Order Poinsettias for Christmas Eve

We are offering poinsettias for purchase to place in the sanctuary for Christmas Eve. They may be taken home after the last service Christmas Eve.

christmas poinsettias

Order your Christmas Poinsettia by completing the order form below and return it with payment to Jim or Anna Koehler (address and contact info is on the order form). 

Order deadline is Saturday, December 1st, 2019

$9.00 each

Download the Poinsettias order form here.

Order Flowers for Easter Sunday

In 2019, Lent begins on Wednesday, March 6 and concludes on Easter Sunday, April 21. As always, we offer you the opportunity to contribute to the beautification of the East Hills Moravian Church sanctuary for our services on Easter morning by ordering Easter flowers: tulips, lilies, or daffodils.

Please download the order form here. Deadline to order flowers is March 31.

easter lily

You can take your flowers home after the last Easter morning service and plant the bulbs in your garden where you can enjoy them for years.

Christmas Poinsettias for 2018 Available Now

East Hills Moravian Church is offering poinsettias for purchase to beautify the Sanctuary for Christmas Eve services. They may be taken home after the last service Christmas Eve.

Poinsettias are $9 each and orders must be placed by December 2nd. Order forms are in each Sunday’s bulletin, or you can download a Christmas Poinsettias order form here. (a new window will open when you click the link)
christmas poinsettias

Holy Communion and Unity in Christ

We believe in and confess the Unity of the Church given in the one Lord Jesus Christ as God and Savior. He died that He might unite the scattered children of God. As the living Lord and Shepherd, He is leading his flock toward such unity.

By means of His presence in the Holy Communion He makes our unity in Him evident and certain even today. The Ground of the Unity, Doctrinal Statement of the Unitas Fratrum or Moravian Church

world communion sunday

Christianity encompasses a broad range of belief – in understanding of God, interpretation of scripture, and stance on social issues. On some of the most emotionally charged of these issues, one finds Christians on opposing sides. So why does our primary Moravian doctrinal statement, The Ground of the Unity, confess “the Unity of the Church” when there seems to be so much evidence to the contrary?

The Bible teaches that common faith in Christ as Savior, rather than doctrinal agreement or
institutional integration, is the true foundation of Christian Unity. Diversity and unity need not be opposed to each other. As the Apostle Paul realized two millennia ago, persons of different genders, social classes, ethnicities, nationalities, and cultures can find solidarity in Jesus Christ.

Unity is based on believers’ shared relationship with their Savior.

For in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith. As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.Galatians 3: 26-28

World Communion Sunday began in a Presbyterian Church in 1930’s America as tangible expression of the essential unity of the church. It is observed the first Sunday in October every year. On this day of confession and recommitment, followers of Jesus “confess their share in the guilt which is manifest in the severed and divided state of Christendom,” and recommit themselves to “give evidence of and seek unity in Him with zeal and love.” (Ground of the Unity.)

Come In & Go Out

Last summer, Bishop Sam Gray led a program at Camp Tar Hollow called “Come In & Go Out,” focused on preparing ourselves for the mission field. The key takeaway of the week was that we must have a strong relationship with Christ before we are ready to go out into the world and be advocates for him. This program really stuck with me as I entered my junior year of college and faced my final summer before graduation. Although the Moravian church has always been a huge part of my life, I felt that I could grow my relationship with Christ and get more involved in the community. I reached out to mentors that I had connected with through years of camps, youth groups, and Sunday schools, asking about possible opportunities to get further involved in the church. This led to a mission trip to Haiti as well as the Try-Ministry Internship at East Hills.

I started my summer in Haiti to extend the love of Christ to two orphanages in the region. Imagine Missions is a home to nearly 80 kids and hosts a school for many more. We spent our time there installing a dozen ceiling fans in the church so they could get some air movement in the constant heat. Although the church service was in French, it was definitely exciting to see how involved and energetic they get about worship.

While Imagine Missions has been around for many years and is well financed through a network of churches in the United States, the second orphanage we worked at is not so fortunate. Grace for Orphans Ministry was started by an orphan who aged out of the system and, because of his caring nature, has had 18 children dropped off at his door. He preaches the word of God through his actions and was an example for our team on how we should treat one another. We were fortunate enough to have the funds to build a chicken coop and some shelves for the orphanage. When we weren’t fixing up the house, we were spending time with the kids showing them the kind of individual love that orphans don’t always get being in a large group.

After returning from Haiti, I made my way to Bethlehem, and, while I haven’t spent any time here before this summer, I have been welcomed by the community and shown genuine hospitality. This opportunity has allowed me to nurture my spiritual life and walk the path of ministry first-hand. Through meetings, visitations, and worship, I am able to see what the life of a pastor entails and I am extremely thankful for this enlightening and enjoyable experience.

Through my travels both to Haiti and East Hills, I am reminded of the dual responsibility I have as a Christian to be prepared and secure in my relationship with Christ before I go out into the mission field. I am so thankful for the opportunities that God has allowed me to be a part of this summer, and, while I have not committed to a life of ordained ministry yet, I have booked my next flight to Haiti. This December I will take my experiences from East Hills and “Go Out,” to Grace for Orphans Ministry and continue to show God’s love through word and action.

Matthew Spies

Raised With Christ

This year April begins on Easter, the holiest day of the Christian year. Again we will gather as a family of faith to recall the miracle of God bringing new life out of death and declaring Christ “to be Son of God with power…by resurrection from the dead.” (Romans 1:4) Yet Easter does not stand alone.

Death precedes resurrection.

resurrection of jesus

Resurrection of Jesus by Hans Rottenhammer

 

As followers of Christ, our lives are to follow the pattern of life-death-rebirth which our Lord
established. In the early church, it was understood that baptism, the sacrament by which believers entered the community of faith, was symbolic of death. A liturgy from the Apostolic Constitutions (late 4th century A.D.) is explicit: “Sanctify this water so that those who are baptized may be crucified with Christ, die with him, be buried with him, and rise again for adoption.” Even today the Moravian Church baptizes persons “into the death of Jesus.” “For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.” (Romans 6:5) Eternal life is assured. So certain is apostle Paul of God’s promise that he writes of our resurrection in the past tense! For Paul, sincere gratitude blossoms into righteous action.

“So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth, for you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3: 1-2)

Gift Cards Make Cool Gifts!

Update on the EHMC Cash Cards Program:

We now have Wegmans cards!  The Cash Card program is a way to benefit East Hills Moravian Church in your everyday living.  Purchases made through this program return a percentage to the church.  Cards for Giant Food Stores, Valley Farm Market, and Wegmans are on hand for immediate purchase.  Return on these cards is a fixed 5%. 

~We also have an inventory of cards on hand for immediate purchase.  These cards are available on a first-come/first-serve basis and include:  AC Moore, Applebee’s, Barnes & Noble, Boscov’s, Cabela’s, Cracker Barrel, Exxon/Mobil, Gap, Old Navy, Banana Rep, Home Depot, Jo-Ann Fabrics, Kohl’s, Lowe’s, Macy’s, Michael’s, Olive Garden, Outback, Carrabba’s/Bonefish, Pizza Hut, Red Robin, Sheetz, Shell, & TGI Fridays. 

~Cards from over 750 other retailers are also available.  These cards are typically ordered each Sunday evening for pick-up on the following Sunday morning.  Return on these cards varies from 1% to 17%, depending on the retailer.  To see what cards are available, go to www.shopwithscrip.com and click on the tab “Retailers”.  Scroll though the list to find the retailers and denominations that you desire.  Please make sure you are looking at “physical cards” when planning your order.  Pick-up an order form from Sue Larson, complete it, and give it back to her along with your payment.  Alternatively, please see her for a list of participating retailers and available denominations of cards.  Sue will be in the church office immediately following worship for those wanting to purchase cards that are on hand or to place an order.  If you have questions, please contact Sue Larson at 610-737-0012 orGSMom225@aol.com.