December and January

Mark Your Calendar!!

Thank you to our wonderful followers and supporters!

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Elk Creek Township Historical Society through Erie Gives. We are deeply grateful for your support!

We appreciate everyone who attends our events and donates their time, effort and resources to keep our beautiful building maintained and open for the community.

Thank you to everyone who supported our Winter Blues Bash through attendance, donation, and volunteering. It was a wonderful evening with all of you and we look forward to our 4th annual fundraiser, a Jazz themed dinner/dance on Saturday, February 28, 2026  at the Springfield VFW party hall. We are looking forward to a delicious Cajun style meal (mildly seasoned) catered by Valenza's and a night of jazz mixed in with old favorites. 

Tickets will be $25 for adults, $10 for children ages 2-18 years, with children under 2 years old free. Your ticket includes a complete sit down dinner and dessert, soft drinks, coffee, and water,  entertainment, prizes for best jazzy costume, appreciation prize for the first ticket purchased, prize for the largest group/table, and entry into the door prize drawing. 

50/50, special drawings, Chinese auction and Jazz trivia will be happening all evening. Be sure to mark your calendar and get in on the fun!

Pictures with Santa, Mrs. Claus and the Grinch

Saturday, December 13th

12-2 PM

Santa, Mrs. Claus, and the Grinch return to The Little Church on the Hill on December 13th for the 13th Annual Photos with Santa!

There will be games, crafts, music, goodies,  and more fun! 

Photos for Children will occur from 12 pm-1 pm, and Photos with Pets will occur from 1 pm-2 pm.

Save the date and tell your friends - Santa Claus is coming to town!!!

Suggested donation for photos is $3 to take photos from your own devices, and with permission,  we'd also like to take some to include on our Facebook page and website.

All donations go towards the ongoing maintenance,  restoration,  and preservation of The Little Church on the Hill by The Elk Creek Township Historical Society.

Winter Movie Night- Grinch Fest

Saturday, December 13th

4:00-7:00 PM

Join us for our Winter Movie Night "Grinch Fest" at The Little Church on the Hill, where we'll be screening both the 1966 animated "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" followed by the live action 2000 film "How the Grinch Stole Christmas!"  You are invited to bring pillows,  blankets,  and your favorite refreshments to enjoy the movie inside The Little Church on the Hill!

This will be a fun way to finish off the afternoon following our Photos with Santa, Mrs. Claus, & The Grinch!

This event is part of the second year of our series of movie nights made possible by grants we received for equipment and movie licensure!

This is a free family friendly event, where there will also be an opportunity to purchase tickets for our Quarterly Raffle for $1 each.

Admission and refreshments are free, including our freshly popped popcorn, but donations are always gladly accepted and go towards the ongoing maintenance, restoration, and preservation of the Historic Little Church on the Hill by The Elk Creek Township Historical Society.

December Coffeehouse

Saturday, December 20th

7-9 PM

Join us for our Traditional December Coffee House hosted by Tami Hritzay, who will be joined by Larry Hudacky performing on the piano!  Plus Pastor Ed Schoeneck will also join us for a few songs! We will of course need help from those in attendance to lend their voices to the sing along,  and will close with our traditional candle lighting with the ringing of the historic church bell.

It will be a great show, plus you won't want to miss opportunities to purchase tickets on our Monthly Door Prize,  50/50, and Quarterly Raffles.  Tickets are $1 each or 6/$5 for all drawings,  and will be available through intermission when the night's drawings occur.

Admission and refreshments are free, but donations are always gladly accepted and go towards the ongoing maintenance, restoration, and preservation of the Historic Little Church on the Hill by The Elk Creek Township Historical Society.

Wednesday, December 24th 

7:00 PM

Join us at The Little Church on the Hill as we celebrate our 11th Annual Traditional Christmas Eve Candlelight Service and settle in to focus on the reason for the season.   We'll enjoy a Message on the Christmas Story, singing Traditional Christmas Carols by candlelight, and ring the historic church bell. There will also be a special gift for each family to continue to honor the memories made with this tradition at The Little Church on the Hill.   All are welcome!

New Year's Day Sledding Party on the Hill

1:00 PM

Bring your sleds and warm clothes for our Traditional New Year's Day Sledding Party,

and hopefully Mother Nature will provide the snow!  The length of our Sledding time will depend on the temperature,  but we'll be at it as long as conditions permit!  In the event of the lack of favorable snow for sledding, the event will be canceled.

We then invite you to warm up inside The Church with hot cocoa and snacks!

2025 Speakers, Community Events, 

and Coffeehouses

Mark your calendar and save the date!

Event Pages will be forthcoming, so be sure to keep an eye on our Facebook Pages and mark that you're "interested" or "going" to the events to receive notifications.

Upcoming 2026 Speaker Events

Mark your calendars for the long awaited 2026 Speaker Series Schedule:  Speakers and topics are scheduled going into the 5th Year of the Series.  Keep an eye on Facebook and the website for Event Updates and Event Pages!

January 10th:  Cold Remedy Teas & Tincture with Jen Hershelman @ 2PM

February 7th:  Sheep Sheering, Spinning, Needle Felting Wool, Weaving & Fiber Arts with Jason Gibson @ 2PM

March 21st:  “Bed Turning” Antique & Vintage Quilt Interactive Presentation with Jill Meszaros @ 2PM

April:  Civil War Topic with Earl Baumgardner, Time & Date TBA

May:  Mother’s Day Tea with Sarah Baumgardner, Time & Date TBA

June 20th:  Father’s Day Cake Demo with Kim Graham @ 2 PM at Cranesville Community Church

July 17th:  Cigar Box & Canjo Hands on Presentation & Discussion  with Jim Dimon @ 6 PM

August 9th:  “Don’t Give an Inch!”  The Story of Colonel Strong Vincent @ 2 PM

September 5th:  Flint Knapping with Davy Kephart @ 3 PM

October:  Paranormal Presentation with James McCann @ 7 PM, Date TBA

November 27th:  Native American Heritage Month Presentation with Leon Briggs @ 7 PM

December 5th:  Christmas Card Making Demo with Lisa Peppers @ 2 PM

All Presentations will be held at The Little Church on the Hill unless otherwise noted.

Community Events

Additional dates and events will be added as scheduled

Movie Nights

All movies include popcorn, book and craft related to the movie

December 13th @ 4:00 PM- Grinch Fest (showing the traditional and most recent Grinch movies) following pictures with Santa

Other Community Events

December 13th @ 12:00 PM- 13th Annual Pictures with Santa

December 24th @ 7:00 PM- Christmas Eve Candlelight Service

January 1, 2026 @ 1:00 PM- Sledding Party (weather permitting)

2025 Coffee Houses

Third Saturday of the month at 7:00 PM

March through December

Except September- mini coffeehouse @ Albion Fair

December Coffeehouse- Saturday, December 20th @ 7 PM Tami Hirtzay and Larry Hudacky

Upcoming 2026 Coffee Houses

March 21st from 7-9 PM: Piper Band

April 18th from 7-9 PM:  Performer TBA

May 16th from 7-9 PM:  Performer TBA

June 20th from 7-9 PM:  Performer TBA

July 18th from 7-9 PM: “Never Too Late” Band: Rick Byerly & Friends

August 15th from 2-6 PM: (Coffee, Toast and Jam/Vendor Fair)

2 PM 

3 PM Country Blue 

4 PM 

5 PM 

September 19th Mini Coffee House at The Albion Fair from 1-2 PM: Amber Cooke

October 17th from 7-9 PM:  Performer TBA

November 21st from 7-9 PM:  Randy Peters

December 19th from 7-9 PM:  Tami Hritzay & Larry Hudacky

All events sponsored by LCBA Branch #2022