Bethany Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Bethany Presbyterian Church 740 Washington Avenue, Bridgeville, PA 15017,www.bethanypresby.org

Jan's thoughts:

We've attended a few Partnership events at Bethany as well as Jim Mead's farewell dinner, so we were not total strangers at this church. We also have some friends who attend there, but only saw one today.

The building is very new (2005, I believe), and a lot of thought obviously went into the planning. Even if we hadn't known where the sanctuary was, we wouldn't have had to ask because the signs were everywhere. The same for the restrooms.

One unique physical feature at Bethany is the Welcome Center in the Narthex which boasts round tables that seat probably 6 or 8, a refreshment bar (coffee, tea, cookies), and space for people to stand (or sit) around and chat. A very welcoming atmosphere and many people took the opportunity it presented. The stained glass is beautiful and the whole building is thoughtfully laid out. It has an open, accessible feel to it.

However, aside from the one friend I mentioned earlier, only the greeters, one usher, and one gentleman sitting nearby spoke to us.

We were privileged to be present for the reception of new members, including one who was baptized, as well as the first Sunday for the Rev. David Antonson as Bethany's Interim Pastor and Barb Crawford as the Interim Christian Education Director.

The bulletin is a work of art containing numerous small but informative touches. Instead of the traditional photo or drawing of the church, the cover carries a pretty banner and the founding date (Oct. 18, 1814), notes indicating joy at our presence, direction to quiet our hearts before God and listen to the music, information about child care, and their mission statement. In the responsive Call to Worship, the congregation's parts are in red print and all caps, making it nearly impossible to become lost. The Scripture readings are printed in the bulletin, the identities of the greeters and ushers, the flower donor, the new members, the children's church teachers, and the Welcome Center sponsors. Financial information, this year's per capita apportionment, and attendance figures are also included, along with church staff and contact information. There's lots more, so anything you might want to know about Bethany you can probably find in the bulletin.

The Nursery uses a paging system, where parents picked up a pager after they dropped off their child(ren), and the staff could then reach the parent quickly and discretely. A great idea which I've only seen once before.

The choir was quite strong, and I thought the organist was excellent. We were treated to the Bethany Ringers who rang "When Peace Like a River," which I know as "It is Well With My Soul." A beautiful rendering of a piece that means a lot to me, as we heard it at church the day after our son's death. That was also when I learned the story of how the song came to be written, and I took that as a promise that it would also come to be well with my soul. I think I'm getting there...

This is getting longer and longer, so I'll just finish by saying that we left after speaking with the one usher who spoke to us earlier, and that was it. I'm sure that had we seen our other friends they would've introduced us to some people, but that didn't happen.


Bob's thoughts:

Bethany has effected a great redesign, very comfortable worship and fellowship areas. Accessibility has been well-addressed. Also good signage, acoustics, and very comfortable pews.

I have a concern that the tool of the church building may be too good, causing a tendancy to be inward-focused. I expected more mention of mission outside the church, but there are lots of good things going on inside.

There is a lot of information in the bulletin, which is printed on good stock paper.

I've always understood that the offering was in response to the Word, so I was not happy with the order of worship, as the offering was accepted before the sermon.

No one greeted us except the usher I engaged and a worshiper who complimented my Christian shirt.

Great group of children for the children's message. If the quantity of youth is indicative of the health of the group, Bethany has good potential.

Great ringers and the organ was not too loud.

Good message subject (the Great Commission), but I felt it trailed off when it came to direction for action. It's not fair to assess an interim's first message, though; he and the church need time to get to know each other. It's an interesting adjustment with an Associate Pastor in place.