Please click on the July 2009 Chronicle for church news and interesting events happening at First UCC this month!

Apostles notch late-inning win!!!

Oh the drama. The Apostles were up. The Apostles were down. Then, UCC’s favorite sons pulled another rabbit out of the hat, scoring two with two out in the bottom of the seventh to claim a 17-16 victory over Emmaus Baptist Church.

A breathless Greg Muth was camped on third after driving in the tying run with a torched line drive to left center. Matt Forster stepped to the plate and hit a groundball to third. Muth was off at the crack of the bat. He was going to score. But could the fleet-footed Forster beat the throw to first? “Yeeessss,” we screamed as Matt’s foot slammed down on the orange base, sending a welcome puff of "safe" dirt into the air a hair’s breadth ahead of the throw.

But there were many heroes in last week’s contest. How about Logan Mueller-Dahl, who stared down a locomotive rounding third to record an important out at the plate? How about Lon Kruse, whose bases-loaded triple that ignited an 11-run, third inning? How about Greg Muth and Mark Mueller-Dahl whose improvisation at third for an important out in the fifth? How about Fred Pender’s backhanded stab and throw to retire an Emmaus runner in the top of the seventh? And how about our supportive and vocal fans, who probably, truth be told, made the difference. We certainly had something to celebrate at the potluck that followed.

As we go into the Fourth of July, All-Star break we stand 5-2 on the season. The All-Star game, which benefits the Community Action Center, will be Sunday, July 12, at 2 p.m. at Babcock Park. Later that day, we take on the legendary St. Dominic’s Blue at 5 p.m. at Babcock. See you there.

NOTE FROM SUE MIESKA:  In addition to a breathtaking game, we had the pleasure of being surrounded by a huge fan gallery.  Many showed up to watch the game and stay for the pot luck BBQ after the game.  (I think this is why the won the game, didn’t want to let down the fans).  One 9 to Dine group met for the event as well.  If you missed it you missed a fun evening.  Thanks for all the hard work that went into this a great event.

Please click on the June 2009 Chronicle for church news and interesting events happening at First UCC this month!

The record setting heat did not deter the berry hungry fans from attending the Annual Strawberry Fest yesterday.  We had over 40 people in attendance and more strawberries than we could count.  Holly Fisher provided music that got the crowd clapping.  (Well, Cissi was clapping anyway) Thanks to all who attended and those who helped make it such a great event. 

When it comes easy early, you often set yourself up for a big disappointment.

That’s what happened to the Fighting Apostles last week. We scored eight runs in the first inning, but a talented Trinity Red team shut us out the rest of the way. With some clutch hitting in the late innings, they nipped us at the wire, 9-8.

Matt Forster played outstanding defense in left centerfield, making a diving catch to quell an early Trinity rally. Doug Meade snagged a couple in right field, and Dan Szydlo stopped by to shore up our  middle infield.

With vacations intervening, we were forced to go online to softballtemps.com and rent a pitcher for the night. We thank Jacob Newman’s dad, Tim, for his time and talent.

Sunday we play Emmaus at Sechler 2 at 5 p.m. with a picnic supper to follow. Everyone is invited. Bring your own service, your own meat and a dish to pass.

The United Church of Christ General Synod begins Friday, June 26, in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Every two years, delegates from all over the country come together to worship, work, and make decisions for our church.

This year you can follow all the action from home.  Click here to get details on all the ways you can be part of General Synod while never leaving home!

I am just a visitor this year, not a delegate, so I’ll be free to roam around and find interesting stories to share with you here — watch for them!

If you are like me, you are a little wary of “devotional” readings.  They often seem trite or simplistic, or worse, are based on a theology that I don’t agree with.

I want to encourage you to try out the UCC’s Daily Devotional.  These are thoughtful reflections, written by clergy and lay leaders around the UCC, that touch on our daily lives.  It’s free, and comes to your email every day.  You can read a sample (and subscribe) by clicking here.

Go ahead and subscribe — you can always unsubscribe if you don’t like it. I have been reading these for three months now, and I really look forward to them — I think you will, too.

There is a detail in today’s Gospel reading that always catches my attention — can you imagine Jesus asleep with his head on a cushion?  In a boat?  Well …

 Asleep on the Job

Psalm 133: Mark 4:35-41

Today we are marking “Pastoral Care Sunday.” It is not a day on the traditional calendar of the church, though it is becoming a tradition for us. It is a time to stop and reflect

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We heard beautiful music today in our Assembly room thanks in part to Betty and Andrew Een who recently helped our church obtain an outstanding Steinway piano.  Theo Wee and Andrea Een played a duet with violin and piano followed by a rousing piano duet by Chris Brunelle and Theo.  We were truly surrounded by Beautiful Music today.  Pictured above are Betty, Andrea, and Andrew Een and Jonathan Een Newton.

Apostles win in convincing fashion.  Nothing like a cold, October rain in June to wake up the Fighting Apostles.

After almost three weeks off, we came out swinging and defeated the capable Bethel Lutheran team 18-3 in five innings.

Despite the wet, heavy air, the Apostles kept the ball flying around and out of the park all night. We scored nine in the third to take control of the game. Mark Mueller-Dahl contributed with one of his two triples on the night.

The legendary Tilman Achberger made his annual appearance and knocked in a couple of runs and was two for three. And speaking of legends, two prodigious, over-the-fence blasts by Jacob Newman and Doug Morris brought the fans out of their seats and put an exclamation point on the game.

The Burton family fielded three of our players for the first time: Dave (Burton 1.0), Erik (Burton 2.0) and Issac (Burton 3.0). And in the category of the one that got away, we almost recorded our first triple play in the modern era (the years following Dixon Bond). Tristan Cox caught a liner in shallow left center, threw to Fred Pender for a force out at second, and Fred fired to Tilman at first, where we narrowly missed the third out. Oh, well. There’ll be other opportunities.

Sunday, we play Trinity Blue at 5 p.m. at Sechler 1. Come watch. We like the company.

Every once in a while, I find myself with two good ideas for the sermon, and neither of them will let me go.  It happened again this week, so here are two (Brief!) sermons in a row …  

Heirs of God

Isaiah 6:1-8; Romans 8:12-17

Today is a two-sermon Sunday. Both of these texts are wonderful, puzzling, inspiring, and challenging – but they have steadfastly resisted all my attempts to weave them together into a single homily. So I capitulate to the texts

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Say “Cheese!”…. The preschool class smiled for the camera on the last day of Sunday School (May 17).

I’d like to invite you to add some conversation to our website.

Whenever you see something new posted here, there’s a place at the bottom to click if you would like to make a comment about what you have just read. (Don’t be confused if it says “No Comments” — that just means “no comments have been offered yet”)

   This is a great place to raise a question, take issue with a sermon, or let us know about other events and activities.  And don’t worry — I check each comment before it is posted, so we’re safe from spam!

Let’s hear from you!

The bystanders on the day of Pentecost thought the disciples were drunk — that’s how excited and boisterous they were acting.  That’s not our style, but maybe we have something to learn from them …

Drunk with Faith

Acts 2:1-21  Romans 8:22-27 

The story of Pentecost sets a very high standard for churches, and especially for preachers. All of those people are gathered – people from all around the world – and the Word of God is proclaimed in ways that everyone can understand. Or in the words of the NRSV: “… each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.” [Acts 2:6].

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We all know about the mainstream — the usual way of doing things.  But sometimes Jesus invites us to wade into the muddy waters of the side streams.  This Sunday was our High School Baccalaureate, so I wanted to encourage the young people to follow their faith into the side streams …

Side Streams

Psalm 1; Acts 1:15-17, 21-26 

I think you already know what I am going to tell you today, but I am going to tell you again, anyway (even though it doesn’t have anything particularly to do with the scripture lessons for today):

If you want to follow Jesus, stay out of the mainstream.

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