Carl O. Bickel, Ph.D.
Pastor
Office phone & fax (301)249-6411
Home phone (301)249-5885
Church School 10:00 a.m.
Worship 11:00 a.m.
web page http://www.unitedparishbowie.org
| United Church of Christ | Presbyterian |
|---|---|
|
Carl O. Bickel, Ph.D. Pastor Office phone & fax (301)249-6411 Home phone (301)249-5885 |
| MITCHELLVILLE AND
MT. OAK ROADS Church School 10:00 a.m. Worship 11:00 a.m. |
email pastor@unitedparishbowie.org web page http://www.unitedparishbowie.org |
| We invite you to worship with us at 10:00 a.m. on Sundays during July and August. A nursery is provided. We are affiliated with both the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the United Church of Christ. |
These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins at various churches or were announced in church services:
Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 P.M. -- prayer and medication to follow.
Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands.
Next Sunday is the family hayride and bonfire at the Fowlers'. Bring your own hot dogs and guns. Friends are welcome! Everyone come for a fun time.
Remember in prayer the many who are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
Don't let worry kill you off -- let the Church help.
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again," giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor John's sermons.
During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy." Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7PM. Please use the back door.
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
Nikki Hillary, June 2, 2002
On this day of celebration, I am glad to share my recollections of the United Parish with you from the beginning, taking you back to 1970.
It was in the summer of 1970 we moved to Bowie, MD, from Alexandria, VA, because we could afford to buy a house here. We bought a Cape Cod on Pointer Ridge Drive for $25,000 and settled in. There were many others moving into Bowie at that time probably for the same reason. We had much in common with the new comers. We were mostly one-income and one-car families with young children. Most of us were also first-time homeowners.
Two months later, on an uneventful day there was a knock at our door. The man who came to our door introduced himself as Rev. Dick Schellhase who had just moved into 16011 Pennant Lane behind our house. After the initial chitchat, he told us that he was going to start a church right here in the neighborhood and asked if we would like to attend the church. He explained that there had been a steady and significant drop in church attendance especially among the suburbanites and first-time homeowners; and so several churches have joined together to bring the church to the suburbs. Rev. Schellhase had just started that day to recruit members for the church and we were the first people he contacted. We accepted his invitation and thus started our involvement with the United Parish of Bowie.
From 1970 to 1973, we were part of a close-knit group that worshiped together. It was a special experience that we enjoyed very much.
Even though, non-traditional methods were used at the worship service, the focus was Christian faith and spiritual growth.
In 1972, we bought the house in the corner of Philmont and Pennant Lanes across from the parsonage with the help of the supporting denominations. That became our church house. We modified the house according to our worship needs. We even bought the orange and yellow chairs that we still have. Things were surely looking up! We were euphoric to have our own place of worship and even the furniture.
Unfortunately, the euphoria did not last. For a variety of reasons, our membership shrank. Some members moved away from the area and some dropped out of the church. Our Minister also left. Things were looking gloomy. After an interval, the denominations appointed an interim Minister on a part-time basis. A few of us were hanging on and hoping for developments for the better. Those were times of uncertainty, confusion and discouragement. We were truly like sheep without a shepherd.
The supporting denominations came to our aid again. This time, they authorized us to hire a full-time minister. So, we quickly formed a search committee. Even though the committee members had no experience in hiring a minister, they knew that they needed to find (and we all prayed for) a very special minister, who could pick up the pieces and steer us in the right direction.
Thankfully, we did find the very special pastor in Rev. Carl Bickel. With Carl Bickel, came Shirley Bickel with special skills/training in music and Christian education. We were very happy to welcome Carl, Shirley and Eric Bickel to the United Parish of Bowie at the end of 1973.
By that time I think that several of us were ready to move towards a more structured and predictable approach in worship.
Between 1973 to 1977
Under the leadership of Carl, we went through a slow transition from informal to more formal practices of worship, including sermons. During this period,
Since 1977, we have accomplished a great deal and much to be thankful for:
At present, we have several members, including our family, who travel considerable distances to attend services and activities here. All of us in our family consider the United Parish as our church home and we love worshiping here. Some of the factors that draw us to this church are:
Looking back, I see a miracle that transformed a small house-church into a stable church as ours. I see God's hands through it all. Each stage was important. Each taught us valuable lessons. God has been so faithful! He gave us the right leaders, at the right time. He led us through hills and valleys and stood by at all times. And, He kept the hope alive and is using us mightily now. Therefore I trust that I am speaking for everyone here when I quote Psalm 115 saying:
"Not to us, Oh Lord, Not to us
But to Your name be the glory,
Because of Your love and faithfulness."
Yes! To God be the glory. Great things He has done for the United Parish of Bowie.
| God took the fragrance of a flower, The majesty of a tree, The gentleness of morning dew, The calm of a quiet sea, The beauty of a twilight hour, The soul of a starry night The laughter of the rippling brook, The grace of a bird in flight, Then God fashioned from these things A creation like no other, And when His masterpiece was through, He called it simply ... MOTHER. |
Joshua Nye, a high school student at United Parish of Bowie
United Church of Christ/Presbyterian
Pastor - - The Rev. Carl Bickel
Conducted by Donald Newton & the Rev. Bruce Bowen
About every 3 years Presbytery, composed of over 130 Presbyterian Churches in the national capital area, are required to visit with the governing body of each of its member churches. The following is the report from the most recent visit.
Following brief devotions and after introductions, we proceeded with the suggested questions, noting the excellent morale among the board members throughout the meeting.
Mentioned as some of the good things happening in the church were: excellent music program with fine choir, good sanctuary acoustics, and a Prism Brass group, composed of 5 graduates of the Eastman School of Music, who perform at various functions; strong preaching of Pastor Carl Bickel with major emphasis on mission/social concerns in the community [At the sanctuary exit, there are signs "You are now entering the mission field!"]; strong education program for all ages, including two adult classes on Sundays, with studies on Islam, How To Raise Children In a Secular Society, Harry Potter, Church History, Science and Religion, Supreme Court Rulings; major emphasis on children and their welcome and participation [children do major ushering]; nine new members recently joined.
This church is a friendly [there's that word again] exciting church located in a region that is blessed with large ethnic groupings, thereby giving it special opportunities. It is working to increase its minority membership.
The church is debt-free, no small task considering it was not true several years ago. Plans have been drawn for a significant building addition, and fundraising is one of the major undertakings of the church. A nest-egg of about $45,000 has been raised so far and is expected to expand to $90,000 by the end of 2002. The church is hopeful and confident of starting construction in 3 to 4 years. At present, due to lack of space (especially storage) it cannot expand its facilities.
The church has a wonderful daily nursery school of which it is very proud, and a small but vigorous youth program. They are looking to obtain a youth minister when the time is ripe.
The church sponsors several outside groups including three weight watchers groups plus a group called Compassionate Friends which is for persons who have lost loved ones. An Afro-American start-up church uses the sanctuary every Sunday afternoon. This nesting congregation eventually wishes to own their own church building in Temple Hills.
Concerning significant happenings in the community, there was considerable comment on false stereotyping of Prince George's County. Located in PG County, the church has about 185 members who come from an area over 75 miles. The county is definitely a melting pot, situated between affluent neighbors, with an Afro-American population that is highly educated with significant income. The church is hoping to attract more minorities into its fold, taking advantage of the county diversity which lends itself to a high degree of ecumenical endeavors. There is serious motivation to working with other faiths and actively aspiring to mesh itself into the community in a more substantial way through guest speakers, youth programs, choir, literature to the community about itself, etc.
Discussing things that could be changed or improved, the board members mentioned: growth, sufficient funds to proceed with building plans for expansion, diversity emphasis [they presently have three Afro-American members], more ecumenical emphasis, a youth minister, part time.
The building expansion projection is a realistic goal which will change the nature of this church. It will provide more room to activate programs now dreamed of but not activated because of space demands. These include increasing youth attendance through various programs, improving the music environment, adding new members, offering more outreach, etc.
Their present building is not a run-of-the-mill looking church building and, as such, is sometimes presumed by outsiders as an office building. The members wanted to express the idea of being forward-looking and diverse while communicating their spiritual focus. This has presented a challenge, eased by an excellent church sign and a cross atop the building visible at night.
The only request we encountered was that we communicate to Presbytery that the Presbyterian church school curriculum used in the past as well as the one used today be scrutinized, evaluated, and changed. [The church uses the Bible Quest curriculum today] The statement was made that they feel there is a tendency for the national church to overlook the unhappiness of many churches using their curriculum.
Alissa Barbato just graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York with a B.A. in Biology.
Matthew Bickel completed his Master's degree in Music from the University of Maryland.
Anne McKay received her Master's in Education from Lesley College in Boston.
Nathanial Hathaway graduated from the Naval Academy in Annapolis.
Joseph Connolly graduated from Bowie High School.
Hannah Simpson graduated from Bowie High School.
Congratulations and God's blessings to these graduates!
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