Religion

Last Updated on Thursday, 29 September 2022 17:00

By Matthew Peaslee

Efforts from yesteryear are being honored in the present day, thanks to the Whitehall Church of Christ. Members of the congregation will pay homage to its founders with a Gospel Meeting, scheduled for Nov. 15-17, at the church’s grounds located at 215 Streets Run Rd. in Whitehall.

In 1962, the Estella Street Church near Mt. Oliver was no longer sustainable. Members and elders of that church contacted the Oakland Church of Christ, now known as 5^th and Beechwood Church of Christ. A meeting began and the churches worked together in an effort called ‘Operation Pittsburgh’ to not fold, but to grow stronger than ever.

The churches became stronger together and wanted to expand and “church plant” throughout the South Hills and beyond.

“They worshipped together, saved together and were able to establish a new congregation in the South Hills,” said Bob Marlow, a member of the outreach committee for the Whitehall Church of Christ.

The building in Whitehall would not be built until January of 1966, but this Gospel Meeting will commemorate the initial efforts of Operation Pittsburgh, which helped to grow the mission and keep the congregation alive and thriving.

“I though it was really cool because you don’t see that a lot today,” Marlow said, “where there is such cooperation between churches and agreements to put another church in the area. They sacrificed and really worked together to spread their message. I wanted to honor those efforts, with this being the 60^th anniversary, by having a good, old-fashioned Gospel meeting.”