How do you love God?

Posted on Dec 28, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , ,

12/28/23

The children’s catechism called, “Belonging to God,” asks, “How do you thank God for this gift of love?”

Answer: “I promise to love and trust God with all my heart.”
Q: “How do you love God?”
A: “By worshipping God, by loving others, and by respecting what God has created.”

If you are now striving toward a new year’s resolution, perhaps this line of thinking is more than adequate. And a better choice than, “Lose 10 pounds by Valentine’s Day.”

It doesn’t exclude healthy lifestyle changes. Respecting the divine creation that is you is important. It does include a commitment to gathering in a community for praising the Creator. It does mean working to grow the ways in which you do love for others, toward others, in tangible expressions of your love for God. And respecting what God has created—so many options!

Water conservation, less plastic, more intentionally diverse friendships, nature walks, new ways of speaking to spouses or children, or co-workers, adopting a fur-baby, minimizing car-trips to the store….

What part of the created world, people, things or places, are dear to you? How might you in 2024 give praise to God for this, show your love of God by loving it more intentionally, and grow spiritually in your respect for this aspect of creation?

Let it be resolved—for one month. Yes, it’s okay to make a very short-term, time-limited, relevant, achievable, measurable, specific commitment. Yes, this is a SMART resolution. You got this!

Pick up your STAR WORDS in worship on Sunday! Find a guiding light for the coming year.

Happy New Year!
Rev Bev
Image: A Sanctified Art|@asanctifiedart| (c) 2023

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Already!? All ready? Alright!

Posted on Dec 21, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , , ,

12/20/23
Already? All ready? Alright!

I’m not. Not at home, not at work. Writing, cooking, wrapping, ordering… So much to do and so little time.
Would I be too busy to answer a call, only to find out someone needed a friendly voice during a sad moment of holiday memories? Would I be too busy to hear the knock at the door of a stranger needing help for his very pregnant wife, or too fearful to answer? Would I be too busy to see Jesus in the midst  of flour and bows and Amazon deliveries and sermons waiting to be birthed? To attend Christmas worship?!

Would I miss the joy of Christmas?

Or the good news of great joy, the promise of a coming peace? All.of.it? Because it’s already time and I’m not all ready?

From Thanksgiving through Christmas, our days and nights can be filled with “have-to’s:” efforts to get a few more hours of overtime to pay the light bill, let alone buy a gift–making sure no family traditions are forgotten even though they have become more chore than joy. ……………        These lists we are completing and checking twice become burdensome.

Until they are over and we pause to reflect. In that moment we recall someone’s smile, another one’s surprise, and a thank you we didn’t need because we knew, we knew, it was all worth our effort. We might warm inside as we recall something special done for us.

I have said my favorite day of the year is January 2 because there’s leftovers and nothing to do but remember and be grateful.

Sabbath

Beloved, that is the idea of Sabbath rest, the precursor to our promised eternal peace. Enough food and nothing to do except rest in the gifts around us with gratitude. Sabbath is a way of life that is currently practiced on a specific day of the week, 1 day after 6 days of work and schedules and busyness. However, Sabbath is meant to invade those other six, seeping into the rhythms of our lives such that we become accustomed to putting away lists and answering calls , less fearful of strangers, more enlightened in our vision of Emmanuel, God with us, knocking at the doors of our days in many a guise.
 
Sabbath in our lives becomes a dance to the choruses of angel songs that brings their prophesied peace into our reality.
 
Maybe we don’t have to wait for the seventh day, or January 2, to rest and rejoice. Maybe Christmas Day can begin our new Sabbath lifestyle. For to you a child is born and he is your wonderful counselor, mighty God, and the prince of peace.
 
Be still and hear the angels singing all around us of God’s presence with us.
Rejoice, Emmanuel shall come you!
 
All is ready. All is right. You got this. 
Have yourself a merry Christmas! 
Peace,
RevBev
 
 
Enjoy the music by clicking the highlighted links here or above.
Dolly Parton’s Angels in the Midst;
Images: https://teachingmyfriends.blogspot.com/2011/12/running-out-of-time-to-be-festive.html;
sharefaith media subscription used by permission.

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Rejoice? Really?

Posted on Dec 14, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , ,

12/14/23

“How does a weary world rejoice,” was an advent question any of us could have suggested. How many times have you woken up thinking about the many things you have to do, the many ways you wonder if you can provide for the things your family needs whether it is hugs and smiles at the right moment or food on the table? How many days have you looked at the TV and realized that you have a TV and sigh with the realization that around the world people are stepping over piles of rubble and garbage looking for water or food, not a tv show?

We are weary with sorrow all around us. Why should any of us put on a happy face with all this, all this, here, there, yes, everywhere?

“Rejoice,” comes the angel message. “I bring you good news.” If only!

Have you allowed yourself to hear it? To see it? To be amazed that in the midst of this weary world’s calamities, there are actually things, and people that bring joy into our lives?

This Sunday we will consider allowing for joy in the midst of great sorrow is a spiritual practice the world needs from us. It is not false hope, nor pie-in-the-sky idealism. It is the only thing that can point to the places of life in the face of death. It is our way of bringing joy to the world.

This week, when you feel a slight smile, let it grow. Rejoice in being amazed by grace. Listen for the angels to sing. 
 
“How does a weary world rejoice?” A Sanctified Art, @sanctifiedart, (c) 2023

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Wondering what the PrayGround is?

Posted on Nov 30, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , ,

Wondering what the PrayGround is in the Sanctuary? Sometimes you are very still and silent, keenly intent on absorbing God’s word to you. Other times, perhaps you’re fidgety, and possibly want to play while you pray. Maybe you’re scrolling your phone to post awesome notes on FB about St. Andrew. Or texting someone a phrase that is meaningful to you. Maybe you bring knitting to worship or a notebook to jot down your thoughts. However you worship, you were taught when to play, when to pray, when to talk, when to be still and when to be silent. Kids are not much different. They are just learning all the “whens.” So—the PrayGround is a learning ground. Everyone has a responsibility for passing on our faith. The PrayGround is one opportunity. Please follow the link for information and helps, or pick up a brochure to learn more about worshiping with children and the PrayGround.

How do we include children?
What is a PrayGround?
When can the children play?
How can you help our children?
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them,
for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Mt 19: 14
Christ is calling St. Andrew Presbyterian Church
to be a beacon of peace and love
where everybody belongs. Vision—SAPC

How do we include children?

To be a community where everybody belongs means helping the youngest disciples learn and grow in faith in age-appropriate ways. We are excited to provide a nursery for the parents who bring their babies and toddlers, a Church School experience at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays, paths of participation in mission, and opportunities for older children to lead worship. We have also added a new experience for toddlers through 2nd grade as we are experimenting with how to give the little ones a space to learn during worship services.

What is a PrayGround?

This designated worship space welcomes and teaches our smallest ones about serving God through worship. In the PrayGround are age-appropriate activities for quiet play that allows them to experience the people of God praising, praying, growing and going in the Word. Children learn by listening, observing, and joining in the activities of worship. They
• hear the “language” of worship and the Word and Sacraments,
• process what they hear as something they will do because they have something to do with their hands,
• experience and enjoy the rituals and repetition.

When can the children play?

On most Sundays, we ask children to remain with their adults until the Word With Children, to learn in the pews about the rhythm of the liturgy. After the W/C, kids from toddler to about 8 years old can enjoy worshipping in the PrayGround. Third Graders up are encouraged to stay in the pews, and can use the worship bags or items they have brought from home during the remainder of the service.

How can you help our children?

• Their adults are encouraged to sit nearby to monitor and guide children to use
  • whisper voices,
  • to minimize walking the aisles,
  • ensure they can see the activities of worship at the pulpit and choir,
  • be kind to others (including the adults who are listening throughout the sanctuary),
  • recognize and rejoice that this is their church as much as it is the grown-ups’.
• For 3rd Graders and up,
  • adults can encourage them to bring their Bible to worship and find the scripture reading,
  • help them learn to use the hymnal (yes, even though words are on the screens), and
  • to stand and sit when invited,
  • recite the Lord’s Prayer and the creeds, ask the pastor about leading worship.
• Other adults are encouraged to support the parents and children by
  • getting to know the kids, offering to be a child’s adult for the morning,
  • by remembering children are learning and growing so they will act immature,
  • recognizing that we don’t know particular behavioral needs of every child so our patience is important as they learn how to worship,
  • compliment parents often for showing up and leading by example,
  • compliment the kids for coming to praise the Lord.

Please note, learning to worship God is a life-long adventure. Setting the right tone begins at a time of life when active engagement with the world is the path to learning. We want our children to have a hands-on faith and that begins with a hands-on experience of being included.

Jesus fed 5000 men plus the women and children. Jesus said let kids come and don’t hinder them. The PrayGround is one way we feed these lambs and let them come to Jesus.

Thank you for modeling the Way of Christ for the next generation. Thanks be to God for the faith of the children.

Peace,
RevBev


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Gratitude Attitude

Posted on Nov 22, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , ,

Do you have an attitude?

That was rhetorical. The better question is what kind of attitude do you have. Are you a glass half-full or half-empty kind of person? Do you expect the worst and hope for the best or expect the best and cope with what’s not? Do you have an attitude of gratitude?

Research into the effects of a gratitude mindset consistently show positive health outcomes and even changes in the way your brain processes life’s curveballs, routines, and joys. People have stronger relationships, healthier lives, more emotionally satisfying experiences when they practice gratitude, either in writing, journaling, sending thank you notes, or even pausing to think of things to be grateful about.

As a day on your annual calendar

Thanksgiving is a great excuse to begin a new practice or refresh a current one. This is actually an ancient practice, a spiritual means of grace, and a Biblical standard for worshipping the Lord.

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, 
for his steadfast love endures forever. 
Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, 
those he redeemed from trouble 
and gathered in from the lands, 
from the east and from the west, 
from the north and from the south. Ps 107

For the next 6 weeks, from now until January 4, make a commitment to thanks giving. You might:

  • Pray at bedtime – Lord, today I thank you for ___ because _____.
  • Pause before every time you eat something and say thank you toward those who provided the food (farmers, packagers, cooks, chefs, spouse—whoever comes to your mind).
  • Get a pad or small notebook and write at least 3 days each week a list of things that made you feel thankful, or even utter the words, “thank goodness, thank God,” or just plain happy.
  • Get a journal in which to write about the experience of being happy. More than noting an event, this is an inward reflection on your body and mind and spirit’s experience of joy—what it actually feels like when happiness occurs.
  • Send a thank you note to someone twice a week.
  • OR anything you think of to put into practice cultivating an attitude of gratitude.

Stewardship

Stewardship of our lives is more than how much money we might donate to the church or to charity or to the kid selling candy bars for school. Stewardship is a proper self-management that allows us to be ready, willing and able to proclaim good news in a weary world. With an attitude of gratitude, we are useful to God’s ongoing mission in Christ to be a healing and reconciling people because
  • our bodies are healthier, even when ill,
  • our minds are clearer, even when coping with dis-eases of mental illnesses,
  • and our spirits are fruitful, even when coping with fear, anger, or sadness.
May this Thanksgiving holiday become more than turkeys and dressing. May it be a holy day of renewal for following the Way of Jesus Christ.

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, 
give thanks in all circumstances, 
for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 
Do not quench the Spirit. 1 Thess 5: 16-19

 
With thanksgiving for you, 
RevBev
____________________________
Some research references: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_gratitude_changes_you_and_your_brain
https://www.health.harvard.edu/healthbeat/giving-thanks-can-make-you-happier

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Too Weary to Celebrate?

Posted on Nov 16, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , , ,

Holidays sometimes feel like anything other than “holy days.”

The stereotypical jokes about family feuds exist because the family dysfunctions are real and painful. The absence of a loved one who has died, recently or a long time ago, can be an acute pain during the next several weeks. Party invitations are nice; yet, sometimes it is easier to turn out the lights and pull up the covers. Perhaps you want to honor all the mixed emotions you have, or not offend someone you are concerned about who may have conflicted feelings as the holiday celebrations begin. How do we care for each other and ourselves when the world is rejoicing and we are crying?
This is the theme for our Advent and Christmas series,

“How does a weary world rejoice?”

Throughout the season we will consider practices of faith that acknowledge the sorrow in the world and our need for hope and peace, while finding pathways to joy. The first service will be on December 3. Then a mid-week opportunity on Wednesday the 6th gathers us for a light supper at 6:00 p.m. followed by worship at 6:45 p.m. “A Service for the Weary” is not exclusive to those who dread the holidays for any reason. All of us have moments of weariness in the busy-ness of the coming weeks. I hope you will pause to take stock of the ways you can bring the life-less parts of yourself before God that the Holy Spirit might bring a new energy to your tired bones and soul.

Thanksgiving

When that dreaded conversation pops up over the carving of the turkey, and you wonder what to say, perhaps you might ask them, “what makes you weary,” or “what keeps you from the joy you deserve?” No need to fix them if they choose to answer. No need to hide your answer from them. Simply be together, wonder together, and hear the tiredness in their soul as in yours as you both speak of longing for something better.

And if you go around offering thanks, know that at my table, I will be giving thanks for you, possibly by name, but surely by the Spirit, because you, child of God, offer to the world what only you can and in that gift of self, you are the delight of your Creator.  

Happy Thanksgiving.

RevBev
How Does a Weary World Rejoice, A Sanctified Art, LLC, 2024

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It’s a shame.

Posted on Nov 2, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , , ,

Antisemitism, antisemitic words and behaviors are all sin. Same goes for Islamophobia and for anti-Palestinian words, and behaviors.

“God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good.”

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.”

“Do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”

“For God so loved the world,” that Christ lived, died and rose again that all might be saved.
“Let love be genuine; hate what is evil; hold fast to what is good; love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor.”
 
“My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality…But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors…For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”

“Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come…they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

From beginning to end, God is the creator of all who live. We respect God by respecting those whom God made. We are not entitled to disrespect anyone based on their faith, their place of birth or their ethnicity. Unbelievable that this must be said at all, today, again, and by Christians to Christians. But please, say it, live it, and say it again, in any way you can. It is not godly or holy to attack Jews or Israelis or Palestinians or Muslims. 
 
Let us not behave like any who harbor such hatred, who act in violence to injure others with sticks and stones, words, spray paint, bombs or bullets. “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” Yes, we can do both by naming the sinful actions of hatred and violence and we can be a people who love. Being Jewish is not a sin. Being Muslim is not a sin. Being Israeli is not a sin. Being Palestinian is not a sin. All of these are people, God’s own creation, made to love and be loved.
 
It’s a shame upon the name of God when any of us is anti-any other because of their identity. Hamas is not an identity. It is a chosen affiliation and a sinful terrorist organization dehumanizing Israeli, Palestinian, Jew, Muslim and Gentile alike. It is a shame on the name of God and will be judged and condemned. May those who labor under its credo abandon it, repent of serving it, and be saved.
 
Lord, have mercy, for few of us know how to be merciful in this horrendous time of war and terror, from Ukraine to Gaza, and in so many other places of ethnic hatred and genocidal violence, including the neighborhoods of our own nation. Lord have mercy upon us, that we might be the United States of America, a shining city on a hill, a land of free and brave, a country where everyone enjoys the inalienable and divine rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness by virtue of their humanity. May we of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church continue to be a beacon of peace and reconciliation where everybody belongs! For the glory of God and Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit, now and forevermore. Amen.

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Inter-religious Friendship

Posted on Oct 25, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , ,

Dear Friends,
Our neighbors in the Dulles have quite a story to share of 15 years of friendship. With thanksgiving for their witness to the gifts and grace of our shared faith the one God who is our creator, please take time to read these words of Rabbi Holzman from the Northern Virginia Hebrew Congregation in Reston to Imam Mohamed Magid of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society regarding their worship in a shared space. This article is reprinted in The Presbyterian Outlook which is linked here. You can subscribe to The Outlook to keep up with Presbyterian mission and ministry around the world. Peace be with you.
 
 

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From Bethlehem–Doug Dicks

Posted on Oct 19, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , , , ,

Dear Friends,
This week we hear from our mission co-worker in Bethlehem, Doug Dicks. PC(USA) mission co-worker shares an update from the Holy Land  in the Presbyterian Outlook. Doug is a fellow Virginian who has served the peacemaking efforts of Israeli and Palestinian peoples for many years. While his letter dates from October 18, I hope you will be reminded that your church, both St. Andrew and the PC (USA) are engaged in sharing the love of God in Christ around the world, and particularly this week, in the place where our faith story began. 

Pray for Peace

“Our prayer list is long,” Doug Dicks said, heaving a big sigh after I asked him how we could help and how we could pray…On Tuesday, Oct. 10, he was scheduled to go to Gaza to connect two Church of Scotland pastors with partner organizations such as the Middle East Council of Churches — a group that helps young people in Gaza seek better employment through vocational training programs. That visit was canceled …”
 
This article appears in Presbyterian Outlook (and you can read it there by clicking the link) or in .pdf form from the read more link above.
endnote:
PC(USA) mission co-worker shares an update from the Holy Land. Teri McDowell Ott speaks to Doug Dicks, the PC(USA) regional liaison to Israel, Palestine and Jordan. BY

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Only Love

Posted on Oct 11, 2023 by Bev Friedlander in BLOG | Tags: , , ,

10/12/23

When I was in 7th grade World History, there were peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians. Our teacher decided to help us understand by having a class debate. I was so excited. I knew that I would get to argue for the Jews. My recent reconnection to my ancestry, and my living Jewish relatives had given me a new sense of identity and pride.

My assignment was to the side of the Palestinians. I was angry. But I was also a straight A student and was not about to lose a grade over being on the wrong side. (Wow—that’ll preach one day.)

Our team researched. We learned history and culture and current events. We learned rudimentary debate skills. The day arrived.

I got my A. More than that I learned for the first time what it really meant to walk in another’s shoes. Ever since, I have paid attention to the side of an argument that opposes my own perspective. I have since then also had a great empathy for the people of Palestine.

Hamas is a different story. I have no idea how to empathize with people who do what has been done. I don’t understand the level of trauma and inhumanity that must underlie a person’s ability to kill children with such heinous and vicious disregard. I can imagine that it can only be driven by a great and horrific loss and despair that is exploited by the greed and hatred and power of others. I suspect I know nothing of what these people are thinking and have experienced. I also cannot imagine there is any path to talking and diplomacy, though I can and do hope against hope that there is.

The only power I know that can defeat such a demonized and possessed people is the power of Christ’s love. Even so, it must be a love that is beyond what most of us are able to provide.

Unless we are also driven by that same loving Spirit. For at any given time, are we not all capable of a vicious retribution fueled by despair and traumatic soul-depleting injury? “There but for the grace of God, go I.” Or as is written in The Westminster Confession of Faith, 6.084,

“As there is no sin so small but it deserves damnation;

so there is no sin so great that it can bring damnation upon those who truly repent.”

Thus, let us join in prayer,
“By your mercy, O Lord, pour out your Spirit upon the warriors as well as the terrorists that the killing may stop. Pour out your Spirit, O Christ, upon the peacemakers as well as the warlords that the killing may stop. Pour out justice and mercy, faith and hope, and above all love, O Spirit, that the killing may stop. Inspire in me an empathy that sees your image in my enemy that I might see the enemy within myself. Draw us together that we might be repentant, resurrected and whole, a new creation, forever dwelling in peace and unity. Through Christ, for Christ, in Christ, amen.”

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