Father Jeffrey D. Murph

Father Jeffrey D. Murph is starting his eleventh year as Pastor of St. Thomas Memorial Church, an Episcopal church in Oakmont, and he couldn’t be more pleased. When he arrived in 1994 there were very few young people. Today things have changed, the parish is growing and young families are joining. Housed in a grand 100-year-old edifice that nearly occupies a half of a block, the parish is full of life with small group ministries, a mission team, outreach programs, a strong youth group, and other activities too numerous to mention. One thing is sure this is a church on the move. The church reaches out to the community with programs like Alpha. For the past ten years they have held Alpha courses that present Christianity in a simple non-threatening format of small groups, dinners and films. Another outreach linked to this ministry is The Marriage Course that helps build healthy marriages for a lifetime. The Outreach Committee is an active program that touches many needs. One part of the program is supporting the Shepherd’s Heart Church for homeless people in Pittsburgh. And it isn’t just donating money. They take a further step by cooking meals and serving the homeless at their Pittsburgh location. They also support Rwandan Orphans, Guild for the Blind, mission outreaches, Angel Tree Camp (for prisoner’s children camp), two food banks, and other causes. Starting nearly a year ago, Father Jeff said the church began a small group ministry that has been on the increase. Small Groups are formed around interest areas and cover every facet of church life and social interests. He explained that each group has a trained leader and spiritual principals are applied for spiritual growth. Some of the small groups are Second Saturday (dinners), Round Table (open discussion on Christian issues), From Abraham to Paul (A biblical perspective on Christian missions), Jeremiah (a bible study) and Hosea (a bible study). Some groups are formed around other interests such as the Early Morning Walking Group, A video Series, Fun Basketball for Families. Other small groups are easily recognizable such as choir, youth, missions, etc. Groups can be year round or short term but one thing is for sure, there is a group for virtually every church member to be involved in.

Another important outreach is Missions. The church not only supports missionaries financially, but also sends short-term missionaries to Mexico to help build houses. This ministry has had a real impact on the lives of the participants and the parish as a whole. The youth ministry is very active with three different age groups: Senior High; Junior High; and 45s (4th-5th grades). Peter Landini is the Youth Director and he lives in the former parsonage with his wife. The former parsonage also houses rooms for the youth ministry. Karen Cohn is the Christian Education Director overseeing the Sunday School system. One very important part of St. Thomas’ expression of faith is the Healing Ministry held every Wednesday. Father Jeff reported that the ministry has had a very positive effect on parishioners. It has changed lives and there are those who having been prayed over have received healing. The church places a great emphasis on this practice and has held a number of Healing Missions in addition to the weekly services. The Healing Missions called Renewal Weekends begins on Friday evening and ends on Sunday afternoon. The weekend service provides an environment where healing in all its forms, physical, spiritual, and emotional will take place; where teaching occurs with a time for questions and at times, application of the teaching; and where worship is central. These are conducted under Renewal in Christ Ministries under Father Gary Dalmasso. St. Thomas also has an Intercessory Prayer Team that is present at all the services for those who want prayer. Anyone at anytime can go to the Team for prayer. Father Jeff has plenty of help in the ministries of the church. Two retired priests that are Priest Associates help, The Reverend Lawrence C. Deihle and The Reverend Gilbert M. Watt. The Reverend Joanne Hetrick, Deacon, also ministers. Dr. Dan Miller is the Choir Master and Louise Lugar is the Organist.

St. Thomas Memorial Church

Father Jeff came to St. Thomas in July of 1994. He is a North Carolina native and attended the University of North Carolina receiving a Bachelor of Arts in History and completed his ministry degree at Virginia Theological Seminary. He served in a 3,000-member church in North Carolina for eight years prior to coming here. He is married to Meloni and has four children ages 15, 13, 10 and 5.

St. Thomas Memorial Church is located at 378 Delaware Avenue in Oakmont. There telephone is 412-828-9680 and the web site may be found at www.sainttom.org (it may be down for revisions at this writing). You can e-mail them at stthomasoakmont@verizon.net. Call the church for the current schedule of services.

Watch the video interview with Father Jeffrey D. Murph, found at http://www.alle-kiskitoday.com/webcasts/1439