Dawn Theurer as elder
Dave Russell as deacon
Amanda Doughtery as deacon

We are grateful for those consistory members who have faithfully served and are completing their terms:

John Harper and Thomas Calhoon as elders

Monica Ruhle and Bill Sinfield as deacons

The congregation elected Thomas Calhoon for a second term as elder, and elected  Dawn Theurer for a first term elder position.  Monica Ruhle was elected for a second term as deacon, and elected Dave Russell for a first term as deacon and Amanda Dougherty for a partial term as deacon, filling the term of Tracy Tichenor.

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April 4

Kent Busman is the executive director of Camp Fowler.

John 19:38-42

Easter Vigil
“Yes, though hope is our duty,
let us live a while without it…”
—Wendell Berry

This is the moment of no hope. Joseph takes the body of Jesus, with rigor mortis already setting in, and lays it gently in the tomb, as though a mother were laying her baby in a manager. Our faith fled when Jesus gave his last involuntary gasp on the cross: he would not be calling us after him anymore. As Joseph backs out and takes one last glimpse at the body, all hope is entombed with the Nazarene. Our dreams are shut away in the darkness.

There are many who stand on the dark side of faith and hope. This is our day to stand with them. Joseph, the disciples, the women: none of them had yet experienced Easter. How many today still live without the promise of Easter? Are you ready to stand by them?

This is the day we approach with no answers, no proof texts, no unbelievable stories. This is the day we stand with those for whom there is no answer. This is the dark night of the soul that we neither seek nor avoid. The day before Easter is a reminder that the Reformers got it wrong. It’s not sola fide, “faith alone.” God takes us to where neither faith nor hope can go. The burial of Jesus is the burial of any trust we might put in our faith. There are times when we must, as Berry says, “live without it…”

But only until this: “Early on the first day of the week…” (John 20:1).

Prayer: Lord, we place all that we have and all that we are in the tomb alongside the body of your son. And we stand without hope of light. And yet we stand.
The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to:
Read the passage.
Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

April 3

Heather Kramer serves as a volunteer cabin counselor and chaplain at Camp Fowler. She is currently enrolled at Western Theological Seminary under the care of Schenectady Classis.

Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9

I was thinking about the story The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins, by Dr. Seuss, the other day. It’s the tale of a small boy, Bartholomew, who gets an unintended audience with the king. Bartholomew starts out wearing one hat, and a rather plain one at that. The king insists that Bartholomew remove his hat. Each time he tries, however, another appears, until he has gone through 500 hats.

This story had me thinking about hats in general, as a metaphor for our roles in life. If we think about it, we all wear a lot of “hats” in our lifetime: daughter/son, student, friend, employee. Jesus wore many hats, too. He was a student in the temple; he was a carpenter; he was a servant; he was a teacher and a minister. Jesus is the special son of God.

In the letter to the Hebrews, Jesus is called the chief priest. That’s a really important hat! A chief priest in the tradition and history of the letter was a sacred hat to have. It was not the same vocation that a priest has now. There was a special ceremony to appoint the chief priest. The chief priest’s most important responsibility was to pass through the temple, which was God’s house. He could only do that once a year, and he was the only one, ever, who was allowed to do so.

In Hebrews 4:14, Jesus passed through the heavens. Jesus, as chief priest, carried his own blood into the most holy place in heaven so that God could forgive our sins. The other hat Jesus wore was one of a person. God sent his son to walk with us in human form so that he might know the same struggles and trials and experiences that all people know. This is the hat that qualified Jesus to be our chief priest. Only a person can act on behalf of other men and women as their chief priest. Only a human could ever know how difficult it can be to obey God, and truly sympathize with our weaknesses.

Because Jesus wore the hats that he did, we can pray with active belief and trust in God. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we can pray with confidence because of that faith. Jesus is the king who sits on the throne in heaven, next to God the Father. He has the highest honor in heaven and earth. For the Hebrews, the throne of a king would have been a place of terror. This was where judgment was meted out. But this isn’t so for God’s people, because Christ receives us with grace, and part of grace is kindness. We may approach the throne through prayer, and thankfully we are met with kindness.

The king in the Dr. Seuss story was silly and unreasonable. He lost his temper and had the power to punish Bartholomew. The kings of biblical times could also be unreasonable and act on a whim. However, in Jesus we have a king who has worn as many hats as we have worn. He knows how we suffer. He knows joy. He is not like the kings of fiction or history because we are welcome in his presence. We have an audience with an advocate who will meet us with grace and kindness.

Prayer: For the gift of knowing that you have been Emmanuel, God with us, we are grateful. For the knowledge that you are our chief priest who has judged us with grace, we are humbled and, therefore, better able to wear our many hats in our daily lives. Thank you for your kindness. Amen.
The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to:
Read the passage.
Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.

April 2

Colin Hoogerwerf served as a wilderness guide at Camp Fowler and currently works as an outreach coordinator at the Michigan League of Conservation Voters.

John 13:1-17

On the night when Jesus knew his time with the disciples was coming to a close, he knelt down and washed the feet of his disciples. Simon Peter, when Jesus came to him, was hesitant; I imagine he pulled his feet away and eyed Jesus with confusion. Simon Peter knew that Jesus was his Lord, and no lord should kneel at the feet of his subject.

From this story we can learn both about serving others and being served by others. Being a true servant takes deep humility. The humility was only natural for Jesus, and after the washing he tells them, “Now that I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.” In our quest to be like Jesus, we must learn to serve with such humility. He did not kneel and wash those feet with the intention of getting anything in return, or to gain respect, or to cause guilt. Christ-like service must come from a deep love.

As we go forward washing one another’s feet—metaphorically or otherwise—we must also learn from Simon Peter, who was both too cautious and then too eager to be served. There will be times in our life when we will need the service of others. This can take a great deal of courage. Being served by others can give us a false sense of superiority. It can lead us to think we no longer need to be servants. But in a life of discipleship, we must learn to have our feet washed and to receive acts of service with humility and gratitude.

Prayer: Lord, please give us the courage and the humility to serve others and also to be served by others. Untangle our pride from our actions so that we may have a servant’s heart. Amen.

The 2015 Lenten reflections were submitted by staff, volunteers, board members, campers, and friends who have spent time at Camp Fowler in New York.

For this year’s Lent devotions, the days follow the Common Lectionary texts. Each author was invited to: 1.Read the passage.
2.Read a couple passages before and after the assigned day.
3.Do something else for the day, keeping the passage in mind.
4.Find a word/phrase/concept that connects with your own experience. Reflect on that.
You are encouraged to do the same.