One Presbyterian congregation lost its building to a fire two years ago.

At about that time, another congregation had endured splits and lost its entire pastoral leadership.

Neither church initially was looking for changes to its basic operations.

But members of both congregations say those disasters eventually became a blessing because, in the process, they found more than a solution to their collective woes. They found "family."

In November, members of Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church voted to unite with New Hope Presbyterian Church, an amalgam formally known as New Covenant Presbyterian Church. It is on Grandview Avenue in Monroeville, and the move was one that church members consider to be less a business issue than a mutual adoption.

Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which in 2007 had about 120 members, began in 1937 as part of the then-nascent Orthodox Presbyterian Church, which had broken away from the larger Presbyterian church of that day over what it considered to be intolerable theological liberalism.

Originally located in Oakland and later in Point Breeze, Covenant Orthodox held its first services on Easter 1946 at its longtime site on Graham Boulevard in the Blackridge neighborhood of Wilkinsburg.

Its educational programs were well regarded. It sponsored a two-week vacation Bible school every June during its heyday. In 1957, it spawned what is now known as Trinity Christian School, which was housed in the church basement until it moved into its own building, then in Penn Hills, in 1971.

Upon the 1976 retirement of the late Rev. Calvin K. Cummings, the leonine founding pastor, Covenant Orthodox went through a succession of pastors until 1989, when it called in the Rev. John W. "Jack" Wilson. He had been associate pastor at First Reformed Presbyterian Church, a Penn Hills congregation affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America, another breakaway sect whose best-known figure was the late Rev. D. James Kennedy.

The Rev. Wilson is the pastor of New Covenant Presbyterian Church. He keeps a bobblehead doll of the Pirates shortstop -- his namesake -- in his office. He earned a music education degree from Duquesne University before attending Pittsburgh Theological Seminary and occasionally plays piano for services.

Covenant Orthodox's Blackridge building was destroyed by fire in February 2007. The Rev. Wilson said authorities believe "it was an instant water heater malfunction." The church initially moved services to the library at Trinity Christian School, now in the former Forest Hills Middle School, then switched that summer to the chapel at Beulah Presbyterian Church in Churchill.

The monetary damage to the Graham Boulevard edifice was never calculated, though the church received an $850,000 settlement from its insurance company. The Rev. Wilson said the church fully intended to rebuild.

New Hope, affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in America, began in 1981 with more than 80 former members of Hillcrest United Presbyterian Church in Monroeville. Members met in various buildings until 1984, when the church purchased the former Jordan Elementary School, where New Covenant is today.

A 1997 addition doubled the size of the facility, adding a multipurpose room, kitchen, restroom and offices. The sanctuary holds about 400 people.

But about five years ago, New Hope began experiencing leadership conflicts, said Rick Schroeder, of Plum, then a ruling elder at that church. It resulted in a number of splits and a drop in weekly attendance from nearly 300.

Three years later, it found itself without any pastoral leadership when the senior pastor, after beating colon cancer, accepted a call to another congregation. Weekly attendance dropped to below 100.

"We were very concerned about being able to maintain the property and properly compensate a full-time pastor," said Mr. Schroeder, now a ruling elder at New Covenant.

While the church's ruling elders preached regularly in the interim, the congregation employed guest pastors to conduct monthly communion services because, in the Presbyterian tradition, only ordained Presbyterian ministers are permitted to officiate at such services. The Rev. Wilson was invited to perform communion in December 2007.

At that time, Beulah officials asked Covenant Orthodox to make alternate plans for Easter, fearing parking problems with two congregations meeting on the property. The Rev. Wilson contacted Mr. Schroeder, who had been an elder at First Reformed when the Rev. Wilson was the associate pastor, to inquire about joint worship.

With one church needing a pastor and another needing a building -- well, why not join forces? The congregations' respective sessions -- boards of elders -- met together to ponder the idea.

From the start, Mr. Schroeder said, they clicked.

By this time, both churches were facing major decisions.

New Hope had formed a pulpit search committee and identified a potential pastoral candidate.

Covenant Orthodox was "on the verge of signing contracts" to rebuild, the Rev. Wilson said. Original estimates were $2.3 million but were scaled down to $1.6 million -- still more money than the Covenant congregation believed it could afford.

To Steve Gabrielse, who had joined Covenant Orthodox in 1957 and served as an elder, the next move was obvious.

"Here, we were essentially being offered a building," said Mr. Gabrielse, of Murrysville, now an elder with New Covenant.

"[It was as if God was saying,] 'You want to know how to finance a building? I'll give you one.' "

Dawn Owen, of Murrysville, had a special reason for seeing the churches come together.

After her husband, Jeff, graduated from law school at Ohio State University in 1986, they returned to the Pittsburgh area. Mrs. Owen had grown up in Covenant Orthodox and her brothers, Doug and Dan VerHill, were still members. The Owens began attending Beulah Presbyterian, where Mr. Owen had grown up. They stayed for 10 years.

When they became dissatisfied at Beulah, the Owens decided to visit New Hope on the recommendation of friends. The connection was immediate; he now serves as an elder at New Covenant.

"I was excited with the prospect of worshipping with my family again," Mrs. Owen said.

The two congregations embarked on a six-week trial of joint worship to see whether a merger would be in everyone's best interests. With the trial considered a success, the Covenant congregation overwhelmingly voted in August to leave the Orthodox Presbyterian Church -- Mr. Schroeder said that both sessions believed it was the only option -- and unite with New Hope.

Although the New Hope congregation unanimously supported the union, the initial trial didn't sit well with some members of the Covenant Orthodox congregation. That was partly because they had not been consulted and, according to Mr. Schroeder, and partly because they just didn't like New Hope.

"We made a mistake," the Rev. Wilson conceded. "A lot of people were upset with the process and never accepted our apologies."

He estimated that about 30 Covenant Orthodox members eventually left, some sore over the process and others simply not wanting to leave the Orthodox Presbyterian Church.

"We needed more than the six weeks," Mr. Gabrielse added. "In many ways, it wasn't an easy decision. It seemed like a logical fit, but [change could be difficult] when you have such long and strong ties with the OPC."

With the fusion of churches came a cultural clash, albeit minor, which was solved easily. Covenant Orthodox always had held a Sunday evening service, but New Hope never had, so New Covenant began holding late afternoon services -- although the last Sunday of every month, it holds home groups instead.

In addition, worship services were conducted differently in the two assemblies, with Covenant Orthodox being more liturgical and New Hope more contemporary.

"Our church had done praise songs, [so] it was a huge change for them," Mrs. Owen said.

To make the Covenant Orthodox members more comfortable, Mrs. Owen said, "we've included more liturgy and we sing a psalm" -- the latter a long-standing tradition in Reformed worship.

"Most other things we saw as complementary," the Rev. Wilson said. "They had more of an interest in evangelism than we had; we had a little more emphasis on Christian [education] in the church than they did."

So many Covenant Orthodox members became teachers in the new church.

"They were better at small groups, home groups, young adult groups," the Rev. Wilson said.

In addition, "their building had everything we were talking about in a new building," the Rev. Wilson said.

"We wanted a larger sanctuary. We wanted to [build] a new fellowship hall with a kitchen. We wanted adequate Sunday school space. We had hoped for a conference room and a larger lobby vestibule for people to gather in."

Mrs. Owen's return to her childhood church wasn't all that had come full circle.

The Rev. John Frame, professor of apologetics at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla., and author of the book, "Evangelical Reunion," spoke at a program Nov. 8 and preached at the Nov. 9 morning service, the first official weekend of the combined church. The Rev. Frame is a son-in-law of Mr. Cummings.

What is now New Covenant Church can get back to "Cal Cummings' vision -- 'reaching the lost' [for Jesus]," the Rev. Wilson said.

The merger has breathed new life into members of the old Covenant Orthodox, said the Rev. Wilson, who had his ministerial credentials transferred back to the Presbyterian Church of America.

"It caught us by surprise. Without our noticing it, we'd become simple and inner-directed."

The four-member boards of elders also merged. Current attendance is approaching 200.

By numerous accounts, both sides have put considerable effort into making things run smoothly.

"There are no 'me-monsters' in this process," Mrs. Owen said. "Everybody gets an A-plus for working this out."

Added Mr. Schroeder, "It really has been like finding the other half of your family."

As for the Wilkinsburg site, the Rev. Wilson said the recently incorporated Jerusalem Church of God in Christ, a Pentecostal congregation now meeting in Indiana Township, has agreed in principle to buy it for $1. Its lawyer is doing a title search and that church already has the keys to the property. No closing date has been set.