Hebron's History

In 1848, on land donated to them by Samuel Duff and George Wilson, 44 men and women chartered Hebron Church. These charter members left Beulah Presbyterian Church to form Hebron because of their unswerving commitment to the worship of God through the singing of the Psalter. Though such commitment may appear unduly narrow today, their conviction to break away from Beulah, after the introduction of hymns in worship was so strongly held, that it wasn’t until the 1920s that hymns became a regular part of Hebron’s worship. In 1858, with the first structure, a $1200 two-story meetinghouse and basement schoolroom completed and paid for, Hebron became an official part of the Monongahela Presbytery of the Associate Reformed Church. Eight years later, with the merger of the Associate Reformed denomination and the Associate denomination to the United Presbyterian Church of North America, Hebron Church became Hebron United Presbyterian Church. Hebron’s first pastor, Dr. Henry McFarland, served both Hebron U. P. Church and the First U. P. Church of East Liberty (now known as Eastminster) for eight years. In 1866, when he was no longer able to maintain his rigorous schedule, Dr. David Barclay of Wheeling, West Virginia was called as Hebron’s first “full-time” pastor. Dr. Barclay served Hebron faithfully for forty-two years until 1909.

During Dr. Barclay’s tenure, Hebron Church grew considerably, requiring the purchase of additional land for cemetery use and the building of a new church building. True to their fiscally conservative roots, in 1882 a new building was begun through the public auction of the old building and its furnishings. In 1884 the new $4000 edifice was completed and paid in full. In 1890 and 1912 two additional acres of land were purchased to complete the present four-acre site. In 1945 an additional educational building was built adjacent to the 1884 sanctuary. Then, on July 25, 1954, a new sanctuary construction project was begun. Within a year it was completed and dedicated. All worship services were held in this new sanctuary, while the old sanctuary on the opposite side of the property served as an additional educational building and location for special services and certain weddings. This arrangement served Hebron well for a decade until February 24, 1965 when the old sanctuary was completely destroyed by fire. Fortunately, however, the attached educational unit was not damaged at all. A building committee was quickly composed of 15 members who began working diligently to design and fund a new educational unit on the former sanctuary site. On October 10, 1965 the congregation dedicated its second educational unit.

From 1910 to the present, Hebron has had seven additional “senior” pastors: McConaughy, Voight, Spencer, Irwin, Brown, Giles and Rehberg; and 10 assistant and associate pastors. Rev. John McConaughy’s 32-year tenure (1910-1942) was marked by both giant leaps forward and titanic financial struggles brought on by the Great Depression. Much occurred during Rev. McConaughy’s tenure to insure the integrity, viability and long-term stability of Hebron’s ministry. With the emergence of the post World War II era and the populating of Penn Hills, Hebron enjoyed rapid growth. Under the pastoral leadership of Rev. H. Walton Voight (1943-1955), Dr. Donald Spencer (1956-1961), Dr. Donald C. Irwin (1962-1966) and Rev. W. Malcolm Brown (1966-1982), Hebron emerged as a major suburban church serving the needs of its over 1400 members. In the late 1970’s and throughout the ‘80s, Hebron experienced a significant decline in membership due to a variety of factors from demographics to the culling of the membership rolls. In 1988, during Rev. J. William Giles tenure (1982-1988), Hebron’s membership had declined to its lowest level in decades, signaling a need for renewal. Thankfully, that renewal has been evidenced over the past decade. In every category and by every measure, Hebron is on the move serving Christ in an ever-increasing way.

Until the 1990’s, few capital improvements and no additional building projects had been undertaken by the congregation. Beginning in 1992, with an expanded ministry program and increasing need for refurbishment, substantial monies and effort were expended on our four million dollar structure. In October 2003, the congregation dedicated a new, freestanding 9,500 sq. foot multipurpose structure named the Barclay Building. Named for Hebron’s first full-time pastor, the million dollar Barclay Building is used for Sunday morning worship, the “Rock”- Hebron’s junior and senior high ministry, Youth Club, Confirmation, Christian Education, community activities, and recreation to name a few of its functions. In addition, extensive redevelopment has been completed on every area of Hebron’s main building. This includes the building of an entire Worship Wing, childcare area, expanded church office facilities, and new heating and cooling system for the sanctuary building. Taken together the congregation of Hebron Church has expended nearly one and a half million dollars in improving the facilities God has given to us to meet the spiritual needs of people throughout the Eastern suburbs and beyond. While the size and condition of bricks and mortar is not always representative of the spiritual life of a church, and should never become the highest of priorities; for Hebron, historically and contemporarily, the rise in spiritual fervor has equated with a corresponding rise in the level of attention given to all aspects of ministry, including the facilities. We, who are the recipients of the faithfulness of Christ and His Body throughout the past century and a half, seek to follow the same path of faithfulness as we minister in His name.