Cranberry churches grow
CRANBERRY TWP — With the growth of housing in the township, so too has come the growth in the spiritual community.
Two large congregations have built new churches; another, St. Killian Roman Catholic Church, plans to break ground next year on a new parish center.
Here is a look at these new large churches.
The Cranberry Township congregation of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will have an open house April 12 to 17 at its new meetinghouse at 2771 Rochester Road.The 16,000-square-foot meetinghouse includes a chapel, cultural hall, family history suite, classrooms and offices.Meetinghouses and chapels accommodate regular Sunday worship, in addition to social and recreational activities. They differ from Latter-day Saint temples, where marriage and other ceremonies are performed.The new meetinghouse serves nearly 500 Latter-day Saints in Cranberry Township, Seven Fields, Zelienople and other communities.Construction began in November 2003. Costs for the project totaled several million dollars.The Cranberry meetinghouse also will serve periodically as a regional meeting place for the members of the Pittsburgh Pennsylvania North Stake, which includes congregations from Lisbon, Ohio, to Indiana, Pa. Membership in the Pittsburgh area is about 5,500.
Work is almost completed on the Victory Family Church, a congregation formerly known as Victory Christian Fellowship. It is headed by the Rev. John Nuzzo, senior pastor.The church plans to move into its new building this month.The entire development, which includes several separate parcels, is near the border with Jackson Township on Route 19.Victory Family Church spent about $7 million on the 64 acres it owns between Route 19 and Interstate 79, across from Bear Run Road and Reed Home Sales. The new facility will replace its current sanctuary on Freedom Road, which the church has sold to another congregation.The church portion of the Victory Family Church site will be completed in three phases, according to Nuzzo at the time of approval by the township.The first phase includes the almost-completed 75,000-square-foot church that will seat 1,000 worshippers. There are plans to increase that to 2,500 seats in phase two and to 5,000 seats in phase three, which is estimated to be done in 10 years.The church has sold some of its land for other development that will include a mix of retail, office and a vehicle repair business.One of those is Penn Detroit Diesel Allison, which formerly occupied a Route 19 facility across from Dairy Queen. It built a new facility because it outgrew its former site. The new diesel repair facility occupies about 14 acres.As for the soon-to-be former site of the Victory Christian Fellowship, the Grace Community Church plans to relocate there from Haine Elementary School.Grace Community Church, led by the Rev. Matt Kaltenberger, was incorporated in November 2001. Kaltenberger and his wife, Dana, helped found the church, which has been meeting at the school.The church's growth had prompted the search for a more permanent home. When it was established, it had about 60 members. Now it has grown to more than 250 people.
The St. Killian Roman Catholic Church in Mars has begun a plan to build both a new elementary school and a church on 30 acres on Route 228 near the intersection of Franklin Road in Cranberry.The Rev. Charles Bober, church pastor, said if contributions continue at the current pace and everything else falls into place, construction on the first building of a new parish campus could start next year.The parishioners have already raised $2.25 million, with another $1 million pledged toward the building project. Still, another $1 million is need before the construction could begin.The church also just kicked off its Second Generation capital campaign aimed at raising $18 million for projects planned on the new parish campus.Although the first phase of the campus includes the administration and educational facilities, officials are awaiting results of a feasibility study to determine if a new Catholic elementary school could become a reality.The administration and educational building will temporarily serve as the sanctuary for the growing congregation of more than 1,000 worshippers.That facility later will be converted to other uses, such as a gymnasium and religious education classrooms in conjunction with a future elementary school. Once the first building is under construction, discussions with parishioners will begin on their ideas for a permanent church.
