Park Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Park Presbyterian Church, 275 Commerce Street, Beaver, PA 15009, www.parkchurchbeaver.org.

Bob’s thoughts:

We were very early for the service and had time to tour most of the facility. The weather was mild so it was especially nice that we were able to walk around the outside of the building. There are many parking spaces designated for visitors and the handicapped, and the church has addressed those needs with an elevator and wheelchair ramp (although partially blocked by a bicycle when we walked by).

A lot of attention has been paid to maintenance and updating and blending very well with the 1900 church building. The inside would benefit from some directional signage, but the rooms were well marked. The Sanctuary features very impressive wood work and stained glass and the consistent color ties the pews to the Chancel. The pews are arranged in an arc with a large wooden arch tying in the rear seating. There is a large cross on the wall with a purple drape hung unevenly, which I think looks best.

I don’t remember having been in any other church where more people greeted us warmly, some with excellent phrasing (“Here’s someone I don’t recognize.”). Much more so, people remembered things on which we commented and brought others by who shared that interest or involvement. We were not encouraged to join, but to come back.

We were blessed with an excellent bongo accompaniment to the contemporary songs and then to witness a baptism. I was impressed that 13 of the 15 members of the choir sang along with the contemporary praise music. I also took pleasure in the cross decorating the front of the choir robes.

Although I was disappointed, as always, that the offering was taken before the Word was preached, I did appreciate the call to the offering, which referred to bringing “His tithes and our offerings.”

The sermon seemed to be kind of loose to start. I think the minister had trouble relating to the theme. But after some seemingly random contemplation it came together again with the thought of adversity and our interaction with God when we need Him most; that special understanding that brings us to be able to praise God in the midst of our trials.

The Annual Report reflects a healthy mission budget. The bulletin offers a staffed prayer room open daily, a grief mission, and others – good signs of a healthy church. The week’s schedule was full indicating good stewardship of the facilities.
Jan’s thoughts:

We arrived quite early and the weather was pleasant so we took a walk around the building. The visitor’s parking, marked from the street, was plentiful as were regular parking spaces. The building is very old (date on the cornerstone is 1904) and we learned an addition had been completed in 1930. Renovations were finished about six years ago, and the building looks very well-kept. The stone on the outside of the building, however, has a strange reddish cast to it. I couldn’t help but think that, though probably expensive, a good cleaning would make the place look like new.

Inside we were greeted by a Deacon who took the time to tell us all about the history of the building, details of some of the stained glass windows, and past locations where the church met. There was a visitor’s center in the small narthex right inside the door and at least one more further in the building.

After talking with a couple more people, we took a self-guided tour of the building, including the downstairs kitchen (huge, well designed, and well cared-for) and the classrooms upstairs. Everywhere we went more people asked if we were visiting and introduced themselves.

One wall near the library was dedicated to pictures and information about Africa, and I commented to the woman who was with us at that point that I had been there twice. Before we left we were approached by one of the women we had met who indicated she is the chair of the Mission Commission, and she invited me to speak to them at their next meeting in early April about my experiences in mission. Of course I agreed.

Signage was abundant, clear, and consistent in style (i.e., if we were looking for directions we looked for a green sign with white letters – very helpful).

We’ve been visiting churches for a while, and of all the churches we’ve visited, more members identified us as visitors here than anywhere else. I lost count of the number of people who introduced themselves to us. I was bowled over.

The architecture of the Sanctuary was impressive. In addition to the stained glass windows, the ceilings were high and decorated minimally so they didn’t look cluttered. The medium-colored wood nicely complemented the tan carpeting, and the large cross on the back wall of the Chancel bore an unevenly draped purple cloth. The choir sat against the back wall facing the congregation and the Music Director hopped between the organ and the piano.

The bulletin consists of an 11x17” tri-folded sheet containing quite a bit of information plus two 8 ½ x 11” half sheets for sign-ups and a folded 8 ½ x 11” sheet of additional music. Even with all that, it worked out okay.

The sermon was titled, “Abandoned by God” and was about exactly that concern. I don’t pretend to know the pastor (Interim Pastor Rev. Eric Powell), but I give him credit for tackling a difficult-at-best topic. It’s one with which I’ve personally dealt since the death of our son Dan, so I was glad to hear him affirm toward the end of the sermon some conclusions I’ve come to after some wrestling: no, God doesn’t abandon us during difficult times, that the best thing we can do is stay close to God, trust Him, and communicate our feelings to Him honestly. I agree.