Outreach
Community outreach is important to us! As a parish, we support several outreach programs by providing donations, volunteer hours, and facilities. We also strive to open our church to the community as much as possible. We do this through special events, recitals, and services and through the utilization of Peace House as a space for the Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen. Our undercroft is also used as a meeting space for community groups. Prince of Peace is always looking for new and creative ways to be active in our community and in the larger world. If you are looking for a place where community outreach is valued, we would love to have you join us!
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If you or someone you know needs help or would like to be added to our prayer list, we hope you will let us know by filling out the contact form on our visit us page.
Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen
Prince of Peace maintains close ties with the Gettysburg Community Soup Kitchen (GCSK), a non-profit organization with a mission to "provide consistently nourishing meals, at no cost, to the hungry in our community.” Parishioners at Prince of Peace started serving meals out of the church basement in 1991 in a program that would evolve into the GCSK in 1995. Since then, a variety of individuals, churches, and other groups have also supported the soup kitchen through donations and volunteer hours. GCSK continued to be housed at Prince of Peace until 2012 when it relocated across the alley to Peace House, the Roman Catholic church’s former rectory, which our parish purchased in 2010. In addition to providing the physical space for the GCSK, Prince of Peace invites members to contribute financially to the soup kitchen and to volunteer on a regular basis. Since 1991, the soup kitchen has provided more than 300,000 meals, including more than 24,000 in 2024 alone.
Franklin Friends
Franklin Friends is a community service program that provides weekend food packs with healthy options for children in food insecure homes. The project, which partners with Franklin Township Elementary School in the Gettysburg Area School District, was initiated by Flohr’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, UCC Cashtown-McKnightstown, and Charge & Good News Church of Orrtanna. Flohr’s Church currently houses donations until they are organized, packed, and transported to the school on Fridays. Prince of Peace collects and delivers non-parishable food items each month to lend our support to this important program that helps to ensure children return to school each week well-fed and ready to learn!
If you are interested in making a donation, please use the food list here as a guide and drop off your items at the church at a Sunday service or during the week (Monday - Thursday 9:00-3:00).
Quilts for Comfort
Quilts for Comfort, a non profit founded in Delaware 25 years ago, has delivered over 15,000 quilts in Delaware and surrounding areas. A founding member of the group brought Quilts for Comfort to Central Pennsylvania in 2022, and we have been holding monthly quilt bees at Prince of Peace since October of that year. Volunteers make adult lap quilts and infant crib quilts that are distributed to people in the Gettysburg area who could use some comfort and support. No experience is needed and Quilts for Comfort provides everything you need to make a quilt. Community quilt bees are held from 9:30am-2:30pm on the 2nd Tuesday of each month, excluding June, July & August. All are welcome! Come when you can, leave when you must, and bring a bag lunch.
Gettysburg C.A.R.E.S
Gettysburg CARES (Combined Area Resources for Emergency Shelter) seeks to provide emergency shelter for men, women, and families in the Gettysburg Area when no other shelter is available. The initiative began in 2012 when several local churches organized to protect unsheltered guests from freezing conditions during the winter months. For many years, individual churches, including Prince of Peace, took turns hosting guests for two-week periods throughout the cold-weather months. More recently, St. James Lutheran Church has served as host for the CARES program throughout the season, allowing for more consistency. Volunteers, including a crew from Prince of Peace, take turns each week hosting breakfast at the St. James Youth House and laundering blankets. For more information on Gettysburg CARES, check out their website here.
CROP Hunger Walk
CROP Hunger Walks are held intermittently in Gettysburg, but parishioners from Prince of Peace have participated often over the years. Each time we set a fundraising goal, and team members seek donations to reach it. All proceeds from Crop Walks held around the country (in more than 500 communities) go toward providing emergency food support as well as seeds, tools, and other programs to help families grow their own food. To learn more about #CROPHungerWalk, visit their website here. If you are interested in joining the Prince of Peace team to participate in a CROP Walk, complete the Contact Us form on our Visitor's Page or email here.
Pet Product Donations
Each month at Prince of Peace, we have an ingathering of products for two no kill shelters in the area: Forever Love in Gettysburg and the Helen Krause Animal Foundation in Dillsburg. Parishioners are encouraged to pick up a can or two or a bag of cat or dog food to help these shelters feed, rehabilitate, and find “forever homes” for the animals in their care. We have many animal lovers in the congregation who are grateful for the opportunity to help take care of “God’s Little Ones.”
