East Aurora Christian Church

05/31/2026

We honored our SS teachers, featured our beloved children and did a little bit of yoga today! Great Sunday!

05/20/2026

Weekly Spirit Stirrings from Pastor Jan Mahle (5/20/2026) -

Scripture: Ezekiel 37:1-14; Matthew 3: 1-12

Reflection: Celtic Christians chose, not the dove, but the wild goose as a symbol representing the Holy Spirit. It sounds strange to us, but it has a long tradition in Ireland. While the Roman Church imagined the Holy Spirit in the form of a peaceful, graceful dove, the Ancient Celts understood the Holy Spirit to be like a wild goose. When you hear of the Spirit descending like a heavenly dove on you, you hear harps and strings softly playing and get a peaceful feeling. The image of the Holy Spirit as a dove has become so familiar and domesticated an image we pay little attention to.

The image of a wild goose descending upon you is a different matter altogether. A wild goose is one noisy, bothersome bird. I like this image of the Holy Spirit as a wild goose because it jars us out of our complacency. We need such an image to correct our overly safe and overly sweet image of the Spirit. One preacher friend asked, "How many times can you sing 'There's a Sweet, Sweet Spirit in This Place' without your blood sugar reaching diabetic levels?"
When the Spirit comes in the Bible, it never seems to be sweet or safe. God's Spirit called the prophets to speak to Israel in words that were bold and sometimes dangerous. Ezekiel saw a vision of God's Spirit blowing through a valley of dry bones and bringing them to life. John the Baptist dressed in camel's hair and eating wild locusts proclaimed, "I baptize you with water but he who comes after me will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. "Paul gave this advice to young Timothy, "For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands; for God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:6-7). It was this wild Goose that Jesus referred to when he preached his first sermon and quoted Isaiah, saying, "For the Spirit of the Lord is upon me for he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of God's favor" (Luke 4:18). ~Mickey Anders

Prayer: Spirit of the Living God, fall afresh on me. Amen.

A bit of humor: An electrician is a bright spark who knows what’s watt.

Join us this Sunday, May 24th, as we dive into John’s story of Pentecost. Our Scripture for the day is John 20: 19-23. The reflection is titled: Holy Respiration: Receiving the Breath of God

May you feel the Spirit stirring within you, Pastor Jan

05/16/2026

Looking to try a new church? Check out our Sunday Worship Service at 10 am on May 17th! We love seeing new faces! Pastor Jan Mahle’s Morning Message will focus on “Eyes on the Mission, Not Just the Clouds”. We look forward to worshipping with you.

05/13/2026

Weekly Spirit Stirrings (5/13/2026) -

Scripture: Romans 15:13; Hebrews 6:19

Reflection and Prayer:

Hope is a living conviction, rooted in our shared understanding that God is making all things new.

The poem Sprout by Sue Ludwig captures it beautifully:
I am in search of my life.
Not the one I was dealt,
but the one I want to have.
Not the one
repeatedly stomped in the ground
popping up
where I least expect it
but the one where
I wake up each morning excited
to be on the path,
blooming with
maybe nothing I expected,
but everything I wished for.

Like the blooms of spring, our faith is not finished or complete — and that is exactly the point. It continues to grow through joy and pain, through struggle and the grace that God pours out on each of us. May we each continue to trust that God is still speaking in and through our lives, and may we have the courage to listen.

God of new days and hope buried just beneath the surface,
bless us with patience, with kindness, and with resilience,
as we continue to seek and share your love, which has no end.
Amen.

(This reflection and prayer was written by Rev. Ryan Henderson for the NYUCC Conference Happening in May, 2026)

A bit of humor: You can tune a piano but you can’t tuna fish.

05/11/2026

For the fourth consecutive year, East Aurora Christian Church (EACC) partnered with The Rural Outreach Center (ROC) to provide weekend food for the backpacks of students in need from Parkdale Elementary School. The generosity of our church community provided food for 7 Parkdale families (10 students total). All additional donations received above and beyond what was needed for the weekend backpacks were packaged for other local students experiencing food insecurity.

A sincere thank you to those who donated food and also to our volunteers! From those who coordinated the event, to the inventorying of donations, to the stuffing of backpacks, we couldn’t do this without YOU.

05/10/2026

Free Mothers Day bouquets from our church to you!! One left at 6:45!

05/08/2026

Join us this Sunday at 10 am for our Weekly Worship Service as we celebrate all of the amazing mothers in our lives! God is good! Whether this will be your first time visiting East Aurora Christian Church or you are a Church Member who attends every week, we look forward to worshiping with you!

05/06/2026

Weekly Spirit Stirrings from Pastor Jan Mahle (5/6/2026)

Scripture: 2 Timothy 4: 1-7

Reflection:

Clovis Chappell, a great preacher of a previous generation, used to tell the story of two paddleboat steamers. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, crew members made disparaging remarks about the slowness of the other boat. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And the race began.

The competition was keen as the boats roared down the Mississippi. One boat began falling behind. Not enough fuel. There had been plenty of coal for the trip, but not enough for a race. As the boat dropped back, an enterprising crew member took some of the ship's cargo and tossed it into the ovens. Their boat began to catch up, so they made fuel out of more and more cargo. They finally won the race, but in the process they burned their cargo, the very material they had been hired to transport.

Our primary mission is not to win the rat race, but to fight the good fight, to keep the faith, to win THE race.

Prayer: May my faith be sincere and sustaining. Amen.

A bit of humor: You may not be reading your Bible enough if your kids or grandkids keep asking lots of questions about your usual bedtime story: "Jonah the Shepherd Boy and His Ark of Many Colors."

04/29/2026

April 29, 2026

See list of items still needed for Parkdale School Backpacks below!

Scripture: Matthew 23:23–24

Reflection: Paul Harvey, the well known radio broadcaster, once said, "Too many Christians are no longer fishers of men but keepers of the aquarium."
I take that to mean that we Christians are more concerned about preserving the Church than we are about touching the lives of other people, more concerned about preserving our "religion" than we are about helping people discover the source of wholeness, the fountain of living water that wells up to eternal life. ~Richard Fairchild
When "preserving the religion" becomes more important than "touching lives," we are doing exactly what Jesus condemned: polishing the outside of the tank while the life inside or outside is neglected.

Prayer: Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours, and turn my eyes from the safety of the shore toward the deep waters where people are waiting to know Your love. Amen

ITEMS NEEDED TO COMPLETE THE PARKDALE WEEKEND FOOD BACKPACKS–Please bring to the church for packing next Sunday, May 3.
Breakfast:
16 breakfast squares/protein bars/granola bars
Main Meal:
6 cans of tuna
8 packages of rice pilaf or soup envelopes
Snack/dessert:
12 pudding cups
Optional:
Fresh apples or clementines

End of Life Matters: May 3
Let’s come together to turn "the elephant in the room" into a roadmap for the future. End of Life Matters. Don’t leave your questions for "someday"—let’s answer them together Sunday, May 3
Date: May 3 at 10am and 2pm There is no cost.
Location: East Aurora Christian Church, 464 Main St. East Aurora, NY 14052
Entry to the parking lot is off North Grove. Parking is also available on North Grove.
Use this QR code to register. In the subject line write: I plan to attend on May 3.
15c485770-0b06-4881-8c7c-4ec818f3305a.png
May you feel the Spirit stirring within you, Pastor Jan

04/22/2026

April 22, 2026

REMINDER: East Aurora Trash Mob on Saturday, April 25 10:00am-11:30am. Meet at Hamlin Park Tennis Courts.

Scripture: Matthew 25: 31-45

Reflection: If Matthew 25:31-45 were a college course, it would be the ultimate "pass/fail" final. But here’s the kicker: Jesus doesn't test us on the syllabus we expected. There are no questions about systematic theology, no multiple-choice sections on Greek verbs, and surprisingly, no bonus points for how many church committees you chaired.
Instead, the King shows up, pulls out a clipboard, and asks one thing: "How did you treat the 'least of these'?"
The most brilliant (and slightly terrifying) part of this passage is that nobody knew they were taking the test.
The Sheep: "Wait, when did we see you hungry?"
The Goats: "Wait, when did we not see you hungry?"
The Sheep weren't performing for a reward; they were just being kind because it was their second nature. The Goats, meanwhile, were likely waiting for "God" to show up in a cloud of glory rather than in the guy asking for a sandwich at the bus stop.
Jesus is essentially the ultimate undercover boss. He’s not hiding in the cathedrals or the high-gloss worship sets; he’s "incognito" in the local prison, the hospital ward, and the thrift store checkout line.
Following Jesus turns out to be less about "ascending the spiritual ladder" and more about "descending to the basement" to help someone move a couch—or, you know, find a meal.
The Moral of the Matthew 25: 31-45: If you’re looking for Jesus today, don’t just look up. Look down, look sideways, and maybe check the person you’re tempted to ignore.Don't fail the "I didn't realize that was You" test.

Prayer: Lord, may I recognize You in everyone.

A bit of humor: A doctor tells his patient that she needs to lose a little bit of weight for her health. He tells her that his recommendation is that you walk 5 miles a day and I will see you in two weeks.” At the end of 2 weeks, the patient calls the doctor “ Doc, I am 70 miles from home, now what do I do?”

Happy Earth Day! Here’s an Earth Day thought from Dave Urbanski:
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/GNiZnPabxW0
What do you think about this video? Let’s talk about this on Sunday!

Have you ever wondered what made the very first group of believers so magnetic? They didn’t have a building, a social media presence, or a budget—yet they turned the world upside down. This Sunday, we are diving into Acts 2:42-47 to look at the "blueprint" of the early church. It wasn't just their preaching that caught people's attention; it was the way they lived, loved, and shared their lives. See you Sunday the April 26th at 10 am.
May you feel the Spirit stirring within you, Pastor Jan

88K likes, 1.9K comments. "Why Do We Throw Out Fallen Leaves? "