House Church is built on the worship model of the early Church, when Christians gathered in the homes of believers to pray, read scripture and hear the Word.
House Church at Grace is a worship alternative designed to draw members into deeper relationship with each other. Instead of just watching a service online, worshippers will connect (by phone or computer) in a small group worship "House." They actively participate and communicate with each other, whether by sharing in the readings or prayers, or just being present and joining in the group responses. The great thing is, this worship alternative doesn't leave anyone out (unlike streaming services); members who don't use computers can connect by phone.
Read what council member Eva Holzapfel has to say about her experience following her initial reluctance:
"Who wants to connect by phone or computer and worship together?" This did not seem like something I would be interested in so I did not respond to the question in the e-blast or GTY.
However, the phone rang Sunday morning at 9am with a request to join a computer/phone worship service at 9:30 as an experiment and would I participate? I found myself saying, Yes. Little did I know that this would be the start of a wonderful worship experience at my home with my Grace friends on a computer Zoom meeting.
Jon and Cathy Milleville were the worship leaders and, along with the Ficarellas on the computer and Shirley Sauerman on the phone, we had a wonderful worship experience. We could all see one another except for Shirley on the phone. Jon was able to bring up the bulletin on the screen for us to read and begin worship. (Since she doesn't use a computer, Shirley's bulletin is mailed to her each week.) We all participated in reading the lessons and prayers. Jon then got Pastor Melody's reading of the Gospel and the sermon from Facebook right on our screens. At the conclusion of the sermon we listened to Bradford play 2 hymns and we ended with the Lords Prayer. It was just like going to worship at Grace. Lay people doing the readings, the pastor doing the gospel and sermon and Bradford playing beautiful music. And I was there with my friends that I usually worship with. It was a very meaningful worship experience after all the separation from Grace due to the pandemic. It was so nice seeing everyone's smiling faces after so many weeks of stress and not knowing what to expect next and isolation.
Why was this such a meaningful worship experience?
It brought me back to having an important part of my weekly worship experience which has been lost to the pandemic.
It was great seeing the smiling faces of dear friends at worship.
It was nice to hear one of Pastor Melody's impactful sermons.
It was wonderful hearing Bradford's beautiful music.
I enjoyed participating in the service and hearing my friends participate.
It made me feel like I had gone to church.
It made me feel good.
I had done something positive for me in this very scary time in all our lives.
It is easy to participate. All you need is a computer or a phone and you are good to go. Nothing difficult or complicated that would prohibit you from joining. So if you are invited to join a computer/phone worship service say YES, you will be glad you did.
Yours truly,
Eva Holzapfel
We already have 7 families at Grace who have volunteered to host House Church gatherings online!
House Church will officially begin on August 9, and if you'd like to join a House you can register here.
House Church at Grace is a worship alternative designed to draw members into deeper relationship with each other. Instead of just watching a service online, worshippers will connect (by phone or computer) in a small group worship "House." They actively participate and communicate with each other, whether by sharing in the readings or prayers, or just being present and joining in the group responses. The great thing is, this worship alternative doesn't leave anyone out (unlike streaming services); members who don't use computers can connect by phone.
Read what council member Eva Holzapfel has to say about her experience following her initial reluctance:
"Who wants to connect by phone or computer and worship together?" This did not seem like something I would be interested in so I did not respond to the question in the e-blast or GTY.
However, the phone rang Sunday morning at 9am with a request to join a computer/phone worship service at 9:30 as an experiment and would I participate? I found myself saying, Yes. Little did I know that this would be the start of a wonderful worship experience at my home with my Grace friends on a computer Zoom meeting.
Jon and Cathy Milleville were the worship leaders and, along with the Ficarellas on the computer and Shirley Sauerman on the phone, we had a wonderful worship experience. We could all see one another except for Shirley on the phone. Jon was able to bring up the bulletin on the screen for us to read and begin worship. (Since she doesn't use a computer, Shirley's bulletin is mailed to her each week.) We all participated in reading the lessons and prayers. Jon then got Pastor Melody's reading of the Gospel and the sermon from Facebook right on our screens. At the conclusion of the sermon we listened to Bradford play 2 hymns and we ended with the Lords Prayer. It was just like going to worship at Grace. Lay people doing the readings, the pastor doing the gospel and sermon and Bradford playing beautiful music. And I was there with my friends that I usually worship with. It was a very meaningful worship experience after all the separation from Grace due to the pandemic. It was so nice seeing everyone's smiling faces after so many weeks of stress and not knowing what to expect next and isolation.
Why was this such a meaningful worship experience?
It brought me back to having an important part of my weekly worship experience which has been lost to the pandemic.
It was great seeing the smiling faces of dear friends at worship.
It was nice to hear one of Pastor Melody's impactful sermons.
It was wonderful hearing Bradford's beautiful music.
I enjoyed participating in the service and hearing my friends participate.
It made me feel like I had gone to church.
It made me feel good.
I had done something positive for me in this very scary time in all our lives.
It is easy to participate. All you need is a computer or a phone and you are good to go. Nothing difficult or complicated that would prohibit you from joining. So if you are invited to join a computer/phone worship service say YES, you will be glad you did.
Yours truly,
Eva Holzapfel
We already have 7 families at Grace who have volunteered to host House Church gatherings online!
House Church will officially begin on August 9, and if you'd like to join a House you can register here.