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Contact in This Issue: Profile: a Calling Card Or an Obituary?

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Contact in This Issue: Profile: a Calling Card Or an Obituary? Issue August 2019 A Monthly Update in the Life of our Church Contact In This Issue: Profile: A calling card or an obituary? • July 7th & 21st Sermons Our ‘church resume’ can lead us forward to renewal By Rev. Thomas W. Caruso, With hundreds of U.S. It’s “mutual dependence • Special Celebrations Interim Minister churches dying monthly, what between, among and with • UCC Synod Articles A profile, of course, tells does “settled” mean? With other people, churches and pastoral candidates who we churches cutting programs, groups.” It’s spiritual cross- • Community Resource are, where we think God is what is “settled?” And with pollination! Highlight /Gemma’s leading us and what are our membership falling here and Our Gospel message expectations and hopes for elsewhere, is anything truly today is all about inter- Angels future leadership. It is the ever settled? dependence! Luke 10 tells • August 11th Guest church’s resume for pastoral us that Jesus dispatched 70 candidates! disciples to nearby villages Speaker – Because July 7 is the Sunday to seek helpers and those Rev. Nora Foust closest to the July 4th holiday, who need help! They were we prayed that the document Jesus’ advance scouts • August 25th Shared would lead us to freedom because he would soon Outdoor Service with from the uncertainty of the follow to preach the new last three years. Uncertainty? Well, yes. God’s love and Gospel. Hummelstown UCC Since 2016, Redeemer has righteous judgment are settled We say, “God helps those • Prayer Requests segued from a full-time to a and thus dependable. The Holy who help themselves!” half-time pastor. It has Spirit’s power and promise are Jesus says, “God helps • Leadership Team Update replaced multiple office settled and dependable. Jesus those who help others.” • Words of Thanks secretaries. And it has faced Christ’s grace and mercy are What would the latter look the chaotic departure of its dependable! like today? • Pastoral Visits Update first interim minister. Many So what exactly is a settled Well, it means moving • Soup for the Soul major changes in a short church? Well, it’s NOT a outside our comfort zone, span. stagnant place! It’s NOT a outside the church walls Change is tough with no perfect space with no flaws. and outside typical “settled pastor” here. Settled NOR a fast race forward ministry. pastor, settled pastor. Hmm, before solving past problems. I heard a sermon that what is a “settled pastor?” Actually, our church profile is reflected that from a UCC, The title is both comforting just a piece of paper unless and misleading. Just how we’re fully inter-dependent! settled are pastors anyway? What does that word mean? (continued on pg. 2) Finally, we must face that being Finally, will this profile be our Will our Profile be our Calling Card timid, easily offended or nursing or Obituary Notice? “calling card” to be disciples of old wounds will stymy us as Continued from pg. 1 Christ or an “obituary notice” for a Christians. church that withered away? I’m not calling out folks; I’m pastor at Stone Mountain, GA. He A call to new life or a gravestone calling on them to seek freedom said -- at 120 decibels, no less – that from their wounds. We all have epitaph? It’s your choice! it means “Let’s Go Outside with th them! Yes, we honor on July 4 our Jesus!” Outside the temple gates; Pastor Tom sees a counselor leaders, citizens and military who outside these four walls; out into weekly for that. I can’t let my the community! preserve our freedom. Yet we know wounds stop me from tending to Jesus didn’t ask the 70 disciples to that Jesus Christ is the only true the wounded. So now what? sign up for temple potlucks, freedom! Let Jesus turn your hurts into a call meetings or worship help. I’m not to connect with and help hurting On this Independence Day, let’s disparaging those tasks, but it’s not folks. Don’t retreat from the celebrate that we have the liberty to his priority. world. Don’t be an isolated rock or do God’s work, to support others Jesus says meet others’ needs first. island. Embrace inter-dependence and to be ambassadors for Christ. Bring hope to the hurting, hapless and let it embolden you. and hopeless. And find more Isaiah 61:1 gives us our charge. “Know that I have commanded helpers! “The Lord has appointed us to “What a huge harvest! And how you to be determined and tell the good news to the poor. He few the harvest hands. So, on your confident! Do not be afraid or has sent us to comfort those who knees; ask the God of the Harvest to discouraged, for I, the Lord your heart-broken, to proclaim liberty to send harvest hands.” Luke 10:2 God, am with you wherever you those who are oppressed and to tell And he gives them odd go.” Joshua 1:9. those imprisoned that God’s Word has freed them!” instructions. Oh, but we lack folks and funds! “I’m sending you out armed Too few dollars and disciples! (equipped) with vulnerability, like This sermon was originally lambs walking into a pack of Really? delivered by Pastor Caruso on wolves.” The last UCC I served said that Sunday, July 7, 2019. Vulnerability? Huh? What is that? when they hired me to close them Pastor Tom may be reached by phone at 717-798-0368 or via email Well, it lets us meet folks where down. Their final service was April at [email protected]. they’re at. It compels us to be open 2018. They ran out of Holy Spirit and honest about our flaws. energy and not money or people. Vulnerability lets us reach out, take They shut with $150,000 in assets risks and weather mistakes! We Did you know that you can worry little about sounding or and just a few less folks than us. access Pastor Tom’s sermons appearing foolish. We worry more Realize that church revivals need online on our website at about connecting deeply with folks the full and faithful participation of www.redeemerchurchucc.org? and supporting them. all! Thank you, Profile Committee Click on the Sermon tab in the With faith, we stop worrying about folks. menu. how we look or sound doing new So, will our profile be a bold map ministry. And we focus on how others look after we have prayed, to a new land God envisions? Or guided or helped them. just a cautionary guide to stay on Yes, new ministry is awkward, “the tried-and-true pathway?” clumsy and even weird. Just like Will it be a clarion call for a starting school, a new job or a new renewed spirit here or a subdued relationship. God never promises us whisper for more of the same? NO weirdness! Rev. Nora Foust to Guest A Few Words of Thanks………. Preach & Lead Discussion Rev. Tom Caruso, th I was so pleased to receive a copy of on August 11 the church CONTACT which has been missing for a long time. I do hope this Rev. Nora Driver Foust is the Associate means Redeemer is now going forward Conference Minster for Congregational and and I can look forward to reading news Ministerial Excellence for the Penn Central of the church once again. Conference. She staffs all association Committees I am a long-time member and have on Ministry, facilitates the Ministerial Education missed many things in the last few years. Forums, leads the congregational and clergy Please use my enclosed check on boundary training program, and meets with whatever is most needed at the moment. consistories and congregations for a wide variety Prayerfully, Jane Gallozzi of educational opportunities. She is a life-long member of the United Church of Christ; born and Thanks to Jane for her kind note and raised in a rural UCC church in Burlington, NC generous contribution. We appropriately where she began serving in leadership in her allocated her gift to sponsorship of the teens. She was a summer fixture at Johns River July CONTACT! If you have interest in Valley Camp, one of her conference’s outdoor sponsoring an issue of CONTACT, please ministry sites, as a camper, a summer staffer and a reach out to Jorja for the details! program director for more than 30 years. She continues that outdoor ministry passion at our own Hartman Center serving as a Camp Chaplain when possible. Nora graduated from Elon University in 1998, taught high school Social Studies and worked in Dear Redeemer Community, college athletics before entering seminary. She We hope you don’t notice that we spent graduated from Duke Divinity School in 2007 and a restful night on your sanctuary floor, was ordained that summer at First Reformed UCC but we hope that you might know how in Burlington, NC. grateful we are to have this welcoming Rev. Foust served in the Southern Conference of rest stop on our way to our week of the UCC as a Minister for Church Affairs where she mission work in Maryland. resourced churches in Search and Call and staffed It’s a joy to be so graciously hosted the Committee on Ministry. Nora loves spen ding (shout out to Jorja!) and a blessing to time outside and reading when she can find extra forge another tie with a sister UCC minutes. Nora and Mike have an adult daughter, Congregation. McKenzie, that lives in NC and their son Joshua Thank you! You made the first leg of our (10) lives with them in Harrisburg, PA.
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