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Special Announcement

Special Announcement

June 3, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in

Special Announcement –  In Response to the Death of George Floyd

Dear Congregation:

I wanted to make sure that you received this information as soon as possible.

While we are seeing many around our nation and community responding to the death of George Floyd, we are aware that he is just among the many who have died as a result of institutional racism.

Many of you have asked, “What can I do?”

First of all, we can all educate ourselves by exploring our own lives and how we, as white people, have benefitted from the system.  On Monday, we sent out a list of resources – books, articles, podcasts and movies – that can empower you with greater understanding of racism in our country.

Tomorrow evening, Thursday, June 4 at 7 pm, my colleague, The Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg, Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Church, will be offering a program on anti-racism resources.

“For Such a Time as This: Anti-racism Resources for Building the Beloved Community”                          Rev. Dr. Carl Gregg                                                                                                                         Thursday, June 4 at 7:00 p.m.

Zoom: uuma.zoom.us/j/98156575224

One tap mobile: +13017158592,,98156575224#

Dial: +1 301 715 8592

(Meeting ID: 981 5657 5224)

This program is being offered to other congregations in Frederick, as well.

Secondly, if you are comfortable participating in a peaceful demonstration, one is scheduled for Friday, June 5th.  This event is being planned by young adults.  Here’s a link to their video conversation to give you an idea of their vision for the event:  https://www.facebook.com/rougexroyal/videos/3002024893213420/

The demonstration on Friday will begin at Mullinix Park with people gathering at 4:30. If you wish, you can come to the church at 4:15 and walk down with a group from ERUCC.  Please make sure you wear a mask and bring a water bottle.  If you wish, make a sign to bring along.  Come at 3:30 if you need sign making materials – we have plenty of paper and markers at the church.  And yes, we will be maintaining physical distancing.

Pam Shepp invites us to watch the movie, “Just Mercy,” and join a discussion about on Sunday, June 7th at 7 pm.  Warner Bros. has made, “Just Mercy” free this month to stream on digital platforms in order to educate viewers on systematic racism.    To join the discussion follow these links: Barbara Daniel is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: Just Mercy Conversation

Time: Jun 7, 2020 07:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87067537643?pwd=ZDJ3SEkrZ3JWcTR4WlZWVjFNNFhWQT09

Meeting ID: 870 6753 7643

Password: 827642

 

Pastor Daniel 

Sunday, May 31 Bulletin

Sunday, May 31 Bulletin

May 29, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

Join us for worship on Sunday, May 31 at 10:30 a.m. at  https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-1030-service-525168

CLICK HERE for the Bulletin

Pentecost Sunday

Despite what appears to be chaos in the amazing account of this day of Pentecost, Acts 2: 1-21, order rests in God’s hands. God’s Spirit pours abundantly on the community of disciples, renewing them with a diversity of gifts for the common good. Jesus promises his disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit in John 7: 37-39.
We traditionally invite people to wear red on Pentecost to symbolize the fire of the Holy Spirit.  Would you consider wearing red this Sunday as we gather for worship?  Please add the paper flames you received in your packets.  Don’t forget to send us a photo of your worship and/or you decked out in red to bkdaniel@erucc.org

Thursday Thoughts May 28, 2020

Thursday Thoughts May 28, 2020

May 28, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

CLICK HERE for the Full May 28, 2020 Thursday Thoughts. 

 

Dear Congregation:

I greatly appreciate the resources, prayers, and reflections my colleagues are sharing during these challenging times.  This morning, Michel Caine, Pastor of Old First Reformed UCC, Philadelphia shared this prayer with his congregation.  As he writes, “In light of all the missed or at least postponed rituals and life cycle events, I offer you a Postponement Prayer created by a Reconstructionist Rabbi, Heather Paul:”

“Holy One of Blessing,

I stand before You today

ready to embrace Your unending love

and ready to respond with love in return

 

Today is not the day I imagined

and yet I am still here, standing with You,

understanding that sometimes plans overturn

and all that we yearned for

remains undone.

 

Holy One of Blessing,

my heart breaks for what should have been

and longs for what’s yet to come

Help me find holiness

in this in-between time, waiting.

 

Bless me with savlanut (patience),

tikvah (hope), and koakh (strength).

Sit beside me in time’s waiting room

where I pray the day may soon arrive

when I can stand before You again

ready to welcome a new beginning

 

Blessed are You, Arranger of Time and Space,

Who blesses every season, and Who blesses Your people forever.”

Green Team: FOUR WAYS TO TO STAY GREEN DURING THE PANDEMIC

Green Team: FOUR WAYS TO TO STAY GREEN DURING THE PANDEMIC

May 28, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /
1.  GREEN ENERGY:  Sign Up  with the Neighborhood Sun/ERUCC partnership in the Shepherds Mill community solar farm project where a percentage of your electricity will be solar!!  It is open now for full subscription sign up until 6/8 or until as long as the places last.    Our contact is Carolyn Ricketts, 301-806-6067;  the website is https://neighborhoodsun.solar/erucc.  When you sign up through this website, ERUCC will receive a donation.  Signing up is  easy, Carolyn will walk you through.  This project has been vetted by Terry Logee, so we know that it is reliable.  An email detailing the project was sent out on May 14; if you did not receive it or would like it forwarded to you, please contact Susan Kulp at smkulp@earthlink.net or Linda Coyle at lcoyle@yahoo.com. CLICK HERE for Green Team Community Solar information

2.  RECYCLING:  Because of  the additional cardboard and paper packaging from online ordering, the top environmental officer of the US said that Recycling is more essential than ever.  There is even some concern of a cardboard shortage developing, so let’s put it back into the supply chain.  Since Frederick County does NOT require that cardboard boxes be broken down,  just put your cardboard boxes and paper out for curbside recycling.  DO NOT PUT MASKS AND PPE IN RECYCLING even if they are plastic!!!  They need to be put into bags, sealed, and placed in the TRASH.  The CDC has requirements for proper disposal of PPE.   Much of PPE is thrown away carelessly and clogs drains and washes into waterways. Also, remember that Frederick Co.(which includes the city) does not recycle any clam shell containers or plastic bags.

3.  PLASTIC:  After all our efforts to avoid using plastic bags by bringing reusable bags for our grocery shopping, we can no longer do this in most stores, except in certain circumstances.  Giant, at least,  allows patrons to use their reusable bags in the self-checkout lines. Other stores probably do also.   Another alternative is to ask the checker if you can place the items you have bought back in your cart after they have been checked out.  Then take your cart back to your car where you can pack the items in the bags that you have cleverly stashed away in your trunk.  A little more work for you, but creation will thank you for it.   Also, some stores may recycle plastic bags and the clamshell containers we are getting from carry out.  Please let us know which stores recycle these items if you have that information.

The amount of plastic is surging during the pandemic and threatens the earth,  the oceans,  and their wildlife.  If you must get plastic bags from the store or restaurant carry out, REUSE them as often as you can.  Ask the restaurant not to include plastic utensils, napkins, and straws.  Studies reveal that plastic is showing up in our bodies and bloodstream, so let’s do all we can to reduce our plastic use.  Please contribute your ideas to help the rest of us out.

4.  COMPOST:  Now that we eating at home so much, this is a perfect time to start to compost.  You can easily compost at home in your own container; the internet has lots of information to guide you.  And many church members could  help you out.   Also, you could investigate the reasonably priced residential service offered by Key Compost, with whom ERUCC has had a contract .  Key Compost will pick up all your food scraps, including meat and bones,  and return compostable soil to you twice a year.  Key’s website, keycompost.com, has all the information.  Composting is a wonderful way to reduce the amount of trash that goes into the landfills and replenishes the earth.

Sunday, May 24 Bulletin

Sunday, May 24 Bulletin

May 21, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

Join us for worship on Sunday, May 24 at 10:30 a.m. at  https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-1030-service-525168

CLICK HERE for the Bulletin

 

Seventh Sunday of Easter                                                               

Jesus makes clear in Acts 1: 6-14, that the role of a disciple is to be Jesus’ witnesses throughout the world, under the power of the Holy Spirit.  The Gospel lesson, John 17: 1-11, is part of Jesus’ final prayer with the disciples, preparing them for their lives as witnesses to the saving love of God.            

Thursday Thoughts, May 21

Thursday Thoughts, May 21

May 21, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

CLICK HERE to read the full Thursday, May 21 Thursday Thoughts

 

Dear Congregation:
Today is Ascension Day. Ascension Day is the 40th day of Easter and commemorates the ascension of Jesus into heaven 39 days after resurrection on Easter Sunday. You will find the Biblical accounts of the Ascension in Matthew 28:16-20, Mark 16:19-20, Luke 24:50-53 and Acts 1:6-11.

During the 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and his ascension, it is believed that Jesus preached and spent time with the apostles and his followers. Ten days after Ascension Day is Pentecost when we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus.

In the beginning of Acts, the risen Lord instructs the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. This they do for 40 days, recalling Moses on the mountain, receiving the law and experiencing the glory of the Lord. “Lord,” they ask Jesus, “is this the time that your kingdom is going to come?” “No,” Jesus says, “it is not for you to know that. . . . But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses.”

Then Jesus ascends to heaven, and two men in white robes ask the disciples, “Why are you looking up to heaven? He is going to come back!”

There was a time when the Ascension of Jesus was a big deal at Evangelical Reformed Church. In the narthex of our main sanctuary, you can see this photo of the chancel, elaborately decorated for worship in marking the Ascension of Jesus. In reading the bulletins from the ministry of Rev. Kieffer, our pastor from 1910-1946, you find announcements such as this one from 1919, “The annual Sunday School Festival will be held on Ascension Day (Thursday of this week), 7 o’clock. This is one of the most important services of the year and all members of the congregation are invited to be present.”

Sunday, May 17 Bulletin

Sunday, May 17 Bulletin

May 14, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

Join us for worship on Sunday, May 17 at 10:30 a.m. at  https://boxcast.tv/view/sunday-1030-service-525168

CLICK HERE for the Bulletin

Sixth Sunday of Easter                                                                   

The Gospel lesson for this morning is John 14: 15-21. As Jesus promised, God’s presence abides in us through the Spirit – our advocate, comforter, and encourager – and the practice of love. God’s nearness in Spirit blesses us in our witness. The hallmark of this relationship is love expressed in word and deed.  The nearness of God’s presence is underscored by Paul’s address to the Athenians, recorded in Acts 17:22–31. As Paul’s witness proclaims the saving love of God in Christ, a church forms and grows. Even when God’s presence is unrecognized, God in Christ draws near.

As you prepare your worship center for this Sunday, place your heart on your table as a reminder that we are called to be faces of God’s love.     Send a photo of your worship center to Pastor Daniel at bkdaniel@erucc.org    

Thursday Thoughts, May 14, 2020

Thursday Thoughts, May 14, 2020

May 14, 2020 by Evangelical Reformed UCC in /

Click Here for your May 7, 2020 Thursday Thoughts

Dear Congregation:

Yesterday afternoon, Governor Larry Hogan held a press conference announcing that our state was moving into Phase 1 of Maryland Strong: The Roadmap to Recovery.  In Phase 1 more retail and manufacturing operations may be open.  For many of us, the news that hair salons and barber shops can open is one of the best pieces of news we have heard in a while.

As the Governor stated, in Phase 1, houses of worship may open with 50% capacity but there is a strong recommendation to meet outside.  I have to admit that the 50% was confusing – 50% of what?  The 300 + our sanctuary holds?  We are certainly not there yet and those kinds of numbers do not appear in the plan until Phase 3.

Alongside the Governor’s announcement, we also received an announcement that the Frederick County Executive Jan Gardner and the mayors and burgesses of every municipality in Frederick County have agreed to coordinate how and when to implement any proposed changes to the current stay-at-home order.   “The mayors, burgesses and County Executive will need time to evaluate the options and capability to thoughtfully and effectively implement whatever the Governor proposes at his 5 p.m. press conference today. There is agreement that local health data will guide decision-making.”