by Ruth Schwalm

Rev. John L. Kurtz, Pastor, presided over a congregation of 218 persons during this time of worship and continuing celebration of our bicentennial. It was also the congregation’s privilege to welcome back Rev. Dr. Keith O. Braucher, a ministerial son, now residing in Red Lion, Pennsylvania.

The hymns for the service included "Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing," "Amazing Grace," and "I Am Thine, O Lord." The scripture lessons were taken from I Kings 3:3-14 and Matthew 5:43-48. In the Old Testament reading, Solomon, son of King David, asks God to give him an understanding heart to judge the people, that he might discern between good and bad. The reading from Matthew was a portion of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Some of these passages included "Ye have heard that it hath been said, ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy, but I say to you, ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be children of your Father which is in heaven...’" "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect."

In the absence of the Senior Choir during July and August, Mrs. Janet Hammaker sang two solos. The lyrics of the first, entitled "God’s Greatest Gift," praise God not only for His beautiful creation, but thanked Him for His kingdom of love to which we are heirs. The second solo, sung during the Offertory, was a prayer entitled "Teach Me to Love."

The morning prayer by Pastor Kurtz consisted of "the laying of hands" upon Phillip Hess, who had sustained an accidental loss of a foot and portion of his lower leg, as well as upon his parents, Steven and Gail Hess. Members were encouraged to place their hands on these persons in special need of healing, strength, and love.

Rev. Kurtz then presented the Rev. Dr. Keith O. Braucher, who chose as the topic of his message, "I’m Not OK and You’re Not OK and That’s OK." Another title might be "The Spirituality of Imperfection."

By way of introduction, Dr. Braucher stated that the sport of baseball considers errors to be a part of the game. Errors are a part of life; if we experience failure, we try again. God loves our creatureliness; he accepts and forgives us even in our imperfection. God reserves his dire punishment for those who do not try! Each of us as well as this congregation are unique. God expects us to live out our creativity and to accept our imperfection.

Dr. Braucher then listed steps for spirituality as follows:

1. Let go of the need for perfection.

2. Anything that is worth doing, do it to the best of your ability. (This might be "badly," but we need to make mistakes in order to learn. Struggle can lead to redemption.)

3. Learn to live with brokenness. The sooner we recognize our mortality, the sooner we will accomplish this step.

The guest continued to expand upon the latter step. He added that it is through our brokenness that we can experience God’s wholeness and strength and are enabled to change our lives. We know at the deepest level of our being that we are not OK; we’re fragile; we need one another to learn to live with our brokenness. "We’re tied to God by a string"; when we sin, we cut the string. Each time we re-tie the string, the string gets shorter, and we’re drawn closer to God.

God has entrusted life to us. He has no other plan for the world. It is our light rather than our darkness that frightens us. But this is the challenge: we were born to make manifest the light that is present within us (God’s light). We, all of us, are the light of the world; we must embrace it, and we must live it out!!

Rev. Kurtz pronounced the Benediction after which the congregation sang the Bicentennial hymn, "Hope for the Future."

Photographs were taken of Dr. Braucher for inclusion in our historical records.

It should be added that Dr. Braucher is the son of William and Saundra Braucher, members of SUMC. He is married to Marsha Allison Braucher, RN, and they have a daughter, Allison Ann, who is five. Keith attended Messiah College, Wesley Theological Seminary, Institute for Pastoral Psychotherapy and Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. He has served in many capacities including youth ministries, as Chaplain, York College, as Pastor, Bethlehem United Methodist Church, and as a staff member and Administrative Director of Pastoral Counseling and Care Ministries. He is presently associated with Pastoral Counseling and Consulting in York, Pennsylvania.

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