Two months ago, Pastor Ray Cunningham was perusing worn historical documents about Mount Washington Baptist Church, when he discovered a note that mentioned the existence of a time capsule buried in 1908.

The note said a copper box had been hidden within the cornerstone to mark the addition of a new building to the church, so Pastor Cunningham enlisted the aid of his father-in-law to run a metal detector over the stone. Sure enough, there was something there, and three weeks ago, a team of contractors already working on church repairs removed the box from its century-long home.

Based on the church documents he'd read, Pastor Cunningham had a rough idea of what was in the box, but he waited to open it until members of the congregation gathered for a service.

Yesterday afternoon, Pastor Cunningham led hymns appropriate for the occasion -- "How Firm a Foundation" and "Jesus Saves." The opening of the time capsule fell to brothers Art and Joe Bambraugh, whom Pastor Cunningham called "pillars of the church."

They cracked open the copper box, its bottom discolored from water damage, and slowly pulled out documents, describing the items to the people sitting in the pews.

Art Bambraugh, who is 83, and Joe Bambaugh, who is 80, were both born in Mount Washington and are lifelong members of the church on Sycamore Street. As they pulled out the items from the time capsule, including a 1908 list of the church's members and officers, the business card of the contracting company that built the church and a list of women's church groups and their members, the Bambraughs' decades of church membership showed.

They recognized names of relatives of people they knew from their youth, and mulled aloud about their memories growing up next to the church building.

The small copper box also contained pictures of church members, a hymn book and an 1893 version of the King James Bible. The brothers pulled out a Baptist teaching manual and minutes from two Pittsburgh Baptist Association meetings.

The church plans to archive the documents they discovered in the time capsule, and on Wednesday, they will return the copper box, with a different set of items, into the cornerstone. In 100 years, they hope a Mount Washington Baptist Church congregation will again open the time capsule. Art Bambraugh composed a letter to go along with his mother's Bible, which will be committed to the time capsule.

A picture of Anna Virginia Bambraugh from her 90th birthday party will also go into the time capsule when it is reburied this week, along with pictures of the current congregation and a letter from the church's current contractors, as well as other items Pastor Cunningham is considering.

Looking for more from the Post-Gazette? Join PG+, our members-only web site. You'll get exclusive sports content, opinion, financial information, discounts from retailers and restaurants, and more. Our introduction to PG+ gives you all the details.