Volume 18, Number 4   THE Thanksgiving ISSUE OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2003

Pastor’s Message  

Dear members and dear friends of ZION,

Writing this in the aftermath of Hurricane ISABEL, we have come to learn again that “the good things the Lord God has given to you and your household” are not be taken for granted.
After ISABEL’s ancestor AGNES in 1972 left much of Baltimore’s downtown under water and flooded Zion’s basement (something we were spared this time), my pre-predecessor, Pastor Friedemann Penner, reportedly said: “Fire, wind, and water are the three agents God created to remind us that he is still greater than we think and not to be taken lightly.” Too often we think we have everything under control. I have found myself relying more on TV and newspaper reports than on my own experience, common sense, and faith – and then we find out that not everything is predictable (as much as it has to be acknowledged that prediction has become increasingly accurate and has probably saved a lot of lives).
The seasons, and among them especially fall, bring our attention to nature and its gifts and challenges. We give thanks for the bounty of the harvest – and we are reminded of beauty passing away by the falling leaves, the withering grass, and foggy evenings.
It is “natural” to retreat to your home at this time, making it as comfortable or “gemütlich” as possible. Cocooning is the new trendy word for this.
However, for people of faith, cocooning is only temporarily acceptable. We all need times of being at home – but we also need to reach out. I have heard marvelous stories about neighbors and friends helping each other out during difficult times without power. 
We at Zion will see how we can effectively help, too. Below you find a first report from our Synod. After talking to Dave Tabler, who has years of experience serving on the disaster board for his former employer and experience with the recent tornado disaster in Ohio, we are suggesting that we go with monetary donations to the churches in the area to help them put it where it is needed most.
We celebrate Thanksgiving – and the very act of giving thanks assumes that one is doing it together, thanking another as well as God. Our response to the challenges of nature and economy should not be of calling off the feast but rather to deepen our understanding of it. Our text is calling for attentiveness to God as the creator, to our household as our immediate family, to the Levite representing our family of faith, and to the aliens among us representing our family of humanity. We all belong together!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Your Pastor Dr Holger Roggelin 
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The churches in the hard-hit areas of Baltimore County are banding together to serve the people who've been so devastated by Hurricane Isabel. Pr. Eileen Kelley, St. John Church, Edgemere, is one of those coordinating efforts with FEMA and Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries. In a phone conversation, she said, "I've never seen anything like this in my life. These people are amazing. It's harrowing, but God's doing what God's doing."
The numbers of people affected are staggering, as is the extent of the damage. St. John, Edgemere, has been designated as a community distribution center for Lutheran Disaster Relief. St. Matthew Lutheran Church, Bowley's Quarters, which was featured on Fox 45 news, is also a community distribution center in their area. St. Luke's Catholic Church, Edgemere, is serving as the area food pantry for this effort. The churches are seeking to help close to 2,000 families in the Miller's Island, Fort Howard, Watersedge, Bear Creek, Turner Station, Jone's Creek, Middle River, and Bowley's Quarters areas. St. Matthew Church is offering meals for lunch and dinner. They are accepting cash donations to assist in this effort. Donations can be dropped off at the church. Contact information: St. Matthew Lutheran Church, 3620 Red Rose Farm Road, Baltimore, Maryland 21220, 410-335-4210, Pastor John Kulzcycki. St. John Church is offering cleaning supplies, toiletries and baby items, and clothing, along with some non-perishable food items. The church is accepting cash donations and donations of the previously mentioned items. Donations can be dropped off at the church. Contact information: St. John Lutheran Church, 7801 North Point Road, Edgemere, MD 21219/ 410-477-4409. Pastor Eileen Kelley 410-477-1121.

Pastor Roggelin's Archive of Past Messages From Zion