Congregational Snapshot: Saint Andrew's Episcopal

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Welcome to the third post in our ongoing series highlighting the different ways that EECM’s Member Congregations provided support to our ministry. (Don't forget to check out the first two congregationals snapshot on East Liberty Presbyterian Church and Eastminster Presbyterian Church). Thanks to Jan Moravec, St. Andrews’ Council Representative, for providing the information for this window into St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church’s involvement with East End Cooperative Ministry!

St. Andrews is another church that was among the original 18 that founded EECM in 1970. Located in the heart of Highland Park, St. Andrews has an active community presence throughout the year – EECM is just one of their many involvements. They support “5 Talents,” a micro lending agency, the Episcopal Relief and Development Fund and the United Thank offering, a project of the Episcopal Church Women.

Every month, St. Andrew’s collects the food featured on EECM’s Food of the Month and their monthly donation usually tops 100 items. They have also claimed the fourth Friday of every month as their night at the Men’s Emergency Shelter, cooking, delivering and serving the evening meal to our shelter guests. The participating congregation members vary, but the meal is always delicious!

The members of St. Andrew’s are also generous supporters of EECM’s Have a Heart for Hunger campaign, taking up a special offering each spring in support of our Hunger Programs. In October, they take part in our Spread the Warmth Coat Drive and every Christmas, members of the congregation “adopt” EECM clients and purchase Christmas gifts for them.

Jan says that St. Andrews participates in EECM’s ministry because they are committed to Christian outreach to their more disadvantaged neighbors. They are also drawn to the interfaith component of EECM and welcome the opportunity to work in partnership with congregations of other faiths.

Congregational Snapshot: Eastminster Presbyterian Church

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Welcome to the second post in what I swear is going to be an ongoing series of congregational snapshots – our chance to highlight the wonderful ways that local congregations support the work of EECM. It’s been a while, so feel free to go back and read up on the earlier post about East Liberty Presbyterian Church. Thanks to Laurie Miller, an Elder at Eastminster, for providing the info for this snapshot!

Eastminster has played an integral role in the planning, development, and funding of EECM since its beginning. Located on Highland Avenue at Penn Circle, Eastminster Church is an active participant in the East Liberty community. Their many programs and activities include the Judah Project, which provides low cost musical instruction; an NAEYC accredited Child Care Center; HOME, a housing ministry to assist low income families in becoming first time home owners; and a fully-equipped cardio vascular fitness center. The congregation describes itself as intentionally cross-cultural and has a diverse active membership of approximately 180 people. Beyond the Eastminster community, the congregation is partnered globally with churches in Mexico, Haiti, Malawi, Russia, and Egypt.

Eastminster’s involvement in the work of EECM has always been multi-faceted. They provide free office, meeting, and program space (EECM’s Administrative Offices are located on the second floor), as well as ongoing financial support. Up until a year and a half ago, our Meals on Wheels program operated out of the Eastminster kitchen and several church members are active volunteers in the program.

We can always count on Eastminster to participate enthusiastically in our other projects and “drives.” A collection bin is kept outside the sanctuary to receive ongoing food donations to the EECM Food Pantry and each month, Eastminster members provide a meal at our Emergency Men’s Shelter.

Laurie says that Eastminster church chooses to be a Member Congregation at EECM “because we believe that the services EECM offers provide for healthier individuals and families and therefore, healthier communities.”

Thanks for all your support, Eastminster!

Happy Spring!

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

In honor of this (somewhat chilly) first day of Spring, several of our supporting congregations put together some very cute Spring Baskets for our Food Pantry clients.

The baskets came in two varieties. One genre was bright plastic buckets (like you would put crayons in) with cheerful flowers painted on the outside. Inside was a fun collection of jelly beans and chocolates, as well as handmade cards and tissue-paper flowers and bunnies. These had been elegantly wrapped in colored cellophane and tied off with yellow ribbons. Very pretty!

The other group were more traditional wicker baskets with shockingly-colored plastic grass. Their contents included crayons, colored pencils, coloring books, little toys and games, and some miscellaneous chocolates.

The baskets will be distributed to Food Pantry clients (primarily those with children, but we don’t discriminate!) this afternoon.

Happy Spring!

Full Turkey Ahead

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Thanksgiving may be still a week away but here at EECM it’s Full Turkey Ahead and All Turkeys Go. Harvest season is a bountiful time of year and the approaching holidays bring out the charitable in everyone. The result of which is that our Food Pantry is overflowing…which is a good thing because traffic at the Pantry increases dramatically at this time of year. Ordinarily, we see around 20 to 25 families each day. Yesterday, we served 76.

One of the reasons for the extra people is that EECM is a recipient of Turkey Vouchers from Giant Eagle. The vouchers are good for a turkey, ham or chicken at Giant Eagle and we distribute them to our clients. A good-sized bird can feed a family for quite a while and the turkey vouchers are always eagerly anticipated.

But what would a turkey dinner be without the sides? Never fear – East Liberty Presbyterian Church to the rescue! Each year ELPC participates in a Thanksgiving Bag food drive for EECM. At the morning church services, they pass out brown paper grocery bags, to which they have stapled a list of Thanksgiving sides like stovetop stuffing, canned sweet potatoes, jars of gravy, and cornbread mix. The filled bags are then distributed to our clients along with their turkey vouchers and voila, a Thanksgiving Day feast. They even toss in festive holiday napkins. This year, they collected well over 100 Thanksgiving Bags.

And if all that food wasn’t enough, we’re expecting a large feathery donation on Monday – a flock of 50 frozen turkeys. All Turkeys On Deck!

Clifford: The Big Red Van

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

What’s big and red and has Really Awesome flashing lights on top?

EECM’s new Hunger and Homeless van, of course!

Officially, he is a 1989 Ford Club Wagon E350, but that’s a bit of a mouthful and I’m planning on calling him Clifford instead. Isn’t he handsome?

Clifford was donated to us recently by East Liberty Presbyterian Church. This is simply the most recent example of the ongoing support shown to EECM by this fabulous congregation. To read more about ELPC’s involvement with EECM, click here.

We will put our new van to good use in our Hunger and Housing programs where one of his most important duties will be collecting the daily donations of produce and baked goods from Whole Foods Market.

Thanks ELPC! And welcome to the fleet, Clifford!

Congregational Snapshot: East Liberty Presbyterian Church

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant

Welcome to the first of what will hopefully be an on-going series of posts highlighting the different ways that EECM’s Member Congregations provide support to our ministry. Thanks to Beth Urbaitis, the Council of Congregations representative for East Liberty Presbyterian Church, for providing information for this snapshot of ELPC's involvement with East End Cooperative Ministry!

Frequently known as “the big church on the corner of Penn and Highland,” East Liberty Presbyterian Church (ELPC) has been a cornerstone of the East Liberty community since 1815. ELPC is one of the founding members of EECM – they’ve been with us since it all began in 1970. Their slogan is “reaching up…reaching out…reaching you” and they do just that with a diverse and inclusive congregational body that welcomes anyone and everyone to worship.

To this day, ELPC remains a stalwart and active supporter of EECM. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is that they let us live in their church! EECM’s Food Pantry, Soup Kitchen, Meals on Wheels, and Emergency Men’s Shelter programs all operate out of one ‘wing’ of the church. They graciously permit us to use a dining room, kitchen, and multiple offices, and also helped us convert a former chapel into dormitory-style sleeping quarters for our shelter.

But their commitment to EECM can be found in other places too. You can see it in the food collection barrels in the hallways, labeled with the Food Pantry “Food of the Month.” You can see it in the many congregation members who volunteer throughout our programs. You can see it at Christmas, when the ELPC “Angel Tree” is decorated not with ornaments but with the names and Christmas gift wishes of EECM clients.

Then there’s the Good Samaritan Worship Service, an early-morning Sunday service of music, prayer, and personal witness, that specifically reaches out to the men in our Emergency Shelter, inviting them to come and worship, making them feel welcome. And several times each month, groups from the congregation prepare and serve the evening meal to the men in the shelter.

When asked why ELPC participates in the ministry of East End Cooperative Ministry, Beth says that the congregation has a strong emphasis on mission, and what better ministry to support than the one living under your own roof!

Off to College

Written by: Kate Snyder, Executive Assistant.
Pictured at right is Mary Dawn Edwards, a member of EECM Member Congregation Tree of Life.

As we sweat our way through August and marvel that September is already looming on the horizon, young people across the country are packing their belongings in preparation for imminent departures to college. This fall, 14 young people from within EECM’s Children & Youth programs will begin their journey through the halls of higher learning. I assume that all parents are proud when their offspring embark on a college education, but for these 14 men and women, the moment is even more special – most of them will be the first members of their families to go to college.

I have clear recollections of driving my parents absolutely batty as I packed and repacked and sorted and agonized over what to bring with me to college. In the end, I opted to bring Absolutely Everything, including but not limited to: roller blades I never used, a purple lava lamp, and several cases of ramen noodles which I never ate because, let’s face it, ramen noodles are gross.

Thanks to the generosity of several of our Member Congregations, our college-bound young people will also begin their journeys well-equipped. Each fall, our congregations hold Off to College drives to collect the necessary trappings of dormitory life. Each student is then presented with his/her own Off to College Kit. Packed into a laundry basket or storage tub they find vital gear like sheets, towels, clothing hangers, laundry detergent, school supplies, shower shoes and microwave popcorn.

Many of these young men and women have been involved with East End Cooperative Ministry since elementary school. We have watched them grow and learn and mature into confident adults and we share in their families’ joy as they take this next step.

Good luck, grads! Make new friends, have grand adventures and revel in your college experience. But, if at all possible, avoid ramen noodles.