St. John's UCC

In an effort to keep our friends and members safe this weekend, we decided to cancel our Sunday Worship Service for August 27th. Earlier this month we trained our Vacation Bible School Children to be God’s Heroes. During last year’s Memorial Day Flood we came out as heroes to help flooded neighbors and church members. We even supported our sister church in Cypress whose sanctuary was under water. Now, Harvey seems to be turning into another flood event of similar if not bigger proportions. Keep your loved ones safe this weekend and stay high and dry. Our congregation has been checking on people whose homes were affected last year and everybody is doing okay for now. Please keep everyone along the golf coast in your prayers and follow the official updates:
National Weather Service Houston/Galveston TX
Fort Bend County Office of Emergency Management
St. John’s United Church of Christ

What makes a super hero? Well, at Vacation Bible School we have 35 super heroes descending on the church all week. They all come with their unique super powers. What makes them super is that God calls them to extraordinary things. They learn more about biblical super heroes like David who has heart, like Abigail who has courage, and like Jesus who inspires wisdom and hope and gives the power of the Holy Spirit.

I am a huge fan of the Big Bang Theory, both the TV show and the actual theory. On the TV show Dr. Sheldon Cooper is a theoretical physicist who at times has to deal with his Bible-thumping mother from Texas. Sheldon’s mom represents a character that only exists in pockets of American society that in many ways disconnect from contemporary discourse. No, creationism, young Earth theory, intelligent design or whatever name people may give their brainchild is not based on Biblical theology or scientific reality.

As a theologian I am most interested in how people approach the Bible and I guess that is really at the core of the creationism debate. Let me be clear: The Bible is not a handbook! It does not tell you how to live your life. It does not tell you how the world came to be and it most certainly does not replace scientific research and study. When you want to find out how the universe came to be, you should ask Dr. Sheldon Cooper and not his mother.

Let’s start in the beginning: “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth,” (Genesis 1:1 NRSV). Of course, children take this literally and I cannot blame them. I did as an eight-year-old. I also had a He-Man action figure that could literally fly. The story of the seven days of creation to a child may well be about how the world came to be. But as critical thinking evolves in our brains it should be the latest in adolescence that we leave our childish thinking behind, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways.” (1 Corinthians 13:11 NRSV).

Hopefully our youth get a decent Christian education that enlightens them that the Bible is not one book but rather a library of all kinds of literary products that has evolved over 1,000 years in three different languages on two different continents. The seven day narrative at the beginning was written by priests during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE. The narrative has a very clear purpose: Its climax is to set aside the seventh day as a Sabbath to God. Or in modern English: Pastors are telling their flock to go to church on Sunday.

Priests are really good at doing religious stuff. Scientists are really good and doing scientific stuff. They can talk to each and find differences and similarities in their respective fields. After all modern science is a brainchild of middle age scholasticism. But the truth is that God wants us to be experts in our field and respect other experts in their fields, “Let every man abide in the same vocation wherein he was called.” (1 Corinthians 7:20 GNV). An argumentative shortcut does not do justice to either Biblical theology or scientific reality.

“I am the way and the truth.” (John 14:6)

Cisco and her dog are now certified as a therapy team. That means our church council member and her dog can go to pretty much any facility and allow students, residents, and patients to experience the healing interaction with a calm animal companion. They get to pet the dog and feel the comfort that comes with that. In clinical environments it is important for people to stay connected to their outside “normal life” reality. Residents may miss their pets. So a therapy dog can bring familiarity, allow touch and connection or bring back childhood memories.

The love that a dog provides is great. I am just learning that myself with our new puppy at home. It only makes sense that our church’s Family Ministry has now invited Cisco and Emmett to join us when we bring communion to the residents in various local care facilities.

You may wonder what does a therapy dog have to do with holy communion?
Quite truthfully: Everything!
Communion is all about love:
– The love of God entering our bodies represented in bread and wine.
– Our love for one another by sharing this time and place together.

When Jesus says he is the way and the truth that connects us with God and one another, there is a direct link to Cisco’s therapy dog. His name is Emmett, which in Hebrew is spelled אמת and means TRUTH!

Joey was about two years old when he came to the childcare center at St. John’s United Church of Christ. He was malnourished and Rae Harborth and her team played a vital role in providing a safe and nourishing environment for him.

Joey is 45 years old now and according to his sister, “he is blessed and highly favored and doing real good!” We at St. John’s United Church of Christ respect the family’s desire to remain out of the public’s eye.

Over 51,000 people on Facebook alone and many more through TV and newspaper helped us track Joey down. St. John’s United Church of Christ wants to thank all of y’all for your leads, your prayers, and your concerns.

From Rev. Jeremy Albers

For the 4th of July break between camps, I decided not to do a mad dash to the Dallas-Fort Worth area to see family and friends. Since the move in May, I have been in summer camp mode and Annual Meeting mode. Needless to say, many items around the house were put on the back burner, leaving mounds of boxes and other items around and about and my potted plants did not make the “To Do List,” until this weekend.

Shifting focus to the outdoors has been therapeutic for me since I was a young kid. I spent hours in the backyard designing, creating, and building flowerbeds and living art. Retired women in the church also shared this love of gardening and connecting through nature. They would give me plants from their yard to plant at the parsonage. All I had to do was help them clean out their beds, weed, and thin their plants. As a twelve year old, I thought this was a deal! I got free plants out of it.

Over the years, the back yard of the parsonage continued to grow, change, and mature. Being present in this backyard was healing and restorative. My parents and I could not help but see the people behind the plants. Our yard became a symbol of the love, community, and presence of many people in our congregation. When my father finally accepted a call to a different church, it was everything that I could do not to want to dig up the entire backyard, which would have been a near impossible task for me, and move them all with me. So many of the people were no longer with us but remained in spirit in that parsonage back yard.

Walking around Slumber Falls Camp, I get that same sense of love, community, and presence. While not all of these sensations come from plants, I can feel it in the buildings, spaces, and friendships that form lasting relationships. Working on the director’s house this holiday and moving rocks, sticks, and other brush, I was reminded of an old German proverb, as is the gardener, so is the garden. With the completion of the new pool, the building of the new Bruce Cabin, road and parking lot resurfacing, and the cleaning up of the camp, I am excited and filled with an awe of how Slumber Falls will continue to serve the campers, participants, and congregations in the future. I am looking forward to seeing how the camp will transform to stay relevant to our churches. I am energized in the thought of new relationships and connections to this place that is a reflection of the church – past, present, and future. How will this garden we call Slumber Falls be shaped, as we, the God bearers unto this world, tend and care for this ministry? May our ministries enhance our witness to the gospel message and be a reflection of God’s light, love, and joy in the world.

Peace,

Jeremy

#Brexit1776
Well-meaning, patriotic, happy American friends share this meme a lot these days. There are indeed a couple of things that the American Declaration of Independence and the British vote to leave the European Union have in common:

1. People want to rid themselves of perceived oppression.
In 1776 the thirteen colonies made their case against King George: “He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. He has plundered our seas, ravaged our Coasts, burnt our towns, and destroyed the lives of our people. He is at this time transporting large Armies of foreign Mercenaries to compleat the works of death, desolation and tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty & perfidy scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous ages, and totally unworthy the Head of a civilized nation.”
In 2016 the British electorate did not really know why they did not want to be part of the European Union anymore. As a matter of fact it wasn’t until after the vote that Brits started googling “What Is The EU?”.

2. People are concerned about the status of migrants
In 1776 the biggest concern for America was and ought to be: How can we get the most people here and make them citizens as quickly and as smoothly as possible? The king of England is hurting us by putting up a fence around our borders: “He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners; refusing to pass others to encourage their migrations hither, and raising the conditions of new Appropriations of Lands.”
In 2016 the overall British sentiment was: “We don’t want no refugees!”

If you have to parallel the Brexit of 2016 to an event in American history, I propose 1620. The pilgrims were one group of migrants who formed what later became the United Church of Christ. They declared their #Brexit1620 by leaving Britain and finding a new home in America.
In 2017 the United Church of Christ declared itself an Immigrant Welcoming Church. At #UCCGS the pilgrims’ sons and daughters remember what it means to be a refugee.
July 4th is not a Brexit but opening your welcoming arms to those oppressed by ruthless empires: “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)

This summer the Rev. Daniel Haas will be asking a series of provocative questions every Sunday. In this sermon series he will elaborate on a resounding NO as an answer in all cases!

July 2nd 2017 Should parents hit their children?

July 9th 2017 Should men dominate women?

July 16th 2017 Should brothers take advantage of each other?

July 23rd 2017 Should Christians go to church?

July 30th 2017 Should marriage only be between one man and one woman?

August 6th 2017 Should believers always be unwavering in their faith?

June is LGBT pride month. It stems from protests against the injustice and violence that patrons of the Stonewall Inn had to endure in 1969. We have achieved a lot of progress since. But even in 2017 it still makes sense to wave the rainbow flag boldly. Throughout history its message has been violated. Nazi Germany marked gender-nonconforming people with a pink triangle and gassed them to death alongside the Jews with the star of David on their chest.

The Bible knows the rainbow to be a symbol that God will sustain all of creation no matter what:
“When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” (Genesis 9:16)
It just so happens that among God’s creatures are also human beings. It also just so happens that 3.8% of the US population identify as LGBT. Now mind you, these are only the people who have had their “coming out”. God’s covenant extends to 100% of living creatures.

For the sake of stability and orientation we make our lives easier by grouping people into certain categories: Nazis labeled Jews, Communists and Perverts. Now we know that gender identity is not as easily labelled as we once thought. What does it mean to be a woman or a man? One is strong, the other is weak? One goes to work, the other stays home? One is emotional, the other is rational? One cooks, the other watches TV? One cleans house, the other mows the yard? One manages the kids’ activities, the other has a hard time remembering what grade they’re in? Wow, my wife is a great man, and I am great woman, or vice versa! Life is much more complex than black or white, male of female, liberal or conservative. Life is a rainbow. There are all kinds of creatures in God’s world. All were made beautiful and “very good.” We may give them labels like Straight or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual or Transgender. Or they may not fit any category and be truly Queer.

That’s what the rainbow is all about. We are not all the same. We are all different. We all have a unique color. We all belong in a particular stripe of the rainbow. But then these stripes overlap. Pure red overlaps with yellow and forms orange between them. Yellow overlaps with blue on the other side to form green. Purple combines red and blue. Where do you fall on the rainbow? What does it mean to be a man or a woman for you?

A church needs Purpose, Vision, and Mission. As a local congregation it is imperative to find out why God put this particular group of people in this particular place at this particular point in time. On the national level our wider church, the United Church of Christ, needed a fresh start as well. Last fall the Board of Directors affirmed a new Purpose, Vision, and Mission statement for the denomination. If you haven’t seen them yet, here they are:

Purpose:
To love our God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and our neighbor as ourselves.

Vision:
United in Christ’s love, a just world for all.

Mission:
United in Spirit, inspired by God’s grace we welcome all, love all, and seek justice for all.

Beginning with General Synod 2017 in Baltimore this summer, the United Church of Christ will begin the transition to a new logo for the denomination. The logo, last re-designed in 2004, has been updated to reflect both tradition and innovation within the church as it faces the challenges and opportunities of Christian witness in the coming decades. The new logo’s design and colors are intended to complement the graphic representation of “A Just World for All,” developed to illustrate our new vision.

“I have been traveling around witnessing the work of our churches,” said the Rev. John C. Dorhauer, UCC General Minister and president, “and what we are doing will not change. What will change is our ability to tell the story more fully, and to narrate the impact of a mission we are all collectively engaged in. We are hoping to deepen the sense that we are all in this together; and that together we make a profound difference in our world.”

The new logo’s colors were chosen to work with both ‘A Just World for All’ and the ‘3 Great Loves campaign — Love of Children, Love of Neighbor, Love of Creation,’ which will be rolled out during General Synod in Baltimore (June 30 – July 4). Blue has replaced red, with black retained as the second color, in the new design, to visually and symbolically represent Creation elements of water and earth.

At St. John’s the phase-in of the new logo has already begun with a redesigned website, a new newsletter format, and updated worship PowerPoint slides.

The new logo retains an updated version of the traditional element of the UCC comma — a much-loved and widely used emblem of the United Church of Christ introduced as part of the “God is still speaking,” identity campaign. That campaign quoted a line from Gracie Allen that her husband George Burns found among her papers after death. In a letter addressed to him were the words, “George, never place a period where God places a comma.” A variation on that line, along with the graphic comma, has been used since 2004 as a symbol and shorthand way to refer to “continuing testimony,” or the ever-unfolding nature of God’s word for new times.

The new primary UCC logo consists of an updated comma emblem and the words “United Church of Christ.” “God is still speaking,” remains as the UCC’s tagline, and the new logo may be used with or without the tagline.

In addition to the comma, the UCC retains its original emblem for use by congregations and other entities of the denomination: the traditional “cross, crown, and orb” graphic, including the words “That they may all be one” (John17:21), which dates from the founding of the United Church of Christ in 1957—a statement of the UCC’s intent to be a “united and uniting” church.