IMPORTANT CEREMONIES
Weddings are not a sacrament in our faith tradition.
The congregation of Hillcrest United Methodist Church considers it an honor to share in your wedding experience.
A wedding is a religious worship service that takes place in the house of God. God invites you to this place to offer your lives to the One who can take
them and make them one. To be married at Hillcrest means the church asks the couple to seriously consider the central role of God in the marriage relationship and to understand their wedding as a holy and sacred worship event involving all of the people attending.
We welcome marriages at Hillcrest. Marriage counseling is
requested, either by the pastor or a certified counselor.
Funerals are open to all persons who desire worship honoring a person who has died. We will perform Christian burials and offer Christian worship in the United Methodist tradition. We believe it is part of our ministry to serve our community in this time of grief and need. Arrangements will be made on a case by case basis.
Communion is a sacrament we usually celebrate on the first Sunday of the month. All persons are welcome to receive communion in worship.
A holy meal of bread and wine symbolizes the body and blood of Christ. By sharing this meal, United Methodists give thanks for Jesus' sacrifice for our sins and receive grace to empower us to go on in Christian living. The Sacrament of Holy Communion recalls the life, death and resurrection of Jesus and celebrates the unity of all the members of God's family.
We offer grape juice in individual cups and bread from a common loaf as well as bread potions and wheat gluten- free crackers. Communion may also be served to the homebound person at their request
or at the request of their family.
 Baptism is one of the great joys we share as a congregation. No one will be denied baptism. Children may be baptized at any age.
Many people ask why The United Methodist Church baptizes infants, and why other churches baptize adults only. The practice of infant baptism comes from an understanding of baptism as that which God does for us. Baptism is an outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible grace that God freely gives us. This grace symbolizes how God has cleansed us from our sins and welcomes us into the body of Christ. God gives this grace to us not because we did anything to deserve it, but because God loves us.
Baptism is a sacred time in which the entire congregation participates. Baptism happens in the context of a worship service because baptism is also an initiation into the body of Christ, also called the Church universal.
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