Eldersville church has unique take on services

ELDERSVILLE, Pa. - The Eldersville United Methodist Church will continue its early morning Sunday services outside for as long as possible.

"We were just trying something different," said the Rev. Dana Hiles.

For several summers, the church has held outdoor services at 8 a.m. behind the church and adjacent to the churchyard, where a wooden cross has been erected. A casual service is held, including prayer, sung praises, prayer, readings, a message and benediction.

"It (the service) is something we did in the past, and we wanted to get out of the sanctuary and take advantage of the weather," said Hiles. "The worship service is non-traditional and combines a little old with the new. People call out favorite hymns from Sunday School hymn books published in 1916, and we intermix them with newer praise songs and choruses. No keyboards or guitars, just us, the birds and the insects, kind of a creation chorus."

Those attending the services are invited to bring their own lawn chairs or borrow a chair from the fellowship hall. The 8 a.m. services will continue outside as long as possible, then move indoors for the colder months, instead of concluding after Labor Day, as was the tradition in the past, according to Hiles.

"I think it makes it more easygoing, more intimate," Hiles said of the morning service. "People help each other to carry things, like chairs."

He added dress for the service is casual, as is the interaction. Parishioners choose their favorite praise songs and hymns, and there is an eclectic mix of traditional and modern music. Although the service has contemporary touches and a looser form, traditional elements remain, said Hiles.

"When interest was raised in offering an early summer service, I said if we're going to do it, let's worship outside," said Hiles. "A few eyebrows were raised, and the morning dew has wet our feet once or twice, but the opportunity to worship as the sun begins to rise, the birds are singing and the cool summer breezes are blowing, has been just a great experience. The view from the cross looks across the hillside 15 to 20 miles to structures in Ohio."

More than 20 people are regularly attending the services, he said.

"So many people have said they'd like to keep going, so we are going to go with it," said Hiles.

The church, located at 15 Church Road in Eldersville, has a Sunday school beginning at 9:15 a.m. and traditional worship begins at 10:30 a.m.

(Wallace-Minger can be contacted at swallace@pafocus.com)