A 145-Year Beacon in the Heart of Overbrook
Fairhaven United Methodist Church stands at 2415 Saw Mill Run Boulevard in the Overbrook neighborhood of southern Pittsburgh, a stretch of busy four-lane road that has carried the congregation for more than a century. The brick-and-stone building was consecrated on December 8, 1907, and remains the worship home of the oldest surviving congregation from the original village of Fairhaven. The members who first gathered here, ten souls in August 1881, grew into a community of more than four hundred by the mid-twentieth century and continue, more than 140 years later, to open their doors to neighbors who need a place to pray, eat, recover, or simply belong.
The church is known throughout the South Hills for what its members call the practice of radical hospitality. The building hosts twice-weekly Spanish-language worship, three weekly Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings, an outdoor food pantry that draws shoppers from surrounding blocks, and a free hot meal served on the last Sunday of every month. A postcard club, neighborhood safety meetings, and seasonal potlucks share the downstairs Burton Hall with these ministries. The stained glass windows in the sanctuary, the subject of regular building-history talks led by church historian Richard Cummings, glow during a single Sunday worship service at 9:30 a.m. and a Wednesday evening Bible study at 7 p.m.
From an 1881 Camp Meeting to a 1907 Sanctuary
Fairhaven's story begins with Robert Parry, a Fairhaven resident who was converted at an evangelical service at the Arlington Camp Meeting Ground in August 1881. Within two years, the Methodist Protestant Church recognized the new congregation as a mission outpost and assigned its first pastor, Reverend Samuel Ferry Crowthers. The first worship services were held in a Baldwin Township School District building at what is now the intersection of Maytide and Saw Mill Run.
In 1890, the Baldwin Township Council voted not to allow religious organizations to rent government buildings. Robert Thompson responded by donating land on Glenbury Street for a new church, Watson Provost donated the construction materials, and parishioners gave their labor to raise the first sanctuary. By 1907, increased membership made a larger building necessary, and Cordelia Long Horning donated a parcel on Saw Mill Run Boulevard. The current sanctuary was consecrated there on December 8, 1907, placing Fairhaven Church at the geographic heart of the community it still serves.
In 1979, the Western Pennsylvania Methodist Conference suggested a yoked ministry with the Mount Washington United Methodist Church due to declining membership. That partnership continued until 1994, when the Conference merged Mount Washington UMC into Fairhaven. Five years later, the Board of Trustees approved a long-planned addition, and Burton Hall was dedicated on September 17, 2000. The hall expanded the church's capacity to host meetings, recovery groups, and the food pantry that has become a defining ministry.
In 2005, the Methodist Conference proposed a partnership of five churches sharing three pastors and their expenses. The membership of all five approved the arrangement; a sixth church joined in 2012. The resulting South Hills Partnership now includes Fairhaven, Spencer UMC, Hilltop UMC, and other area congregations, with clergy rotating through the partner churches.
Sunday Mornings at 9:30
Sunday worship at Fairhaven follows the traditional United Methodist pattern, with a single service at 9:30 a.m. The congregation has no paid choir director or organist; both roles are filled by volunteers. The volunteer choir director has served for more than thirty years, and the volunteer organist is in her fifty-fourth year of service. When a partnership pastor is unavailable on a given Sunday, credentialed lay speakers from within the congregation step into the pulpit, a Methodist practice the members have carried on for generations.
The pastors who rotate through the pulpit include Rev. Dylan Parson, who has shaped much of the recent preaching voice at Fairhaven. His sermons weave Old Testament narrative with Methodist theology and pastoral vulnerability. In a recent series he walked the congregation through Exodus 16, using the manna narrative to talk about anxiety, control, and what he described as the spiritual discipline of trusting in daily bread. He has preached on the politics of confession and the courage of the Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1, framing Christian faithfulness as what John Wesley called scriptural Christianity, a faith willing to chafe against the patterns of the world rather than conform to them.
Rev. Steve Mclaine preaches on the practical edges of Christian living. He has taught on forgiveness through the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, urging the congregation to lay down the heavy rocks of unforgiveness they carry in an imaginary backpack. He has preached on the Canaanite woman in Matthew 15 and the persistence of simply crying out, Lord, help me, even when heaven feels silent. He has worked through Romans 12:9-21 on genuine love, calling the congregation to be present with those who weep and to overcome evil with good.
Visiting preachers have included Rev. Scott Shaffer, director of North Hills Community Outreach, who preached on the miracle of the five thousand and the abundance God provides through ordinary generosity. Jayme Graham preached on awareness of God's presence in everyday life, asking where the congregation had seen God that week. Rev. Peg Bowman, the longtime associate pastor of the South Hills Partnership, gave her final sermon at Fairhaven in June 2026, reflecting on 1 Corinthians 13 and the truth that God's very nature is love.
Wednesday Bible Study and the Wednesday Zoom Option
Bible study meets at Fairhaven on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. The studies have ranged across the Gospel of Matthew, the parables, the book of Romans, and the Old Testament narratives that frame the lectionary. Anyone interested in joining from home can contact the church office to receive the Zoom link.
Recent series have included a careful walk through the Parable of the Sower, with Pastor Dylan drawing parallels between the spiritual discipline of cultivating a lawn at the parsonage and the patience required to grow disciples. Earlier studies walked through Romans 8 and the theology of suffering, tracing Paul argument that nothing in all creation can separate believers from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
A Building Built for Hospitality
Fairhaven's building is shaped by its willingness to share space. The upstairs sanctuary, with its stained glass windows and traditional Methodist appointments, hosts Sunday worship, weddings, and funerals. The downstairs Burton Hall, dedicated in 2000, is the working heart of the church's outreach. The hall is in use most days of the week.
Twice a week, Spanish-language worship services gather in the building, an extension of the church's long relationship with Spanish-speaking neighbors in the South Hills. Three times a week, Alcoholics Anonymous meetings fill the downstairs rooms. Daily Narcotics Anonymous meetings have become a quiet constant, drawing members and visitors from across the city. The Overbrook Neighborhood Safety Meetings, a local postcard club, and a United Women in Faith chapter also call Burton Hall home. The church is, in the words of its own history, a community meeting place.
The technology supporting the building has been modernized in recent years. An online Yamaha audio mixer system, a wall-mounted camera, and an Alfatron HDMI matrix route video and audio between the projector over the sanctuary, a monitor facing the choir loft, and screens in Burton Hall downstairs. The upgrades have made it possible to livestream Sunday services and to record sermons for an archive that goes back several years.
The Free Hot Meal on the Last Sunday
On the last Sunday of each month, Fairhaven serves a free hot meal at 4:30 p.m., open to all comers from the neighborhood and beyond. The meal is one of the most visible ways the congregation puts its Methodist identity into practice. Members cook together in the kitchen, set up tables in Burton Hall, and sit down with whoever walks through the door. There is no requirement to attend worship, no paperwork, and no charge.
The monthly meal grew from the same impulse that built the outdoor food pantry. Living Stones Community Dinner, a separate ministry, also provides a free lunch on the first Thursday of every month at 1 p.m., coordinated through the same network of volunteers. Election Day brings a soup and lunch fundraiser hosted by United Women in Faith, with eat-in and take-out options.
The Outdoor Food Pantry
Outside the church, the Fairhaven food pantry stands as a small wooden structure stocked with non-perishable food and hygiene items, available to anyone who needs it. The pantry is restocked continuously through member donations, and members are encouraged to pick up an extra item or two every time they buy food for themselves. The pantry is heavily trafficked, a fact the church does not apologize for. In a season of SNAP benefit disruption across Allegheny County, the visibility of small outdoor pantries has only grown.
Food pantry donations are an ongoing ministry. Members are asked to bring granola bars, crackers, disposable razors, and similar items to church on Sundays. For those who prefer to let someone else shop, twenty-five-dollar Aldi gift cards are also available. The pantry is one of the simplest and most direct ways the congregation cares for its Overbrook neighbors.
Blessing Bags, Christmas Store, and the Back-to-School Dollar Sale
Beyond the monthly meal and the standing pantry, Fairhaven members support a handful of seasonal and partnership-wide ministries. Blessing bags are small kits assembled by the congregation for people experiencing rough circumstances on the streets. The Annual Christmas Store, held in early December, opens a discounted shopping experience for neighbors who are nominated by partner organizations.
Each summer, the partnership hosts the Back-to-School Dollar Sale at Hilltop UMC, an annual mission that offers new and lightly used clothing, shoes, and school items for one to two dollars. The sale is coordinated across the South Hills Partnership, drawing families from across the area. Members also contribute to the Spencer UMC Bi-Annual Rummage Sale, which raises funds for mission outreach and United Methodist Women.
The South Hills Partnership and Shared Ministry
Fairhaven is one of six United Methodist congregations in the South Hills of Pittsburgh that have shared pastoral leadership since 2005, when the Conference first proposed the partnership of five churches sharing three pastors. A sixth church joined in 2012. Under this arrangement, pastors rotate among the partner churches, and the congregations cooperate on ministry projects, fellowship events, and shared mission giving.
Recent partnership events have included the Annual Charge Conference, where members gather to reflect on the past year, prepare for the next, and meet the district superintendent. The Annual Gala Fundraiser, the largest fundraiser of the year, brings the partnership together for an evening of dinner, live and silent auctions, and fellowship, often held at a local country club. The Jumonville Day and Fall Festival, held at the historic Jumonville retreat center, is a family event featuring trunk-or-treat, carnival games, pumpkin decorating, crafts, face painting, a photo booth, live music, and a potluck lunch.
Through the partnership, Fairhaven shares in the ministry of New England Conference retirees who occasionally supply the pulpit and in the work of pastors such as Rev. Peg Bowman, who served as the partnership's associate pastor for twelve years before retiring on June 30, 2026. Rev. Bowman continues to preach occasionally as a licensed lay pastor and remains a familiar face at Giant Eagle, the Carnegie Farmers Market, and Carnegie Coffee Company.
The People of the Congregation
The congregation has reflected the surrounding community for more than a century. From the original ten members in 1881, membership grew to over four hundred by 1966, settled at 157 in 2011, and rose slightly to 164 in 2012. The church counts more than a dozen fourth- and fifth-generation members, families whose roots in the Fairhaven community stretch back to the earliest years of the congregation.
The lay leadership of the church is unusually strong. When a pastor is not available for a given Sunday, the congregation draws on a body of credentialed lay speakers who step into the role. The volunteer choir director has served for more than thirty years. The volunteer organist is in her fifty-fourth year of service. Richard Cummings, the church historian, leads building-history talks and answers questions about the stained glass windows that fill the sanctuary with colored light during worship.
The church is pastored by Rev. Dylan Parson, whose preaching voice has shaped much of the recent teaching at Fairhaven. Rev. Steve Mclaine preaches regularly within the partnership rotation. The pastoral team is supported by administrative members and fellow clergy within the South Hills Partnership.
Beliefs and Methodist Identity
Fairhaven United Methodist Church stands within the historic Wesleyan tradition. The congregation affirms the core Methodist doctrines of God's love made known in Jesus Christ, the work of sanctifying grace in the life of the believer, and the importance of social holiness, the practice John Wesley called watching over one another in love. Pastors frequently reference Wesley's insistence that Christian faith cannot be passive, that the gospel demands a holy boldness willing to confront the patterns of the world.
Preaching at Fairhaven regularly draws on the lectionary, with Old Testament narratives read alongside the Gospel epistle readings for the day. Recent sermon series have walked through Exodus, Romans, Matthew, and 1 Corinthians, with attention to themes of forgiveness, persistence, the nature of God's love, the call to discipleship, and the reality of God's grace in the midst of suffering.
The congregation is explicitly open to all people who seek to grow in God's grace and love. The church's welcome statement affirms that, regardless of race, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, relationship status, or background, God loves you and so do we. Members of the community who speak other languages find a home in the twice-weekly Spanish-language services that share the building.
Weddings, Funerals, and the Use of the Sanctuary
The sanctuary, with its stained glass windows and traditional appointments, hosts weddings and funerals for members of the congregation and for those connected to the broader Overbrook community. The building is a frequent site for funeral services, and Romans 8:35-39, with its declaration that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus, is a common text at funerals held in the sanctuary.
The sanctuary and Burton Hall are also available for community use by outside groups. A local postcard club meets regularly in the downstairs hall. Neighborhood safety meetings have been hosted at the church. Members of the Overbrook community know the building as a place they can walk into for a meal, a meeting, or a recovery gathering.
Giving and the Life of the Congregation
The congregation supports its ministry through regular offerings and through online giving made available through Tithe.ly. Members can make a one-time donation or set up recurring giving through the Tithe.ly app or the church's giving page. Tithes and offerings underwrite the work of the church, including the pastoral salary, the maintenance of the building, the food pantry, the monthly hot meal, and the partnership's shared ministry.
The Annual Gala Fundraiser is the largest single fundraising event of the year. Held at a local country club, the gala features a live auction, a silent auction, and a community dinner, with members donating baskets, crafts, artwork, and services for the auctions. Proceeds from the gala support the operating budget of the church and the partnership's shared ministries.
Sermon Archive and Online Presence
Fairhaven livestreams Sunday worship services and maintains an archive of recent sermons online. The archive stretches back through more than a year of preaching, with full transcripts available alongside the recorded audio. Recent titles in the archive include sermons on Exodus 16 and daily bread, Matthew 18 and mutual accountability, the parable of the unforgiving servant, the Canaanite woman's persistence, Jesus walking on water, the wheat and the weeds, Romans 12 and overcoming evil with good, the binding of Isaac, the feeding of the five thousand, and 1 Corinthians 13 on love.
Visitors who want to know what worship at Fairhaven feels like can listen to a recent sermon before attending. Members of the congregation who are traveling, ill, or otherwise unable to attend in person can keep up with the week's teaching through the livestream and the written transcripts. The archive is a way the church extends its reach beyond the walls of the sanctuary on Saw Mill Run Boulevard.
Looking Out from Saw Mill Run Boulevard
The members of Fairhaven United Methodist Church are fond of saying that the building is a community meeting place. They mean it literally. On any given week, the downstairs hall may host an AA meeting on Monday, a Bible study on Wednesday, a recovery meeting on Friday, a Spanish-language worship on Sunday morning, and the free hot meal on the last Sunday afternoon. The upstairs sanctuary, meanwhile, holds its single Sunday worship at 9:30 a.m., with stained glass throwing color across the pews and the volunteer organist in her fifty-fourth year providing the music.
It is a congregation that has learned, over 145 years, how to keep showing up for its neighbors. The Methodists who first gathered in a Baldwin Township schoolhouse in 1881 would likely recognize the impulses that animate the church in 2024, the welcome offered to whoever walks through the door, the willingness to share what little the congregation has, the conviction that the gospel of Jesus Christ is good news worth preaching in season and out of season. The building on Saw Mill Run Boulevard has stood through two world wars, a Depression, decades of neighborhood change, and the long season of life in twenty-first-century Pittsburgh. The people inside it are still finding ways to be the church for Overbrook.