A Brief History
Grace Lutheran Church began its ministry as a Sunday School in a storefront at the corner of Garfield Street and Chandler Avenue in the West End Morrellville section of Johnstown in 1891 with twenty members. Church services began there in 1892. After moves to several other storefronts and with an increase in membership to forty, construction was begun on the current church building at the corner of Chandler Avenue and Sheridan Street in 1896. Over time additions were made, including a finished basement, Sunday School rooms, and a second floor.
Many pastors have served at Grace, including the Reverends F.S. Shultz, Edward Keller, William Good, James Brosius, Robert G. Whisler (our Pastor Emeritus), Theodore Pelikan, Timothy Knauss, Katherine Douglass, and Elizabeth Brashear. Grace is currently served by Pastor Nancy L. Hoover.
Besides supporting God's ministry in our own congregation, Grace provides support for the West End Food Pantry, the UPJ Campus Ministry, Camp Sequanota, the ELCA World Hunger Fund, Gettysburg Lutheran Theological Seminary, the Kenya Evangelical Lutheran Church, ELCA missionary to Singapore Jeffrey Truscott, and Allegheny Lutheran Social Ministries. In addition, our Social Ministry Committee provides help to those of Grace who are in need, and the congregation provides scholarships for young people wishing to attend Camp Sequanota. We have also established the Reverend Robert G. Whisler Memorial Scholarship Fund in honor of our Pastor Emeritus, who served Grace for over forty years, and the scholarship is awarded annually to members of the congregation pursuing higher education. Several community groups, including the West End Improvement Group, use our facility for their meetings.
We are a congregation of the Allegheny Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).
Our mission is to serve God through serving others and to share the love of God in our church, our families, our neighborhood, and around the world. We believe in the Holy Trinity--God the Father, Jesus Christ, His Son, our Lord, and the gift of the Holy Spirit.
