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Peter J. Sinacore, Board President
Reverend Lydia Marino, Trustee
Hal S. Eisenberg, LMSW, Trustee
[/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text]The History of Hollis Woods Community Church and its Collaboration with Windows of Opportunity, Inc.
Prior to having to serve in World War 2, local men searched for the perfect place to build a church, where their wives could come pray and have a safe place to commune, while their husbands were off fighting for our country. When they finally found the best location in a small town called Hollis Hills, the exciting news spread through the neighborhood very quickly and soon many lent a helping hand to build this house of worship. For the duration of their time away, the women of the church gathered frequently and held fundraisers to keep the faith and spirituality alive. Every single one of those men who fought in the war came home safe and sound.
The HWCC quickly became a home to people of many faiths. The parishioners and congregations that attended and supported Hollis Woods Community Church (HWCC) have since passed on, leaving the aging and run down church with a small amount of devotees. The church currently has an English, Korean, and Chinese commune that has been attending for the past 15 years. Along with these worship groups, our doors are open to many outreach groups such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and Narcotics Anonymous (NA). One especially empowering organization that HWCC is most proud to donate their space to is Windows of Opportunity, Inc. (WOO), which runs The Inner You Program for Eating Disorders and Self-Esteem, Shortstack, Taking Back Queens, and Rock Your Heart Out from this building. For the past eight years HWCC has given WOO a home for many of their youth leaders to grow as exceptional young adults through each unique program they organize and run. On an average there are 60 to 100 youth using the facilities each week, and the number is growing. Local and global initiatives have been born from the generosity of HWCC allowing WOO to use this space, making the revival of this building of local and international significance. It has been a pleasure to have our visions shake hands and be mutually supportive, and the truth is without this building, WOO would not have a home. Heart and soul went into its construction, and we would like to bring the same heart and soul into its rebirth.
We thank you for your love and support of our youth, families, community, and world. God Bless!
What to Expect at our Non Denominational Church
Preparing for Church
Dress Code
In the past, people were expected to dress up for church, “Sunday best,” as they would call it. Now, society has become overall more relaxed with dress and so have churches. The majority of non-denominational churches don’t really care what you wear. They are mainly just glad you came. Business casual is safe for most places, and many churches even have a casual dress code. Just keep it modest, though. This is a place of worship. While many people do go to church to get dates, sexy clothing on Sunday morning is not how to do it.
A good rule of thumb when dressing for church, is if you can wear it to work, it’s fine.
Service Times
Hollis Woods Community Church – English Speaking Congregation – SundayMorning AM 10:30am-11:30am, Saturday Evening TBA (Reverend Lydia Marino and Reverend Hines)
Truth Church of New York – Chinese Congregation – (link to https://www.truthchurchny.com/) Sunday Morning 9:30am – 11:30am (Reverend Tu)
The New Light Korean Baptist Church – Korean Speaking Congregation – SundayAfternoon 12 Noon – 3pm (Reverend Suk H. Shin)
Please continue to check this website for updated service times and special events.
Children’s Church – TBA
When you arrive at church, the first thing you do, is drop off your children in the children’s church. Children are welcome to attend the main Sunday service, but it is geared toward adults. Instead, there are special age-specific programs for them to attend during the service.
Children’s churches are broken up into different classes by age group or school grade. Age appropriate lessons on the Bible will be provided, and also time for socialization or play.
Teachers are church members, usually non-paid. HWCC requires a background check, and are willing to take volunteers as long as they are generally known by the leadership.
Most children’s programs require more than one adult volunteer per classroom, and will frequently have teenage assistants as well. This is for classroom control, but also provides assurance that the children are never left alone with any one worker, should an unsafe worker slip through the screening process. Parents are welcome to sit in on a children’s church class if they or the child, are unsure.
Youth Mission
Youth mission work is collaborated on between all congregations and Windows of Opportunity, Inc.
A Sunday morning or Saturday evening service at our non-denominational church usually lasts about an hour. In decades past, they would last indefinitely. But, now church leaders are mindful of shorter attention spans and grumbling tummies. Each segment of the service has a set time frame. Sometimes the service will go over, but not much longer than fifteen to twenty minutes.
Worship Service
The worship is the music/artistic portion of the service. A live band, artist, or poet comprised of church members called a worship team will perform. These are songs with lyrics expressly about God, directed at God, or spiritual life. Some of them may be original compositions from the worship team members themselves. Others are songs written by professional recording artists and distributed through the Christian music industry.
Announcements/Offering
We are more than happy to make any personal and community announcement during services. It is free to attend any church, but offerings/donations are welcomed to help us keep our lights on and building in shape. There is much work we would like to do to improve our conditions as much of the building is in its original 1943 state.
Sermon
Also called the message, the sermon is meat of the service. At this time, the head church leader will take the stage. He or she will usually read a short passage from the Bible. Then they will speak on what the passage means, and how it applies to the modern Christian life.
However, today’s pastors use all of the modern examples and techniques for public speaking to keep their listeners engaged. They will use humor, stories, pop culture references, and anything else they can think of to let their unique personality come through, while explaining the timeless truths laid out in the Bible. The sermon will conclude with a prayer and then usually the service will dismiss.
All are welcome at Hollis Woods Community Church! Our building is available for rentals, clubs, and events, where people of like faith and belief can come together to find support, friendship and love. We are here to help you carry your burdens, support you in your life, laugh with you and grow with you, for decades to come.
For more information or to make a booking, contact Hal S. Eisenberg at 718.916.6037[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]