Pastor Peter Asplin Scores Big from VNA Posted on December 15, 2025December 16, 2025 The ticket was won in warmth and sunshine. The payoff comes in winter. On a warm September afternoon at Missing Links Brewery, the Visiting Nurses Association (VNA) hosted a Cheers to Charity fundraiser, a celebration marking 60 years of compassionate care. Among the raffle baskets that day sat a prized pair of Pittsburgh Steelers tickets. Fast-forward to tonight. The same raffle prize now sends its winner, The Rev. Peter Asplin, into the heart of winter as the Pittsburgh Steelers will play host to the Miami Dolphins on Monday Night Football in a projected 16-degree chill—about as far removed from that September warmth as one can get. For Asplin, the Assistant to the Bishop of the Southwestern Pennsylvania Synod, the afternoon at Missing Links focused on supporting a mission that has provided 60 years of compassionate care for the people. “I had the opportunity to come up and celebrate 60 years of the VNA with the staff, and individuals who have experienced the gift of that organization,” he shared, reflecting on the fundraiser that brought supporters together in both gratitude and purpose. Supporting the mission felt natural. So did contributing to the raffle. “Part of supporting the organization is making a contribution, so I bought some tickets and threw some into the Steelers basket, and I was glad to hear I had won,” he shared. That small gesture will become one memorable experience, and one that will mark just the second Steelers game he has attended in his life. “It will be my second Steeler game in my life, and I am looking forward to it,” Asplin added. Yet even as kickoff approaches and winter coats are zipped tight, Asplin is clear about what matters most. The tickets, the game, and even the cold are secondary to the mission they represent. He speaks with deep respect for the nurses and caregivers who carry out the VNA’s work every day. “I know what a difference the VNA makes for the men and women who serve in that ministry, going out to be with folks in their homes,” Asplin said. “I know, personally, what a difference it is and what hard work it is that the hard-working men and women do.” “I really appreciate that ministry and know that the organization makes a meaningful difference. It may not be the conventional sense of Abundant Life, but it certainly embodies a different, but yet profound expression of it.”