New Community Church thrives as it celebrates its third anniversary
New Community Church (NCC) is celebrating its third anniversary this month as it kicks off a new ministry year. Since its launch in August 2018, the church has thrived, even through the pandemic that started just 18 months after it opened.
“The comment I hear most often on the patio on Sunday morning is ‘the community here is wonderful,'” says parishioner and volunteer Katharine Sherwin. “I love that we are a small church—small enough that people know each other.”
During shelter in place, encouraging one another and helping people most impacted became meaningful ways the church could stay connected. NCC held blood drives almost monthly with Vitalant, as well as drives for clothing, food, backpacks and toys for nonprofits in the community.
“We are outward facing, not just focusing on programs for parishioners,” says Katharine, who has attended since the church was founded.
In partnership with Borage Catering, which prepares meals in the church’s commercial kitchen, NCC provided hundreds of meals to local families through schools, senior homes, and shelters. The church also provided funding to small, family-run restaurants nearby during the first months of the pandemic.
“The unexpected blessing over the past 18 months has been that our muscle to engage with the community has grown faster than we thought possible,” says Charley Scandlyn, senior pastor. “These activities were a way for us to stay connected to each other and to our community, even through difficult days.”
New Community Church is now inviting people back to safe, in-person community. It currently offers Sunday morning masked indoor services at 9:00 and 11:00 am, space outdoors for streamed services on the patio, and a separate space for families to watch the service in Community Hall. The church also broadcasts its services live on its website.
Its Menlo Park neighbors are invited for free coffee, lattes, and mochas served from 8:00 to 11:00 am on Wednesday mornings through September.
NCC is located at the corner of Middle and Arbor Avenues in Menlo Park.
Photos courtesy of New Community Church
