Sunday Reflections: Swissvale Pastor to Retire

By Dai Morgan, Pastor of Living Spirit Ministries in Swissvale

Dr. Jay Hollinsworth will be retiring as pastor of on June 30. Rev. Hollinsworth has been the pastor at Swissvale Presbyterian for eight years.

Presbyterian Church is located at the corner of Church Street and Monongahela Avenue in Swissvale. It was founded by Scotch-Irish residents of the region in 1870. The lot on which the church is situated was farmland donated by James Swisshelm.

Swissvale Presbyterian Church is one of the oldest, longest-continuing congregations in the region. It has been a witness to and participant in the life of Swissvale Borough from the beginning—indeed, the church predates the chartering of the borough by a quarter century. As evidence of the church’s stability, Rev. Hollinsworth points out that he is only the seventh minister to serve the congregation in its 142-year history. 

Jay grew up in Titusville, Pennsylvania, where his family was well established in the community. His grandfather operated an oil drilling and contracting business. As a young man, Jay also worked in the northwestern Pennsylvania oil industry, where he acquired an encyclopedic knowledge of drilling equipment, including the machinery of the late nineteenth century. In his early twenties, Jay worked as a consultant, researcher and tour guide for the Drake Oil Well Museum. 

His work at the Drake Museum was especially fulfilling because it combined his knowledge of the Pennsylvania oil industry with his love for studying history. In fact, these two interests continued to intertwine as Jay worked for the Quaker State Oil Company while pursuing his undergraduate degree in American History, from Eastern University, near Philadelphia.   

Jay’s early religious influences were a hodgepodge. He has family roots in Methodism. His parents were Episcopalians. As a teen, he attended the Roman Catholic parochial high school. However, though he was always interested in religious studies, it was the influence of a pastor at Titusville Presbyterian Church that inspired Jay’s interest in the ministry.

After graduating from Eastern University, Jay enrolled in Princeton Theological Seminary. Rev. Hollinsworth believes that Princeton provided an excellent foundation for ministry, combining, at that time, seasoned professors and a practical approach to ministry. He was well prepared by the seminary’s fieldwork program, being exposed to both intercity and rural ministry. In addition, he was greatly influenced by renowned preacher, David Waterwulder, while working as a student assistant pastor at Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church, in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

Upon completing seminary, Jay was called as an assistant pastor to the historic Neshaminy-Warwick Presbyterian Church in Bucks County, where he served for five years. Because of a family need to be in Western Pennsylvania, Jay moved back to this side of the state and accepted a call as pastor of Bethesda United Presbyterian Church in Elizabeth. He served there for nineteen years. He next moved to serve two congregations, one after the other, which required interim pastoral supply. Having fulfilled those obligations, in 2004 he answered the call to come to Swissvale Presbyterian Church.

Known and beloved by his congregants as “Pastor Jay,” Rev. Hollinsworth has led Swissvale Presbyterian Church in intentional mission and ministry to the community. He has been active in the Swissvale clergy association and participated, with the congregation, in local ecumenical programming. He has been a faithful pastor and inspiring preacher. When asked to summarize his goal for his ministry in Swissvale, Rev. Hollinsworth said, “To be a blessing, have the church be a blessing, show caring and extend Christ to each other and the community.”

Jay will continue to reside in Monroeville with his wife Lois, a music teacher in the Pittsburgh School District. After taking some time to review and evaluate his forty years of ministry, Rev. Hollinsworth thinks that his future is open to many possibilities: writing, travel, and part-time ministry. Of course, there is always Lois’s chore list. In the immediate future—this July—Jay and his son, Seth, will be going on an adventurous trip to fish for Atlantic Salmon in Newfoundland. 

Jay Hollinsworth is a good friend and valued colleague. I would like to express my best wishes and prayers to Rev. Hollinsworth for a satisfying and productive retirement.