'Riverfront Revival' to offer food, music, prayer in Tarentum's Riverview Memorial Park

A Pentecostal preacher and a Brackenridge church are teaming up to put love into the community with a food giveaway Wednesday where everyone is invited.

“That’s it. That’s the whole mission — just to let people know they are loved and there is a place for them,” said Chris Cugini, a Fox Chapel Area graduate who later attended the Northeast Ministry School in Hampton.

“It has been on my heart to do an outreach event for the people of Tarentum. I want this event to be something that our neighbors can look back on with a smile.”

The Riverfront Revival festivities will fill Riverview Memorial Park in Tarentum from 6 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

There will be live music from the Generations House of Worship band and a bounce house for children.

A highlight of the event will be the food giveaway.

More than 200 giant boxes of peanut butter, pasta and veggies will be distributed by the Greater Pittsburgh Community Food Bank and Light of Life Rescue Mission.

“Since summer’s coming up, we know some kids won’t have access to proper nutrition and that parents might be struggling,” said Cugini, 31, a Morningside resident who has traveled the world spreading messages of Christianity.

Nick Chybrzynski, lead pastor of Generations House of Worship along Parkside Drive in Brackenridge, said his church has made it a mission to reach out to every corner of the community.

Its motto is “Don’t do life alone.”

“We strive to bridge generational gaps because a church goes beyond four walls,” he said. “We just want to show people that we love them.”

Other area churches, like Abundant Joy Fellowship and Bridgepoint, both in Tarentum, will be on hand.

Cugini said he was spurred by the Holy Spirit to partner with Chybrzynski.

“I know it might sound crazy to some people, but I felt the voice of God telling me to pray for Tarentum,” Cugini said.

“With all this wickedness going on in the world, we need to pray for what was once a bustling neighborhood and help revive it. We want everyone to meet us and know there are places they can go to feel welcome.”