting at a local food bank. Though she enjoyed serving, the work was not easy.

“We scrubbed walls so they could paint and then mopped the floors,” Allyson said. “I didn’t have a mop, so we cleaned the floors by hand—like Cinderella!” She also cleaned windowsills, swept, and vacuumed.

In the evenings, the students did team-building activities, hiked up the big hill towards Jumonville’s huge cross, and enjoyed campfires and s’mores. They also celebrated nightly worship services, which Allyson appreciated.

“It helped me grow in my faith, especially the small group discussions that happened after worship. We talked about how we can apply what we talk about in worship to our everyday lives,” Allyson explained.

Allyson said she would definitely recommend the mission trip to other young people who might be wondering about whether to try out a new experience.

“I had a really fun time. There was a pool, volleyball courts, gaga ball, and other fun activities we could do between mealtimes, and lots of open fields to explore,” she said. Her favorite memories of the week were sitting in the stairwell and chatting with her friends in the evenings.

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Allyson said her family first found Dutilh Church after checking out a few churches when they first moved to Cranberry Township from Pittsburgh, about five years ago. Her family includes her parents, Kristy and Greg, her brother Nick, who is a junior at Seneca Valley High School, and her big sister Kylie, a senior at Seneca Valley. Allyson attends Ryan Gloyer Middle School. They also have two dogs – Bean and Belle – and a cat, Mews.

In her free time, Allyson is involved with cheerleading; she takes tumbling and gymnastics classes to improve her cheering skills and has been part of Seneca Valley’s cheer squads throughout middle school.

At Dutilh Church, Allyson likes being part of DSM on Wednesday evenings. She also enjoys attending worship services and singing along with Praise For on Sunday mornings. One of her favorite experiences at Dutilh was being part of the Confirmation program with her mentor, Mollie Cotten.

Allyson said she tries to live out Dutilh’s mission to love God, love others, and love to serve when she is at school and with her friends. Giving up a week of her summer to “love to serve” with Uth4Missions is another concrete way Allyson practices that mission. Ultimately for Allyson, a lot of it comes down to her relationships. She explained, “I try to treat everyone with respect and be a friend to people.”

If you or someone you know in the Dutilh family has an interesting story or profession, send us your ideas! We would love to help tell the story. Email: communications@dutilhumc.org.