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THURSDAY THOUGHTS April 14th 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS April 14th 2022

April 14, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / /

A Full Copy of Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

The 10:30 service can be viewed online at: https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-april-17-2022-492863                                                                                                                              April 14, 2022            Dear Congregation:Continue the journey of Holy Week by participating in Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter services.Holy Thursday                                  April 147:30 p.m. – Holy Communion and Tenebrae Service (main sanctuary)Service will be live streamedMaundy Thursday is an alternate name for Holy Thursday, the first of the three days of solemn remembrance of the events leading up to and immediately following the crucifixion of Jesus. The English word “Maundy” comes from the Latin mandatum, which means “commandment.” As recorded in John’s gospel, on his last night before his betrayal and arrest, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples and then gave them a new commandment to love one another as he had loved them (John 13:34).                         This service has three main parts:                                                                                                                 A Service of Light– based on the traditional Vespers service in which we                                              recognize Christ our Light.A Service of Holy Communion in which we are invited to participate as one of                             The Twelve at the Last Supper.A Service of Shadows–Tenebrae–in which we meditate on the Passion of Christ and experience in dramatic form the extinguishing of the Light.            If you are participating in worship on-line, please have a plate with a piece of bread or cracker and a cup with grape juice, wine, or water.  You make also consider adding a small bowl with water and a hand towel.  During the service, you will be invited to lift the bread or cracker and the cup for a blessing.  Good Friday                                      April 15Noon and 7:30           Main SanctuaryThe 7:30 service will be live-streamed.Our services this day focus on the painful journey through Jesus’ arrest, trials, crucifixion, and death on the cross.  We will read scripture describing the events of this day accompanied by periods of reflection. If you are participating on-line for the 7:30 service, please consider having a thorn, piece of rope, some fragrant spices, and vinegar available as we will use those objects during the time of scripture readings and reflection.

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel

Senior PastorEvangelical Reformed United Church of Christ bkdaniel@erucc.org 15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702301-662-2762

THURSDAY THOUGHTS April 7th 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS April 7th 2022

April 7, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / / /

A Full Copy of April 7th Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

April 7, 2022

Dear Congregation:

Sunday evening, over 150 people gathered on the front steps of our church for the Say Gay Rally. The rally was organized by our friends with the Frederick Center who mission is, “to support and advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ+) people and our families so we thrive, accepted and affirmed, in the broader Frederick community. The rally was planned in response to the law recently passed in Florida that bans public school teachers from holding classroom instruction about sexual orientation or gender identity. The “Parental Rights in Education” bill, has been called by opponents the Don’t Say Gay law.

A large number of those gathered on the steps that evening were young people who see and hear what is happening to LGBTQIA youth and fear it could happen in our own community. Those young people clapped and cheered as speakers reminded them to look around and see all these people who cared about and for them. The speakers – clergy, elected officials, and a school principal – promised to stand with them and act on any attempts to silence them or any conversation about their families.

In his remarks on Sunday, Kris Fair, Executive Director of the Frederick Center encouraged and challenged those gathered to look at who was running for elected office in Frederick and beyond as well as the school board. That was Sunday. Tuesday evening as board and community members gathered to share potential updates to Frederick County Public Schools’ health curriculum, a crowd of parents and community members shouted and yelled at board members and community members serving on the Family Life Advisory Committee. The Maryland State Board of Education issued new guidelines for elementary and secondary health education in 2019, writing into law that “Maryland family life and human sexuality instruction shall represent all students regardless of ability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression. Then, a group of experts from across the state wrote a new health education “framework” — a 51-page document that lays out the broad concepts students should address at each grade level. It says students need to learn about different types of families, including those with same-gender parents.” (Frederick News Post, Wednesday, April 6, page A1)

The shouting and vitriol were so great, that Kris Fair was unable to speak, and the meeting was adjourned.

As I read the account in the Frederick News Post, I thought of those young people who gathered on our steps Sunday evening and their fear that the variety of ways people identify and express their gender would be not only silenced but erased.

I encourage all of us to write to the FCPS School Board and express, that as people of faith, we believe that all people of all gender identities must be treated with dignity and respect. That we, as people of faith, do not share the opinion that a loving family is to be kept a secret. Our community needs to know that there are other voices and other faith traditions that embrace all people as beloved children of God.

For the sake of those young people who sat on our steps Sunday night and for the sake of all our children and their families, stand up and speak up for inclusion.

Statement by the FCPS Board of Education: https://www.fcps.org/about/news/1737557/statement-by-the-frederick-county-board-of-education The Board of Education receives email through Board@fcps.org.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 31st 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 31st 2022

March 31, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / / /

A Full Copy of March 31st Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

March 31, 2022

Dear Congregation:

Last week we received the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS) offering. Gifts to OGHS enables us to be present through our UCC partners in the USA and around the world. Some of us from ERUCC have been on disaster recovery trips to Daytona Beach, Biloxi, Joplin, and New Orleans and have seen firsthand the impact of the gifts that bring supplies, volunteers, and much needed recovery and repair work to affected areas.

In other parts of the world, our generous gifts to OGHS supports safe water projects, sustainable farming, education, and health initiatives, as well as pitching in to assist people fleeing violence from their home communities.

As you have heard in the Sunday morning announcements, currently gifts from OGHS are being shared to help Ukrainian refugees who are being assisted by our partner church, the Reformed Church of Hungry. Working with partners assures that our funds are getting directly to the people in need.

There is still time to contribute to OGHS. Use the OGHS envelope in your envelope packets or place a check in a regular envelope and mark it OGHS or give online at erucc@erucc.org. Make sure you mark your gifts OGHS.

We receive this offering with joy, believing that, with everything else going on in the world, that love and care remains and those who may think no one cares, are given hope.

 

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel
Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702
301-662-2762

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 24th 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 24th 2022

March 24, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / /

 

A Full Copy Of Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

The 10:30 service can be viewed online at: https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-march-27-2022-224151
March 24, 2022

Dear Congregation:

Evangelical Reformed Church of Frederick Maryland and Our Frederick Legacy

By Peter Brehm
I sometimes hear conversations that include references such as “Back in the 1950s . . .” or, “In 1970, when I learned how to drive . . .” and, “I remember when that song was popular in 1985 . . .” we all make these references. They help ground our experiences in the context of broader historic and cultural events of those times.  These references are part of our story.
Here are some numbers that are part of ERUCC’s story: 259, 232, 215, and 129. These are years, and they represent markers in the history and significance of now-named Trinity Chapel (formerly called the German Reformed Church and then Old German Church before gaining its current name).
In 1763, the congregation, which was founded in 1745, built a stone church and tower at 10 West Church Street. In 1790, the congregation partnered with the City of Frederick to install Frederick’s town clock in the tower.
In 1807, the congregation replaced the stone spire with a wooden clock tower and spire. In 1893, the congregation installed a set of ten bells, known as the Trinity Chimes, in the steeple. This 1763 structure and its improvements over the centuries have been a unifying part of Frederick since the early days of the city, uniquely identifying Frederick’s skyline, bringing neighbors together not only for worship but also for education, mission efforts, civic events, and more, and helping everyone keep their appointments in a timely manner! Trinity Chapel is part of Frederick’s story, and part of ours as well.

This Sunday after the 10:30 am service we will launch our Campaign to Restore an Iconic Steeple.  After a catered hot meal, Rob Porter and Pastor Emeritus Fred Wenner will share the history of the structure, after which we will discuss the needed restoration efforts.  Please plan to attend this special event and learn about this important effort to restore an iconic steeple. And in the meantime, please reflect on John Greenleaf Whittier’s poem Barbara Fritchie and how he was describing the Trinity Chapel steeple when he wrote:

“Up from the meadows rich with corn,
Clear in the cool September morn,
The clustered spires of Frederick stand
Green-walled by the hills of Maryland.”

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel
Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702
301-662-2762

 

Artist’s Statement:  New in Christ by Rev. Lauren Wright Pittman
Inspired by 2 Corinthians 5:16-21
Digital painting.

Courtesy of Sanctified Art.

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 17th 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 17th 2022

March 17, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / /

A Full Copy of March 17th Thursday Thoughts Can Be Found HERE

 

Dear Congregation:

During the Season of Lent, I will share one of the poems included in our worship materials, “Full to the Brim.”  It is the hope of our Worship Design Team that this layering of art, poetry, and the language of prayer will enhance your faith journey in these weeks ahead.

This week’s poem was especially poignant to me.  The last line, “You are worthy even if you don’t produce,” is a haunting comment for those of us who see or believe our worth is in what we can do.  The words brought back conversations I had with my father as he aged and was unable to do many of the things he liked to do.  One of his questions in his older years was, “What is my purpose?”

I pray you are comforted by the poet’s words, “You are worthy.”

What I Forgot

Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree.No fruit here, just soaking up the sun, growing roots, turning green, stretching out my branches until I can hug the horizon. Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree, because she doesn’t produce, and she’s not exhausted,and she probably gets eight hours of sleep at night.And her branches, unlike my shoulders,are not heavy with work–pulled toward the ground, threatening to break. And her trunk, unlike my spine, is not fighting to stand tall while holding it all together. Sometimes I wish I was the fig treebecause she knows what I forgot many years ago. You are still worthyeven if you don’t produce.

(written by: rev. sarah speed | sanctifiedart.org)

 

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel Senior PastorEvangelical Reformed United Church of Christ bkdaniel@erucc.org 15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702301-662-2762

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 10th 2022

THURSDAY THOUGHTS March 10th 2022

March 10, 2022 by Jenna Duranko in / / /

A Full Copy of March 10th’s Thursday Thoughts Can be Found HERE

The 10:30 service can be viewed online at: https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-march-13-2022-128924

March 10, 2022

Dear Congregation:

During the Season of Lent, I will share one of the poems included in our worship materials, “Full to the Brim.”  It is the hope of our Worship Design Team that this layering of art, poetry, and the language of prayer will enhance your faith journey in these weeks ahead.

Come Rain or Shine

“I will keep on.” That’s what I heard him say.
I will keep on driving out demons and healing people,
speaking the truth and loving endlessly,
searching for the lost sheep and crying for the brokenhearted,
feeding the hungry an welcoming the outcast.

“I will keep on.” That’s what he said, right after he said my name right after he called me beloved, right after he welcomed me home and saved me a seat.

And I knew, there was not stopping him.
I was under his wing.
Come rain or shine, today and tomorrow,
this love keeps on.
(written by: rev. sarah speed | sanctifiedart.org)

The Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel
Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
15 W. Church Street, Frederick, MD 21702
301-662-2762