Centennial celebrations
Trio of Mt. Lebanon churches mark 100th anniversary
This is a special year for three churches located just a half-mile apart on Washington Road in Mt. Lebanon.
St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 1066 Washington Road; Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church, 975 Washington Road, and Southminster Presbyterian Church, 799 Washington Road, each are in the midst of marking 100 years as a parish.
The Liberty Tunnels opened in 1924, offering a quicker route to the South Hills and sparking new development and growth. Between 1920 and 1930, the population in Mt. Lebanon grew 500% – from 2,258 to 13,403. Residents were seeking places to worship and churches began to crop up in the area.
St. Paul’s Episcopal
On Dec. 21, 1924, the new St. Paul’s Episcopal congregation held its first service at Washington Elementary School, the church’s place of worship for its first five years.
To mark that occasion, the church held a service at that location, 100 years to the day, on Dec. 21, 2024.
“It was an amazing service to be back in that place where we worshiped for the first time,” said the Rev. Noah Evans, church rector. “It was a wonderful service on a very, very cold morning at a busy time of year. It was great to have people gathered in the Washington Elementary School that day. We had readers and participants who spanned the generations. It was an amazing celebration, which was a kickoff of celebrating our 100th year.”
A series of presentations about the church’s history took place in January and February, and celebrations continued during Holy Week.
A capital campaign is being held throughout the year to help fund a number of projects at the church, such as overhauling the 30-year-old elevator, improvements to the kitchen, installing a permanent ramp to enter the worship space, continued restoration of stained-glass, updates to the electronics of the pipe organ and the sound system and bathroom renovations.
As of April 14, the campaign had raised $870,700.
St. Paul’s is the largest Episcopal church in the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, with more than 1,800 parishioners. Evans said in the last eight years, the congregation has grown by more than 40%.
“It’s a congregation with people from all walks of life and a diverse congregation with people from all over the South Hills,” Evans said. “It’s a lively, vibrant and active place that is welcoming and accepting of all people, and is passionate about the way we serve the needs of the community.”
Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran
In January 1925, 25 people met to worship in Washington Elementary School to form the Mt. Lebanon United Lutheran Church congregation. The Lutherans built their first church building at Academy Avenue and Washington Road. The congregation remained there until purchasing land was at Washington Road near Cochran Road in 1954.
The sanctuary groundbreaking took place Feb. 17, 1957, and the sanctuary building was dedicated March 2, 1958.
“We’re really pleased and feel blessed to have had 100 years so we’re going to celebrate that,” said Alan Trivilino, a church member since 1985 and chair of the 100th anniversary committee. “We’re doing it in a way to make us want to look forward as well. We’ll celebrate the blessing we’ve had, but continue to be a source for the Lord’s work going into the future.”
In June, there will be a celebratory dinner at a local country club.
Also, the church’s typical rally held the Sunday after Labor Day will focus on the church’s centennial celebration and an All-Saints Sunday service will honor parishioners who have passed away.
“We’ll evoke more of the saints of the past 100 years because we believe in the sainthood of all believers,” Trivilino said. “We’re all saints in God’s eyes, not just the names of those who have passed in the last 12 months but also the prior 100 years.”
There also are plans by the church to honor the women of the past century.
Southminster Presbyterian Church
The congregation that would become Southminster Presbyterian Church was organized with 183 founding members on April 26, 1925.
In 1928, the Southminster Presbyterian Church sanctuary was constructed at its current location at 799 Washington Road.
A two-day celebration is set for May 17 and 18 to mark the centennial of the church of about 820 members, some of whom are the fourth generation of their family to be members.
There will be a dinner at the St. Clair Country Club May 17, followed by a special Sunday service the next day in which former staff and pastors will be invited to participate.
“We’ve invited back a number of previous associate pastors,” explained Carol Walton, chair of the Southminster anniversary committee. “They’re going to be participating in the service in various ways. Hopefully, we’ll have a nice turnout. Part of that service will be to recognize those who have been a member of the church for at least 50 years.”
Walton said there are at least 60 people who have been members of the church for that long.
Centennial activities began in October and November with dinners followed by skits depicting the history of the church. Skits depicting the next 50 years of the parish took place earlier this year.
“People had a chance to hear about things they didn’t remember or ever knew,” said Walton, a member of the church since 1977. “We traditionally have a few Tuesday night dinners and program events during the year.”
A Tuesday night dinner planned for October will feature recipes from past cookbooks “from the old days.” Another program will look into the future of the church.
A book that details the church’s history will be updated to include the last 25 years, which Walton hopes will be available to distribute during the celebration in May.
Walton said a number of people who grew up in the church have gone on to become ministers or have gone into the ministry as a second career, including her daughter, Diane Walton Hendricks, who is a minister in Clifton, Va. Her daughter will be coming back to serve as a guest preacher in July.
“We’ve invited a number of those people back once a month, beginning last year,” Walton said.
Joint event
The three churches will host a joint ecumenical event from 2 to 4:30 p.m. June 29, and will also offer a chance to tour each of the facilities.
“People will be able to come in and learn a little bit of the history, the architecture and why things are the way they are,” Trivilino said. “We’re excited to join together in an ecumenical fashion and give people a chance to come and learn about us and enjoy three different architectural styles, three different traditions, just celebrating the community of faith that we have down here.”
“We’re going to have the churches open,” Walton added. “There will be people at each one to give mini tours or talk about the features of the church and give a little bit of the history.”