St. John's UCC

Some weeks in the life of the church look so unassuming. What could possibly be special about this week? Well, as pastor I am obliged to give you three perspectives on the next few days that you may otherwise have missed:

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

Thursday, May 25, is Ascension Day. It is a major holiday in the Christian tradition. Everybody remembers how Jesus was born on Christmas and was resurrected on Easter. But the final step of the Jesus story is just as important: his ascension into heaven. Luckily for you we will focus on that story next Sunday at St. John’s United Church of Christ so you won’t miss a thing. Yes, a pastor is a teacher and I am obliged to remind you of the things you need to know about the Christian faith.

Friday, May 26, is the beginning of Ramadan. It is a major holiday in the Muslim tradition. Now you may say that as church that’s none of our business, but it is. Because let’s be honest here: How seriously have you been taking the Lenten fast really? I shared my struggles with breaking my caffeine habit. But can you even imagine what it would be like to not eat between sunrise and sunset for an entire month? Our Muslim brothers and sisters live powerful examples of a spiritual practice that we need to get better at again. Yes, a pastor is a spiritual leader and I am obliged to connect you with practices you need to consider.

Monday May 29, is Memorial Day. It is a major holiday in the United States. Now you may say that as church that’s none of our business. And to a certain extent that is true. Most Christians in the world have never been to the United States and don’t know what this country celebrates on that day. But for people who live here it plays on an important theme that the Christian tradition has also: Reconciliation! After the Civil War both North and South had regional observances for their own war heroes. By the end of the 19th century a nationwide day had reconciled the memorial into one day for all. That is also what our church’s message is in a nutshell: “That they may all be one” (John 17:21) Yes, a pastor is preacher and I am obliged to find the Good News in all places.

This week I challenge you to look for Christ in the heavens above, try a new spiritual practice for yourself, and work towards reconciliation in our country and around the world.

The strawberries are growing just fine. So are the tomatoes. And the carrots. And the peppers. And the flowers. You get the picture. Our garden is almost ripe for the harvest. For that to happen it takes the usual ingredients of sunshine and water. But then our garden plants bring their very own special skill to their growth process: They put down their roots.

To a vagabond like me, that is a pretty impressive feat. I honestly do not know what it feels like to live in one place for most of your life. Our strawberries, vegetables and flowers do, but I don’t. In my childhood garden I used to grow all kinds berries and carrots. As a grownup the longest I have ever lived in one place was two years. Our current home holds the record of almost three years. I am turning into a plant that knows how to put down roots again.

The Psalmist knows that putting roots down is an important skill, saying about God’s blessed, “They are like trees planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their leaves do not whither. In all they do, they prosper.” (Psalm 1:3) The German in me has always imagined this tree to be an Oaktree of at least one hundred years. The Psalmist was most likely thinking of Middle Eastern olive trees. Some of those trees from biblical times are still around today.

There is something to be said for staying put:

• You mature more.
• You wrestle more with yourself and your surroundings.
• You learn to adjust.
• You learn to not just move on when the going gets rough.
• Once you put your roots down far enough the wind can no longer blow you down that easily.

Maybe that is what my garden plants can teach me: Our neighborhood may be as young as 10 or so years but still it is a place worth growing into. There is fertile ground here. Stay and grow.

What is your experience of putting down roots?

Our congregation is part of the Houston Association of the United Church of Christ. The life of the wider church is an integral part of who we are and what we do as a church.

What we do is expressed through our mission:
– Grow in grace as the Houston Association of the United Church of Christ do a group volunteer with Houston Food Bank. A few times a year your time can be a gift to hungry kids, seniors and others who may not have enough to eat. Volunteers produce the equivalent of a meal a minute while helping the Houston Food Bank sort, process, and pack food. And it’s fun!
– Members of the Houston Association are invited to week camps in Biloxi, Mississippi. Back Bay Mission has constructed homes for homeless veterans, supported neighborhood stability, and is now working on bridges out of poverty permanently for residents wanting to partner with mentors for three years. Back Bay Mission needs help with construction and home maintenance. Some of the campers work in the “Clients Choice” food pantry, and others assist at The Micah Center, helping with daily showers, and life skills. Our next work camp is December 3 to December 9, 2017, and we are asking for commitments.
– The Houston Association owns 200 low-income apartments in Settegast Heights. We extend the love of God to people in need. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities available and for the holidays we ask for financial support to provide our residents with a Thanksgiving Feast and Christmas presents.

Who we are is expressed through our connection:
– The Houston Association is comprised of 16 churches in Greater Houston. We run various programs together that allow our members to get to know each other.
– A few times a year we host youth events for teenagers to have a fun day together full of food and games.
– We help one another: When a church is struck by disaster we pitch in to help out. When Christ United Church of Cypress was hit by a flood, crews from Rosenberg and all over the place rushed to help.
– We equip and exchange pastors. Our local ministers get a chance to gather every month to discuss important items that affect all of us. Every year we try to schedule a pulpit rotation so ministers and congregations have a chance to get to know ministers and congregations from the other side of town.
– Last but not least the Houston Association coordinates our ecumenical and interfaith programs in Greater Houston. We model unity in the body of Christ. It’s what the United Church of Christ does. We have always been faithful to our motto, “that they may all be one” (John 17:21).

Written by Anthony Moujaes

A pair of deadly attacks in Northern Egypt, just hours apart, have shaken Egypt’s Christian community as it marked the beginning of Holy Week. The United Church of Christ is strongly condemning the violent acts of terrorism on April 16. Two bombs set off in coordinated attacks on Coptic Orthodox churches and their worshippers on Palm Sunday killed at least 43 people and injured more than 100 others.

“With deep connections to the churches of Egypt, and with the Christian community there, we are deeply saddened by the senseless murder of innocent people yesterday in Tanta and Alexandria,” said Peter Makari, UCC area executive for the Middle East and Europe. “We offer our prayers, support, and solidarity with the Coptic Christian community, and with the people of Egypt, who have been impacted by the two tragic and deadly explosions. We grieve with them, and pray that such violence will cease.”

The UCC has partnerships with both Orthodox and Protestant churches in Egypt through Global Ministries, a shared international ministry between the UCC and the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

The Protestant Churches of Egypt have said that these “cowardly attacks” will not deter Christians in Egypt from attending church. “Our faith calls us to hold on to our unity,” said the Rev. Andrea Zaki, President of the Protestant Community. He roundly condemned the terrorist attacks “which attempted to inspire fear and threaten national unity” and “contradict everything religion, our traditions, and human values call us to.” The Evangelical (Presbyterian) Church in Egypt also opened its hospital in Tanta for free care for victims of the attacks.

An affiliate of the Islamic State out of the Sinai Peninsula claimed responsibility for the attacks on churches in Tanta and Alexandria, both located north of Cairo along the Nile River.

Christians comprise about 10 percent of Egypt’s 91 million people. Militant groups have threatened Copts, believing they supported the ousting of former president Mohamed Morsi in favor of Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has promised to protect religious minorities.

Coptic Pope Tawadros had been leading the mass at Saint Mark’s Cathedral in Alexandria at the time of the explosion, but he was not injured, according to reports. “These acts will not harm the unity and cohesion of the people,” he told state media.

Global Ministries has sent of statement of support to partner organizations in Egypt and the Middle East.

Walter Wink reminds us that, “Jesus Never Said “BE PERFECT”! In the popular mind, there are two kinds of people: normal and abnormal, normal and deformed, normal and disabled. Some are okay, others are not. But if pressed, we soon discover that almost everyone has disabilities, and that we are not talking about an either/or, but a continuum that runs from slightly disabled to extremely disabled.”

We are all made in the image of God with all the small or big things that make each and everyone of us unique and special. At St. John’s United Church of Christ every body is welcome and we will do our best to accommodate your needs. Here a few examples that we hope make your time at church easier and more enjoyable:

RESTROOMS
Our facilities offer two ADA compliant restrooms: One for women and one gender neutral. Besides the men’s restroom there is a second non-ADA but gender-neutral restroom.

SPECIAL NEEDS PARKING
Parking for persons with decreased mobility is specially marked and close to the main entrance. Please only use them with the appropriate tag displayed on your vehicle.

WHEELCHAIR
If you find yourself in a situation that you cannot bring your own wheelchair just honk and an usher will bring a wheelchair to your vehicle. In the sanctuary you will find several shorter pews that leave room for wheelchair seating.

SPECIAL NEEDS SEATING
If the pews don’t work for you there is a more comfortable couch area in the Narthex. Sound is transmitted from the sanctuary and communion will also be served in the Narthex.

GLUTEN-FREE
At the time of Holy Communion you will find an individually wrapped wafer on the bread plate. It is gluten-free and kept separate from the other breads. Should your tray already be out of it, please feel free to request another one.

ALCOHOL-FREE
For those managing their alcoholism, we congratulate you. We help you by offering grape juice as a fully acceptable wine substitute at the time of Holy Communion. You will find white grape juice in the cups in the center of the communion tray.

HEARING
Should the sound from the speaker system not meet your hearing needs, please ask an usher for help. They can give you a receiver with an earphone that transmits directly from the various microphones throughout the sanctuary.

CD-RECORDINGS
If you prefer to listen to the service again throughout the week or cannot attend any given Sunday, we offer audio recordings on CD that can be picked up at the church office during regular business hours.

LARGE PRINT BULLETINS
The outline of our service along with prayers and hymns is printed in a bulletin. Besides the regular print we offer large-print bulletins with at least font size 18 throughout. Please request one as needed.

ACCESSIBLE TO ALL
As a United Church of Christ congregation we believe that God’s love is accessible for all. That is why we strive to be open, inclusive, affirming and accessible in all aspects of our life, including buildings, worship, education, fellowship and service, and thereby enabled to proclaim God’s word with and to all persons. You are welcome here!

Last year was my 20th High School reunion in Germany. I did not go. But a friend of mine did. We talked about it a few months later. He was astonished that most people in our graduating class seemed to still be able to call each other without using a different area code. We agreed that probably the small sample of those who actually attended the reunion was not representative of our entire class. Of course, local people come to a local gathering. Our classmates who live in the US, in South Africa, and Australia, did not show up. No surprise there. So overall I guess my graduating class is split down the middle. There are really two kinds of people:
1. dwellers, who stay local and make themselves at home where they grew up and
2. vagabonds, who move regularly, explore the world, and reinvent themselves constantly.

I am a vagabond. I left my hometown right after high school, never to return. That is the norm in the ministry. Divinity schools are usually not available where you grow up and you cannot effectively minister to people who knew you as a child. But then again, a lot of professions ship people all over the world. The military rotates you from one assignment to the next every three years, the oil and gas industry makes people follow the boom and bust cycle from one place to the next. Refugees are running for sheer survival. We vagabonds have a great example in Jesus who is famous for saying: “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head” (Matthew 8:20).

Then there are dwellers like my classmates who stay local. I envy them. They can rely on friendships they have established for decades. They can even tap into the vast network that their parents and grandparents before them created in the community. Everybody knows where they belong in the story of the town. They have their own spot carved out in their particular place. They belong. The Psalmist is famous for feeling at home like that – at home with God: “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long” (Psalm 23:6b).

The church needs to be a place for both dwellers and vagabonds. It does not belong to those who have been there for a long time. The church needs to stretch the comfort zone of dwellers. On the flip side the church cannot let vagabonds pass by without offering nourishment along the way. It has to create an oasis for vagabonds. The body of Christ needs to provide opportunities for dwellers to leave their comfort zone and for vagabonds it needs to provide opportunities to learn stability.

I practiced dwelling recently by getting a landline phone. Since I moved to the US I have only had a cell phone and kept the number wherever I went. Now there is an actual wire buried in the ground to keep me connected. I am practicing being in one place. On the flip-side I have seen dweller friends volunteer in places they had never dreamed of. When you support people that are totally unlike you, you grow in totally new dimensions. Even if you stay local you can still expand your horizon. Both takes practice: Learning to stay put and learning to get out there. Practice what you are not naturally good at! It is worth it!

If you think of church as tidy, think again! During the season of Lent we are shaking things up. Mardi Gras was an evening full of stories and pancakes. What a mess we made there: eggs and flour everywhere! That is how it is supposed to be. Lent is a season that calls us out of the ordinary. A lot of times that happens through the medium of food. Mardi Gras was a farewell party for overindulgence and Ash Wednesday was the beginning of the Lent season.

A few times over the next weeks we will gather for a “rice charity fast with prayer and communion”.
First as a lunch on Wednesday, March 8 at noon,
then as a dinner before Church Council on Monday, March 20 at 5 pm,
then again as a dinner for Bible Study on Tuesday, March 28 at 6 pm.
Everyone will get a cup of rice. The suggested donation for that is $5. You read that correctly: $5 for a cup of rice. The reason is simple. $5 is what a lot of people spend on their lunch in this country and a cup of rice is what most children in hunger-stricken countries eat for the whole day. Through our own eating we remind ourselves of our situation of over-abundance and by “paying full price” we can alleviate some of that injustice. Each time we will discuss where our donations should go to fight hunger. Following our meal we will go into a time of praying for one another and finally celebrate Holy Communion. It all begins and ends around the table.

There will be much more opportunities to eat during Lent:
All children age 4-10 are invited to join us for Spring Fun Day on the Friday of Spring Break (March 17, 9am – noon) There will be St. Patrick’s Day snacks. A more traditional Lenten feast will be our congregational field trip to the Fish Fry at the KC Hall that same evening at 5pm. A field trip on Thursday, April 6, will take us on a tour of the painted churches in Schulenburg with lunch at a local smokehouse. We will gather at St. John’s UCC for carpooling at 08:30. Once there, the cost of the guided tour including lunch is $20.95.

Meals at St. John’s UCC pick up again throughout Holy Week:
On Thursday, April 13, at 6 pm, the Brotherhood will provide soup & salad for our Maundy Thursday Service.
On Friday, April 14, at 11:30 am, the Guild will provide a luncheon before our noon Good Friday Service.
Everything comes full-circle on Easter morning. The eggs to which we said our good-byes on Mardi Gras come back in the form of Easter Eggs. The Easter breakfast and Easter Egg Hunt at 09:00 on Easter Morning, Sunday, April 16, remind us that life and joy have returned that day!

This Lent season I invite you to shake things up: in your eating habits, in your schedule, in your spiritual practice, in your giving, the places you go. Christ was risen to a new life for the purpose to allow us a fresh start. Start something new this season! Eat differently!

Start of German school rescheduled to fall
The German Institutue for the Southwest did not have enough registrations to start classes this week. I will meet with them to discuss a communication campaign during the summer so we can get registration for fall going. The new dates are September 16 – December 9, 2017 (no class on November 25).

Ihr Lieben,
herzlichen Dank an alle, die unser deutschsprachiges Krippenspiel im Dezember unterstützt haben. Eine große Hilfe dabei war das Team des German Institute for the Southwest. In Kooperation mit dem Institute die Johanniskirche nun Sprachkurse für Kinder, Jugendliche, und Erwachsene an.

In einem Haushalt voll von German Native speakers haben meine Kinder mit dem Deutschsprechen kaum Probleme. Lesen und Schreiben sind aber eine andere Geschichte und darum bin ich froh, dass wir dieses Angebot am Start haben. Dann denke ich auch die englischsprachigen Familienmitglieder, die gerne bilingual werden möchten. Es gibt Kurse für Kinder, Jugendliche, und Erwachsene. Zu mehr Infos und zur Registrieriung geht es hier entlag.

Für Kurzentschlossene: Heute Abend findet unser Aschermittwochsgottesdienst statt.
Für die Vorausplanenden: Unser zweisprachiger Ostergottesdienst wird am 16. April 2017 stattfinden (9 Uhr Frühstück und Ostereiersuche, 10 Uhr Gottesdienst).

There used to be a strict at our house in the mornings: “Don’t talk about anything important before I had my first cup of coffee.” I would misunderstand you. I would not be able to pay attention. Short: I would not be at my best. So it was safest for myself and everybody else to avoid human interaction before the beast was tamed by caffeine. So whenever this rule was broken that could result in a rough start for everybody involved. Coffee ruled my life.

Matthew 6:21 reminds me, “for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” That is a hard cup to swallow. Because it means that in effect I have made coffee the king over my morning if not over the whole day. Because in the afternoon I would need another dose. I treasured coffee to a level that I said I could not make it through the day without it. But coffee and I, we are not unique: Just today I had a lunch conversation where several people outed themselves as tea addicts. They could not even fathom giving up their ice tea that comes with every meal. I have known soda fanatics and from anecdotal evidence I think Diet Coke die-hards are the most fanatic.

So last Saturday something strange happened: I woke up early to go exercise. Now, that is not strange, that is normal for me. But what struck me was what I did not do: After the workout I did not rush to get myself a coffee. Instead I let the day go on – without the tiniest dose of caffeine. Maybe coffee does not rule my life? Maybe I can do it without the rush? Then came Sunday morning with a splitting headache and a fatigue that would last all day. Withdrawal was real and carried into Monday with general grogginess and muscle stiffness.

Today is Tuesday, day three without any caffeine, and I am okay. I am reasonably awake and attentive. It still feels somewhat funny but I am managing. In case you were wondering why I invite you so deeply into my intimate habits: That is what Lent is all about. Lent is an opportunity to give yourself a reality check of where your priorities are, what you can do without. “What are you giving up for Lent?” is not a cute question on the side. It has to puncture your very heart. It must reveal where your treasure truly is. Maybe the better way to pose the question is:
What is one thing I cannot live without?
What is one thing I wish I did not do?
Even though I started before Ash Wednesday I intend to stay away from caffeine all the way through Easter.
Can you imagine Jesus stood up on Easter morning from the grave without a single cup of coffee?

Good morning, winter!

A post shared by Daniel Haas (@revhaas) on Feb 10, 2017 at 11:43pm PST

While Houston was enjoying 80°F last week, I landed in Germany, to a freezing 32°F. A couple of days later I woke up to snow on my parents’ balcony. On my week-long trip I had the chance to celebrate two family birthdays and reconnect with old friends. I’ll be honest: It wasn’t exactly a vacation because I went from one event straight into the next and that usually after very short nights. But it was all worth it, because it allowed me to make and maintain connections that matter in my life.

Many Texas families trace their pedigree back to one German root or another. Most of them not as recent as mine but still: There is a vibrant and relevant connection. And since 2017 marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation, I encourage you to give Germany a chance. Our friends at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Columbus are hosting a tour to Germany and Switzerland, July 10-20, 2017. The tour is going to hit all the important sites of Reformation history as well as some of Germany’s greatest tourist attractions. They have a few seats left. Please pick up your brochure at our church office.

If you cannot see yourself making this transatlantic trip this summer, maybe you’d enjoy that we are bringing Germany to Rosenberg. The German Institute for the Southwest is now registering for German classes for all ages at St. Johns’ United Church of Christ in Rosenberg. We will have a 10 Week Spring Course for Adults from March 18 to May 27, 2017 and a 10 Week Spring Camp for Children and Teenagers from March 11 to May 27, 2017. Classes are held on Saturdays from 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. except for March 15 (Easter Saturday). For all the details and registration please visit the Institute’s website.

Finally there is another way we stay in touch with our German roots: Friends of St. John’s wanted to have their high school daughter experience a semester at a German high school. On the other side I had a fellow minister in Germany ask on behalf of a colleague’s daughter if she could find a guest family over here for a year of high school. This summer it is going to happen: the families have made their arrangements, paper work is in the process and soon we will have established another beautiful transatlantic connection. This is your church at work: mindful of its roots connecting into the future.