St. Brendan's Episcopal Church Plants "Garden of Hope"
“The purpose of this effort is to reach out to our neighbors who are struggling with food insecurity. At St. Brendan’s we’re keenly aware of the lack of access to fresh produce for many of our neighbors. Short term we are providing fresh produce directly to the North Hills Food Bank. In the fall we plan to reach out to other organizations.” said Vanessa Capozzi, parish member and ministry leader for the Garden of Hope.
Parishioners of all ages, including many of our children and youth, have contributed to the effort by building raised beds, installing fencing, planting seeds, watering, weeding and harvesting. The garden is located in the back yard of St. Brendan’s church on McAleer Road in Franklin Park. Funding for the garden was provided by St. Brendan’s CRIES Advocacy Fund and a grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh.
“The ‘Garden of Hope’ is the catalyst for our summer program offered to the children and youth attending Saturday Service. We will be studying the ‘Abundant Life Garden Project,’ which is an interactive, scripture-based program offered by Episcopal Relief and Development. After each lesson we will be caring for our ‘Garden of Hope’ and taking vegetables that we harvest to the altar for Fr. Scott to bless,” said Jill Halapin, Coordinator of Children and Youth Ministries.
“We are pleased that the garden is thriving and we have been able to deliver bags upon bags of fresh produce to help our neighbors who are struggling.” said Fr. Scott Russell, St. Brendan’s Rector. “St. Brendan’s is committed to community outreach and we especially enjoy hands-on activities where children and adults alike can be active participants in helping others in our community.”
St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church is a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of The Episcopal Church in the United States. Members of St. Brendan’s parish travel from near and far to attend St. Brendan’s, representing a wide geographical area that includes the North Hills, Southern Butler County, and the Sewickley Valley.
St. Brendan’s is located at the corner of McAleer and Rochester Road in Franklin Park. Eucharist is celebrated on Saturday evening at 5 p.m (June – August), and Sunday at 8:00 and 10:00 am all year long. Evening prayer is held Wednesdays at 7:00 pm. The children and youth of the parish meet on a weekly basis September through May.
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St. Brendan's Episcopal Church is a welcoming community of faithful Episcopalians, seeking to share the love of God and do great things in the name of Christ. We have two passions that keep us busy as a parish family -- outreach and education. We reach out from sharing our time, talent, and treasure with the world God has called us to love. We also reach in, especially to our children and youth, teaching them about Christ and the great stories of our faith. We also feature Bible and book studies for adults. We welcome you to join our growing parish family, whether you are single, married or partnered, one year old or 101 years old! Everyone is welcome here. For more information, call 412‑364-5974, visit www.stbrendans.org or “Like” us on Facebook.
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact: Fr. Scott Russell, Rector
Office: (412) 364-5974; Mobile: (540) 230-1240
St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church Plants “Garden of Hope”
Franklin Park, PA – Parishioners at St. Brendan’s Episcopal Church planted a “Garden of Hope” in April and started donating harvested vegetables to local charities in May. The “Garden of Hope” project builds upon St. Brendan’s ongoing, year-round efforts to support local food banks and homeless shelters as part of their commitment to outreach in the community. One of the outreach goals is to respond to the issue of food insecurity.