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Oxon Hill Lutheran Church

Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost …

It came to me today while sitting in Church with my Grandmother this morning, why I love stone houses. The back wall where the cross hangs is made of stone and the roof is of simple wood. This simplistic clean design has stuck with me my entire life, as this is the very church where my parents married and I was baptized. If I would want to get married and have kids (and at this point in my life I still feel strongly that I don’t want those things), I would do so in this sacred place.

Now I wouldn’t say I am a religious person or that this is a religious blog post, but more of a spiritual reminder. I will say that I was born, raised, and confirmed as a Lutheran (Missouri Synod) and to this day I am still a part of that belief. I do believe there is a God, because God knows I prayed to him in High School about a certain ex-boyfriend who remains in my heart to this day.

Not being a regular at Sunday services I didn’t know until I was in the thick of it that things have changed. We do the sign of the cross now if we want it and we read through service with something called “Matins” with Holy Communion.

I am always happy to see Pastor Schnepp and he genuinely appears the same to me. I had last seen him at the church’s Oktoberfest function last weekend in Mayo, MD at the Old Stein Inn. (You know us German Lutherans love to eat and drink). Before getting so distracted with my uneven work/life balance, I used to help the Pastor fix his computers. I hadn’t gotten any calls in a while so I hope they are running OK.

Pastor Schnepp’s sermon was on target for the elections and the state of the economy, reading from Matthew 22:15-22.

15^(A) Then the Pharisees went and plotted how^(B) to entangle him in his words. 16 And they sent^(C) their disciples to him, along with^(D) the Herodians, saying, “Teacher,^(E) we know that you are true and teach^(F) the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for^(G) you are not swayed by appearances.^[a] 17 Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay^(H) taxes to^(I) Caesar, or not?” 18 But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why^(J) put me to the test, you hypocrites? 19 Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius.^[b] 20 And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” 21They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, ^(K) “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” 22 When they heard it, they marveled. And they^(L) left him and went away.

Now if I tried to capture what my Pastor said in words in my blog it would not do his oration and delivery justice. I share this moment in my life with you as I feel that I do want to become more involved in the church as a do a little more fixing of my work/life balance. I wanted to use my blog platform as a way to bring attention to my little church on Brinkley Road.

I attended the voter’s meeting after with my Grandmother, who is a voting member of the church. The church in which I am an actual member disbanded years ago in Columbia, MD. or so I hear. I haven’t lived there in almost a decade. In the meeting I learned about the Compassion Center [which I will address in a subsequent post] and the membership and attendance.

Now I know we are a small church and I am not trying to convert or anything of the sort here. I just wanted to let others out there know of this place, not just a place of worship, but much much more in offering help and assistance, spiritual and other wise, if you are in the Southern Maryland/Washington DC area.

You can find out more about Oxon Hill Lutheran Church by visiting their website http://ohlcms.org/

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Tags: andrea baker, communion, lutheran, matins

faith, family, life, religion, thought | Andrea Baker | October 19, 2008 10:33 pm

3 Comments

By Claudia Romeo, September 17, 2009 @ 1:25 pm

Andrea,
This is so nice! You’re a gem.
ClaUDIA
By Andrea Baker, September 17, 2009 @ 3:36 pm

I am long overdue to attend a service. We all need to go together. I think it would be the best medicine for all of us. I miss you.