We believe mission is a vital part of what we do as individuals and as a church.
Feeding the Homeless – The Upper Room of Erie is a faith-based day shelter for homeless folks in downtown Erie. It strives to provide support, revitalize hope, and restore dignity for the poor and homeless. Our church prepares and provides a complete lunch to the Upper Room participants four times a year. We also collect personal hygiene items, and make and donate hats, mittens and scarves.
Ella Cochran Food Pantry – The faith-based Ella Cochran Food Pantry is a non-profit organization which helps to distribute food to over 100 families in need in Harborcreek. Our church members make monthly food donations, run special food drives, and fill school backpacks for kids. Many of our members volunteer in the distribution of food to the needy families, and two of our members also serve on the board of directors.
Angel Tree – Members pick tags from a special Christmas tree and purchase suggested gifts for people served by the Ella Cochran Food Pantry.
Greeting Card Ministry – We collect used greeting cards to send to St Jude’s Ranch for Children. They are recycled and sold for their ministries.
Community Service Projects – A large group of our volunteers were joined by a local Girl Scout troop to restore a dilapidated historic cemetery in our township. Over a number of Sunday afternoons, we cleared brush, safely cleaned grave markers and reset many of the markers. We even found veterans’ graves not previously marked, discovered some of our original church members from the 1800’s and brought family markers back together with a new cemetery map. The rededication ceremony was complete with an honor guard, 21-gun salute and television coverage.
Summer Weekly Reading Club – Church and neighborhood kids are invited on summer Wednesdays to a free lunch, followed by reading books of their choice with our retired teachers and other volunteers. Certified Therapy Dogs also attend most weeks.
In addition – We provide financial support for other local ministries including Veteran’s Miracle Center; Dressed for Success, Mercy Center for Women, Inter-Church Ministries and Safenet. This support comes from church donations and the following fundraisers: Aluminum Can Ministry, Swiss Steak Dinners, and Garage Sale proceeds. We also help support missionaries in Ghana and Syria.
The church also provides financial support to domestic and international ministries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) through Pentecost offering, One Great Hour of Sharing, Peace and Global Witness, and Christmas Joy special offerings.
…We continue Christ’s ministry in the world by nurturing the faith of persons of all ages through worship, warm fellowship and Christian Education…