Happenings || Emmaus United Church of Christ

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Happenings, February 2008

A Message from Reverend Bill

How will you bear the Light into the world? How are you a carrier of That which creates, illuminates and transforms all that you meet in the world? How will you be a Light bearer in your home, your work, your school, your church? How will 2008 be a year of joy and peace?

I invite you to begin discovering the answers to these questions, and formulate some new ones, right here at Emmaus United Church of Christ. Our community is a place for wonder, inspiration, refreshment and empowerment. How can the Light shine through all of us collectively at this place?

May all the Joy of God be with you and yours in this Newest Year.

Peace,
Rev. Bill

Worship Schedule

All services begin at 10:30 a.m., unless otherwise noted.

12/2 “Mother, Father, & Sky: Mary, Queen of the Manger,”First Sunday of Advent, Holy Communion

1/6 “ The Light Feast,” Celebrating Epiphany, Holy Communion

1/13 “Such a Time as This,” Mary Barrino Smith Preaching

1/20 “Jesus Sky, Christ Fish: Part One”

1/27 “Jesus Sky, Christ Fish: Part Two”

All sermons will be available for downloading.

Christian Education News

January Workshops are all about “Discovering the Beauty Within.” About 10:45 each Sunday morning, the doors of the Christian Education Building burst open and the rooms are suddenly filled with the sounds of excited, happy children! It’s truly amazing and a joy to witness. The workshops planned for the New Year promise to continue to engage and inspire the children as they learn about the teachings of their faith and discover their inner beauty.

In January, the children will visit with the Samaritan woman when a simple trip to the well turns out to be a life changing event. The workshop lessons will give the children an opportunity to walk in this woman’s shoes: What does it feel like to be an outcast? What happens to her after she meets the stranger at the well? The children will journey with the woman as she learns to embrace her true self and discard the mask she has hidden behind. Fun activities will include making Mardi Gras masks, experimenting with color transformation and making strawberry shortcake biscuits. We hope your children will join us!

Workshop leaders are needed for February. If you have been a member of Emmaus for at least six months, please contact Maryanne Warrick.

Maryanne Warrick

Spiritual Renewal/Prayer Space

Ring in the New Year with Emmaus and Tibetan Bowls. It's a new year with new possibilities! We invite you to join us this "evening of sound" as we gather with Katherine Muhlbach, Tom Neal, Marc and Bonnie Cardwell, and Boyd and JoAn Post on January 13, from 7 to 8 pm in the Emmaus Sanctuary. We will combine bowl vibrations with our meditations, remembering that thoughts and prayers are mental vibrations sent to God.

There will be Prayer Space and journaling time. If you have a bowl, you are welcome to bring it, but please come and enjoy, whether you have one or not. For more information, call the Muhlbach-Neals, or the Cardwells. Let’s vibrate in ’08!

JoAn and Boyd Post

Snow Policy

Emmaus United Church of Christ's first priority is the safety and well-being of its members, friends, and visitors. It is our policy that we will always err on the side of caution in inclement weather, particularly snow.

In the event of snow or impending snow, the following policy will go into effect.

The Senior Minister, in consultation with the Chair of the Board of Deacons and the Moderator, will determine whether a Sunday worship service will take place that day by 7:30 a.m.
People can begin to check their e-mail at 7:30 a.m. to see if an announcement about worship service has been posted. If snow is predicted, e-mail advisories will be sent daily telling recipients to check their email beginning 7:30 a.m. Sunday.
As an alternative, people may call the Church Office after 7:30 a.m., and a recorded message will announce whether or not there will be a service that Sunday.
Very few people do not have access to e-mail in our congregation. The Chair of the Board of Deacons or the Senior Minister will notify those who do not have e-mail by telephone.
Visitors who are not on any of the lists or who do not know the protocol would most likely watch the news or listen to the radio for closings.
Since our Web mistress may not be available to update our church web site, we will rely on e-mail to inform the congregation of the status of Sunday morning worship.

The Web site may be updated, but e-mail will be the mode for sharing up-to-the-minute calendar information.

Board of Deacons

Health and Wellness Corner

Women's Red Tent Book Group

For our next book group gathering, we will be discussing Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray and Love on Sunday, January 20, after church for a potluck brunch at Wanda Butler’s. If you would like to attend or be a part of the reminder e-mail list, please let me know. Newcomers are always welcome.

Blood Contributions

You will have an opportunity to give the precious gift of blood on Sunday, January 27, in partnership with Lewinsville Presbyterian Church (LPC) at 1724 Chain Bridge Rd, McLean, from 7:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.. Starting January 6, they will begin taking reservations for every 15 minute time slots at their Web site at www.lewinsville.org. Click on the blood drive option and choose your time, noting in the comment section that you are from Emmaus Church. Their worship services are 8:30 and 11, the 8:30/9:00 a.m. time slot would allow you to return to Emmaus for our 10:30 worship service. I plan on being there; please join me.

“Post”-Christmas Newsworthy Note

As a little historical side note to the annual White Gift Service, an Emmaus tradition since 1968, did you know that Boyd Post celebrated his 30th year this past Christmas as one of the three kings? He started the walk to honor the Christ child in 1977 and has been a kingly presence ever since.

Wishing you blessings for the New Year,
Marsha Komandt
Health and Wellness Coordinator

A Message from Reverend Debbie Clark

Debbie Clark is the Senior Minister at a UCC congregation in Framingham, Massachusetts. Many in the Emmaus family know as Sue and Tony Clark’s daughter. I was thrilled to hear that Debbie won the coveted Lilly grant for sabbatical work. How very wonderful! We wish her godspeed and wellbeing on her travels. Enjoy her letter! ~ Reverend Bill

Dear Friends at Emmaus Church,

At Bill’s suggestion, I wanted to write and tell you all about an exciting sabbatical adventure I have coming up. For the last 12 years, I have been serving as Pastor and Teacher at Edwards United Church of Christ in Framingham, Massachusetts. As we thought ahead toward my second sabbatical, we decided to apply for a Lilly Endowment Grant, which provides funds both for the pastor’s sabbatical and for the church to do special things during the pastor’s time away. We were very fortunate to receive the grant!

The theme of my sabbatical is “Deepening a Spirituality of Creation and Creativity.” The theme emerges from my own experience—that it is in nature and creative expression that I am most aware of God’s presence. So my sabbatical plans include a variety of opportunities to appreciate the beauty of nature and to explore new means of creative expression.

We will begin with our usual two weeks with family in Florida, but with a new twist: in Jensen Beach, we will take personalized watercolor lessons from Sharon Ferina (a parishioner’s mom), and at Sanibel Island we will take nature photography classes. From there, we will fly to Ecuador and board a National Geographic Expedition to the Galapagos Islands, where we will glimpse the amazing diversity of God’s creation. I’m sure we will take lots of pictures, and I hope we’ll practice our newfound watercolor skills!

We’ll come back to Framingham for a week to recover, and then we’ll fly to Sri Lanka, where we will be met by Bhante Aluth, a Buddhist monk who has taught several meditation classes at our church. He has offered to take us to some of the Buddhist sites of Sri Lanka. From there, we will fly to Bangalore, home of the major Protestant seminary in India. Our friend Dr. Rini Ralte, a professor at the seminary, has arranged for us to meet with several classes and a women’s group to talk about spirituality and the arts. We will attend a workshop on stories and art in different religious traditions at the Indian School of Art for Peace, just outside of Bangalore. We hope to spend a few days at a wildlife sanctuary near Bangalore as well.

From there, we will go to Dharamsala, home of the Tibetan Children’s Village where Jurme, the child our church sponsors, lives and goes to school. We will spend a few days visiting and helping out at the school, if possible. We will also see the Buddhist sites in this town, which is the home of the Dalai Lama.

We’ll return to Delhi, and Fran will need to head home and back to work. I will go on to Rishikesh, home of Jeevan Dhara, a Christian ashram, for a week or more of spiritual retreat, and I hope plenty of time for painting, writing, and photography. I spent three weeks at this ashram 22 years ago, learning yoga and meditation. I hope to complete my time in India with a week of “trekking” in the Himalayas, ending as I began by celebrating the beauty of God’s creation.

We are very excited, and very grateful for the opportunity. I’m sure my parents will keep you all posted on our adventures as they evolve!

Peace, Debbie Clark

January Happenings Deadline: January 20, Noon

Learn more about Happenings and how to contribute.

Calendar of Emmaus Events

Sunday, January 6 – 10:30 am Worship Service
Sunday, January 13 – 10:30 Worship Service; 7 pm Spiritual Renewal/Prayerspace
Wednesday, January 16 – 12:30 pm TOBs
Sunday, January 20 – 10:30 am Worship Service; 12:30 pm Red Tent Book Group;
7 pm Spiritual Creating
Sunday, January 27 – 7:45 am Blood Drive at Lewinsville Presbyterian;
10:30 am Worship Service

(Please send all calendar items to Louise Baxter by January 20 at noon.)