Visiting Bird-in-Hand UMC?
Here's What You Should Know & ExpectFinding the Church
Bird-in-Hand UMC is easy to find. We’re located right on PA-340 (Old Philadelphia Pike) just a few miles east of US-30 near Lancaster. There are several signs along the road, and a couple of entrances into the parking lot.
Speaking of parking, there’s a lot of parking available at the church. We have accessible spaces near the ramp to the front door, and over 30 spaces available in the parking lot in front and around the side of the building.
You should always be prepared for some traffic, especially in the summer and fall months, as Bird-in-Hand is a major tourist area and you can find yourself moving slowly behind people enjoying the beautiful surroundings and taking in the sights like many Amish families travelling by horse drawn buggies along the roads.
What Do I Wear?
Clothes. Seriously, we don’t hold a standard on how people need to dress to attend church beyond keeping it decent. Use your best judgement. Swimsuits and pajamas? Probably not. Jeans and a t-shirt? Sandals? Sure.
Jesus tells us that we don’t need to worry about what we wear because are all “clothed in robes of righteousness”. Not only that, when we believe in Jesus we join in that great number of saints seen by John in the Revelation, wearing the white robes of the saved.
How Can I Relate?
We keep the messages relevant and applicable to life today, but most people ask this question in terms of music. Our worship services tend to be more traditional, and we use both hymns and contemporary worship music in the worship services. Scripture readings are newer translations, which are accurate and meaningful, and at the same time are easy to understand. Long story short, we’re people just like you who work together as a family of faith to grow closer to God, through Jesus Christ.
Do I Have To Join?
The short answer is, no, but we’d love it if you felt like making Bird-in-Hand UMC your spiritual home! The United Methodist Church offers an “open table” when it comes to sacraments like Communion. You don’t need to be a member of this particular church to participate in anything, or attend services, Bible study, or our adult fellowship on Sunday mornings after the service. More than anything, we want you to feel at home here and that this is a place to celebrate your faith with a real faith-family.
What Is There To Do?
Tons. And yet at the same time, we’re always looking to expand and grow our community. For example, we have children that attend with their families, but we don’t currently offer a Children’s Summer Program. There’s an area of opportunity for everyone to expand their personal ministry and path towards God in discipleship. We have special events throughout the year and many opportunities to become part of this faith-family.
What Is There For My Kids?
Over the years the church community has grown up, matured, and in some cases moved away. We’re focusing on rebuilding our church community and faith family through family-oriented ministries. Children’s ministries, Bible Studies, and family activities are some of the most important to us. We hold events and activities for children throughout the year, and are working on getting an ongoing children’s program running. Basically, this faith community is what we can make of it together, in service to God!