NEWSLETTER – September 2020

Evangelisch-Lutherische St. Markusgemeinde

Vancouver, B.C. 1573 East 18th Avenue V5N 2H4

Tel.: 604-874-8427

September 2020

Liebe Gemeinde, liebe Freunde,

Es ist kaum zu glauben, dass wir bereits im September angelangt sind und der sechste Corona-Monat angefangen hat. Wir alle haben diese Krise sehr verschieden erlebt. Ich perönlich hatte das Gefühl in einen Schnellzug eingestiegen zu sein, der hier und da gehalten hat. Im Verlauf der letzten Monate sind mir z.T. sehr traurige Schicksale begegnet. Ich habe Menschen zugehört, die wirklich gelitten haben und die seelisch gesehen Überdurchschnittliches leisten mussten und müssen. Einige sind immer noch im „finsteren Tal“ unterwegs sind und mit Tapferkeit immer wieder die Worte beten, die uns vor der Verzweiflung bewahren: „Der Herr ist mein Hirte… Und ob ich schon wanderte im finsteren Tal fürchte ich kein Unglück…“. Da, wo wir Menschen in solcher Not begegnen, lasst uns so gut es geht zu sensiblen Begleitern oder Begleiterinnen werden, die spüren und merken wann Zuspruch und Nähe oder auch nur „einfaches Zuhören“ benötigt sind. Auch davon habe ich gehört und von liebevollen Gesten der Zuneigung und Fürsorge. So soll es sein in einer Kirchgemeinde, die sich an Jesu Vorstellung vom Reich Gottes orientiert. Da heißt es eben: erst kommen meine leidenden Mitmenschen und dann erst ich selber. Wie oft bin ich zu dankbarer Demut gerufen worden, wenn die Gemeindemitglieder mich fragten: „Und, wie geht es dir Pastor und deiner Familie?“

„Dienet einander mit den Fähigkeiten, die Gott euch geschenkt hat – alle mit einer eigenen, besonderen Gabe! Dann seid ihr gute Verwalter der vielfältigen Gnade Gottes.” 1. Petrus 4, Vers 10

Mir sagen diese beiden Sätze, dass wir alle ganz verschiedene Menschen sind, dass aber jedem und jeder Gott eine besondere Gabe geschenkt hat. Vielleicht kann man das mit einem Tablett voller verschiedener Kerzen vergleichen: da sind Weiße und Farbige, Dicke und Dünne, einige mit Verzierungen und viele ohne Verzierungen. Sie sind verschieden, aber die Bestimmung ist bei allen gleich: Sie sollen brennen, Licht bringen, leuchten und somit einen Raum erhellen. Wenn es dunkel ist und man etwas sehen will, ist es egal, ob die Kerze groß oder klein ist, ob sie reich verziert oder ganz einfach ist. Hauptsache ist, dass sie leuchtet!

Jeder von uns Menschen hat bei seiner Geburt Talente und Fähigkeiten mitbekommen. Für Gott ist es nicht wichtig, ob man viele Talente hat oder wenige. Das Wesentliche ist, dass man seine Talente nicht vergräbt, sondern den Mut hat, sie zum Einsatz zu bringen, so wie diese Kerzen ihr Licht zum Leuchten bringen. Je mehr wir unsere Gaben leuchten lassen, um so mehr schwindet die Dunkelheit. Und leuchten heisst in diesen Tage, unsere Nächsten nicht zu vergessen, Anrufe zu machen, e-mails oder schöne Karten zu schreiben. Kurz, die Verbindung halten. Solche Zeiten wie diese Pandemie haben wir bisher noch nie erlebt. Es ist eine Zeit, in der die Gotteshäuser geschlossen sind, in der täglich zu „social distancing“ aufgerufen wir. „Social distancing“ darf nicht zur Entzweiung führen. Hier und heute ist achtsamer Umgang miteinander und sorgfältige Beziehungspflege gefragt. Wir alle leben davon. Ohne Beziehungspflege würden wir verkümmern.

„Dient einander mit den Fähigkeiten, die Gott euch geschenkt hat!“ Liebe Gemeinde, liebe Freunde, so entsteht „Reich Gottes“. Ein Reich in dem Egoismus, Arroganz und Lieblosigkeit, Boshaftigkeit und Eigennutz, Gier und Vorteilsnahme nicht hineingehören. Im Reich Gottes sind wir aufgerufen einander zu dienen „mit den Fähigkeiten, die Gott geschenkt hat“. An dieser Stelle danke ich im Namen der Markusgemeinde unserm Video-Team : Klaus Rathe und Dubravko Pajalic, die uns mit ihren Fähigkeiten so treu dienen, schon über viele Monate. Die vielen Menschen, weit über unsere Gemeinde hinaus, Freude und geistliche Nahrung mit den wöchentlichen Andachten in die Häuser und Wohnungen gebracht haben. Ich möchte auch Friederike danken, die jede Woche hunderte von E-mails aussendet und durch ihre persönlich gehaltenen Begleitmails unsere Gemeinde wissen läβt: Wir sind Euch verbunden. Ihr liegt uns am Herzen.

Pastorin Breit sei an dieser Stelle gedankt für die gründliche Planung einer sorgsamen und umsichtigen Wiedereröffnung der Kirche – hoffentlich in naher Zukunft.

Bei Ihnen allen möchte ich mich zum Schluss mit einem Wort des Apostels Paulus verabschieden. Im Philipperbrief heiβt es: „Ich danke meinem Gott, sooft ich eurer gedenke…“ Danke für ihre treue Unterstützung durch ihre Gebete, ihre Spenden und die vielen anderen Zeichen der Ermutigung, die uns so zahlreich erreichten.

In herzlicher Verbundenheit,

Ihr Pastor,
Hardo Ermisch

BEKANNTMACHUGEN

Freud und Leid

Im Juli und August verstarben unsere Gemeindemitglieder Herr Hardwin von Hahn und

Herr Gerhard Kelpin. Wir bitten den Herrn, die Verstorbenen in Gnaden anzunehmen und die trauernden Familien durch sein Wort zu trösten. Die Trauerfeiern werden zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt stattfinden, wenn dies in einem größeren Rahmen wieder möglich sein wird.

Urlaub

Pastor Ermisch musste aus dienstlichen Gründen seinen Urlaub verschieben.

Er ist nun vom 22.August bis zum 1.September.

St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church

Vancouver, B.C. 1573 East 18th Avenue V5N 2H4

Tel.: 604-874-8427

September 2020

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

(Eccl. 3:1-8)

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

I have recently written a couple of times about the passage from Ecclesiastes 3. I want to add a few thoughts that came to me recently.
While I was searching for something on the internet, I came across this quote from a resident of a hospice: “If I or one of my sisters feel like crying, we are crying. If there is something to laugh about, we laugh our heads off. We have to learn to allow our feelings to be, it cleans our spirits and makes us feel good.”
The words spoke to me, as I was thinking about what a weird process and feeling mourning can be. We often think of mourning as a time where we are sad and depressed, a time that is filled with tears. We think of mourning as a time of saying good-bye to someone or something we loved and treasured. But did you ever think of mourning as a time of laughing, a time of planting and healing, a time to build and to dance, a time of peace? Most likely not.
During the last month I observed in myself and my family that mourning can be something incredibly wonderful. I know – it is not what most of us would think. My mourning started with peace – peace that struggles and uncertainty were over, that we and my mother had been spared from suffering. There was sadness, but also an overwhelming happiness and peace. I recalled an encounter I had a few years ago, when I met two sisters who had requested a burial for their mother. Upon arrival I met them sitting around a table in the living room, sharing a bottle of sparkling wine, laughing and being happy. Their explanation: we were so happy it all worked out so well and there was no suffering, we had to celebrate. Yes, this is mourning as well!
As I got home to my family, I found both – tears and laughter. I do not know how many times we all broke out in tears just to look at each other and start laughing at the same time. There were many times, we recalled memories and shed tears and started laughing at the same time about what had happened. Allowing our feelings to be as they were: the anger, the sadness, the disappointment, the questions, but also the times of happiness, of building, healing and laughing, we all realized how we started to feel different – how our souls and spirits got cleansed.

Most of us do not like mourning, usually, I guess because it makes us vulnerable and weak and it reminds us of unpleasant times and events. However, where we allow ourselves and each other to mourn, to truly express all our thoughts and feelings, where we share with each other and respect each others feelings, I believe – no, I know – mourning is something beautiful and fruitful.

I have seen how in all the honesty of our talks, healing started. I have experienced, how in sharing our tears and our laughter, all our feelings – our relationships with each other got re-built. How searching and giving up, how keeping and throwing away became moments of treasure.

Mourning became a blessing. Not just within our family, but within all of our relationships. Friends that reconnected and suddenly showed up alongside each one of us; friends and companions that genuinely were interested to be part of our journey.

As we are just at the beginning of our journey, obviously a lot are so far “seeds planted” and yet, I see sprouts as well – I see growth in all of us and in our lives.

God has made everything beautiful in its time… this how Ecclesiastes closes this passage. I want to invite you to not fear or resist or avoid mourning. Do not see it just as a time of destruction, but discover it as a time of growing, planting, healing, mending. As a time to cry and to laugh!

May God bless you in your journeys of mourning – may he provide you with companions, but most of all with his strength, guidance and love.

Pastor Kristina Breit

Dear members,

As we are preparing for the re-opening of our church, we sadly have to recognize climbing numbers of new infections. And I just want to share a short personal thought and experience from my time in Germany. I have to admit, that even though I was only in my home village, I never felt as safe as I did around here with the still fairly strong recommendations and requirements our health officials have put out. I have come to realize that they have done and still do an outstanding job in terms of communication and clarity; and that the very careful and laid-back approach to re-opening public life, has been a good one. Yes, we see climbing numbers, but as we have heard – this is often due to the irresponsibility of people gathering privately.

Yet, this only reminds us, that we are in the midst of a pandemic, not at the end, and that whatever we do and decide to do as a church, has to be done with utmost carefulness and responsibility. This also means, that I once again ask you, to be so kind to help us make a re-gathering as safe as possible. Masks are not mandatory in our church, but please wear them upon entering and upon leaving the church when walkways can crowd up. Please try to keep your distance and make sure you observe hand-hygiene.

As we invite you back to in-person services, we want to make sure, that we do not have to turn anyone away, and we want to make sure that all of you have a designated Sunday on which you can attend our service.

We have “divided” up the German congregation by the first letter of your last name. The table below will show you the Sunday you are invited to attend church in person:

Sunday of month	Letters of last names
First Sunday	Letter A-G
Second Sunday	Letter H-M
Third Sunday	Letter N-R
Fourth Sunday	Letter S-Z
Fifth Sunday	No church – Recording only

So please plan ahead and start marking your Sunday in your calendar.
If you want to attend the service on a different Sunday and/or bring guests or you want to help someone attending church by driving them, please be so kind and call Pastor Breit before you do so. This will ensure that we have room for you and/or your guests and that we do not cross the magic mark of 50 people in the sanctuary. Because once we have reached the magic mark, we either have to turn you away or we have to seat you downstairs in the basement, where you can hear the service.

The English congregation will re-gather as before – we will most likely meet as we usually did during the summer months – starting for now with the 1st and 3rd Sunday of the month.

The exact starting date of in-person-services will be set in the next council-meeting at the beginning of September. Once the decision is made, we will inform you and send you a detailed calendar with the dates for each group.

IF you have questions or concerns, please feel free to talk to me, Pastor Breit (604-435-5950) or email me (pastor.breit@shaw.ca).

I look forward to have you back in church and see you again.

For the Church Council,
Pastor Kristina Breit

We ask for your feedback:

As we are planning the re-start of church services, we are also planning ahead for Christmas. Our question is how we can offer you and your families the best service and have as many as possible attending services. Pastor Ermisch and I have looked at adding German services to our schedule for December 24th and we need your feedback for our planning. We have the option to add services earlier in the day or at late night:

Adding a service at 12:30pm
Adding a service at 2pm or
Adding a service at 10pm or 11pm.

We want to know: which choice you would prefer.

You have three ways to help us:

Please send an email with your choice to pastor.breit@shaw.ca
call Pastor Breit (604-435-5950)
You can also vote via this doodle-poll: Klick here.
You enter your name, click on the choices you prefer and then click “send”. Only I, Pastor Breit, will be able to see your name and choices. They will not be visible to public.

If you let us know your choices, it will help us a lot to plan for Christmas and which services are feasible to offer. Thank you to all who already gave a feed-back!