We Believe

We at East, believe in the triune God, the Resurrected Christ, and the Holy Spirit. We believe as Christians that we should continually seek after God – creating an authentic relationship with God, engendering love, strengthening our faith, dissolving our guilt, and giving our life purpose and direction. All are welcome to join us on this journey, and be a part of our faith family where they can find a strong sense of being valued and loved.

United Church of Christ

East Church is a congregation of the United Church of Christ, a denomination that came into being in 1957 by the historic union of the Evangelical and Reformed Church and the Congregational Christian Churches. This brought together historic roots of the Pilgrims and the Puritans, Christians seeking freedom of conscience, and German evangelicals. The United Church of Christ still seeks to find shared beliefs that unite us in covenant and celebrates a wide variety of faith traditions.

From the Preamble to the Constitution of the United Church of Christ:
The United Church of Christ acknowledges as it sole head, Jesus Christ, Son of God and Savior It looks to the Word of God in the Scriptures, and to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, to prosper its creative and redemptive work in the world. . .It affirms the responsibility of the Church in each generation to make this faith its own in reality of worship, in honesty of thought and expression and in purity of heart before God.

As a congregation of the United Church of Christ, East Church joins in covenant with other member congregations to minister in this world. We claim autonomy in the local churches, finding authority in the congregation that honors our historic roots. We value independence in expression of faith and commitment to the prayer of Jesus (John 17:21) that calls us to a spirit of unity.

Open & Affirming

In 2002 this congregation engaged in discussion and study and declared itself to be Open and Affirming. The following is from our Open and Affirming Statement:

We celebrate the diversity of God’s creation and affirm that each person has special worth as a unique creation in God’s image. All are welcome to worship here and to come into relationship with the church’s life and work. We thank God for the blessing, the challenge, and the joy that we experience in both our unity and our diversity.

We acknowledge that, historically, many Christian churches and societies have excluded people for a variety of unjust reasons. Among these are race or ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, economic class, physical or mental abilities.

We affirm that all people are embraced with the family of God.

We affirm that the full fellowship of East Congregational Church (all rights and duties, benefits and responsibilities as defined by our constitution) is open to all who seek a relationship with God through union with this congregation in Christ. We affirm that all members of East Congregational Church are called to share as fully as they are able in the worship, fellowship, and leadership of our congregation.

As we journey together as a community of faith, we are called by God to seek justice for all people. We, therefore, call ourselves to make a continuing effort toward inclusiveness, standing against all forms of discrimination. Therefore, we declare ourselves to be an Open and Affirming congregation.

Meet Our Staff

Jameson Thompson

Director of Music & Arts

jameson.thompson91@gmail.com

At the age of 11, with his toes barely able to touch the pedals of the organ, Jameson Thompson played his first service, launching him into his career as an organist. During his middle and high school years, he played concerts at over 15 churches and venues in Northern Michigan. After high school, he moved to Grand Rapids where he studied Organ Performance at Calvin University. Best known for his flair for bridging the divide between music styles, Jameson enjoys arranging music that combines traditional hymn melodies with contemporary harmonization and textures, as well as performing 19th Century French Organ Music.

Curtis Prussner

Custodian

cprussner.eastchurchgr@gmail.com

Curtis is the longest-serving employee at East Church. He has assisted members and guests ensuring that their needs are met in a professional and timely manner. He works hard maintaining and looking after all of the building needs with the help of the church’s men’s club. He enjoys his ability to serve the church in a multitude of ways! In his off time, Curtis enjoys working out at the gym and golfing.

Petra Woods

Church Secretary

Petra has a strong office management and executive assistant background. Her most recent position was at Spectrum Health supporting the president of the Spectrum Health Medical Group. Her son and family reside in Florida, and her daughter and family reside in East Grand Rapids. She has five grandchildren.

Dez Begay

A/V Technician

Dez has a B.A in Theatre with a passion for theatrical make-up design, video production, and backstage crew. When she’s not at the theatre she loves to face paint at events and parties.

Selene Rezmer

A/V Technician

Selene has been involved in the audio world since she first fell in love with it during college in 2010. Since then, she has done too many shows to count at many of the theatres around Grand Rapids. She is excited to share her knowledge of audio and to expand her interest to include video here with her church.

Michael Sali

A/V Technician

Michael Sali is a graduate of Aquinas College, holding a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Technical Theatre and a graduate of the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts, holding a degree in Animation. Michael has worked in theatre around the nation as a lighting designer and technical theatre artist.