East Hills church packs 1,500 Thanksgiving meals for people in need

PITTSBURGH — For churchgoers at Petra International Ministries, service is another way to give thanks. On Thanksgiving Day, they boxed and bagged 1,500 meals for families in the community.

“Service is God’s love language,” said Bishop Donald Clay, the head pastor for Petra International Ministries.

Bishop Clay told Channel 11 News that the Thanksgiving meal that so many take for granted is a welcomed blessing for the families his church serves.

Petra International Ministries is located on the border of East Hills, Penn Hills and Wilkinsburg.

“There are people that depend on us every month to be able to feed their families,” explained Bishop Clay. “When you look at the condition economically of areas like this you quickly recognize that basic that many people take for granted: hot meal, breakfast, those basics are not basic for a lot of people,” he added.

That’s why Petra along with dozens of church volunteers, community leaders, the Mayor of Penn Hills and council members all gathered early Thanksgiving morning and began unloading box after box; all filled with turkey dinners.

“Fifteen hundred meals are a lot so we reached out to neighboring churches, we reached out to a non-profit organization,” said volunteer Kathy Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald told us that 1,500 meals were distributed throughout East Hills, Wilkinsburg, Penn Hills, Homewood and to unhoused individuals.

“When you look at the condition economically of areas like this you quickly recognize that basic that many people take for granted: a hot meal, breakfast, those basics are not basic for a lot of people.”

The meals were donated by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the American Culinary Federation, and the church told us there was no eligibility process. Whoever needed a meal could call and have one delivered for them and their entire family, with no questions asked.

“We’re thankful that God has chosen us and positioned us to be the support that other people need,” Fitzgerald said.

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