On a quiet stretch of Woodland Road in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, Maplewood Presbyterian Church has gathered for worship and service since October 25, 1964, when 287 people filled the new sanctuary for the very first time. Sixty years later, the congregation of about 120 members still lives by the same mission statement that hangs beneath its front sign: To Know Christ, and to Make Him Known. Part of the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the Redstone Presbytery, Maplewood has grown from a single merger Sunday into a welcoming congregation known for its music, its Bible studies, and a mission budget that reaches from Greensburg to the far corners of the world.
Worship on Sunday Mornings
Sunday at Maplewood begins with the Chancel Choir rehearsal at 9:30 AM in the upstairs lounge, where singers prepare the hymns of praise that will frame the morning service. During the school year, Sunday School classes also meet at 9:30 across the building, giving people a chance to dig into scripture before the service. Adult Sunday School has worked through a series on biblical archaeology, exploring how what scholars are finding in the dirt continues to confirm the Bible's account of the world.
At 10:45 AM the sanctuary fills for the main Sunday Worship. The order of service mixes prayer, scripture study, congregational singing, and pastoral prayer for the church family and the wider world. The Reverend Stephen M. LaSor, the congregation's minister since 1997, preaches sermons that Maplewood describes as thought provoking and perspective shifting, applying the Bible's teachings to daily life. Services generally run about an hour, ending around 11:45 AM, and all are welcome. For those who cannot attend or who want to revisit a sermon, the pastor's messages are posted on the church's YouTube channel.
The Building and Its Stained Glass
The Maplewood sanctuary itself is one of the most recognizable features of the church. Its soaring, jewel toned stained glass windows draw the eye whether you are driving past or sitting inside.
The most prominent window is the Crucifixion window in the chancel, showing the three crosses of Calvary. It was commissioned by the Reboy family in memory of their eighteen year old son Peter, who died in a motorcycle accident on May 31, 1962. Designed by Roy Culligan of Hunt Stained Glass Studios in Pittsburgh at a cost of $1,900, the faceted, resin cast window is built in ten sections within an aluminum frame. It was installed along with the original building and dedicated in 1964, when the congregation was still known as Greensburg United Presbyterian.
Over the sanctuary's exit to the narthex hangs the equally striking Resurrection/Recreation window, a gift of the Wast family in memory of Peter Wast, who died August 27, 1979. Nicholas Parrendo, then an artist at the same Hunt studio and now its owner, designed the piece at a cost of $5,320. In a description used at the August 10, 1980 dedication, the church explained that the design bursts with new life as the butterfly, while twelve stars stand for the disciples, a crown marks Jesus as King, and a red rose, a Christian symbol since the 1200s, points to the Messianic promise, the Nativity, and the martyrdom of Christ.
Behind those windows, the building still serves the congregation much as it did in 1964. The upstairs lounge, originally outfitted for education and small group meetings, is today the rehearsal and meeting space for the choir, Bible studies, and the Prayer Group. Downstairs, Fellowship Hall hosts the Lenten Fish Fry dinners and the Al-Anon meeting that meets on the church grounds.
Bible Studies and Prayer Group with Pastor LaSor
Maplewood's midweek ministries are built around Bible study. Pastor LaSor leads two parallel studies on the same book - one in the afternoon and one in the evening so that workers, retirees, and anyone with a busy week can join. The Wednesday afternoon class meets at 2:00 PM in the upstairs lounge; the Thursday evening class meets there at 7:00 PM. The recent series has worked through 1st John, and the group has previously spent time in 1st Peter, looking at the words the apostle wrote to a church going through hardship.
On Thursday evenings at 8:00 PM, after the Bible study, the Prayer Group gathers in the same upstairs lounge. Open to all, the meeting is a chance for members to lift up each other, their families and friends, colleagues, and the wider community in prayer. Together these three Thursday touch points, Al-Anon, Bible study, and Prayer Group, give Maplewood a full evening of ministry on its own grounds and to the broader Greensburg community.
Fellowship for Women, Men, and Friends
Maplewood has long organized its fellowship life around a few long running groups that meet outside of Sunday morning.
For women, the L.I.F.T. group - Ladies in Fellowship Together - meets on Tuesday evenings at 6:30 PM in the church lounge. The women share a summer project each year; one recent drive gathered items needed by the Welcome Home Shelter in Greensburg, which serves people experiencing homelessness in the area. The LIFT group also gathers for special evenings like the summer "Fiery Salad Night," held at a member's home with fire, salad greens, and a potluck of toppings.
A second women's group is Martha's Circle, which hosts events such as the annual Christmas Luncheon and a springtime High Tea.
For men, the long running Men's Lunch meets every Wednesday at 11:30 AM at the Chick-fil-A on U.S. 30 near Westmoreland Mall. Open to anyone who wants to drop in, the group has been meeting for years and has built strong bonds over burgers, conversation, and mutual support through difficult seasons. A separate monthly table, sometimes called Liver & Onions or Just Lunch, gathers about a dozen members on the second Thursday of each month at 11:00 AM at a local restaurant.
The church also celebrates an Annual Church Picnic, a Father's Day Pie Social, and a Pentecost Agape Meal each year, and tradition calls the whole congregation together in late November for Hanging of the Greens to decorate the sanctuary for Advent and Christmas.
A Wide Circle of Mission Partners
Maplewood describes its mission in three movements: leading people to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, nurturing and equipping people in the faith, love, and knowledge of Jesus Christ, and sending people forth in servant ministries to the rest of the world. The third movement shows up in a long list of partners supported through Maplewood's annual Missions Giving Program.
Close to home, the church supports the Blackburn Center, a Greensburg based organization that offers safety and stability to women and children affected by abuse; Tri-City Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals and personal contact to seniors in Greensburg, Fort Allen, West Point, Jeannette, and Harrison City; the Hempfield Volunteer Fire Department, which serves the Maplewood neighborhood and surrounding area; Union Mission in Latrobe, one of the only homeless missions for men in Westmoreland County, where Maplewood provides financial support and joins the residents for meals; the Westmoreland County Food Bank; and Torrance State Hospital near Blairsville, where Maplewood supplies residents with clothing and personal items at Christmas and throughout the year.
At Christmas the congregation adds seasonal ministries, including sponsoring Salvation Army families and filling Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. The American Red Cross Chestnut Ridge Chapter receives ongoing support for disaster response in the area.
Beyond the region, Maplewood supports Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, which deploys resources when natural disasters and other emergencies strike across the country and overseas; the Medical Benevolence Foundation, which provides medical and nursing care and education to communities without basic health care; Wycliffe Bible Translators, whose missionaries work around the world to bring Scripture to people in their own language; and Pine Springs Camp, the Redstone Presbytery affiliated summer youth camp in the Laurel Highlands of Jennerstown, PA, which Maplewood helps support and where members volunteer.
The Music of Maplewood
Singing is a steady thread through Maplewood's life. The Chancel Choir provides music for Sunday worship as well as special services through the church year, including the Lenten and Easter services. Rehearsals take place in the upstairs lounge each Sunday at 9:30 AM, just before the service, so that choir members move directly into worship together with the rest of the congregation. Members describe the church's musical tradition, along with its drama and teaching gifts, as one of the talents Maplewood values and develops.
Lenten Fish Fry Fridays and Community Hospitality
Throughout Lent, Maplewood opens its Fellowship Hall on Friday evenings at 5:30 PM for a community fish dinner. The dinners are open to anyone who wants to come in from the cold for a meal and conversation, and the fish itself can be purchased directly across the street from neighbors at Our Lady of Grace, a partnership that fits Maplewood's larger pattern of building friendships with other congregations in the area. The fish fry continues a fellowship tradition that reaches back into the congregation's earliest decades.
That same spirit of hospitality shows up in the church's decision to host an Al-Anon group in Fellowship Hall on Thursday evenings at 6:00 PM. By opening its doors to friends and family members of alcoholics, Maplewood serves people in the wider community who may never walk into a Sunday service, but who need a steady, welcoming room in which to work a recovery program.
Governance and Membership
Maplewood is led by the Reverend Stephen M. LaSor, who has served as minister since he was installed in November 1997. He is supported by a Session made up of Elders, who are elected to three year terms and provide oversight of all church functions through committees such as Property and Finance, and a board of Deacons, who minister to those in need, the sick, the lonely, and the downtrodden, lead intercessory prayers, and assist in administering the Lord's Supper. Committees for Property, Finance, Music, and Christian Education each play their part in keeping the congregation running.
People who want to make Maplewood their church home can explore membership through the church's "Becoming a Member" pathway, which walks newcomers through the congregation's life and beliefs.
Practical Details for Visitors
Sunday Worship at Maplewood begins at 10:45 AM at 108 Woodland Road in Greensburg, with Sunday School for all ages at 9:30 AM from September through May. The church office can be reached at (724) 834-4960. Tithes and offerings can be given during the service or online through the church's secure Vanco giving page. Sermon recordings are kept on the church's YouTube channel for review at any time. The Maplewood building is a familiar landmark in its neighborhood, recognizable from the road by the towering stained glass windows of the chancel and narthex - the same windows that have welcomed worshipers since the dedication in October 1964.