Wayne Presbyterian Church stands at 125 East Lancaster Avenue in the heart of Wayne, Pennsylvania, a stone sanctuary with a 108-foot steeple that has looked out over the community since 1870. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) congregation of more than 1,400 members is known for an inclusive, energetic approach to faith, a nationally recognized music program, and an extensive network of mission partners that stretches from a downtown soup kitchen to refugee resettlement in Philadelphia and hospitals in northern India.
Sundays at 9:30 and 11:00
Worship at Wayne Presbyterian is held in the sanctuary and shared online through a livestream on YouTube. Two services are offered on Sundays: 9:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. from September through May, and a single 10:00 a.m. service from late May through early September. Each service is led by one of the pastors and features the Chancel Choir, the Austin pipe organ, and on many Sundays a bell choir, instrumental ensemble, or chamber orchestra.
Greeters and ushers are stationed at each entrance to welcome visitors, and a Welcome Desk in the Connector is staffed for newcomers who want to know more about the congregation. Between services, a coffee hour in the Connector gives worshippers a chance to greet one another before the second service or an adult education offering. Childcare is available during every service, and children are welcome to stay in worship. "We also love kids in worship. No worries about noise, we all bring our joyful spirit."
The Austin Organ and a Sacred Choral Tradition
Music is at the center of worship at Wayne Presbyterian, and the instrument that anchors it is a four-manual, eighty-seven rank Austin pipe organ with 5,206 pipes. Designed in 1963 by organist Ken Simmons and Brant Duddy, the organ was dedicated in two concerts by Robert Baker and Robert Elmore. In 1985, a twenty-four rank antiphonal organ was installed in the second floor of the church tower, expanding the instrument's reach across the sanctuary, and a Van Bergen electronic carillon was later added. The organ console was replaced in 2003 with a custom state-of-the-art console built inside the frame of a 1982 four-manual Austin draw-knob console that the church had purchased from First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia. The project was funded entirely by participants in the music program, and Brant Duddy, the Austin representative who sold WPC the organ in 1963, has serviced and maintained it for its entire history.
The musical life of the church extends well beyond the organ. The Chancel Choir anchors weekly worship, while the WPC Chamber Orchestra, Selah Bell Choir, Te Deum Bell Choir, Children's Choir, and Westminster Youth Choir each contribute throughout the year. Choral Scholars and visiting soloists are a regular part of special services, and the church marks Bell Sundays, Quartet Sundays, Orchestra Sundays, and Jazz Band Sundays as recurring Celebrations on its sermon archive. John Grecia serves as Director of Music Ministries, with Ryan Fleming as Associate Director of Music and BettieAnn Brigham as Music Ministries Assistant.
The Wayne Oratorio Society
Since 1948, the Wayne Oratorio Society has drawn singers from across the Delaware Valley to perform major sacred choral works accompanied by professional orchestra and soloists. The Society's annual concert series, conducted by John Grecia, has become a mainstay of the region's choral life and an important outreach to the wider community.
Beyond the Oratorio Society, the Music Transforms concert series, led by Joe Kauffman, raises funds for the Cornerstone Christian Academy Orchestra, which serves students in Southwest Philadelphia. Music Transforms also supports music education programs at the S. Weir Mitchell Elementary School and at The Common Place after-school program.
A Campus that Grew With the Congregation
The church's physical campus has expanded steadily with the congregation. In 1870, the cornerstone of the original stone church was laid; that building, crowned with a 108-foot steeple, is now called Chapel Hall and still stands as the heart of the campus. By 1893 the congregation had outgrown the original structure, and work began on a new sanctuary with vaulted ceilings and stone walls capable of seating 600. Over the years the sanctuary was enriched with stained-glass windows, complementing the original Tiffany-style windows that adorned the space.
An education wing added in 1939 was substantially renovated in 2002 and now houses clergy offices, meeting rooms, and a spacious rehearsal facility. In the 1960s, a three-story Christian Education building was constructed next to Chapel Hall, providing classrooms, a reception parlor, an institutional kitchen, and the church library. In the late twentieth century, a light-filled Connector was built to join the sanctuary and education building into a single, cohesive space.
In 2013, the church acquired New Spirit Presbyterian Church in Southwest Philadelphia. After extensive renovations, the building reopened as The Common Place, a faith-based educational outreach and community center that now hosts an after-school program, a Saturday Enrichment Program providing academic support and Bible study, a youth orchestra, a summer arts and technology camp, a food pantry, and a produce garden that supplies fresh vegetables to local residents. Salt and Light Church, with approximately 1,000 members, now worships at The Common Place and works in conjunction with it to serve the spiritual needs of the community.
Children, Youth, and the Next Generation
Children's and youth ministries at Wayne Presbyterian span birth through college age and operate under the leadership of Kelli Masters, Director of Children's Ministries. The Sunday school program is the centerpiece of that work, with nursery care available during every worship service and Sunday school classes for children through twelfth grade. The Children's and Youth Committee is co-chaired by Debbie Rothkopf and Pam Clark on the children's side, with Sharon Levitch chairing the youth side. Julia Thompson serves as Children's Ministry Assistant.
For middle and high school students, Kyle Putnam serves as Director of Youth Ministries, joined by John Lindsay as Youth Ministry Assistant. Putnam, a graduate of Northwest University and Princeton Theological Seminary, came to WPC from a ministry in the Pacific Northwest and oversees confirmation, weekly youth gatherings, retreats, and service events. The youth ministry is paired with a vibrant Vacation Bible School; in 2023, VBS collected nearly 800 food items for two local food cupboards as part of its mission work.
For college-age young adults and others, Bethany Bray directs a separate Young Adult Ministries program that builds on her background in social work and nonprofit leadership. Bray, who was raised at Wayne Presbyterian before returning to the area with her family, holds a Master of Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.
The congregation's goal for its young people is straightforward: to ensure they not only learn about God but also experience God's presence in their lives.
Adult Faith Formation: Bible Studies, Small Groups, and Spiritual Direction
The Adult Education program at Wayne Presbyterian is built around eight weekly Bible studies and ministries, including Dr. Joe Modica's long-running Sunday Morning Bible Study Class. The Adult Education Committee, chaired by Whit Beverly and Rick Davis, oversees a spectrum of offerings that range from small learning groups to larger gatherings and meet on Sundays and throughout the week.
Other adult offerings include a Wednesday morning women's Bible study called "Word Before Work," led each fall by Rev. Katy Shevel. The Thursday Morning Men's Ministry is facilitated by Rev. Tim Pretz. Women have additional fellowship and service opportunities through WinGS, Women in God's Service, chaired by Courtney Bodnar, which coordinates Bible studies, sit-down meals, prayer shawl ministry, and the church's annual Women's Retreat. The men's ministries also support a Casserole Ministry, an Andrew Ministry that pairs members with trained peer ministers, and a Career Networking group.
Adults seeking deeper spiritual formation can work with Jeanne Kauffman, a spiritual director trained through the Kairos School of Spiritual Formation. Kauffman offers individual spiritual direction and guides individuals and groups through the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, including supervised training with Sister Karen Doyle, SSJ, and an eight-month practicum from Moravian Theological Seminary.
Forty-one Deacons and a Ministry of Compassion
Forty-one adult deacons and two youth deacons carry out the congregation's ministry of care and compassion. Drawing on the language of John 13:34-35, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another," the Board of Deacons is organized into a Congregational Services Committee and a Community Services Committee, with a third committee, the Deacon Compassion Fund, providing direct financial assistance to those in need. The board is led by Co-Moderators John Larkin and Carolyn Lolli, with Anne McCrary as Secretary and Youth Deacons Adam Bernholdt and Parker Bruhns.
Congregational Services include Emergency Support (meals, childcare, and transportation during illness or recovery), Flower Delivery (flowering plants delivered to over 70 members in nursing, retirement, and private homes during Christmas and Easter), Compassionate Visitation (organized calls and visits to over 70 senior and homebound members), a Prayer Initiative, monthly Birthday Cards for members celebrating 90 or more years, and Memorial Funeral Receptions. The Deacon Compassion Fund offers financial assistance not just to members of the church but to the general public at moments of acute need.
Community Services extend the deacons' reach into the wider Wayne area, including a clothing drive for the Outley House men's shelter and ongoing support for the Great Valley Food Cupboard, with a donation cabinet located in the Connector.
Faith in Action: From Wayne to Cairo
Mission and outreach at Wayne Presbyterian is organized under a Faith in Action (FIA) committee with five subcommittees: Local, Urban/City Lights, Global, Justice Advocacy, and Earth Care. Each pursues a specific set of partner relationships, and the church cultivates long-lasting relationships with each partner beyond financial support.
Local
Closer to home, the church supports the Wayne Senior Center, Surrey Services, the Interfaith Hospitality Network of the Main Line (part of Family Promise, which provides shelter to families in temporary crisis), Baker Industries (a workforce development nonprofit serving the disabled, recovering substance abusers, parolees, and the homeless), Main Line Mentoring, Gemma Services, the Main Line Refugee Resettlement Committee, the Radnor Township Civic Association, and the Great Valley Food Cupboard. The IHN hosting rotation, in which Wayne Presbyterian joins other Main Line congregations to host guest families for a week at a time, draws about 50 volunteers during each hosting week.
Urban
In Philadelphia, the CityLights Urban Ministry operates out of The Common Place at 58th and Chester Avenue under the leadership of Rev. Cean James. The church collects clothing and toiletries for Outley House, the city's largest men's shelter, with the Men's Fellowship delivering baked goods from Main Line bakeries to the Outley kitchen year-round. WPC also supports the S. Weir Mitchell School (enhancing its playground, library, staff room, auditorium lighting, and educational programs, including a chess team that has competed at the state and national level), the Sherwood Soup Kitchen (where volunteers help serve hot lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays), the Southwest Community Development Corporation, Cornerstone Christian Academy, Historic Bartram's Garden, and West Kensington Ministry.
Global
Internationally, the church supports the Protestant Center for Pastoral Studies in Central America (CEDEPCA), Water is Life Kenya, GROW (an ESL ministry in Northeast Philadelphia), a missionary family in North Africa, the Emmanuel Hospital Association in northern India (including the operating theater WPC helped build at one of its hospitals), God's Precious Children in Liberia (through missionary Sarah Hostetter, a former WPC mission director), the Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Kirkuk in Iraq, and the Evangelical Theological Seminary of Cairo, founded in 1863 by Presbyterian missionaries and now the largest Protestant seminary in the Middle East.
Justice Advocacy
The Justice Advocacy subcommittee engages members on gun violence (through Heeding God's Call), public education funding (through the Public Education Champion Fellowship Program of the PA Council of Churches), and hunger policy (through Bread for the World). Members are encouraged to write letters to federal and state lawmakers and to advocate for the positions established by the PC(USA).
Earth Care in the Life of the Congregation
In February 2019, the Presbyterian Hunger Program of PC(USA) certified Wayne Presbyterian Church as an Earth Care Congregation, recognizing a year-long effort to integrate creation care into worship, education, facilities, and outreach. Among the early initiatives were a professional energy audit, a switch to wind-generated electricity for part of the church's power, conversion of lighting to efficient LED bulbs, a three-Sunday adult education class titled "Our Call to Care for Creation," and the purchase of fair trade, shade-grown coffee for fellowship hours.
More recent projects include a pollinator garden of native plants on the church grounds, hosting a screening of the documentary "The Burden" about climate change and national security, reinstituting the use of glass cups and plates to reduce single-use paper products, and ongoing Sunday-morning Minute-for-Mission messages about the congregation's commitment to earth care.
Life Events: Baptism, Confirmation, Weddings, and Funerals
From baptism to confirmation, weddings to funerals, each milestone is part of "a sacred space where love, faith, and remembrance intertwine." Baptism is open to youth and adults who profess Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, as well as to children whose parents profess faith on their behalf. The PC(USA) Book of Order requires that presenting parents ordinarily be active members of the congregation.
Confirmation classes are held as a path toward full membership and walk participants through the elements of the worship service, the Apostles' Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. Quarterly New Member classes, coordinated by Cherese Akers and Rev. Katy Shevel, give newcomers a chance to meet the pastors and learn about the church's ministries.
Weddings take place in the historic sanctuary, with the church staff helping couples craft personalized ceremonies. Funerals and memorial services can be arranged through the church office, and the church maintains a Memorial Garden where members can purchase plots.
Leadership and Governance
The Session, the church's governing body, is made up of the pastors and all elected elders and typically meets on the third Tuesday of the month. Elders are elected for three-year terms, and the congregation also annually elects Deacons (14 adults and 3 youth) and Stewards, who count the weekly offering.
The Rev. Ryan Balsan is the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff. A Midwest native, Balsan joined WPC in 2024 from First Presbyterian Church of Ambler, where he served for thirteen years. He is a graduate of Penn State and Princeton Theological Seminary, has been active in the Philadelphia Presbytery, and lives in the area with his wife Jen, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and their four grown children.
Rev. Katy Shevel, who joined WPC in 2020, is the Associate Pastor for Congregational Life. She holds both an M.Div. and Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary and is a regular contributor to Presbyterian Outlook. Rev. Tim Pretz is a Pastoral Care Associate, a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist in Pennsylvania, and an ordained PC(USA) minister who recently retired as an Affiliate Professor of Pastoral Care and Church Leadership at Eastern University.
Cherese Akers serves as Congregational Life and Office Manager, the main point of contact for newcomers and prospective members. Mark Fabere serves as Chief Operating Officer. Wayne Presbyterian is also served by a Communications Manager (Nicole Veith), a Controller (Joy Collas), an Events and Publications Coordinator (Christina Sacco), a Facilities Manager (Alberto Urbina), a Broadcast Specialist (Mike Burnham), and Head Housekeeper Cathy Chandler, who has been on staff for more than two decades.
Stewardship, Legacy Giving, and the Good Shepherd Society
Wayne Presbyterian supports its ministry through a pledge-based stewardship campaign. The 2025 campaign, themed around Psalm 24, set a goal of $1.5 million in pledges to sustain the church's four strategic pillars: worship, growing, caring, and serving.
For members interested in long-term giving, the church maintains the Good Shepherd Society, established in 2005 to recognize those who have arranged legacy gifts to the Endowment Fund. The current endowment is approximately $5 million, modest for a church of Wayne's size, heritage, and mission, and the legacy giving program is designed to secure the long-term future of the church's ministries. Members can give online through the Shelby giving platform, set up recurring direct debit, text GIVE to 610-819-4483, give through the church's mobile app, or contribute by check, cash, or stock. A separate Deacon Compassion Fund offers targeted financial assistance to those in need.
The Nursery School and Wayne Presbyterian Kids
WPC operates a Nursery School led by Director Dana Arranz, separate from the Sunday morning nursery care provided during worship. The Nursery School, one of the church's longest-running outreach programs to young families in the Wayne community, has its own phone line (610-688-9696).
A Living Sanctuary on the Main Line
From a single stone chapel on a small-town hilltop in 1870 to a multi-building campus serving more than 1,400 members and an international network of mission partners, Wayne Presbyterian Church has continued to expand its ministry while remaining rooted in its historic setting on East Lancaster Avenue. Whether through the singing of the Chancel Choir, the conversation of a small group on a Wednesday morning, the laughter of middle schoolers on a youth retreat, or a meal served at the Sherwood Soup Kitchen, the congregation's life is shaped by the same conviction expressed on its Welcome page: a commitment to sharing the ministry of Jesus Christ through worship, learning, serving, and caring.