What to Expect During Worship
Worship at Eliot Church is a lively experience and usually lasts about an hour and a half. You can expect a mix of music from European, African, and Cambodian traditions. We take time for testimonies from the congregation of how God is at work in our lives.
At Eliot we love to hear some noise from children. There are children’s books and activity bags at the back of the sanctuary. Children are invited to use these items during the service, returning the books as well as the bags, crayons, and clipboards before they leave. Other things inside the activity bags may be taken home.
Day Center
The Eliot Day Center is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. We welcome anyone who is unhoused and looking for a safe place to spend the day.
We offer coffee, light refreshments, a clean restroom, wi-fi, electricity for phone charging, clothing, and personal hygiene items. Our Director of Community and Client Relationships assists people with housing readiness. A chaplain is available for prayer and pastoral counseling.
Those wishing to learn more about the day center services, volunteer, or make an in-kind donation of supplies should contact the Day Center Director of Operations by email: daycenter@eliotlowell.org.
Those wishing to support the day center with financial gifts can give online.
Staff
Rev. Alvin Padilla is serving as Eliot’s Interim Pastor, beginning September 1, 2024. Al was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. When he was 12, his family migrated to the USA. His father and older brothers — he is the 8th of 10 Padillas! — were migrant farm workers along the east coast. After one year, they decided to stay permanently, and they settled in nearby Haverhill, Mass.
Al came to know the LORD Jesus as his Lord and savior while in college, and surrendered his life completely to Him shortly after graduating. He went to seminary, served in ministry in the New York City area, and is now living in Kingston, New Hampshire. Al is married to Cathy Hunn, and they have five children and five grand daughters.
Donnie Bouphavonsa joined the Day Center staff in March 2022. His first impression of the center was of a place that helps and serves everyone who comes through the door. He remembers that the Bible says, “clothe the poor, heal the sick, and visit those who are in prison.” He feels that Eliot Church is the definition of that calling, and he hopes to be instrumental in carrying out the mission of the Day Center.
LeAnn Bussey joined the Day Center staff in April 2024 as Director of Community and Client Relationships. After finishing grad school and surrendering her life to Jesus, she dedicated the next 7 years to serving and advocating for survivors of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and homelessness in Louisiana. LeAnn was recognized by her city as a Top 40 Under Forty recipient and received an Award of Excellence from the FBI Anti-Trafficking Taskforce.
LeAnn is passionate about seeing others experience freedom, not just from addiction or exploitation, but freedom in Jesus. LeAnn is excited to join the Eliot Day Center to continue on the mission of serving those in need and sharing the love of Jesus to all who walk through the doors.
Dr. Ruy Costa serves as Chaplain for the Day Center. He brings to the chaplaincy a profound conviction that in the face of our neighbors we can see the face of Christ. Ruy has served before in residential rehabilitation programs for unsheltered people with multiple diagnoses both as a manager and as a spiritual mentor. While Eliot Church seeks a new pastor, Ruy is also filling the role of Acting Executive Director of the Day Center.
Lori Hoffman joined the staff at Eliot Church in 2017 as office administrator, and added the role of treasurer in 2019. Her work experience includes teaching high-school English and leading a graphic design team for Gatehouse Media. She is a long-time member of Eliot Church and loves doing behind-the-scenes work that supports the ministries of the church.
Charly Ott is a long-time member of Eliot Church. He served for several years as Eliot’s part-time Building and Grounds manager, while running his own construction business. In 2021 he stepped up to become the full-time Director of Operations for the Day Center. He thrives on solving problems and making the world a better place for others, particularly for the guests of the Day Center.
Rev. Dr. Thysan Sam is the Cambodian Loukrou, or chaplain, at Eliot Church. He was ordained in this congregation in 2007 — the second Cambodian to be ordained to the ministry in the PCUSA. He is a leader in the National Presbyterian Cambodian Council, the National Asian Presbyterian Council, and the Steering Committee of Southeast Asian Ministries. Thysan received his Doctor of Ministry at Andover Newton Theological Seminary.
June Taing was commissioned as a Lay Pastor for Eliot Church in September 2021. She works with the Cambodian community within Eliot Church, leading Bible study, assisting with worship and translation, and providing pastoral care.
Elders and Deacons
Elders and Deacons are nominated by the Church Officer Nominating Committee and elected by the congregation. They are ordained as officers of the PCUSA. Active Elders and Deacons serve a three-year term.
Elders
Elders share in the ministry and governing of Eliot. They work with the Pastor to encourage the congregation in the worship and service of God. Elders exercise leadership and discipline and are responsible for the needs of the church at large, including ecumenical relationships. Twelve Elders sit actively in Session, each serving a three-year term. Each Elder generally serves as chair of one of the committees of Session: Worship, Christian Education, Administration, Fellowship, and Outreach.
Deacons
The office of Deacon is set forth in Scripture as one of sympathy, witness, and service, after the example of Jesus Christ. Deacons minister to those in need – to the sick, to shut-ins, and to those are in distress, both within Eliot and the community at large. Nine members sit on the Board of Deacons, each serving a three-year term.
Christian Education
Adult Bible Study
Bible Study in Khmer
Saturday Khmer Bible Study meets from 10 a.m. to noon online. To request the link, send an email to office@eliotlowell.org, Khmer Sunday school meets from 9 to 10 a.m. with Pastor Loukrou Sam or Neakrou June Taing.
Christian women’s fellowship
CWF is a women’s Bible Study, fellowship, and support group rooted in the traditions of the Presbyterian Church of Cameroon. All women are welcome to participate. Meetings take place in the library from noon to 2:00 p.m. on the second and third Sundays of each month.
Eliot’s History
Cambodian Outreach
We began reaching out to refugees who came to Lowell fleeing the killing fields of Pol Pot’s Cambodia. Introduced to Christianity in refugee camps, these weary souls felt safe in a church. They trusted our mission to provide them with friendship, shelter, food, ESL, and acculturation in addition to a Sunday worship service.
Over time, many of the “strangers” we welcomed began new lives in Lowell, and became increasingly involved at Eliot. They formed a choir, singing hymns in Khmer. They were ordained as Deacons, taught Sunday school, served on committees, and became Elders. Three are now PCUSA leaders at the national level, serving on the Advisory Committee on Southeast Asian Ministries.
The Cambodians appreciate learning through worship and participation what it means to be a Christian and how to pass their faith on to their children. They meet on Saturday mornings for prayer and support and on Sunday mornings for Bible study before worship.
In 2007, Rev. Thysan Sam, once a Buddhist monk, ten years a member of Eliot, was ordained at Eliot as a minister of the word and sacrament. He is the second Cambodian to become a Presbyterian minister. Cambodians are now one-third of our membership.
african outreach
In the 1990s, Eliot Church made a conscious decision to reach out to Lowell’s next wave of immigrants — Africans from many nations seeking relief from oppressive governments and economic hardship. As our two initial African members spread the word, more came, and we now delight in a large, vibrant group of all ages.
The African choir sings one Sunday a month and shows us how to move with the music. A member from Ghana organizes the multi-cultural crew that runs Eliot’s annual free Thanksgiving dinner for several hundred guests. Africans make up one third of our membership.
outreacH To Our Homeless Neighbors
In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic made life more difficult for people who are not housed, Eliot Church began a ministry of hospitality to our neighbors. We opened a Day Center, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, where our neighbors could come in out of the weather, charge their phones, have some coffee and snacks, use the bathrooms, and enjoy some fellowship as desired. When the pandemic ends, we hope to continue the Day Center include our guests more fully in worship and church life as well.
A multicultural congregation
Among our members, we also count families and individuals who immigrated to Lowell from Taiwan, Scotland, Nicaragua, Argentina, the Dominican Republic, and Ireland. These, along with the “Anglos,” make up the remaining one-third of our church.
We have no predominant culture. We are one church, not a cluster of fellowships. We serve and reflect the urban melting-pot that is Lowell, Massachusetts.
Truly our congregation has been blessed with a diverse group of Christians. We have learned new dimensions of faith, hope, love, joy, and courage. Our founders gave us a deep understanding of mission, and they have become examples for us in becoming open to new ways and in remaining ever watchful for God’s newest acts of love.
Each new group to join our congregation has added a layer of richness that we could never have imagined before their arrival. With the addition of each new ethnic group, we have also seen the addition of new Anglo members who have been attracted to the diversity at the table. There is a sense of excitement and energy that pulls us into this circle. There is a sense of anticipation for what God will have us do next
Challenges
Years ago, when many Cambodian immigrants joined Eliot, our Sunday-school classes filled with children who did not speak or read much English. Their presence raised a concern for some parents who feared it would lower the reading level of the classes. In fact, the immigrant children soon mastered English and brought a beautiful gift to Eliot Church from their culture: the example of how siblings can show love and care for each other. Today, our children’s nativity pageant boasts a cast of African and Cambodian shepherds and angels and sheep.
The traditions of polity, the requirements of being a Session member and attending meetings — these too have presented challenges. Many of our members work two jobs, have families, and also go to school to advance themselves. They have no time to serve on committees. Many are not comfortable reading in English, and the Book of Order is difficult for them. Many of our practices require thoughtful explanation.
Our building dates from 1876. Along with its glorious space and beautiful painted glass windows come staggering upkeep costs. Many of our members work for minimum wage and have large families to support — children here and relatives in their countries of origin who rely on them. Offerings are not consistent. We are accustomed to being in the red and to dreading the fuel bills that arrive in the winter.
Joys
For many years, Eliot Church was very conscious of its cultural diversity and placed much focus on this aspect of our life as a church. We feel the Holy Spirit is gently freeing us from this burden of self-consciousness. In recent years, we find that we are easing into our diversity and relishing the simple activities that make us one.
We cook together. Eliot has a long tradition of serving meals to the homeless and the lonely. Once a month we work together to serve a meal for St. Paul’s Kitchen in our building, and every few weeks, we prepare a meal together that we serve at the YMCA down the street. Something about chopping and stirring and baking in our kitchen promotes easy dialog and curiosity about each other’s cultures. When Eliot serves, guests are treated to such menus as fried plantains and fufu, stir-fry and egg rolls.
We sing together. We have three music groups – our Cambodian Choir, our African Fellowship Choir, and our traditional Inspiration Choir. One Sunday, when the Cambodian Choir sang How Great Thou Art in Khmer, a member from Ghana stepped forward to support their singing with African drumming, The spirit spread as many began to sing the chorus in their own languages. Unselfconsciously, we all praised God together.
We learn together and we pray together. We have an active Sunday school program. We read scripture and study the Bible study in all “our” languages. Occasionally, different groups set the Communion table with cloths woven or embroidered in their home of origin and serve wearing cultural dress.
We celebrate together. Our growing Cambodian, Anglo and African families offer us countless joyous opportunities — services of baptism and marriage, showers and feasts honoring special events. Sharing in the preparations and planning are natural exercises in cohesion and draw us together far more effectively than studying workbooks on inclusion. These events are also our most successful outreach strategies. People come to these events as guests and “want more of what they get at Eliot.” We realize that although there are all-Cambodian churches and all-African churches in the area, people choose Eliot because they feel at home.
We are blessed with faithful, long-time Anglo members who opened their hearts and their minds to the multicultural mission many years ago. How grateful we are for Yankee septuagenarians who dance up and down the aisles at the baptism of an African infant and respectfully place their hands together when passing the peace to a Cambodian member. Their vision helped build a new, lively, hopeful tradition in an old New England church. Let us welcome you the next time you are in Lowell.