CENTER TWP — Trinity Lutheran Church, 120 Sunset Drive, will mark its 100th anniversary, and Thelma Houston Baldauf of Butler, 85, the oldest active baptized member of the church, has been around for nearly all its history.

In contrast, the Rev. Joel Benson has been Trinity Lutheran's pastor since February. He took over for the Rev. Tom Perotti, who had been pastor for 15 years. Benson, originally from Erie, had been pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Gibsonia.

“I came in toward the end of planning for the anniversary,” said Benson. “I sort of jumped right in, learning the names and the history. It was an interesting way to come to the congregation.”

Polly Bachman, chairman of the church's celebration committee, said the church was formed on Sept. 1, 1912, with 35 members.

Trinity Lutheran's congregation now numbers nearly 1,000.

The original church was at the corner of Third and Brady streets in Butler said Bachman. “It's now the site of the parking lot of Butler Hospital.

“It moved here in 1957,” said Bachman of Trinity's present location. “It outgrew where it was, and it was suggested a Lutheran church move north of town. All the other Lutheran churches were in Butler.”

The church was given five acres at its present location, said Bachman, by Mr. and Mrs. John Campbell, who owned Clearview Farms, land that now is the site of Clearview Mall.

“But first they bought a building at Sunset and Hendrick called Barney's, a former bar, for $16,000,” said Bachman. Services were held there before the present church building was constructed.

“My parents were members and started going to the church on Brady Street,” said Baldauf. “We kept going. Every place they went, we just followed.”

Baldauf said she was married in the Brady Street church in 1948.

Bachman said on May 15, 1960, the congregation broke ground for a new church building holding a sanctuary and Sunday school rooms, and on Christmas Eve 1960, the first church service was held in it.

On Dec. 19, 1980, an addition was dedicated. It contained a fellowship hall, kitchen and Sunday school rooms, Bachman said.

Finally, on May 4, 2003, a new sanctuary was dedicated.

The new sanctuary was decorated with some long-lost art from the old church building.

“When they moved from Brady Street out here,” said Bachman, “the building was sold to Prayer Church. They, in turn, sold it to the hospital.

“When the hospital bought it, they tore it down, obviously,” Bachman said, “but the stained glass windows from the old building were stored until 1985 when a member of the congregation found out they were going to be sent to New York to be auctioned.”

She said descendants of the original church's founding families were allowed to bid on the windows and all were reacquired for $15,000.

“You were told there were so many windows and, if you wanted one, you needed to provide the funds for them,” said Eleanor Anderson Smith, 73, of Butler, whose parents were members of the original congregation.

The windows were commissioned from the Hughes Stained Glass studio on Eau Claire Street in 1923, said Bachman

Bachman said the windows were installed in the sanctuary built in 1960, but when it came time to move the stained glass into the new sanctuary in 2003, the contractor transported the side windows but refused to move the “Good Shephard” window.

Bachman said 16 men from the congregation moved it to its present location behind the altar in the new sanctuary.

“These windows are the only things we have remaining from the original church. They are cherished,” said Bachman.

Bachman said the congregation has been marking the anniversary with charitable efforts. Those included the 100th Campaign where congregants bought candles for an anniversary cake for $100 a piece.

Bachman said the $6,000 raised will be divided equally between the Hunters Sharing the Harvest charity, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America's effort to buy a family farm and paying down Trinity Lutheran's mortgage.

Money from the Trinity Centennial Cents jar will be donated to the Butler Community Health Care Clinic.

“On Oct. 6, we will have an anniversary dinner for the congregation,” said Bachman. “And then on Oct. 7, there will be a service at 10 a.m. to which the public is invited.”

“The speaker will be Pastor Mark Russman of Vernon, N.J., the son of Tom and Sandy Russman, who are members of the congregation,” she said.

Baldauf said things have changed in her time with the church.

“The congregation has really grown each time we've moved,” said Baldauf. “We've got more young people, but the way we do things hasn't changed that much, just a little.”

Smith said, “Everything is much lighter, brighter, more modern. There are more things for the kids to do. They are more involved in the services, more so than when we were kids.”

“We sat in the pews and shut up,” said Bachman.