First Baptist Church in Tarentum eager to rebuild after covid shutdown

The Rev. Felicia Brock moved to the Alle-Kiski Valley in late 2019 to start a new life as pastor of First Baptist Church in Tarentum.

Then covid-19 shut everything down.

“When you have a calling from God, you follow it,” said Brock, who relocated from Detroit. “God didn’t tell me that covid was going to hit. It was a struggle, but we are all eager to rebuild now.”

Brock, 52, was a lifelong Michigander, having earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan State University and her master’s degree from the University of Detroit.

A law degree followed, also from the University of Detroit.

Brock served part time as an associate minister at New Calvary Baptist Church in the Motor City before pivoting to Pennsylvania.

“The challenge has been how to rebuild when you have people who are now used to being at home,” Brock said. “We can’t wait any longer for them to allow me to do what they brought me the whole way from Detroit to do.”

With covid restrictions loosened, Brock has made it her mission to launch in-person services at the Third Avenue facility, along with programs to rebuild the church community.

Lenten lunches are offered at noon on Wednesdays as a way for parishioners and guests to socialize.

“We have soup and sandwiches, and it’s good fellowship,” Brock said. “We have to find a way to move forward.”

Outdoor services at Riverview Memorial Park are on the drawing board, along with vacation Bible school and church-funded summer sleep-away camp for area children.

“This is a big church, and it is empty all week long,” Brock said. “I want our social hall to be open for health clinics, blood drives and lots of other programs that would utilize this space and serve the community.”

Deacon Chris Clune, a member of the church since 1995, said Lenten lunches are drawing a nice crowd so far. The midday service is satisfying the mission to get people to church.

“Our goal is to keep everyone safe but also continue ministry,” he said. “This is a nice way to get people together while starting to get back to normal.”

Clune lauded church leadership for being diligent during the pandemic.

“Rev. Brock led a lot of that,” said Clune, of Lower Burrell. “She brought us into the online world.”

Under the strictest pandemic setbacks, Brock and her board implemented Sunday livestreams to reach people at their homes.

“I watched a lot of YouTube and Google to figure out how to offer services,” Brock said. “Our praise band put together music videos. And I taught myself how to string those into a complete worship with my sermons.”

The church building also was equipped with technology so that Brock could stream from inside the sanctuary on some weeks.

When covid cases dropped to levels where people could gather with masks, Brock hosted outdoor worship in the parking lot just to escape hosting services over a computer screen.

“The administrative board really stepped up and monitored everything as we worked through covid shutdowns,” Clune said.

Established in 1890 by a Tarentum merchant, First Baptist was a 12-person congregation that met in a rented hall. The first church, a wooden building, served the parish for nearly four decades.

Rapid growth that climbed to several hundred members required the construction of the current red brick church in 1927. The site is tucked neatly behind the Corbet Street business corridor and blends with the residential neighborhood.

Among the many rooms inside, there is room to restart programs that have included Bible study, Easter basket giveaways, Doughnut Sunday gatherings and canned good collections for the Allegheny Valley Association of Churches.

When Brock took over as church head in 2019, she had about 60 or so members that showed up on Sundays. Since covid, the crowd has dwindled to about half that.

With worship returning to in-person at 10:30 a.m. Sundays, Brock said she’ll maintain the livestreams on the church’s Facebook page and YouTube.

“Of course I want people here,” she said. “But people can be at home watching, too. It’s fine, as long as you’re getting the message.”