Church and Society Board Awards Grants

 The Conference Board of Church and Society has awarded grants to ministries and projects addressing social concerns. They include:

• $2500 to UM Advocacy in PA to cover expenses above the amount each PA Conference is able to give them.
• $750 to the Beaver County Marcellus Shale Awareness Committee. The Rev. Jim Hamilton, a retired elder and member of the church and Society Board  is part of the Marcellus Shale Awareness group. They plan to hold an educational seminar this spring to address the health and safety concerns of people who live near a reservoir which might be affected by the fracking method used to drill into the Marcellus Shale.
• $500 to The Table, a community dinner offered on Tuesdays and Thursdays by the Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community on Pittsburgh’s South Side. They feed 75-100 at each meal.
• $500 to the Homeless Ministry at Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community. They distribute bagged lunches, warm coats, flash lights and even tents at homeless camps around Pittsburgh every Saturday.
• $500 to Pittsburgh Faith in Action Against the Death Penalty. Board member Liz Wolfskill, a member of First UMC Pittsburgh, works with the group. In cooperation with Witness to Innocence and The General Board of Church and Society, they will host a program featuring a former death row inmate who has been exonerated. The event will be held from 2-4 p.m., Feb. 26, at Mt. Lebanon UMC. The grant enables them to pay for speaker's fee, travel expenses, printed materials and publicity.