Calvary Presbyterian Church to Covenant Fellowship Reformed Presbyterian:
Over the Years

Rev. George Taylor writes of the Calvary Presbyterian Church forming from the First Presbyterian Church.

The first group to declare its independence was the Calvary Church. . . . As early as May 21, 1899, Crab Hollow was being indicated as a suitable place for mission work, and during the summer of that year meetings were held in the street each Sabbath evening These called forth so much interest from the people of the district that the committee in charge, Rowland A. Balph, Professor Lewis Thomas, Daniel Turpit, and E. R. Hill, recommended the establishment of a mission work. But the Church was slow to embrace the opportunity and almost three years passed before any definite work was initiated.

At last, in the spring of 1902, a room was rented on Glenn Avenue for a Sabbath School. Frank Bremner became the superintendent, Lumen R. Hagan the assistant, and Agnes Scott the organist. Nor can we forget the faithful teaching services of Anne Gates, Harry E. Camack, Robert A. Scott, Anna King, Mrs. Jr A. MacMurchy, Isaac F. Harris, and many others, who gave their time to this new enterprise.

The interest grew rapidly and at the end of six weeks the membership had reached one hundred and four and was steadily increasing each week; something had to be done; for the work outgrew its quarters as a growing boy casts off his clothes. To meet this emergency a much larger room was rented on Swissvale Avenue. It was at this time that the congregation purchased two lots and raised $2,500 by pledges to erect a building for the work. The building, however, was never realized until after the new Church was organized.

In September of 1902, the Reverend F. Dean Miller in the graduating class of the Western Theological Seminary assumed the responsibility of the work and later became the pastor of the new Church. On the fourth [14th] of the following May the Church was organized. Our Church appreciated with no little affection the good work to be done in that field and for six years after the organization contributed to her current expenses. Since 1909, she has followed the path of independence and today she flourishes with a membership of seven hundred.

A newspaper article on the 60th Anniversary put it this way:

Several years [60] ago a small group of Wilkinsburgers gathered on a porch at Swissvale and Hill Avenues and thought they were only holding a one-time Sunday School meeting.

Little did they realize that they were starting what was to become a major factor in the religious and civic life of the Boro.

The congregation dedicated the church building at Swissvale Avenue and Hill Avenue on November 5, 1905.

Calvary Presbyterian stood very close to Swissvale Avenue. Council in 1921 decided to widen Swissvale Avenue. In June of 1924 the widening was completed. Calvary Presbyterian had to build a new church, further back from Swissvale. Building materials from the demolition of the first church in 1929 went to St. Mark A.M.E. Church to be used in the construction of their sanctuary.

“A Short History of Calvary Presbyterian Church” tells,

The widening of Swissvale Street brought the street flush with the Church and actually left the building extending some two feet over the pavement. A committee from the Board of Trustees of the Presbytery after a study of the situation advised the building of a new Church Auditorium and Sunday School. Additional ground was acquired and the erection of a new church edifice was begun.

Ground was broken for the new church on Sunday, July 15, 1928. The corner stone was laid on Sunday, October 7, 1928. The congregation continued to worship in the old Church while the new one was being built. The Communion of the Lord’s Supper was celebrated at the last services held in the old Church. The auditorium was filled. Among those present, were some who took part in a similar service at it's dedication.

The membership of Calvary Church is composed almost entirely of small wage-earners. The erection of a new Church and Sunday School demanded of them good management, strict economy and generous giving. When unavoidable circumstances compelled them to build, they entered with enthusiasm upon the work. The present House of Worship is a monument to self sacrificing love to Almighty God, to unfaltering faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and to Divine Guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The congregation dedicated the church building on October 6, 1929.

Calvary had a steady ministerial presence: Rev.F. Dean Miller, 1903 to 1914; Rev. James E. Garvin, 1914 to 1918, Rev. Albert C. Busch, 1919 to 1942; Rev. Hiram H. VanCleve, 1942 to 1950, and Rev. Howard Tucker from September of 1950.

The church established a tradition of a Spring Evangelistic Bible Conference. From May 10 to May 17 of 1953 the church hosted the Evangelistic Bible Conference in connection with the congregation’s 50th anniversary. The conference had ten services over the eight days. The services included Mother’s Day,“ “new members night,” “family night,” “choir night,” “anniversary night,” “Youth for Christ night,” and “Sunday School night.” Portions of two services were broadcast over KQV. The church had 584 members with an average attendance at Sunday school of 309 members.

The 50th Anniversary program states, “the balance of the original more than $100,000 debt of 1929 has been paid.” The May 11 Sunday service included the symbolic burning of papers to represent the end of all indebtedness for the first time since 1929.

The congregation recognized Rev. Howard E. Tucker’s 40th Anniversary as a minister on June 1, 1980.

A graduate of Wheaton, IL., College and Texas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Tucker was assigned to his first church in his native Philadelphia in 1940. In 1945, he was assigned to his second parish, in Dubois, Clearfield County, and he came to Calvary in 1950. At the observance, Tucker will preach on “Cross, Peace, Access” at 11 a.m. and on “Corner Stone, Holy Temple” at 7:30 p.m. Communion will be served at both services. Tucker is well known as an area broadcaster who preached on Sunday nights over KDKA for 25 years.

The Calvary Presbyterian Church officially dissolved on December 31, 1992.

Historic Wilkinsburg records,

Covenant Fellowship Reformed Presbyterian congregation grew from a group of members of the Wilkinsburg Reformed Presbyterian congregation. These members began meeting in one another’s homes on Sabbath evenings for more intensive fellowship and outreach than was then possible in the Wilknsburg congregation. When the group became larger, regular preaching services were held on Sabbath mornings in the chapel of the Reformed Presbyterian Seminary in Point Breeze.

The Covenant Fellowship congregation was formally organized in 1972. For the next two years, preaching was supplied by seminary professors and students. In 1974 Kenneth G. Smith was called as pastor.

The congregation flourished and overflowed from the seminary chapel in the 1980s. They moved to the former Reformed Presbyterian Church at South Avenue and Center Street and then rented from the Calvary Presbyterian Church until purchasing the building in November 1990.

At 5 in the afternoon, Eternal City Church meets in a section of the Covenant Fellowship Reformed Church building.

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George Taylor, Jr.. A Brief History of The First Presbyterian Church, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania. Pittsburgh: Reed & Witting, 1916. pp. 68–69.

“Rev. H.E. Tucker, Ordained minister for 40 years.” The Pittsburgh Press, May 24, 1980, p. 12.

“Calvary Presbyterian Church (Wilkinsburg, Pa.). Session.”
https://snaccooperative.org/ark:/99166/w6hj2r53#biography

Marjorie Michaux, editor-in-chief, Historic Wilkinsburg 1887–1987, One Hundred Years of Pride. Wilkinsburg Centennial Publication Committee, 1988, p. 107.

Wilkinsburg Public Library Digital Archives:

“Church History,” 1920s.

“Calvary Church Sunday School 50 Years Old, Mortgage Burning Ceremony Planned For Sunday,” May 8, 1953.

“Happy 60th Birthday, Calvary Presbyterian, Started On Front Porch,” May 9, 1963.