In 1890, a member of the Wilkinsburg Reformed Presbyterian Church lost her hand. Unable to work and therefore unable to support herself, she applied for admission to the United Presbyterian Home in Wilkinsburg; but there was no room for her. Her plight came to the attention of the women of her church and served as a catalyst for action. The women petitioned the Synod to consider “the necessity of taking steps to provide a home for aged persons and an orphanage if found practicable.” At the same time, Mary McKee Morton of the Allegheny RPC asked her aged father, John A. McKee, to make financial provision for a home in his will. He left $5,000 to the Synod on the condition that a work be started within five years, and he died a month later. Fearing that the $5,000 would be lost because of inaction, the women again petitioned Synod in 1895. Synod’s response was to approve the cooperation between the women of Pittsburgh Presbyterial and Synod’s Board of Trustees “in the matter of establishing a widows’ and orphans’ and aged people’s home.” Soon it became apparent to the Trustees that it would be appropriate for the women to assume sole responsibility for the work and recommended the same to the Synod of 1897, which agreed. The Reformed Presbyterian Woman’s Association was chartered in March of that year and the doors of the Reformed Presbyterian Home were opened that same summer.

The founders envisioned a scope of service well beyond the care of aged persons. The predicament of a disabled woman had spurred the women into action, and their first petition to the Synod mentioned children as well. While their first step after incorporation was to open a home for elderly persons, their overall plan was broader. After 111 years of service, the original intent of the founders was fulfilled, however modestly, by the opening of Robin’s Nest, a child day care center, and establishing a Disability Ministry. The RPWA has now chartered and opened The Upper Rooms, an adjoining 35-unit apartment building.

The first annual report of the RPWA records the gift of 25¢ or of a dozen eggs with the same dignity that we accord a $1,000 gift today. Inflation is not the reason. Back when there was no public assistance, it was sometimes the poor who supported the poor. Today we have Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and Medicaid to assist in this denominational ministry; however, they are hardly sufficient. Public assistance may help keep the body alive, but it does not feed the soul. With help from RPM&M, the RPWA goes beyond the essentials and provides help in a way that those who are served feel the touch of Christ.

Three kinds of people started the RPWA: The Mary Mortons who had ideas and gave their time; the John McKees who were generous with their wealth; and the people who gave 25¢ or a dozen eggs. The same types of service are still needed today; and RPM&M is one way our entire denomination can share in this ministry.