Mission & Outreach

OUR OUTREACH AVENUES ARE LIMITED DUE TO COVID-19.  OFFERINGS ARE STILL BEING RECEIVED FOR THE OLEY VALLEY FOOD PANTRY, BETHANY CHILDREN’S HOME, PHOEBE HOME, VETERANS MAKING A DIFFERENCE, LANCASTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, AND UCC ALL-CHURCH OFFERINGS: NEIGHBORS IN NEED, ONE GREAT HOUR OF SHARING (INCLUDES DISASTER RECOVERY GIFTS), VETERANS OF THE CROSS, STRENGTHENING THE CHURCH AND OUR CHURCH’S WIDER MISSION.

We seek to live out the Gospel of Jesus Christ by serving those in need locally, regionally, nationally and internationally. Food is central to the community here—from monthly hoagie making events to our annual pie sales. We take seriously Jesus’ call to “feed my sheep.” Here are just some of the ways that “together we serve with joy and love.”

• Guild Holiday Bazaar
  

On the Saturday before Thanksgiving, Friedens UCC holds a holiday bazaar where there are food items, such as soup, pies, cookies, pumpkin bread & potato filling…  Lunch is served including soup and BBQ sandwiches.  There are also crafts and a white elephant sale.

• Hoagie Making

From April through November, Friedens UCC makes and sells the best hoagies in Berks County!  A portion of the proceeds go to support our church and a portion goes to mission and outreach.  Although there is much work to do, we have a lot of fun doing it!

Volunteers are needed from 6 – 7:30 pm on the Wednesday night before each sale to prepare the produce and again on the Thursday from 12 noon – 2:30 pm.

Hoagie for Veterans – Part of our Mission Team Veterans Program includes the donation of hoagies from our Hoagie Sales to the Veterans we help.

• Oley Valley Food Pantry

This pantry provides food and essentials to families in the Oley Valley School District which currently serves about 90 families a month.  We collect non-perishable food items and toiletries along with a particular focus on a theme item each month.

• CROP Hunger Walk
  

Every fall, we participate in the CROP WALK, which raises money for international hunger relief services.

• Souper Bowl

As part of a national movement, every February, our youth make soup and sell it on the Sunday of the Super Bowl. The proceeds are donated to Opportunity House or another local organization working to fight hunger.

• Oley Valley Community Fair

In addition to many of our members working in the Hoagie Stand, we supply free bibles and Care Notes through the Oley Valley Ministerium.

Other projects we have supported with our time and resources:

• Berks Women in Crisis
• United Church of Christ Disaster Ministries
• Backpacks for Kids Project
• Veterans Project
• Miller-Keystone Blood Bank