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Love People. Know Jesus. Live Transformed.
Our Outreach opportunities allow you to share the love of Christ with the local community. Know Jesus as He continually served the marginalized. Live Transformed by serving one of our outreach partners or participate in an outreach program right here at MPC.
Northside Partnerships
We are called to love one another, just as God loved us first. Nearly four decades ago, MPC followed the Holy Spirit’s call to the Northside of Pittsburgh to help bring a sense of dignity and hope to homeowners in the poverty-stricken neighborhoods there. We look to continue following that call with Northside Partnerships, an effort to connect MPC with churches and agencies on the Northside to come alongside as they address issues that families there are facing. The issues are significant—poverty, affordable housing, childcare, unemployment, healthcare, gun violence—issues that take a mighty toll on Northside families. Learn how to get involved by contacting Kevin Steele, Outreach Coordinator.
If you're looking to go out into the community, we have a variety of opportunities with our outreach partners that will allow you to show the love of Christ to others while tangibly helping. Some of these opportunities include:
- Allegheny Youth Development | Academic Mentors, Recreation Volunteers, and Support Volunteers
- Coalition for Christian Outreach (CCO) | Opportunities vary
- Family Guidance, Inc. | Youth Mentors
- Garfield Community Farm | Open volunteer hours to work at the farm
- Intervarsity Christian Fellowship | Prayer partners
- Light of Life Rescue Mission | Volunteers for their meal ministry, hospitality, office work, and their community outreach events
- Ligonier Camp and Conference Center | Opportunities vary
- MPC's Men in Action | Handy-man projects for people in need. Contact Jeff McManus and Scott Kurtz for details.
- Network of Life | Volunteers at their centers or prayer partners
- North Hills Community Outreach | Volunteers for their special events, senior programs, gardening, office support, food pantry, groundskeeping, and more.
- Open Hand Ministries | Volunteers for work days and becoming a community mentor
- Pittsburgh Project | Academic tutoring, and fundraising opportunities
- Pittsburgh Region International Student Ministries (PRISM) | Hosting connection dinners and become friendship partners
- Uncommon Grounds Cafe | Help with kitchen work, groundskeeping, garden maintenance, homeless outreach, and more
- Urban Impact | Get involved in athletics, performing arts, education, mentoring, and building programs
- Young Life | Prayer partners and volunteers to work with the kids they serve
Collections
Memorial Park organizes annual collections for a number of our local partners. These include:Food Bank Sunday: an annual food drive benefitting North Hills Community Outreach. Generally runs in early February.
Garage Giveaway: a collection of household items for international students through PRISM. Generally runs in early August.
New Hope Church Clothing Drive: collecting kids' clothing for underpriveleged families. This is held twice a year: once in the fall, once in the spring.
Women's Choice Network Baby Bottle Campaign: annual fundraiser to benefit the unborn. Contact Michele Holmes, Director of Women's Ministries for details.
Garage Giveaway: a collection of household items for international students through PRISM. Generally runs in early August.
New Hope Church Clothing Drive: collecting kids' clothing for underpriveleged families. This is held twice a year: once in the fall, once in the spring.
Women's Choice Network Baby Bottle Campaign: annual fundraiser to benefit the unborn. Contact Michele Holmes, Director of Women's Ministries for details.
Each year, we come together to bless those less fortunate by coming alongside our outreach partners to purchase gifts or gift cards for less fortunate families to help parents shop for their kids. And this year, we're wrapping what we used to call the Holiday Mission Offering up in one big bow, or snowflake, that is! Our Giving Tree this year will benefit not only our outreach partners with gifts and gift cards, but will also support Garfield Community Farm. Over the past decade Garfield Community Farm has been restoring nearly three acres of abandoned and degraded urban land to become one of Pittsburgh’s most productive and active urban farms. Their primary focus is getting food to people in their neighborhood and they do this through regular donation to food pantries and conducting a CSA (vegetable subscription program) reserved for people living within one mile of the farm. This year we want to raise $15,000 through Giving Tree donations to go towards purchasing a new truck for the farm.
Here's how you can help!
Pick Up a Snowflake from the Giving Trees in the welcome area starting November 9! Purchase the gift or gift card listed and return your wrapped (unless otherwise noted) gift by December 5. Drop off your gift before or after weekend services, or throughout the week at the Admin wing.
Make a monetary donation that will support the Giving Tree and our Outreach partners! You can contribute in three ways: via check (note Giving Tree in the memo line), via ACH through MPC Connect, via credit/debit card on our mobile app, or via credit/debit card through the online form here.
Packages will be distributed the two weeks prior to Christmas so the gifts make it to their destination before Christmas. Please be sure to drop all gifts and gift cards off by December 5. The deadline for financial contributions is December 18. Questions can be directed to the Giving Tree chairperson, Kathy Fenton by e-mail, or you can call the church office at (412) 364-9492.
The 2022 Giving Tree blessed MPC families, friends in the community, homebound friends, military families and veterans, Memorial Park Christian Preschool families, Mission Partners and their families, LaRoche College students, and Special Friends of MPC. Gifts also benefited individuals through organizations like Allegheny Youth Development, Family Guidance, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Kane Hospital's Presents for Patients, Mosaic Community Church, Prison Fellowship, Shepherd's Heart Fellowship, Uncommon Grounds Cafe, Women's Choice Network, and EduNations' teachers and staff.
We appreciate your generosity during the holiday season!
Love Local Day is an opportunity for MPC to love the people and places in our community and the greater Pittsburgh area by serving together. We will gather in front of the main entrance of MPC at 9:00 AM for a prayer send-off, and then we will go out to various project sites. All volunteers will be provided with free access to the NHCO All-You-Can-Eat Community BBQ, which runs from 12:00PM-3:00PM. We hope you'll consider joining us for a day of living out our mission & joining with our local outreach partners to meet the needs of our community!
Opportunities to Serve
North Hills Community Outreach (NHCO) is holding a fund-raising Community BBQ on our grounds from 12p-3p on Saturday May 4th! NHCO is a community- and interfaith-based organization addressing the needs of people in crisis, hardship and poverty. We will be setting up the Clayton and the grounds beside it with tents, tables and chairs, the bounce house. We will serve the community with Wheelfish's BBQ and bus their tables. Of course, clean-up will be required afterwards.
Over the past decade Garfield Community Farm has been restoring nearly three acres of abandoned and degraded urban land to become one of Pittsburgh's most productive and active urban farms. Our tasks will be determined closer to May 4th, so stay tuned.
Light of Life transforms the lives of those experiencing homelessness through the love of Christ. We will be preparing lunches for the homeless and those going through the program of restoration.
Living in Liberty restores dignity, freedom, and a new life to victims of commercial sexual exploitation by creating a safe, secure, loving, and nurturing community where healing occurs and a new life begins. We will be preparing meals to give to them.
Alliance Stamp Ministry takes the stamps that you send to the Stamp Ministry and generates income from their sale that goes to support preparation, publishing, and distribution of a Spanish language curriculum for Sunday Schools. We will be cutting out the stamps. Please bring a comfortable pair of scissors.
The mission of Community Care for Military (CCM) is to come alongside military families and veterans in our community and assist in meeting their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs as an expression of our gratitude for their selfless sacrifice and service for us. We will be working in the cemetery behind our parking lot, where many military service members are interred. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear that you do not mind getting dirty.
Prism Pittsburgh is a welcoming community for international students and scholars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania- we are a committed and passionate group of people who truly follow the Christian faith. We will be tidying up the Hospitality House and its grounds to prepare for a Yard Party that day for international students.
Mosaic Community Church on the Northside is on the grounds of The Pittsburgh Project. They have a courtyard that had been neglected for many years that they're reclaiming to become a community asset to attract and welcome neighbors to some Christian hospitality.
Love Local Day is scheduled for May 4, 2024.
Sign-up to Serve!
Opportunities to Serve
North Hills Community Outreach (NHCO) is holding a fund-raising Community BBQ on our grounds from 12p-3p on Saturday May 4th! NHCO is a community- and interfaith-based organization addressing the needs of people in crisis, hardship and poverty. We will be setting up the Clayton and the grounds beside it with tents, tables and chairs, the bounce house. We will serve the community with Wheelfish's BBQ and bus their tables. Of course, clean-up will be required afterwards.
Over the past decade Garfield Community Farm has been restoring nearly three acres of abandoned and degraded urban land to become one of Pittsburgh's most productive and active urban farms. Our tasks will be determined closer to May 4th, so stay tuned.
Light of Life transforms the lives of those experiencing homelessness through the love of Christ. We will be preparing lunches for the homeless and those going through the program of restoration.
Living in Liberty restores dignity, freedom, and a new life to victims of commercial sexual exploitation by creating a safe, secure, loving, and nurturing community where healing occurs and a new life begins. We will be preparing meals to give to them.
Alliance Stamp Ministry takes the stamps that you send to the Stamp Ministry and generates income from their sale that goes to support preparation, publishing, and distribution of a Spanish language curriculum for Sunday Schools. We will be cutting out the stamps. Please bring a comfortable pair of scissors.
The mission of Community Care for Military (CCM) is to come alongside military families and veterans in our community and assist in meeting their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs as an expression of our gratitude for their selfless sacrifice and service for us. We will be working in the cemetery behind our parking lot, where many military service members are interred. Please wear appropriate clothing and footwear that you do not mind getting dirty.
Prism Pittsburgh is a welcoming community for international students and scholars in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania- we are a committed and passionate group of people who truly follow the Christian faith. We will be tidying up the Hospitality House and its grounds to prepare for a Yard Party that day for international students.
Mosaic Community Church on the Northside is on the grounds of The Pittsburgh Project. They have a courtyard that had been neglected for many years that they're reclaiming to become a community asset to attract and welcome neighbors to some Christian hospitality.
Love Local Day is scheduled for May 4, 2024.
Sign-up to Serve!
The MPC Preschool and Outreach Ministries have united to offer English as a Second Language. The committment is simple: meeting with a pupil once a week for a few months to teach basic English communication skills. No experience required.
The ESL program is flexible, lessons are not restricted to a classroom setting. In fact, many tutors and their students take walks in the park, go shopping together, or share a meal at a local restaurant. Volunteers also impact the lives of their students by studying the Bible together and assisting with their travel plans. Many of these friendships have lasted for several years. Even when students move back to their homeland, many keep in touch through SKYPE and email. One particular tutor was 'adopted' by the entire family and was called 'grandma' by the student's children. The ESL program continues to grow and there are currently students in need of tutors. Please consider this rewarding way to serve God and the international community in our own backyard.
I Need a Tutor or I Want to Become a Tutor
The ESL program is flexible, lessons are not restricted to a classroom setting. In fact, many tutors and their students take walks in the park, go shopping together, or share a meal at a local restaurant. Volunteers also impact the lives of their students by studying the Bible together and assisting with their travel plans. Many of these friendships have lasted for several years. Even when students move back to their homeland, many keep in touch through SKYPE and email. One particular tutor was 'adopted' by the entire family and was called 'grandma' by the student's children. The ESL program continues to grow and there are currently students in need of tutors. Please consider this rewarding way to serve God and the international community in our own backyard.
I Need a Tutor or I Want to Become a Tutor
The mission of Community Care for Military (CCM) is to come alongside military families and veterans in our community and assist in meeting their physical, emotional, spiritual, and social needs as an expression of our gratitude for their selfless sacrifice and service for us. Our desire is to help others gain an understanding of today’s military culture and experience. We have developed strong partnerships with veterans and professionals in our area. If you know of a military family in your midst, please let them know that we are here for them. If you are in the service or are a veteran, we encourage you to let us know!
Complete the Veterans Information Form
We also have numerous ways you can get involved and show your appreciation and care for our service men and women in our community:
Operation Strong Mind
Veteran's Breakfast Club
Wounded Warrior Project
Veterans Leadership Program
Army Strong Community Center
Complete the Veterans Information Form
We also have numerous ways you can get involved and show your appreciation and care for our service men and women in our community:
Operation Strong Mind
Veteran's Breakfast Club
Support for our Veterans
Wounded Warrior Project
The WWP staff work to foster the most successful, well-adjusted generation of wounded warriors in our nation's history; and to provide unique, direct programs and services to meet the needs of injured service members. To find out how you can donate and support WWP, please visit their website for events in our area.
Veterans Leadership Program
If you’ve served in the military and you’re in need of assistance, Veterans Leadership Program is here to help. From housing and career development to wellness and supportive services, our passion is helping Veterans reach their fullest potential. The vision of Veterans Leadership Program is that every Veteran of the United States Military reach their fullest potential as citizens of the Nation that they have so proudly served. We are proud to serve all who served, regardless of VA eligibility, discharge status or length of service. VLP has successfully made an impact on over 8,300 Veterans annually in 30 counties across Pennsylvania, New York and Ohio.
Outdoor Immersion is a Community Care Mission using outdoor activities to create connections of friendship, moving them from isolation to community and rebuilding resilience physically, mentally and spiritually.
VISION: FORGING AMERICA’s LEADING HEALTH AND WELLNESS COMMUNITY FOR VETERANS In the military, service members push the limits of their well-being to support the mission. That selfless service posture has always been necessary because service members of every era knew they may be called to war. As they move into civilian life, many veterans carry that mission-first mindset with them, neglecting their health in the process. We believe that veterans are America’s most resilient citizens — and it’s time for more veterans to prioritize their well-being first. Team Red, White & Blue (Team RWB) exists to guide them through that journey with real-life and virtual opportunities focused on building a healthier lifestyle because a strong focus on mental and physical health is critical to ensuring veterans’ best days are ahead.
This is a veteran residence. They can often use volunteers to escort veterans to activities and events on campus.
Volunteer Resource Coordinator. 412-665-6790
Volunteer Resource Coordinator. 412-665-6790
Army Strong Community Center
ASCC provides support and resources to all branches of current military members and their families as well as veterans. They serve as a "virtual installation" to assist those who are holding down the home front when their loved ones deploy. For more information or to refer someone, please contact Lisa Ellek @ 1-800-400-2650 ext. 8314
Friday Nite Kids
In March of 2010 a new facet of our Special Needs Ministry evolved when we introduced Friday Nite Kids. This program was inspired and patterned after the successful Friday Night Owls ministry at Kirk of the Hills Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Friday Nite Kids began with four kids, and two Memorial Park families, and has expanded to include over 20 families from both our church and in the community, as well as over 50 volunteers. Friday Nite Kids was created to offer a fun night of supervised play and activities for children with special needs and their siblings so the parents can have an evening out.
Children with special needs and their siblings (6 months through grade 12) meet one Friday every month (September-May) for a free night of fellowship that includes large motor games and sensory activities, computer time, stories, snacks, and a craft. The group meets from 6:00-8:30 PM in the Children's Wing. Participants must register each month via the invite e-mail. We also hold a week-long Bible camp in July. Get in touch.
Special Friends
Over 20 years ago, a visit to Memorial Park Church by quadriplegic author and inspirational speaker, Joni Erickson Tada, sparked the dream of Special Friends. Initially, the outreach ministry focused on the spiritual and social needs of adults w ith a physical handicap. Throughout the years, Special Friends has remained strong, but has developed to meet new needs, new volunteers and new ‘special friends’.
Today we have an average of 60 Special Friends, family members and volunteers who attend our monthly meetings. The special needs of these adults typically fall into a range of developmental disabilities, however there are also some with physical challenges as well. Special Friends provides an evening of worship, fellowship and activities for adults with special needs. Family and friends are always welcome along with our many MPC volunteers.
Adults with special needs and friends meet the second Tuesday of each month (September-May) for a free night of Bible stories, prayer time, songs, birthday celebrations, games, movies, snack, crafts and fellowship. The program runs from 7:00–8:30 PM in Westminster Hall. To register, contact Marlene Pugliese at 412-779-4634 or via email.
In March of 2010 a new facet of our Special Needs Ministry evolved when we introduced Friday Nite Kids. This program was inspired and patterned after the successful Friday Night Owls ministry at Kirk of the Hills Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Friday Nite Kids began with four kids, and two Memorial Park families, and has expanded to include over 20 families from both our church and in the community, as well as over 50 volunteers. Friday Nite Kids was created to offer a fun night of supervised play and activities for children with special needs and their siblings so the parents can have an evening out.
Children with special needs and their siblings (6 months through grade 12) meet one Friday every month (September-May) for a free night of fellowship that includes large motor games and sensory activities, computer time, stories, snacks, and a craft. The group meets from 6:00-8:30 PM in the Children's Wing. Participants must register each month via the invite e-mail. We also hold a week-long Bible camp in July. Get in touch.
Special Friends
Over 20 years ago, a visit to Memorial Park Church by quadriplegic author and inspirational speaker, Joni Erickson Tada, sparked the dream of Special Friends. Initially, the outreach ministry focused on the spiritual and social needs of adults w ith a physical handicap. Throughout the years, Special Friends has remained strong, but has developed to meet new needs, new volunteers and new ‘special friends’.
Today we have an average of 60 Special Friends, family members and volunteers who attend our monthly meetings. The special needs of these adults typically fall into a range of developmental disabilities, however there are also some with physical challenges as well. Special Friends provides an evening of worship, fellowship and activities for adults with special needs. Family and friends are always welcome along with our many MPC volunteers.
Adults with special needs and friends meet the second Tuesday of each month (September-May) for a free night of Bible stories, prayer time, songs, birthday celebrations, games, movies, snack, crafts and fellowship. The program runs from 7:00–8:30 PM in Westminster Hall. To register, contact Marlene Pugliese at 412-779-4634 or via email.