A church without walls is something that is becoming more and more popular these days as congregations move their ministries into communities where they don’t have a physical building. At Upper Spruce Creek Presbyterian Church in Pennsylvania Furnace (Centre County), the congregation has accomplished that right next to its brick and mortar structure.
A new Creekside Park that’s sandwiched between the existing church building and Upper Spruce Creek not only has space for outdoor worship but also areas for games, a firepit and meditation. And, of course, fishing.
“Spruce Creek is a famous fishing creek,” explained Scott Kretchmar, the church’s certified lay pastor. “Presidents like Jimmy Carter and others have come up here who were fishermen and have fished along that creek not far from the church. It’s a famous trout stream, and it is absolutely beautiful.”
Scott is not an avid angler, but because of the popularity of the creek and its close proximity to the church building, he could see the potential for the outdoor space.
“The church is located on one of the most beautiful spots in God’s creation,” Scott said. “But the creek had been totally neglected. Dead trees, brush – you couldn’t even see the water because the weeds and so forth had grown up so high. The creek was basically invisible.
“We’re in a rural area, so many of the members are farmers or previously farmers and they love the outdoors. So, it seemed to me to be a natural connection to beautify the waterfront, to glorify God and also provide some important functions for the church.”
It took two full years to complete the project, starting with a survey to see where the property lines were, since it was found that the last survey of the grounds occurred in the 1800s. Dozens of loads of topsoil leveled the ground, and more than 100 trees and bushes were planted to help beautify the area. Three benches for prayer, meditation or reading were also installed.
“The functions were to allow outdoor services to take place,” Scott said. “We needed a firepit, so we can cook outdoors and have picnics outdoors. We needed a flat area for the children for games and play. The original property sloped severely toward the creek. You couldn’t do volleyball there because the ball would end up in the creek all the time.”
All told, the outdoor worship area can seat 75-80 people. The goal is to use the space from April to October for 4-5 Sunday services and at other times for Sunday school. It’s also been used for Bible studies and children’s retreats – with badminton and croquet equipment available – and can even be a wedding destination, although that has yet to occur.
“We want to encourage church members to come out to the property on non-Sunday, non-church days and use it for personal meditation and prayer,” Scott explained. “We have several play areas for the kids.”
Fishermen (you must belong to the Tyrone Fishing Club to fish in that area) are encouraged to utilize the things in the Creekside Park, too. A sign welcomes them to the area, one that reads “Peace Like a River: God’s Beautiful Creation.”
“We wanted to make sure that they were welcome to use the prayer benches and to perhaps even have a spiritual experience while they are fishing,” Scott said. “We want to be friendly to the neighborhood, the people there, the fishermen. Anybody is welcome to use it.”
As with any major project, there was plenty of debating among the session regarding the creation of the park. With the total cost ending up in six figures, that price tag may have caused some angst in many churches, but the Upper Spruce Creek congregation was willing to take the gamble.
“I’m blessed with a flexible congregation that is not afraid to try something new,” Scott said. “The question was can we afford it? And, if we can afford it, can we still meet our Christian obligation for mission?”
Session decided that the church would dedicate the equivalent of 10 percent of the total cost of the project to its mission giving, resulting in a one-time increase to that fund.
“An arrangement that had to do with people being satisfied with the project was that it was not going to impact negatively on our mission commitment,” Scott added.
Scott is hopeful that the Creekside Park with all its possibilities will bring some new families to the congregation, which on a normal Sunday morning includes between 30-50 people.
“One of the emphases we’ve been working on as a congregation is to attract young families,” Scott said. “We do overnights and magic campfires to bring the children in.
“God has talked through the congregation to the point of saying we have to minister to our kids. We have to turn them on to Jesus some way or another, whether it’s through croquet or camping out overnight or getting them in the church and giving them Sunday school lessons. God has encouraged many people in our church who are quite senior to say the kids matter and we have to love the kids and bring them along.”
A dedication of the Creekside Park was held in early June, and it gave everyone a chance to soak in what had been accomplished and just how special the area is.
“I’m proud of the members of the church,” Scott said. “I think they are remarkable. I know the politics of churches and the ups and downs that church congregations have. The congregation I inherited at Upper Spruce Creek is willing to take chances. They’re faithful people, they like one another. It’s like a big family.
“I love their faith. I love their willingness to take chances, to try something new. I’m very proud of them, proud of what God’s doing through the church.”
Yes, the price tag may seem steep for Upper Spruce Creek Church’s new Creekside Park, but the results have been more than worth it.
“I think God wants us to take chances in his name,” Scott said. “This was taking a chance. God has given us the courage to try something a little bit different. I would just encourage churches as much as they’re able to try new things.
“I gave a PowerPoint sermon about some churches, how they glorify God with stained glass windows, with tall steeples and the different ways that we say we’re Christian and we glorify God and thank God for our being. We live on a beautiful creek, and so instead of stained glass windows we’ve chosen to do it by beautifying a place that’s already beautiful but hidden and needed to be exposed again so that we could see how lovely the creek area is.”