Steffin Hill Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Steffin Hill Presbyterian Church, 2000 Darlington Road, Beaver Falls, PA 15010, 724.846.6711, www.steffinhill.org, Rev. Dr. Judy Angleberger, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Today’s was a rather special church visit because it was probably the most welcoming presence – once we got in the door – that we have experienced. What amazed me were the people we met before the service who then came by when we passed the Peace of Christ and addressed us by name. Many of the worshipers told us that their regular pastor was not there and we would have to come back and meet her.

I thought it odd that I had to ask for a bulletin.

At the rear of the Chancel there is a very large, prominent cross in front of a round stained glass panel that makes it look like the cross is in the stained glass. The somewhat unusual arched ceiling has a dropped ceiling suspended and covering most of the actual ceiling area. This design seemed to create very good acoustics. The pews are arranged in a semi-circle and make the chancel area seem as if it is in a small alcove. Most of the woodwork is varying shades of oak from dark to light pecan. Signage was almost non-existent. The Children’s Sermon was oriented to the children and I was happy that there were more than a few young ones, as well as some babies to watch.

An announcement was made to honor some members for their record of perfect (or almost perfect) attendance the past year. I thought the Prayer for Illumination was unusual in that it was what it is supposed to be.

The anthem was almost completely drowned out by the organ. The little continuance while the choir returned to their pews was at a volume that would have worked well. The small choir just couldn’t compete.

The offering really was in response to the Word.

I thought the sermon might have been delivered by a seminary student. The passion seemed to fade as the message wore on; he seemed to have lost a lot of the congregation about half-way through. He was preaching on the importance of love over all when I noticed a young mother interacting with a child. There was the perfect example of the pure love that God has for us – to be able to forgive someone in love and keep no record of the past. The recent death of our dog reminded me that yes, God loves you like that.

I look forward to a return visit.

Jan’s thoughts:

It’s always interesting to enter a church for the first time, knowing that you probably know no one you’ll encounter that morning. But when we entered this church the young woman handing out bulletins was extremely friendly in greeting some people who arrived immediately before us. This would not have struck me as odd at all had she at least looked at us, but she didn’t. She stopped smiling, looked past us, distractedly handed me a bulletin and said “Good morning,” with no emotion. I found myself standing there wondering what we had done. However, before we took two steps there were three women there introducing themselves and welcoming us and several more people greeted us before we sat down. I suppose first impressions are sometimes inaccurate and can be overcome.

Once we got in the door, this turned out to be one of the friendliest churches we’ve visited. Before, during, and after the service people introduced themselves, spoke to us, and invited us to return. We truly felt welcome and were delighted we had come to this church.

The bulletin was well done and easy to read, with the “extra stuff” on inserts that did not interfere with the Order of Worship. The Sanctuary was arranged in a semi-circle. The walls were light green and brought out the greens in the stained glass.

At times worship leaders will begin to pray a Prayer of Adoration and part way through it becomes a prayer of supplication instead, and that was what I heard today. Also, it may seem like a small thing, but the wording in the bulletin is important: it should be a Prayer FOR Illumination, not a Prayer OF Illumination. Today, though, the prayer was what it was supposed to be: a prayer for God’s illumination of our minds and hearts, and was where it was supposed to be: immediately prior to the reading of the Scripture, which is often not the case.

During the Mission Focus I was astonished to learn that this church will have a unique auction on February 14 to benefit a specific medical need in Malawi (a place close to my heart from two visits to that warm-hearted place) and that Dr. Sue Makin has visited Steffin Hill. Every time I begin to wonder if God really “sends” us to the churches we visit, something like this happens and I learn once again that I shouldn’t doubt.

Unfortunately the pastor was on vacation today, and several folks informed us that we must return to hear her preach because “she’s our shining star.” With so many glowing recommendations, we probably will return to hear her.

I understand the gentleman who preached today is at a pre-ordination stage and I wanted to speak with him following the service but we needed to find the restrooms. After some guesswork we located them downstairs and by the time we returned upstairs I couldn’t find him. The sermon, entitled “Without love, I am nothing,” was long but very good, and as you might guess it was based on 1 Corinthians 13.

Oddly enough I’ve been reading and pondering that passage every couple of days this past week, thinking about the difference between God’s love and human love, and how we can do many good things but they will not last unless they are motivated by love.

Recently I again heard that old saying that “God is love,” so in reading the first three verses of 1 Corinthians 13 I discovered that replacing the word “love” with “God” allows me to hear it differently. I think that’s sort of what he was getting at – the difference between doing a good thing for some other reason and doing it out of agape love. As I said, the sermon was long and I got lost toward the end, unfortunately.