St. John's UCC

Imagine you were to live in the neighborhood around our church. Quite some folks actually do. You have seen the neighbor change over the past decades. Now imagine you need to go grocery shopping. Most likely you will hop into your car and head towards Brazos Town Center because that is where most shopping in Rosenberg is done these days.

But now imagine you were a one car family. I met this courtesy-driver at a car dealer ship. Him, his wife and two kids just had that one car. He drove it to work in the morning and at 6 pm he would switch shirts. His black pants and boots are also okay with the fast food chain shirt he had to wear at his second job where the shift started at 6pm – with no turn-around time. Now, all the panaderias along 1st Street can certainly keep his wife and kids from starving but if you were in their shoes where are you going to get your fresh produce? The simple reality is that you would have to ask somebody for a ride or you would walk to Fiesta. That is two miles each way, hauling bags of fresh apples and heads of lettuce. According to Google Maps that would take you about 40 minutes times two and you could only buy as much you could carry with two little kids in tow. In this sense our neighborhood is a food desert and there is nobody there to change that.

One thing we have changed since 1985: As a covenant church of Rosenberg-Richmond Helping Hands we support their mission to feed and clothe people in West Fort Bend County on a short term basis. They served 6400 families in 2013. Food was distributed to 22,047 people. We were able to supply 832 babies with diapers and 131 were provided with formula. We give 9% of our church’s budget to Helping Hands and we do two month-long food-drives each year in February and August.

February is big because it coincides with the Souper Bowl of Caring. All month long we will gather food and monetary donations so we can support Helping Hands even more. Scout Sunday is coming up and they also help with collecting canned goods. Last Sunday we had great fun at our soup extravaganza after church with silent and live auctions. I love the energy that goes into that and all the good that can be done because of it. Only thing is: According to Google Maps Helping Hands is 4.3 miles away from the church. That is a 90 minute walk one way. Can you think of other ways to help the courtesy-driver’s family?

You know what the biggest group of Americans say they DON’T do on any given Sunday?
– Be in church or watch football!

According to the January PRRI/RNS Religious News Survey most people forgo both of these Sunday activities. Now, as a pastor I am a regular at church but I must admit that I do not make time to watch afternoon TV except for the Super Bowl. So here it goes: The big game is coming up and I will be joining the minority elite by going to church at 10 and streaming the game later in the day.

But there were a couple more stunning results in that survey when it comes to football and faith:

1. Americans are split in half over the question as to whether God rewards athletes who have faith with good health and success. Let me take sides here: No, God does not reward actions! Being a person of faith does not make your life any easier: Remember Job! If anything, faith makes your life more challenging. Because bad stuff happens to good people and as a person of faith you have to work that out with your image of God. Health and success as a reward? Job says: Hell no! All I got was pain and misery for nothing! Maybe signing multi-million dollar contracts can boost your success. Maybe exercising for a living can make you healthier. But please, don’t blame God for your good fortune.

2. One in four Americans say that God plays a role in determining which team wins the Super Bowl. Again, let me join the minority elite. Of course, God can do all things! Not a thing happens in the world that God couldn’t prevent. I am one of four! Every Sunday we sing “He’s got the whole world in his hands!” And yes, that includes the football and the scoreboard, he’s got the Patriots and the Seahawks, he’s got the whole world in his hands. “We reject the false doctrine that there could be areas of our life in which we would not belong to Jesus Christ but to other lords”, states the Barmen Declaration. God Almighty rules over time and space so of course the result of a sporting event is within God’s reach.
BUT: Sometimes people have a tendency to forget that God is the Ultimate Free Agent. We can’t tell God what to do. We cannot predict a Super Bowl Winner by turning our praying ear toward God. Because the ruler of heaven and earth has been very clear as to who is in charge. Which ever team you will be rooting for on Sunday, America will most likely be split down the middle again and half of us will be utterly disappointed. The recommended prayer for that prospect is: “He said, ‘Abba, Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’”

On Friday, January 23, 2015, I will be part of the 2nd Annual Ecumenical Prayer Service for Christian Unity. This year it is hosted by Lakewood Church. You are now part of the lucky who can already read my prayer today. But still: Please make time to join us on Friday at 7pm.

I am free to do this hand sign right here, right now.
Being a demonstrator in Thailand such an act of defiance will get you arrested.
Military dictatorships are afraid of movies that promote freedom of expression.

When The Interview came online I couldn’t resist but watch it and it really turns out to be hilariously offensive. Do you have to love it? – No! Is it important to have that kind of artistic expression out there? – You bet! Or as Evelyn Beatrice Hall put it in the mouth of Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it”

As we gather this week to work toward Christian unity let us join our voices in prayer for freedom of expression:

Holy One: Your Word called the world into being. Your Word became flesh among us. When you express yourself in all your awesome and holy freedom everything changes. A voice like thunder, the loving whisper of a mother – a word can affect so much and you have freely spoken to all your people through the ages.

When Jesus came to the Samaritan woman at the well your Word was expanded to include even those Samaritans which have never been any good. Ultimately gentiles from all around the world were called into your beloved community. Like an author publishing a book you have set your Holy Word free.

You want our words to be free also:
when we laugh at ourselves for our shortsightedness,
when we poke fun at each other for our denominational oddities,
when caricature educates and enlightens the political public.

You call us to stand for freedom of expression: With Charlie Hebdo, with protesters in Thailand, with our Christian brothers and sisters in Brazil and all around the world. It takes loud people with radical symbols that keep on yelling: “Let my people go!” Holy One, hear our supplications that we can express so freely. Amen.

Rev. Daniel Haas

How hot does your faith burn?
Is your sense of calling as strong as Martin Luther King’s?

Also, please read the United Church of Christ’s Pastoral Letter On Racism: A New Awakening

Reflecting on the Lord’s Baptism with the help of Carrie Underwood:

Last weekend they announced the concert lineup for the Rodeo Houston. Brad Paisley is going to perform. That is big for Mirjam and I for we really admire his work. On Saturday the tickets will go on sale and you have to pre-register and wait for an hour in an online waiting room before even being considered for the privilege to fork over your money. Can you tell it’s our first year at Rodeo Houston? – Very exciting times.

I need to share this this week for two reasons:
a) I don’t want you to miss your opportunity to get your tickets. Think of this as a public service announcement or a friendly reminder.
b) Next Monday is Martin Luther King Junior Day. And it is so easy and pleasant to remind ourselves of great thoughts from the past: “I have a dream”. But who is brave enough to tell a story of racial injustice that has happened in your own backyard? Well, Brad Paisley is one of those people who dare to share in his song “Welcome to the future”:

From this musical excursion let’s go to the cold hard facts of demographics. According to solid projections there will be fewer blacks and hispanics in Fort Bend County in five years. Whites are the only ethnical group with substantial growth:

Did you have a spontaneous gut reaction to those numbers?
What do those feelings tell you about race relations in America 2015?

When I drop off the kids at school in the morning I drive past two churches that could not be more different: One has a full fledged sanctuary with educational buildings attached. The second rents a store front in a failing strip mall. And I must admit I am partial. I have a hard time envisioning church life in a store front. I know the church is first and foremost the body of Christ, second the congregation and the people it is comprised of and only in the third place the church is the church building. But in my little thinking all three go hand in hand. I need a sense of sanctuary to connect me to the ancient roots of our faith. I need the sound of the organ to lift up my spirit beyond what I can hear on the radio every day. I need ancient canticles, time-tested rituals and historic places. No, I am not against change. The church has always evolved: From a radical preacher healer whose gang of twelve was persecuted and prosecuted to the established religion of the greatest empire the world has ever known. The house church has been the go to style of worship from the beginning and still has its merits in a variety of settings. But this week’s watchword is a nice reminder that God wants a nice place:

“Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.”
(Psalm 29:2 – Watchword for the Week of Sunday 11 January 2015)

It makes sense to invest into the church building and put on a new roof. It makes sense to upgrade the Hymnals. It makes sense to tune all the pianos scattered around the buildings. It makes sense to change the paraments and restock candles and tapers. For worship we use things and words and gestures that are not necessarily part of everyday life. They are special, they are set apart, they are holy. I would not want an elaborate candelabrum at home but it serves its purpose in the sanctuary. Are all those bells and whistles really necessary? It depends! Do they prepare our hearts and minds to listen to the still speaking God? That is my litmus test. Tradition only makes sense as long as it accomplishes its mission to make straight the paths of our God.

All this tells you more about me than it tells you about the nature of the church. I hunger for the connection to the ancient roots of our faith and since you all have chosen to worship in this place in this style it is safe to assume that some of my reflections resonate with something inside of you. But how about the storefront worshipers? Their faith journey is just as sacred and valid. God does not need a traditional setting to reach hearts and minds. It just may be the case that people there do not need the deep roots of faith but are better at enjoying the moment and facing the challenges of the here and now. Maybe I envy them after all for being able to live life without the constant reminders that keep me rooted.

Join us on December 24th for our Christmas Eve Service at 6 pm.
To get into the Holiday Spirit you can prepare by listening to last Sunday’s Cantata Service:

The Christmas Fund for the Veterans of the Cross and the Emergency Fund is a Special Mission Offering of the United Church of Christ that grants us an opportunity to recognize and honor those who have served and continue to serve in lay and authorized ministries of the United Church of Christ. During 2013, you provided gifts totaling $1,545,076 – an increase of about $80,000 over the 2012 Offering. Thank You! Our goal for the 2014 Offering is to raise $1,700,000 for the vital ministries of Pension Supplementation, Health Premium Supplementation, Emergency Grants, and Christmas “Thank You” Gift Checks. St. John’s United Church of Christ will accept your donations to the Christmas Fund through the end of the month of December 2014. One of the unique aspects of the Christmas Fund is that the funds provide direct financial assistance to individual UCC clergy and lay church employees – the funds do not support programs or institutions, but people, like Rev. Marjorie Peters (Pseudonym):

Rev. Marjorie Peters was 55 years old when she entered seminary. Her original goal had been to go to medical school. “In those days there weren’t grants and loans like today. I spent 29 years working in four hospitals doing medical research,” she says. “When I lost my job, I was under a great deal of stress. My husband was terminally ill. I didn’t know what I was going to do.” Her pastor suggested that she attend a job-training workshop. “At one point, we were asked what we wanted to do. I don’t know where it came from but when it was my turn I said, ‘I want to go to seminary for Christian ministry,’” she says. “The more I said, ‘No,’ the more God said, ‘Yes.’” It wasn’t until Rev. Peters began collecting her Social Security that she was able to pay off her educational debt.
She was ordained in 1990 at the age of 58. While she was interested in serving only small churches in New England, over the years she also served the Maine Conference on the Commission for Witness Life, and promoted Our Church’s Wider Mission (OCWM), helping explain its importance and encouraging increased giving. She also served as an elected leader on Association and Conference levels, and on the Church and Ministry Committee. She has been a Sunday School Superintendent, and in retirement, serves as Clerk and Church Secretary in her local congregation.
Rev. Peters was a Congregationalist at the time of the 1957 merger that birthed the United Church of Christ. “I like to tell people that while the UCC was in gestation, I was in gestation as well, since I was pregnant with my second child,” she says. “When the merger…was being discussed, my husband was not in favor of it. I ultimately convinced him otherwise.”
The pension supplementation Rev. Peters receives “has been an absolute God-send! It made a big difference,” she says. “I emphasize to my congregation the importance of the Christmas Fund, that it not only helps retirees but active persons as well. I like giving Mission Moment talks to encourage giving generously to the Offering.” The grandmother of four and great-grandmother of six retired in 2003, and continues to provide supply preaching.