By Bob Frederick
In 1844 when the Pine Hall Lutheran Church congregation sang its first hymn, what is now Route 26 was a wandering farm lane. By the late 1990s, when the church was looking to expand, Route 26 had become a busy highway from State College to Pine Grove Mills and west.
Because of the highway’s wider right-of-way, the church was too close to the roadway to gain approval for an addition. Under the direction of local architects and engineers, the massive building was lifted. While folks sat in lawn chairs to watch, the building was towed to its new foundation.
Today, Pine Hall Lutheran Church, 1760 W. College Ave., serves as a meeting place for community support groups, while its kitchen is busy cooking soup for the Wesley Center Soup Kitchen, potlucks that include sheltered youth from local residences and its famous chocolate covered Easter eggs, sales of which fund cash donations to groups like Centre Safe, Camp Sequanota and Interfaith Human Services.
This year’s new initiatives include meal preparation and delivery of a lunch to the Ferguson Township police offices and the Alpha Fire Company in a show of appreciation for local services.
On Oct. 20, the bishop of the Allegheny Synod will join in for the church’s 175-year celebration. The service and potluck afterward will celebrate the many folks who made it possible for a country church to save its spot along the road to helping others.
Bob Frederick is currently the president of Pine Hall Lutheran Church’s council.
