West End Ministry was founded in 1969 by a group of five visionary pastors in the Boneyfiddle district of Portsmouth, OH.
Charles Pitzer, rector at All Saints' Episcopal Church, recognized a joint ministry could meet neighborhood needs more effectively working together as the body of Christ. The original five churches eventually reached outside their neighborhood to encompass Scioto County.
Charles Pitzer, rector at All Saints' Episcopal Church, recognized a joint ministry could meet neighborhood needs more effectively working together as the body of Christ. The original five churches eventually reached outside their neighborhood to encompass Scioto County.
To pledge their support, these five congregations held a joint service commemorating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: All Saints' Episcopal Church, Bigelow UMC, Evangelical United Church of Christ, First Presbyterian Church, and St. Mary's Catholic Church.
In the early days of WEM, when it was finding its legs and moving crisis to crisis, a program director remarked that they operated by the principle of “management by miracle.” God always provided in order to help meet the community's needs.
Fifty years later, WEM has become Scioto Christian Ministry, Inc, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization sponsoring Scioto County's only homeless shelter (Operation Safety Net) and the West End Child Care Center, a federally licensed daycare center providing affordable child-care to low-income families through the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (Division of Child Care in the Department of Human Services).
In 2019, we celebrated 50 years of INSPIRING ACTION in Portsmouth, OH with "An Evening of Inspiration," an anniversary dinner celebrating our history of inspiring actions and focusing on something new: human trafficking in our local community and related issues.
CONTACT INFORMATION
SCM Board of Directors
P.O. Box 407 Portsmouth OH 45662
President: Rev. Allison Bauer (revatbauer@yahoo.com)
Pastor, Second Presbyterian Church (Portsmouth, OH)
Secretary: Jessica Pacula (paculaje@gmail.com)
Member, All Saints' Episcopal Church (Portsmouth, OH)
Treasurer: Diane Boster (dianeboster123@gmail.com)
Member, First Presbyterian Church (Portsmouth, OH)
