Preaching, Teaching, and Living the Gospel

Teaching was a priority for Lyonsville Church in its early years.  Before they even built a church building, our founding members built the first school in the area, and brought a teacher from Scotland to teach the children of the developing community.  Members of Lyonsville Church helped start other churches in the area, so the Word could be preached.

Here's what is happening these days:

We participate in the Angolan Partnership of the Illinois Conference of the United Church of Christ with the Evangelical Congregational Church in Angola, in southwest Africa.  Donna Dudley, our Common Global Ministries missionary to Angola, visited Lyonsville Church in June, 2009, along with Luis Samacumbi, a leader in the Evangelical Congregational Church of Angola.  We support their work with our gifts and our prayers.  We had a special Mission Sunday on Sept. 26, 2010, with former missionary Donna Dudley from the Angolan Partnership as guest speaker for our morning worship.

Martha's Book Club - is a book/Bible study group that meets on Wednesday mornings, 9:00-10:30 a.m. to share a cup of coffee, read and discuss a book, and pray together.  Anyone is welcome to join us!  We are now reading the book "The Story", which presents portions of the Bible as a single story of God's relationship with humanity.  It is a great way to get an overview of the Bible.

School Kits -The congregation assembled 31 school kits in August, 2011 to help students in need through Church World Service.

Music Ministries proclaim the gospel through music in our worship services.  Our choir rehearses on Sunday mornings, 8:30-9:30 a.m., and sings regularly during the program year (September - May).  Newcomers are always welcome.  Contact the pastor, choir director or office for more information.

The annual Neighbors in Need special offering by the United Church of Christ helps to support ministries of justice, including the Council of American Indian ministries of the U.C.C. Gifts to Neighbors in Need in 2010 were $318.  The 2011 Neighbors in Need offering will be received on October 2. 

Scholarships: The church offers two scholarships to church members in educational programs beyond high school (college, trade school, graduate school, etc.) -- the Paul Pavlus Scholarship, and the Ed and Shirley Karas Scholarship.