Life, Joys, Work of the Church

🎼Worship

Sunday morning worship is the heart of our multi-generational focus. Every week our sanctuary sees worshipers young and old praising God together, our semi-traditional style and blend of old and new music match this. We welcome children in our services, especially during singing, and have a weekly children’s sermon just for them.

During the summer we host outdoor worship in our ministry pavilion. Come for a more relaxed time of praise in God’s Creation and make the most of the beautiful weather.

We also have an intimate Saturday night gathering of prayer and worship in preparation for Sunday morning. All are welcome but do let us know if you plan on coming.

☕Fellowship

After the service Sunday morning, we host a Coffee Hour. This is a time to chat over coffee and snacks, catching up with friends and making new ones.

Once a month we sell “Mission Muffins” during this time, made by the kids to raise money for our mission partners. Muffins are $1 each or $5 for six.

We also make time for fellowship throughout the year, like at the annual Mug-and-Muffin event for the women of the church.

🍽️Food

There’s something sacred about sharing a meal together. Christ established the enduring sacrament of Communion while feasting with His disciples. Here at ERC we enjoy several special meals throughout the year, and they are yet another intergenerational opportunity.

Our Missions Dinners occur two or three times a year. Usually, roast pork in the fall and corned beef in the spring (with the occasional winter chicken for good measure), our members prepare the meal, and our teens wait the tables. Everyone is welcome and we often fill tables with cheerful folks happy to be treated to some good food.

We also hold congregational potlucks and cookouts throughout the year. These are often celebrations of something specific and they are always great fun.

We’ve also had the pleasure of sharing several meals now with the local Turkish community, friends of our church.

🚶Walks

Walking is another great way to draw people together. Jesus walked with His disciples and even today we speak of walking with God. Our church participates in a few different walks throughout the year and always enjoys the community that comes as a result.

We participate in the CROP Hunger Walk, a fundraiser for Church World Service to help hungry people around the world and in our own community.

We also hold a Cross Walk each Good Friday, carrying a cross through our community in remembrance of Christ’s sufferings before we celebrate His resurrection.

The Memorial Day Parade is another “walk” we enjoy. We come together with our community to honor those who died defending our freedom, entering a float and marching through the village with the rest of the town.

🔨Work

Throughout the year we have several opportunities to grow together doing yardwork on the church grounds. We typically have a spring and a fall workday, when we prepare the property for the upcoming seasons (clearing beds, planting flowers, etc.). We also have different construction projects and maintenance jobs depending on the year. Our state-of-the-art ministry pavilion was completed was by hard working volunteers in 2019 (just in time for outdoor services during the pandemic).

🎄Holidays

Holidays are a wonderful reminder of God’s love for us and at ERC we love a good holiday celebration. Don’t miss the joy of worship on Easter Sunday or Christmas Eve when we gather in the sanctuary to celebrate that God sent His Son and that He triumphed over Death! There’s a sacred feeling too, at our Midnight Christmas vigil, our Ash-Wednesday service, and our break-of-dawn Easter Sunrise service (held at Horizon View Cemetary).

In addition to services, we host parties and events. Our Live Nativity is always an exciting night, and our Easter Egg hunt is great fun. We often have holiday parties and enjoy a special fellowship time to celebrate the day.

Even secular holidays are a time for community, with our Trunk-or-Treat and Parade Float.

🌟Special Events

There’s no end to our special events. Most are designed for the whole family; some are long established church traditions and others are brand new. We’ve done boat tours, movie nights, pool parties, and picnics. For more information on our upcoming events click here. We hope to see you at one of our events soon.