Chapter Six
Butler Street Methodist Church

By James Wudarczyk

For more than one hundred twenty-five years, the Butler Street Methodist Church aided in serving both the spiritual and welfare needs of the community. The only known source relating to this religious institution was a commemorative booklet issued for the 125th anniversary of the church. Unfortunately, even this document lamented the lack of reliable data. “A complete Historical Record giving in detail of those interested in establishing a Methodist Society in Lawrenceville, is one of the impossibilities, owing to the fact that the era of accurate record keeping did not dawn until about 1900, and even since then we have to admit that there have been times when the written pages would not stand the scrutinous eye of an investigator. However, sufficient records have been located, giving us the evidence of these early Methodists of their willingness to sacrifice for the cause, and their remarkable faith in God.”

In 1832 the Methodist Society began organizational efforts and became part of the Braddocksfield Circuit. It appears that the first congregation was organized with the assistance of Reverend George Sesson and his assistant, Jeremiah Knox, at a private residence near Hatche’s Court in the vicinity of 40th below Butler Street. Services were conducted in various rooms in the vicinity until Mr. Peter Dravo presented the congregation with a lot. The first house of worship was a very modest style structure at 3535 Butler Street. As a result of rapid increase in membership, the congregation soon found it necessary to secure a larger edifice, and moved into a Presbyterian Church on a hill in the neighborhood of Forty-first and Butler Streets. However, they were unable to retain this site. Afterwards the congregation accepted the generous offer of Mr. Virgil David, who let the struggling Methodist community use a house on Fortieth Street until they could secure enough funds to purchase a lot and erect a frame church on Fortieth Street. Cost of the lot was $600 and it required another $1,000 to construct the edifice. Unfortunately, the parish history makes no mention of the years when all of these moves transpired.

In addition to having problems with establishing a worship site, the congregation also faced the problem of retaining ministers. Even the parish history refers to these men as itinerant ministers because there were thirty-five pastors in thirty-five years. These were Brothers Sisson, Knox, Jamison, Sarver, McGowen, Ebert, Worthington, Williams, Kinnear, McGrath, Blackburn, Gallagher, McLean, Rich, Firbley, Henderson, Gilmore, Foster, Griffin, Brockmier, Kramer, Shaw, McCracken, Miller, Lauck, Weekly, and Cooper.

In spite of these setbacks, the church took great pride in its large Sunday school. Organized on July 6, 1834, with forty-one pupils, the school population climbed to 900 by 1876, with an average weekly attendance of 700.

The parish document credits Reverend Baker with being responsible for the dramatic increase in membership. By March 1865 the facility was too small to accommodate the growing congregation. At the Fourth Quarterly Conference held on March 11, 1865, a committee was appointed to purchase property. The site selected was at the corner of 40th and Butler, and a church was erected at a cost of $20,000.00. According to the church history, “The lower story was dedicated in February, 1868. Following the pastorate of J. A. Miller came those of Brothers Hickman, Watkins, Wolfe, McGuire, Holmes, Clark, Pearce, Oldham, Lucas, Hite, Lowther, Marlatt, Johnson, Hall, J. M. Miller, White, and Fornear. During Dr. Holmes’ ministry the church was again enlarged, and during W. H. Pearce’s ministry the second annex was built. The sanctuary was remodeled, new pews were added, and a beautiful organ was installed—this during the period 1886—1891. During the ministry of Dr. W. W. Hall, a mortgage of $8,000 was raised. A part of this mortgage had been on the church since 1868 and was cleared during the ministry of Dr. Hall, 1904-1908.”

Forty-one men from the congregation served during World War I, and the church took part in community and war projects. During the great flood of 1936, the church played an active role in aiding the suffering by opening the facility as a relief shelter. Reverend Nagay was credited with supervising the removal of many in the flooded area.

On May 29, 1938, a catastrophe struck the church when the ceiling and parts of the roof collapsed, and the heavy debris caved in the floor of the church, damaging part of the Sunday school area located on the lower level. Apparently much of the work of cleaning debris and repairing the structure was done with volunteers under the direction of Reverend Nagay and George Burk.

The name of the congregation was changed to the Butler Street Methodist Church in 1939 following a merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church, the Methodist Church, the Southern Methodist Church, and the Methodist Protestant Church. Prior to that time, the congregation was affiliated with the Methodist Episcopal Church.

During World War II, sixty-two men and one woman served in the military, and the church’s minister, Reverend Stone, enlisted as a chaplain.

In 1949 the McCandless Avenue Methodist Church merged with the Butler Street Methodist Church, and the McCandless Avenue property was sold to the Church of God. At the time of the church’s anniversary, the parish history pointed out that Miss Laura Campbell was the oldest living member of the McCandless Avenue Church and that Campbell was a charter member of that institution. It also noted that the oldest living members of the Butler Street Church were Miss Priscilla Schmidt and Mrs. Ross Tarbert, both of whom were members prior to 1897.

The parish history also noted, “During the past fifteen years a number of improvements have been made: Church and parsonage furnaces converted to gas, sanctuary redecorated in 1949, Sunday School rooms painted by the men of the church, and a new front pavement on Butler Street. During the repairing of the roof, it was found that the belfry was in such deteriorated condition that the bells had to be removed. The worship centers in the general Sunday School Room and the Children’s Room were built by Rev. Burson. The chimes were a gift of the Dorcas Class in 1952 in honor of those who served in World War II. The large doors, opened to thousands in all walks of life and now having become weather beaten, were replaced by smaller doors; also the Fortieth Street doors have been replaced. The men of the congregation did most of the work.

“We could not print a history without mentioning the women of the church. Throughout the years they have worked untiringly in many fields and just when finances were at ‘rock bottom,’ the women always came to the rescue.”

According to the same source, the ministers who served after Reverend Fornear were Charlesworth, Hunt, Teets, Mills, Hill, Hilber, Grant, Nagay, Stone, Robertson, Burson, Bland, Stephens, and Hayes. Reverend Hayes died suddenly before the Conference, May 1957, leaving the church without a pastor until August when Reverend Harold Moore was assigned to the church. The parish history of 1959 referred to Moore as a “sincere young man.”

To celebrate the 125th anniversary of the parish, the church sponsored a series of events. These included a worship service on November 3, 1957, at 11:00 a.m. with Reverend Roy Oldham as speaker and Mr. George Wootton as soloist. Then on Tuesday, November 5th at 8 in the evening, the church sponsored a historical pageant under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Silas Brown. The following night they had a community night with Reverend Sherman Burson as the keynote speaker and the former ministers assisting. Soloist for the event was William Gawlas. A social hour followed in the church school room. Two days latter on November 8, 1957 at 8 p.m. there was a concert presented by the Bell Telephone Chorus Choir under the direction of Andrew Klein. Reverend Harold Moore was featured on the baritone horn. The ceremonies concluded November 10, 1957 with a worship service at 11 in the morning. Paul Lamberton, District Superintendent of the Pittsburgh District, was the speaker and Mrs. Harold More was soloist for the occasion.