Vermont Baptist Church warmly welcomed in New Kensington

The congregation of Vermont Baptist Church in East Deer christened its new home Sunday at First Evangelical Lutheran Church in New Kensington.

About 20 from the congregation turned out for the early afternoon service, which was led by pastors from both churches.

“We are so grateful to the leadership of First Evangelical Lutheran for opening their doors to us,” said the Rev. William Zachery Jr., head pastor of Vermont Baptist Church. “We've been blown away with how open and receptive they've been to our church in our time of need.”

First Evangelical was one of five churches to invite Vermont Baptist to share their space with them once they learned about the state of the church's East Deer building along Freeport Road.

The building, which is about 90 years old, has been deteriorating for years. Torrents of water and mud cascade down from the hillside between the church and Route 28 during heavy rains, wearing away at the sanctuary's back wall. Old trees have grown with time against the foundation, and leaks in the ceiling have warped and discolored the walls.

The Vermont Baptist leadership decided last February that their congregation needed a new home and began fundraising for a new building. After receiving a formal invitation from First Evangelical late last year and finalizing negotiations over a two-month period, the congregation officially moved into the New Kensington church along Ridge Avenue on Sunday with its first service there.

“I want to thank the people of Vermont Baptist for having the faith in us to come to our building,” said the Rev. Alfred Petrill Jr. of First Evangelical. “We are tremendously excited to have the congregation living here and working with us hand-in-hand, side-by-side.”

Petrill, who has served as First Evangelical head pastor for 10 years, said the arrangement marks the first time, to his knowledge, that a predominately white church (First Evangelical) and a predominately black church (Vermont Baptist) have come together in New Kensington.

Steve Marshall, a Vermont Baptist associate pastor, said the agreement is a timely one, coming one day after the end of Black History Month.

“This is a milestone occasion,” Marshall said. “It's great to see two churches like this come together. It's been unbelievable the way we've been welcomed in to this church. It shows that anything is possible.”

Zachery said Vermont Baptist will try to sell its old building in the Creighton neighborhood of East Deer and will continue to fund raise to build its own sanctuary again in the future.

In the meantime, longtime Vermont Baptist parishioners like Penny Williams, can rest easy, knowing they're welcome inside the old brick walls of First Evangelical.

“At first, I didn't want to (go to Sunday's service),” Williams said. “I thought I would miss Vermont too much. But as soon as I stepped foot in (First Evangelical), I could feel the love. It's like I was back in Vermont.”

The First Evangelical building, which dates back to 1894, is about twice the size of the old Vermont Baptist building and holds a congregation of about 300. Five stained glass windows ornament the tall white walls on either side, and its pulpit is canopied by an arch in the ceiling with another massive stained glass window serving as a backdrop.

The new location, Zachery said, affords Vermont Baptist the opportunity to engage in more community outreach events than the old building, which he said is somewhat isolated from communities like New Kensington by the Allegheny River. He also is excited about the prospect of sharing services with First Lutheran, despite the denominational difference, in the near future.

“This is what it's all about,” Zachery said. “There are slight differences in the denominations, but all that matters is that we are all united as brothers and sisters together.”

Braden Ashe is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-226-4673 or bashe@tribweb.com.