Pastor Shawn Smith stands in the new sanctuary of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Sarver. The church will have a dedication ceremony for the nearly finished church Sunday afternoon.

SARVER — It's been nearly two years in the making, but St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 409 Sarver Road, will dedicate its new church during a special service Sunday afternoon.

Pastor Shawn Smith said the 3 p.m. dedication ceremony will have Dean Karl Johnson of the North American Lutheran Church's Western Pennsylvania region delivering the sermon.

Johnson is one of nearly 30 bishops who administer districts that contain the 144,000 members of the North American Lutheran Church, according to Joan Corniea, financial assistant at the church's New Brighton, Minn., headquarters.

“His district is called the Northeast Mission District and takes in western Maryland, western New York, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia,” said Corniea.

“Clergymen that had an association with the church will be back to take part in various parts of the service,” said Smith. The service and reception in the fellowship hall are open to the public, said Smith.

Smith said the new church was actually used for Palm Sunday but Sunday will mark the formal dedication.

It was the week after June 4, 2017 — Pentecost Sunday — that demolition began on the 146-year-old St. Paul's.

Smith said the upkeep on the old church building was becoming too expensive. Also the old church wasn't air-conditioned and its layout made it hard for the congregation's very old and very young members to access.

“Construction started in July 2017,” said Smith. “And by the onset of winter, the outside structure was done.

“Despite a slight delay in roofing the new church, by May 2018 my office was ready,” said Smith.

He added the $1.5 million price tag was mostly paid for by a capital campaign from the congregation that raised $1.1 million.

The other $400,000 came in the form of a loan from Key Bank.

Smith said a former pastor, the late Emery Barnett, started a capital campaign in 2001 that raised a substantial amount of money, but not enough to complete the building.

Burnett's ill health sidelined building plans for a time, but Smith said steady giving on the part of the congregation and some recent significant bequests gave St. Paul's the financial means to move forward.

During the building phase, the church's stained-glass windows were removed and sent to Kelly Art Glass in Millvale for restoration.John Kelly, the owner of Kelly Art Glass, said, “ They were completely rebuilt. We had to reconfigure them to some degree.”Kelly said he also had to repair damage caused by 100 years worth of exposure to sunlight.The new church building is connected to the existing fellowship hall. The connecting structure contains an entry lobby, nursery, reception area and pastor's office.The new church's sanctuary will seat 200.Smith said the new church contains 90,000 square feet.Where possible, the project tried to keep as much of the old church in the new building as possible.For instance, the day before the old building was demolished, workers from Kelly Art Glass in Pittsburgh removed the church's 12 stained-glass windows for storage and eventual inclusion in the new building.Plans to save as many of the old church pews for use in the new building were foiled, said Smith, because most of the old pews were in terrible shape.“One of our members, Jason Siemer, made the new altar out of a beam from the old church,” said Smith. “And he is making a new baptismal font from wood from the old pews.”“We appreciate his efforts,” said Smith. “It reminds you of the shoulders you are standing on.”Eventually, the pastor said, the church hopes to have a cross made out of another saved beam for the old church to hang behind the altar.In addition to air conditioning and more accessible entrances and exits, Smith said the church had expanded areas on both sides of the altar for the praise band and bell choir, an improved sound system and big-screen televisions on both sides of the altar.“There is an audiovisual booth in the back of the church which is wonderful because before it was sort of out there in the middle of the old church,” said Smith.During construction, the 10 a.m. Sunday worship services, as well as Sunday school, were conducted in the church fellowship hall.Smith said, “The congregation made it painless. I continually have to thank them for that. A lot of people stepped up and allowed me to keep people focused on what's important, Jesus Christ.While church volunteers are finishing the last few odds and ends, Smith said, “We are just so happy to have a space dedicated solely to worshipping God again.”An inscription from Psalms 118: 24: “This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it” graces the entryway wall above the doors to the church.“Pastor Barnett would always open his services that way,” said Smith.

WHAT: Dedication ceremony for new church with Dean Karl Johnson of the North American Lutheran Church's Northeast Mission District, which takes in Western Maryland, Western New York, Western Pennsylvania and West VirginiaWHEN: 3 p.m. SundayWHERE: St. Paul's Lutheran Church 409 Sarver Road, Sarver

The almost-two-year project to build a new St. Paul Lutheran Church was done to increase access to the church for its very old and very young members, as well as add air conditioning for the congregation. HAROLD AUGHTON/BUTLER EAGLE