Summit Presbyterian celebrates 150 years
JEFFERSON TWP — Summit Presbyterian Church, 181 Caldwell Drive, may have grown from 20 members at its founding to the 200 who will observe its 150th anniversary May 2, but it's all one big family.
When asked how Summit made it to its 150th anniversary, Terry Dean, a church elder, member of the church since 1984 and member of the anniversary committee, said, “I think basically because our church is a Scripture-based church, and because we are not a real big church. We are like family. It's like a big family and we support each other.”
Summit's present pastor, the Rev. Tom R. Jones, said, “It is a family church with strong connections, and they pass their faith from generation to generation. As an outsider I see that very clearly here.”
Christy Thompson, a church member and fellow member of the anniversary committee, said “No matter who comes here, it's family. Whether it's people that have been here for generations or people that come to visit. They're made to feel part of the family.”
According to church history, the Allegheny Presbytery granted approval for a church five miles south of Butler on Saxonburg Road on May 2, 1864.
Dean said that in honor of that anniversary, the church will have history displays set up in the church all week following Easter.
“There will be a video on a loop with the display in the upstairs conference room,” said Dean.
“We will open a time capsule from the 125th anniversary at the dinner on April 26,” said Dean. “A new time capsule will be put together later during another function. This will let people see what was in the old one and give them a chance to see what they would like to put in the new one.”
Dean said former pastors, the Rev. Mark Ruppert and the Rev. Paul Roberts, will return to take part in the worship service April 27.
Jones has been at Summit for three years, serving as an interim pastor for the church during two years of that time.Sue and Russ Morrow of Butler have been members for more than 50 years.Sue Morrow said the first pastor at Summit was a supply pastor named Ephraim Ogden, and it wasn't until 1926 that Summit received its first full-time pastor, the Rev. John McElroy.Sue Morrow said, “In 1864, they didn't have a pastor that just came to one church. He had several churches. He was a supply pastor.”“The first services were across from the old church under some trees, and that was church with no building. God could be anywhere,” said Paul Steighner of Saxonburg, who with his wife, Dorothy, have been members of the church for nearly 60 years.Dean said the church was originally a wooden structure in the corner of the Summit Cemetery across Caldwell Road from the present church.“This church started from a sweeper fund,” said Dean. “They were raising money to buy a sweeper for that church. After buying it, they had money left over, so they started a building fund with that.”According to church history, much of the work done on the new building was volunteer labor by members of the congregation.Dorothy and Paul Steighner were married in the old church, which was torn down when the new building was dedicated in 1956, said Paul Steighner.“They sold a lot of the stained-glass windows out of the old building,” said Dean. “When I dig graves in that corner, I still find stained glass.”Dean said the educational building was added to the church in 1968 and dedicated in 1969.Nearly 10 years ago, said Paul Steighner, Summit bought the old Jefferson Elementary School from the South Butler County School District and converted it into HIS Kids Christian School for nearly 60 children in preschool through sixth grade.He said part of the former school is rented out to the Butler YMCA for use as a day care center.“We do rent the auditorium/cafeteria to people for different functions,” said Dean.Summit Church has grown to include the church building, two manses housing church members, the 30-acre cemetery and the former elementary school.Sue Morrow said a part of the church's history was lost to would-be thieves 50 years ago during the church's centennial observance.“In 1964, we interviewed members for an audio tape that went with slides we'd made of photographs we'd collected,” said Sue Morrow.“We would put the slides on screen, and we had the audiotape to go with it,” said Russ Morrow.“Someone stole the safe, took it out into the parking lot and burned the pictures and tapes,” Sue Morrow said. “They were hunting for money, and instead of tossing it aside, they burned it.”“It was wonderful to interview those people and they are all gone,” said Sue Morrow.“We sat them down and they just reminisced about some of the people they knew and some of the things that happened,” she said.
