We at House of Prayer have been reflecting on what it means to be a Christian community here in Aliquippa, a Beaver county community. What are some of the needs around here and how do we fit in with those needs? One way to extend God’s love into our community is by once a week serving a meal at our church to feed the homeless, hungry and lonely in Aliquippa and our surrounding communities. We are learning from The Ladle in Ambridge, who are very helpful and supportive of our undertaking on this side of the river.
“Manna” is the name of this new project which will begin in October, 2010. Our goal is to host a weekly dinner at House of Prayer starting October 5 on Tuesday evenings from 5:30PM to 6:30PM. “Manna”, is the biblical name of a sweet-tasting food that God provided to sustain his people as they escaped slavery. In our own way, we hope to provide food and companionship for people in our community who are in the bounds of poverty, illness or even just loneliness.
Can you volunteer to help?
This ministry needs your help. We can’t (and shouldn’t) support this ministry alone. We are looking for other partners in the community who would be willing to work with us. Church communities, civic or social organizations and other community groups are invited to join with us. By sharing the work, expenses will be minimized for all as a great service if provided for who need help.
Will you consider being one of our partners? Here are some of the ways you could help:
- Commit to serving a meal 4 times a year at House of Prayer for approximately 50 people. The meals don’t have to be fancy or expensive – just filling and dependable. Some other churches have told us that franks n’ beans or simple spaghetti are some of the favorite meals of their guests!
- If you can’t commit to serving a meal 4 times per year, you could commit to serving just once sometime in our first quarter of operation (from October through December 2010) to try it out and see how it goes. If it doesn’t work for you, we understand. But, we are praying that you’ll find your hearts so filled with joy and compassion that you will want to serve again!
- If you can’t volunteer to serve a meal, would you consider making a donation to our ministry? Although we will try to work as economically as possible, the reality is that we will need donations of supplies and cash to begin and continue reaching out to the community. Some of the types of things we will need are
- paper plates
- paper cups
- placemats
- plastic utensils
- drinks
- money
Any of these things would be a great help, and greatly appreciated.
Can you think of some other ways that would help that we haven’t even thought of! And of course, any donation that you make is completely tax deductible.
There are so many different types of people that we could help if we work together. Wouldn’t it be nice if they knew that at least once a week they could count on being able to have dinner at our church?
Will you join with us?
For more information, please contact me, Megan Grabski, part of The Manna Team at House of Prayer at 724.650.9545 or mrgski@gmail.com