On Saturday, October 29, 2022, we celebrate the Installation of the Rev. Dr. Paul Baglyos, or as I like to call him--#25.  Yes, it is true, Pastor Baglyos is only the 25th pastor in our 284-year history who has served our congregation as a Lead/Senior—various terms have been used over the years.  This count does NOT include all those we’ve had as Interim, Assistant, Associate, and/or Youth pastors, just the called ‘Top Dogs’. For the first two hundred years, ELC only had one pastor at a time; and many served what were likely considered ‘lifetimes’ here.  The top spot goes to P ..read more

September 15, 2022 It was 160 years ago on this day that our sanctuary was turned into a military hospital for 4 months to treat soldiers injured during the Civil War battles of South Mountain and Antietam.  In 1862 the sanctuary was still new—only 7 years old.  By September of that year the war was very ‘present’ in and around Frederick.  Troop and supply movements were common, as were encampments around the city.  On September 7, 1862, the pews were filled for both the morning and evening services with Confederate soldiers on their way West.  A week later, hospital ..read more

Our Congregation is very fortunate to still have access to historic parish records that date back to the beginning of our congregation in the mid-1700’s.  These precious record books include record of events like baptisms, marriages, death/burials, confirmation, and communion.  Originally hand-written in German and Latin, the records switched to English in the mid-1800s.  Fortunately, the earliest of these records were translated for us years ago by genealogy experts.  All totaled, we have 10 Volumes of such records that span into the early 1990s when the recording of these ..read more

Today we launch a new History Blog.  Over the years folks have recommended I use this forum to highlight some of the treasures found while organizing our congregation’s archives.  The time is finally right to start this.  The first blog entry announces the launch of our new Historic Parish Record website.  This has been years in the making and couldn’t have been done without the support of a lot of volunteers who worked for years on scanning, data entry, and proofreading.  Special thanks also to Catie Quinlan who figured out how to make it all work! As for blog idea ..read more

TESTING ..read more

Last Post             To have a cure of souls…is the highest task to which any minister can be called. To stand in the pulpit ( or before a class) on Sunday and see the eager and expectant faces of the people turned toward you, and know that they have come for worship (to be challenged of mind and heart) and for the bit of bread that you have been preparing for them in the week; to feel as you look at them: “These are my people”; to know that in all the great hours of their life, when they want to be wed, when a child is born into their ..read more

Alive Hope             Hope is a constant force working to enliven us, and its energy is immediate. Although we are neither its creator nor master, hope comes to us and dwells in our bodies. Our bodies are sacred creations of God that are a home for hope. We embody hope….             Hope is a force of God that enlivens us to life. Like faith and love in 1 Cor. 13, hope is a force. Yes, it functions within individuals to transform their lives. But hope also resides and functions outs ..read more

 Honesty with Oneself             Socrates said, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” To look after and to care for the soul, according to Socrates, was more important that money, honor and even reputation. The first duty was “to know thyself… For once we know ourselves, we may then learn how to care for ourselves, but otherwise w never shall.” Even the fantasy character in Alice in Wonderland asks the question “Who in the world am I? Ah, that’s the great puzzle!”           &nb ..read more

     The Powers In the Old Testament the ‘powers’ have the function which we refer to when we use such words as the Absurd, Chaos, Nothingness.* Unlike the gods, they have no clear outlines. They achieve nothing but their own exhaustion, but their exhaustion never kills them. The grave, death, and desire never say, ‘Enough’ [Prov. 30:16] ….             Death and She’ol, the decay and the unending silence (‘In the grave who will praise thee?’) have too often taken possession of the ‘personality’ with all its accretions ..read more

       Honesty in Trial             Will I be remembered? Will I be remembered even if my mind dies before my body? Yes, I will be remembered. Verna, our daughters, our family, and God will remember me. To be remembered is to be alive!             Yet, I pray for healing. I want more than to be remembered. I want to be healed. And I pray that healing may come before insanity. Certainly I would choose death over insanity and mental incapacitation. So I pr ..read more