A look into some of the churches around Eastern.
By: Katherine Thomas
On Sept. 7, a myriad of churches from the surrounding area set up booths in the McInnis lobby. Students meandered around, checking out the different tables and engaging the church representatives in conversation here and there. Do not be fooled, though. This was not a lazy wandering. Representatives of the various churches made an enthusiastic effort to welcome students. One student who attended the fair recalled to me how one group grabbed his attention from across the lobby in order to talk with him. These churches show a beautiful and eager desire to fill God’s Kingdom.
Overall, this event seemed to effectively present options for students searching for a church community. If you missed the fair, though, I will list a few of those nearby churches here, along with a brief blurb about each.
At the first booth we visited, we found members of Wayne Presbyterian Church (https://waynepres.org/). Their building, complete with majestic woodwork, stained glass windows and a stately organ stands at 125 E Lancaster St. in Wayne. According to their website, “Wayne Presbyterian Church seeks to live and proclaim the gospel of Christ within our church family, our neighborhood, our region, and the world. Our vision for ministry is based on a commitment to offering meaningful worship, beautiful music, life-long Christian education, extensive mission programs, and nurturing fellowship.” Their Sunday morning services are posted on the website as 9:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Next, we visited Manoa’s booth (https://manoa.org/). Manoa Community Church, a member of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church, is located at 153 North Eagle Road, Havertown, Pa. 19083. From our campus, students would take a pleasant 12-minute drive to their weekly 10 a.m. service on Sunday morning. Manoa’s mission is missions. They plan to grow thriving church communities in which they prepare and equip their members to go out into the world and preach what they have learned – locally and globally. On their website, Manoa cleverly fit their core values into an acronym: “Gospel, Rest, Ambition, Collaboration, and Empowerment.”
At Liberti Main Line’s booth, we found a welcoming community that starts its Sunday service at a rather unorthodox 12 p.m. Liberti Main Line meets at Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church on 104 Louella Ave in Wayne. According to their website, this “come as you are” community encourages you to “[d]ress comfortably, grab a cup of coffee at coffee hour, and pick up a worship folder so you can follow along with the different parts of the service.”
I feel it would be strange if I did not add a brief snippet about my own church family, which was not any of the three listed, since it is very slightly outside the scope of locality. St. Philip’s Orthodox Church (https://st-philip.net/) is my home away from home. It is a multi-ethnic community made up mostly of converts to Orthodoxy who journeyed from various faith (or non-faith) backgrounds. Despite the half-hour commute to the 10 a.m. service, the vibrant worship, community and iconography (paintings on the walls) make up for the drive. St. Philip’s can be found at 1970 Clearview Road in Souderton.
“Oh no,” you might be thinking, “I’m a broke freshman and I don’t have a car!” Fear not. Ask around! Our students here attend a wide variety of churches and would be more than willing to have you hitch a ride if you ask for one. So ask. I pray all of you readers will have a fruitful church search, or that you continue to grow in the parishes you have chosen already!