Members of 14 newly arrived Ambridge families got together in 1907 to start a church.

Primarily immigrants, they came from Pittsburgh, where they had worshipped at St. Michael's Orthodox or St. Alexander Nevsky Orthodox, drawn by jobs at American Bridge Co. With no Orthodox church in the brand-new town, they rented a hall for their first services and started pooling their money.

They bought property on Maplewood Avenue that summer and, in October, held the first services in the basement of what eventually would be Holy Ghost Orthodox Church.

The congregation will celebrate its 100th anniversary with services Saturday and Sunday, a reception Saturday night and a banquet Sunday afternoon. The leader -- heirarch is the technical term -- of the Orthodox Church in America, Metropolitan Herman, will visit and will perform the Sunday service, a Heirarchical Divine Liturgy.

Archbishop Kyrill, bishop of Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania, also will be on hand, as will nearly 40 other members of the clergy and other VIPs.

Lifelong church member Ron Markvan, who handled publicity for the anniversary, said the church had been a huge part of his childhood.

"Our lives centered around the church, not only for worship but also for social things," he said. The theme for the anniversary, in fact, is A Century of Faith, Family and Friends.

The congregation, which now numbers about 220, is expecting a strong contingent of visitors, especially former members who moved away when economic hard times hit Beaver County in the 1980s.

"There are a number coming back that we haven't seen for years," Mr. Markvan said. "People can renew old acquaintances and meet the hierarchs of the church."

Like so many other things in Ambridge, the church peaked in the 1960s and early '70s, and there are concerns about drawing new members and young people. He said they were still seeing new members, both Orthodox families moving into the area and people coming from other backgrounds.

Holy Ghost pastor the Rev. William Evansky said the anniversary comes at a turning point in the church's history. He said converts make up 20 percent of the congregation, and there is hope for church growth as development makes its way from the North Hills toward the Ambridge area.

That means drawing members with various backgrounds, rather than relying on the Eastern European stock that has sustained the church in the past.

"There's a transition going on in the Orthodox church from an ethnic tradition to a religious tradition," Father Evansky said. "We are no longer a Slavic parish alone."

But the pastor of 16 years said it was an enthusiastic, hard-working core group that has the church ready for that future.

"In the last 11 years, they have worked really hard renovating the church and the parish house," he said. "I think they've redone everything from the front door to the back door. It's gratifying seeing so many people who care so much."