​Summer Outreach Wrap-up

It has been a summer for the record books in many ways, but during this time of uncertainty, constant changes and not being able to meet as a parish all together, I have seen the church step up in so many ways to help address the needs of our neighbors and larger community. Since our COVID-specific outreach began in Carnegie, we have had over 60 volunteers serve 1,033 hours in a variety of ways: creating assembly lines in the undercroft to streamline the process of filling up 100 bags of food supplies at a time (yet making sure they weren’t too heavy... or too light!), handing out lunches to kids and parents at St. John’s, hauling heavy boxes of groceries from the food bank down tight staircases, buying so many cans of tuna at a time that you get strange looks from other shoppers, and the list goes on.

You have all put in hours of sweat equity, but always in a spirit of love and service. One of our volunteers made the comment: “I have taken a path toward sharing Christ’s love in the community. I have felt the needs of those struggling to have a secure supply of food for their families in uncertain economic times. The best part of volunteering this summer has been the masked socially-distanced contact we have with the kids and parents... It’s a friendly offer to help our neighbors and you know there are smiles behind those masks!” Thank you to all who volunteered for your servant hearts and generous spirits!!!

As we head into the fall, the food insecurity needs that have been exacerbated by COVID are not going away. Our partnership with St. John’s will continue, and you can check out ways to sign up here. We are also making meals for Shepherd’s Heart and the Hot Metal Bridge community as well. You can reach out to Andrea at akamouyerou@stpaulspgh.org if you have any interest in helping out with those meals. Please join us in this work of being Christ’s hands and feet in the world!