Being able to attend service here felt very meaningful to me being that both my mother and grandma…read moregrew up going to this church both as students and as members of the church. It's a big beautiful building and I really felt the awe and reverence for God for most of the service. I also loved how tall the ceilings were, the images painted on them, and the colorful stain glass windows. The building was so beautiful that I barely looked at the person who was singing or the person who was preaching, but the sermon itself and the songs that were sung resonated deeply with my soul and the way that they echoed through the building gave me space to process my own feelings related to the experience and to appreciate the sacredness of my own spirituality. Something about the bigness of the building, the smell of the incense, the reverence in the person singing and preaching, and the fact that the beautiful sounds that were made were not too loud really helped to decrease my anxiety to the point that I was able to receive the message and spirit of what was being said better than I am usually able to during a church service and I really felt the Holy Spirit in that place. However, the strictness in some of the people regarding the holy communion really took away from the overall experience if I am being honest. As such, I would like to plead with some of the people in charge to be mindful about not doing anything that could take away from the power of Gods presence in that building. For instance, when I went up to take communion I was under the impression that we needed to take the communion with us as we sat down and that we would all take communion together, however, at this church they expect you to eat the wafer in front of them BEFORE you sit down and I did not know that going into the experience. For me this is a very minor difference compared to how other churches I have been to do things and is ultimately not really that big of a deal, however, I had experienced a couple people run after me as if I had stolen a large screen TV from Walmart demanding that I eat that thin wafer in front of them before I was "allowed" to sit down and I genuinely had a hard time believing that they were being serious. So did a lot of people who observed this who were with me as they were quite loud and militant in contrast with the peaceful vibe of the service. What makes a person become so consumed with having others prove themselves to them that they value that so much more than making people feel a basic level of safety or comfort in their presence? What kind of energy compels people to obsess over such trivial details that they become distracted from the power of the message within the song and sermon itself, especially when that fixation stands in direct contrast to the very message being preached? While I responded with "I will" assuring them I did, in fact, take this symbolic practice seriously, a woman still judgmentally and angrily snarled at me that "I need to do it now" as she glared at me with such disgust and disdain it made me wonder why she would even bother being in any kind of church in the first place, especially since everything about Jesus resists that kind of energy. After the service, several of my friends reached out to me asking if I was okay after what happened, and similarly shared their shock and disapproval of how that person handled things, and unfortunately her behavior discouraged a lot of people from coming back. My grandma and mother also felt that behavioral does not, or at least should not, reflect the overall meaning and message of what that church should strive to achieve. As such, I would like to again plead with some of the people in charge to be mindful about not doing anything that could take away from the power of Gods presence in that building. Thankfully, I have a deep enough relationship with God that I didn't fall into the trap of taking that behavior personally or broadening it to my overall concept of how I see the church, but I do worry about how people who are less deep in their faith might respond to that kind of behavior, and how much that behavior could, unfortunately, make them flee the church without being able to experience the true power of what church is actually supposed to be about. I say this as someone who lives from a place of love and genuinely hopes that those who could benefit from church are able to find the help and healing they need. My hope is that people are not made to feel triggered, excluded, or as though they do not belong simply because they do not know every nuance of a particular denomination. Too often, petty traditions or minor differences in symbolism can become distractions from the power of genuine spiritual life in Christ, much like how the Pharisees' fixation on the Sabbath caused them to condemn Jesus rather than bask in the power of his healing glory.

Strictly fish fry review! The church is beautiful!... Ok. So…read moreif you have never been here before and just want to try the fish fry, it may be difficult to find where to go. The church is huge and they have no signs around to direct people on where to go. I will leave a step by step photo map that may help folks. They are open for fish fry lunch and dinner so that makes it very convenient. The fish combo is $9, includes a fish sandwich and fries. The sandwich alone is $7 so the combo is worth it. They also have a shrimp combo, a plate of fries, pizza, Mac n cheese, slaw, and a side salad(for $2). The fish is not mushy, battered in a nice beer batter, and is very big. The service can be slow, but they are all volunteers, so it's not really important. I enjoy this place for their fish fry, now that I know how to get in!

Yeah, this is a church that is spirit-led! Pastor Kevin has a great vision for this body of…read morebelievers! If I lived near the McDonald area, this would definintely be my church. I encourage everyone and anyone who lives in this area to visit! You won't be sorry!

My parents and I attended Evangelical Congregational Church in McKeesport, PA. at Walnut St. &…read moreOlive Ave. The pastor was Reverend John F. C. Green. He retired in 1966 and still attended till his passing in 1969. The church and its building are still in existence though a fraction in attendance from what it was then. There also was First Congregational Church in McKeesport on Evans Ave. It was pastored by Rev. George Kemp. The building remains but is closed. When Dr. Green retired, three candidates were invited to preach to be considered as his replacement. Rev. Kauffman (don't recall first name) a Rev. Osterweiss and the above mentioned Rev. Kemp. I had met Rev. Kauffman and his beautiful wife at church camp in central Pennsylvania called Hartman Center. This was 1962. He and his wife had made quite an impression on me and though it was now four years later, I was quite excited that he could become our pastor. On three consecutive weeks, all three spoke and Rev. Kauffman was outstanding. I'm sure he would have been selected but before the vote could be taken, he withdrew his consideration. Looking back, this was a crucial turning point in the life of Evangelical Congregational Church of McKeesport. Rev. Osterweiss was selected over Rev. Kemp. And though things cruised along with Rev. Osterweiss, there were a number of things found out about him later and many including my parents and myself stopped attending. We kept our memberships and around 1972 I think, Rev. Osterweiss was voted out and that church has never been the same. Now, what does this all have to do with South Hills Congregational Church? The passed over Rev. Kemp decided to leave the smaller First Cong. in McKeesport and start a new church in the South Hills. This was 1966. Our Congregational Churches at that time had youth groups that met at each other's churches from time to time. We also attended church camp together and so we knew a number of kids from the other Congregational churches. I recall Rev. Kemp and his wife well and also their daughter Nancy. They were the original pastor and family that started South Hills Congregational Church. I recall being there the summer of '67 for a youth rally. At present ( or whenever the picture was taken) that what was the church property has a sign on masonry that says "Sprout; center for emotional growth and development." I've said enough. Hope this brings back some memories for others that attended or visited there when that building proclaimed Christ. I'm supposed to rate my own review?

While trying to find the history of this wonderful church I came across 2 reviews. My grandfather,…read moreGeorge F. Quel was also one of the founders of this church in the 1960's .It was my childhood church. It seems it is no longer in existence. When I travel home to PGH for visits I always drive by it. Wonderful memories.

Great Church that has nice members and great staff. Will help you no matter what! I went to this…read morechurch as a child

Friendly loving family oriented church. Monthly food pantry serves the community within a 10 mile…read moreradius.

Chartiers Valley United Presbyterian Church sadly had to close. The structure was purchased by…read moreneighboring historic landmark church Old St. Luke's Church and renamed it "Old St. Luke's Annex". Currently "Life Building Ministries" and "Circle of Love" hold services in the Annex on Saturday evenings. Old St. Luke's itself has no congregation, but hosts religious services, weddings, baptisms, memorials, as well as historical educational tours. St. Paul's Church of Mt. Lebanon holds services in the spring and fall in the historic Old St. Luke's church building.

It looks like a good spot for experienced urbexers, because it looks dangerous but thrill seeking…read morefrom the outside. You can go to the First Baptist Church of Glassport right next door for a safer urbex option though. I nicknamed it "Mystery Doe Church" because I couldn't find any records on it.

---Fish fry review---…read more As the finale to my PGH Lenten Fish Fry World Tour, I paid a visit to St. Rosalia's on Good Friday at around 5:30pm. One of my faithful fish fry touring companions accompanied me, making the trek to Greenfield a bit less confusing and monotonous and my opinion on the quality of the goods a bit more reliable. As per usual, I phoned in an order ahead of time, and the ordering and fulfillment process went smoothly. For my order, I went with the fried fish sandwich ($7) and a side of mac and cheese ($3), and my companion went with the fried fish dinner, which came with roasted red potatoes, green beans, and a miniature loaf of cornbread ($10). Despite that the fish looked kind of sketchy to me (esp. the coating), it was surprisingly good. The coating was of the breaded variety and was light and crisp, and the fish itself was flaky and moist. The roll, while nothing particularly special, held up to the fish well--which is the purpose of a roll, after all. As for the sides, I can only speak for the mac and cheese, given that I didn't sample my dining companion's sides. Unlike another recent reviewer, I found the mac and cheese solidly average for fish fry mac and cheese (maybe someone different was making it?). My dining companion enjoyed his sides, and I ended up eating the cornbread, which isn't really worth evaluation as it was prepackaged. Overall, my dining companion and I enjoyed St. Rosalia's fish fry and would recommend it. While it's not the best fish fry in PGH, I'd put it in the top 10-15th percentile, making it one of the better bets in the city. As such, it made for a solid ending to my PGH fish fry tour.

*Fish Fry Review!!*…read more Although it is super weird that you can review a religious institution on Yelp, a fish fry review is totally necessary. Originally, we wanted to go to St. Regis', but they sold out of everything by 5:45 PM. After looking at the fish fry map, we found this one was open until 7:30. As I live in a Jewish dominated neighborhood, this is one of the closest fish frys to me. While it was not cheap, it was pretty good. Each member of my family ordered a fried fish sandwich ($7). My dad has been to two other frys this year and said this was definitely the best one of the bunch, but it was the most expensive. The fish was lightly breaded on a humongous hamburger bun. It was a large piece of fish, and I couldn't quite finish the sandwich. There were plenty of individual condiments to choose from including tartar sauce, cocktail sauce, ketchup, and hot sauce. I also ordered a small side of Mac and Cheese ($3), and my dad ordered a small side of Haluski ($3). Although this will sound crazy, this place had GREAT Mac and cheese. The portion was big for a side. While it was clearly frozen macaroni of some kind, whoever doctored it knew what they were doing. We wouldn't recommend the Haluski, though, as it wasn't very good at all. The children of the church simultaneously were running a bake sale, which was a good idea. Unlike a lot of church bake sales, most of the goods were not homemade. We weren't really game to pay $1 for a single chips ahoy cookie. Great if you have spare cash and want dessert, though. The only complaint is that the children of this church were really poorly behaved. We had kids playing football behind us while we ate, another group shrieking and running around playing tag, and then the poor group of girls trying to run the bake sale. The parents saw this happening and pretended to try to stop them, but they were very Yinzer. It was more important to socialize than watch their kids. The kids could have easily played outside and not disturbed the people trying to eat. We could not hear each other talking across a table. So while the fish was good, we are unlikely to return. Not so shockingly- cash only.