Our heritage – Who we have been

"Theological openness has [always] been a hallmark of the quest for a deeper relationship with God at Smithfield." So writes Dr. Peter D. Weaver on the occasion of Smithfield Church's 200th anniversary. "Pastor Weber [the church's founding pastor in 1782] was open to ministering to Germans of Lutheran and Reformed theological perspectives, knowing that our ultimate allegiance is to God's truth and not human formulas. Differences of individual opinion were respected from the beginning and seen as tools rather than obstacles of growth for everyone in the community of faith."

The church's by-laws include this statement, dating from the first half of the 20th century: "Grateful for the heritage of the Protestant Reformation, we seek to be true to the message of the gospel and protest against any attempt to interfere with the dictates of conscience and the right of personal convictions and private judgment. We hold that all individuals are free to interpret truth for themselves as revealed in the Bible, science, and all areas of human experience."

Again quoting Dr. Weaver, "Smithfield Church started as a unique affirmation of Christian unity in spite of diversity." Over the years Smithfield church has remained true to this affirmation. "While it honors and celebrates its diverse heritages, it sees them as tools for the larger common commitment to serve the Christ who prayed that we all might be one. Smithfield remains an heterogeneous congregation that is . . . interracial and international in membership, and representative of the full breadth of humanity, young and old, poor and affluent, those with all levels of education, and a wide range of theological beliefs."

Who we are in 2008

Today, we affirm that "Ours is an inclusive congregation, committed to oneness in Christ across all boundaries of race, social class, culture, gender, sexual identity, and disability."

Our service to the Pittsburgh community

Smithfield people are known for responding to the unmet needs of their "neighbors."

A Ladies' Aid Society (today the Women's Fellowship) was organized in 1887 to respond to community needs. Despite the fact the women were not granted the right to full voting membership in the congregation until 1921 (still earlier than in most churches), they provided the leadership for the creation of an orphanage in 1888 and a home for the aged in 1891. Over the years they supported a Milk and Ice Fund for mothers and children and, in the 1920's, a crusade to provide funding for widows.

During the depression years, church members provided soup lines and clothing for those in need. With the coming of World War II, the congregation – then known as Smithfield German Evangelical Protestant Church – was instrumental in helping German Jews immigrate to the United States and then to Pittsburgh. In 1981 the people of Smithfield opened the Louise Child Care Center for infants and toddlers and the Bethlehem Haven shelter for homeless women. Bethlehem Haven continued operating at the church until 2000 when because of an expanded mission and innovative new services, it moved to its own building.

This sense of serving the downtown community is on-going.

We who are Smithfield Church support a robust Food Pantry, provide facilities for the county's emergency cold weather shelter, host the physical education program of the Northside Urban Pathways Charter School in the church's gymnasium, and provide meeting and worship space for a number of community organizations.

Our people?

In truth, Smithfield people are all who come through the large brass doors at 620 Smithfield

• those coming to worship
• those seeking assistance or shelter
• those needing a place to gather

the shoppers, the passers-by, the folks on lunch break from neighboring stores and office towers who fill Strawberry Way to bursting during our annual Strawberry and Apple Festivals

and because of the January 1, 2007, fire in our Social Hall, we have come to know and give thanks that Smithfield people are also

• the firefighters, polices officers, and restoration crews
• our Smithfield neighbors who offered meeting and gathering space
• the individuals who work and live nearby who stopped to offer a kind word of support

Copyright © 1979, Words and Music by Ron Harris.

The words to "In This Very Room" have been posted on this website with the special permission of the copyright owner, who has asked that visitors to the site not copy them further without his additional permission. We are grateful that Ron has allowed us to do this and trust that his request will be honored. Read Ron's story of how this song came about.