Warm Winter Greetings January 2018 A snapshot into the many ministries, and a taste of the holiday season here in Central Europe. BÚÉK! or Boldog új évet kivánok is how many Hungarians share New Year s greetings with one another. The Rev. Rachel snaps a #selfie with the City Park Lutheran members at the Advent retreat in Piliscsaba, Hungary. As the new year begins, I often find myself reminded of how cyclical our lives really are. No matter the progress or regress that we experience dayto-day, it s that time of year again when we find ourselves in front of a new year a fresh start. As followers of Christ, it is the cycle of life, death, and resurrection that transforms our lives and our world. In Budapest and beyond, we find ourselves, our volunteers, and our communities, in varying different places as we head into the the New Year. Some ministries are just finding their stride, others are cruising along, while some have wound down. We hope you enjoy this latest update from the ministry you help make possible here in Central Europe. We appreciate your prayers, letters, thoughts, and money which, along with the grace of God helps make this all possible Warm Regards, Zach & Rev. Rachel
2 Our 12 Days of Central European Christmas! 1. GOD WITH US! 2. Orthodox New Year in Serbia begins on January 14th, 2018. 3. 4. New Year s Eve is called Silvester in Hungarian as it is Silvester s name day. 7. 6. Hungarian tradition has baby Jesus and the angels set up the tree on Christmas eve. 8. 5. In Serbia, Orthodox Christmas starts on January 7th! 9. Budapest is well known throughout Europe for having some of the best Advent Markets 10. 12. Christmas isn t over after the 25th in Hungary it s just getting started! All 12 Days are celebrated. 11. Mulled wine and chimney cakes (left) come standard this time of year
3 Advent in Community by Zach Courter Advent is a time of already and not yet. Already, Jesus has come to earth and brought the promise of God s love for us all to live into. Not yet, do we as humanity share the love that we learned about in Jesus with all people. The first weekend of Advent was spent in Piliscsaba as a time for us all to practice living into God s love with one another in our communities. The promise of God s love is to all people: young and old, rich and poor, strong and weak, all ethnicities and backgrounds. We are all united in the body of Christ. Top: Zach leads a bible study. Left: Hiking to the look-out tower. Right: Advent wreath making Where is Piliscsaba? About a 45 minute pleasant drive or train ride northwest from Budapest During the Advent retreat weekend, we lived into this promise in many different ways. We did this through studying the bible, craft making, eating together, talking with one another, and worshipping together. Yet for me, the most important thing about the weekend was being together. One of the great examples of how we were together this weekend was the hike we did to the look-out tower above Piliscsaba. The hike was successfully completed by people of all ages and abilities. From 4 years old to those in their 60s, we all made it up and down. Throughout the hike we relied on the one another for encouragement, strength, and motivation. The hike was successful not because we made it up and down the hill, but because we did it all together. Yes, God calls each one of us to live into God s love individually, but more than that, God calls us to live into this love as a community. This weekend retreat in Piliscsaba was a time to remember our call to live together in community, in the midst of our busy everyday lives. My hope for us all is that we remember the importance of this message now and always. Want to read this article in Hungarian? You can check out the Hungarian text here, as well as our other blog posts on our website!
4 Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil by Rev. Rachel Eskesen YAGM Central Europe Advent Retreat The hymn Lord, Let My Heart Be Good Soil was composed in 1985 by Handt Hanson. It can be found in the Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnal-hymn #512 Lord, let my heart be good soil, open to the seed of you Word. Lord, let my heart be good soil, where love can grow and peace is understood. When my heart is hard, break the stone away. When my heart is cold, warm it with the day. When my heart is lost, lead me on your way. Lord, let me heart, Lord, let my heart, Lord, let my heart, be good soil. It might seem a bit strange to shape our Advent Retreat around the theme of gardening and growing. In Central Europe these days the ground is frozen through and every leaf that trees care to shed have long fallen away. And it was in a guest house surrounded by a frost covered vineyard where we gathered together in late November 2017. When I was young, I remember being shocked at the way my mom would prune the plants in our garden. It looked like she was cutting them to pieces never to see a flower bud or fruit again. However, each time (much to my astonishment) the plants that had been pruned grew back with ferocity and beauty. I learned a great deal about gardening from my mom. As you gardeners out there already know, in order to help our plants to grow, we sometimes need to prune. In our YAGM CE Advent Retreat, we focused on this idea of God as the Gardener and what we are feeling called to prune from our lives in order to allow for new growth. We as humans are also sometimes called to prune parts of our lives in order to encourage growth; sometimes we are called to cut back on parts of our lives to find balance. There are seasons for growth and there are seasons to prune in order to encourage growth. From my mom, I ve learned not only about gardening, but how to live a more balanced life full of beauty and love.
5 Retreats are a time when we can laugh, sing, talk, cry, worship and be together. We engaged in daily Bible Studies and activities that discussed the metaphor of gardening, vineyards, growth, and new life. We reflected on what had passed in these few months we ve shared we offered to God our prayers of celebration and our cries of lament. We decorated Christmas cookies and made homemade Christmas cards. We worshipped together with Holden Evening prayer, lighting a candle on the Advent Wreath each night. We played card games and board games and group games. For many YAGM volunteers in Central Europe the Advent season, winter time, can be some of the most challenging weeks of their year of service. Despite the sparkle of many Advent Markets aglow with lights and hot wine the short days of sunlight; the long nights; the overcast weather; the holiday sparkle and celebration away from family and friends in the United States they can be lonely days. And yet, there is no time quite like the long evenings of Advent season to prepare for a new Hope. Every Bible study during our Advent Retreat opened and closed with the Hymn, Lord Let my Heart be Good Soil. For us, it was a prayer we shared together- trusting that, even in the winter months, God s love continues to grow.
6 Home Assignment 2018 We re coming to visit and we d like to visit you! We will be back in the USA this Spring to recharge and relax, as well as to connect face-to-face with our sponsoring congregations. We will also be looking to find new people and congregations that would like to financially support our ministry here in Central Europe. If you or your faith community would like more information about becoming a sponsoring congregation, as well as possibly setting up a time for us to visit your community, please be in touch - zachary.courter@elca.org Donate Online! You can access our online donation page here or find it on our website. zachandrachel.wordpress.com Fundraising Facts With the end of 2017 comes the end of the 1031Run. I had set the goal of running 1031 miles during the 2017 calendar year. The 1031 comes from October 31st, which is the day that the reformation is celebrated. The tenth month (10), and the thirty-first (31) day. After the dust settled off my running shoes in 2017, I had run a total of 880 miles. Not too shabby, really. Eight hundred and eighty miles will get you from Seattle to San Francisco, Chicago to New York, or Budapest to Wittenberg. Though I didn t reach my goal, I am thankful for the time spent running. It wasn t just about exercise, but prayerful, thoughtful, reflective time for creative thinking about the YAGM program, working on sermons, and exploring God s creation. Your encouragement, support, and donations during this time have all meant a lot. Thanks again for your support! Zach 1031Run Update