Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church, 100 W. Main Street, (mailing address: PO Box 466), Saxonburg, PA 16056, 724.352.2888, www.saxonburg.org, Rev. Douglas M. Dorsey, Senior Pastor.

 

Scripture – Acts 2:1-13 NIV

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?”

Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

 

Bob’s thoughts:

I was looking forward to seeing the pastor but with all the restrictions on churches, I wasn’t sure what to expect otherwise. You would think by now I would be better at recognizing God’s leading; He doesn’t drag me to church, just gently nudges.

The sanctuary has a giant cross over a round window with flowers and butterflies at the base, making a perfect focal point.

We got to greet the pastor before the service. They did have three services but are down to one service with about 50 worshipers.

The small praise band sounded terrific leading the congregation; I think maybe the masks muffled the church’s singing.

The children stayed in their seats for their message, which was well done. She asked in the course of her message what synonym would reflect for your thought of being redeemed by Christ. My strong sense was rescued from my life of sin. The message about Fanny Crosby, who had written some 9,000 poems/hymns, a line from her song: “I sing because I cannot be silent.” With all her accomplishments while being blind, what mattered to her was that when she got to heaven, Christ’s face would be the first one she saw.

The message was divinely directed for the pastor, for the church, and for us. The first Pentecost was the giving of the Spirit dwelling in us. With all that has changed in the church, this is the very message we all need right now. Invite the Holy Spirit in and you won’t recognize this church; this is the perfect time for the fire to return. Surviving is not enough – God is calling you now!

 

Jan’s thoughts:

We searched for a church with an indoor, in-person service and landed at Saxonburg.

In the 10 years since our last visit, they have secured a new pastor whom we knew previously, so we were especially glad to be visiting here.

The building is lovely, tastefully decorated, and with plenty of space. Social distancing was observed, which unfortunately made it difficult to talk with people.

The music was led by a praise team that sounded wonderful together. And I appreciated the timing of the words projected on the screens: there was no lag that left me wondering what came next.

The children’s message was marvelous: Molly spoke about Fanny Crosby, how she wrote 9,000 hymns and eventually used a pen name so people would not think she wrote the entire hymnal. Remarkably, she was blind from the age of 6 weeks and accomplished a great deal in her life in addition to writing hymns. She also gave several synonyms for the word “redeemed” and asked everyone to silently identify the one that spoke to them. Mine was “rescued” because that’s what He did for me.

In the sermon, “The Holy Spirit-Here-Now”, the pastor focused on the first Pentecost after Christ’s resurrection and how the giving of the Holy Spirit both proved God’s power and fulfilled His promises. God sent the Holy Spirit to give His people His power and strength and so we would never be left without His presence. As believers, He is with us in every single battle we face, and His strength is at our disposal. The question was: what could God accomplish through us if we took God at His word, asked for help from the Holy Spirit, and stepped out in faith, willing to be stretched and live boldly.

I was grateful God led us here…I needed an uplifting, encouraging, challenging word today.

 

Our prayer for this church:

Gracious God, we pray the Spirit’s fire comes upon Your Church now. Awaken us all to more than we ever thought we could be and remind us what it means to be Your Church. Amen.

Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Saxonburg Memorial Presbyterian Church, 100 Main Street, Saxonburg, PA 16056, 724.352.2888, www.saxmem.org, Rev. Dr. Dave Brewer, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

This was a contemporary worship service held in the lower level fellowship hall. Aside from the restroom signs above the respective doorways I saw no signage and was disappointed not to see a cross.

There was a generous table of donuts and fruit offered with the coffee. There seemed to be some problem with the audio early on; the voices of two young women overcame the others with a very tinny sound. It seemed much better during the very well-done offertory. Late in the service there was an annoying mechanical bass noise on the right speaker. Even with the audio problems, the contemporary worship songs were good and two that I hadn’t heard before.

The sermon was on Galatians 6:7, that God is not mocked, that what man sows, so shall he reap. It was presented as a series of stories, but I realized that the congregation really got the message from this presentation. This minister seems an excellent fit for this congregation.

Had I not read the reports from Session I would not have known that there was any mission activity beyond a mission trip. I enjoyed this insight of the church.

We were warmly greeted by some of the church officers, and probably the first time that someone had heard of our blog and came to meet us. There was a healthy mix of young children and “gray hairs” along with quite a few young adults. I thought this service was well attended till the pastor mentioned that the attendance was off a bit. Don’t know if the other services were affected.

After the service we looked upstairs at the main Sanctuary and were impressed. The Narthex area is open and bright and is unrestricted into the Sanctuary. There is a large cross over a round window with a butterfly. May need to go back just to experience worship there.


Jan’s thoughts:

This church has a traditional service at 8 in the “Little Church” across the street, a contemporary service at 9 in the fellowship hall of the main building, and another traditional service at 10:30 in the main Sanctuary of the main building; a unique solution to several issues they must have faced when planning for three services each Sunday.

We attended the contemporary service, so the atmosphere was almost boisterous as we entered. We were grateful for the well-placed signage which allowed us to locate the restrooms quickly.

Seating was plentiful, but it definitely filled up. I particularly enjoyed the icicle lights hanging from the ceiling, giving such a pretty, festive look. The bulletins for this service did not include an Order of Worship (which is standard for a contemporary service) but did contain a plethora of information, as well as a full page insert (front and back) of “Session News.”

The people were quite friendly, several greeting us even before worship began, and even more during the service. The general feel was relaxed, comfortable, friendly, enthusiastic, and very welcoming. We were given a gift bag with a folder full of information about the church along some small gifts.

There were lots of children and an encouraging mix of ages in the congregation. We observed to the pastor that most of the seats were filled and some folks stood in back. He stated that this service is only about 16 months old, and attendance was light this morning.

After the service we wandered up to the Sanctuary and were stunned to find a most beautiful worship space. The colors and designs were light, spacious, and well coordinated. On the rear wall of the Chancel is a large cross in front of a circular window, and painted on the window is a butterfly, one of my favorite symbols of new life. We may return to experience worship in this space in a traditional format.

This morning’s message centered on Galatians 6:7 in which we’re told that we reap what we sow. He spoke of how we remember others and how they remember us, of our internal scars about which others may have no clue, and of God’s intention for us to build others up.

He contrasted the stories of two very different men: John Wooden, whom even those of us who don’t follow basketball have gotten to know some since his recent death, and Reinhard Heydrich, second in command in the Nazi SS organization and nicknamed “The Blond Beast.” These stories included the childhoods of these men and the events and influences that made them the adults they became, but especially the personal choices that affected the outcome of their lives and legacies. I found it quite fascinating and educational, and it reinforced some things God has recently taught me.