A Legacy of Faith and Renewal

ELLC had been located on Penn Circle in East Liberty. That building which opened in 1964 had innumerable structural problems, including 7 leaky, flat roofs with a plethora of buckets inside to catch the drips. After selling that property and building (which has since been demolished), the congregation purchased the former Messiah Lutheran Church at 1736 Jancey St. in 2023. We completed major renovations before beginning worship there in May 2025. 

East Liberty Lutheran Church was formed in 1964 by consolidating two congregations which had long been part of East Liberty:  Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church and Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church.  Located only a few blocks apart, both churches had been founded in the 19th century when they belonged to different Lutheran synods.  Eventually, when those synods combined, the two congregations continued with strength and success until the urban decline started after World War II.

The history of those two old congregations forms part of the heritage of East Liberty Lutheran Church.  When their memberships merged, congregational life continued under the new name with only minimal interruption.

Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church:  1869 – 1964

When East Liberty was a quiet village and the Civil War still a recent memory, Christ’s Evangelical Lutheran Church was organized, formally adopting a constitution June 25, 1869.

Its founders were 23 local Lutherans who wanted worship services in English. The previous summer these folks had met at special times in St. Peter’s German Lutheran Church on Station Street for services conducted by the pastors of First English Lutheran Church, Grant Street. One of those pastors was the famed Rev. W.A. Passavant whose Synod job was to develop new congregations. Actual organization of the group into a Mission Congregation awaited the arrival of a fulltime pastor in the spring of 1869. Services for the new congregation were held in homes, a school, a rented hall, or the borrowed German church. Finally, a house on Station Street was purchased and converted into a chapel.

When the expanding congregation found itself regularly crowding 125 children into the chapel Sunday School, it built a 2-story brick church on Sheridan Avenue, dedicating it in 1873. There the congregation grew steadily along with East Liberty.  The congregation ended its mission status in 1890.

As the new century unfolded, the congregation again outgrew its building. In 1910 a large Gothic stone church at Beatty and Margaretta Streets was completed, leaving an indebtedness of $32,000. For the next decade 3 pastors labored to pay off that mortgage, until it was eliminated in 1921. The church remained free of debt during the 1930’s Depression and even after World War II, when many members left for the suburbs.

Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church:  1888 – 1964

In the late 1880s considerable residential growth and a potential for still further growth made the East Liberty area a natural location for various new mission congregations. One of these, Bethany Evangelical Lutheran Church, was organized on January 29, 1888, with 14 men and 19 women signing the charter roll. Services were first held in a private hall over a grocery store at Center and Highland Avenues. In a short time property on Highland at Kirkwood Street was purchased and a 2-room chapel was built to house the congregation which had almost doubled in membership by the time the chapel was dedicated January 5, 1890.

Bethany continued to grow with the community and in 1895 completed a large stone Romanesque church building at the same location. Its dedication occurred during the very week the congregation hosted the 50th Anniversary Convention of the Pittsburgh Synod (branch of the General Synod of the Lutheran Church). Bethany flourished and eventually became one of the prime congregations of that synod. Its peak grown was reached in 1932 with a baptized membership of 1,352.

In time the community began to change from residential to commercial and light industrial. The movement of members to new residential areas started slowly in the 1930s and rapidly accelerated following World War II in the 1950s. 

Interestingly, Bethany Lutheran Church opened a mission church of its own in 1908. This became Messiah Lutheran Church at 1736 Jancey St. – Yes! The same building we have come to reinhabit as East Liberty Lutheran Church.

Creation of PLUM

In November 2003, Reverend Tom Johnson, principal of the Neighborhood Academy in Garfield, led a session that was part of our anniversary retreat. Our long-time Pastor Philip Long died in 2001. His replacement, Pastor Byrum had just resigned. We were faced with many new and difficult challenges. Pastor Johnson compared our congregation to Abraham, who heard the Promise of God, as we have, and set out on a long, uncertain journey, as we are continuing.  Pastor Johnson asked us how we can begin the journey from where we are to where we want to be. The congregation moved into the future is based on God’s Promise.

In 2004, with St. Andrew Lutheran in East Carnegie and Christ Lutheran in Duquesne, Pastors John Gropp and Beth Siefert lead the three congregations was we formed Pittsburgh Lutheran United Ministries. One main goal was to provide financial stability to enable each independent congregation to continue its mission as the three worked together. In 2024, PLUM celebrated its twentieth anniversary. The number of churches and pastors has changed over the years, but the current PLUM congregations thrive in Allegheny and Westmorland Counties. Currently, 10 Lutheran Congregations make up PLUM. We are served by 2 pastors and a vicar as we look to call another pastor.