VALUES:

Communion: We bring our unique hunger to the many tables Christ sets to be fed and filled. You do not have to be a member of this faith community or any faith community to receive the sacrament here. If you hunger for it, it is for you.

Radical Hospitality: We welcome all people and embrace our different parts so that we might all become one, created in the image of love.

Nurturing: We cultivate connection to each other and God through conversation and listening, to grow in our understanding of our belovedness.

The Process: We know there is not one “end” so we encourage you to come as you are –recovering, broken, questioning, joyful, content – as we create this journey together

Justice: We recognize racism, oppression, and injustice in our community and work faithfully to embody God’s reconciliation in our ministry to all.

HISTORY:

Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community was planted in 2004, in the Southside neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Founded by Pastors Jeff Eddings (Presbyterian Church USA) and Jim Walker (United Methodist Church,) we have had communion, shared meals, cared for our unhoused neighbors, and been a place where everyone is welcome since the beginning.

“When we started this, there was the whole emergent church thing, and we kind of got labeled in that,” said Pastor Jeff. “We had all of these punk rock kids, and we did a Bible study in a tattoo shop. We were the cool kid on the block. You can get caught up in that, trying to be the unique church. I’m not worried if we’re unique or not. I’m worried if we’re authentic.” Whether we were ever really that cool is debatable, but the rest is true enough.

Since then, the punk kids have grown up and had families of their own. Hot Metal went from crashing the cafeteria of the Goodwill Building, to being literally homeless and worshipping under a bridge, to buying a bar and renovating it into a church. It’s been a wild ride. Now in a more settled state where we do normal church things like VBS, one thing that never changed was that desire for authenticity.

Over the years we have served people and worked to meet needs locally and globally. Not all of these ministries are active today, some were only meant for a season, but all tell a part of the story of who Hot Metal is. The Table has been gathering neighbors for free meals for more than 15 years, we have brought meals and resources to homeless camps around the city, supported a community in Chiapas, Mexico, worked alongside indigenous leaders in facilitating an art camp on Pine Ridge Reservation, hosted mission groups from outside of Pittsburgh in learning about urban ministry, offered transitional housing on site in partnership with Bridge Outreach, and created an award for organizations actively creating LGBTQIA+ safe spaces.

The people who attend Hot Metal have a rich diversity of ecumenical backgrounds, landing in the same place despite being raised Evangelical, Catholic, Baptist, Mormon, or Methodist. Somehow it all works. (Don’t ask us how, we think maybe only the Holy Spirit knows that answer.) United by the shared values of loving and caring for people, and recognizing that no one is too messy for this place because we are all a mess in our own ways, we really walk the talk when we say everyone is welcome.

Similarly, our leaders have been an ecumenical array of fantastic humans. Following our founding pastors, we were also blessed by the tenures of Pastor Mike Holohan (Presbyterian Church USA) and Pastor Erin Jones (Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.) We are more interested in being a part of the Church pulling together than the Church pulling apart.