Mt. Calvary bishop delivers food to people in need

By ERIC SEIVERLING

eseiverling@yourmvi.com

Bishop Karl Jackson holds many titles: pastor at Mt. Calvary Baptist Church in Monessen, president of the Monongahela/Donora Lions Club and owner of House of Jackson Memorial Chapel among them.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit the area last spring, he added another title to his resume.

In June, Jackson, his wife Annette and their friends and family decided to help the church’s parishioners and other local residents by cooking and preparing free meals once a month at the church, located at 230 Reed Ave.

In need of someone to deliver the 50 to 65 meals, Jackson, with the help of his grandsons, decided to take on the project himself.

The monthly meals have now become a regular occurrence for the church, as has Jackson taking on the responsibility of delivering them.

“We just kept making a list of people we knew who would accept a hot dinner from us,” he said. “We go out and deliver the food in our cars. I have a senior congregation, and getting out and maneuvering is a challenge for them.”

Jackson, a Donora resident who’s been a pastor at the church for the past 12 years, said he was moved to do something during the coronavirus pandemic after watching the news on television.

“I’m an African-American pastor and nobody looked like me on the frontlines,” he said. “I would see throngs of people in lines waiting for help. That motivated me to want to do something as part of the solution.”

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