Final event to be held at North Catholic High School
Bishop David Zubik will join hundreds of other volunteers to pack food for hungry people in Southwestern Pennsylvania on the morning after Thanksgiving at North Catholic High School in Cranberry.
It is the culmination of Amen to Action, a series of 10 food-packing events held during November at local churches and Christian schools of many different traditions. Media coverage is invited at the event, from 8:30 a.m. to noon on Friday, November 25.
“Amen to Action is one of the highlights of my year,” said Bishop Zubik, who co-founded the event in 2017 with Reid Carpenter of the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation.
"This is an opportunity for Christians to show our love for God and our neighbors by making sure that those in need can feed themselves and their families. This is all about putting our faith in Jesus into action.”
Last year participants at the 10 venues packed a total of 1,004,772 meals.
Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation president Lee Kricher says volunteers have once again come out in full force. “The energy from the thousands of people involved in Amen to Action has been amazing. They’re giving of themselves with enthusiasm and joy. It’s a beautiful thing to experience.”
Non-perishable bulk food, such as oatmeal and pasta, are supplied by the non-profit anti-hunger organization Meals of Hope, sealed into individual meal packs and given to the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Amen to Action began as one gathering of thousands of people on the day after Thanksgiving at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Concerns about large gatherings during the COVID pandemic led organizers at the Pittsburgh Leadership Foundation to divide it among different venues across the region.
Other churches and schools that hosted Amen to Action this month are Crossroads Church in Oakdale, Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Saint Catherine Labouré Parish in Upper St. Clair, Orchard Hill Church in Wexford, Saint Luke the Evangelist Parish in Franklin Park, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in East Liberty, Allison Park Church in Allison Park, Amplify Church in Plum and Macedonia Church of Pittsburgh in Homewood.