Mt. Lebanon church shows off expansion
Harry Funk / The Almanac
The Rev. Jim Magaw will be giving sermons against the backdrop of a bank of windows putting a grove of trees on full display.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
The addition to Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills features a sanctuary that seats 220.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Longtime Carol Karl sits at a keyboard in the new choir room that has been named after her.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Grace Hughes sits in the religious education room for youngsters on the lower level of the original building, which is more readily accessed by a new stairway.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
A new Kawai piano provides music in the 220-seat sanctuary.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
John Armstrong shows a panel of stained glass that was in the church's former front door and now hangs in the addition.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
A new "crying room" is equipped with a sound system to allow parents to follow the service in the sanctuary while their children relax and play.
Plans for expanding Unitarian Universalist Church of the South Hills began eight years ago with what turned out to be a great deal of foresight.
In the past few years, the congregation has grown by 25 percent, confirming the need to add on to the former Mt. Lebanon residence at Washington Road and Sunnyhill Drive, the latter of which provides an alternative name for the church.
“We’ve had a real bump in attendance since last fall, in the wake of the election,” the Rev. Jim Magaw said. “One of the things about being a more progressive church, theologically and politically, is that people are feeling a real need to seek out community. And so we’re seeing a lot of those people.”
The church’s minister was on hand to greet visitors during an Oct. 21 open house to showcase the $2.6 million expansion. The centerpiece is a new sanctuary that doubles the capacity for services with seating for 220.
“I get the chills every time I walk into this room,” congregation member Julie Ann Sullivan said. “It’s an inspiration without a word being spoken.”
She commended the architects at Strip District firm Rothschild Doyno Collaborative for a window-dominated design that brings in an abundance of natural light throughout the building.
Harry Funk / The Almanac
Natural light flows through the windows of the choir room.
“It’s very important to them what people see outside the windows, so they shaped it so that all we really see is green and sky. It makes a difference. You feel like you’re in nature when you’re listening to a service,” Sullivan said about the sanctuary.
With regard to the exterior, the intent was to maintain as much of the character as possible of the 1920s-era mansion that has served as the church’s home since 1971.
“Sunnyhill is one of the most recognized buildings in Mt. Lebanon,” Peg Hart, a registered architect who chairs the church’s new home committee, said. “Among our goals was to make the new addition blend so well into the original building that it appears seamless, and we have succeeded.”
The expansion also features new offices, meeting rooms and a choir room named for Carol Karl, a founding member of the church who has served as music director for almost 45 years.
The existing part of the building underwent renovations, including redoing the former sanctuary as a fellowship hall and significantly improving the flow between floors.
“They were these narrow little stairs for a house,” John Armstrong, who served on the construction oversight committee, explained. “The new stairway is about twice as wide as the old, so people can go up and down at the same time.”
The new accommodations help allow the congregation to carry out the church’s intent.
“The mission, simply stated, is to build a just and compassionate community within and beyond Sunnyhill,” Magaw said. “One of the reasons that we built this building was not just to accommodate increased numbers of people, but to really open our doors wider to the community so that we would have more of a presence here, and that we could move out into the world more effectively.”