St. John's UCC

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.

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.

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!

The window named “Ascension” at St. John’s United Church of Christ

According to the Apostles’ Creed Jesus Christ “was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father”. That is the ultimate roller-coaster ride. Raised high to the cross, put in the ground, risen back up to the surface and finally ascended into heaven. That last step is usually not celebrated much which is a shame. On Thursday the church commemorates Ascension Day. The message of that day is pretty simple: “Jesus is not here!”

How would the world be different without this holy day?
Imagine we were still in the situation of Jesus’s disciples right after Easter: Jesus had just overcome death. He is back in charge of his revolutionary movement. His power is obviously much bigger than that of the emperor of Rome. The time has come to fight! We have God Almighty on our side and whoever is against anything we think, say or do is obviously wrong. Because: Look at us! Jesus is right here with us. He is our king. We are his people. Everybody else needs to join our movement or be destroyed.

Sadly enough, to many “Christians” feel that way: that they literally have Jesus on their side, that they know what is right and wrong better than anybody else. Sometimes entire churches find themselves in the self-deception that people need them in order to be saved. How liberating the message of Ascension Day rings in that kind of scenario: “Jesus is not here!”

Jesus is not here! The church is not made up of diehards fanatically following the Führer Jesus. Instead the church is made up of regular people, sinners if you will. There is nothing special about us. We do not know what is right or wrong better than anybody else. You can live a full and happy live without our church. We celebrate that Jesus ascended into heaven and is not literally with us. At the same time we pray that “Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven”. Even up there in heaven Jesus Christ is still our Lord and Savior. Christ rules over both Heaven and Earth. So our job as Jesus’s disciples is to make this world the best reflection of heaven that we can. And a great starting point would be to recognize that we are not the center of the universe.

As our congregation is gearing up for its 75th anniversary celebration on Sunday, April 24, it is only fitting to look back. Last year I dug deep into the history of our church and I hope it may inspire us into the future:

St. John’s United Church of Christ was born out of a vision form our mother church Friedens UCC in Beasley. They provided the original staff and energy. Friedens UCC was 29 years old when they gave birth to little St. John’s. That is a good age to become a parent – well established yet young and energetic enough to dare new adventures. As you can tell by their German first name they had their roots across the Atlantic. I am speculating here but it might well be that the original Friedens people came from the Braunfels area in Hessen where a lot of people in our region originated from. It stands to reason that they came out of the Schlosskirche in Braunfels, Germany. That church was built in the 16th century as a church used by both Protestants and Catholics simultaneously.

Going back only two church generations we made it across an ocean and a language barrier. Our church family tree is full of risk-takers and adventurers. On the occasion of the church’s birthday we are reminded that we are not autonomous but that we are part of a long and proud lineage. We can celebrate our ancestors all the way back to the day of Pentecost. That was when in Jerusalem the disciples received the Holy Spirit in order to live as the Body of Christ. Pentecost is often called the birthday of the church. Without Jesus physically around his friends now had to deal with one another and with the world “only” with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. And when we “do church” here today we can only do that because people have dared to allow the Spirit of God to move them into new and unexpected places.

Our ancestors have been taking risks, tearing down tradition, starting over in life and faith. That has been our church family’s tradition. As we are gearing up for our anniversary we need not only look at the past 75 years but also dare ask the big questions:
What does God want St. John’s to look like 75 years from now?
And what can we do to make room for that Spirit right here right now?
Come Holy Spirit! Come!

Tomorrow’s emergency planning meeting is cancelled. The Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management is tied up coordinating incident response all over the county. In response to the rainfall we have already experienced in Fort Bend County, the expected additional rainfall over the next couple days, and the forecast river levels, Fort Bend County Judge Robert Hebert has signed a local disaster declaration for Fort Bend County.

For the members and friends of St. John’s United Church of Christ the Rev. Daniel Haas has issued the following call to action: “Please contact the church and let us know what damage you have sustained and if you are in immediate need of any assistance. We will coordinate with United Church of Christ resources for disaster response.”

Church is not just the particular group of people you meet with in a particular building on a particular day for a particular program. The church as the body of Christ is so much bigger than that. Here is a story that recently happened at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Rosenberg, Texas.

One of our members works as a preschool teacher. She feels that the public school system would be a better fit for her skill set. So she digs up her almost 10-year-old education credentials. Now she needs to have her school submit them officially for the credentialing process for teachers in Texas. That should not be too hard from here, right? Well, there are a couple of twists in her journey that complicate the matter:
1. The school was closed down a few years after she graduated there.
2. The school was located in Boppard, Germany, 5,214 miles away from Rosenberg, Texas.

How do you get a school that no longer exists half way around the world to send a certificate on your behalf? – That’s where the Wider Church comes in!

As a United Church of Christ congregation we are in full church communion with the Union of Evangelical Churches in Germany. One of their denominational bodies sponsored the school in question. The Diakonische Werk Rheinland-Westfalen-Lippe still keeps the archive of the long closed Janusz-Borczak-Schule Boppard. Since their pastor for public relations has been a long-time acquaintance of mine it was easy to explore options. And indeed, my friend Ulrich Christenn was able to climb into the basement of the administrative offices in Düsseldorf and locate her diploma.

The lesson learned here is:
The larger the body of Christ is, the smaller the world becomes!
It is crucial for the church to work together in all its structural forms on all levels.
It literally pays off to be involved in the wider church, not just your local congregation.

Your next chance to do that is the Spring Meeting of the Houston Association of the United Church of Christ. It will be on April 23rd in Beasley, Texas – a mere eight miles away!

A team of St. John’s UCC will participate in the West Fort Bend County CROP Walk on Saturday, April 30th. Please register to join our team of so far nine walkers. you can do that during office hours or on Sundays or 24/7 online:
https://www.crophungerwalk.org/rosenbergtx/Team/View/20660/St-Johns-United-Church-of-Christ
Over the last 34 years we were consistently among the top fundraisers. This year let’s also be among the largest walking groups!
The current title holder issues a special challenge to our congregation:

Dear Sisters and Brothers of St. John’s!

Are you up for a challenge? Who got to know me a little knows that I love challenges and I love to challenge others. Today is the day that I, as the Rev. of St. Paul’s Presbyterian Church together with my congregation challenge the Rev. Daniel Haas and the good people of St. John’s to beat us in the CROP walk, April 30th at George Ranch Park! The CROP Walk is to not only to fight hunger in and around the world! 25% of the funds raised that day will stay in Fort Bend County to fight poverty right among us in our community! Over the past years no congregation had enough people or donations to beat us – has the year come?

Well of course if you decide not to take on that challenge we from St. Paul’s are more than happy to receive your financial support!
Come, let us fight hunger together – try to beat St. Paul’s!
Rev. Mirjam Haas-Melchior

(Photo BSA)

We all share the common goal of keeping all God’s children safe. Since churches are by state law no longer places where weapons are prohibited we need to set policies for ourselves. We have had this conversation since these changes became known last year. We have had several rounds of honest conversations on the topic and we determined it is best to work on the weapons issue in the context of a broader safety and emergency planning.

“Be dressed for action and have your lamps lit” (Luke 12:35)
As a Christian community we are called to be prepared. On a very practical level our congregational leadership has recognized that we are entirely unprepared for all kinds of disasters: How do we respond to a hurricane? What happens in case of a fire? How do we respond to an active shooter?

Whatever disaster may strike it will most likely not only affect our church but also Living Word Ministries Inc. and New Covenant Fellowship. All leaders and members of our congregations are invited to join us in learning together how we can prepare ourselves. On Tuesday, April 19th, at 6pm, Alan Spears from the Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management will be making a presentation on emergency preparedness, response, recovery and mitigation at St. John’s United Church of Christ. If one of our facilities sustains damage, neighbors may be able to help out with storage and worship space. “If one part hurts, every other part is involved in the hurt, and in the healing.” (1 Corinthians 12:26)

The question of firearms is not primarily a Sunday issue but especially crucial throughout the week. How do we make sure rentals are handled in compliance with our safety standards? How do we inform outside groups that use our facilities? Despite the changes in Texas Law the Guide to Safe Scouting remains unchanged: “Except for law enforcement officers required to carry firearms within their jurisdiction, firearms shall not be brought on camping, hiking, backpacking, or other Scouting activities except those specifically planned for target shooting under the supervision of a currently certified BSA national shooting sports director or National Rifle Association firearms instructor.”

Whenever Scouts meet in our facilities or participate in our programs, no firearms are allowed in our buildings. But then how do we treat our non-scouting children and youth programs?

Please join us for an evening of getting prepared together. Everybody may learn something for their homes and families as well.

Over one billion persons in the world are Hindus. We have wonderful friends right in our neighborhood who came to the US from India. This past weekend we joined them at the Houston Holi. Holi means “colors” and that is what this festival is best known for: People throwing colored cornstarch at each other. It is great fun and like any other festival it has stage performances, vending booths and bounce houses for the kids. What makes it unique are the colors: They are everywhere, the air is filled with colorful dust, every square inch of clothing and skin is covered. Family, friends, and total strangers throw handfuls of color at each other recreating the entire rainbow.

In the religious background of the Festival of Colors, there are two legends that are very fitting for the Easter Weekend:

1. Prahlad is a saintly boy who was challenged by the demoness Holika. After a lot of temptation Prahlad was supposed to be killed but through divine intervention death loses to life. Holi is the celebration of life overcoming death.

2. Krishna is an ancient deity that is usually depicted with dark skin. Eventually he married Radha, a goddess with “fair skin”. Holi is the celebration of color covering everyone’s face so the color of your skin does not separate person from person.

Just like Easter, Holi is tied to the spring equinox and this season comes with life starting to spring, blooming with hope and bringing out more colors. I am going to crack open a wonderfully colored Easter egg now.