Passion for Mission

John Henry Hopkins of Trinity Church -- our first active church planter -nurtured aspiring congregations in Meadville, Greensburg and even Erie. For many years, the principal concern of the Diocese was to reach out to British and Welsh immigrants who were former members of the Church of England. Much of this work was performed by the Laymen's Missionary League, established in 1889 to provide lay volunteers to serve in isolated missions. After 1920 the focus shifted to East European immigrants and in 1951, at the prompting of Bishop Pardue, twelve Pittsburgh priests established the Society for the Promotion of Industrial Mission to evangelize non-practicing Catholics in the Mon Valley.

Another contribution to mission work came from Samuel Shoemaker of Calvary, who helped promote an active community of prayer and personal transformation in Pittsburgh, most notably through the Pittsburgh Experiment. In 1971, the Diocese hosted a nine-day preaching mission led by Festo Kivengere of Uganda. In more recent years, members of the Diocese have been involved in mission work throughout the world, most notably in Chile, Cuba and Uganda, as well as promoting outreach to the unchurched of southwestern Pennsylvania in variety of settings.