Summit Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Summit Presbyterian Church, 181 Caldwell Drive, Butler, PA 16002, 724.287.2378, www.summitchurchpa.org, Rev. Jonathan Evans, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

I deal frequently with preconceived notions. Our trip to church took us down some very country roads and with that came my “expectations” of a small country church. What we found was a vibrant church alive for Jesus.

It was nice to open the door and be confronted right off with directional signage. As we wandered around I did notice a need for additional signage and there was evidence that it was in the works.

My expectations were again exceeded when we walked into the Sanctuary, a cheerful bright area with large colorful stained glass. There is a large, backlit cross, which I saw on the website and which enticed us to visit.

Really enjoyed the choir – they are blessed with terrific harmony.

The Children’s Sermon was well done, correlating the palm branches used in celebrating Jesus to our palms raised to celebrate Him. There were a number of children, which was therapeutic for me as I was missing our grandchildren.

The sermon was based on Mark 10, how the disciples stepped over Christ’s explanation of what was to become of Him that week to ask for positions in Jesus’ kingdom. It made me think how often we try to step over God’s plan with our expectations. Christ’s impending death must have seemed like failure to the disciples; this was their King. We constantly try to side-step God with our expectations and ask Him to fill in the blanks from there.

Sometimes we get to see the God thing happen. I certainly did not expect to witness for Christ in a Giant Eagle parking lot, but came out of the store to find a woman standing by my truck who explained that she had to meet whoever had this bumper sticker. (It said “Go ahead and try Jesus. If you don’t like Him the Devil will always take you back.”) She was so moved by God to do this that she sent her husband in to do the shopping by himself (he was uncomfortable). She told of a family problem she was having and I and those with me held hands in a circle and prayed for her. It was a God moment that exceeded my expectations. He consistently does that.

I was pleased that the offering was taken in response to the Word and impressed with the mission involvement of this church. There were many signs of a good, healthy, well-led church.

There was also an impressive list of military on the prayer list. I was wearing a shirt with a Marine emblem and before we left a parishioner behind me thanked me for my service.

Jan’s thoughts:

This is a pleasant, rural little church. The first thing we saw when we entered was a directional sign downstairs to the restrooms. While in the area we were able to look around a bit, but most of the activity seemed confined to the main floor.

A few people greeted us on our way to the Sanctuary and more folks introduced themselves afterwards, inviting us to stay for Sunday School as well.

The focus of the Sanctuary is the outsized stained glass windows. A plain back-lit cross hangs on the rear wall of the Chancel, beautiful in its simplicity. The carpet is a rose color with a delicate gray pattern brought out by a similarly-colored pew cushion.

The bulletin is one of the best I’ve seen: the information is well-organized and the format is user-friendly. During the announcements and the Morning Prayer the congregation seemed friendly and responsive.

The sermon was entitled “Great Expectations” and was based on Mark 10:32-40, beginning with Jesus’ outline for the disciples of the events that would occur during the final week of His life – “Cliff Notes in a nutshell for dummies” as the pastor called it. And immediately (one of Mark’s favorite words) John and James “requested a celestial eternal promotion on the heavenly org chart” in terms of promised positions at Jesus’ right and left. Such a glaring example of the huge gulf between human ways and God’s ways. The disciples (or any other humans) did not expect God to act as He did to save humankind, and when their expectations were not met they became disillusioned and it looked like failure to them. The pastor pointed out, however, that the Holy Spirit opens our minds to new paradigms so that we can let go of pre-conceived notions and relinquish our expectations.

This compelling message has provided direction for my thoughts today as I deal with a recent disappointment. I’m very grateful to God for sending us to this church to experience the friendly congregation and hear an inspired, hope-giving message delivered with passion.