Calvary Lutheran Church, at the corner of School Road and Old William Penn Highway, has been a recognizable landmark in Murrysville for more than 61 years. It’s a very distinctive open glass face that has been an impressive portal to the grandeur of the church inside. While religiously attending this church for more than 50 years with his wife Ruth, Bob Greer always felt that the flat wood doors distracted from the welcoming appearance of the front of the church.
Bob was so dedicated to his church that he wanted to make it even more appealing by enhancing its appearance with new entry doors in the vestibule and main church. To fulfill this desire, Bob bequeathed the funding to the church so that it could finally replace the old, flat doors with something befitting the architecture of the rest of the church. Losing someone you love is hard, but it helps when there is a perfect way to memorialize your beloved.
The Greer family, Pastor Dave Weeks, and the church board knew that finding just the right place to get the perfect doors was going to be the difficult part. They decided to work with Energy Swing Windows because of its strong reputation in the community for great quality window and door products. But also because of the stellar reviews, it receives as a company that truly cares about doing the right job for their customers. In October 2017, they met with Chris Saxton, an Energy Swing Client Consultant with fifteen years of experience to begin the process.
Chris listened intently to the family’s wishes regarding the design of the doors and simulated stained glass. He knew this was going to be a project that would take some time, but he knew the importance of what this door means to the family and what it will bring to the church. “Right from the first meeting with the Greers, I got to see how important these doors were to them and Mr. Greer. It was a given that I was going to help them with this. I set out to make this door everything they needed it to be. After all, it was going to be a memorial for someone who was loved very much. I’m honestly honored they chose us for this project.” He promised that he would help them create the perfect door that would honor Bob Greer.
Chris spent time creating mockups for doors and the custom designed specialty glass that is the centerpiece of the doors. Over many months, he met with the family and Pastor for approval. It took a few mockups and a few meetings to get it exactly the way the family envisioned it, especially with the scripture readings that are part of the glass. Chris offered his suggestions but took every request into consideration. He didn’t bat an eye when they would ask him to make a few changes here and there. The entire family was appreciative of patience and care he showed as they worked together to design the perfect glass for the church doors was outstanding.
Shortly after installation, the doors were dedicated during a brief ceremony during church services on Sunday, August 19. The dedication was attended by Bob and Ruth’s children, Tim and Allison Greer, Barb and Rich Kappel and Julie and Brian Duez., along with numerous grandchildren and even one great-grandchild. Energy Swing Windows owner, Steve Rennekamp was also present for the dedication.
“Our family would like to thank Energy Swing Windows, and especially Chris Saxton, for helping us through the decision-making process for the memorial doors at Calvary Lutheran Church,” Ruth Greer said, “they turned out so beautiful and I know Bob would be very pleased with the way things turned out. Your help was valuable in guiding us in the right direction happy. I want to thank everyone at Energy Swing for helping us memorialize Bob in this special way.”
At the dedication, Steve commented, “Everyone at Energy Swing is very honored that the Greer family entrusted us with this very special memorial to Bob. We knew that we could give them exactly what they wanted because of the degree of care and effort we take with every one of our customers. We are proud of our superb reputation in the community. While this had extra special meaning for everyone involved, this is the way we do business with everyone, everyday”
Energy Swing Windows provides the Pittsburgh area with the easiest-to-clean, most energy-efficient window on the market. Located in Murrysville, Energy Swing markets sells, manufactures and installs their products using only company employees – no subcontractors! Their unique swing window boasts the industry’s only true Lifetime Warranty, including glass breakage, with no exceptions and no fine print. In addition to windows, Energy Swing offers entry doors, storm doors, and sliding glass doors. They are the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2011 Westmoreland Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year, the Certified Contractors Network’s 2011 Company of the Year, and has been named a runner-up in the Pittsburgh Business Times 2015 Best Family Business. They are the first company to be a two-time recipient of the Western Pennsylvania Better Business Bureau Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics.