Two Lutheran churches in the South Hills have merged to create the new Peace Lutheran Church, at 2799 Old Washington Road, Upper St. Clair.

The new church conducts its services in the former Hope Lutheran Church building. That congregation merged in May with that of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Mt. Lebanon to form the new church.

The Rev. Jamison J. Hardy, who served both churches before the merger, is the first pastor of Peace Lutheran, which has 240 members.

The Our Savior building is for sale.

The Rev. Hardy said after it is sold, the plan is to use the proceeds to build a new church building on Peace Lutheran property. The historic Our Savior pipe organ would be housed in the new church.

The current building would be retained, although its use has not yet been decided.

The name of Peace Lutheran Church was chosen in a contest among church members to name the new congregation.

It was suggested by the Rev. Hardy's secretary, Kathy Stanis, of Bethel Park, who was awarded a $50 gift certificate.

"Our motto as we moved forward in the merger was 'We are excited about Christ; we are an evangelizing congregation,' and I tried to figure out a way to incorporate that into our new church,'' she said.

"Peace stands for,'' she said, "People Excited About Christ Eternally.''

The merger of the two churches, located seven miles apart, was undertaken to bring vibrancy back to their once-flourishing congregations. Membership dropped from close to 400 each in the early 1970s to slightly more than 100 each in the last few years.

Our Savior, on Country Club Drive, was created in the late 1950s as a merger between Pilgrim Lutheran Church and Grace Lutheran Church. The proceeds from the sale of Grace Lutheran were used to establish Hope Lutheran.

Members of Our Savior and Hope Lutheran began worshipping together in September 2007, going back and forth between the two locations. While the congregations voted on Oct. 28, 2007, to set an official merger date of May 15, 2008, they began worshipping solely at the current site Jan. 6.

The new church also reflects a change in mission to an evangelizing congregation, with more focus on Bible study and fellowship.

"For me, the change has brought an enthusiasm to the people. Fellowship between God's people is a central function of Christian faith,'' said the Rev. Hardy.

His "table fellowship'' of a Sunday morning breakfast in the church's entry at 10 a.m., before worship services, is about what he calls "relationship building over eating.''

"I intentionally scheduled it before church so it would continue afterwards. It creates a wonderful morning for people,'' he said.

Construction of a fellowship hall for such gatherings is on the list for either the new building or a renovated current building, the Rev. Hardy said.

The Sunday schedule varies. A summer worship schedule is in effect until Aug. 31 because the building is not air-conditioned.