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MISSION STATEMENT
Elm Street Presbyterian Church, since its inception, has taught God’s revealed and inspired Word to Christ’s servants, promoting spiritual growth and providing emotional and physical well-being in order to build a caring faith community that, in turn, takes its faith and reaches out in service beyond congregational walls.
Elm Street Presbyterian Church started in 1909 as a mission and Sunday school of First Presbyterian Church. In 1919, we petitioned First Presbyterian Church and the Presbytery to form our own church. Ground was broken in 1923 and services were held in the church basement from the fall of 1923 until the church structure was completed in 1926. In 1958, when membership was at, or near, its peak, we built our two-story Christian Education Building. This houses administrative offices, classrooms, and larger kitchen and dining facilities than in the church basement. In 2001, ESPC became more accessible to the physically challenged with the addition of an elevator that connects the church sanctuary and basement to the parking level.
Elm Street Presbyterian Church retains much of the look, feel, and friendliness of a neighborhood church. We have members who live within a few miles radius of the church in what is considered an older home, blue-collar district. Many of our congregation represents 2nd 3rd and 4th generations of the faithful who have attended ESPC.
Our aging congregation prefers traditional values and worship, but is not opposed to new ideas. We have had services that were all music, healing and wholeness, Seder meals, candlelight, Youth Sundays, Reformation Sunday, Thanksgiving Eve, Easter and Christmas Cantatas, Ash Wednesday, outdoor services, and others. We have a new, contemporary hymnal and intersperse the new tunes with the old and familiar melodies. Our worship is structured, but not formal or rigid. Laughter and applause may be heard in this House of God. Elm Street Presbyterian Church encourages its members to be active participants in worship with adult and youth choir, liturgist, readings, parts in skits or plays, moments for mission, and occasional faith journeys.
We currently have a part time stated supply pastor, but we are anticipating a yoked pastorate with First Presbyterian Church. This would provide our church with greater pastoral care, deeper spiritual education, and more direction and inspiration to our functioning committees. We are also involved in ongoing discussions with all four Presbyterian churches of Alton to strategically plan the best avenue to maximize our missions and ministries. Besides our pastor, we have an excellent staff consisting of a part time administrative assistant, an organist/music director, and a janitor.
Elm Street Presbyterian Church has always been an active servant in the community. It is a church that serves the needy, is very active in mission, and supports many causes. We started and continue to give support to the Crisis Food Center (a local food pantry). We are also involved in TLC (overnight shelter in our church and other churches for homeless families), Bucket Brigade (painting homes of the elderly and disabled), Nearly New Shop (clothing for the needy), Oasis Women’s Center (help for victims of domestic violence), Deacon’s Fund (utilities and living assistance for the needy), and the Love Fund, which is geared to directly help church members. We also support a young girl, Parichat Paritawa, through World Vision Foundation of Thailand. We participate in One Great Hour of Sharing, Peacemaking Offering, Christmas Joy Offering, Pentecost Offering, and General Mission. Members of ESPC have the ability to serve with a high-energy level while continuing to seek other venues of outreach and mission in the community as taught to us by Jesus Christ.
We, at Elm Street Presbyterian Church, open ourselves to Christ’s invitation to be drawn more deeply into a life of faith, compassion, and service. To this end, in the last fifteen years, our small church has one person currently enrolled in the Presbytery’s CLP training program. We have had three who have graduated from the program and are pastors of other churches. A fourth decided, after becoming a CLP, to complete his seminary degree and is also the pastor of a church. Furthermore, our choir director and three other members have prepared, led worship, and preached on several occasions. We believe Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior to whom we are serving and witnessing by God’s grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.