Our History
To know Mt. Hope Community Church is to know a rich history which has always been true to the mission of Jesus Christ and to the mandate found within its own name to serve the people of its community. It is to know a vibrant present which is defined by a diversity of people, programs, gifts, and a variety of ways in which the community is connected to the center of its life. It is to know a sense of dreaming which looks to a future not typified by the status quo, but rather identified by its creativity, sensitivity and faithfulness.
Mt Hope began as a Mission Church just after World War II under the sponsorship of the Board of American Missions of the former United Presbyterian Church. It was consecrated as such on September 22, 1946 in the Penn Hills Township Municipal Building with the approval of the Community commission of the Pittsburgh Council of Churches. Originally founded by people who came from a diverse array of denominations, the church held worship, sunday school classes, and congregational meetings in the Municipal Building until 1949 when the original building on its present site was first occupied.
The doors to the old Sanctuary were the original entrance and the first doors that Mt. Hope opened wide to the Penn Hills community. These doors remain a symbol of the welcome and hospitality which continue to identify the Mt. Hope family. Continued growth led to an educational facilities addition in 1952, and finally, the present Sanctuary which was dedicated on May 19, 1963.
Rev. Ellsworth E. Caylor was Mt. Hope's first pastor, and was followed by A. Vance Meanor, John C. Little, Gary Albertson, Jay Collins, Thomas Ribar, James C. Yearsley, Carmen Cox Harwell, Jay Lewis, Bob Ruefle, and V.W (Trip) Torbert 3rd.