The Messenger

St. Mark's United Methodist Church
200 Hempstead Avenue, Rockville Centre, NY 11570
(516) 766-2080
Dr. Roger Dick Johns, Minister
Sugi Sung, Assistant Minister
Carolyn Moon, Editor

Volume 49, Number 10, December 2007

He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples;
they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks;
nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

- Isaiah 2:4

Table of Contents

• Operation Christmas Child
• My Journey to Taizé
• Pumpkin Patch Reverie
• Holiday Schedule 2007
• St. Mark's Supper Club
• Holiday Concert
• The Word Became Flesh and Dwelt Among Us
• Words and Music for All Time
• Proposed Social Creed
• More from Our Gal in India
• Peace Award to Irish Pastor
• Random Bible Facts
• Personals
  

If you would like to subscribe to a printed copy of The Messenger, e-mail our editor.

From the Pastor . . .

Operation Christmas Child

For a number of years, we have participated in a program each holiday season called, "Operation Christmas Child." Since 1993, the parent organization, Samaritan's Purse, has brought the joy of Christmas to over 38 million boys and girls all over the world. That makes this project the world's largest international Christmas project for children. Franklin Graham, the son of Billy Graham, is the executive director of this project. He does not claim to have the preaching ability of his father (nobody does!), but his organizational ability shines in the many activities of Samaritan's Purse.

Each year, millions of caring people in the US, Canada, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, and other European countries fill ordinary shoe boxes with small toys, school supplies, candy and other gifts, gender and age specific for children. Operation Christmas Child gathers these gift-filled shoe boxes and delivers them to children in hospitals, orphanages, refugee camps, and impoverished neighborhoods all over the world.

David Czeisel, and now Sugi Sung, have led our children in using the second offering from the congregation to buy gifts and pack boxes. This year we had 16 boxes. Donors are asked to provide $7 for each box for shipping. All Graham evangelistic enterprises are known for the small amount used for the organization and the large amount used for ministry (overall 90% for ministry and 6% for general and administrative costs, and 4% for fund raising.) The $7 is exactly what it takes to ship each box in a container ship to a foreign destination.

This year we added a dimension to our participation: We became a collection center, one of four on the Island. What this means is that, for one week (November 12-19), we received the prepared shoe boxes from individuals, schools, and churches. The Church Parlor became the center of a very energetic enterprise where we received 1,440 shoe boxes. We welcomed the wonderful people who sought us out and got them to sign in and register their gifts. Then we placed the boxes into cartons, which hold between 10 and 15 shoe boxes, depending on the size of the boxes, and got them ready to deliver to headquarters in Westbury. This meant that we had 120 cartons on our hands!

The real stars of this work were Bill Elia, Izzy Rodriguez, and Sugi Sung. They spent tireless hours getting this work done. We also have to praise Kevin Weber, Jr., Jill Knudsen and her daughters, Maren and Amelia. They and other volunteers saved all of us from falling over with fatigue. One story (which I have promised to tell everyone I see) from our experience: On Friday morning, at 9:30 a.m., Saint Elizabeth Seton School brought in 384 boxes. We almost fainted! Two teachers, a man and a woman, came with the delivery, so we helped them unload the boxes and bring them up the stairs into the Parlor.

After we finished, the man told me about a trip to Kenya last year. He was in a humble home in a village, where he spotted a box on a shelf-shoe box size and wrapped in Christmas paper. He blurted out, "Operation Christmas Child!" His host looked at him incredulously, and asked, "How do you know about that?" He responded that his church and school make up boxes. Since the box appeared to be in pristine condition, he asked further, "Didn't the boy like the box?" "Oh yes," the host said, "he loved everything in it." "Why then is it on the shelf?" "Because it is his most prized possession. He never got a present before." This really is the meaning of the season and reason for all our work. We are tired but very proud of this church and its witness.

In Christ's Service,
Dick Johns

My Journey to Taizé
by Todd Pick

Compelled by a thirst for God, thousands of youth from all over the world flock to a secluded village in the lush hills of the Burgundy countryside. In the summer, the number of pilgrims swells to about 5,000 per week! Makeshift tent cities and modest barracks are their home for a week. In August, I joined a group from the Greater NJ Annual Conference that spent a full week worshiping and living in this very special community known as Taizé.

In 1940, when Europe was immersed in war and entrenched in bitter conflict, a young Swiss man arrived in the village of Taizé, France, located near the demarcation line. Brother Roger had a vision of creating a community of peace and reconciliation in the tiny village. He gathered around him like-minded men who vowed to live in simplicity, celibacy and community, working to live out this "parable of communion." After the war, they were committed primarily to healing the east/west rift in Europe. Today there are more than 100 brothers who live in the ecumenical Community; they have expanded their vision now, working to heal the ideological rifts that have divided Christians across the globe for centuries. It is the only place in the world where Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Communion are served side by side! Boundaries of denomination, doctrine and polity are unimportant. The brothers seek only to live simply as loving disciples of Jesus Christ, providing hospitality to those who come seeking God.

Throughout the week, we participated in Bible studies, workshops, cross-cultural conversations, and Taizé's distinctive style of Prayer: three times a day, the multitude gathered within the Church of Reconciliation to chant ancient verses, gaze upon icons, share in the Eucharist, meditate in silence, and pray. The chants are simple and repetitive; you might sing one for five or ten minutes, and then sing another. Worship flows from music to scripture, interspersed with spaces for silence-a silence that may last 15 or 20 minutes. There is no formal benediction, and the singing goes on indefinitely for hours. Everyone is free to leave when they are ready. In addition to the above, all are given a daily task to help the Community of 5,000-a very biblical number! - to function. You may be assigned to chop vegetables, cook, serve a meal, wash dishes, or empty garbage cans. The work is done while singing folk tunes from around the world and learning how to communicate the basics in a variety of languages.

My journey to Taizé was both formative and transformative. Patricia Brown writes that fasting is "stepping away from those things that pollute and overwhelm you." Fortunately for me, Taizé was a place of some much needed fasting. Without cell phone, email, TV, radio, and the everyday comforts and distractions of home, the words and "noisy" voices of the world slowly fell away into silence. A place of encounter and revelation, a place enveloped in Holy Mystery, Taizé "is a place for the seeker after truth, the searcher after God, and in this life our Christian pilgrimage is never complete." Seeking, searching and journeying on this pilgrimage, I found God in the most obvious and the most unusual places. I expected that our music and worship would be moving and awe-inspiring-and this couldn't have been more true! But I did not expect to find such Community amidst utter multiplicity and diversity… I did not expect to find humility, joy or Divine Presence in the act of cleaning bathrooms-my daily work duty… I did not expect to be enlivened, deeply enriched and fed by the morning Bible study which was translated into 20 languages on the fly… I did not expect to see myself in the faces and hear myself in the words of those in my small Bible study group who had come from around the globe… I did not expect to find myself.. nor did I expect to hear the Holy One so loudly and profoundly in the gentle stillness, the quiet whispers of silence.

Brother Alois, the new prior of the Community, said the following in his address to the gathered youth from more than 40 countries:

In calling us, God does not prescribe what we must do; he does not dictate the choices we have to make. [God's] call is above all a meeting. When we let Christ welcome us, we discover by ourselves the road to take. In addressing a call to us, God invites us to freedom… It is up to each of us to choose the concrete road on which trust in God will lead us further. Saint Augustine said, "Go forward on your road, for it only exists by your walking."

On this pilgrimage, I found the journey was and is the destination… a metaphor for the life-long journeying with God. Let us all keep walking in faith, one step at a time, trusting in the presence of Immanuel-the God who is with and within us.

Greetings St. Mark's friends! I am now working part-time at Babylon UMC as a pastoral intern. This supervised ministry is a requirement for Drew and will help me as I continue on the journey to ordination. I miss worshiping and fellowshipping with you, but hold St. Mark's in my heart and in prayer. I hope all are well and wish you all a joy-filled Advent and peace-filled Christmas.

Yours in Christ,
Todd Pick

Pumpkin Patch Reverie

The orange screen fence is gone, the stakes too, and leaves dot the landscape where thousands of pumpkins called home just a few weeks ago. The memories are tenfold and the unsung heroes of yore claim their well deserved respite. And so the time is now to raise our voices in joy and celebration for a job well done. There are too many dedicated participants to name them individually so I broadcast kudos to all: "Thank you one and all" for the stupendous effort you provided to make this year's Pumpkin Patch a truly memorial experience, one we all can be proud of.

The fruits of your labors have paid off handsomely and you will be proud to know that we achieved our goal of meeting last year's figures and climbed over the 21,441.00 dollar mark for this year. I feel very privileged to have had the opportunity to meet and work with each of you to make this a total community happening. The ripple effect will continue into our exciting festival next year.

With humble joy I remain,
Sincerely, Bill

(And we all applaud Bill's leadership in making this Pumpkin Patch a success. It was a bigger job than he expected, but he gave it everything. He had some good helpers, but there is ultimately one person who is responsible and worries and lies awake at night. And we thank you, Bill! - the Editor)

HOLIDAY SCHEDULE 2007

Sunday, December 2
First Sunday in Advent, "Hanging of the Greens" and Lighting of the 1st Advent Candle and Service of Holy Communion at the 10:00 a.m. Service. Wreath Making following Fellowship Hour.

Sunday, December 9
Second Sunday in Advent, Lighting of the 2nd Advent Candle at the 10:00 a.m. Service.

Sunday, December 16
Third Sunday in Advent, Christmas Pageant and Lighting of the 3rd Advent Candle at the 10:00 a.m. Service

Sunday, December 23
Christmas Sunday, Lighting of the 4th Advent Candle at the 10:00 a.m. Service

Monday, December 24
Family Christmas Service, Lighting of the Christ Candle, Service of Lessons and Carols with Mini Pageant at 5:30 p.m.

Sunday, December 30
First Sunday after Christmas, New Year's Sunday, Relighting of the Christ Candle at the 10:00 a.m. Service

St. Mark's Supper Club

Our December Supper Club has been canceled. Watch for a notice of the January Supper Club.

In November, Cynthia Speller-Harrison, St. Mark's Office Manager, and Bill Elia, our Treasurer/Bookkeeper, cooked a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner which was enjoyed by about 30 guests. Thank you, Cynthia and Bill!

Holiday Concert

The Oceanside Chorale Concert will be on Saturday, December 8, at 8 PM at the Fulton Avenue School in Oceanside. Tickets are $8 advance purchase, and $10 at the door. Please see Bobbie Ziolkowski for tickets.

THE WORD BECAME FLESH
AND DWELT AMONG US

Words and Music for All Time

A proposed new United Methodist Social Creed will be considered when the 2008 General Conference meets April 23 to May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas.

The original creed, revised in 1972, was written in 1908 as a denominational statement decrying child labor and supporting the rights of workers. The Board of Church and Society initiated writing a timeless version to offer for future generations.

The Book of Discipline recommends the Social Creed be emphasized regularly in every congregation and used frequently in Sunday worship.

"One of the first decisions we made as a task force was to make it user-friendly," said Bishop Susan Morrison, who originally chaired the task force. Bishop Jane Allen Middleton became the chair in 2006 when Morrison retired.

The task force took a draft to Europe, Africa and the Philippines for feedback and suggestions in efforts to make sure the new Social Creed reflects the global nature of the church.

Carol Simpson wrote the musical version, which was presented to the church and society directors in September. A 23-year-old music graduate, she attends Claremont School of Theology and is director of contemporary music and outreach ministries at Glendora (Calif.) United Methodist Church. Additional musical settings are being sought.

- Interpreter, November/December 2007

More from Our Gal in India

Melissa Salyk is spending a semester in India, and she is keeping in touch with friends, family, and St. Mark's by e-mail. Here are excerpts from her communications.

September 28:
One of the NGOs is called Draupadi. They work for empowerment of women and children specifically, oftentimes in rural villages to promote education and learning a trade so that income can be given to these people who are usually robbed by middlemen when selling their textile creations. The woman who is the head of Draupadi is working on a project with village children and promoting education for them. We met the children and it was very overwhelming to witness what kind of life they lead.

October 9:
I went to the Taj Mahal on Saturday. The Taj is absolutely gorgeous. Yes, it's a world tourist attraction, but it is such a sight to see. I hope you all can make the trip to Agra one day to see it. I took so many pictures, but pictures cannot capture the essence of it.

One thing that happened this weekend, which I loved, was at a dinner at my host mother's brother's house. The cousin of my host brother was talking to me here and there, although she was very shy in the beginning. She's probably about 10. She started talking to me and telling me how she loves foreigners because she thinks they are so incredibly interesting. She wants to improve her English because she wants to be able to speak it without an Indian accent. She also told me that she goes to Catholic school (she saw my cross) and goes to the church inside it by herself every day because she's so intrigued by Jesus on the cross, and she's Hindu!

I had my first Hindi test. All I have to say regarding that is that Hindi is hard. My Hindi teachers talked to my host family because I discussed how I'm having difficulty with the lessons, so now my family keeps speaking to me in Hindi. The grandma helps me each day. She's my favorite! Tonight I'm cooking tortellini, courtesy of my real parents, for my host family. The other day I bought them cranberry juice and they all tried it for the first time.

October 25:
I went to Jodhpur for an internship with an NGO last week. It's an ethnomusicology/rural village music preservation NGO. I was able to work with a musician who lived in a village. He plays an instrument called the ravanattho. This instrument is used to tell the story of Pabuji, a Rajput Rajasthani medieval hero. So a friend and I went to this man's village for three days and learned about this instrument and how it is made. His family dressed us up in traditional Rajasthani clothes. They loved it. We took a lot of pictures, which really excited the children (he has 8.) He actually made us each an instrument. In some ways it is similar to western string instruments, but it has a different look. It is made out of bamboo, a coconut, goat hide, metal strings, and horsehair for the bow and main string to play on. The instrument has a really lovely sound. I'd dare say I prefer it to other string instruments I've heard.

I went on a camel safari. Once we arrived at the camel safari site, an hour-long jeep ride on a desert road, we took a quick tour of a nearby village where the safari leader lived. To get on a camel, they have the camel sit on the ground so that you can climb on. Then the camel stands up and you better be holding on because it's easy to fall off. So we rode for awhile to some sand dunes to watch the sunset. That was beautiful. After the sunset we rode back to the jeep and drove off.

November 19:
I've finished my classes and now I'm on my research period of four weeks. I'm working on poverty alleviation. I've done some interviews with people living in slums. Their perspective on the government is really interesting. It's also interesting to see the varying opinions among different age groups of people.

I miss my host family so much! I miss the grandma, especially. It's hard to not get attached to something you've been so immersed in for so long. I have to go back because I promised my host father that we'd watch all of the Godfather movies before I left for home. He's really excited to see them!

I have finally discovered the wonders of Bollywood. I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I do, but it's really fantastic. The movies are, most of the time, filled with fun songs and happy endings. They break into dance at emotionally intense moments. It's really enjoyable. I even have a favorite actor. His name is Abhishek Bachchan. Go Google him!

Peace Award to Irish Pastor

The Rev. Harold Good, a former president of the Methodist Church in Ireland, will receive the 2007 World Methodist Peace Award. The award, to be presented during a ceremony Dec. 8 at Knock Methodist Church in Belfast, is given by the World Methodist Council to individuals or groups who have made significant contributions to peace, justice and reconciliation.

Mr. Good, 70, has worked since 1968 to end sectarian violence in Northern Ireland, United Methodist New Service reported. In 2005, he verified with Catholic priest Alec Reid that the Irish Republican Army’s arsenal of weapons had been destroyed.

- The Vision, November 16, 2007

(Editor’s note: During our trip to Ireland in 1990, “Meet the Peacemakers”, led by Bill Perkins, we met Rev. Harold Good. On July 1st we attended Knock Church with Bill & Carol, where we had tea at the manse with Rev. Good and his wife before the service. During the service Bill preached the sermon and I read the scripture, and I was thrilled by that honor.—Carolyn)

Random Bible Facts

Did you know that God was with Paul so mightily that even his handkerchiefs and aprons had healing powers?

Look it up: Acts 19:11-12

Personals

The Office Grapevine

Kevin Weber recently collected 300 lbs of food (700 items) from around his neighborhood, which was donated to the INN. His mother, Marion, and Pastor Johns helped him deliver it. Kevin is working on earning the rank of Eagle Scout, the highest rank in scouting, and he chose this project because he wanted to include service in our church.

Six members of St. Mark’s choir joined the Central Synagogue Choir and members of other local church choirs to provide sacred music at the Community Thanksgiving service held at Central Synagogue on Tuesday, November 20th. St. Mark’s participates in this annual service which includes many Rockville Centre clergy and congregations.

There are new photos of the Pumpkin Patch on the website Photo Gallery, as well as photos of the dedication of the Memorial Gardens on Sunday, November 18th.

Baptism

Happy Birthday in December to...