We could argue about the good or bad of social media apps like Facebook. Some days I argue with myself as I seem to waste time with these apps, procrastinating other things I could be doing. But other days I find that friends and colleagues share links to interesting articles, thoughts on good books to read, and fun photos of their families that brighten my day. Often, I will be introduced to new authors and poets that I might not otherwise be exposed to. Many of my colleagues share links to professional or scholarly articles on ministry topics and bible research. Some share sermons and it’s often helpful to hear or see how someone else approached a text I recently preached to you. So, I think there are some benefits.

Recently a seminary classmate shared a poem which I would like to share with you. The poet was someone whose work I had not read before, John Roedel. Much of his work is written as conversations with God. I have since purchased his book “Hey God. Hey John.: What Happens When God Writes Back” and am enjoying his work. I hope you enjoy this one too. Be kind to others and yourself.

Blessings,

Pastor

Me: Hey God.

God: Hello, My love.

Me: The world is completely out of control!

God: I know. It's such an adventure, right?

Me: No! It's like being on a runaway train! I need to feel like I am in control of my life.

God: You want to be in control?

Me: Yes!

God: You are living on a spinning wet rock of a planet that resides next to a constantly exploding fireball in the middle of an ever-expanding universe that is filled with mysteries beyond your wildest imagination.

Me: Um, okay....

God: And on this planet that you are hurtling through the great expanse in - you are coexisting with billions of other people who have free-will and their own experiences that shape their perspectives and beliefs.

Me: Yeah...?

God: And while all this is going on your soul is residing in a physical body that is such a miracle of delicate engineering that at any given moment could produce its last heartbeat.

Me: Right...

God: What is it about your existence that you think you have any control of?

Me: Um…

God: Come on - you know the answer to this. What can you control?

Me: How kind I am to people?

God: Yep and one other thing.

Me: What's that?

God: How kind you are to yourself. Aside from that - most of everything else is a bit outside of your design.

Me: That's a bit terrifying...

God: All great adventures are!

****

~ john roedel

(Roedel, John; Facebook; July 26, 2022)

Click on the Nativity Lutheran Church Calendar Link below if you would like an "easy-to-read" full size view of the month.

It will open a new window featuring the calendar.

Sunday, August 7

9:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Kim Murphy

Friday, August 12

3:00 PM - Theater Camp Performance of Frozen:KIDS

Sunday, August 14 - First Communion during Worship

9:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Fred Walker

Sunday, August 21

9:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Betty Long

Pot Luck Brunch, immediately following worship

Sunday, August 28

9:30 AM - Worship in-person and online

Assistant: Fred Walker

Weekly

Tuesdays 9:30 - 11:00 AM - "Out of Office" hours (see article below)

Thursdays 8:00 AM - Morning Prayer via Zoom

For midweek prayer via zoom - there is a separate Zoom link. Email Pastor at office@nativityrockport.org if you would like the zoom link.

Please also email Pastor if you do not have the Sunday Zoom link.

Favorite Hymns

As promised in last month’s “View,” August this year is “favorite hymns month” at Nativity. Many of you responded to the request for your favorite hymns. Some sent one favorite. Some sent several favorites. More than a few were on more than one list. Even though Sunday, August 7 will be a “hymn sing” led by Charlie and Kim, we still won’t be able to fit all the favorites into our August worships. We’ll do many of them and then work the others in in the fall. Here’s a list of all those that had arrived before 7/29. They are sorted by number of occurrences (in parenthesis) and then alphabetical (or at least I tried).

Here I am Lord (5); Beautiful Savior (4); For All the Saints (4); Lift High the Cross (3); On Eagles Wings (3); Shine Jesus Shine (3); Borning Cry (2); Children of the Heavenly Father (2); Earth and All Stars (2); Eternal Father Strong to Save (2); Immortal, Invisible God Only Wise (2); Savior Again to Your Dear Name We Raise (2); Spirit of Gentleness (2); The Strife is O’er, the Battle Done (2); This Is My Song (2); All Hail the Power of Jesus’ Name; Blessed Assurance; Break Now the Bread of Life; Come, Thou Almighty King; Glorious Things of Thee Are Spoken; Go Tell it on the Mountain; Great Is Thy Faithfulness; Hail Thee, Festival Day-; Healer of My Every Ill; Holy, Holy, Holy; How Great Thou Art; I Am the Bread of Life; I Love to Tell the Story; In the Bleak Mid-Winter; In the Cross of Christ I Glory; Joy to the World; Just As I am; Let All Things Now Living; Let Us Break Bread Together; Lo How a Rose is Blooming; Lord Dismiss Us With Your Blessing; Morning Has Broken; My Faith Looks Up to Thee; My Hope is Built on Nothing Less; My Lord what a Morning; Now Thank We All our God; O God Our Help in Ages Past; O Master, Let Me Walk with You; Old Rugged Cross; One Bread, One Body; One There Is Above All Others; Open Now The Gates Of Beauty; Ride on Ride on in Majesty; Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us ; Silent Night; Soon and Very Soon; Take My Life That I May Be; The Church of Christ in Every Age; Thine is the Glory; Wake, Awake for Night is Flying; What a Fellowship, What a Joy Divine; When Morning Guilds the Skies; When Peace Like A River; You Are Mine; You Have Come Down to the Lakeshore

First Communion

On August 14 two young worshippers will receive their “First Communion” when we celebrate the Lord’s Supper during our Sunday morning worship service. Dex and Bea along with parents or grandparent joined Pastor Anderson for an evening of instruction in June. If you are able to be with us that day please take a moment to congratulate them on this step in their faith journey.

Outdoor Worship

Here in MidCoast Maine we are blessed to inhabit one of the most beautiful places God created. With that in mind many of us hope that we will occasionally be able to celebrate our weekly Sunday worship outside. Because of a number of scheduling and technical factors we have not been able to do that yet this summer and the Sundays in August don’t work either. We are planning to hold outdoor worship on September 11 (10:30 a.m.). Would anyone like to organize a church picnic/cook-out to follow worship that day? Please speak to Pastor Anderson if you could.

Help with Communion Preparation

One or two or three additional volunteers willing to set up and clean up our Holy Communion periodically are needed. Currently the volunteers are scheduled for a month at a time and are all very willing to fill in or trade a week if someone has a conflict. But we currently have only three and stuff happens like broken arms and legs. So a few more in the rotation would be really helpful. This only takes a few minutes to set up and few minutes to clean up. No experience is necessary---we will train you! Please speak with Pastor Anderson if you are willing to help with this.

Recently we spent some time together in worship thinking about the ways we are rooted in Christ and bear fruit in the world. You received a Bible Study by mail to help you as you considered your financial commitment to Nativity for our 2023 Fiscal Year (July 2022 thru June 2023) and we received those commitments during worship on July 31.

Nativity is blessed by all the gifts you share through your presence in this congregation and in our community. As we look toward this next year of ministry, we know God has exciting work in mind for us. Your generosity helps make it possible for us to continue working together as we discover the ways in which God is helping us grow and bear fruit.

Please join us for a “Potluck Brunch” immediately following worship on August 21. We will celebrate your commitments and the ways we intertwine as branches to serve the world. Please bring a “brunch” dish to share. If you can help with setup or cleanup, please be in touch with Sue Dawson.

Pastor’s "Out-of-the-Office-and-into-Creation Hours" will continue Tuesday mornings in August. Bring your own coffee (and a treat if you want) and meet Pastor in a local park for casual conversation about whatever comes up. She has picked out some parks that feature trees for shade, picnic tables, and in some cases benches. But you might want to bring your own chair to be more comfortable. Pastor will plan to be there 9:30 to 11:00. She tried to pick spots that might have shade so it should be pleasant if it's not raining. If it's raining, she won't be there. Here are the places:

• August 2 - Pastor is on vacation
• August 9 - Hodson Park, Molyneaux Rd, Camden (Ask Pastor if you need directions)
• August 16 - Walker Park, Sea St, Rockport
• August 23 - Owls Head Lighthouse State Park, 186 Lighthouse Road, Owls Head
• August 30 - Laite Mem. Beach, Off Bay View St between Cedar and Chestnut Hill, Camden

Starting the first Sunday in July, the Creation Care Team would like to hear from you. I have been sharing environmental “green tips” with you for the past 4-5 months. My goal has been to help you break old unsustainable habits and develop new environment-friendly habits. Would you be willing to tell the congregation about a change that you have made in your life, resulting from re-thinking how you are integral to our environment and have become an improved steward of creation? If the answer is YES, please contact me at 691-3480 or email me at dadbstadler@me.com. Your story could spark someone else to share their story or make a change in their life to be a better steward of God’s creation.

Denise Stadler, Creation Care Team

A few photos from the July 24th Visit to MerrySpring Gardens

Our trip out in creation! Due to high temperatures and other commitments our group was tiny but powerful! Merryspring did not disappoint. All 5 senses were met. We listened to birds, saw honeybees going into hive with their findings, we smelled the flowers, saw the beauty, touched the many garden plants, listened to Elaine read Mary Oliver’s Poem Such Singing in the Wild Branches, snacked while listening to sounds of nature and ended with prayer led by Pastor Wendy. Thankfully shade was plentiful, slight breeze and no bugs! God is Great!

We enjoyed the time and what nature and God provided!

Connect with ELCA greater church

Read Bishop Eaton’s monthly article:

https://www.livinglutheran.org/

https://www.elca.org/Resources/Presiding-Bishop-Messages

5 - Peter Surek

7 - Piper Pavelich

13 - Richard Vargas

23 - Joan Anton

Fred Walker sent the picture below. Send pictures of your garden to the View for next month's publication!

In July, I had the opportunity to travel to the Azores with a group of high school friends. We had planned this trip for 2020, and like many other things, it was delayed just a bit. What a blessing to be able to take this trip. We stayed on the largest island - São Miguel. Some travel articles describe the Azores as a combination of Hawaii and Ireland. A comparison to Hawaii because you are living on a volcano; yet a comparison to Ireland, because the hills, mountains, and cliffs are green and fertile.

We had the chance to explore a tea factory, botanical gardens, a pottery factory, lagoons, and high mountain vistas. We swam in hot springs and ate food cooked in the volcanic earth. The hydrangea were huge and blooming everywhere - used not as landscaping, but as borders to outline farmland and keep the happy cows in the correct pasture. The African lilies sprouted like weeds by the roadside. Everywhere you looked there was natural beauty in abundance. We explored black sand beaches and were "serenaded" each evening by the other-worldly calls of the night bird: Cagarro. It felt like paradise.

Just a short (4 hr flight) from Boston to São Miguel and you are transported to this other world where the people are welcoming and happy to share their home with you. I highly recommend this trip. We were blessed to have a driver -the narrow twisting streets are harrowing! Having a driver made our trip so much more relaxing - plus we had an inside view to the history of the island. Below are just some of the pictures (I took so many! Click on the pictures to get a better view). This was only my second time across the Atlantic ocean I traveled to London with my son, 20 years ago! But it was well worth the wait!

• The Pastor’s Discretionary Fund: Please remember that an extra $5 or $10 each month may make a huge difference to a family in need! Please indicate any additional donations as "Pastor's Discretionary" when you mail in your monthly offering.
• Our Nativity Choir officially takes the summer off, and we invite individuals or small groups (duets, trios, quartets, etc.) to provide special music in worship. If you can share your musical talent one or more times, please contact Charlie B. cbrownjr51@gmail.com
  
• Don't forget: One simple way to help care for creation is to download the weekly bulletin onto your smart phone or tablet and then bring that device to worship or use it when you zoom at home saving paper and resources. Need help figuring that out? Call Pastor for Android help or Denise Stadler for Apple help.
  
• We have a new receptacle for collecting our aluminum pop tabs. Look for the paper bag on the Social Ministry bulletin board in the Narthex. Place your tabs in the bag and take your container home and fill it again! The tabs are donated to the Ronald McDonald House. The revenue they receive from their partner metal recycling facility supplements the stays of families of hospitalized children at their facilities in Bangor and Portland.
  

A Note from your editor, Kim Murphy

Reminder - send articles and photos by the 15th of each month.

Email kmusicorama@gmail.com

Photos this month - Pastor Anderson, Sue Dawson, Fred Walker, Kim Murphy

Rev. Wendy J. Anderson

Sunday Worship (Sept -May) 10:30 AM

Summer Sunday Worship (June - August) 9:30 AM

Email: office@nativityrockport.org
Website: www.nativityrockport.org
Location: 179 Old County Rd, Rockport, ME, United States
Phone: 207-594-4665
Facebook: facebook.com/nativitylutheranchurch.rockport.maine