Pastor James Wagner, Delmont. Photo by Dawn Spada

I have passed by Faith United Methodist Church (UMC) a number of times when I was in Delmont. I really admire their church building and when I finally visited during a Christmas in Salem Crossroads celebration to hear some of our church kids sing, I got to tour their building. They had just opened a newly built Fellowship Hall where a reception was held after the concert. Interestingly, I thought they had built the church to replace an older one, but that wasn’t the case. What I learned in talking with Pastor James Wagner was that Faith UMC has only a 21 year history in Delmont. Well, sort of, and I’ll tell you why later.

In the early 80’s the Methodist Conference looked at Delmont and thought it was time to plant a new church. As you will read, they were dead on right in taking that step. Starting in 1986 they met at the Delmont Borough building (located in an old school) until membership grew and the time came to build. They bought land at what is now 305 Freeport Road and proceeded to build a beautiful sanctuary in 1991, complete with offices, classrooms and later the Fellowship Hall. Pastor Wagner said they just paid the mortgage on the new hall.

One thing is sure: Faith UMC is a growing and vibrant community oriented church. It is buzzing with activity every day serving God and community. Reflecting the community, the congregation is made up of young and middle-age families that are very involved in many of the church programs. Pastor Wagner says, “They are very open, very caring and do their best to be a witness for Christ in the community”.

The member’s spiritual life is built by the many short term learning groups held throughout the year. One such group is Learning in Lent with a study in the “Murder of Jesus” taught by Ruth Cain. To help everyone have access to the study it is held at two different times on Monday at 11 a.m. or 7 p.m. Several groups may going on at the same time with studies such as Journey through the Bible taught by Don Watkins on Tuesday and Sundays, and Parenting (“Bringing up Boys” taught by Dawn Shott, a Pediatric Nurse, whose husband is a Pediatrician). Another interesting study is Faith Goes to the Movies where they attend a movie then return to study it in light of the Gospel.

Faith UMC as seen from Freeport Road in Delmont. Photo by Dawn Spada.

Pastor Wagner tells us there are three major emphases with Faith UMC: worship, ministry to children and outreach. There are already two worship services on Sunday at 8 and 10:15 a.m. with an all age Sunday school at 9 a.m. On the first Saturday of every month the church holds a formal worship with communion at 5:30 p.m.

There is a strong and growing children and youth ministry led by Kelly Coldren, Youth Leader. There is a Senior High group for 7th through 12th graders and a Junior High group for 3rd through 6th graders. Each group meets every other Sunday and is very active. The senior students are very involved in community service projects such as visiting nursery homes, making placemats, working in a soup kitchen and helping the food bank.

Music plays a big part in congregational life and every Wednesday at 6 p.m. the Celebration Singers Children’s Choir hold rehearsal with 18 elementary students who bring special music to the services every fourth Sunday of the month.

Behind all this is LOP (Log On To Prayer that meet at 6:15 p.m. on Wednesdays) and a Prayer Chain that is dedicated to praying. Over 30 people are committed to praying everyday for the church and over concerns that are called in by church members and persons from the community. If you live in Faith UMC area and would like prayer call 724-468-0040 between 9 and 10 a.m. or e-mail your request to faithumcdelmont@alltel.net. You do not have to be a church member.

Faith UMC entrance and fellowship hall

Faith UMC also is well known for the Kids Day Out pre-school program. There are 53 students enrolled in the 12 year old school that holds classes five days a week. The popular pre-school even holds special music classes (on Monday and Wednesdays in the a.m. and p.m.), does a lot of outside trips, and has major events for the kids.

The church’s outreach programs are many. These touch every phase of the church and community. Some of the projects involve the food bank, helping Meals on Wheels program, packaging college care boxes for the 16 students in college, selling third world crafts and sending the money back, collecting baby items for distribution, providing 50 gallons of detergent to needy homes, collecting over the counter medicine for missions, collecting eyeglasses, sponsoring and paying for children to attend a Christian school (Missions) and other causes. The church also participates in several noteworthy Delmont festivals every year. The Faith Women group at the church also contributes to the outreach by making shawls for terminal and long term patients. The Men’s Workgroup help senior citizens in their homes by providing free work for repairs and other tasks that seniors are unable to do.

We noted in the beginning of the story that Faith UMC is 21 years old. Although one could consider the church new, the truth is that the Methodist was the first church in Delmont in the 1800’s. The original church burned down and was rebuilt. The newly rebuilt church then fell down. About that time other churches moved into the community and the Methodist began to attend these churches ending its presence in Delmont until Faith UMC began in 1986.

There have only been two pastors at Faith UMC. Pastor Wagner is in his 13th year. Born and raised in South Hills, he graduated from Chartiers Valley High School and West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1968. He went onto Methodist Theological School in Ohio to earn two Master degrees in Theology and Christian Education. While there he was Assistant Pastor of a Presbyterian Church and oversaw education and music ministry. He then pastured at the Methodist Church in St. Mary’s, PA and Associate Pastor at the Monroeville United Methodist Church for six years. He also oversaw education and music at that church. He is married to Karen who is a school teacher and three adult children and two grandchildren.

Faith United Methodist Church is located at 305 Freeport Road in Delmont. You may reach them at 724-468-0040 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.