CLICK HERE to read the Thursday, August 5, 2021 Thursday Thoughts

August 5, 2021
Dear Congregation:
Our Gospel lesson for July 18th included these verses: “The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, ‘Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” (Mark 6: 30-31)
This story begins with disciples coming back together again with Jesus after a time of separation. Yvette Schock writes in Christian Century (“Coming Back Together,” July 16, 2021):
The apostles gathered around Jesus, and told him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” I’m struck by the way Jesus welcomes the disciples back into community here: he listens.
The stories pour out of them—some of the disciples may be elated and proud of what they were able to do, some are carrying the weight of the more difficult moments they experienced on their journey, and some (or maybe all of them) are sorting through a jumble of mixed emotions as they reflect on what they have been through. They need to talk about it all. So Jesus, the teacher and storyteller, gives them the floor and listens.
She reflects that as more of us gather in person, we will need to tell stories of the past year.
That’s what we hope to do on August 8th. We want to come together and tell our stories. Yes, we are going to celebrate what we have missed – births and birthdays, graduations and retirements, getting our drivers’ license, beginning a new job. We also need to acknowledge our losses – people we have loved, missed family moments, the sense of security.
We need to be attentive in these months ahead that each one of us is returning to the world different than we left. We need to be sensitive that some of us are eager to return to an active life and some of us need to re-enter more slowly. In any case, we also need to care and support one another and remind each other for the necessity and the gift of rest, of taking time for worship and prayer, and just being still.
Shock concludes her article with these words of hope, “Whatever the next few months look like for our congregations, we can trust that Jesus will be with us, gathering us in, listening to our stories, inviting us to rest, teaching and healing and feeding us, and sending us out all over again.”
Worship:
Psalm 34: 1-8 is a song of praise. Jesus reminds his disciples that he is the bread of life in John 6:35, 41–51, and models the true life lived in God.

Food for Thought:
“My great hope is to laugh as much as I cry; to get my work done and try to love somebody and have the courage to accept the love in return.” – Maya Angelou

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, July 29, 2021 Thursday THoughts.

CLICK HERE for the July 22nd  Thursday Thoughts.

CLICK HERE TO READ your Thursday, July 15, 2021 Thursday Thoughts

Dear Congregation:

On July 22, 12 youth and 3 adults (Trish Coffey, Joe Adkins and myself) will be departing for our trip to visit with our German partners in Klein Schwechten.  It has been two years since we have seen each other and we are all excited to be together again.

Our group is flying on Iceland Air which offers a stop-over in Iceland.  We will be arriving on Friday the 23rd at 6:30 am and boarding a bus for the Golden Circle Tour, highlighting some of the best sites in beautiful Iceland.  This is the same tour our ERUCC Scandinavian cruise group embarked on several years ago.

We spend the night at a youth hostel type hotel and then leave early the next morning to fly to Berlin.  Our friends will greet us at the airport and the rest of the day will be spent with our host families.

Sunday morning, I will be leading worship with Pastor Alex and youth from both groups will be reading scripture and reflecting on their dreams for peace.

Monday we leave for Ravensbruck.  Some of you have read recently published historical novels such as Lilac Girls and Lost Roses which depict the lives of women resisters and spies during WWII who were imprisoned at Ravensbruck.   We will be staying at a youth hostel there that has been transformed into an international youth meeting place.   Here’s some information from the website:

Our youth hostel has been a place of questioning, learning and understanding for many    years. In the immediate vicinity of the former women’s concentration camp, in the houses          of the guards   of the former concentration camp, in order to create the opportunity for   school trips conferences and international youth encounters right next to today’s          memorial.

            Located in the middle of several nature parks and countless chains of lakes, our    Ravensbrück             Youth Hostel is an ideal starting point for bike tours, canoe tours and                     hikes.

            Sustainability seals of approval guarantee quality standards with the aim of conserving    and saving resources, choosing environmentally friendly products where possible and             offering educational offers with a social and environmentally-oriented focus.

As we gather with our German partners and learn more about this aspect of German history, we will be engaged in mutual conversations about climate change and the environment, the dynamics occurring in both our countries of white supremacy, anti-racism, and the dangers of rejecting freedoms such as freedom of the press.

So we will worship, learn, and engage in conversation but we will also have time to play.  After a year of looking at screens for school, I believe both the German and the American youth are more than ready to run around, play games, and enjoy being in the nature.

On the way back to Klein Schwechen and our last evening with our host families, we will make a stop to visit the city Potsdam.

Thank you, ERUCC and friends, for your support of youth ministry.  These opportunities nurture the faith of our youth and the adults who participate in this partnership as well as provide a foundation for understanding what it means to be global citizens

Worship:       

             This Sunday we read from Ephesians 2:11–22.  Christian communities throughout Asia Minor were finding their way. They consisted of people from different backgrounds, and the old animosities and traditions that existed between them were hard to shift.  These words remind us that all are welcome.  The early church is called to build something new and unprecedented around the cornerstone of Christ.   The story in Mark 6:30-34 & 53-56, in which Jesus and his disciples pause for some respite and prayer in a quiet place.   In a lovely invitation, Jesus calls the disciples to “come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest awhile.”

Food for Thought:   

“You can dream, create, design, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it requires people to make the dream a reality.” – Walt Disney

Rev. Dr. Barbara Kershner Daniel, Senior Pastor

Evangelical Reformed Church, United Church of Christ

15 West Church Street, Frederick, MD 21701

301-662-2762