`Cooperating churches continuing to minister to West Hill residents`

By Jennifer Hall
Herald Staff Writer
For Cindy Swogger, it was a dream. Or what some would call a vision.

She longed to create a place for the children of Sharon’s West Hill to go after school. But as the Rev. John Trojak, pas-tor of First Baptist Church, pointed out, the Lord had His own vision for Ms. Swogger.

And out of that grew a neighbor-hood ministry — West Hill Ministries. “If God thinks He can use me then He can use all He can,” Ms. Swogger said.

“It’s a place to go that’s safe for after school,” she said of the coop-erative ministry housed in First Baptist. “It fills that gap between school and when parents get home. It’s a safe place and they can still hang out with friends.”

The ministry began in 1991 as a joint effort of First Baptist and First United Methodist Church. Eventually all four of the churches — including the Church of the Sacred Heart and St. John’s Episcopal Church — at the base of the West Hill, became involved. They decided to take advantage of their locations at or near the inter-section of West State Street and Irvine Avenue, plus their common belief in Christ and desires to do something for the people of the West Hill, especially children.

Ministry programs provide homework opportunities along with tutoring, plus games and activities based on Christian values, including Bible studies and other lessons. Music, with kids in mind, includes contemporary Christian selections.

The Rev. George Wareham, as-sociate rector of St. John’s, said the love of kids and a belief in their potential has driven the ministry.

“In today’s society, kids need help,” he said. “It’s not like in the past where you fed them three times a day, watered them and they bloomed. Today there’s lots of things to get kids off track.”

“A lot of churches come together for a community service and say ‘Look, we can all get along,’ ” Ms. Swogger said. “But we can say that we are The Church in our neigh-borhood.” The ministry operates on a shoe-string budget and is governed by a board of parishioners from each church.

Ms. Swogger, a member of Rev. Trojak’s church who is attending seminary, serves as the full-time director of West Hill Ministries, which at one time had a budget of only $500 for a year. The ministry receives no gov-ernment money but programs keep expanding.

“It’s amazing when you think about what’s going to happen next year,” she said, peering into the future with eyes that have wit-nessed the growth of the past.

The Hudson Charitable Trust donated five computers and two printers to the ministry. Others also donated computer equipment and software, an example of how busi-nesses and individuals have helped support the ministry through the years.

As many as 45 students come to the lab each week hoping to take a turn on the computers for home-work and fun.

“Kids from this area don’t necessarily have a computer in their house,” Rev. Trojak said. Ms. Swogger has had to be resourceful, turning part of the church into a game room that includes air hockey and a Sega video game system.

Facilities at First Baptist may also be used to house the school lunch program during the summer be-cause of construction at West Hill Elementary School. The school serves as the primary feeder for kids in the program.

The ministry will also be hosting Mercer County Camp Kids through the Sharon Lifelong Learning Council.

“Our building is in pretty big demand,” Rev. Trojak said.

The Rev. Myles Bradley, pastor of First United Methodist, said God’s spirit has blessed the minis-try and the churches have put aside their differences to present a unified witness for faith.

“It’s successful because it’s a pro-ject by a group of churches who really care about their neighbors,” he said. “It just seemed that this was a ministry that was ready to take off. I recognize that this minis-try will be almost unlimited as to what it can do as it draws on re-sources; it’s just a matter of which piece you bite off first.”

West Hill Ministries also offers adult computer classes for beginners, senior citizen programs, a clothing closet and a reading pro-gram.

“The programs have changed a lot through the years,” Rev. Trojak said. “We’ve really expanded our ministry this year.”

The reading program pairs adult volunteers with children. The pair read for about a half hour a week and, when they are finished, the child keeps the book.

The joint effort of the churches magnifies the work of each one, said the Rev. Daniel Kresinski, pas-tor of Sacred Heart.

“United, we are able to stand,” he said. “Each of the churches con-tributed to the community but we do more by working together. It’s a good witness to the community.”

Rev. Kresinski believes the pro-gram has created a “super church.”

“This super church unites all of us as Christians. Despite our differ-ences in doctrines, we all have a basic commitment to Christ,” he said.

Back to TOP // Herald Local news // Local news headlines // Herald Home page

Updated May 21, 9999
Questions/comments: herald@pgh.net
For info about advertising on our site or Web-page creation: advertising@sharon-herald.com