Photo courtesy of Claire Wimberly
0614 Chelsea Creek Community Church
Chelsea Creek Community Church volunteers hand out hamburgers and hotdogs to about 700 people who came to watch the sing-along version of Disney’s Frozen in May.
In May, about 700 people gathered in Chelsea Park to “let it go.”
In the green space, children and parents sat on lawn chairs and blankets while singing along to Disney’s Frozen as the lyrics for each song appeared on the screen.
They also enjoyed free hotdogs, hamburgers, popcorn and drinks served by volunteers from Chelsea Creek Community Church.
This sense of community created by hundreds of residents coming together for this event is what Pastor Matthew Roskam said Chelsea Creek is all about.
“It’s that idea that rather than a mega everything, having something smaller that can really feel like community and really feel like you belong,” Roskam said. “It’s something very informal and very relative to people’s lives.”
That is why Roskam said that from the beginning, Chelsea Creek knew being one of the big churches was not what they wanted. He believes when a congregation stays small it creates a less intimidating atmosphere for newcomers because everyone knows each other.
As far as ministry goes, the bigger the church becomes, Roskam said, the more the minister transitions into a manager of other people instead of directly ministering to the people.
“That’s great, but it’s not what I got into ministry for,” Roskam said. “I wanted to be a part of what is going on in people’s lives.”
Being a part of the community is what made the congregation approach Eddleman Properties, Inc., at Chelsea Park to see where they could help. Eddleman Properties was already holding movie nights and other events in the space, but Roskam wanted to know how the church could help.
“What would it look like for a church that’s really passionate about this community to come in and do this for you?” the church asked the developer. Eddleman Properties had the resources to put on these events, but they didn’t have the volunteers — the one thing Chelsea Creek did have.
Roskam said the community was very excited to come in and help with anything they could from grilling teams for hamburgers and hotdogs to popcorn makers for the movie.
Chelsea Creek’s next event is its Concert in the Park on July 27 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. featuring the local band Groove Daddy.
Groove Daddy’s lead singer, Marc Phillips, is from the band HOTEL on MCA Records. The band describes themselves “an energetic mix of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, jazz, blues, Motown, ballads, blues, funk, contemporary gospel and Christian material.”
Concert in the Park will also have a food truck row with food and ice cream for purchase and inflatables for kids. The concert is free, but the food trucks will charge individually for food and beverages.
For more information, call Chelsea Creek Community Church at 678-2406 or visit the church at 48 Chesser Crane Road in Chelsea.
