Currently we are tracking three households of church members that are either on mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders. Everyone is safe.
The church office will remain closed on Tuesday, May 31st 2016.
For the City of Rosenberg, the First Baptist Church of Richmond is housing misplaced flood victims. Our Church has offered any assistance if needed. At this time they are housing 7 people.
June Calendars
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Memorial Day Weekend
This weekend we will remember those who lost their lives serving the people of the United States. In the sanctuary you will see a “Fallen Comrade Table”. This is a common tradition in Veterans’ organizations and at military functions. It is set in a special way:
The white tablecloth draped over the table represents the purity of their response to our country’s call to arms. The empty chair depicts an unknown face, representing no specific Soldier, Sailor, Airman, or Marine, but all who are not here with us. The table itself is round to show that our concern for them is never ending. The black napkin stands for the emptiness these warriors have left in the hearts of their families and friends. The single red rose reminds us of their families and loved ones. The red ribbon represents the love of our country, which inspired them to answer the nation’s call. The yellow candle and its yellow ribbon symbolize the everlasting hope for a joyous reunion with those yet accounted for. The slices of lemon on the bread plate remind us of their bitter fate. The salt upon the bread plate represent the tears of their families. The wine glass, turned upside down, reminds us that our distinguished comrades cannot be with us to drink a toast or join in the festivities of the day.
Please, take this weekend to say a prayer like the following one by the Rev. John Gundlach, former Minister for Military Chaplains in the UCC:
Gracious God, on this Memorial Day weekend, we remember and give thanks for those who have given their lives in the service of our country. When the need was greatest, they stepped forward and did their duty to defend the freedoms that we enjoy, and to win the same for others. O God, you yourself have taught us that no love is greater than that which gives itself for another. These honored dead gave the most precious gift they had, life itself, for loved ones and neighbors, for comrades and country – and for us. Help us to honor their memory by caring for the family members they have left behind, by ensuring that their wounded comrades are properly cared for, by being watchful caretakers of the freedoms for which they gave their lives, and by demanding that no other young men and women follow them to a soldier’s grave unless the reason is worthy and the cause is just. Holy One, help us to remember that freedom is not free. There are times when its cost is, indeed, dear. Never let us forget those who paid so terrible a price to ensure that freedom would be our legacy. Though their names may fade with the passing of generations, may we never forget what they have done. Help us to be worthy of their sacrifice, O God, help us to be worthy. Amen.
Memorial Service for Rose Rabata
A Memorial Service for Rose Rabata will be held here at St. John’s UCC in Rosenberg on Thursday, May 26th at 2:00 p.m. in the sanctuary with a reception in the Parish Hall following the service.
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Confirmed!
The window named “Baptism” at St. John’s United Church of Christ
Email has made communication so much easier and faster. On the downside sometimes people just say they never saw your message. When I send something very important I ask for confirmation of receipt. The church has done the same thing with Baptism. Most of us were baptized as babies and do not remember a thing about it. So we created at the brink of adulthood a chance to confirm our parents’ decision to have us baptized as a child. Teenagers say yes to the yes that their parents spoke on there behalf over a dozen years earlier.
What is confirmed in confirmation is not the baby status where you were helplessly held over the font of Baptism. No, here is an emerging person growing into adulthood, firmly standing on their own two feet. What is confirmed in confirmation is change:
I am no longer that little baby, I have grown up.
I do no longer believe like a naive child, but I can think critically.
I am no longer here to do as I am told, but I am capable of laying out my own path.
I am not following Jesus literally anymore as if he were still on Earth,
but I know that he ascended to heaven and I have to listen to the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
The window named “Baptism” at St. John’s United Church of Christ features a dove as representation of the Holy Spirit. It is a reminder of Jesus’s Baptism where a voice came from heaven, “You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.”
Baptism holds a message of comfort: I am a beloved child of God. With all the flaws I know about myself. Even from God’s perspective who knows me inside and out. God loves me no matter what.
Baptism holds a message of challenge: Everybody is a beloved child of God, whether I think they are okay or not. No matter who you are, or where you are on life’s journey you are welcome to the waters of Baptism.
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Jesus is here!
The window named “Pentecost” at St. John’s United Church of Christ
Last week I made the case that “Jesus is not here!”
This week – leading up to Pentecost – I also need to say the opposite: Jesus is here!
The Jesus story does not end with Ascension Day. A week and a half later, Jesus’s presence reappears in his Spirit.
The stain glass window that represents Pentecost in the sanctuary of St. John’s United Church of Christ is a reminder that the Holy Spirit is one person of the Trinity and also that it is Jesus’s Spirit as well. The Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed spells it out with authority: “We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son”. The most important word here is “and the son” – “filioque” in the Latin original.
The filioque takes all the fluffiness out of the Holy Spirit. This spirit is not just a mover and shaker before and in creation. Yes, the Holy Spirit is also found in creation, but when the church talks about the Holy Spirit we also mean the spirit who has been through the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is okay to have spiritual experiences on mountaintops, in yoga studios or family gatherings. But Pentecost reminds us that the Holy Spirit is Jesus’s presence among us.
The window depicts you and me as well: We are fish flopping aimlessly around. We do not no where to find God’s Spirit in Creation. We only know what feels right, what feels good, in short: Naturally we only know what we know. Looking at nature we will remain stuck in our natural self. We are looking for one positive experience after another, an emotional pickup here, some spiritual uplifting there. That is not what the Holy Spirit is about!
Here is the good news of Pentecost: We do not have to be stuck in nature. Jesus’s spirit points us floppy fish in certain directions. We may not be able to follow him literally face-to-face. But Jesus is present in the Holy Spirit when two or three fish are called to flop around together. Not aimlessly this time but following directions from above. Come Creator Spirit! Come!