St. Thomas Memorial Episcopal Church in Oakmont has seen a lot of history.
The church has had congregants march off to two world wars as well as conflicts in Korea, Vietnam and the Middle East. It weathered the Great Depression and recessions — all while remaining a haven and support for its community over the past 15 decades.
Since the start of the current liturgical year, parishioners and church leaders have been hosting a variety events, including blood drives, food donations and guest choirs, to celebrate its 150th anniversary.
Alice Ramser has attended the church since 2008. She is on the planning and steering committees for the 150th anniversary celebration. In preparation for the event, she compiled the church’s history to create a memorial book to distribute at the church’s main event June 9, the anniversary date of when the church was officially chartered in 1874.
After the charter, a parish house and the rectory were the only two buildings built and used by members of the church. Once the church began to grow, the current St. Thomas Episcopal Church was constructed in 1905. The building has stood ever since.
“On that block (of Delaware and Fourth avenues), what was once the rectory is now our offices and reading rooms,” Ramser said. “The parish house is now where our activities take place.”
In 2010, the original rectory building was flooded and had to be completely remodeled, Ramser said. Another update to the church is a large clock tower that has been maintained throughout the years.
“The clock still works,” she said. “It’s had a lot of maintenance on it. It is one of the few on the Eastern Seaboard. It’s called the clock, the bell and the tower.”
In 2016, the building and clock tower were granted landmark status by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation and were added to the U.S. Department of Interior National Parks Service’s National Register of Historic Places.
Despite its impressive architecture, members say the church’s survival isn’t credited to stone and mortar but, rather, to its members.
Since its opening, the church’s parishioners have operated with the intent to support the surrounding community. In the 1920s, its women’s group sent a contingent to assist with the Spanish flu epidemic. During the Great Depression, the church kept its doors open for people who needed communal support.
Now, the church hosts a service before Christmas for people who are grieving or for those in need of a “low-key” holiday. The service was created for people to lean on when “Christmas is a little too happy,” said Jeffrey Murph, the church’s rector.
“There’s a real deep value of hospitality, and often that’s lived out with how the church opens itself to be used by the community,” Murph said.
The church and its surrounding buildings have become the meeting places for Scout troops, the Ladies of Oakmont group and Alcoholics and Narcotics Anonymous groups.
Ramser said parishioners of St. Thomas keep up the practices of previous members by participating in community outreach.
“I think, from the very beginning, the concept and the ministry of St. Thomas has always been development in the community,” Ramser said. “The building itself has always been open to those community groups.”
Not only have church leaders celebrated their own parishioners’ successes, they openly admire the sacrifices that others have made. A monument that stands outside the church is a testament to the church’s celebration of others.
In the late 1800s, an Episcopal bishop from Lancaster was visiting Western Pennsylvania. On his train ride through the now-Oakmont area, the train wrecked. Rather than seeking treatment for himself, the bishop began helping others who suffered injuries. During his efforts, he suffered a heart attack and died. His body was later found on the tracks by authorities. A monument was erected in his honor at the spot where he was found.
In the early 1900s, a company wanted to reopen the tracks and asked the Episcopal diocese for permission to relocate the monument. Once the company was granted permission, its representatives called the nearest Episcopal church, which happened to be St. Thomas.
Part of the anniversary celebration will include a ceremony to rededicate the monument to the bishop and add a plaque with his story.
In addition to the rededication June 9, St. Thomas will host a service in which the Right Rev. Ketlen A. Solak, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, will preach. There also will be a time capsule sealing and a luncheon after the service and ceremony.
Murph has been rector of the church for the past 30 years. In that time, he said, his faith has only grown when he looks back on his and the church’s history.
“The way I look at this is not a celebration just of achievement, but rather a celebration of gratitude, of thanksgiving,” Murph said.
Haley Daugherty is a TribLive reporter covering local politics, feature stories and Allegheny County news. A native of Pittsburgh, she lived in Alabama for six years. She joined the Trib in 2022 after graduating from Chatham University. She can be reached at hdaugherty@triblive.com.
