Glenshaw Valley Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Glenshaw Valley Presbyterian Church, 1520 Butler Plank Road, Glenshaw, PA 15116, 412.486.5656, www.glenshawvalleychurch.org, Rev. C. Leonard Pate Jr., Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

We were warmly welcomed and greeted by a number of people.

This is a beautiful Sanctuary with lots of stained glass and woodwork. Scripture was projected on two large screens, but I don’t know if the screens are used for anything else.

We did find a restroom sign…don’t know if there was any other signage. Seeing the wreaths off to the sides of the Chancel, I wondered if there was a special meaning to the congregation about which the visitor would not know.

I found an “I Wish” card in the pew that nicely covered a lot of requests. I had time to look at a newsletter and Annual Report, and the only reference to mission was a Moment for Mission during the service. “I wish” the personal confession time was a little longer.

The choir, though on the small side, was quite powerful in worship.

The offering was taken before the Word, but there was adequate time to prepare.

The sermon was on the temptation of Adam and Eve. I appreciated the reminder that God knew/knows that we will sin and loves us enough to send His Son to redeem us.

I have always wondered if Flip Wilson would have ever guessed how many times his line “The devil made me do it!” would be used in sermons.

Being able to see and hear a few cute children helped to ease my withdrawal from a too-short visit with some of my grandchildren.

I felt privileged to pray for this church and pastor.

Jan’s thoughts:

Even before we entered the building I noticed the large, intricate stained glass window. To say it is impressive is an understatement. Unfortunately some vandals had recently thrown a piece of asphalt through a corner of it, and the congregation is now collecting donations toward its repair.

The dark wood pews, ceiling, and Chancel with its red accents behind the woodwork, is all quite beautiful and well tied-together. The pews were arranged in something of an arc, which worked well.

From the moment we entered the Sanctuary people were introducing themselves and extending a warm welcome. There was much animated conversation prior to worship.

The Order of Worship is pretty much the same in most PC(USA) churches. For instance, the hymn is listed on a line at the left margin, in the center of that line is the title of the hymn, and at the right margin is the number of the piece in the hymnal. Pretty clear cut, and pretty much the same everywhere. Here, however, the lines containing more than the one item also contain leader dots (i.e., …………..) causing the eye to automatically follow across the line. I was astounded at how much easier it was to follow.

Also, the location of the Gloria Patri and the Apostles’ Creed were indicated as “623/Screen” and “inside back cover of hymnal/Screen”, to let a visitor know that they would be displayed. I’ve lost track of the number of times I’d be looking through the hymnal only to look up and find the words were projected on a screen or the wall. This is such a small thing, but a nice touch that made it a little easier for a visitor.

I admired the comfort exhibited by the woman who presented the Children’s Sermon.

The Scripture (which a lay reader read with great enthusiasm) was Genesis 3:1-7, and the sermon was titled “The Garden of Temptation.” I liked the pastor’s statement that “God should have told Adam & Eve not to eat the snake!” He spoke of “human nature” and how “the loss of innocence in the Garden of Eden led to a loss of intimacy with God.” Satan’s temptations continue today, of course, but we have a choice – we can choose not to act on those temptations.

In the Garden of Eden the choice was “our will be done” whereas in the Garden of Gethsemane it was “Your will be done.” Praise be to God for Christ’s choice!