Mt. Nebo Presbyterian Church

Today we attempted to worship at Mt. Nebo Presbyterian Church, 1828 Roosevelt Road, Sewickley, PA 15143, 412.741.6880, www.mtnebopc.org, Rev. Doug Dorsey.


Bob’s thoughts:

We tried to worship at Mt. Nebo but the service started before the start time posted on the website and even on the outdoor marquee. We were in time for the sermon. Some of the message was about ministry outside of the church that I think is lost on most.

I thought it interesting that much of the message was about being a welcoming congregation, but no one noticed us sitting outside the sanctuary. When I went up to put an offering in the plate (which was taken after the Word) the usher did offer me a bulletin. For how many people went by, it was odd to not be welcomed.

There is a great wood cross hanging above the entryway. We planned our arrival to allow plenty of time to look around; as it was we were able to look around a bit after the service. Bulletin boards displayed announcements referring to various missions. Some doors are identified only on the front of the door, so they could well benefit from signage. I noticed a lot of vehicles parked on the grass across from the church and wonder if this is the case in the winter.


Jan’s thoughts:

This has been enough of an issue in the past; I should have remembered to call the church and ask about the worship time, but I didn’t. Instead I trusted the website. Consequently, we arrived at 10:10, thinking we were 40 minutes early; instead we were 40 minutes late. How disappointing.

We arrived during the reading of the Scripture, and while we stood right inside the doors trying to decide if we should just go elsewhere, we could clearly hear the sermon in which he spoke of being a welcoming church, and a story about Gandhi once attending a service at a Christian church and being treated in a distinctly un-welcoming manner. Then going on to ask the congregation how first-time visitors at Mt. Nebo would be treated. All the while we first-time visitors sat in the narthex with people walking past or standing in the narthex themselves, and no one stopped to ask who we were or if they could help us. Seems like the pastor’s question was answered.

So we missed most of the service (including a baptism, unfortunately). The sermon, however, was worth hearing. In addition to the story about Gandhi and his visit to a Christian church, there was a story about Tony Campolo finding himself in a diner in Hawaii at 3:30 one morning. He encountered some prostitutes, one of whom told a friend with her that the next day was her birthday. The friend made unkind remarks about it, so after they left Tony made arrangements with the owner of the diner to have a birthday party for the woman (a regular) the next night.

Of course, the woman was stunned, and so was everyone else when she wanted to take her birthday cake nearby to show her mother. When she had gone, Tony led the many other guests – mostly prostitutes – in prayer for the woman, after which the owner declared he had no idea Tony was a preacher and what kind of preacher from what kind of church frequents a diner full of prostitutes at 3:30 in the morning anyway? In a flash of inspiration Tony replied “The kind of church that throws a birthday party for a prostitute, that’s what kind of church.” To which the owner replied “Where is that church – I want to join it.” People come to know Christ through coming to know His people. Good story and a great point that certainly spoke to us.