united parish of bowie

Articles

Our church is a place to ask questions, search for a deeper and more meaningful faith in an atmosphere that affirms honest pilgrimage.

This Newsletter invites you to the many ways this encouragement in the journey occurs. Two adult courses are offered on Sunday mornings -- one on Luke's gospel and another on grief and mourning and how loss relates to our Christian faith. The first of October a series on growing in our faith will begin on Wednesday evenings from 6:30-7:30 p.m., led by Pastor Bickel. The time is set so that people can come to church during the mid-week for discussion, support for the Christian journey, and prayer, and then conclude in time for them to be home by 7:45 p.m. You are invited to these three opportunities for growing and sharing the Christian faith.

Of central importance is the life of this church is the education of children and youth. We have classes for young people of all ages on Sunday morning. We have a high school youth group, a junior high group, and a new, experimental outreach program in conjunction with the South Bowie Community Center. There are articles describing all of these activities in this Newsletter.

We are also a congregation that encourages service. Our community service activities include participation in Christmas in April, a county-wide program to fix up houses of the ill and needy. For many years we have provided meals to the Family Crisis Center, collected food for local food pantries, collected clothes, and engaged in numerous other community service projects. Chad Bickel will report on September 14 on his Christian mission trip to Moldova, a part of the former Soviet Union.

We also have numerous opportunities within the church for service -- from working with youth to singing in the choir, to serving on committees. Some people in our church are heavily involved; others much less so. This diversity in the level of participation we affirm. We want no one to serve the church simply out of guilt or a sense that a certain level of involvement is expected.

We invite you, in your search for initiating or deepening your Christian faith, to participation in the life and programs of this church. Of course, at the heart of our life as a congregation is our corporate worship on Sundays. We are not all at the same place in our Christian pilgrimage, but what unites us is our commitment to follow Jesus Christ. You are invited.

Carl Bickel, Pastor, United Parish of Bowie

Josi and Nikki Hillary will show a video of their recent travels to Indonesia and Thailand on October 5. This evening will begin with a dessert at 7:00 p.m. The Hillarys will also discuss their impression of the church in these countries. Please sign up in the narthex.

Carl Bickel will lead a series beginning Wednesday, October 1, on "Growing in Our Faith." The sessions will begin at 6:30 p.m. and conclude at 7:30 p.m. An opening presentation of some aspect of the Christian faith by Carl will be followed by discussion on how our faith impacts our daily and personal lives. The series will conclude the week before Thanksgiving. This series will give busy people a mid-week opportunity for discussion, support and prayer.

For reflection, renewal, recreation and discussion, plan to join us for a one-day Adult Retreat on the Chesapeake Bay, Saturday, October 18. Camp Wabanna is just a half hour from Bowie in Edgewater, Maryland. Bible study and discussion will focus on "Modeling the Christian Lifestyle in a Pluralistic Society." Not only will we sharpen our tools for living the Christian life, we'll have opportunities to engage in volleyball, tennis, basketball, shuffleboard, paddle-boating, canoeing, and walking on the beach.

All-you-can-eat lunch and dinner will be provided in this well maintained facility. The cost will be about $17 per person. The day will begin at 9:00 a.m. and end at 8.30 or 9:00 p.m. following a campfire and worship on the beach. This day is planned for adults of all ages, couples and singles. For registration information speak to Brenda Clyde, Joyce Herron, Joan Milan, Penny Simpson, Shirley Bickel or call the church (301-249-6411). If you have children, start thinking of who can care for them on your one day get-away. If you have friends you'd like to invite, they are welcome.

Chad Bickel will report on his recent six-week Christian mission trip to Moldova, a part of the former Soviet Union. The meeting will be September 14, at 7:00 p.m. at the church. Chad went to Moldova under the auspices of Intervarsity. Our church and individuals in the church, contributed a substantial portion of Chad's funding. If convenient, please bring a dessert as the evening will start with coffee, tea and dessert. Please sign up in the narthex or phone 301-249-6411.

As I sit on the backyard swing the crickets are chirping so loudly I can hardly collect my thoughts. The apple tree is beginning to drop its fruit, and the golden black-eyed susans are bent to the ground from summer drought perhaps. A delicate butterfly dances in the phlox, and a bee chases from zinnias to roses searching for late summer nectar. I sip my coffee and wonder, "What shall I do with this day?"

Reluctantly I return to my laundry room trying not to trip on the mounds of dirty clothes on my way to the washing machine. Perhaps you too spent part of the Sabbath worshipping, cooking, and enjoying your family. Maybe you spent the prior day working for ten to twelve hours and then collapsed into bed. So today we may feel frazzled, refreshed, or bored with our obligations and expectations. The attitude with which we begin the day will probably color most of what will unfold in the coming hours.

Many of us think that time is ours to use as we please. That's one area where we are the clockmasters. But Genesis affirms that time originated with God and time belongs to God. Apart from God there would be no time.

Psalm 100 maintains not only that we belong to God, but also the hours we so carefully plan or squander are really God's gift to us. The tragic untimely death of Princess Diana jolts us to consider how fragile are our lives and how precious should be each hour that is given us.

Too often you and I have complained that we don't have enough time to accomplish all we wish. We may have tried to pack our days to the brim and still there's been a deficit of time. Often we've wakened tired from too few hours spent sleeping. Clearly we need to re-focus our perspective on the Psalmist's affirmation, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm 118:24).

I pick up the dirty clothes feeling somewhat less burdened realizing that this very day is God's. I turn the load to wash "extra large" and think, "This is your day, God, now what do you want me to do with it?"

Shirley Klotz Bickel

Some churches advertise upbeat worship -- happy music, always a positive note. Such upbeat worship is to make the worshippers feel better. What is wrong with this understanding?

First of all, the purpose of worship is not to lift our spirits or make us feel better. The focus of worship is God -- not ourselves or our feelings. Upbeat worship focuses on ourselves and supposedly on our needs and wishes. It's self-centered.

Secondly, it doesn't even focus on ourselves in an adequate way. Upbeat worship can make people who are in pain and suffering feel worse. They may feel isolated and unable to "get with" all those happy feelings. Marva Dawn (Reaching Out Without Dumbing Down) writes about the time when she was undergoing chemotherapy for her cancer and how alienating all the focus on happy feelings in worship made her feel. Life isn't always happy. The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is not an upbeat fact. This reality of suffering should not be denied in worship but fully acknowledged. The cross and Christian faith affirms the overcoming of suffering, not its suppression. Happy worship ultimately trivializes the gospel and is superficial.

What we want is not upbeat worship that denies sin, tragedy, and evil, but genuinely joyful worship which acknowledges the horror of evil and suffering and by so doing can speak relevantly of resurrection and new life.

Happy worship? No, it's self-centered and superficial. Joyful worship? Yes, it speaks of what God has done and can do to bring genuine resurrection into our lives.

Carl Bickel, Pastor, United Parish of Bowie

Two adult courses will begin on September 14. "Grieving and Mourning" will consider a challenge that everyone faces -- grieving for and mourning the loss of loved ones. We will read a variety of written materials and watch a related movie in our explorations of this important topic.

Each participant will be asked to read, "A Grief Observed" by C.S. Lewis, a memoir concerning the untimely sickness and death of his wife. We will watch the movie based on Lewis' experiences, "Shadowlands," starring Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger. We will read poetry dealing with grief by William Shakespeare, Lord Tennyson, A.E. Housman, W.B. Yeats, Rupert Brook, Dylan Thomas, and Randall Jarrel. We will consider the theories of Dr. John Bowlby, who wrote "The making and breaking of Affectional Bonds." Finally, we will study biblical teachings on grief, including the concept of renunciation and the verse in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:4), "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted." Merrill Hathaway will lead this course.  

"The Gospel of Luke" will be in two parts. The first six sessions will be led by Carl Bickel, and the second six sessions by Gene Barbato. During the first six sessions attention will be focused on the time and circumstances of the writing and its major themes. Attention will then be centered on what the text says in the opening chapters with time set aside for discussion of what the text means in our daily lives today.

The first meeting of both of these courses will be Sunday, September 14, at 10:00 a.m. Please sign up in the narthex.

The church is beginning a new, experimental youth program for neighborhood young people, ages 14-15. The program will be sponsored jointly by our church and the South Bowie Community Center. It will be held on Wednesdays after school at the Community Center and led by Kathy Busch with help from Brian Hunt, Jan Barbato and others.

The program will consist of recreation, music, discussion, and a snack. It is designed as an outreach program to community youth, a healthy after-school activity, and a way of connecting some young people with the church.

We are excitedly busy getting ready for a new church school year. Church school starts again on Sunday, September 7, at 10:00 a.m. There is a breakfast at 9:30 a.m. and class pictures throughout the morning. The teachers have been working hard preparing for classes. The curriculum has been ordered and the supplies organized. Each student by now has received a note from his/her teacher welcoming him/her to church school. We have a super group of teachers this year which includes;

• Becky DeMeo teaching the 2 & 3 year olds
• Nan Hathaway teaching the 4 & 5 year olds
• Janice Sheppard & Barbara Lazur teaching the 1st & 2nd graders
• Donna Hanner & Linda Hutchinson teaching the 3rd & 4th graders
• Bob Jessup teaching the 5th through 7th graders
• Brian Hunt teaching the Young Teens
• Dick Freudig teaching the Sr. High students

We will have Teacher Dedication during the worship service on Sunday, September 14.

We have many fun and exciting things planned for this year. We will be trying to add children's books to our library. The ladies of the church will be helping us with this project. We will continue to welcome visiting children to our church with a visitor welcome package. We continue to add/revise projects as we strive to make this the best Christian Education program for our children.

Anyone interested in getting involved in the Christian Education program can contact me, Lisa Ferrer at 410-672-5436. As we continue to grow we will need more and more help from the members of the congregation. We do have a surprise planned for the congregation in September, so be here every Sunday if you can. We are planning for this to be a great year for our children! Join in the FUN!

The Men's Fellowship Group meet the first and third Tuesdays of every month at 7:30 a.m. at IHOP on Rt. 450 in Bowie. The agenda is simply fellowship and informal conversation. On Sunday, October 12, at 6:00 p.m. men will meet at the Grace's Fortune Restaurant on Rt. 450 in Bowie to hear and discuss Mike Mehl's presentation on "Chaos Theory and Christian Faith."

Women of the church will meet at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of the month to discuss the Book of Job. Please contact Linda Hutchinson (301-261-7430) for more information. This group gives women a treasured opportunity for growth and support in the Christian faith.

People who enjoy singing are invited to choir rehearsals Wednesdays from 7:30-9:00 p.m. A variety of meaningful music has been chosen for the Fall and Advent season. The Director is Diane Eades, and Sue Kennedy is the accompanist.

Other United Parish of Bowie Newsletters

---

   Return to the United Parish of Bowie Home Page