Sharing the History & Planning the Future of Albright United Methodist Church
First United Methodist Church has created a forest of Christmas trees celebrating some of the organizations that the church works with throughout the year.
One of the trees is for Albright!
You can see the Advent forest every Sunday in December, including December 28, 2025.
You can watch the Candlelight Christmas Concert on YouTube here.
This year’s dinner was a huge success. We served over 250 meals onsite and extra portions were sent to East End Community Ministries.
We want to thank you and share some lovely photos from the Albright Thanksgiving Eve Dinner.
A huge thank you to photographer Larry Rippel for stopping by again this year and capturing some photos of the dinner.
You can see more photos that Larry captured of the dinner here.
Check out our Instagram page @AlbrightPGH for more photos.
WTAE covered the 2025 Thanksgiving Eve dinner. Check out the video here.
Thank you to the 100+ people who donated time and money to make this year’s Thanksgiving Eve Dinner possible.
A BIG thank you to First United Methodist Church and the generous donation of their beautiful social hall and kitchen facilities. We are grateful for their continued support of the Thanksgiving Eve dinner.
Thank you to the students from St. Edmund’s Academy who decorated placemats and posters to help decorate the table and the room for the dinner.
We are grateful to these businesses for donating both time and food to the 2025 Albright Thanksgiving Eve Dinner.
While most of the meal is prepared by volunteers, we are proud that we can support these local organizations and businesses to help with the dinner.
This year, both the turkey and pies were prepared by Community Kitchen. Community Kitchen is a nonprofit organization located in Hazelwood that offers no-cost job training in the culinary industries. Community Kitchen provides catering and prepares many of the grab-and-go items you might pick up in coffee shops around the city.
All of the rolls for this year’s meal were purchased from Breadworks. You can find products from Breadworks at local businesses across Western Pennsylvania or stop by their retail shop (2110 Brighton Rd Pittsburgh, PA 15212).
Each year, many of you have reached out to ask where you can volunteer on a regular basis. Every Saturday, First United Methodist Church serves a free meal through their First Food and Friends program.
Follow the First Food and Friends Facebook page for updates.
WTAE stopped by and shared some highlights from the 2025 Thanksgiving Eve Dinner on their newscast.
A huge thank you to photographer Larry Rippel for capturing the dinner!
The 51st Annual Albright Community Thanksgiving Eve Dinner
In 1974, the Boy Scout Troop that met at the Albright United Methodist Church hosted a free community Thanksgiving meal. The congregation of Albright and community members have continued this annual tradition. This year marks our golden anniversary – 50 years of bringing neighbors together to share in gratitude and fellowship.
The Albright Thanksgiving Eve Dinner is a free community event. All are welcome to attend and enjoy a hot, home-cooked meal.
The annual Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner is more than just making sure everyone has some turkey and stuffing to eat … it is an opportunity to bring together neighbors from all over the city to celebrate traditions and support the community.
The Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner is a labor of love. Each year, over 100 volunteers from across Pittsburgh come together to help cook and serve a hot turkey dinner.
Here is how you can help make the 2025 Thanksgiving Eve dinner a success!
We can always use help, if you need to come at a different time or want to bring a friend to help, we will put you to work!
The dinner will be prepared and served from the kitchen and social hall of the First United Methodist Church located at the corner of Centre Avenue and Aiken Avenue. The address is 5401 Centre Avenue. (This is the church on the other side of the Wendy’s drive-through from Albright)
Entrance: use the entrance on Centre Ave above the Pittsburgh Toy Lending Library
Parking: there is a limited number of spots in the small lot on Centre. There is also street parking on Centre Ave
When you arrive:
Please head to the volunteer check-in table.
In the kitchen: food prep, cooking, dishwashing
Outside of the kitchen: room setup, setting the table, serving guests beverages and dessert, dishwashing
All volunteers who are working in the kitchen MUST wear a hairnet, which we will have available. (A hat is also permissible).
This is an approximate schedule of activities for the day
10am
11am – 3pm
3pm – 5pm
5pm
5:30pm – 7pm
7pm – done
We will also be serving rolls, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.
Q: I need to change the time I signed up to help?
A: Just come over when you are available! There is always something to help with. We will have volunteer tasks all day.
Q: Who attends the dinner?
A: Everyone! All are welcome to attend. Feel free to extend an invitation to other groups you know of. Each year, we serve a wide range of guests, from neighbors to UPMC Shadyside employees to Pittsburgh students.
Q: Is there enough food for volunteers to have dinner as well?
A: Some years, there is more than enough food for volunteers to have dinner as well. If there is enough food, we encourage volunteers to take a break and sit and eat dinner with the guests.
Q: What happens to extra food?
A: We have already reached out to area nonprofits. If there is extra food, we plan to donate any leftovers. If you know of an organization that would like some leftovers, please let us know! Email friends@albrightpgh.com
Q: Can I bring my children to volunteer?
A: Families are welcome to volunteer. If you are bringing a child, plan to stay with them and help them with their volunteer task. (For example, parents and kids often hand out pie together)
Q: Can I share photos on social media!
A: Yes, please! You can tag @AlbrightPGH on Instagram and Friends of Albright on Facebook.
November 21, 2025: This information has been updated for the 2025 dinner.
The 50th Annual Albright Community Thanksgiving Eve Dinner
In 1974, the Boy Scout Troop that met at the Albright United Methodist Church hosted a free community Thanksgiving meal. The congregation of Albright and community members have continued this annual tradition. This year marks our golden anniversary – 50 years of bringing neighbors together to share in gratitude and fellowship.
The Albright Thanksgiving Eve Dinner is a free community event. All are welcome to attend and enjoy a hot, home-cooked meal.
The annual Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner is more than just making sure everyone has some turkey and stuffing to eat … it is an opportunity to bring together neighbors from all over the city to celebrate traditions and support the community.
The Albright Thanksgiving Eve dinner is a labor of love. Each year, over 100 volunteers from across Pittsburgh come together to help cook and serve a hot turkey dinner.
Here is how you can help make the 2024 Thanksgiving eve dinner a success!
Save the dates for a heartwarming community celebration in 2024!
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 2024
Albright Reunion & Community Fundraiser Join us to honor five decades of togetherness and support our shared future.
DATE: Wednesday, November 27, 2024
50th Annual Albright Thanksgiving-Eve Dinner
Be part of this special milestone in our community’s history. From our October reunion to the landmark Thanksgiving-Eve Dinner, 2024 will be a year to remember and celebrate together.
Stay tuned for more details – your presence will make these golden celebrations truly special!
A huge thank you to photographer Larry Ripple for stopping by to capture some photos from the dinner!
Thank you to Bloomfield-Garfield Corporation and author Alan Guenther for the wonderful write up on the 2023 Albright Thanksgiving-Eve dinner in the December issue of The Bulletin.
You can read the entire article here:
This year’s dinner was one of the biggest meals in recent memory. We served over 250 meals in the social hall and prepared another 60 to be delivered to the North Shore. We pretty much only had a few pies and some yams left at the end of the evening.
A huge thank you to photographer Larry Rippel for stopping by and capturing some photos of the dinner.
Photo credit: Larry Rippel
Many of you have reached out to ask where you can volunteer on a regular basis. Every Saturday, First United Methodist Church serves up a free meal through their First Food and Friends program.
The director of First Food and Friends is Monique McCain and she is always looking for volunteers. You can reach her at 412-676-8925. Follow the First Food and Friends Facebook page for updates.
Thank you to all of our supporters who donated – we had over 55 individuals contribute to our GoFundMe page this year! We were able to hire Community Kitchen Pittsburgh to help us prepare some of the meal.
A huge thank you to all of the volunteers who helped with cooking, setup and cleanup. This meal is truly a community effort.
Community Kitchen is a nonprofit organization located in Hazelwood that offers no-cost job training in culinary industries. Community Kitchen offers catering and prepares many of the grab & go items you might pick up in coffee shops around the city.
If you are looking for a new lunch spot – check out Community Kitchen’s Bloom Cafe in Hazelwood!
Friends of Albright 