Our Share the Plate Recipent for November is Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank

Every day thousands of our neighbors struggle to have enough food on their plates. At Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank, we work to ensure that anyone who needs a healthy meal can get one. The Mission ...
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PIIN is the October Share the Plate charity!

Since 2000, PIIN (The Pennsylvania Interfaith Impact Network) has been organizing people of faith to change the balance of power for justice and equity in Southwestern PA. PIIN is a power building organization of 31 interfaith ...
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Share the Plate Recipients for Next 12 Months

The Share the Plate Committee of First Church would like to announce the results of our congregational votes in regards to the recipients for the monthly Share the Plate donations.  The following is the list of recipients and the months in which we will be collecting for them.  Thank you to all who nominated an organization.  ...
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The Share the Plate nominee for August is Reading Ready Pittsburgh

Reading Ready Pittsburgh, founded by our church member Mary Denison, is a local nonprofit dedicated to early literacy support for families.  Reading Ready Pittsburgh provides various programs to support access to books and engagement around those books for underserved ...
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The July 2024 Share the Plate charity recipient is “Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania (PPWP)” .

Tiffany Jimenez, Development Director for PPWP will address our congregation, in a short update, within the Sunday July 14th service. Tiffany Jimenez is the Vice President of Development for Planned Parenthood of Western Pennsylvania, a ...
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About Share the Plate

The church’s Share the Plate program is a way to contribute money and stay connected to a variety of community organizations.

Each month, a different organization is selected as a recipient. Here’s how it works

  • A weekly 50% share of the offering between the church and the designated organization;
  • Every week, all cash and checks in the plate are shared 50% unless designated otherwise. Ex: cash in the basket is split 50/50. If the cash is in an envelope and marked 100% for the either the church or the designation organization, those funds will be shared as directed. Likewise, a check may be marked to go to one or the other
  • Texting and Breeze can be used with a STP designation
  • This does not impact funds fulfilling stewardship pledges
  • Clear and simple directions will be verbally given at the time of the offering, and noted in more detail in the Order of Service and weekly newsletter

Why weekly? This proposal for weekly, rather than monthly, helps fulfill our commitment to living our faith as a generous and connected community. We are a part of an interconnected web of existence, and we believe in a world community that relies on one another for an engaged love that creates change and justice for all. The emphasis on living our faith and generosity is generally well received by visitors and long-time members, adding meaning and activism to all of our lives.

How are organizations chosen? Our much-loved programs that are embedded within our church will be standing recipients for four months of the year: Khasi Hills, PIIN, UUJusticePA, and EECM. The other eight months we will ask members to nominate a recipient, and members can vote on them. The person who nominates the organization will be asked to provide brief written testimony and a contact person.  The congregation votes at the annual meeting in May. The top eight votes will then be cycled into the calendar each year, with new ones nominated every year.