Eastwood Baptist Church sits at 3212 James Street in the Eastwood neighborhood of Syracuse, New York, where it has been part of the community since 1927. Across nearly a century the congregation has worked to make the Gospel of Jesus Christ known through worship and Christian education, and it remains an open and welcoming American Baptist presence on a well-traveled stretch of the city's east side. The building also serves as a worship home for a neighboring Karen Baptist congregation and as a gathering place for several seasonal ministries that draw visitors from across the region.
Pastor Heidi Butler and a Lifelong Call to Ministry
The congregation is led by Reverend Heidi Butler, who began serving as Pastor of Eastwood Baptist Church in September 2023. A lifelong American Baptist, Pastor Heidi grew up as a preacher's kid with both parents in pastoral ministry and now carries on that tradition in her own call. She holds a Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, a Diploma in Congregational Ministry from Andover Newton Seminary at Yale Divinity School, and a bachelor's degree in American Studies and Music from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland. Before arriving at EBC she served in worship leadership and pastoral support roles in the American Baptist Church, the United Methodist Church, and the United Church of Christ, and she completed four units of Clinical Pastoral Education, most recently as a chaplain resident at Saint Francis Hospital, a Level One Trauma Center in Hartford, Connecticut.
Pastor Heidi's sense of call first took shape at Camp Wightman, an American Baptist summer camp in Connecticut, where she says she first found God in nature and in relationships with loving community. Her passions for camping and children's ministry, worship leadership and church music, Biblical study, and history are woven into the life of the church she now leads. Originally from Elmira, New York, she has returned to Central New York with her spouse Nate and their two cats, Spirit and Autumn, and she keeps an open door for anyone who wants to talk.
Sunday Worship and the Liturgical Year
Sunday worship at EBC is the heart of the church's life together. Services are held at 10:30 am from September through June and shift to 9:30 am between July 1 and September 7 for the summer months. Each gathering blends Scripture, prayer, music, and reflection, and visitors are welcomed to participate at whatever level feels right. Those who cannot attend in person can watch current and past services on the church's YouTube channel, where live streams are posted along with recordings for those who want to revisit a sermon or share it with family and friends.
Around that weekly anchor the church builds out a full liturgical year. Advent is marked by four Sundays of candle lighting. The First Sunday in Advent doubles as the Hanging of the Greens, when the sanctuary is decorated for the season. The Second Sunday in Advent includes Holy Communion; the Third centers on the Candle of Joy; the Fourth on the Candle of Love. On the longest night of the year, near the winter solstice, the church holds a Blue Christmas service. That quiet, contemplative gathering is designed for anyone who finds the holiday season difficult, including those who are grieving, estranged from family, living with depression or anxiety, or simply feeling the pressure to appear festive.
Christmas Eve is celebrated with two Candlelight Services, one at 4:00 pm and a later one at 7:00 pm, in which the story of Christ's birth is read and candles are lit to welcome the light of love into the world. A mid-December Carols and Cookies evening fills the sanctuary with favorite hymns and holiday tunes before a reception of cookies and hot cocoa. Festive holiday wear is encouraged.
Lent begins with two Ash Wednesday services, one at noon and one in the evening, where worshipers may receive a sign of the cross made of palm ashes on the forehead or the back of the hand. The night before, Shrove Tuesday is observed with a Pancake Supper in Titus Hall, where Pastor Heidi and Nate take to the griddle to serve a breakfast-for-dinner feast with vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free options. Throughout the six Wednesdays of Lent, the congregation gathers for Soup Suppers and devotional classes at 6:00 pm, with no preparation required and no expectation of attending every session. Palm Sunday opens Holy Week with a procession of palms and shouts of Hosanna, followed by a Maundy Thursday service of scripture, prayer, and growing darkness that closes with the Lord's Supper, open to all. Easter Sunday is a festive Alleluias-filled celebration at 10:30 am.
Worship on the Lawn and Summer Rhythms
When the weather warms, the church's front lawn becomes a second sanctuary. From mid-September through early October the congregation holds Worship on the Lawn each Sunday evening at 6:00 pm. The short service features contemporary music and casual reflection on Scripture, with refreshments available and the chance to take in God's creation as the daylight fades. It is one of the clearest expressions of the church's blended worship life, mixing the familiar rhythms of Sunday gathering with the easy feel of an outdoor praise service.
Other seasonal gatherings give the church year a steady pulse. A Prayer and Meditation Service is held on Wednesday evenings during the busy fall months, offering a quieter space for reflection, the practice of different methods of spiritual connection, and intentional time with God and community. Tuesday evenings bring Craft Nights in the Deacons' Room next to the office, where participants make a guided craft, take one item home, and donate another, with refreshments provided. The Annual Garage and Bake Sale each October draws shoppers from the wider neighborhood, and a community Oldies Dance Sock Hop, with music by longtime Syracuse DJ Joe Troiano, has become a signature social event. Free parking is available at the church and at two neighboring sites, Blessed Sacrament Church and the Goddard-Crandall-Shepardson Funeral Home.
Core Values and American Baptist Identity
EBC describes itself as a Bible-based church whose faith is rooted in the Holy Bible with Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The congregation seeks to honor God through regular worship, Biblical education, and relationships that extend outward to the local community and the world. Five core values shape that identity.
- Faith is Bible-based. Scripture forms the foundation of teaching and practice, and the church seeks to honor God through worship, education, and the care of relationships.
- All are welcome. People from every walk of life are received as made in the image of God, and the church commits itself to a warm, respectful, and supportive environment.
- All people are respected. The congregation believes every individual is led to Christ in different ways and that no one is equipped to judge another's earnest pursuit of truth.
- Service is valued. Members see a strong obligation to use their God-given gifts, resources, and the church's facilities to help others, extending missions and ministries beyond the building.
- The people are the church. The congregation is autonomous from any outside hierarchy but is connected to the wider Body of Christ through its affiliation with American Baptist Churches USA, and it uses a democratic process to elect leaders, choose a pastor, and decide how to carry out God's mission.
The motto verse, Mark 12:29 to 31, captures that double call: to love God with all of heart, soul, and strength, and to love the neighbor as oneself.
Affiliations Across the American Baptist Family
Eastwood Baptist Church is part of a wider network of American Baptist life. Nationally, it is affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA, a denomination of roughly 5,000 congregations across the United States and Puerto Rico that provides congregational tools, worship renewal resources, clergy and leadership development, stewardship support, programs addressing poverty and disaster, thirty-one regional ministries, and international ministries supporting about eighty missionaries.
In New York State, the church is part of ABC NYS, which serves 273 member churches in sixteen Upstate Regions through biennial meetings, pastoral support, clergy training and retreats, grants, a lay study program, disaster relief, mission trips, pastoral search support, an annual youth convention, and financial literacy workshops. Regionally, EBC belongs to the Iroquois Association, a self-governing body of thirty-nine member churches in Central New York that works in cooperation with ABC NYS while keeping its own independent leadership and decision-making processes.
Additional partnerships shape the life of the church. American Baptist Women's Ministries connects EBC to mission and ministry with women and girls worldwide, focusing on issues such as domestic violence, immigration, cross-cultural relationships, economic empowerment, sex trafficking, and sustainable development. Vick Pathfinder Camp and Conference Ministries, an ABC NYS affiliated summer program, runs Camp Vick in western New York and Pathfinder Lodge in Cooperstown, with a central office in Manlius. The church also supports that ministry, which in 2021 hosted a two-week camp for fifty-seven young people.
Sharing Space with the Eastwood Ebenezer Karen Baptist Church
One of the most distinctive features of EBC's ministry is its relationship with the Eastwood Ebenezer Karen Baptist Church, an ABC USA and ABC NYS affiliated congregation that shares the James Street building. EBC provides EEKBC with wide use of the church's facilities for worship, fellowship, and related events. In addition, EBC hosts English Sunday School classes for Karen children from first grade through high school on Sunday afternoons from 2:00 to 3:00 pm, helping younger members of the partner congregation build their English language skills in a familiar and supportive setting.
Giving, Membership, and Getting Connected
Like most congregations, EBC is sustained by the gifts of time, talent, and treasure offered across generations. Online giving is available through Givelify, which charges a 2.9 percent plus thirty-three cent processing fee, and worshipers can also give by cash or check during Sunday services using the church-shaped offering boxes. Gifts may be mailed to the church office at 3212 James Street, Syracuse, NY 13206, and the church welcomes inquiries about other creative ways to give.
Several designated funds direct that generosity. The General Fund covers day-to-day operations, staff salaries, and regular giving to ministry partners, with the annual budget approved by majority vote of the membership. The Fellowship Fund, administered at the Pastor's discretion, supports ministry activities and provides emergency help to individuals and families. The Memorial Fund receives gifts made in memory of loved ones and is used for projects of significant need within the church. The Building Fund covers large buildings and grounds expenses outside the regular budget. The Endowment Fund is a permanent fund managed by the American Baptist Foundation and overseen by an assigned committee. Beyond these, the church participates in annual ABCUSA offerings such as America for Christ, One Great Hour of Sharing, the World Mission Offering, and the Retired Ministers and Missionaries Offering, and holds seasonal offerings at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter.
Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is invited to consider membership at Eastwood Baptist Church, although the congregation itself is composed of members and non-members who seek to be a community, the Body of Christ, in the world. Visitors who want to learn more can stop by on a Sunday morning, reach the church office by phone at (315) 463-1930, or write to ebcabc@gmail.com. A weekly update and a monthly newsletter are available by email sign-up, and the church's calendar of events is shared on its Facebook page and YouTube channel.