Washington Avenue Christian Church

08/30/2026

What a morning! We welcomed the incomparable Bri Mosley, and she even brought her tambourine. The postlude was rockin'. Here's the highlight from the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost. The fulll worship broadcast is on our YouTube channel.

08/29/2026

Worship is going to be 🔥 tomorrow. Yes, we're welcoming the incomparable Bri Mosley, who will sing THREE pieces in worship, but we're also reading Exodus 3:1-15, where the "angel" comes down, sets a bush on fire, and yet it's not consumed. How cool--and holy--is that! Tomorrow, we'll worship that same God and find, too, that we are standing on holy ground! Join us at 9:30am in-person or 6pm online. (Oh, and we have new speakers in the sanctuary... the sound is ah-mazing!)

08/29/2026

TOMORROW: Bri Mosley sings in worship!

Bri Mosley is a dynamic vocalist and performer from Cleveland, Ohio. She holds a degree in Voice Performance from the College of Wooster, where she received training across multiple styles. Her work is rooted in preserving and celebrating the contributions of Black artists; a passion reflected in her baccalaureate thesis on Black musicians’ impact on the music industry.

After graduating, Bri swiftly stepped into the professional world, performing for numerous concert and theatre stages including Playhouse Square, Severance Hall, Karamu House, and the Cleveland Museum of Art.

Her upcoming Fall events will include Brahms Requiem and Eric Whitacre's Eternity in an Hour with the Cleveland Orchestra. Next Spring, she will join the cast in the world premiere of Lisa Langford's award-winning play Netta & Ru at DoBama Theatre.

Bri is honored to be joining Washington Avenue Christian Church for their Sunday worship. Deeply moved by music's power to heal and uplift, she considers it an incredible joy to share her gift with the congregation.

Read more about Bri Mosley by visiting her website: https://www.brimosley.com/

08/16/2026

God is a gathering God.

This morning, Isaiah 56 invited us to imagine a God who gathers the outcasts, brings the foreigner to the holy mountain, gives the excluded an everlasting name, and declares the house of prayer to be for all peoples.

But if God is gathering everyone, there is a harder question for those of us already inside: Who else may God be gathering with us?

In today’s sermon we consider justice and deliverance, Sabbath and scarcity, foreigners and eunuchs, empire and exclusion, and the scandalous abundance of a God who is still saying: “I will gather others to them besides those already gathered.”

God is not finished gathering.

And at Christ’s Table, we discover again that we are not the hosts of an unusually inclusive party. We are simply among those already gathered.

Join us online for the Worship of God!

The people of Washington Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Chri...

08/01/2026

This Sunday at Washington Avenue Christian Church, we gather around one of Scripture's most gracious invitations: "Come, all who are thirsty..." (Isaiah 55:1-5).

Join us at 9:30 a.m. for worship as we welcome Daniel Mitchell as our guest preacher. Daniel will bring the morning message, "Sometimes It Is Just Easier to Be a Christian," reflecting on the challenges and possibilities of faithful living in our world today.

As we sing, pray, hear God's Word, gather at Christ's table, and seek holy courage together, we will be reminded that faith is not about avoiding struggle but about discovering God's abundance and grace in the midst of it.

Whether you've been here for years or are looking for a church home, there is a place for you.

📍 301 Washington Ave., Elyria
🕤 Sundays at 9:30 a.m. In-Person
🕤 Sundays at 6:00 p.m. Online

Come as you are. Bring your questions, your hopes, and your whole self. We would love to worship with you.

07/19/2026

Join Us for Worship today at 9:30am in-person or online via our livestream.

What does it mean to live with hope when answers are slow in coming? How do we practice patience without giving up?

This Sunday, as we hear Romans 8:12–25, guest preacher The Rev. Dr. Kelly Boyte Peters Brill will proclaim the good news, “Patience and Hope… Really?” Together, we'll explore Paul's vision of creation groaning toward renewal and the Spirit's call to steadfast hope in the midst of life's uncertainties.

Our worship will be filled with beloved hymns, prayer, scripture, communion, and a community gathered around the promise that God is not finished with us—or with the world—yet.

Leading in worship:
🎵 Cory Isler-Manzo, Guest Musician
🙏 Cindy Jackson, Worship Leader
🍞 Sue Pray, Elder
🌾 Debbie Walker, Elder
✨ Gerald Western, Chair of the Elders
🤝 Members of Diaconate Team #3
📖 The Rev. Dr. Kelly Brill, Guest Preacher
🕤 Sunday at 9:30 AM
📍 Washington Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
301 Washington Ave., Elyria, Ohio
💻 Watch live online: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbuIp-QKCes

Whoever you are, and wherever you are on life's journey, you are welcome and wanted here.

07/12/2026

We gather for worship on the 7th Sunday after Pentecost and listen for the Spirit’s word through Romans 8:1–11: “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

Our worship will be full of wondrous music led by Maggie Johns, the breath of the Spirit, and resurrection hope. Together, we’ll ask what Paul meant by flesh, Spirit, freedom, mortality, and the astonishing good news that God gives life even to our mortal bodies.

If you have ever felt condemned by the church, by your body, by fear, by decline, by grief, or by the anxiety that what we love may not last forever, come hear this word again: No condemnation. The Spirit of life is at work. God is not finished with us.

Worship begins at 9:30am and our YouTube worship premiere is at 6:00pm.

All are welcome. Really. Come as you are. The Spirit is already here.

07/10/2026

We received a 2025 Renewable Energy Certificate Acknowledgment from AEP Energy, recognizing our congregation’s commitment to renewable energy and creation care.

According to the certificate, 39.68 Green-e® Energy Certified Renewable Energy Certificates were retired on behalf of Washington Avenue Christian Church for the 2025 reporting year. These certificates represent 39,680 kWh of renewable energy, sourced from 100% wind resources in Texas and North Dakota. You read that right: 100% of the electricity required to run our church campus comes from renewable resources.

The environmental impact is significant: AEP Energy estimates this helps avoid 34,429 pounds of CO₂ greenhouse gas emissions annually, roughly equivalent to the emissions from 39,769 miles driven by an average passenger vehicle, or the carbon sequestered by 15.7 acres of U.S. forest in one year.

This recognition is especially meaningful because it reflects values we have already embraced as a congregation. Several years ago, we became the first Certified Green Chalice: Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) congregation in Ohio. The Green Chalice program exists to encourage Disciples congregations to “live out their faith by caring for creation,” recognizing churches that seek to be good stewards of God’s creation and empowering them with practices that help communities “walk gently on the earth.” Our Green Chalice journey included forming a creation care team, adopting the Green Chalice Covenant, and making concrete changes in congregational life to reduce waste, conserve energy, and weave care for creation into our shared ministry. We've also replaced hundreds of lights with LED bulbs, installed a pollinator garden, and purchased new thermostats to maximize efficiency for heating and cooling.

Receiving this certificate from AEP Energy reminds us that creation care is not a one-time project, but an ongoing expression of discipleship. In a time when climate change continues to affect our neighbors and our world, even ordinary institutional choices—like how we source energy—can become part of our witness to God’s healing and renewing love for all creation.

We celebrate this milestone with gratitude: gratitude for those who helped lead our congregation toward Green Chalice certification, gratitude for the members who continue to support sustainable practices, and gratitude for the opportunity to align our energy use with our faith.

May this achievement encourage us to keep asking faithful questions:
How can we reduce harm?
How can we live more gently?
How can our church continue to bear witness to the God who called creation good—and entrusted it to our care?

07/08/2026

WACC, Beloved,

One meaningful gift a pastor can receive is the history of the congregation. Not too long after starting here, someone gave me a copy of Elyria Disciples, Henry K. Shaw’s historical booklet about our congregation. I'm thrilled to share that his book is now available electronically through our church website. Download the book here:https://www.waccelyria.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Elyria-Disciples-Henry-K.-Shaw.pdf

Originally published in 1956 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Washington Avenue Church of Christ (the former name of our congregation), this remarkable little book tells the story of the Disciples of Christ in Elyria from the earliest frontier preaching days in the 1820s through the building of the Washington Avenue church.

Shaw’s history is more than a record of dates and buildings. His story (did y'all catch that pun?!) is a narrative of vision, courage, sacrifice, and faith, from the five Disciples who purchased a meetinghouse in 1880 before a congregation had even been formally organized, to the many members who gave money, labor, leadership, and love to shape the church’s life across generations. One of my favorite quotes from the book is this: "Under pressure, and with God's help, sometimes the impossible can be accomplished." Y'all--with God's help--have proven that claim to be true again and again.

I'd love to know what you think, too. My wager is that you'll find familiar themes that still speak to us today: a congregation adapting to changing times, supporting mission, weathering war and economic hardship, and daring to take “the risk of faith” when the future was uncertain. Faith and risk are woven into our DNA!

I invite you to take some time with this wonderful piece of our shared story. Whether you are a longtime member, newer to the congregation, or simply curious about the roots of our church, Elyria Disciples offers a meaningful glimpse into the people and faith that helped bring us to this day.

Shaping history with you--and with God's help,

Pastor Nathan

07/05/2026

ICYMI: Don't worry! Online worship is available here. We were thrilled to welcome Julie Evans Hoffman (piano) and Marnie Reber and Kurtis Hoffman (voice).

Also, , our three guest musicians offered "Rain Down on Me" during worship right as it began to pour down outside. We're not ones to think that God *caused* it to rain at that moment, but we're glad to claim "providential awkwardness" whenever possible.

Join us online here:

The people of Washington Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Chri...