The United Methodist Church Union has been in existence and serving the Pittsburgh community for over 125 years. Across its history, United Methodist Church Union has established the following Social Services Agencies in Allegheny County:
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Northside Day Nursery, North side of Pittsburgh
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Epworth Woods Fresh Air Camp, Warrendale
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Robert Boyd Ward Home for Children, Mt. Lebanon
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Goodwill Industries of Pittsburgh, South Side
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John Munhall Neighborhood House, Munhall
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The Bridge, Northview Hts. And St. Clair Village
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Methouse, Munhall
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M.U.S.A., Homestead
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Metowers, Avalon
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Methousing North, Northside of Pittsburgh
The United Methodist Church Union has also assisted many congregations in Western Pennsylvania. This congregational support has included financial grants, loan guarantees, land purchases, and administrative services. Other missionary activities included:
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Grace Chapel Mission 1894
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Robinson Street Mission 1895
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Italian Mission, Wylie Avenue 1904
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Polish Mission, Southside 1908
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Trinity Temple, Smallman Street 1908
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Becks Run Mission, 1913
The United Methodist Church Union has developed and sustained many ministries during this timeframe, including:
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The Pittsburgh Parish, an association of several urban United Methodist Churches in the Pittsburgh district. With support from Church Union, these churches connected for seasonal worship and social and management experiences.
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Our Daily Bread (formerly the Northside Congregate Feeding Program) provides meals and other services on a weekly basis to the underserved and unemployed on Pittsburgh’s Northside.
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8th Avenue Place, which provides drop in services and support in Homestead, collaborated with United Methodist Church Union during 8th Avenue’s development.
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Manchester Reading Program, a reading and mentoring program, was developed by United Methodist Church Union to serve the under-privileged children in the Manchester Elementary School in Pittsburgh’s Northside.
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Work Teams are organized by United Methodist Church Union to provide hands-on services such as clean-up, building, and technical support to areas devastated by natural disasters or blighted by poverty.
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Kids Meal Network was developed by the United Methodist Church Union to connect children with summer meals in some of Pittsburgh’s most underserved neighborhoods.
The United Methodist Church Union continues to assist a number of organizations and programs in Western Pennsylvania such as The Bridge Ministries, Methouse, Metowers, and Methousing North. The United Methodist Church Union remains in relationship with Daily Bread, Off the Floor, the Reading & Mentoring Program, the Northside Food Pantry Advisors, the Kids Meal Network, the Greater Pittsburgh Community Foodbank, and more.
Collaboration is key to Church Union’s success now more than ever!
The United Methodist Church Union also assists local United Methodist congregations through periods of transition by offering support functions such as administrative and fiduciary help. Here are details about some of the active ministries at the United Methodist Church Union:
The Daily Bread serves over 15,000 meals each year as well as offering other services to our homeless and unemployed neighbors.
The United Methodist Church Union assists with the Metowers & Methouse Service Coordinator program which operates at the two senior living facilities, providing educational and social programs for approximately 200 residents.
The Reading & Mentoring Program continues to provide a one-on-one reading program for the children in various public schools in Western Pennsylvania. Most recently, the program operated in 4 different school districts across 3 counties and interacted with upwards of 200 students. Our Mentors find that they get as much out of the interaction as the children do!
Kids Meal Network operates during the summer months at different locations in Western Pennsylvania, offering children a healthy meal option when school meals are not available. In 2020, the year of the pandemic, we were able to send over 33,000 meals into the community for children.
The United Methodist Church Union is currently one of the approved Scholarship Organizations through the EITC program (http://www.newpa.com/find-and-apply-for-funding/funding-and-program-finder/educational-improvement-tax-credit-program-eitc) in the state of Pennsylvania. For the 2019/2020 school year, the United Methodist Church Union provided scholarships for 42 children attending 8 different preschools in Western Pennsylvania.
It is the intention of United Methodist Church Union to continue providing services to the underprivileged and underserved residents of the Greater Pittsburgh area and beyond. Here are some of our goals for the future:
1. Expand the Reading & Mentoring Program into more schools and find additional, dedicated volunteers to serve as Mentors.
2. Create even more fun for kiddos each summer who attend out Kids Meal Network sites by continuing to collaborate with local artists, expand craft & recreation offerings, encourage summer reading by distributing books and having readalongs, etc.
3. Focus of developing new and exciting program for the Northview Heights community under the guise of a new initiative titled “Kidcelerate”
