The Salvation Army Pioneer Corps Community Center, located at 1920 East Allegheny Ave., was the first Salvation Army Corps Community Center in the United States. Today, the center offers many services for the community, including a popular Sunday worship service in Spanish and Sunday school for children.
The Salvation Army’s mission in Fairhill was to preach the gospel, create a love for God and provide social services for the community, Pastor Teresa Valverde explained.
“[I want to] help people, preach the gospel, and create a love for God without any discrimination. That is important here—that we are open and welcoming to everyone,” Valverde said.
Valverde leads the service on Sundays in Spanish to a congregation of about fifty in the center’s large community room.
The center also offers athletic programs, youth programs, social work, community service and a community meal on Thursday nights.
Tati Feliciano, who volunteers at the center, said the community respects the Salvation Army’s presence and is grateful for their outreach programs. The organization’s biggest asset is the understanding that while the group preaches the gospel and gives assistance, there is no obligation for them to attend services on Sunday, Feliciano added.
“We’re always going to help them,” Feliciano says.”They trust that when they come, they’ll be helped.”
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