We must remain steadfast in our faith, worship only the one true God, and constantly seek to do His will. God has blessed us mightily. We pray, in the name of Jesus Christ, that we remain constant in the Word of God. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer, Oakmont, Pennsylvania, was organized in the year 1900 under the guidance of the Reverend Theodore Walz. Though pastor of a German-speaking congregation in New Kensington, Pastor Walz helped shepherd a small group of German Lutherans speaking English and meeting in a log cabin in Penn Township (now Penn Hills) near the intersection of Hamil, Poketa and Shannon Roads. With a nucleus of eight families, the newly formed congregation decided to establish a meeting place in Verona, where many more prospective members could be served. The first meeting place was in a second floor hall in the Crookston Building, above a furniture store. The following year, St. Thomas Episcopal Church vacated a small white frame church building located at Second and C Streets (now Delaware Avenue) in Oakmont. The small Lutheran congregation purchased the building from Jacob Paul, owner, for a reasonable sum of $2,000. On July 21, 1901, the congregation dedicated its first permanent home. The Reverend Theodore J. A. Huegli, who was later to serve as the first full-time pastor of the congregation, preached the dedicatory sermon. Charter members were W. H. Hegmann, M. B. Irwin, J. P. Knell, George Kemmler, John Schwarz, Henry Schmidt, George Heid, August Overbeck, Henry Renz, Charles Juch, James A. Hope, Theodore Walz, Jacob Ostein, Chris C. Kemper, and Ernest Reinhold. (Available records do not list the names of women and children. After only eleven years, the congregation outgrew the building on Second Street. On October 1, 1912, they purchased the church building erected by the Methodists in 1892 on Fourth Street (now High Spire Apartments) for $8,500 from the Methodist Episcopal Congregation. The two congregations shared the building until November of 1913 when the Methodists completed their new facility at Fifth Street and Maryland Avenue. On November 16, 1913, Redeemer Congregation took full possession of the property and held a dedication service. In 1929, a parsonage was erected on the lot adjoining the church building. The mortgage for the parsonage was paid off and a special Mortgage-Burning Worship Service was held on January 6, 1944, to celebrate the great blessing. After 43 years, the entire church property was free and clear of any debt. Ten years later, in 1954,a two-story addition was built onto the church building to provide additional Sunday School classrooms. In 1956, a piece of property fronting on Isabella Street and abutting our church property, was acquired with the thought of further expansion of our building. However, in subsequent years, it was decided to look elsewhere in the community for property and build a new facility rather than add onto the existing church building. On Christmas Day, 1957, Pastor and Mrs. Alfred Faulstick were having dinner with Dr. Jerry McAfee and family. The McAfees were members of the congregation at that time. After dinner, Dr. McAfee asked Pastor Faulstick to accompany him on a short walk at which time he pointed out property at Thirteenth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, which he felt would soon be available. With that walk, the dream for a new House of Worship was born. So, in 1958, 1964, and 1974, three adjoining parcels of land were purchased, providing a lot approximately one square acre at the northwest corner of Pennsylvania Avenue and Thirteenth Street in Oakmont. Plans got underway to erect a new church building at that location.