A Gothic Sanctuary on East Beau Street
The Church of the Covenant sits at 267 East Beau Street in the heart of Washington, Pennsylvania, a brick and stone gothic structure that has anchored the neighborhood since 1929. Its self description is short and clear: "a small town church with a passion to know Christ and to make Him known to the next generation." The church is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), connected to the Presbytery of Washington, the Synod of the Trinity, and the General Assembly, and a banner above the main foyer reminds everyone leaving the building that they are "Entering the Mission Field." Every generation, alive in Christ, is the motto that runs through the congregation's life.
Two distinct Sunday services fill the building each week. At 9:00 a.m., Covenant Alive! gathers in the Covenant Center with a live band, a full sermon, a children's message, and space for small reflective moments. At 11:00 a.m., the Sanctuary fills with the Covenant Choir in robes, classic hymns, and traditional Presbyterian liturgy. A Covenant Connections hour at 10:00 a.m. ties the morning together with classes for every age.
Three Congregations, One Covenant
The congregation's heritage reaches back to 1793, when the First Presbyterian Church of Washington was established. By 1860 the First Church had outgrown its space, and on March 12, 1861, the Washington Presbytery organized the Second Presbyterian Church. That new body met for fourteen years in a leased Methodist Protestant building on Beau Street before building its first sanctuary in 1887 at 65 East Beau Street.
On March 24, 1891, a petition was presented to the Presbytery of Washington to organize a Third Presbyterian Church, formed from members of both the First and Second churches, and that group built on Jefferson Avenue. By 1929 the Second Presbyterian had again outgrown its space, acquired property on East Beau Street, and built the present gothic structure. The Third Presbyterian was forced out of its building by a redevelopment project in 1959, and the two congregations voted to merge. On September 11, 1960, the Church of the Covenant was established. The stained glass windows that fill the Sanctuary today were installed in stages during this period, and a video tour of those windows is available for those who want to trace the visual history of the building.
Today the church supports the mission programs of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) throughout the Presbytery of Washington, the Synod of the Trinity, and the General Assembly, and looks forward with renovated facilities and a new educational wing.
Sunday Mornings at the Church of the Covenant
Visitors arriving on Sunday morning use the main entrance on the right side of the building and are welcomed into the Commons, the busy lobby at the center of church life. The Welcome Center in the Commons is staffed by friendly faces who can check in a first-time guest, hand over a welcome packet, and even escort a family to its seats. The Commons is also home to a Social Hour table with coffee, tea, and snacks before and after each service, a chance to meet other members of the congregation in a relaxed setting.
What to wear is simple: whatever feels right. Members dress anywhere from casual to more formal, and the focus stays on worship rather than on outward appearance. The 9:00 a.m. contemporary service in the Covenant Center uses a live band and praise music, includes a children's message, and is relaxed and family friendly. The 11:00 a.m. service in the Sanctuary is a classic Presbyterian liturgy with hymns, traditional prayers, and music led by the Covenant Choir. Both services include a full sermon from the pastoral team.
For those who cannot attend in person, the 11:00 a.m. service is livestreamed on the church's YouTube channel, and a portion of the worship service is broadcast on WJPA 1450 AM radio at 11:30 a.m. each Sunday morning.
Covenant Connections at Ten O'Clock
The hour between the two services is its own ministry. At 10:00 a.m. each Sunday, Covenant Kids gathers children in Pre-K, Kindergarten through second grade, and third through fifth grade for age-appropriate lessons that focus on Bible truths, the life of Jesus, and putting faith into practice. Impact Youth, the middle and high school program, meets in the Youth Room. Parents gather together for conversation and support, and Adult Education Classes cover topics that change from year to year. A parenting group called Parenting Through the Phases also meets during this hour to talk through the joys and challenges of raising children at different ages.
Growing the Next Generation
The next generation is the through line of nearly every program the church runs. The Children's Ministry, led by Yvonne Gayle, focuses on children from birth through the elementary years. A third grade sacrament training class, held several Sundays a year from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m., walks children in grades three through five through the sacraments using "Children in Worship" stories, Bible study, puzzles, games, and art, and it ends each year with a shared first Communion in May. Covenant Kids runs every Sunday morning at 10:00 a.m. with two age groups.
Impact Youth is built for students in grades six through twelve. Activities include yearly mission trips, service and outreach projects, Bible studies, recreation, and an annual VBS outreach. The group meets in person on Sunday mornings in the Youth Room at 10:00 a.m., and on Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. on Zoom during much of the year. Confirmation is offered to seventh and eighth graders beginning each October and running monthly through May, with a stated purpose that young people make a public profession of faith in Jesus Christ, gain an appreciation of the Presbyterian Church, and enjoy fellowship with the members and pastors of the congregation.
Families meet together through FX, a Family Experience night hosted on the first Tuesday of October, November, January, February, and March. FX includes dinner, skits, entertainment, and faith-building activities designed for elementary-age kids and their parents. Each summer, the church hosts Vacation Bible School for a week in mid-July; recent themes have included "Rainforest Falls: Exploring the Nature of God." Staff and volunteers who work with children and youth are required to follow the church's Child Protection Policy and to obtain appropriate clearances.
Adults, Readers, and the Table
Adult life at the church runs through several long-standing rhythms. Monday Readers meets at 1:00 p.m. in the Dining Room each week to discuss a variety of books, and new members are always welcome. The Tuesday Night Speaker Series returns on a rotating schedule with speakers drawn from the congregation and beyond. Adult Education Classes meet on Sunday mornings during Covenant Connections, where recent offerings have included a video class on the Mission of Jesus and a book study of Douglas Connelly's Meeting the Spirit.
Small group life is organized under the umbrella of Come to the Table, which gathers adults around shared meals and conversation. Recent groups have included Faithful Footsteps, a walking fellowship with devotion and coffee; Bless Your Neighborhood, a service and outreach group; Create in Praise, a creativity and arts group; Table of Grace, a Sunday lunch; Chapter and Verse, a Bible study; Feast of Fellowship, a restaurant exploration group; Dine and Shine, a midweek brunch; and Taste and See, a rotating potluck. Other offerings include Grub 'n Games, Koffee Klatch, Out and About, Friends' Night Out, Dining with Dan, Dinner and Devotions, and the Brunch Bunch. The stated vision of discipleship here is simple: to know Christ, good is not good enough.
A Full Music Ministry
Music is woven into both Sunday services and several weeknight rehearsals. The Covenant Choir, the adult choir, sings for the 11:00 a.m. traditional service and other special occasions. Rehearsals are held on Thursday evenings at 6:30 p.m. and on Sunday mornings at 10:00 a.m., and singers of all abilities are welcome. The Jubilate Ringers, the adult handbell choir, rehearse on Thursday evenings at 5:30 p.m., and the Covenant Ringers bring teenagers into the bell program at a separate time. Teens For Christ is the choir for ages thirteen and up, while the Covenant Kids' Choir welcomes children ages four through twelve.
The 9:00 a.m. service, Covenant Alive!, runs on a separate team that includes singers, musicians, tech volunteers, and a hospitality crew. Sing-throughs for the contemporary service happen on Thursday evenings from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m. Darla Pepper-Miller serves as Director of Music Ministry and oversees the entire program.
The Church of the Covenant Preschool
The Church of the Covenant Preschool is a Christian-based program that sees the family as the most important and fundamental unit of faith. The school believes that each child is a unique person created by God who will grow in his or her own way, and it provides an informal learning environment with activities that contribute to cognitive, physical, social, emotional, and spiritual growth. The preschool follows the closing schedule of the Trinity School District when winter weather threatens, and it is one of the ways the church reaches out to young families in the Washington area.
Mission Beyond the Building
The church's mission work is local and personal. On the second Thursday of every month, volunteers work at Washington Christian Outreach from 9:00 a.m. until noon, cooking and serving food and helping with clothing and other items for neighbors in need. In partnership with WCO, the church helps run Blessings in a Backpack, packing weekend food for children at Washington Park School whose families struggle to make it from Friday lunch to Monday breakfast. Love in a Backpack collects baby supplies such as diapers for baskets provided to newborn mothers through a partnership with Laboratory Presbyterian. The Deacons also collect personal hygiene items - toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, soap, shampoo, razors, toilet paper, facial tissue, baby powder, baby wipes, and baby shampoo - for the Community Circle Food Pantry, with a gray receptacle in the Commons and deliveries twice a month.
Each year, the first weekend of October is Reach-Out Weekend, coordinated with World Communion Sunday and dependent on many volunteers. The church also supports Samaritan Counseling as a mission partner, with annual fundraising through events like Samaritan's Golf Scramble and Dinner at the Sewickley Heights Golf Club. A full Mission Directory lists the organizations supported throughout the year.
What the Church Believes
The congregation identifies with the historic Christian faith through the Apostles' Creed, recited in worship: belief in God the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth; in Jesus Christ his only Son, our Lord, conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried, who descended into hell, rose again the third day, ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty, from whence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead; and belief in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
Two publications set out the church's beliefs and policies in detail: the Book of Order and the Book of Confessions, both published by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Baptism is one of two recognized sacraments, the other being the Lord's Supper. Infant baptism and adult baptism are both practiced, with adult baptism offered to those seeking membership who have not previously been baptized. Weddings are scheduled exclusively for active members in good standing, including children, grandchildren, or parents of active participating members, with a Wedding Policy and Baptism Policy available from the church office.
Pastoral Leadership
The Reverend Dr. William J. "Billy" Younger serves as Senior Pastor. Raised in Oregon's Willamette Valley, he came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as a high school junior in 1986. He studied at Trinity College in Deerfield, Illinois, where he met his wife Karen, and then earned his Master of Divinity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1996 while serving as an intern at Park Street Church in Boston. He has served Presbyterian congregations in suburban Chicago, at Lycoming Centre Presbyterian Church in north central Pennsylvania for nearly twelve years, and at Union Presbyterian Church in Robinson, Pennsylvania, before his call to the Church of the Covenant. He completed a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in 2007, focusing on congregational renewal and revitalization.
Yvonne Gayle directs the children, youth, and family ministry, with more than twenty years of experience and a Youth Ministry Certification from Point Loma University. Her work has included mission trips with Habitat for Humanity in Key West and Impact Ministries in South Carolina, and she has built programs such as a Bible adventure summer camp for middle schoolers and an after school Bible program. Darla Pepper-Miller leads the music ministry, overseeing the Covenant Choir, Teens For Christ, the Covenant Kids' Choir, the Jubilate Ringers, and the Covenant Ringers. Amy Dille, the Church Administrator, also directs the Vacation Bible School program each summer.
Stewardship and The Covenant Fund
The Covenant Fund is the financial engine behind the church's year-round worship, mission, and ministry. Each fall, members and friends are invited to make a pledge for the following year, with ten percent of all pledges directed to mission. Recent goals have included a dollar goal of $600,000 and a participation goal of fifty five percent. Pledges can be made through a yellow card in the offering plate, through an online pledge card on the church website, or through a smartphone scan of a stewardship QR code.
Gifts can be made in several ways. By text, members text "Covey" to 73256 and follow the prompts. By mobile app, the Abundant Giving app in the iOS and Android stores allows members to schedule recurring gifts and review giving history. Online, a GIVE NOW button connects to a secure giving portal. Beyond cash, the church accepts gifts of securities, gifts of life insurance, donor advised funds, IRA charitable rollovers, real estate, oil and gas royalties, and other planned and legacy gifts. An Endowment Fund, overseen by the Session and an Endowment Committee, holds several designated and named permanent funds, and a Planned and Legacy Giving ministry encourages members to consider bequests and other future gifts.
Closing the Loop
The church's communication channels are simple. Sunday bulletins are posted online each week for both the 9:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. services. Office hours run through the main phone line at 724-222-0190 and the email office@churchofthecov.org. Prayer requests can be sent directly to the prayer team. The church is active on Facebook and Instagram under the handle "churchofthecov," and its YouTube channel hosts the livestream and a tour of the stained glass windows. For winter weather closings, decisions are coordinated by the pastors and Clerk of Session by 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, broadcast on local TV stations and WJPA, and posted on the website and church phone message. Whether someone arrives on Sunday morning in jeans or a suit, with a newborn or on their own, the doors on East Beau Street open into a building that has been a Presbyterian witness in Washington for more than a century.