22nd Annual Live Nativity

Join us tomorrow and Sunday, Dec . 10 & 11 for our annual Live Nativity, 4:30 - 8:00 pm
Admission is FREE!  Refreshments are served.  We are handicap accessible.

Every 15 minutes or so, a continuous reading of the Nativity story is revealed beneath a deep starry night sky over a stable in Bethlehem.  Angels will announce the birth of the Savior.  Shepherds and kings will travel to Bethlehem to find the new infant king.  What will you find there?

It’s easy to feel lost at this time of year.  Aside from being overwhelmed by all the secularism that drowns out the whole reason we celebrate Christmas at all, recent years have battered our sense of direction, leaving us wondering if we are on the right path, feeling lost.

But… Because we are children of God, we have been given the greatest gift of all time - the gift of Jesus, God’s Son, our Savior.  Because of this gift, we have hope.  And that hope shines like a Star over a stable in Bethlehem.

In the stable, you will find what your heart seeks.  In an infant king, God’s Son born in a stable, we meet the Good Shepherd who guides our ways and shows us the path to a relationship with God that is full of peace and joy and love.  In this stable we find that we are not lost, but found, loved and cherished…because we, too, are children of God, the sheep of His fold.

The wise men appeared to King Herod and asked, “Where is He who has been born King? For we saw His star and have come to worship Him.”   Even the wise men were searching for something…someone…that would answer their prayers and guide their paths.  They found Him in the stable.

At Easter, we look within the empty tomb, feeling lost, knowing that our Lord has died.  But the angels ask, “Whom do you seek?  He is not here, He is risen!”  In the Easter Resurrection our feeling of being lost is replaced with the joy of being found, claimed by God and deemed worthy of His love.

Be like sheep, follow the sound of your Shepherd’s voice and wander into the stable.  Grasp the gift within… the love of God incarnate in His Son, Jesus, Immanuel, God with us.  Our God is a God of abundance, and there is love and hope enough for all the lost and all the found.  

See you in the stable.   Baaaa-baaaa-baaa.

St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713

Getting what we deserve is a matter of perspective

A lot of how we feel about life, our relationships, and what is “fair” has more to do with one word than most people give credit.  Perspective.

Today, in worship, we heard the story of the generous vineyard owner who paid all his workers the same day’s salary whether they were hired at the start of the day or at five o’clock.  (Matthew 20:1-16)

Whoa, this is an emotionally charged story for me!  It really messes with my sense of what is just or fair.

Yet what is just and fair is really a matter of perspective. 

Whose perspective is truly more just and fair?  Mine, based on the equity of work performed vs. pay?  Or God’s, based on the solution of daily bread for all?  

In this story, the vineyard owner calls to task all who question his generosity to do what he wants with what is his.  Did we not agree, at the start of the day, to the wages we were paid?  So what have we to complain about that the Lord saw to it that no one was left without the means to feed his family at the end of the day, regardless of the amount of work they did?  In the Lord’s perspective, everyone worked and everyone will be paid.  No one deserves more or less than another.

As Pastor Fred reminded us this morning, when we pray for God to “give us today our daily bread,” we are not asking for daily bread for 5 days, but for today.  If we trust in God to provide for our needs, we do not need to fear what is just payment… we all will have what we need.

The justice in this story, seen from the perspective of the owner of the vineyard, is a hard pill to swallow.

And yet, it is just this kind of story which can help us to see how abundant God’s love is.

For we will all find ourselves in the position of the five o’clock worker at some point in our lives…hoping for work and wages to make ends meet (or asking forgiveness, or some other venue in which we have been less than successful) and being given the riches of God’s Grace, completely and unabashedly undeserved, yet freely given to us. 

Human beings too easily fall prey to sin and selfishness.  We are incapable of creating a society where we can accept the perspective of the generous vineyard owner as a way of doing business. 

It is only in God’s house, where that perspective can reign and prosper.  In that, this story gives us a glimpse of the glory of what God’s heaven is like, and what we have been promised for our eternal life with God. 

It calls us up short for all the times we think we know what is right and wrong, and points out a different perspective of what is justice for all.

It’s all a matter of perspective.  Mine might prosper me now, but God’s will prosper all for eternity.

What do you think of this story?  Have you witnessed God's Grace in ways that initially seemed unfair to you?  Leave a comment and tell us your story of seeing God's abundance and generosity in action.

It’s probably a good thing God doesn’t give us what we deserve.  Amen.

Join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 am.

Christian Education at 9:45 am

St. Andrew Lutheran Church

335 Reynolds Ave., Parsippany, NJ  07054

www.elcaandy.org

On 9-11 God will not be silenced

Today is September 11, 2011.  The 10^th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America.

It also happens to be Holy Cross Sunday in the Lutheran Church.

I have been listening to various radio shows, television broadcasts, and reading various news productions and blogs in recent weeks, with an ear for where God is being fit into this anniversary remembrance.   It seems many people in the news production arena have forgotten to where many people, including the news media, turned for comfort, inner calm, and hope in the days following the attacks.

What did you hear on 9/11/01?  Please pray for…. God bless America… Our thoughts and prayers go out to… Thank God for first responders….  Pray for the safety of….

To whom were people being asked to pray?  Who was being asked to bless our nation?  God.

God.  The one God who is the Father of Christianity, Judaism and Islam.

And yet, this anniversary celebration was to be put together with a secular bent?  Mayor Bloomberg has deemed no prayers will be offered at the 9-11 Memorial in NYC.

Shame on those who would claim God has no place in remembrance… our sorrows, our hopes, our forgiveness, our anger, our prayers. 

We could call on him then… but not now?

Good sense prevailed in some places.   President Obama read from Psalms.  Other mentions of prayer and God and faith are spilling into the news feeds I am finding for today.   God will not be silenced.    

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the week before His crucifixion, the crowd of people shouted:  (Luke 19:38-40)

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord.  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” But Jesus answered,

“I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”

God will not be silenced.  The actions of the faithful speak louder than the rhetoric of politicians.

St. Andrew is participating in the Parsippany Library 9/11Tribute Exhibit.  We picked up our twin towers plywood cutout and decorated it with crosses, Jewish stars, and a crescent moon and star.  It is mostly filled with crosses.  The only statistics I could find regarding the breakdown of the faiths of those who perished on 9/11/01 indicated that although no religious denomination records have been kept (I find this incredulous), it appears that about 500 were Jewish and about 2 dozen were Muslim.  I’m guessing the rest were Christians (and/or atheists). 

So on this Holy Cross Sunday, when Lutherans celebrate the faith, hope and love of Jesus, may we all remember and honor those who died on Sept. 11, 2001. 

And, may we be not afraid to speak of that faith, hope and love… for God will not be silenced.  

Not by terrorists, …

and not by a media machine or government leadership more concerned with being politically correct than morally straight.

Come join us for worship.

Sundays @ 8:30 and 10:45 am.
St. Andrew Lutheran Church
335 Reynolds Ave.
Parsippany, NJ  07054
(973) 887-6713
www.elcaAndy.org

What will tomorrow bring?

Today is September 10, 2011.

Tomorrow is 9/11/11.  Ten years after the terrorist attacks on America.

What will tomorrow bring?

It’s tempting to dwell on the emotions, loss and grief associated with our remembrance of 9/11/01.  It’s also tempting to get caught up in the fear of ‘credible threats’ that our security forces have said warrant our extra vigilance.

In the big picture, September 11 is just another day in our lives.  In the microcosm of our lives, it is a day we will never forget, and shouldn’t forget.  Our lives were forever changed on that day.  

Jesus has some significant words for us on the subject of worrying…Matthew 6:25-34

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

As I write this there is a chipmunk sitting outside my window on my picnic table bench, munching on a nut. He knows nothing about what tomorrow means to Americans.  He only knows that this is the season of harvest… yippee, the acorns are beginning to fall!  God provides for His creation.

Some things will forever remind us of the events of 9/11/01.  For me, every time I see a sunny, bright blue sky (Crayola Sky Blue) with large white clouds and feel the cool September air against my skin, I am reminded of that day, forever seared into my memory with the scars of smoke plumes drifting across that same blue sky, and with the loss and grief of so many people. 

We are changed forever, but yet we are still the same children of God.  It is because God never stops loving His children, we can go forward into each new day without worry and fear.  We are called to live with hope and love.

I think it is an interesting thing to note that the 10^th anniversary of this date falls on a Sunday.  The Church (large C) is calling for us to think on this day as an opportunity to work toward forgiveness and peace.  Imagine the world-wide possibilities if everyone attended worship tomorrow morning and heard the calling for forgiveness and peace, instead of worrying about the things that cause us fear.

Those people whom we loved and lost on 9/11/01 would certainly want us to remember and honor them, but they also would not want us to live in worry and fear.  We can honor them best by living lives free of fear. 

Jesus gives us the antidote for the affliction of worry…

Trust in God.

I hope to see you in church tomorrow.  St. Andrew worships at 8:30 and 10:45 am.  We are located at 335 Reynolds Ave. in Parsippany, NJ  07054.  (973) 887-6713.

Come and see our community tribute tower display and help us share the news that we are ALL children of God.

11 Things I am Thankful for after Hurricane Irene

It’s been a wild year, weather-wise, in the U.S. , especially in the Northeast.  We had an unusual amount of snow and ice at the beginning of the year.  We had an unusually wet spring and summer.  The ground is saturated.  We had a 5.8 magnitude earthquake centered in Virginia but felt up and down the east coast.   And now, we’ve had a hurricane….correction, tropical storm.  71 mph instead of 75 mph sustained winds.  Hurricane Irene.

St. Andrew cancelled worship services to ensure everyone was safely home during what was forecasted to be the windiest and most intense period of the storm.  Now we know that, although the winds knocked down a lot of trees and power lines, it was the flooding from the incredible volume of rain that has done the most damage.  Whole communities are underwater with flood waters from swollen rivers at 4-12 feet above flood stage. 

Once again, I reflect upon all that I am thankful for and on the blessings which I have been granted.

1.      I am thankful that I was raised by parents who trusted in God to provide for our every need.  I learned at an early age, when hot dog soup was a frequent dinner while my father was out of work, that “we can’t worry about everything.  God will provide what we really need and we just have to work hard for the rest.  We just have to have faith in Him.”  This mindset has helped me not to panic about events over which I have no control.

2.       I am thankful that God has gifted people with hearts for public service.  How different our recovery from this storm, and other disasters, if not for the dedication of firefighters, police, emergency medical technicians and ambulance drivers, electric and utility company personnel, disaster relief workers, military and National Guard men and women,  food pantry workers and emergency management personnel?

3.       I am thankful that God has given us the scientists and technology to improve our weather forecasting models.  The weather tracking systems apparently accurately predicted the track and intensity of this latest storm to within 10 miles along the NJ coast, enabling people to get to safer locations.

4.       I am thankful for the safety of my family and the comforts of my home…the electricity, flush toilets and hot showers, the gas stove and hot water heater, the refrigeration, the television, the telephone and Internet communications.

5.       I am thankful for the crickets that chirp outside my windows.  I could not hear them over the roar of generators during the past few days.

6.       I am thankful for neighbors who shared their electricity and generator power with those who did not have it.

7.       I am thankful for neighbors who offer the use of their freezers (to save us money and wasted food) and Internet to those who didn’t have them. 

8.       I am thankful for people who cared enough to check in on us and offer whatever we needed.

9.       I am thankful that I listened to my gut/smarts/Holy Spirit and refused to buy a cheaper home in a flood zone.  The anxiety, devastation and repair costs would never be compensated by the difference in the home price, no matter that “it hasn’t flooded here in 15 years.”   I pray for the people who have lost so much due to the flooding and hope they are helped to find ways to put their lives back together.  (Click here to see how you can help: Lake Hiawatha/Parsippany flood relief.)

10.   I am thankful that everyone I know has weathered this storm without a loss of life or injury, and I pray for those who have lost loved ones or suffered injuries in the chaos.

11.   I am thankful  that the 10 mighty oak trees that surround my home remained rooted to the ground and denied the urge to drop any limbs on my house.  They are beautiful, tall and provide an abundance of cool shade for my home, but even they might not be able to stand up to the forces of Mother Nature when she decides it’s pruning time.

There is a multitude more things for which I am thankful and about which I feel blessed.  These are some that I have pondered today.

Join us for worship this Sunday at 9:30 am (Labor Day weekend) and say “thanks” for your own blessings. 

We resume two worship services on Sept. 11, with worship at 8:30 and 10:45 am.

An empty nest communion table

I had another small taste of what empty nest syndrome must be like.

We took my daughter back to college on Monday and my son was in Wildwood with the St. Andrew Youth Group for a few days.  For a span of about 18 hours I was child-less.  It's not the first time.  I've certainly been without them around for longer periods of time.  It just is always a surprise, at first.

On the one hand I felt as if I should be dancing around singing “hallelujah” and on the other it was rather lonely…just me and the dog and the hubby.  Until the hubby went to work.  Then it was just me and the dog.

An amazing amount of picking up can be done, with no one to disturb the progress and mess it back up.  Piles of back to school “stuff” vacated my dining room table.  Hooray!   There also will be less laundry.  Hooray! However, even though she wasn’t home for dinner all that often this summer, my daughter’s presence at the dinner table always made me feel as if our family was finally whole.

There’s something about being together around a meal that makes life seem complete and all is right with the world, even when the world outside is going crazy.  The mother hen has all her chicks in sight and knows everyone is safe.

For our family, we have always made it a priority to have dinner together as often as possible, so the presence of the entire family for dinner just feels right.  The silly jokes.  The sharing of stories.  The gentle corrections and guidance of wisdom dispersed.  The love shared.  The hopes shared.  The hurts shared. The dreams shared.  The forgiveness granted.  When someone is missing, something is lacking.  When two kids are missing, well… hello empty nest.

When I think about our family dinner table, it leads me also to thinking about the family of God and our table of Holy Communion.  How God must pine for his children when they skip a Sunday meal, or two, or a month’s worth, or a year’s worth, or many years’ worth! 

With each meal of Holy Communion our hearts are opened to that two-way conversation with God that grants forgiveness, knows all our fears and hurts, joys and silliness, sins and anger.  In that Holy Communion meal that we share, we are loved, forgiven and welcomed into a whole continuum of believers that make up the eternal family of God, of which we are made a member in our Baptism.

The communion table brings us together as a family in Christ, a congregation family to love and support each other.  I think when we stray away from the table, God must suffer some of that empty nest syndrome too.  For if He knows the number of hairs on our heads and the days of our lives, how can He not feel the loss of our presence as we wander the world in search of the things we think we need when He can, and will, provide for our every need?

God forgives the piles of “crap” in our lives.

He doesn’t mind the dirty laundry.

He just wants us to share in His Holy Communion meal and join the family at the table.

Like every other parent. 

God IS love.  Love is at the table.  Come and taste.

Join us for worship through Labor Day, one service at 9:30 am

Beginning Sept. 11, we offer two worship services at 8:30 & 10:45 am.

www.elcaAndy.org

Friendships Left Behind and Forgiveness

My hubby with Ellis Island and Statue of Liberty in the background
Could I leave him behind?  Or let him go on ahead without me?

As you may have guessed by now, I was quite impressed with our visit to Ellis Island.  (Read previous posts here and here.)  I’ve been thinking a lot about what it would have been like to go through that experience and wondering if I would have had the faith to trust God to provide the better future these immigrants sought, and if I would have been able to leave everyone I loved behind.

The primary feeling that I think I would have been going through would have been loss…loss of home and homeland, loss of friends, loss of family.  I think that maybe that’s because I’m blessed to have a beautiful home, a wonderful country (even considering the flaws), dear friends, and a devoted family.  For me to leave all this behind would be devastating to me. 

Yet millions of people did just this. 

Their lives must have been so challenging and lacking hope to embark upon a journey to America, leaving everything behind, in search of a brighter future, hoping and trusting in God to find something better.  How lucky we are/I am.  Their primary feelings had to have been one of hope in order to get through this challenging experience.

Yet, no matter how much hope for the future they might have had, parting from family and friends could not have been easy.  The chance of ever again seeing the people left behind was very small.

This thought makes me wonder how easily we sometimes dismiss a friendship because of some temporarily hurtful slight; or how often we distance ourselves from a family member because he/she hurt our feelings.  If we were faced with the prospect of never seeing that person again, would those hurts matter so much?

Sometimes we find ourselves in exactly this situation, when we lose someone we love unexpectedly in their death.  How often have we heard people say, “I never got to say I was sorry” or “I never told him I forgive him” or “I didn’t get to say goodbye” or “I should have told her I loved her.”

I wonder if this doesn’t happen sometimes as a way of reminding us to mend our hearts and watch our words, to heal old wounds and let go of old hurts.   I imagine that faced with the prospect of parting company forever, there were many friendship healed of brokenness and many family fractures mended.

However, I am also fairly certain there were those who would not forgive and left for America carrying that hurt with them.  I imagine that carrying those unforgiven hurts around their whole life may have caused much bitterness, heartache and soul-searching.  I am certain there were more than a few people who wished, at some point during their lives, that they had made amends or offered forgiveness before leaving for America.

We know that anger, resentment, and holding on to old hurts can eat away at our souls, our health and our mental well-being. 

It is forgiveness which offers freedom, wellness and wholeness.   Jesus taught us this as He called out to His Father on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”   Luke 23:34

In the ultimate act of love, Jesus forgave us ALL our sins… all the hurtful ways we push God away… and died to set us free from the bondage that sin causes.  We are given that reminder every Sunday in worship. 

Let us not forget to forgive others, as we have been forgiven.  Amen.

Come worship with us this Summer @ 9:30 am on Sundays (through Labor Day).

www.elcaAndy.org

Ellis Island - Immigrant vs. Refugee

To find a better place.  Both the immigrant and the refugee put their faith in God toward this goal. 

This past Saturday I visited with friends at their home on Fire Island off Long Island (NY).  It was a great day and when we were in line waiting for the ferry to take us back to our cars, one of our group commented that we “looked like a bunch of refugees.”  There we were, sunburned, flip-flopped, carrying our minimum amount of “bare necessities” for a day at the beach and a day of visiting… chairs, coolers, umbrellas, beach bags, back packs, a cake carrier, etc.   I guess we might have looked a little tired, windblown or partied-out.  Certainly a far cry from looking like a refugee, we did look somewhat less put-together than our Sunday best.  (But at St. Andrew we’re not necessarily known for wearing our “Sunday best” anyway, so that’s par for the course I guess.)

We laughed at the analogy, but considering my recent visit to Ellis Island, it got me to thinking.

How many people who traveled through Ellis Island were not just immigrants but akin to refugees? Maybe they didn’t fit the strict definition of refugee, but many were fleeing the poverty, limited chance to prosper, or political hostilities of their home countries.

They came with just the bare necessities.  And $25 (if they had that at all.)

Yet, for all the hardships these immigrants faced in their journey to come to America, they had the hope of the promise of America.   They had faith in God to lead them to a better place. The Statue of Liberty bears a plaque with the sonnet “The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus which reads, in part,

“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"

In America there was hope for the future.

The choice was America.

Refugees don’t often have choices.  They are running for their lives.  They also place their hope and faith in God to lead them to a better place.

The United States has an “Asylum and Refugee Policy” that, as of 1999 allowed up to 78,000 refugees to obtain asylum here annually.  Today’s global conflicts and political uprisings are numerous.  People cry out for freedom all around the globe.  According to The Voice of America , there are currently about 15 million refugees worldwide.  The U.S. State Department identifies six “protracted refugee situations.” 

1.       Liberians in West Africa
2.       Somalis in Kenya
3.       Croatians and Bosnians in Serbia
4.       Afghans in Pakistan
5.       Bhutanese in Nepal
6.       Burmese in Thailand

Since 1939, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service has helped migrants and refugees to find hope and a future in American communities.  By 2008, LIRS had helped to resettle over 315,000 refugees. 

Next time we think we look like refugees as we trudge our few “necessities” back from a day at the beach, I bet we’ll all think twice about what that really means.

Thank you God for all the blessings we have in the freedom and prosperity that comes with the birthright of being an American.  Thank you, even more, for the people who fight the legal, economic and political battles on behalf of those who flee oppression and for those who help to make refugees feel welcome once they are granted the asylum they so desperately seek.  Amen.

Join us for worship this Summer at 9:30 am on Sundays.
www.elcaAndy.org

Ellis Island - Faith and Adversity

My husband and I recently visited Ellis Island.  I’ve been wanting to go ever since they renovated and re-opened it in 1990.  My children have visited this National Park Service landmark with their respective schools, but as it sometimes goes, we get too busy to enjoy the gems in our own backyard.

This will be the first of several blog posts that stem from this visit.  It is an incredibly inspiring place and the faith and determination of the people who traveled through its doors are amazing.

We purchased the audio tour because I’ve found that there is usually so much wonderful information on these soundtracks, often including the testimony of actual people.  On this audio tour there was the voice of a Russian immigrant who (in the course of the discussion of the inspection of immigrants) said, “if they refused me, there was no way I was going back to Russia.  I’d rather throw myself over the side [of the returning ship] and die in the deep of the ocean than return to Russia.”

This man’s comment really got me to thinking about how much faith these people must have had, who attempted this journey, and how very deplorable their homeland situation must have been.  They trusted God that America held a promise of a brighter future, and that He would see them safely across the Atlantic to begin a new life.

 A National Park Service Ranger who introduced a 45-minute documentary that we watched, helped us to understand how much had to be left behind and what was likely brought forward to the new homeland of these immigrants.  Picture everything of importance that you could carry in one suitcase, one basket, one bedroll, and maybe the equivalent of a backpack.  Now walk from Ellis Island at Liberty State Park to Philadelphia.  You’ll quickly determine what REALLY is the most important stuff.   Grandma’s candlesticks? Gone, left on the NJ Turnpike.  The family Bible?  Yeah…they probably managed to carry that.

That would have been the most likely type of experience of many immigrants.  People walked and carried their most prized possessions for many, many miles from villages and towns all across Europe and Russia to ports with passenger lines to America.  They had to have the fee for their passage and $25 per person to enter America.  It took years to save up that kind of money, so most didn’t have the extra money necessary to get transportation to their port of departure.  The Ranger told us that some people were so poor they carried empty suitcases so their neighbors wouldn’t know how little they had when they left and the steamer company wouldn’t turn them away for the chance of being turned back at Ellis Island for being so poor as to be “a potential burden on society.”

Think about the millions of people who came to this country through Ellis Island.  What a challenge it was!  Think how bad it must have been at home to brave this experience!  The adversity they faced in their flight to a new life!  The scariness of the unknown!  Think of the faith they put in God to get them here safely and to connect with someone who could help them get their feet on the ground and make a future here.

I don’t think most people could have survived this trip and the challenges they faced upon arrival without a deep faith in God.

I was awed, inspired, and more appreciative of my own country where I can worship as I please.  If you haven’t been to Ellis Island, take a vacation day and go.  You’ll need about three hours to tour the Main Building and do it justice.  The other buildings are not currently open to the public.   We’ve got a national treasure in our own back yard (actually lots of them).  It will stir your soul and deepen your faith.

Then come to worship and thank God for all that you have.

Summer Worship at St. Andrew, 9:30 am on Sundays

www.elcaAndy.org

Do you have a relative who came to America through Ellis Island?  What story do they tell you of the adversity they faced in this experience?

Oviraptor & Jesus

Friday was the fifth and last day of this year’s VacationBible School program, “The Great Bibleland Dig”, recycled.  The kids had a great time digging in our archaeological dig site on the “road to Emmaus” to find clues to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”

So what did they find?

They found a leather sandal, a walking stick and piece of pottery.

What Bible story do you think we were exploring on Friday?

In its day, the road to Emmaus was well traveled but full of rocks.  It was common for people to walk from Jerusalem to Emmaus.  Many foot weary travelers could have blown out a flip-flop on the trek.  It was on this road that two disciples of Jesus were talking about Jesus and the events of Holy Week including His death on the cross.  While walking they met a ‘stranger’ with whom they discussed their hopes and confusion about the things that had happened.  This ‘stranger’ revealed himself to them in the blessing, breaking and sharing of the bread at that night’s dinner, just as Jesus had done during His Last Supper and Passover meal with the disciples.  In that act, the disciples understood who was with them and they ran to tell the others.  We are also challenged to recognize that Jesus is our SAVIOR, that He is with us always and we are to share that Good News with others.

At craft time, our junior archaeologists made a beaded cross necklace, a tissue paper mosaic cross which the words “Jesus is our Savior” and a footprint with the “Footprints in the Sand” poem decorated with stickers.   During snack time, they ate pretzel rods tied together in the shape of a cross with licorice strings, and chocolate chip cookies decorated with a chocolate frosting road and mini-chip rocks.  A cross was added to our archaeology dig journal to remind us that Jesus is our SAVIOR.

They dug for treasure in our archaeological dig site and found crosses and miniature dinosaurs to take home to remember the day’s lessons. 

During our Activity Center time, we learned about different kinds of bread and talked about what we would put in a time capsule to leave for future archaeologists who want to learn about Jesus.

In the afternoon, each junior archaeologist was given a wooden dinosaur puzzle to remind them of the fun they had this week in VBS.

They learned about Oviraptor.   When archaeologists first discovered Oviraptor fossil remains, they named it Oviraptor or “egg thief” because they thought it was stealing eggs, as many were found over a nest of eggs.  Later excavations have shown evidence that Oviraptors were not stealing other dinosaur eggs; they were protecting their own.  Oviraptor fossils show parents with wings spread wide to protect their eggs from the falling volcanic ash or mudslides that were rushing down to cover their nests.  In doing so, they were sacrificing themselves in an effort to save their eggs.

Oviraptor and Jesus.  Sacrificing themselves for others.     

Oh how much God loves us… He sent Jesus to us as a GIFT; He gives us Jesus as our FRIEND;  He gives us Jesus as our TEACHER; He gives us Jesus as our HELPER; and because we still don’t get it, He gives us Jesus as our SAVIOR.

It was a week of fun and learning, digging and growing, and singing and crafting.  It was a week of stretching the archaeological facts to bridge dinosaurs and Jesus and the Bible and a whole bunch of fun.  And hopefully, it was a week of memories that will last a lifetime. 

Amen.

I remember some of the stories, crafts and songs from when I was a child in Vacation Bible School.  Do you?

(And now I thank God because it’s over…whew!  I’ve been doing this for a long time.  Anyone want to take it on?  Send me a note…)

Come and join us for worship on Sundays at 9:30 am through Labor Day.www.elcaAndy.org

Maiasaura & Jesus

Thursday was the fourth day of this year’s Vacation BibleSchool program, “The Great Bibleland Dig”, recycled.  The kids had a great time digging in our archaeological dig site outside the city of “Jericho” to find clues to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”

So what did they find?

They found more pieces of clay pottery, a small clay bowl, and several “gold” coins.

What Bible story do you think we were exploring on Thursday?

In its day, Jericho was a bustling city of commerce and trade.  It was a frequent place for beggars to perch near the city gates to ask for the help of strangers.  In this day’s Bible story, we learned about the blind beggar, Bartimaeus, whom Jesus healed.  Bartimaeus would have sat with a bowl to collect the gifts of coin from passersby.  When Jesus HELPed Bartimaeus, he no longer needed to beg and he leapt up saying, “Thank you, thank you” to  Jesus.

At craft time, our junior archaeologists made a banner with a cross and helping hands encircling the cross which proclaimed “Jesus is our HELPER”.  They also made a “silver” embossed frames with textured items glued beneath the foil.  During snack time, they ate hand shaped gelatin jigglers and made cracker “hands” by smoothing peanut butter between Ritz crackers and sticking 5 pretzel sticks in the peanut butter.    A hand was added to our archaeology dig journal to remind us that Jesus is our HELPER.

They dug for treasure in our archaeological dig site and found “gold” coins and dinosaur finger puppets to take home to remember today’s lessons. 

During our Activity Center time, we learned about how the images on coins told people who the money belonged to (religious symbols for temple money, Ceasar for Roman coins, U.S. presidents for American coin) and how people used seals to mark their ownership of their belongings.  We used rubber stamps shaped like hands to practice stamping, and created our own “seal” with half a potato and some paint.

In the afternoon, each junior archaeologist was given the opportunity to excavate a dinosaur skeleton with a miniature dinosaur archeology kit.

They learned about Maiasaura.   Archaeologists are continually finding new evidence to suggest that though their brains may have been small and the social skills of dinosaurs very simple, it appears some dinosaurs did indeed rely on others for help.  Maiasaura seem to have taken extra care with their young dinosaurs, and the dinosaurs of others.  Maiasaura was a North American plant-eating duckbilled dinosaur that made its nest within about 30 feet of other Maiasaura nests.  It appears that the young dinosaurs stayed in the nests a long time while their parents went out and brought back vegetation for them to eat.  Archaeologists wonder if groups of Maiasaura helped take care of each other’s nests to keep away predators. 

Maiasaura and Jesus.  Helping others.  

This world can be a very tough place to survive, whether you are dinosaur or human.  Jesus showed us how we should be a HELPER to others.  In doing so, we can all flourish and grow.  Helping others brings us joy in knowing that someone else’s life is a little better because we took some time for them.

Amen.

Come and join us for worship on Sundays during the Summer at 9:30 am.

www.elcaAndy.org

Pterodactylus and Jesus?

Wednesday was the third day of this year’s Vacation BibleSchool program, “The Great Bibleland Dig”, recycled.  The kids had a great time digging in our archaeological dig site outside the city of “Jerusalem” to find clues to answer the question, “Who is Jesus?”

So what did they find?

They found part of a scroll, a phylactery, a metal plate for burning incense and a piece of pottery inscribed with the words, “Love God.  Love people.”

What Bible story do you think we were exploring on Wednesday?

Jesus frequently encountered the Pharisees when he was near Jerusalem.  Many sought to question him, not to learn from him, but to try and trick him into saying something that would go against the teachings of the Torah/Prophets/Old Testament.  Other people would gather around Jesus in the temple to learn from him.  His teachings told of a new way to interpret the things they had learned.  For instance, Jesus taught an easy way to keep God’s Commandments, just remember “Love God with all your heart, mind and soul, and love your neighbors as yourself.”

At craft time, our junior archaeologists made personalized pencils wrapped with embroidery floss and beads, and formed clay pots which they will paint later and keep a scroll with the above verse inside.  During snack time, they ate tortillas filled with either banana or honey butter and tied with a licorice string to remind them of the scrolls that the Israelites used to learn about God.    A scroll inscribed with “Jesus is our TEACHER” was added to our archaeology dig journal.

They dug for treasure in our archaeological dig site and found dinosaur pencils and small plastic dinosaur bookmarks that they could take home to remember today’s lessons. 

During our Activity Center time, we went outside (yes, in the sweltering heat) to do crayon rubbings of our cornerstone.  The corner stone of St. Andrew says “Jesus” and we talked about building a church/temple on Jesus, with Jesus being the strongest cornerstone of all.

In the afternoon, each junior archaeologist was given the opportunity to paint some dinosaur watercolor projects and create their own dinosaur scene with a selection of stickers.

They learned about Pterodactylus.  Dinosaurs are not noted for being exceptionally smart (at least like we think about being smart), since their brain size seems to indicate brain function primarily ordered for survival.  But it makes you wonder how young Pterodactylus would learn to fly, right?  Didn’t someone have to teach them how to fly and leave the nest?  Survival instincts, trial and error, along with watching other Pterodactylus probably played the majority of what motivated the young to fly from the nest.

Imagine what might have become of dinosaurs if they had the capacity to teach what they learned to future generations?

Pterodactylus and Jesus… teachers?  

Why not?  We’re still learning about dinosaurs.  Each archaeological discovery teaches us more and more about them. 

The more we dig around in the Bible, the more we know about Jesus and our relationship with the God who created and loves us.  Our journey to knowing God is a life-long lesson with Jesus as our TEACHER and the Bible our schoolbook.

Amen.

Come and join us for worship this Summer at 9:30 am

www.elcaAndy.org