The “Neighborhood Sweater Drive” is part of a larger campaign — “Come In Out of the Cold” — to entice Pittsburghers to warm their souls while warming the bodies of those less fortunate.
“PMM is offering the opportunity through support by a handful of governing bodies to use the Advent season from Thanksgiving to Christmas as a season of invitation and hospitality to be more intentional for including the community served by congregations in worshipping God and serving others who need our help,” said PMM director Gregg Hartung.
The combined evangelistic outreach, sweater drive collected more than 6,000 sweaters last year and significantly boosted worship attendance in participating churches. Hartung said the effort is “a special mission emphasis that can help with visibility and combine our efforts to serve those in need this winter.”
The “Come In Out of the Cold/Neighborhood Sweater Drive”
kicks off today (Nov. 6) with a celebration hosted by the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. The campaign runs through Dec. 14, with each participating congregation collecting sweaters and other winter clothing and distributing it in its own neighborhood.
PMM is producing TV spots that highlight the sweater drive and welcome people to attend their neighborhood Presbyterian church. Participating congregations will also host a “Community Advent Open House” on the second or third Sunday of Advent.
Other resources for participating congregations are on the PMM Web site [https://www.pmm4u.org/ciotc].
Information for this story furnished by Gregg Hartung at
Presbyterian Media Mission.
