Southminster Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Southminster Presbyterian Church, 799 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, PA 15228, 412.343.8900, www.spchurch.org, Rev. Dr. Daniel B. Merry, Senior Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We worshiped at Southminster partially to say good-bye to a staff member who is leaving soon, but I admit to the guilty pleasure of a Dan Merry sermon.

It has been a while since we last visited, and I noted some very positive changes – great new signage and color coding of floors. There is a welcome card in the pews with restroom locations and other helpful information for visitors.

We were visiting with a friend after the second service and arrived a few minutes late via a door near the front of the Sanctuary. We took the seats that Presbyterians never use in front and were blessed with a great viewpoint for the Children’s Message. Beyond the terrific vantage point to see the children, it was an exceptionally well-done message, simple, with interaction, and just long enough.

Dan’s message was on Martha and Mary. It was, as expected, an excellent and well-delivered sermon but included the one point most often left out: the “redemption” of Martha. When Christ came after Lazarus died, it was Martha who ran to meet Him and expressed her strong faith.

Jan’s thoughts:

It felt like we took a week off today by visiting a place with which we were familiar, but it’s been a year and a half since we were here last, and there have been some changes. One of the changes was signage, and what they’ve done was magnificent. This is a large facility with four floors, so I, at least, always found it very easy to get lost. What they’ve done is color-coded each floor so that the signs, whether they are stuck on the wall or stick out so as to be visible from down the hall (such as for rest rooms – yay!), all match the decorative color of the woodwork around the doorways and other accents such as picture frames. And the sign that greets you as you enter the main door indicates the facilities located on each floor in the color for that floor. Talk about color coordination – it was great!

Although some people from this church are friends with whom we’ve maintained contact, we were graciously greeted before and after worship by people who recognized us as non-members. During the Passing of the Peace some folks sitting nearby greeted us and introduced themselves.

The bulletin is a tri-folded 11 x 17 sheet, expertly produced.

I wished the Time of Silent Confession was longer…perhaps I just have too much to confess.

We accidentally ended up sitting in the third row from the front, so we had a birds-eye view during the Time with the Children. What a treat!

The sermon was entitled “Just one thing is needed…” and was based on Luke 10:38-42. This is the well-known story of Jesus’ visit when Martha complained that Mary was not helping her.

The message began with Dan’s observation that in the 30 years since he graduated seminary, fewer people are asking “How do I get to Heaven?” and more are questioning “How do I get through this day?” The solution was most clear in the parable with which he ended the message. It was about buttoning a coat with many buttons, and sometimes finding by the time you’re finished buttoning the long row of buttons that the coat is crooked. Obviously the buttons and holes are mismatched. But they’re mismatched because you started out wrong. If you start out right, matching the right button with the right hole, the coat is straight when you’re done. If you want your day to end right, you must start it right – by sitting at the feet of Jesus.

Life is like that – you must start out the day with “the one thing” that is needed. Then the day is much more likely to turn out “straight.” Amen to that.