Happenings || Emmaus United Church of Christ

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Happenings, April 2007

A Message from Reverend Bill

Three times over the past several weeks, I awoke to new headlines that were particularly disturbing. All three incidents had to do with gay and lesbian people. Individually, they were a name calling, an opinion, and a pronouncement. The three incidents sought to diminish other human beings in the name of humor, morality and science, respectively.

Three times, three incidents, three instances of feeling baffled by insensitivity, recklessness and total disregard for the Golden Rule—“do unto others what you would have done unto you”. In the Rule’s corollary text of the rich young man asking Jesus what is most important thing about living, Jesus says “love God with all your heart, all your mind, all your soul. And love your neighbor as yourself.”

Easter begins right here, right in the middle of the attempt to live out these texts.

Easter is about the resurrection of a diminished spirit, the new life of an dead soul, the spring of the life force in places it did not flow.

Easter is not theory; Easter is fact.

Easter happens in every moment we see the face of God, the Spirit and Energy of Life itself in the tombs of fear, oppression, hatred, misunderstanding and injustice.

Easter is possible when we seek to be disciples of the life force, and bear Love and Light into Hell itself.

Peace,

Rev. Bill

Upcoming Sermons

4/1: "Not Such A Secret: Part One," Holy Communion, PALM SUNDAY
4/5: "Observing the First Lord's Supper," MAUNDY THURSDAY, 7:30pm
4/8: "Not Such A Secret: Part Two," EASTER SUNDAY
8:30am Holy Communion
10:30am Festival Service
4/15: “Our Healing Twist”
4/22: “First Loves”
4/29: Children’s Musical Sermon

Christian Education News

The Road to Emmaus Update

In March, the children have split their time between attending their Sunday School workshops and preparing for Children’s Day. The workshops focused on the events of Holy Week. Peter told them about his denials of Jesus in the Caravan Camp workshop, symbolic cookies were made in the Divinity Diner workshop, and life-size pictures of the children reflecting upon the cross were created in the Creation Station workshop. Thanks so much to our dedicated teachers: Patti Chronister, Jennifer McGunnigle, and Johannah Kendrick.

March was the kick-off month for our Children’s Day preparations and we’ll continue to rehearse through April. The children will be practicing for all or part of every Sunday except Easter and a dress rehearsal will be held on Saturday, April 28.

Children’s Day

On April 29th, come join us for a morning of music and worship as the children present 100% Chance of Rain, a new twist on the Noah’s Ark story.

Middle East Class

Our resident Middle East expert, Bill Kirby, will be offering a class on the Middle East.

Please join Bill in the parlor on April 15 at 9 a.m. for an interesting session. Childcare will be provided in the education building.

Volunteers Wanted

The Christian Education Board is looking for some more volunteers to be added to the HUGENS list in the Sunday School Support and Nursery columns. We'd like to be able to rotate in some more people, so that our current volunteers don't have to be scheduled every quarter. So if you're willing to give a Sunday every three or six months to help out in the nursery or with the 2 and 3 year old class, please let Julie Holec know. It's a great opportunity to get to know the younger members of the church.

Julie Holec and Heidi Warrington

Letter from Pakistan

Family has been very much on my mind these past few weeks. Thankfully, I got to talk with my son, Chris, and my step-daughter, Shanti, this weekend, along with the girl friend, husband, and grandchildren that come along with these two. Such conversations reconnect me to family, as does the Internet, but it certainly is not the same as being there physically!

One of the characteristics of Pakistani society that is so very striking to us outsiders is the power of family. Let me see if I can describe a little of the glue that is holding families here together. First, family is definitely an extended group of relatives. Most people live in multi-generational groups. Sons are expected to marry girls of their parents' choosing, and the girls move into the parental home, learn from their mothers-in-law how to cook, keep a house, and please a husband, and they raise their children under the eye of their mother-in-law. (Yes, do imagine what it would have been like to move into your mother-in-law's house!) Some of the girls complain that they are no better than servants, but those complaints are quietly made. One indication of the power of the mother-in-law is that mother-in-laws choose the names for their grandchildren.

When a son is ready to marry, his mother looks around for the appropriate wife. About 70-80% of the time, a mother chooses a first cousin for her son, to keep things in the family (I've not heard "things" specified to know if this means money and possessions or something else beyond the material). It is traditional for the boy and girl not to meet face to face prior to the wedding, though they may have known each other as children. Sometimes, they do not even see pictures of each other until the wedding. One of my staff showed me a picture of the girl he is to marry on April 6 (they have not yet met), and she is very conservatively dressed so you cannot see her hair or body -- she is in a full-length brown shapeless dress that covers her regular clothes. He is not a conservative Muslim, but he has had a girlfriend for several years of whom his parents disapproved and rejected as wife material, and I wonder if they are punishing him by choosing a very conservative girl for him to wed. (Not that it’s any of my business, of course.)

Second, socializing is done almost exclusively within the family. Every weekend is spent in family events, to which outsiders are generally not invited. Once in a while random men are included in family events, but none of the women I know here have been included. It rather limits the groups I socialize with to the international community, and it means I have little contact with children other than those in schools I visit.

I had a dinner for my staff in a restaurant, which was particularly exciting for the drivers, cooks, and cleaners, who rarely, if ever, get to go to a restaurant. When I told staff they could bring their spouses, the hesitant answer was a comment: my wife won't be able to come unless we bring the children. Now, remember, nearly all my male staff live in extended families -- but a wife cannot leave the children even for 2 hours in the evening. My largely single female staff asked if they could please bring a friend, since going out alone is not done. So, I had 72 people at dinner, including lots of children.

I do see strong family bonds, strong because of both tradition and love. But I also see the restrictions caused by the requirements of the family to be together always. Few women with children work outside the home or, as far as I can tell, have friendships outside the home. Few of us outsiders get into a Pakistani home.

Now, one effect of these strong extended families is that there are not retirement communities or assisted living facilities or nursing homes. The expectation is that the family cares for its elders until death. This is both a comforting idea and a burden at the same time. They think we are pretty callous to put our elders in homes and can't understand how a society can do that. But then I couldn't live with the restrictions they place on family members either. How different our societies can be, yet still both have loving homes for adults and children!

I'm sorry to miss the Sunday night discussions on marriage and family. Do enjoy them for me!

Lorie Brush

April Family Fellowship Event

Please join us for bowling! The next Family Fellowship event will be held at Fairfax Bowl America on Saturday, April 22, from 3 to 5 p.m. Please RSVP to Jennifer McGunnigle.

From the Desk of Our Supply Pastor

Well, time flies when you are having fun -- a good time. My two months with you has been a good learning environment for me...after all, one never stops learning about our faith as well as our responsibilities in relationships with the members of the faith community. Emmaus has been a joy.

But, with you, I am eagerly awaiting Pastor Bill's return on April 1, Palm Sunday. I will then take a sabbatical of my own. Bill has invited me to be with him and assist in serving the Sacrament of Holy Communion and I will honor his request and share in the table of bread on Palm Sunday. God, through the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 55) , extends an invitation that if we are thirsty there will be plenty of water to drink and if we have no money, we still can come by and eat. Having been refreshed from the table I will be able to go on out from here and enjoy a time of reflection on our time together, with my open hand of thanks and continued prayer for you all.

As my time with you comes to a close next Sunday, I want to tell you how much I have appreciated your hospitality and patience with me. On this Lenten journey together we have explored God's desire to gather us and shelter us, but not to shut us off from the world. I think Jesus was speaking to those in the religious establishment in Jerusalem when he uttered that phrase, "Oh, how I have longed to gather you as a hen gathers her chicks under her wing". It occurred to me that the purpose of that gathering was to call leaders to the task of discipleship for Justice and Love as well as Peace. He was not inviting them to a shelter from the realities of the world, but to equip them and remind them of their responsibilities as prophets as well as priests and scholars in the world of joy and laughter, pain and sorrow, and sometimes chaos.

Today the "Weekly Seeds," which I have been receiving on a daily basis from the United Church of Christ as devotional and renewal time for Lent, was written by a longtime friend and colleague in ministry. I thought she addressed an important issue and wanted you to share it as well.

The Love and Peace of God in Christ be with you all!

Monday, March 19

Theme: As I Accept God's Invitation to Celebration, Revelation 19:1-8

The angel then said to me, “Write this down: ‘Happy are they who have been invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb.” And the angel added, “These are the true words of God.”

At this I fell at the angel’s feet to offer worship. But it said, “Don’t do that! I am a servant just like you and all your sisters and brothers who bear witness to Jesus. It is God you must worship! For the witness of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Meditation by Donna Schaper

The voice of a great multitude surrounds us. People who have been tortured come back to speak against torture. People who have been homeless ring Salvation Army bells on behalf of others. Children who have been abused don’t abuse their own children. A great throng of witnesses who need no fine linen, surrounds us. They are clothed in the deeds of their own courage.

Courage is the price life exacts for peace, said aviator Amelia Earhart. She also claimed that she didn’t want to marry because it was “an attractive cage.” Staying stuck in our own pain or the wrong that has been done to us is a very attractive cage. There we don’t have to take any risks or worry about what to say or do next. We can stay caged in our pain. At least then we won’t get hurt any more.

Salvation is the key that opens the doors on cages. It says, come on out. It is safe out here too.

Prayer – Surround me with the great stories of those who unlocked cages for themselves and others, O God. Let there be courage and then let there be peace. Amen.

Art Waldmann

Easter Egg Hunt April 5th

We are having the Easter Egg Hunt on Thursday, April 5 from 10-12 am. Please have each child bring a basket with 12 filled plastic eggs. Crafts, snacks, and a puppet show will be provided. Contact Jennifer McGunnigle or Kristen Overturf with any questions.

Jennifer McGunnigle

Are All My Contributions To The Church Tax Deductible?

America’s favorite and most known agency, the IRS, has its famous Tax Code. And to use a lot of freedom in quoting part of the code: If you do not receive any tangible value for what you give – you can deduct! Therefore, using this guideline – giving to the Church is deductible.

If you get a meal, go to a musical concert given by someone receiving compensation from this concert, etc – then the Church does not show your contribution for the event as deductible.

I have been asked, “What about the Flower Fund?” The flowers are for the benefit for the church and therefore, the contribution is tax deductible, even if the contributor takes the flowers after the service because the flowers have fulfilled the need of the church

The church follows the Code as a general guideline and shows these deductible items on the statements. We do not determine what portion of a meal is deductible and what is not. Every contributor decides the amounts/or portion they want to deduct on their income tax forms. This is between you, your tax consultant, the IRS, and the Lord. Just keep your cancelled checks.

Chuck Irons
Financial Secretary

The Future of Freedom

On Sunday evening, April 22nd, at 7:30 PM in the parlor, Skip Wolfe will lead a discussion on Fareed Zakaria’s New York Times best seller, “The Future of Freedom”. Zakaria is Yale and Harvard-educated, Editor of Newsweek International, and the author of several books and numerous magazine articles. His book, “The Future of Freedom,” goes into the historical development of freedom, the surprising importance of the Catholic church in this development, the importance of liberty in making a democratic country viable, why dictatorships do not necessarily preclude the development of democracy in a country, and the prerequisites for predicting the chances of a country developing a working democracy. This is an important book! There are some books that contain information that make more sense out of the world we are living in and this is one of them. Please buy it and read it and sign up for the course on the sign-up list in the sanctuary front hall.

Skip Wolfe

New Member Conversation

On April 15th, at 12:30PM, at the home of Joan & Skip Wolfe, Reverend Bill and Skip will lead a “Conversation on Membership” for any one interested in learning more about Emmaus and our denomination, the United Church of Christ. We will have a chance to get to know one another, answer your questions, and invite you to consider uniting with Emmaus as a member. Childcare and a light brunch will be provided.

Please contact Rev. Bill or Skip for more info or to RSVP. Skip will provide directions.

Notes on Child Bragging

In this church community, it is de rigueur to child brag. No, it is more; it is a sacred obligation. So don't let the thought of a child's embarrassment stand in the way of sharing good news of all sorts with us. This is easier said after many years here, because I have learned that it won't just be good news that you have to relate. This community has had its share of high spirited, complex, adventurous youth who have needed a helping hand from the congregation in one way or another, at some time or another. In fact, if I may child brag, some of the best and brightest have stepped over a line or two, or failed to fit into some expected norm. It is at these times that we adults have our times of deepest sharing – of concern, information, logistics, legal advice, whatever. Then, of course, how sweet it is to share good news later!

These children are growing to adulthood in a very different world than the one I knew. Some things are better – the schools are no longer segregated, for instance, and society is more open in many ways. But, other things have become harsher, or are still harsh, and there is much we can do to protect our young members – perhaps from their own folly or perhaps from unyielding institutions. So, if you feel the urge to share a happy thought, please indulge. You are building the basis for many other conversations as a community of faith.

Susan Rees

Alone During Coffee Hour

If you are enjoying a cup of coffee after the service and see someone standing alone, please take the initiative to talk with him or invite him into your group. Whether a new visitor or a church member, your invitation will be greatly appreciated. This is a win-win situation since I have yet to meet a person at Emmaus who did not have a fascinating background, an interesting job, or a good story to tell.

Skip Wolfe

Health and Wellness Corner

Blood Contributions

On Sunday, April 22, Emmaus has another opportunity to partner with Lewinsville Presbyterian Church at 1724 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, from 7:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. for an Inova Blood Services blood drive. Starting April 1, LPC will be taking reservations for every 15 minute time slots. Please go to their website of www.lewinsville.org. Click on the blood drive option and choose your time; please indicate that you are from Emmaus in the comment section. Their worship services are 8:30 and 11, thus my recommendation is to try around the 8:30/9:00 a.m. time slot so that you would be done in time to return to Emmaus for our 10:30 worship service.

April is Donate Life Month

The following excerpts are taken from the April issue of Inova’s Congregational Health Partnership “For Your Health” e-bulletin. Approximately 95,000 people are on the US organ transplant waiting list for a kidney, liver, pancreas, intestine, heart or lung. 28,000 lives were saved last year as a result of the Gift of Life. One million people had their lives enhanced through tissue transplant. Thousands more regained the gift of sight, thanks to donated corneas. Did you know that for every organ and tissue donor, up to 50 people’s lives can be saved and enhanced. The Washington Regional Transplant Consortium (WRTC) is the federally designated organ procurement organization of the metropolitan DC area. It provides excellence and integrity in organ, eye and tissue donation and transplantation services, and supports donor families. They can be contacted at 1-866-Be-A-Donor, 703-641-0100 or at www.beadonor.org. You need to know that signing a donor card or your driver’s license does not guarantee that our organs will be donated. The best way to be sure that your wishes are carried out is to inform your family of your desire to donate and to show them your signed donor card or driver’s license. A durable power of attorney can be assigned also to someone who will abide by your wishes.

Marsha Komandt
Health and Wellness Coordinator

Please Join the Deacons for Easter Brunch

April 8th ~ Easter morning
9:30 – 10:30 am
Emmaus Parlor

Our Easter celebration at Emmaus will include a brunch between the end of the early service which at 9:30 am and the beginning of the second service at 10:30 am. Please plan to attend this gathering as we celebrate the joys of Easter. The Board of Deacons is planning on refreshments; however, if you would like to bring a dish to share, all are welcome!

Happy Easter to All!!

May Happenings Deadline: April 15, Noon

Learn more about Happenings and how to contribute.

Calendar of Emmaus Events

Sunday, April 1 – 10:30 am Worship Service; 5 pm Senior High

Thursday, April 5 – 10 am Easter Egg Hunt in the Parlor; 7:30 pm Maundy Thursday Service

Sunday, April 8 – 8:30 am Easter Service with Holy Communion; 9:30 am Deacons’ Brunch in the Parlor, 10:30 Easter Festival Service

Tuesday, April 10 – 1 pm Bagels Playgroup (place TBA)

Thursday, April 12 – 7:30 pm Christian Education Board

Sunday, April 15 – 9:00 amAdult Education Class “Middle East Behind the Headlines”;
9:30 amConfirmation Class at the Norells; 10:30 am Worship Service; 5 pm Senior High/TOB Dinner; 7 pm Spiritual Renewal/Prayerspace with Sabine Boots

Wednesday, April 18 – 12:30 pm TOBs

Sunday, April 22 – 10:30 am Worship Service; 3 pm Family Fellowship Bowling Party at Bowl America, Fairfax; 7:30 pm Discussion of The Future of Freedom in the Parlor

Saturday, April 28 – TBAChildren’s Day Dress Rehearsal

Sunday, April 29 – 10:30 am Worship Service and Confirmation Class

Please send all calendar items to Louise Baxter by April 15 at noon.