St. John's UCC

Saint Francis does not want weapons in this veterinary clinic

A photo posted by @revhaas on Jan 27, 2016 at 1:36pm PST

As an Army Chaplain I do not have a choice: When we conduct chapel services in the field there are weapons all around us. Force protection never stops. In the Army everybody with the exception of the Chaplain is in charge of protecting themselves, the team, the nation, the world.

As a local church pastor I cannot imagine people bringing firearms to church. Jesus is so loud and clear in his call for non-violence that the threat or application of force cannot be part of the church’s culture. When the church blesses arms that leads to crusades and bloodshed in the name of Christ.

But the question that my military ministry poses is a valid one in the local church also: How do we best protect the safety and health, ultimately the life of our people at church? For the longest time the two-fold answer was simple enough:
1. We trust law-enforcement officials to keep us safe.
2. The church just like a school, a polling location, a racetrack or an airport is not a place for taking the law into your own hands.

Everyone I have spoken to, seems to join in a clear consensus, that we do not want to see firearms in the sanctuary. How do we go about doing that?

It appears that we have the following options:
1. Do nothing and let common sense and common courtesy rule our behavior towards one another.
2. Hand out a card or other document on which is written language identical to the following: “Pursuant to Section 30.07, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with an openly carried handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a handgun that is carried openly” and “Pursuant to Section 30.06, Penal Code (trespass by license holder with a concealed handgun), a person licensed under Subchapter H, Chapter 411, Government Code (handgun licensing law), may not enter this property with a concealed handgun”
3. Post signs with the same text in both English and Spanish on every entrance to our buildings with each letter at least one inch in height.

The church council has wrestled with this issue since late last year and had not been able to reach a conclusion when the new Texas laws went into effect on January 1st. So on Sunday, March 13th, we have scheduled a table talk after church to address this issue. We need your input on the question of how do we make our people feel safe in the sanctuary?

In a world where communities are being displaced by the catastrophes of war, famine, and natural disasters, the Church is called to reclaim the spiritual discipline of solidarity. Christians are summoned to adopt and live out a “theology of acompañamiento [accompaniment],” in the words of the theologian Roberto Goizueta. As natural, economic, and political forces disrupt and uproot communities, the Church is called to stand in solidarity with those who seek to move beyond the trauma of displacement toward a promise of healing and peace.

The story of Ruth is ultimately about this solidarity. Naomi and Ruth were very much like today’s refugees: they never chose to move from country to country, rather, it was imposed upon them by forces beyond their control. They lived in a society where the patriarchal economy meant that a woman’s livelihood was entirely dependent on her male relationships (father, husband, even son). Yet when that system failed them, Ruth chose solidarity with Naomi over despair, and accompanies her mother-in-law to pursue a livelihood for both of them.

This option for accompaniment is truly a biblical principle that saturates the pages of scripture. From God who is present with Hagar in the desert and calls her to remain close to her son Ishmael (Genesis 21), to the Parable of the Sheep and Goats where the criterion for judgement is that of compassionate accompaniment (Matthew 25), to St. Paul’s exhortation that Christians should “rejoice with those who rejoice [and] weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15). This promise to walk together is mutual and reciprocal, where both parties are in need, and both experience the real power that emerges from the spiritual discipline of solidarity.

Ruth’s promise to Naomi defines what solidarity authentically entails, and it stands as a challenge for Christians today to walk with refugees as they build new homes in strange lands.

Through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, we, as the body of Christ, have opportunity and power to help those who are living in despair as refugees. If refugees had the choice to return home, many would not have a place to return because their home most likely has been destroyed—either burned, severely damaged, or is still an unsafe place to live.

This year as you consider your gift to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering, for one moment, think of what it would be like to not have a place to call home, and then make your very best gift. Let us make Ruth’s promise our own. Let us live out the call of solidarity with all people, especially those displaced by disaster, war, and famine.

Thank you! —Interpretation by José Francisco Morales Torres

When Christians talk about a “call,” we mean that God is calling us—in our mind and heart—to take an action or make a choice with our lives. The Latin word for “call” — vocatio — is the root of a word often used to describe a call that leads us into a way of life: a “vocation.” A call to ministry includes the community’s recognition of and calling forth gifts for ministry. One of the distinguishing aspects of ministry in the United Church of Christ is the affirmation that ministerial leadership is always defined by an ongoing sacred covenant among the minister, the congregation and the denomination; thus ministry is more communal than individual, and the call to authorized ministry is always discerned with others.

A great theologian from the early days of the United Church of Christ, H. Richard Niebuhr, identified four aspects of a vocation:
1. The call to be a Christian is the beginning of any call to ministry, including yours.
2. The secret call between God and you, when you feel an inward invitation to become a minister.
3. The providential call when you recognize that God has given you specific gifts–intellectual, spiritual, psychological, and moral–that God wants you to use in ministry.
4. The ecclesiastical call (from the Greek word ekklesios, meaning church or assembly) when the community affirms your call, helps you prepare for ministry, and then ordains or commissions you for that ministry.

On Sunday, February 28th 2016, St. John’s United Church of Christ will receive a special offering that benefits our three regional seminaries Chicago, Eden and United (CUE). The CUE Regional Seminary Support Program brings together over 2,000 United Church of Christ churches in mid-America, Local Church Ministries, and Chicago, United, and Eden Theological Seminaries, our three United Church of Christ seminaries in this region.
Our mission is to:
1. Strengthen the relationship between our churches and our seminaries.
2. Further the mission and work of these seminaries.
3. Provide financial support for our seminaries.

We live in challenging times and we recognize the vital impact of our seminaries as they:
1. Prepare leaders for church and society.
2. Increase theological thought and scholarship.
3. Provide multiple resources to the local churches.

Current seminary statistics show that:
1. Tuition and scholarships currently pay for about 32% of the total costs of seminary education each year.
2. The CUE Seminary Support Program raised about $547,000 in 2014, covering another 7% of these costs.

I cast my ballot today and I encourage you to do the same. I have my fair share of experience in politics and policy-making. In college I served as a staffer to a first-term member of the Bundestag who later went on to becoming Germany’s Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development. I ran campaigns and chaired political organizations in different states. Since I was naturalized as an American citizen in 2014 this is my first go-around in primaries of a presidential election cycle in this country.

As a pastor I cannot tell you who to vote for. Like everybody else I have strong opinions about topics and persons. The political arena is competitive. Ideas and personalities are supposed to wash out the best through the process of competition. As a Christian I recognize that Pontius Pilate hit the nail on the head when he asked: “What is wisdom?” – There is not the one “Christian answer” or the best “Christian candidate”. There is not the one wisdom!

In the church we have millionaires and homeless. We have persons paying social security tax and persons receiving social security benefits. We have immigrants and life-long residents. We have liberals and conservatives. We have gun rights supporters and gun control supporters. We have women who had abortions and persons who oppose that option. We are a reflection of society.

The body of Christ is not a political party and it must not act like one. There is no Christian party that is better than another. Christians support and serve in different parties. And members of different parties live together in the church. When I walked into the county annex to vote this morning the first question they asked was: “What party?” – After my response I proceeded to one of the booths. And guess what: Those booths are the same for everybody. There is only one booth for all. Nobody is better here than anybody else.

Church and voting booth have a lot in common after all. God calls us to live responsibly the life we have been given. Part of that responsibility is to take part in the political process. Let your voice be heard and make your vote count.

The United Church of Christ and the Boy Scouts of America re-established a formal relationship on Oct. 5 2015 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding regarding local UCC congregations chartering Scout troops.

Signed by Michael B. Surbaugh, BSA chief scout executive, and the Rev. John C. Dorhauer, UCC general minister and president, the document affirms the recently-adopted BSA resolution that removed the restriction on gay adult leaders and employees, and formally states that UCC congregations chartering BSA units can conduct scouting programs according to their own values of inclusion and extravagant welcome for all.

“As a former Boy Scout growing up, and one committed to the open and affirming ministry of the United Church of Christ, it brought me a great deal of pride and satisfaction to be able to sign my name to that memorandum of understanding,” said Dorhauer. “I am grateful to Mike Schuenemeyer for the hard work that he did over the last few years to bring this historic document to us, to help the Boy Scouts understand how important this is.”

The memorandum follows several months of renewed efforts by a UCC working group, headed by Schuenemeyer –– UCC executive for health and wholeness advocacy –– and the Boy Scouts of America to re-establish a partnership. The negotiations began in earnest following the July 2015 BSA policy change.

In the July policy change, Robert M. Gates, national president of the BSA, said, “Everyone associated with scouting agrees to follow national policies and comply with BSA’s behavioral standards; no youth may be denied membership to our organization on the basis of sexual orientation; and no council can deny a charter to a unit that is following the beliefs of its religious chartering organization.”

The UCC had pulled back from any formal ties and had withdrawn its letter of endorsement in 2001 because of BSA policies of excluding boys and men based on sexual orientation. The BSA changed its policy regarding youth in 2013.

“This is significant moment in the relationship between the United Church of Christ (UCC) and the Boy Scouts of America (BSA),” said Schuenemeyer. “With the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding, we are entering a new time of mutual cooperation and collaboration as a direct result of the policy changes the BSA has initiated, opening their doors to full, inclusive participation of youth and adults no matter their sexual orientation.”

The MOU states, in part, that “the United Church of Christ and the Boy Scouts of America will work cooperatively with each other within the policies and regulations of each organization to establish and nurture scouting units as an expression of the nurture and outreach of the ministry of the United Church of Christ and its member congregations so that boys, young adults, and adults may grow in their relationships with God, develop into responsible citizens, serve the needs of others, and develop personal fitness to achieve their greatest potential.”

“Since its founding more than 100 years ago, scouting has been important to many congregations in United Church of Christ. Today UCC congregations sponsor more than 1,000 units of scouting with nearly 28,000 participants,” Schuenemeyer said. “Our commitments to justice and the inclusion of all people in the life of the church continue to call us to engage in actions that promote a just and peaceful world that affirms the gifts and ministry of each individual. That is why we welcome this opportunity to engage with colleagues in Scouting, the UCC and other faith traditions to foster inclusive Scouting programs.”
Written by Barb Powell

Read the text of the Memorandum of Understanding.

Lent is a season for intentionality.
It is about taking care of yourself: Eating better or less, taking a break from smoking. Sometimes it is not about giving up things for Lent but adding things: read more Bible, or: move more. Your friends at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Rosenberg, Texas, invite you to a series of “Strolls through Lent”. At each station there will be some spiritual input pertaining to the season. The physical challenges of walking may vary but never appear to be over-taxing. Along the way, the people and the sights will create unique adventures. You will notice a good mix of days, times, and neighborhoods. Please plan an hour for each event plus getting there from the church and back. All times are for car-pooling from and back to the church. For parking at the destinations please call Rev. Daniel Haas the day of each event at 801-368-1180. Rain will cancel, cold will not.

Ash Wednesday, February 10th, 8:30 am, Travis Park
The first walk on Ash Wednesday morning is also an invitation to join the Family Ministry team at Cambridge when they bring Holy Communion and Ashes to the residents after our walk. This first walk is a short one – a good way to begin. Those who walk may return to their homes with a renewed sense of loving and belonging.
Our second service for Ash Wednesday will be back at the church at 6 pm.

Monday, February 15th, 8 pm, Holy Rosary Catholic Church
The Stations of the Cross are a traditional way of experiencing the passion, crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ by way of walking. We will go over to our neighbors at Holy Rosary who invited us to journey through their beautiful outdoor grotto that night.

Tuesday, February 23rd, 6 pm, Seabourne Creek Park
God is still creating. We can join God in that joy and care-taking. We are going to take a “Prayer Walk” through Seabourne Creek Park. Walk through it slowly. Try to see it with God’s eyes. Feel God’s love for the place, the growing things, the people. As you walk, bless the paths and bless the people who will go on them, their families. Pray for God’s healing, guidance, protection. Pray as you feel the Spirit moving you to pray for anyone you see. What will you notice? This prayer walk replaces Confirmation Class and Bible Study that night.

Sunday, February 28th, 11 am, Downtown Rosenberg
Join us in exploring our Historic Downtown District, which offers an eclectic shopping experience in buildings restored to their original grandeur. Visitors browse a collection of gift boutiques, antique shops, gourmet shop, spa, restaurants, and other establishments offering everything from home accessories, collectibles, fine jewelry, clothing, rare books, fine handmade furniture, and great casual dining experiences. For members of the church council this is also the lunch opportunity before our orientation retreat that afternoon.

Tuesday, March 8th, 8:30 am, Del Webb Sweetgrass
Women’s Guild meets this morning at 10 and Margie Krenek has graciously agreed to host our walking group in her neighborhood. Del Webb Sweetgrass is an active adult community for homeowners 55+ where quite a few of our church members reside. We will conclude our walk through this unique community at Margie’s home.

Thursday, March 17th, 08:30 am, North Rosenberg
North Rosenberg, like North Richmond, is a neighborhood that has undergone drastic changes over time. Near Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, the Rosenberg Cemetery includes the graves of several St. John’s members. Death and Loss are powerful themes during the Season of Lent.

Palm Sunday, March 20th, 10 am, St. John’s United Church of Christ
Palm Sunday marks the beginning of Holy Week. As early as the fourth century, the church in Jerusalem began the custom of reenacting the entry of Jesus into the city. Come to wave the palms and sing Hosannas! As part of our Strolling through Lent Series we will have an actual Palm Sunday Procession around the church during worship.

Maundy Thursday, March 24th, 6 pm, St. John’s United Church of Christ
On Maundy Thursday the church remembers the last supper that Jesus had with his disciples. We will share their experiences around the dinner tables in the parish hall. The Brotherhood provides soups and salads. You are invited to please bring desserts.

Good Friday, March 25th, 12 noon, St. John’s United Church of Christ
There is no point in celebrating Easter without Good Friday. There is no resurrection without death. Yes, God himself experienced what death is. Our God is vulnerable and thus one of us. Come hear it and see it and get the chills! The Women’s Guild provides lunch beginning about a half hour before the service.

Easter Sunday, March 27th, 9 am, St. John’s United Church of Christ
The sad, empty, dark sanctuary, abandoned on Friday night comes back to joy, life and light. Christ is risen, he is risen indeed! Death does not have the final say. God is in favor of life and he is going to prevail in the end. Easter Breakfast and Egg Hunt start at 9 am followed by the 10 am Easter Sunday Service.

Persons with Roman Catholic background are the majority of new members we receive into our congregation. St. John’s United Church of Christ is normal in that regard. Throughout our denomination around 40% of newcomers were raised Catholic, according to “Catholics in the United Church of Christ”, a booklet composed by two former Catholics who became UCC clergy. Our church council has a significant portion of former Catholics as well.

In that sense it strikes me as odd that we avoid the term “catholic” when we recite the Apostles’ Creed. We need to fix that. As a united and uniting church our main goal is to bring the body of Christ closer to oneness and that is what “catholic” means: the ecumenical church universal. From now on we will go back to the traditional wording as printed in the hymnal.

The experiences of being Catholic are at least as diverse as they are in Protestantism. Whether you received your education before or after Vatican II makes the world of a difference. Whether your weekly CCD classes were top notch or you hardly ever went, determines how familiar you are with the church’s traditions.

Many Catholics, as Mary Luti and Andrew Warner describe it, “would have stayed in the Church ‘if only…’ If only it were okay to be gay, or for priests to marry, or for women to be ordained, or for divorced and remarried people to receive Holy Communion.” These Exiles usually remain Catholics with Mary and the Saints in their hearts. Who can blame them? Complex spiritual journeys are always welcome in the United Church of Christ.

Culturally they are easy to spot. Sometimes a Freudian slip will have them talk about mass, parish, or priest. Please remember: A Catholic priest typically covers a flock of 1,600 whereas the average UCC pastor only shepherds 200. You have more and easier access to your pastor in our tradition. Make use of that!

When we receive new members we celebrate their journey of faith that has brought them to where they are. The book of worship provides beautiful words for the occasion:
“By your baptism you were made one with us in the body of Christ, the church. Today we rejoice in your pilgrimage of faith which has brought you to this time and place. We give thanks for every community of faith that has been your spiritual home, and we celebrate your presence in this household of faith.”

If you want to learn more about “Catholics in the United Church of Christ” the 32 page pamphlet is available for pick up in the church office.

Yes, Virginia, there is a war on Christmas.

No, it is not happening right after Halloween when the self righteous do not like the design of disposable coffee cups. By that they only admit not to prepare for their coffee runs by bringing a reusable travel mug. No, the actual war on Christmas is going on right now, between Christmas and Epiphany. Most of our neighbors had their decorations down by December 27th. The Christmas radio station disappears as soon as Christmas begins. Virginia, that is where the war on Christmas is real.

In America there is confusion to when Christmas is happening. Many people and businesses confuse the holiday season with the Christmas season. Christmas is a church service: It is the Mass celebrating the Birth of Christ, short Christ-Mass. Since the 5th century Christians have celebrated the birth of Christ this time of year. Leading up to Christmas is the liturgical season of Advent. Christmas does not start until after Christmas and it goes on for 12 days all the way through Epiphany on January 6th. Whoever insists on saying “Merry Christmas” before then is waging war against one of Christianity’s most important holidays.

How did all of this come about? Well, in America we have a thing called the holiday season. It is the period of time from Thanksgiving until New Year, including such festivals as Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. That is where misunderstandings happen: Most major religions have their festival of light this time of year from Hindu to Jewish and Christian. And the retail industry loves this time of year. The cultural commercial holiday season is there to lead up to and support people in celebrating whatever their faith holds dear. The greeting for the season is “Happy Holidays” because it celebrates a variety of wonderful occasions.

As a Christian I indulge in both, the civil holiday season and the liturgical Christmas season. Not everybody knows that they are distinctly separate things and you will always find the terms used interchangeably. But it is my job as pastor and teacher to remind myself and my readers that, yes Virginia, please leave your lights and decorations up until Epiphany. And you, FM 99.1, please play Christmas music not only during Advent but also during Christmas!

Join us on Christmas Eve, Thursday, December 24th 2015, at 6 p.m. at St. John’s United Church of Christ in Rosenberg, Texas. We will light the candles as a sign that Christ’s light shines in our darkness. The service also has an impromptu Christmas pageant where all the children are invited to play a part and we will serve Holy Communion to all God’s children.
In his Christmas message on behalf of the United Church of Christ national officers, the Rev. John Dorhauer celebrates the light that darkness cannot overcome:

The holiday season is supposed to be jolly and merry. Let me tell you that it does not always work out that way. As a matter of fact there are more deaths this time of year than any other. The sun setting so early leaves us in darkness. And the pressures that come with expectations for the festive season add to the burden.

There is a reason that most major religions have a festival of light in the winter season, because light and hope are in short supply when it is dark and cold all around us. You may call it Hanukkah, Kwanzaa or Christmas. The point all these festivals make is: Light a candle in the darkness.

Dr. Martin Luther King Junior expressed it most beautifully:
Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.

In 2015 I have worked on five suicides. On the Army Reserve side of my ministry two Soldiers killed themselves. On the local church side I know of three families who had people commit suicide. The military has an aggressive strategy where us chaplains regularly teach suicide prevention and suicide intervention. In the church we do not have such a thing. But since 2015 has been so deadly I intend to change that. I will speak up about suicide on a regular basis. You may call it my new year resolution: In 2016 I will work harder on training the church in suicide prevention and intervention.

Yes, you read that right: Suicide can be prevented. It is not a tragedy that strikes from the outside but it is human behavior that can be changed. It can be done. It is hard but possible. And to get one thing out of the way: Suicide is not a sin! The person who kills themselves is not bad for doing so. When the Psalmist talks about walking through the darkest valley, that is where that happens. If you cannot find a way out of the dark you may end up killing yourself. Yes, you too, as you read this right now.

If you feel that happening to yourself, please snap out of it and ask for help!
If you see that in a family member, friend or coworker, wake them up and show them the light!

In the epic battle between the empire of darkness and the rebellion of light the good guys always win. The death star will be destroyed. And make no mistake, I am not talking about a galaxy far far away. That struggle is happening right here, right now, in every heart.

Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that.