Emanuel United Methodist Church - Pittsburgh, PA 15220

The history of Emanuel is one of change, growth, rebirth, and hope. Emanuel is the result of the union of three long standing area churches.

One branch of the family tree extends to the Emanuel-Ark Church of the Evangelical Association of West Pittsburgh, founded in 1875. It did not take long for that congregation to outgrow its tiny building. A new house of worship was built on Steuben Street in 1882. This building housed the congregation's first pipe organ and began a long association with good music.

Again the congregation grew beyond the confines of its sanctuary. Ground was broken on Albright Day, May 1, 1912, for the present building which was dedicated on February 16, 1913. In 1946 the church became the Lorenz Avenue Evangelical United Brethren Church, and in 1968, the Lorenz Avenue United Methodist Church.

Another branch of Emanuel's family tree had its origins in a tent on Oakmont Street in 1901. Soon the Wesley Chapel Methodist Episcopal Church of West Pittsburgh was built. The first services were held on Christmas, 1902. In 1924 a new building was constructd on Stratmore Street. This was the Crafton Heights Methodist Episcopal Church which became United Methodist in 1968.

On September 25, 1978, a fire destroyed the building. The congregation, however, remained firm in its faith. For a while they worshiped in the Crafton Heights Presbyterian Church. Later the congregation joined the Lorenz Avenue congregation for worship in its building.

On January 1, 1982, the former Crafton Heights and Lorenz Avenue United Methodist Churches merged to become the Emanuel United Methodist Church. This was a hopeful, new beginning and an exciting opportunity to further serve the Lord.

Emanuel Church was later joined by the West End United Methodist Church. The West End Church grew out of a Methodist Society organized in about 1840. By 1848, it had become the Temperanceville Station Methodist Church of the Pittsburgh Conference. The brick building of that congregation was razed to provide space for a new stone structure that was commenced in 1887 and dedicated in 1889. On February 12, 1976, the Pittsburgh Historical Society and Landmarks Foundation awarded an historic landmark plaque to the church. That building was sold and is still used as a church today.

The incorporation of the Good Shepherd window, which was first part of the Wesley Chapel and later the Crafton Heights United Methodist Church, into the vestibule of the former Lorenz Avenue Church is symbolic of a greater union - that of the lives of the people that make the Emanuel United Methodist Church.