Finally, a group of Christians who are serious about showing the love of God to all people. At the…read morebeginning of the service the pastor even says, "Wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome here." This phrase is also on the church sign outside. People gather early to have coffee and talk, and stay after to talk some more - they are very welcoming and invite you to stay. This is a congregation that consists of three merged groups: Church of the Brethern, United Church of Christ, and Disciples of Christ. As each of the other congregations became too small to be sustainable, they joined this one (mainly UCC). The congregation is fiercely open and affirming. People from all backgrounds are welcome. It's a place to belong, to get involved, and be accepted.

Erie First Church is the friendliest most loving church that I have found in multiple states. I had…read morestopped attending church for over 20 yrs due to an issues with the catholic church who i felt the priest turned his back when I needed spiritual help the most during my divorce. I first met Erie First's Pastor Danielle and a handful of church members during covid when they delivered food to my entire neighborhood & offered to make free home repair... I thought how strange, who does really does this & was convinced they wanted something in return. They rebuilt my back stairs that had caved in & I could not afford to fix then, they refused payment, so I felt guilty for accepting the help & figured I'd attend once. Upon walking in, I was greeted by a half dozen people who all remembered my name, they offered to pray for me, asked if I needed anything, they welcomed me and I actually felt welcomed & loved. I sat in the back & had a dozen others come & introduce themselves & welcome me, it was amazing. When the service started everyone was singing upbeat christian rock songs with the words on giant screens. My neighbor who went with me joked that it was "Karaoke for Jesus". I was more amazed when I noticed upfront was a sign language interpreter, who signed the entire service & songs, so everyone was included. The energy I felt during the service was invigorating & empowering, I was in tears & found myself praying, which I hadn't done in years. Flash forward 2 years and I attend weekly, I volunteer & serve as a door greeter, and even offer a free women's craft class once a month. My bf that said "don't think your going to get me to go to church with you", is now also attending weekly & volunteers on sunday mornings. The energy and love in the church is infectious, it's like being with a huge loving family (without the arguing lol). The church offers a kids ministry for toddlers to high school students. A Women's ministry that meets monthly for friendship and fun, a men's ministry & also a men's group called "barn boys" that meets weekly & does community service to spread Jesus's love (as they did in my neighborhood). The church members just opened a brand new Autistic & Special needs room with expert trained child care during sunday services...so that parents can feel safe knowing their special needs children are being properly cared for. The church also offer sunday morning van service, if you cant get there on route own. Erie First Assembly is an amazing & loving church. I'm so thankful that they came to my neighborhood. If you would like to attend but would feel more comfortable going with a friend, I would be happy to meet you there.

We have been here 2 times now and i have to say so far we really like this church . We were told…read moreabout this church from another army couple that works with my husband . everyone is very nice here and made us feel very welcome . my 2 daughters love there children ministry. Im very happy with the Infant room . My 1 year old also has a hard time being away from me and for both times we have gone her number never came up ! that is a big deal to me cause i get to stay for the service . we will be coming back to this church and may be making it the ONE for our stay here is Erie

we just moved to Erie from Los Angeles so to find a good church is important to me and my family …read more we tried this one and let me say . they were nice but what made us feel very uncomfortable was when they started worship 4 people came out with flags and were dancing around in the front ... now to me and my family we found that a lil strange . then we felt uncomfortable after worship because of the flags and the people were very strange ... lets just say that we will not be going back ... if they didnt have the flags maybe we would give it a second chance

Wow ~ as the saying goes you can't please all of the people all the time..." I wonder what the real…read moreaversion to flags was about? Los Angeles is very trendy, progressive and these folks are afraid of dancing and flags? They would never survive our extravagant worship encounter as we do it David's way - "I will be more vile than this Michal!" That was King David's response! Who wants barrenness when you can be doubly fruitful? BTW - I hear the flags no longer grace the front of the worship service... So hopefully you'll go back.

St. Peter Cathedral is a Roman Catholic church located in at the corner of West 10th Street and…read moreSassafras Street in Erie, Pennsylvania. History Plans for the building of St. Peter Cathedral were initiated in 1873 by Bishop Tobias Mullen of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Erie. The cornerstone was laid in a formal ceremony held on St. Peter in Chains Day (See General Roman Calendar as in 1954), 1 August 1875. After years of construction and a fundraising campaign that involved parishes throughout the diocese, the cathedral was completed in 1893. The architect was Patrick Keeley of Brooklyn, a prolific builder of churches, including 21 American cathedrals in the eastern United States. Specifications The cathedral is Gothic revival in the French Victorian tradition called Second Empire. Much of the stone for the foundation came from dismantling the locks of the Erie Extension Canal , which closed in 1871. The exterior consists of red sandstone from Medina, New York and white sandstone trim from Amherst, Ohio and Mercer County, Pennsylvania. The central bell tower stands 265 feet (81 m) tall, while twin Norman style towers at 150 feet (46 m) each bracket the central tower. The bell tower contains a chime of twelve bells weighing 14 tons cast in 1903 by the Andrew Meneely Bell Foundry of West Troy, New York. The E. Howard Clock Company of Boston, New York, and Chicago, installed the clock in the tower, also in 1903. The stained glass in the sanctuary and transept was installed by the Franz Meer firm of Munich, Germany and includes depictions of the Annunciation, the Birth of Jesus, the Crucifixion, the Resurrection, the Ascension, and the Second Coming. Large side windows show the Conferral of Keys to Saint Peter and Jesus' supper at the house of the Publican. There are also stained glass windows of the Life of St. Peter and four of the Western Doctors of the Church. Renovations in 1992-1993 included the resetting of all the stained glass and the installation of many glass prisms to refocus sunlight into the interior. The cathedral organ, which expresses a great variety of organ timbres in the French tradition, was built by Casavant Frères of Montreal, Canada and installed in 1977. Additions were made in 1999. It is the third instrument since the building was built. From the nave of the church, one can see a collection of the likenesses of the diocese's nine bishops and Auxiliary Bishop Edward P. McManaman, who served as Cathedral Rector from 1936 to 1948. The cathedral has a new baptistery. The center aisle is of Spanish and Italian marble. Carved onto the marble at the front of the church is the large seal to the Diocese of Erie with the coats of arms of Pope Leo XIII and Bishop Mullen on the right and those of Pope John Paul II and Bishop Trautman on the left. The sanctuary area contains the altar, with the reliquary chest beneath it, and the Bishop's cathedra and the ambo for preaching. The Blessed Sacrament is maintained in the tabernacle on the north side of the cathedral. The marble high altar constructed in 1911 was used until liturgical changes were made after the Second Vatican Council in the 1960s.

I like that you can choose your time to attend. There's a 9 and 11 service…read more I enjoy the pastor very much. You don't feel pressured to get more involved than you want to. The atmosphere and acoustics are good. Not as crazy about the music as some are, but that's just me. I also like that the times I'm not able to attend I can still watch the service on television.

The pastor was good, but the church atmosphere was not inviting. We were not greeted by any church…read moremembers. An armed security guard stared at us the whole time. He followed my husband into the bathroom and stared him down. Now my husband is old, short and chubby; not at all threatening looking. It was very uncomfortable. Masks had to be worn at all times even when sitting even though they has rows taped off for social distancing. Will not go back.

True to the Bible, very welcoming and loving! Nice family atmosphere with sound biblical teachings…read morewithout all the man-made doctrines and traditions found in a lot of Christian groups.

Loving family of forgiven Christians!read more

Love love love my parish!…read more I've had some poor experiences during my attempts to convert, but after moving to Erie and deciding on OLP for my children's school, it was obvious this was the place for us. They baptized my children without any fear or crazy politics, helped me with my sort of complicated annulment, and accepted me as I am (which is saying a lot). I've never felt like I was going to fall asleep during mass, and love our priests. There's lots of parking available too. ;)

I have only been a couple of times, but the current parish priests are energetic and really seem to…read moreconnect with the people in the church. Those in the congregation seem to be a fair mix of younger families and long time parishioners. The music was really very good and a lot of people seemed to really participate. The building itself is a modern style and with a semi-circle of pews surrounding the alter, so if you prefer the traditional two aisles then this is not your place. Overall, I thought going to mass here was great and will definitely go again when I am in Erie.

I give this church a five star rating because of the tight family bond they give you when the…read moreparishioners get to know you better. This church also has Spanish mas which is almost unheard of in Erie, PA. As far as catholic churches. They also have Spanish prayers in Wednesday nights at 7pm.