Westminster United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 210 Westminster Road, Sarver, PA 16056, 724.352.1376, www.westminsterchurch.net, Rev. Deborah Huffmyer, Pastor.

Bob's thoughts:

With the rural setting of this church I expected an older facility, but beyond the Sanctuary, the restrooms, and Social Hall were modern. I appreciated the signage outside, and at the Sanctuary level little was needed as restrooms were in view and identified. Not sure where the nursery might be, and I noticed no signage in the short look we had downstairs.

We were welcomed as we looked around downstairs and invited to stay for a 90th birthday celebration. What a way to greet visitors, as three cakes were paraded by!

The Sanctuary is nicely trimmed and has a pressed tin ceiling.

The birthday honoree got to enjoy a number of her favorite hymns accompanied by two relatives on piano and viola. The music was enjoyable, but the program was a little confusing and took a half hour from the worship service.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was woven around the question: what do you do when you are up against it? The answer: retreat, regroup, and reconnect. The message was that when we take it to Christ He always provides more than enough.

I noticed that the prayer requests were for those serving as Marines, and this message reminded me of the Marine Corps adage, "improvise, adapt, and overcome."

Jan's thoughts:

Today we found ourselves in the midst of a 90th birthday celebration! It was obviously a very happy occasion for the church family and for the many other (family) visitors attending today.

The church is situated in a beautiful rural area, a perfect, peaceful setting for this surprisingly mostly-new facility. The outdoor signage especially was helpful. We were early enough to have time to conduct a self-guided tour, during which we encountered some folks carrying three cakes to the new Social Hall for the luncheon following worship. They were very friendly and invited us to join the celebration following the service. (We had to decline because our grandchildren were expecting us...they understood.)

The bulletin was user friendly with nice large print. The words to some of the songs were included in a handout, also in large print. The first half hour of the service was dedicated to singing some of the favorites of the birthday girl, with a piano and a viola leading the music then as they did during worship. The joy of these two ladies (mother and daughter) was apparent, and they were excellent.

From what we saw on display all around, there seems to be a fair amount of mission going on here.

The sermon, "More Than Enough," was wound around Genesis 32:22-32 and Matthew 14:13-21. The Pastor began by asking what we do with the grief, pain, fear, stress, and guilt in our lives, and stated that 2/3 of the conditions currently being treated medically are caused by stress which, of course, can also lead to burnout. She pointed out that Jesus felt all these human emotions too and dealt with them by retreating, regrouping, and reconnecting with His Father...good advice for us as well. A spiritual retreat, even if brief, can reconnect us with our Heavenly Father and help us regroup and prepare to face whatever is next.

She pointed out that in the Genesis passage, Jacob could have run, or refused to face the truth, but he didn't. Instead he faced God and wrestled with his situation, and when the One with Whom Jacob wrestled asked who he was, Jacob owned up to who he was, as his name means "schemer." God then gave Jacob a new name - Israel, which means "prince of God."

When Jesus fed the 5,000 He began with little, but in His hands it was more than enough, and Jesus will give us more than enough too. Like Jacob, we must meet Him, tell Him honestly who we are, and hold on until He blesses us.

This sermon touched me for many reasons, not the least of which is that it has caused me to consider the idea of a spiritual retreat. Reconnecting with my Heavenly Father is always an appealing idea.

Westminster United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 330 E. Main Street, Evans City, PA 16033, 724.538.8188, www.westminsterevanscity.org, Rev. John C. Park, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Today we were led to Westminster UP, about 20 miles from the church we planned to visit today. We found very limited parking, but were early enough to get a spot.

We entered from the rear of the building, which brought us to the front of the Sanctuary. I don’t know if there is any signage coming in the front doors, but the rest rooms were marked.

There is a lot of stained glass but it doesn’t seem to fit with the Sanctuary. I enjoyed the shadow pattern from the ceiling light fixtures, and found the organ pipe layout most unusual.

The Call to Worship was a responsive reading from the Shorter Catechism, a good reminder. A portion of the service near the end was headed “Responding to God’s Word” which included prayers and the offering.

The sermon was the conclusion of a series on the “12” Commandments. The pastor developed that although we are called as far back as Leviticus to love our neighbor, Christ’s call was different as He calls us to love our neighbor as He has loved us. An interesting question, in my opinion, was whether unbelievers would say that we love one another.

The lack of signage seemed to support my theory of inward focus, as I found little mention of mission or outreach.

I was really enjoying a Starbuck’s decaf (for all of you who know my cardiologist). I had a shot of black cherry flavor and wanted that last gulp as the service was starting. I was not prepared for the couple spoonfuls of grounds in the bottom of the cup. Made it hard to focus on worship.

Jan’s thoughts:

Since the church is situated in a residential area, parking is at a premium. Upon entering I saw a (helpful) sign indicating restrooms, but that was the only signage I observed.

After entering only a few steps we were warmly greeted by the pastor, who also gave us bulletins and directions to the Sanctuary. We had little time before the service, so we headed for the Sanctuary. As it happened, we entered at the front of the Sanctuary and I felt conspicuous as we made our way all the way to the back. However several people gave us friendly smiles and greetings as we walked past. Even after we were seated the woman at the other end of the pew where we sat greeted us and instructed us as to which hymnal was required for the first hymn. I make note of this because it often doesn’t happen even at very friendly churches.

The organ, though very well played, I thought, was loud enough that I was glad we sat all the way in the back.

The Sanctuary was light yellow with very light wood pews and lots of matching wood in the Chancel area. The organ pipes were arranged imaginatively, but this precluded displaying a cross, so the only cross in the front was a brass one on the Communion table. The windows were very large with dark colors and intricate, older-style pictures in stained glass.

The service and music were traditional, although there was evidence of at least an occasional blended service.

During worship the congregation joined in the Apostle’s Creed. I know there are denominations that exclude the words “He descended into Hell” when reciting the Apostle’s Creed, but this was the first time I experienced this in a Presbyterian church.

The sermon was the last in the pastor’s summer series. It was based on John 13:31-35 and was entitled, “The New Commandment.” This “new” commandment, of course, is that those following Jesus “love one another.” He pointed out that this commandment can also be found in Leviticus, so it’s not entirely new. And of course some have asked, “Who is ‘one another’?” He acknowledged that it is a difficult command to apply, especially when the person we are commanded to love has caused us pain, but we need to ask God to help us love that person and we must pray for that person as the first step to loving them. Loving others proves our discipleship. Even those who persecuted members of the early church had to admit that “They do love each other.” And he ended with the question: Do people say that about us? A good question for each of us to ask ourselves, I think.

Westminster United Presbyterian Church

Today we worshiped at Westminster United Presbyterian Church, 115 North Mercer Avenue, New Brighton, PA 15066, 724.846.7433, Mr. Jordan Rimmer.


Bob’s thoughts:

This church was very welcoming and some who met us before the service greeted us by name during the Passing of the Peace of Christ. Often at churches many life stories are offered but little listening is done. Coming to Christ is the best thing that ever happened to me, so I can easily understand and encourage someone to share their faith walk. However, as a stranger, being regaled with stories of sporting events and logistics was a little odd.

I don’t think I have ever been in a public place that was so devoid of signage. A gentleman offered to show us Fellowship Hall and I found a restroom nearby.

The Sanctuary has a neat appearance: a pine-paneled ceiling between manufactured arch joists and an impressive large aluminum cross in front with the design repeated on the ceiling light figures. The Chancel area is one of the largest I’ve seen, and on each window sill sits a wood carving of the Presbyterian Church emblem.

I enjoyed watching some children near us and observing their parents’ efforts to contain them brought back some now-pleasant memories of our children in church.

The message was based on the Transfiguration of Christ as related in Luke 9. Seminary students seem to have a tendency to bend slightly or state Scripture less-than-accurately, and it takes away from the message.

A common thread of the sermon that Transformers (the toys) always are cars/ trucks/ buildings or whatever and they can change into something else but are still what they were, but that God is always God. The disciples may have seen and known the human Jesus, but He was still God. We sometimes try to hang on to the high points, or mountaintop experiences, with God and forget that whether we are at a high or low point, He is there with us.

I was reminded of a low time in my life when I felt very connected with God and how much I missed that close presence later when it wasn’t as necessary. When He has brought you through something you may no longer need Him to hold your hand constantly, but you can trust He is still there watching over.

Jan’s thoughts:

This was a very friendly church: probably half the congregation greeted us, introduced themselves and chatted, and one gentleman thoughtfully took the time to give us a brief tour of the building prior to worship. This was helpful as I don’t believe I saw a directional sign anywhere. They also made a special effort to make sure we felt welcome at the fellowship time following the service.

The Sanctuary features a high wooden ceiling and only yellow stained glass. The very deep Chancel is particularly striking with its stone work, and on the rear wall a large metal cross is hung in front of a royal blue curtain. The indirect lighting was just right.

The bulletin features clip art and various fonts to create visual interest, although some items could be spaced differently to utilize white space more efficiently.

The music was mostly very traditional, such as “How Great Thou Art” (which I love and haven’t sung in a while), “Holy, Holy, Holy! Lord God Almighty,” and “Lead On, O King Eternal,” all good choices for Transfiguration Sunday.

From all indications, Mr. Rimmer is currently a student at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, but I know nothing more about how he came to be serving this church. The sermon was entitled “Jesus: More than Meets the Eye,” and was based on the report of Jesus’ transfiguration in Luke 9:28-36. He compared Christ’s transfiguration with the Transformers – an imaginative comparison, I thought. I agreed with many of his statements, such as, “God is not tame or predictable,” “Fear of the Lord is appropriate,” and “Life doesn’t happen on the mountaintop.” All accurate in my opinion. However, there were two points in particular with which I had a problem.

At one point he mentioned that the high places were built to supposedly bring people closer to God, but did not mention that God despised the high places and wanted them destroyed because they were created to enable idol worship. An important point, I thought.

When speaking of God’s voice heard from the cloud by Peter and John while on the mountain with Jesus during His transfiguration, he kept referring to “what the cloud says.” This bothered me since it was not the cloud speaking, it was Almighty God Himself, and I felt a respectful reminder of that would be appropriate.