beacon bethel uccbethelucc-va.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/bethel-beacon-july-20… · god...
TRANSCRIPT
beaconBETHEL UCC
As we enter a time of Sabbath, we slow down and listen for God in our midst.
CAMAS LILESConsider the lilies of the field, The blue banks of camas opening
into acres of sky along the road.Would the longing to lie downand be washed by that beautyabate if you knew their usefulness,how the natives ground their bulbsfor flour, how the settlers’ hogsuprooted them, grunting in gleefuloblivion as the flowers fell?
And you – what of your rushed and useful life? Imagine setting it all down – papers, plans, appointments, everything – leaving only a note: “Goneto the fields to be lovely. Be backwhen I’m through with blooming.”
Even now, unneeded and uneaten,the camas lilies gaze out above the grassfrom their tender blue eyes.Even in sleep your life will shine.Make no mistake. Of courseyour work will always matter.Yet Solomon in all his gloryWas not arrayed like one of these.
By Lynn Ungar
JULY/AUGUST 2012
BY PASTOR KRISTEN CURLEE
Listening for God’s WhispersworshipJULY 22
2 Samuel 7:1-14aWherever You Are
Rev. Kristen Curlee
JULY 29John 6:1-21
God’s Abundant PresenceRev. Carolyn Richar
AUGUST 5John 6:24-35Bread of Life
Rev. Kristen Curlee
AUGUST 12Eph 4:25 - 5:2
Shaping CommunityRev. Carolyn Richar
AUGUST 191 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14
Wisdom QuestRev. Kristen Curlee
AUGUST 26Psalm 84
At Home with GodRev. Kristen Curlee
SUNDAY SCHEDULE10 am Worship
11 am Fellowship
4347 Arlington Blvd., Arlington, VA 22203E-MAIL [email protected]
WEB www.bethelucc-va.org
2 BETHEL UCC BEACON
Why Church?by Sam Le
Every member of Bethel are the ministers
staff &leadership
Senior PastorRev. Kristen Curlee
Associate Pastor Rev. Carolyn Richar
Church President Dave Diesselhorst
Director of MusicAngie Stevens
Communications AssistantLaura Dely
Interim Pastor EmeritusRev. Dr. H. Donald Smith
2 BETHEL UCC BEACON
This is why I go to church. My wife was induced at the maternity ward on Memorial Day weekend 2010. She was two days overdue. The pain medication was so effective that she took a nap. But then the doctor rushed in with a crew of nurses and announced, “The baby’s heart rate is dropping. We need to do a C-section or get her out now.” We pleaded for a normal delivery. A few pulls with forceps and less than 10 minutes later, the doctor was holding our first daughter, Sophie.
I was once a workaholic who once spent 72 straight hours at the office, sleeping on a law firm carpet. But now, I was a father who would spend the next 72 hours sleepless, pondering how this was going to turn out. I devoured parenting books and psychology books, in the hopes that something might teach me how to be a dad. You’ll be surprised at what I learned.
I read about academic achievement and how self-control is the only trait that reliably predicts academic success.1 The simplest way to develop self-control is, surprisingly, going to church.2 This is in part because observing weekly rituals develops self-control, but it’s also because prayer activates the same areas of the brain used for self-regulation and avoiding distraction.3
I read about how going to church weekly adds seven years to your life,
1 Baumeister and Tierney, Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength.2 Waldman and Newberg, How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings From a Leading Neuroscientist.3 Baumeister and Tierney.
and it lowers your blood pressure.4 Going to church makes you happier and less prone to depression.5 In fact, the happiness gap between regular churchgoers and non-churchgoers is huge, the same size as the gap between those that make $20,000 per year and those that make $90,000.6
Frequent churchgoers volunteer twice as much as non-churchgoers and give four times more of their income to charity.7 They vote more often, give more blood, and attend more neighborhood meetings. And churchgoers score highest on the “Trust Game,” a test developed by economists to measure trust.8
What if you aren’t religious? The research shows you can still benefit from going. It’s actually the interaction with other churchgoers, not religious belief, that results
4 Porter, The Price of Everything: Solving the Mystery of Why We Pay What We Do.5 Vaillant, Aging Well: Surprising Guideposts to a Happier LIfe from the Landmark Harvard Study of Human Development.6 Porter.7 Putnam and Campbell, American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us.8 Zak, The Moral Molecule: The Source of Love and Prosperity.
BETHEL UCC BEACON 3
in the greater self-control, better health, and stronger trust.9
In fact, if you have to pick between the sermon and the fellowship hour, you should go to fellowship. Going to church may plant the seed of faith, but the process of positive change starts with fellowship.
It’s hard to argue with this research, which comes from the world’s most respected universities. But why UCC? For us, it was because the UCC shares our values. This country welcomed my parents 37 years ago when they came from south Vietnam to a refugee camp in Arkansas. The UCC welcomes everyone, no matter who they are or who they love. We believe in preserving the environment, and in living a life where possessions don’t crowd out relationships. The UCC does too.
We found Bethel UCC through its website. We have stayed because of a certain feeling we get on Sundays at Bethel. It is a feeling that you are, in a single moment, a small part of a much larger whole. My former psychology professor at the University of Virginia, Jonathan Haidt, calls it the emotion of “awe.” My wife and I felt it with our doctor and nurses that Memorial Day weekend. Some people feel awe at sporting events, political rallies, or concerts. Otherwise, it’s hard to find nowadays.
There’s one more reason why we’ve stayed. My wife is now pregnant with another girl, so we’ve been going back to see the doctor who delivered Sophie. That doctor is a hero. Our doctor decided to forgo the less risky procedure to honor
9 Putnam and Campbell.
our desire for a normal delivery. The forceps marks are gone, and we now have a sweet, tough two-year-old who loves to sing in Bethel’s children’s choir.
I want my daughters to have the same capacity for heroism as our doctor. The news is filled with stories where the nation and the world could have used more heroes--from the Lululemon murder to Amendment One to Syria and Sudan.
There’s a quality about Bethel that I think fosters our capacity for heroism. This quality is not unique to Bethel. But I also don’t believe that all houses of worship have the same quality. It comes from the act of gathering with people of different cultures, incomes, ages, and levels of spiritual belief to pray, sing, and laugh together. It’s hearing from our energetic, youthful pastor about love and acceptance and knowing that she is living it full-force in her own life. It’s recognizing that LGBT people are welcome in our pews and at our communion table. It’s serving in the community with the homeless and clinically addicted. It’s the stained-glass window showing Jesus preaching among
angels, and reflecting on how we can all be a bit more angelic. Bethel has created a culture of heroism.
It’s possible that medicine has the same culture of heroism. Or that other people might find that culture in the military or sports. We have found it at Bethel. I want my daughters to grow up in a culture of heroism. I want them to grow to be brave and bold, and my hope is that someday I can turn to them say, “You are my heroes.” That is why I go to church.
On Monday, July 16 at 2:12 a.m., Laura Wells and Michael Palermo welcomed a healthy baby boy, Judson Peter Palermo, into the world. Judson was born at home after a rather short labor. He weighs 7 pounds and 4 ounces and is 19 3/4 inches long. He is named Judson in honor of his maternal great-grandfather and Peter in honor of his paternal great-grandfather. Mom, dad, baby and dog, Jeter, are all doing well. We look forward to welcoming Judson into our community of faith at his baptism, tentatively planned for August 12.
A Warm Welcome to Baby Judson Peter Palermo!
4 BETHEL UCC BEACON4 BETHEL UCC BEACON
Summer at BethelChildren in Church ... We are in the midst of summer, and for our children that means hot days filled with camps, friends, trips to the pool and playing in the sprinklers. At church it means children who have completed kindergarten and older are encouraged to remain in church after Time with Our Children. It’s a chance to learn what it’s like to listen and learn about God in worship. There are coloring and activity sheets available in the pew racks, and nursery care for babies through age five downstairs. Church school for our children and youth will reconvene September 9th.
All Church PicnicSeptember 1, 2012 Mark your calendar and join us Saturday, September 1 between 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. for the All Church Picnic at the Curlee’s. It’s an evening of food, fellowship and water activi-ties for the children. There will be a sprinkler, water balloons and a kiddie pool to help children keep cool. The Curlees are making a barbeque dinner, and more details will be coming soon. The picnic will be at 1811 Horseback Trail, Vienna, VA 22182.
AFAC Update In June, the generous members of Bethel donated 85 pounds of food to the Arlingon Food Assistance Center, which brings the 2012 total to 721 pounds of food donated so far this year. The church also donates produce to AFAC in conjuntion with two other churches. Thank you for your generous support of this food center.
Support ASPAN On June 24, in the midst of yet another heat wave in the D.C. area, Bethel collected 72 bottles of water for the Arlington Street People Assistance Network (ASPAN). These bottles were dropped off at ASPAN to help those less fortunate keep hydrated during the hot summer days this week. If anyone would like to donate water—a few bottles or a case— bring it to church through the end of August and through August it will be taken to ASPAN.
Volunteers Keep Bethel Vibrant During the summer months, and year round, Bethel is powered by our stalwart and inspiring volunteers. Thanks to everyone for being part of our strong and growing community. Special thanks to:
Sunday School Teachers Judy Lipman, Judy Norton, Joyce Lewis and Ruth Elliott Official Bethel Photographer Art Lipman. Newsletter Editor Elizabeth Kiker All Bethel’s Children Choir Leader Donna Zadnik. Voices of Bethel singers Marya Dowell Hynes, Bill Graver, Art Lipman, Dorothy Lawrence, Jean Luks, Peter Rich, Carolyn Richar, and Laura Wells. Consistory Members David Diesselhorst, Bill Graver, Joan Graver, Art Lipman, Judy Lipman and Peter Rich. Committee Chairs: Judy Lipman, Janna Lipman and Peter Rich Interim Sabbath Leadership Janna Lipman, Whit Wheeler, Art Lipman and Donna Zadnick. Bethel thrives because of the commitment all of our members have to our church. Thank you for being a part of what makes us warm and welcoming.
Why Do YOU Attend Bethel? Sam Le provided a fantastic testimonial in this newsletter; would you like to provide one of your own? Submit your stories about this or another church-related topic for inclusion in the September 2012 newsletter. Send content to [email protected] by August 24.
BETHEL UCC BEACON 5
A Wildly Successful Strawberry Festival
6 BETHEL UCC BEACON
27
Aug. 1 2 3 4
12 15 16 17 18
21 22 23 24 25
27 28
30 31
13 14
19 20
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship
28
29
10 a.m. Communion Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship
First Friday Event
6 p.m. Bethel UCC
26
sunday monday tuesday wednesday thursday friday saturday
july/august 2012
All Church Picnic
4 p.m. - 8 p.m.at the Curlees
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship
29 30 31 Sep. 1
25 2623 24 July 22
8 9 10 116 75
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship
10 a.m. Worship
11 a.m. Fellowship