A History of Grace United Methodist
Church
Grace
United Methodist Church
dates its history back to 1877, to a series of prayer meetings held
in the home of Samuel R. Montgomery, Sr. The meetings continued for
some time, and out of them came plans to establish a regular place
of worship in the community.
E. J. Pugh, one
of the original group, owned an old lime shed “across the
creek” in Pleasantville, a village laid out in 1870 by him that also
bore the name “Pughtown.” Pleasantville remains a community of
several houses in the valley behind the Pittsburgh-Tarentum
Campgrounds and is accessible from Burtner Road at the Allegheny
Valley Expressway exit—the shortcut to the hospital.
The shed was cleaned and benches made from rough
planks were installed. Brackets were nailed to the walls for lamps,
which the members of the congregation carried from their homes on
each meeting night. With the increase of interest and the growth of
attendance, another place of worship was needed. Mr. Pugh owned a
storeroom and living apartment a short distance up the creek
from the lime shed, and an addition to the storeroom was given by
him for a place of worship. Seats were made, oil lamps were
furnished, a discarded bee hive, when reconstructed, served as the
pulpit desk, several kitchen chairs were obtained, and a large round
stove was installed.
Through revivals
and other means of growth, the church increased in numbers until a
suitable church building became necessary. A small building
was erected in Pleasantville in 1894 (see photo in the Andre Room)
and the congregation was dedicated a Methodist Episcopal Church. In
1901 the church was added to the local circuit, and the Pittsburgh
Conference appointed The Rev. Mr. Cupps to serve the congregation.
The church had significant growth.
The nearby
Campton community, off the Campgrounds, became the center of
population, and a new site in that section was sought. Mrs.
Elizabeth Bender donated two lots at the corner of Keystone and
Second streets, and a building was erected there and dedicated on
Aug. 30, 1914. In Grace’s tradition, the congregation paraded the
half-mile from their old home to the new while singing, “We’re
Marching to Zion.” The Pleasantville facility became the home of
the Pleasantville Free Methodist Church and remained standing until
the mid 1960s.
A handful of
active members today can trace their family’s church participation
back to the Pleasantville and/or Campton eras, including Greta Ward,
a great-granddaughter of Mr. Montgomery; Norma Bowser, a
great-granddaughter of William Stark; Red Rummell, the son of Mabel
Forrester; Joyce Euler, whose mother Hazel was of the J. Clyde Andre
Family of Campton, and Carolyn and Walter Rutkowski, whose mother
Frieda Dudt moved into the house adjoining the Campton property with
her parents in the early 1920s.
With the growth
of the community toward the Freeport Road, another move was
deemed wise, and the site of the present church was secured in 1922.
The first phase of the current facility, which was designed and
built by Clyde Andre, Joyce’s grandfather, was dedicated April 5,
1925, at which time the church’s name was changed to “Grace.” The
congregation worshiped in the Social Hall until the sanctuary was
added. After the cornerstone laying on July 10, 1927, the building
was completed in 1928 and was dedicated Aug. 12 of that year. Many
members of the church spent long hours in its construction. In
1940, S. R. Montgomery, Greta’s grandfather, gave the church a house
on California Avenue that served as its parsonage for several
decades.
The defining
moment in Grace’s history was the appointment of Dr. Robert Harlan
Cairns as pastor in 1943. From 1901 until then, 25 pastors had been
given the assignment, including one who refused to serve, one who
lasted 20 days, and one who resigned after three weeks because of
ill health. Early in his tenure, the Rev. Dr. Cairns rallied
payment of $85,000 in mortgage debt. Sacrificial giving on the part
of the congregation—some of whom listed their homes on the mortgage
as collateral—was described by the bishop as having “the aspect of
the heroic.” The mortgage was burned on June 6, 1948.
The 38-year
ministry of “Doc Cairns” included phenomenal growth in the post-war
baby boom years, requiring an expansion of facility. To accommodate
this need, adjoining properties were purchased in 1953 and 1957, and
on June 3, 1962, ground was broken for the education wing. The
building was dedicated in 1963, and its $615,000 cost was paid by
1978, at which time Grace became debt free. “Doc” retired in 1981
and was succeeded by the Rev. Jack F. Emerick, who served until
2000.
Four pastors
have served in the intervening years on either a permanent or
interim basis, including the Rev. Pat Albright (2001), the Rev. Lee
A. Moore (2001-03), the Rev. Richard H. Nulph (2003-06), and Dr.
Glenn B. Kohlhepp, a retired district superintendent who responded
in 2006 to usher the congregation through a two-year period of
re-adjustment and “right-sizing” to reach “the future that God
intends.” Under Pastor Glenn’s oversight, the church sold its
unneeded parsonage, launched a rehabilitation of the main building
to contain all church activities, sold the Education Building, and
retired all debt. A permanent pastor is expected to be placed in
mid-2008.
Pastors of Grace Church
