The 10:30 Service can be viewed online : HERE

A copy of November 11th Thursday Thoughts can be viewed: HERE

November 11, 2021

Dear Congregation:

To all veterans of all branches on this Veteran’s Day:  Thank you for your sacrifice, your bravery, and the example you set for us all. Thank you for your service!
I once heard someone describe sacrifice as prioritization and discipline.  We do not always have the space or time in our lives to do everything we would like.   I never thought about sacrifice as prioritization.  Clearly, we all have to prioritize what we do in our lives because there are only so many hours in a day.  Rather, I have always thought of sacrifice as making an intentional decision for the greater good or for the sake of someone else.  To make a sacrifice is to make a sacred gift so that someone else may have life.
While we are conscious of the sacrifices of those serving in the military on this Veteran’s Day, I invite us to give thanks for others who are giving the gift of their lives in service to others so that others may live.   May we thank them, too, for their service.

Rev. Dr.  Barbara Kershner Daniel

Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
301-662-2762

The 10:30 Service can be viewed online : HERE

A copy of November 4th Thursday Thoughts can be viewed: HERE

November 4, 2021

Dear Congregation:

Throughout Christian history, the church has and continues to remember and celebrate the lives of faithful people who have died.

The German word, Totensonntag, translates to “Sunday of the Dead.” The name indicates the fact that the holiday always falls on the Sunday before Advent. You might also hear the holiday referred to as Ewigkeitssonntag, which means “Eternity Sunday,” or as Totenfest.

Totensonntag is a federal holiday in Germany and the Netherlands. It’s the day of the year when Protestant Christians commemorate their dead. The date is especially devoted to family and community members who have passed in the last few years.   To this day, in parts of Germany, families will visit the graves of loved ones to clean off the summer flowers and cover the graces with evergreens for the winter.

Our friends in Inden and Langerwehe mark this Sunday with communion and the reading of the names of those who have died in their parish.  They share the age of the person who has died and light a candle in their memory.  One year  they put a pine branch on the altar for each name which was then woven into the advent wreath we started using on the first Sunday in Advent.

The tradition of Totenfest, “Feast of the Dead,” was common in the German reformed tradition.  Our church has continued to remember those who have died by reading their names during a Sunday Service, although we have moved the tradition to the first Sunday in November as All Saints Sunday rather than the last Sunday in Pentecost.

This Sunday, we will remember those who have gone before us with a special presentation by Pastor Emeritus, Rev. Fred Wenner, at 9:30 in the Community Room.  At the 10:30 service, we will be reading aloud the names of church members and your beloved family members and friends who have died since last November 1st.

Come, remember, and give thanks for the communion of saints.

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

The 10:30 service can be viewed online: HERE

A copy of  October 21st Thursday Thoughts can be viewed: HERE

October 21, 2021

Living Psalms Book is created by UCC Witness & Worship Artists’ Group, a Network of UCC connected artists, activists and ministers bridging the worship and liturgy of the local church with witness and action in the community.  I appreciated the reflection of this group of writers as they pondered how to bring this Psalm to life for us in these days:
Living Psalm 34; 1-8(19-22)

Bless God in the mess,
in the stress, in the wonder, in the might,
Bless God in the grief
With each heartbeat, and in the lonely soul night,
Bless God while I sleep and while I wake,
and while everything within me aches,

Bless God when my joy shatters through my body and my voice erupts in song,
Bless God in the morning, at midday and the gloaming moments all along.
Because when I stretch ed towards God, They answered me, and delivered me.
God carried me through the panic moments and uncertainties,
And still, found me moments of gratitude.

I wept and I cried and I grieved and sighed,
not recognizing this polarized world in pandemic stride,
And yet, here I am, anew, months and months later.
The Angels of the Lord accompanied me,
Strengthened me into mutual aid and care of community,

Taste, then, and see, this feast of abundance,
The wonder of possibility,
The knowing that God is Good.
God will not abandon us in the struggle.
O Bless the Lord, my Soul.

(Living Psalm 34; 1-8(19-22)—Pentecost 22B was written by Chris Davies)

Rev. Dr.  Barbara Kershner Daniel

Senior Pastor
Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ
bkdaniel@erucc.org
301-662-2762

The 10:30 service can be viewed online: HERE

A copy of  October 14th Thursday Thoughts can be viewed: HERE

October 14, 2021

Dear Congregation:

What an honor it was to host the 4H event this past week.  Hundreds of people of all ages came through our doors to celebrate the accomplishments of children and youth with cooking, baking, clothing design, growing vegetables, and caring for animals.  As one of the organizers said to me, “How great for us to be here in a church because churches care about children and God’s creation.”

While we have hosted large events in the past, this was a multiday event utilizing just about all our space on the main sanctuary side of the street.  I am grateful to Amy Aguilar for making the connection and encouraging the group to consider renting with ERUCC.   I am grateful for the church staff and the volunteers who came in and spent hours providing hospitality as we extended our ERUCC welcome.

Before the new space was completed, we had conversations about how we envisioned that space being used. Of course, we thought about our own educational programs and events. We got excited about having plenty of space for fellowship. Some of you may remember when we were crammed into the old social room with standing room only.

We made an intentional decision to call the new room, The Community Room.   This is a place we envisioned the community using, just as the community had been welcomed into our buildings in the past.  It is an opportunity for us to meet community needs while at the same time engaging people in knowing more about who we are as a church.

Last night, for example, several of the 4H staff people asked me about the demographics of our church and what we had been doing during COVID.   They noticed that we had two other groups coming to use space including a support group and the Religious Coalition.  “Busy place,” one of them commented.  And with that comment, I was able to share more about our congregation’s values and how we seek to live them out.  I have been telling them about our children and youth programs, our creation justice work, our engagement with vaccine clinics and hosting the family shelter.

They have met some of us and experienced our hospitality and friendship.

We look forward to hosting more community events in the months to come, a Muslim wedding reception, a community of African immigrants will be celebrating a boy’ 11^th birthday (a special rite of passage), and a Quinceanera

ERUCC continues to be a place of warmth and welcome for all.

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