White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at White Oak Springs Presbyterian Church, 102 Shannon Road, Renfrew, PA 16053, 724.789.7145, www.whiteoakspringspreschurch.com, Rev. W. Lee Dreyer, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Today we visited a delightful little country church. The architecture says it was a traditional high-ceiling church when built but we were assured by the pastor that the present lowered ceiling replaced a prior dropped ceiling with little room above it. The general contractor in me would like to have investigated further. The current ceiling is very good – white paneling and oak beams that match the rest of the Sanctuary. I noticed no signage. It is a small facility but I would think at least restroom/fellowship hall/nursery directions should be identified.

A smaller cross hangs on the rear Chancel wall: it is a well-placed focal point. The windows have only small blue squares on the perimeter but to very good effect. There was one banner in particular I enjoyed that I would guess was made by a Sunday School class.

I believe we were greeted by everyone in the church during the Passing of the Peace of Christ as well as by a few before the service. The bulletin was rather confusing and I found it hard to keep my place. Parts of Psalm 91 were read responsively, and I would have appreciated it being identified in the bulletin as a responsive reading.

The anthem was presented with only a few choir members and the voices and piano sounded mechanical. I thought the pianist was experiencing some problem until I heard the joy in the rest of what she played. There are few truly singable hymns associated with Communion, but a small choir needs to bump it up a bit to compensate for their size.

The pastor spoke of how easy it is to justify almost anything by using Scripture taken out of context, and how well the Devil does just that when we are not prepared for battle. One of the three points of the sermon touched on the Bible as the word of God, small ‘w,’ as opposed to capital Word, Christ. I didn’t grasp what that was about. The second point was the whole Bible. I was reminded of a woman in a Bible study who showed me her loose-leaf Bible – when she found a part she didn’t like she simply pulled that page out. I don’t know what she kept. We are all easily lured astray by Scripture taken out of context. The third point of all of this is love.

Communion was served silently, and I thought the pastor should have been served instead of having to serve himself. Of course I was pleased that the offering was taken in response to the Word preached.

Sometimes I have a blessed insight, it doesn’t happen too often. My guess is being a man and a stubborn Marine have something to do with it. I became aware today that my comments on the buildings of the churches we visit could be taken as judgmental or as a reflection on worship. When I experienced God in a foxhole, I learned the church building is a tool. I mention things that I notice as a first-time visitor and some of that is just to help me remember between churches.

Today we were blessed to spend some time with the pastor after worship. (In case my cardiac doc reads this I won’t mention the sweets…) It was a joy to gain the additional insight into the church and pastor. I have noticed that sometimes the strongest ministry happens during the social time. Maybe I was just pleased that we got to share a little of how God has used us.

Jan’s thoughts:

As we approached this appealingly rural church we saw an amazing pavilion off to the side of the building. Unfortunately there was still too much snow to check it out up close, but the pastor later confirmed that it is used quite often for worship services, picnics, Vacation Bible School, and even community events.

I think I’ve only seen one other church with a split entry. There was no directional signage to be found. We encountered some people who were friendly enough but did not stop to introduce themselves. However, as we entered the Sanctuary the pastor introduced himself and his daughter, who was dispensing bulletins.

The Sanctuary design was well-coordinated (except for the mauve carpet and bright red pew cushions). All the wood was the same shade including the ceiling joists but on a white painted ceiling. The windows were white opaque and outlined with greenish-blue.

The bulletin contains lots of information, but could use a makeover as it’s confusing and cumbersome. At one point during the announcements the pastor pointed out the brand new web address on the front page and I had to look through each page in my hands to find it. I usually suggest keeping the Order of Worship on one folded page and including the rest in the form of unfolded inserts. That way when the bulletin is folded for use during worship parishioners can insert everything inside that’s not worship-related and easily follow worship.

The sermon was entitled “What is Truth?” based on parts of Psalm 91 and on Luke 4:1-13, the story of Jesus’ temptation at the end of His 40 days in the desert. He pointed out that the Bible is the word (small “w”) of God, not the Word (capital “W”) of God, Who is Jesus; one should read the Bible “big” and in context, not in bits (“An isolated verse is not truth.”) and together with a faith community; and that the ultimate test of whether a concept is Biblical is when it is viewed “through the lens of love.” If it magnifies love of God and others, it can be said to be Biblical.

We celebrated the Sacrament of Communion, which I enjoyed as it has been a while since I last partook of the elements. I wished the servers looked a little bit happy to be serving Communion, but all I saw were frowns.

Following the service we ended up spending a good deal of time talking with the pastor who told us much about the history of the church (both building and people) and about his own faith journey. So often pastors don’t really get what we do, but I felt that this pastor not only got it but appreciated it, which we appreciated in turn.