About Us
The Crafton United Presbyterian Church is a merged congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Crafton and the Bradford Avenue United Presbyterian Church. The two congregations were united under the name of the Crafton United Presbyterian Church.
Our
Story
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CRAFTON
It was during the 1870's that the churchgoing people of this community held church services in a schoolhouse recently built by order of the Chartiers Township School Board. The Reverend Phillip S. Jennings, Minister at the Mt. Pisgah Church, was desirous of establishing a "Mission" at the aforementioned schoolhouse. He preached at the school August 26, 1883, and afterward offered to continue each Sabbath afternoon during the year. This was to be combined with his obligation to Mt. Pisgah. From the start the little schoolhouse was overcrowded every Sunday afternoon. A Building Committee was formed by those attending the Sunday afternoon services and a lot on Crafton Avenue was purchased from Mr. Charles Craft. The Church was built there and was dedicated on December 7, 1884. On February 4, 1885 a petition was signed by approximately 60 persons asking the Presbytery to organize the mission as a Church. A committee consisting of Reverend J. A. Duff of Carnegie, Reverend J. M. McJunkin of Oakdale and Reverend J. J. Deacom of Forest Grove was sent by the Presbytery on Thursday, February 26, 1885. After the election of three elders and one deacon the church was declared organized by the Presbyterian Church of the United States of America. It was, by motion of the newly organized body that the name "First Presbyterian Church of Crafton" was adopted. At a congregational meeting on September 6, 1885 Reverend Phillip S. Jennings was called as the first pastor of the new church. He was to serve on a halftime basis between the First Presbyterian Church of Crafton and the Mt. Pisgah Church. From 1885 to 1899 the congregation grew and the small church building soon became inadequate. A committee of five men and five women was formed to institute a Building Fund for use in the erection of a new church. Reverend Miller resigned June 30, 1903 at which time Reverend Jesse C. Bruce began his ministry. For two months, September and October 1903, church services were held in the auditorium of the Second Ward School, because the old church building was being moved to the rear of the property to make room for the new building which was dedicated October 7, 1906. During the earlier part of the year Reverend Bruce had visited the St. Louis Exposition where he arranged the purchase of an Estey Organ. This purchase was made possible through the generosity of an unknown donor. Early talk of a merger of the First Presbyterian Church with the Bradford Avenue United Presbyterian Church was being heard in both churches in 1961. October 12, 1965 marked the Eightieth Anniversary of the founding of the First Presbyterian Church of Crafton.
FIRST UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH OF CRAFTON
The Crafton Avenue Building became known as Westminster House and was used to carry on various Youth Programs. The Reverend Robert Montgomery came as Pastor of Education in 1969, who later resigned in 1972. The Women's Association and Circles were formed in 1967. In 1979 the names of the circles were changed to Dorcas, Martha, Miriam, Esther and Ruth. Later the Ruth Circle was dropped and Sara formed inasmuch as it was a night group for the women who worked. The Estey Organ in the Crafton Avenue Church was moved to its present location in the balcony of the current building. It was renovated and rededicated May 7, 1972. B. Franklin Shue II presented a recital at that time. Mr. Shue resigned as Organist on October 26, 1975. During April and May 1980 we had the pleasure of a visit from Mrs. Naomi Valez of the Philippines. Her experience as a nurse, teacher and missionary made Naomi an interesting guest. Upon departure Mrs. Valez presented the church with a "Special Occasion" tablecloth, handmade in the Philippines. In the pulpit area of the church are three needle point covered chairs, a Memorial to a departed member of the Women's Association. The women were instructed in how to do the handwork and many of the members completed this beautiful labor of love. Early in 1984 a committee was organized to formulate plans for a Centennial Celebration of the founding of the church. During the past year preparations for the event in the form of painting and repairs had been well done by various members of the congregation. From 1984 through 1995, the church employed a seminary student each year as an assistant minister, during the school year. They worked mainly with our youth and assisted in the worship services weekly. In the early 90s we took part in the denomination’s Bicentennial Fund drive. We pledged to 3 mission projects and our own organ renovation project. This enabled renovations and improvements to be made to our pipe organ. In 1993 and 1994 we took part in a Synod project on church growth and creating a second worship service. We started a contemporary Sunday Evening service in April of 1994. The service featured guitars, drums, and a more casual style of worship. The attendance bounced up and down and we ended up revising the service to be informal with a mix of contemporary and traditional music. The musicians were volunteers and the service was led by lay leaders. During our interim period, we continued this service, with our interim pastor preaching twice a month.
