One participant in Sunday's 100th anniversary celebration at St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brookline complains constantly because he lives in a trunk in the church.

Pastor Woody is a 3¹/₂-foot-tall, hand-carved wooden puppet, who tells church members during sermons, via Pastor Scott Bryte, that his digs aren't very comfortable. Pastor and puppet also manage to deliver some lessons from the Good Book.

	Bob Donaldson, Post-Gazette Pastor Scott Bryte, of St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church in Brookline with Pastor Woody, one of the ventriloquist puppets he uses in the church's ministry. The church is celebrating its 100th anniversary. Click photo for larger image.

The church is known for its unique puppet ministry, as well as for free bus service for neighborhood seniors and a Meals on Wheels kitchen.

There will be a celebration with a special service at 9:30 a.m. Sunday at the church. Dr. Donald McCoid, bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, will preach and the handbell choir will perform. A luncheon for congregants at Salvatore's, 5001 Curry Road, will be held after the service.

The celebration commemorates the 100th anniversary of the first Lutheran service performed in the neighborhood. That was done at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Hermann at 2611 Pioneer Ave. in October 1906. Lutheran services were then held at a West Liberty Avenue Methodist Church until a building was built on Bodkin St. in 1908. The congregation was officially recognized as a church in December 1912, and the current church building was dedicated in September 1929.

The church's lobby has paintings and photos of past pastors and one current photo portrait of Pastor Woody. Mr. Bryte "won't let us put his photo up yet," parishioner Diane Stridle said.

She said the puppet ministry was "great fun" and "all the kids love it."

Mr. Bryte, 43, of Baldwin Township, has been pastor for 10 years and started woodcarving in the 1990s. His interest in puppets grew after he read an issue of the Smithsonian Institution's magazine that had Charlie McCarthy on the cover.

He taught himself ventriloquism while driving and said he found he could "cuss out other drivers without them knowing it was him. Not that I would, of course."

The puppet ministry performs multicharacter Bible stories with humorous twists at churches during summer road trips all over Pennsylvania and other states. He is helped by 15 people, including youngsters age 10 to 18 and three people who have reached adulthood but still want to help out.

He never charges, except for mileage, but donations may be made to Lutheran World Relief.

"It's a hoot for everybody. It really is," Mr. Bryte said.

His favorite creation is Pastor Woody.

"People really buy into it," Mr. Bryte said. He said church women had sewn clothes for the puppet and one couple asked him to incorporate the puppet ministry into their marriage ceremony. The minister declined.

But Woody makes regular monthly appearances at church services during the children's sermon portion. "[The puppet] has some crazy idea and I get the children to correct him," Mr. Bryte said of the ministry.

Mr. Bryte and his wife, Kathleen, have two children, Meghan, 16, a Baldwin High School junior, and Zach, 19, who is a sophomore at Thiel University, where his father graduated. They greatly enjoyed the puppets' antics while growing up, and Meghan has been an experienced puppeteer since age 4.

But the puppet ministry is not the only unusual aspect of the church.

Thelma Hibbard, 87, coordinates the volunteer drivers for the bus service, which started 30 years ago when the church asked the seniors in Brookline what it was that they really needed. The answer: transportation. Mrs. Hibbard has been active with the service since that time.

The red bus with 15 seats normally sits at Mr. Bryte's home when not being used. The service is restricted to Brookline seniors and takes them from homes to and from doctor's appointments, beauty shops and grocery stores.

The service is free, but there is a donation box aboard.

"We always need driver volunteers," Mrs. Hibbard said. Half of the more than 20 volunteers come from outside the church.

Another popular service the church provides is Meals on Wheels. Mr. Bryte estimates 70 deliveries are made daily.

To book the puppet ministry, call the church at 412 531-9575. To use the bus service, call 412 344-4222 from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. To contact Brookline Meals on Wheels, all 412 343-8144.