First Presbyterian Church of Castle Shannon

Today we worshiped at First Presbyterian Church of Castle Shannon, 3636 Poplar Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15234, 412.561.0401, www.fpccs.com, Mr. Scott Shetter, Temporary Supply Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We revisited First Presbyterian of Castle Shannon and were pleasantly surprised. There is a real presence of Christ in this church. It is, as I remembed, a very pleasant church. I recall thinking that they were poised to bring a relevance of Christ to the community, and it feels like that is starting to happen. I think God is leading them to a youth ministry: it seems there are enough children to start devoting some time to them. The Praise Team choir looked like they were praising Christ, there were smiles and joy showing.

The sermon was on the meaning of baptism, the responsibilities of the church, and the reminder to us all of being washed in the blood of our Savior. I thought the sermon was well delivered and received.

The restroom locations were identified in the bulletin, along with good signage. There was a church pen in the pew that read “Come Pray With Us” – a great evangelistic tool.

There were about 50 faithful souls who braved the heat and humidity to worship together.

I watched an older man offer a young child some hard candy (a favorite ministry of mine in the past) and the same child proceeded to perform an interpretive dance during the praise songs. There was a time of personal prayer offered during the singing of the last hymn. I had felt called to go forward to pray for the church leader, but there was a woman with whom he and the liturgist were praying. The hymn ended before the need for prayer was completed and prayer was continued (as it should be) with no awkwardness.

There is a banner on the wall proclaiming the overflowing riches poured out. It should be a sign for this church that God has poured out His blessings upon this congregation and that they now need to share with the community. There is a vibrant resurrection in this church…may God continue to bless them.


Jan’s thoughts:

We worshiped here once before, but unlike the snow covered ground that greeted us that day, today we were welcomed by the charming flowers – it was gorgeous. This is an attractive, well maintained church situated on a quiet street. The sign in front looked new, and it turns out all it took was a couple of coats of paint.

At our previous visit we noted there was little if any signage, but that has been remedied – and actually taken a step beyond. Today we noticed plenty of signage, including signs that state the areas accessible via particular stairs. Good for … whoever is responsible for this! It’s a matter of hospitality – visitors can’t help but feel welcome when they don’t have to guess the location of the restrooms, etc.

The people were extremely warm and friendly; many introduced themselves and a couple even remembered us from our previous visit.

The nicely-decorated Sanctuary looked even more inviting with the sun streaming in through the beautiful stained glass windows.

Some contemporary praise songs have been added to the line-up, and it was a delight to see people with their hands raised and children dancing while praising God with their music. The animation and smiles on the faces of the Praise Team showed their joy clearly.

As I’ve been known to do, I would humbly offer my 2 cents regarding bulletin design. I always suggest keeping the Order of Worship on the one folded outside page and including everything not worship-related (prayer lists, announcements, etc.) in the form of unfolded inserts. That way when the bulletin is folded for use during worship, the Order of Worship is visible and everything else can be inserted into the folded portion to be read later.

Mr. Shetter is a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, although I do not know what year, and for all intents and purposes is serving as an intentional interim. He has made some changes that seem to fit well, especially the instituting of Fellowship Time following worship. This time was well attended and everyone seemed enthusiastic about the opportunity to spend time together.

The sermon was based on Romans 6:1-14, and was titled “All Wet.” According to Mr. Shetter, the sermon title not only indicates what takes place during baptism, but also described the state of most of the Church in the view of the meaning of and what takes place during baptism. He did make some excellent points, such as “Jesus put death to death,” and “In our baptisms we are identified with Jesus and His death.” The message was deeply theological and given with passion and conviction.

I believe Mr. Shetter will continue to have a good influence on this church, and vice versa.