FELLOWSHIP
We offer a variety of programs to foster spiritual growth and fellowship.
The Women’s Ministry group meets once a month for luncheon followed by a devotional and a program of interest. The Women’s Ministry also sponsors fellowship events to raise money for church programs. Other activities include a Christmas Boutique featuring home baked foods, local crafts, and holiday items; a card party in the spring, work with the Community Thrift Shop and outreach projects to a nursing home of the Reform Church.
The church has an active Pot Luck Supper program. Congregational members, their families and friends, gather on the last Sunday evening of the month for our Celebration Sunday service; to share in fellowship and comforting homemade food contributed by all who attend.
Book Group members of our congregation and the surrounding communities gather throughout the year to discuss thought-provoking novels and inspirational stories that provide a catalyst for spiritual growth and fellowship.
MISSIONS
Our ministries to the wider community and beyond are foundational to who we are as Christians and as members of the Community Church. We support others through the gifts of basic goods, time and financial resources.
Mission trips are taken every other year. In 2018 six youth and four adults traveled to Logan, WV and were rebuilding a home with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP). The Caring Hands Committee of the church prepares homemade soups and delivers them to those in our congregation who are homebound. Members of the church volunteer regularly to work in the Community Thrift Store, sorting and tagging clothes that are sold to those in need. The Scrip Program sells gift cards for everyday shopping needs; a percentage of the gift card purchase is paid to the church. We will soon be launching a Stephen Ministries – a lay leadership trained in pastoral care and grief support.
Recently, the church teamed up with Community Meals whIch is operating its Meals on Wheels program from our campus. Monday through Fridays hot lunches are packaged and delivered by way of dedicated volunteers to those who are homebound in Glen Rock and the outlying neighborhoods. Community Church is proud to have a hand in making this outreach possible.
The church gives to over 35 charitable organizations and missionaries around the world, and include; CROP Walk, Church World Service, Read to Know, and Habitat for Humanity.
Financial support is given to a variety of mission outreach programs, locally, nationally, and internationally. The money comes from the Church’s annual budget (supported primarily through member pledges) and through special offerings.
A third of the Mission Ministry budget goes to the various national and international programs of the RCA including Missionaries in Romania, Honduras, Oman, and Hungary. Other programs supported include the RCA Retirement Home, New Brunswick Seminary, Western Seminary, Covenant House, Heifer International, and the Warwick Conference Center.
Church members also give of their time and energy through the donation of basic goods. Non-perishable food items are collected monthly to assist the Center for Food Action. Working with other churches and the Girl Scouts, shoes that we no longer need have been shared with shoeless people around the world. Linens are gathered to be used by animal shelters. The Women’s Ministry and many other church-affiliated small groups engage in outreach projects.
The church also has a special offering that is taken once a month for designated programs. Some of these have included: Friends to Friends, St. Paul’s Community Development Corp., Valley Hospital Chaplaincy, Center for Hope and Safety, Spiral Arts, Camp Acorn, Eastern Christian Children’s Retreat, and Community Meals.
SUPPORT
COUNSELING & VISITATIONS
Personal counseling is available to church members for many areas of need. Pastoral Care is given to those who are ill, homebound, grief stricken, or dealing with personal struggle. The church is in the
process of starting up a Stephen Ministry to assist the Senior Pastor in providing counseling care for the needs of the congregation. In the meantime, we encourage you to set-up an appointment through the office of the Senior Pastor, Rev. Terrence O’Brien. Requests can also be made for home or hospital visits.
Please call the church office at 201-444-4625.