MISSION

CROP Walk
On October 9, the Pittsburgh East community will celebrate its 45th year of walking to end hunger one step at a time. The oldest walk in the country, is sponsored by Church World Service (www.churchworldservice.org). 25% of what we raise is returned as grants to East End Common Ministries and Wilkinsburg Community Ministry.  FPCE will participate in this event with walkers Judy and Mariah Mysels and Rhonda Apessos and family, who aim to raise $800. If anyone else would like to join our small group of walkers, let Rhonda or Judy know. We gather at the South Avenue United Methodist Church at 1:00 to prepare for the 10K loop through Squirrel Hill and back. The walk distance is 6.2 miles. Walking time is approximately 2.5 hours. The route is a little different this year since the Fern Hollow Bridge is out and a detour is in place. You can participate by either walking or sponsoring FPCE walkers. 

CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR A WALKER

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News from WCM
We will be starting our "We Share Food" Mobile Pantry on Saturday, September 24 with a distribution at Covenant Church and Eternal City, at the Corner of Park Avenue and Swissvale Avenue, in Wilkinsburg.  This is a dry run and we expect many glitches!  Distribution starts at 11 and ends at 1:30 (or if the food runs out before). This is a joint project with the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, supported by The Heinz Endowments and the PA Department of Agriculture. Eventually we will be operating the mobile pantry at 4-5 locations in Wilkinsburg and one in Swissvale.  
 
In other news, we will start collecting for the Thanksgiving and Christmas distribution.  Distribution will include a Thanksgiving gift card for Giant Eagle, provided by the Food Bank, vegetables (corn, green beans), stuffing mix, cranberry sauce, corn bread mix, and a dessert mix.  We expect to be distributing for up to 200 families for each holiday.  The Christmas distribution will not include a gift card.  Please let us know if you'd like to order a specific collection or can help us with the purchase of these items!

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FPCE believes part of our mission is to love our neighbors, both near and far. Our friends and neighbors in the Edgewood and surrounding areas are invited to join us for the Deacons' annual Strawberry Festival. During the summer, the church hosts a monthly free community meal on the side lawn.

The Deacons also maintain a food pantry for those in need, with donations received year round.  Second grade students from the Shady Side Academy Junior School hold a food drive each year at Thanksgiving, collecting over 2,000 non-perishable items that are delivered to the church, which the Deacons use to stock our shelves and then distribute to other local food banks.

Wilkinsburg Community Ministry is the largest recipient of financial resources by FPCE.  We have members who serve on the board, volunteer, fill backpacks, make blankets, and assist financially in the organization's outreach to approximately 5,000 residents of our neighbors in Wilkinsburg, just a few blocks away.  WCM also provides dinner for the students in our FROGS after school program each week.

During the holidays, our deacons partner with Mars Home for Youth to provide clothing and toys for children at Christmas time in their annual Manger Tree collection.

Members of FPCE are represented each year in the Pittsburgh East CROP Hunger Walk sponsored by Church World Service.  Many years, a collection is also taken for the CWS Blankets of Hope and Tools of Hope offerings on Mother's and Father's Days.

At times throughout the year, the church also contributes to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crises and catastrophic events.

Since 1991, FPCE has participated in the Malawi Partnership of Pittsburgh Presbytery. Members have participated by both by traveling to Malawi and by hosting persons from Malawi when they have visited. Our partner church is Mpiripiri congregation in the Synod of Blantyre.

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