CLICK HERE for the Thursday, April 29 THURSDAY THOUGHTS

April 29, 2021

Dear Congregation:

I hope you have enjoyed reading through the 2020 Annual Report of ERUCC.  It was rather incredible to see how active we were, even amid a very unusual year.  We figured out how to be the Church, to worship and even expand participation in services, engage in Christian education and nurture, continue our advocacy work, and engage in mission in the community and around the world.  We found creative ways to be in community as we cared for one another.

The 2020 Annual Report was included in your worship packets that were delivered or being delivered before Sunday.  Please review and comment.

I invite you to participate in this Sunday’s annual congregational meeting.  We will have the link to the meeting live at 11:45 so that you can see and chat with one another online and see those who are attending in person.  I am thanking Jeff Schaeberle and Jeff Baker for the work they have been doing to make sure everyone can see and hear.  Many thanks to Peter Brehm, President of the Consistory for his leadership and to Allen Flora and Phil Selby who will be presenting the financial reports. Allen and Phil have spent hours and hours of time providing information and direction in the stewardship of resources.  We will also have an opportunity to thank those who have been serving in leadership on our behalf.

Here is the link for the meeting:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82129963921?pwd=Y25uYlpxV2RtdVJKN3R0Q0xpamo2QT09

Meeting ID: 821 2996 3921

Passcode: 498766

Hope to see you on Sunday – in-person or online.

Worship                           Abides

John 15:1–8 “Every branch that bears fruit God prunes to make it bear more fruit.”

Jesus explains that God is like an expert gardener – an image well understood by the people who lived in Jesus’ agrarian times. Today we can still identify with this imagery’s meaning in our lives. We might already know that if we do not stay connected to the source of life we will not flourish. We will not bear fruit. The connection, to the source of life and community, is vital to our Christian faith. When we forget, how do we become reconnected?                                                                                I John 4: 7-21 tells how important it is to abide in God.  God is love, and when we love one another; God lives in us.  Love is the fruit that we, the vine, produce.  We are called to love our brothers and sisters, as God has loved us.

This Sunday we will be sharing communion, please prepare your worship centers with bread or a cracker, a cup of water or juice or wine.  Following worship, we will have our annual congregational meeting to review church finances and activities for 2020.                                        

Food for Thought:   

“We cultivate love when we allow our most vulnerable and powerful selves to be deeply seen and known, and when we honor the spiritual connection that grows from that offering with trust, respect, kindness and affection.”   (Brené Brown)

Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel, Senior Pastor

Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ

15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701

301-662-2762

E-mail: bkdaniel@erucc.org

CLICK HERE FOR YOUR THURSDAY THOUGHTS

April 22, 2021

Dear Congregation:

Tuesday afternoon, Derek Chauvin was found guilty for the murder of George Floyd.  While celebrations erupted about the country, for me, it was a sobering moment to acknowledge just how difficult and hard and steep is the climb for justice.  As one of my friends said, “I don’t think the verdict ought to be celebrated.  It is sad for all…. The fact that we even have to be talking about this as an issue is the saddest part for me.”

This verdict is one necessary step on the journey as we honor those in law enforcement who work so hard to serve our community with respect and for all citizens.  The verdict is one step on the journey to ensure that all our citizens, of every color and background, can live in safety.  There is still much more work in law enforcement as well as in our society to erase racial profiling and excessive force against persons of color.  There is still much work to be done in overcoming the effects of white privilege in discriminating persons of color in employment, housing, and medical care.

President Biden said the decision could be “a moment of significant change.”  It can be, if we continue to devote ourselves to this needed and necessary work of justice.  Donna Murch, an associate professor of history at Rutgers University, said, “The real victory here is not the incarceration of Derek Chauvin.  Putting another person in a cage is not how we change the world. But stopping the killings of Black people with complete impunity, saying that Black lives matter — this sends that signal.”

Worship Notes                                     Love in Truth and Action

John 10:11–18 “I know my own and my own know me.”

Jesus identifies himself in terms that people of his day and culture could understand – “I am the good shepherd.” Being a good shepherd is linked to knowing the sheep and laying down one’s life for the sheep.

In Acts 4: 5-12, we find Peter and John in prison.  Power to speak, power to act, power to be bold, power to follow, power to love: all are connected to a belief in the saving power of the name of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

Food for Thought:   

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”   (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel, Senior Pastor

Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ

15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701

301-662-2762

E-mail: bkdaniel@erucc.org

CLICK HERE for your Thursday, April 15, 2021 Thursday Thoughts

April 15, 2021

Dear Congregation:

In last Sunday’s sermon, I reflected on how Jesus shows up, appears in person, walks through the locked doors of our hearts and minds and breathes new life and peace on us.  I reflected that Jesus appears every time words of hope, prayer, praise is shared by the followers of Jesus.  Jesus appears in person every time bread is broken, and people are fed.

Today, I give thaks for the ways in which our congregation and other congregations, are showing up for our community.  One of the many strengths of Frederick is the many ways in which businesses, non-profits, and government turn to the faith communities as partners in creating a healthier, safer, and more equitable Frederick.  In the past year, I have participated in discussions with members of the Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Frederick Partnership on equity and inclusion in our community.  The faith community has continued to be a voice for justice and care for our homeless population and the Hayward Road Emergency Family Shelter is a great example of partnership between churches, foundations, businesses, individuals, and government.  Most recently, I have participated in numerous discussions about equity and accessibility in the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines.

The faith community brings a needed and necessary voice to these discussions and I am grateful that we are being included in the conversation.

Last week, 135 of our neighbors showed up at ERUCC to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.  ERUCC embodied the love and care of Jesus as we offered our usual hospitality.  People felt safe entering our building and their experience continued to be positive.  As we talked about prior to opening the new space, one of our core values was to offer radical hospitality for everyone who came through our doors, that we would see each person as a beloved child of God, and we would embody the love and care of Jesus.

Thanks, ERUCC, for the many ways you show up.

Worship Notes:          Love Means Showing Up

            Luke 24:36b–48 “Peace be with you.”

Here it is again – another story like last week from John’s gospel (John 20:19–31) when Jesus encounters the disciples after the Resurrection and greets them with a word of peace. This encounter, however, doesn’t seem to calm the disciples but stirs them up. When does being a Christ-like peace bearer stir things up?

Acts 3:12–19 recounts Peter’s sermon following his and John’s healing encounter with a person who has been lame since birth (v. 2).

Food for Thought:   

When there is shattered glass in my heart,

when the road is long and dull,

when the past has bent, the future vanished,

when I seem to walk from darkness toward darkness—

I pray not that the story be changed

but that my eyes be open

to you,

here beside us,

opening our eyes.

(Steve Garnaas-Holmes)

Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel, Senior Pastor

Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ

15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701

301-662-2762

E-mail: bkdaniel@erucc.org