During Bill Pindar’s eighteen-year tenure, the people of Old Pine completely remodeled the church making the ground floor wheelchair accessible, and installing an elevator to connect the ground floor to the magnificently redecorated sanctuary.
In 1976, Old Piners built the Old Pine Community Center at Fourth and Lombard Streets thereby providing the community and the church with much-needed meeting, study and recreational space.
The Friends of Old Pine supported renovations to Old Pine’s churchyard — the resting place of thousands of parishioners, many significantly involved in the life of the church, the city and the nation. In the early 1980’s, we added a memorial garden for the remains of those wishing to be buried in these historic grounds.
When the Presbyterian General Assembly celebrated its bicentennial in 1989, Old Pine played a major role in the planning and execution of all celebratory events. In 2006, Old Pine hosted the 300th Anniversary of the Presbyterian Church in the United States.
We, the people of Old Pine, are concerned with much more than bricks and mortar. Continuing our more than 200 years of community activism, we were among the first to respond to the problem of the homeless on the streets of our city. In 1982, we founded and, in the beginning, sheltered the Philadelphia Committee for the Homeless. In 1978, Old Pine started its Saturday for Seniors (SFS) program to provide a weekend hot lunch and take-home snack for the city’s elderly — a Philadelphia first. With no charge and no means test, SFS has become a vital weekend home for more than 100 older people from all over the city. Old Pine continues its commitment to serve the poor in the 21st century. We participate in a local Habitat for Humanity project in the Point Breeze neighborhood of Philadelphia, joining with other Presbyterian congregations to jump start development there and in surrounding blocks. In addition, we send members to the Gulf Coast to help the clean-up and rebuilding effort in the wake of the disastrous Hurricane Katrina.
Records from Old Pine’s history can be found by visiting Philadelphia Congregations Early Records Project.
Even more history about Old Pine can be found at the Independence Hall Association website.