Greg Carey, Trinity Scholar in Residence

Lenten Academy for Lay Ministry Offerings

2011-03-01T08:08:00.000-08:00

Academy for Lay Ministry: Lenten Offerings

Holy Trinity’s Academy for Lay Ministry is offering three options for growing in faith and service during Lent.

Praying with the Psalms

The Psalms can teach us how to pray. Throughout our history Jews and Christians have prayed and sung the Psalms. The Psalms model faith, anger, grief, despair, hope, and celebration. By exploring the diversity of the Psalms, this course will deepen our understanding of prayer and revitalize our prayer lives.

Taught by Professor Carey, this course will meet at the Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd on Greenfield Road, Monday evenings, March 14-April 11, from 7:00-8:15 p.m. We will use the book, Praying with the Psalms: Engaging Scripture and the Life of the Spirit, by Walter Brueggemann (cost: $13.00). Copies are available in the Church Office.

Caring for People You Love: Spirit, Soul, and Body

Lent challenges us to reflect upon who we are as Christians. One of our identities at almost every stage of life from early childhood to senior citizen is to be a caring person. We’re told to show compassion, go the extra mile, do good to those who hurt us and love one another. Often the stresses and challenges of those directives can be overwhelming. This series offers a time to grow in our own faith and faith disciplines as we discuss and reflect upon our call to care for others in very common circumstances throughout our lives. Each week will present different case scenarios from which we can glean not only unique and specific “how to’s” but also more generalized and overarching faith principles.

Week 1 March 16 When a Family Member is Hurting (Child, Elderly, Parent, Sibling)

Week 2 March 23 When Someone You Love Needs Medical/Mental Health Care

Week 3 March 30 Friends in Distress

Week 4 April 6 Understanding Grief (Personal losses in relationships, one’s own abilities, jobs, dreams)

Week 5 April 13 Caring for Yourself While You Care for Others

Taught by Pastor Pounder, this course will meet in the Coffee House at 7:00-8:00 a.m. on Wednesday mornings, March 16-April 13.

A Faith of Your Own

This class will look at many different ways Christians view God and how God works in the world. We will share what we believe with one another, listen to one another, and learn from each other. This discussion group will help each of us clarify what we believe and why, thereby helping us to share our faith with the community around us.

Taught by Vicar Eza, this course will meet in the Coffee House at 7:00-8:00 p.m. on Wednesday evenings, March 16-April 13. We will use the book, A Faith of Your Own: Naming What You Really Believe, by Ronald J. Allen (cost: $12.00). Copies are available in the Church Office.

Craig Haas on College Student Spirituality

2010-09-07T14:18:00.000-07:00

What I’m Learning from My College Students

Anecdotal notes on the spirituality of the youngest adults

by J. Craig Haas

I teach at Penn State’s Capital Campus (Penn State Harrisburg) in Middletown, Pa. My title is Instructor of Philosophy and Humanities, and I teach courses in philosophy (including symbolic logic), interdisciplinary humanities, religious studies, and (occasionally) American studies.

The discipline of religious studies is not religious instruction—which would not be constitutional at the Pennsylvania State University—but rather the academic study of religion. Nevertheless, there are occasions in which students visit my office to use me as an ad hoc chaplain.

The following remarks refer only to middle- and working-class college students in the mid-Atlantic region, who are 18-25 years old. No doubt they will apply to other young adults also, but I make no guarantees.

* * *

Today’s college freshmen have lived the majority of their lives in the twenty-first century! (If any in their families were at Woodstock, it was probably their grandparents.)

Their world is wider than any previous generation’s, due to globalization, immigration, travel, and media; and they engage in intense social interaction via technology. One of my colleagues, who teaches communications, assigned her students to go one full day without any form of mass media—electronic (including audio CDs) or print. The students found it unsettling, some even jarring.*

They also stand apart from older generations in that their lives have all been on this side of the sexual revolution.

Young people today experience a prolonged adolescence. (Some college students still refer to themselves and their peers as “kids.”) They might move back with their parents after college and wait till 30 to get married.

Today’s young adults are coming of age in a secular, pluralistic society that can no longer pretend to be “Christian.” Much of their knowledge and perception of religion comes from family, friends, or movies and television—including televangelists, sensationalized cable documentaries, and comedy shows.

One or more of the following is frequently the case:

Their parents are of differing religious points of view and/or degrees of commitment.
Some parents are unwilling to “impose” religion on their children, satisfied that their children will find their own religion “when they’re ready.” (This leaves them growing up without a religion, and in many cases, gives the impression that a religion is not really needed at all.)
Some of their parents demean religion, due to their own bad experiences.
The family stops going to church after divorce or other significant life change.

Many of these young adults have been raised by one parent.

One common form of young adult religion seems to be a brand of folk religion we might call “Grandmaism”: they remember how “my grandma always said….”

Some students in religious studies courses apologize for having no religious background, and may feel inferior to peers who can speak more confidently about their beliefs.

Almost universally, young adults claim to embrace “spirituality” and reject “organized religion.” In fact, to be described as spiritual is to receive a compliment. (Ironically, there may be a touch of Pharisaic pride here!)

“Spirituality” is seldom well defined, but suggests a custom-made do-it-yourself relation to God-or-whatever, that is suited for the individual. It suggests virtues like kindness, honesty, loyalty, and concern. It operates cafeteria-style, allowing an individual to make personal selections valid only for oneself, without accountability to anyone else.

There seems to be a near-unanimous belief among college students that “It’s not about church,” but your own “personal relationship” to God.

Art and music of all kinds are important conduits of spirituality for young adults. (Of course, the whole history of the church testifies to this!)

Today’s college students have almost no knowledge of the contents of the Bible or of the Bible’s own history and setting. (Lutheran students are as biblically illiterate as Catholics.) What they say they believe about the Bible is usually some general slogan, either positive or negative. Their views range from fundamentalist to a purely metaphorical reading.

They are frequently surprised by the Bible’s contents once they are assigned to read it.

Students are often bewildered by the many religious choices; denominations are confusing and meaningless to them. But they often say they want to learn what all the differences are.

Some have been steeped in forms of evangelicalism that pitch their message with fear: threats that “if you don’t accept Jesus,” or “if you don’t go to church, etc.,” or “if you do this sin,” then you’ll “burn in hell.”

Many students have a concept of Christianity that is otherworldly—a strong heaven-or-hell orientation. But they are also very curious about this. They are also interested in purgatory, the Book of Revelation, and the relation of evolution and creationism, science and religion.—They seem to pay lots of attention to the beginning and the end, but much less to the middle!

Many of these young adults are looking for spiritual help and instruction in places other than church. This may include college courses, Bible studies, Native American powwows, Wiccan or pagan celebrations, or New Age and occult practices.

College students are extremely eclectic in their beliefs and practices.

The student who has taken more courses with me than any other is a former Irish Catholic whose grandmother’s veneration of saints inspired him toward ancient polytheism—specifically, Celtic paganism. He’s still fine with Jesus as one among many teachers, and he’s taken most of my religious studies classes, including the courses on the Old and New Testaments. But he is studying for the pagan priesthood while he works successfully as an artist.

“Tolerance” and “diversity” are cherished words. The claims of Christians are seen as exclusionary, dismissing other views and religions wholesale.

But college students can be conservative, traditional, and rigorous (or even closed-minded!).

Young people frequently want something to commit their lives to. Some young adults will in fact be drawn to fundamentalism as a sure foundation. Black-and-white answers can serve as an anchor for a perplexed young person who has not yet accrued much learning from life experiences.

Some young adults will seek out traditional religious practices for their beauty and symbolism. Others will embrace tradition as a stabilizing agent. I taught one of my students during the time she was going through a conversion to Eastern Orthodoxy. Although baptized a Catholic, she was the daughter of divorced parents who were spiritually adrift. Orthodoxy presented itself to her as the original church that doesn’t change with fashion. “If it’s the truth, how can you just decide to change it?” she wondered.

Young and old alike should be reminded that tradition is what our ancestors deemed worthy of passing along, indeed, what has stood the test of time. But from time to time the new wine of the gospel requires new wineskins. No century is sacred; no generation is normative.

According to religion journalist Terry Mattingly, 49% of 18-29-year-olds want more news coverage of religion and spirituality, compared to 25% of those over age 50.**

On college campuses nationally, enrollments in religion and philosophy courses are way up.

Numerous students in religious studies courses describe themselves as unsure of their beliefs, or as agnostic, or even atheist. But I believe they have taken these courses because they have not given up the search for something to believe in: if not a whole faith, then maybe a helpful part of one.

Today’s young adults are a generation of seekers, packing classes, but not churches.

In matters of the spirit, young adults are the homeless.

With young adults, the church has a serious communication problem.

It is important that we try to understand how some of our commonly used words might have a different sound or feel to college students:

“God”—sometimes connotes a surly old man who is impossible to satisfy.
“Jesus”—could be a sentimental childhood image, a cartoon hippie, or a televangelist’s “Jeeee-zus!”
“Christian”—can suggest an aggressive “Born-again Christian” or all the ideas that created a decadent, violent, and imperial “Western Civilization.”
“church”—makes people think of a building, or a bullying hierarchy, or the memory of long boring services in childhood.
“organized religion”—often suggests “established religion” (the mixing church and state) or religion hijacked for political power.

With young adults, the church has a serious image problem!

In the perception of many young adults,

Church is a “have-to” rather than a positive experience. They often experience conventional church services as boring.
Church is a place where you are judged, yet they see church people (correctly or incorrectly) as rife with hypocrisy.
Church is a know-it-all place where no questions are allowed. Why do students jam religion courses at college but vacate churches? I believe that the main reason for this is that students believe that the church will not tolerate questions, while the university encourages them. (Once in class a student told me, “If I had gotten an answer like that from my church, I’d still be there.” I no longer recall his question, but I remember my answer; it was “I don’t know.”)
The church is a taker, rather than as a giver, wanting to be served rather than wanting to serve. I sometimes hear, “They just want your money.”
The church wants to control everything—to control individuals and to control society.

Further, many see organized religion as the single greatest contributor to violence in the world; to join a church (as they see it) is to comply with that violence.

Since I’ve learned to anticipate how so many of my students regard church and religion, I sometimes try to “get there” ahead of the students and acknowledge the past and present failings and sins of the church. But I also alert them to the many things good churches do for their members and their communities, and the ways most churches make a better world.

Religion is like mushrooms and berries: most of them are good for you, but some are poisonous, even deadly. People need to learn how to tell the difference. (I once told a class, “some of you need to leave your churches.”)

Young adults need to hear positive answers to the question, “What does the church do?”

We are challenged to be Christ’s church better.

The church can be, and ought to be, a surrogate family for this transient and transitional group.

If we want to catch fish, we must first go to the water. We must meet young adults on their own turf, not simply invite them to join our programs or lure them with gimmicks.

Teach! Teach! Teach!

Reiterate Trinitarian monotheism: Jesus is the presence of God among us, and the truest picture of who God really is.
Teach that peacemaking is the work of God, and therefore our work too. It stands at the heart of the gospel. Serve the world; don’t try to run it. Avoid linking discipleship to political partisanship, and hitching the power of the gospel to the power of the state. Stop blessing military action in the name of Christ.
We should make clear that we have listened to the opposing arguments and taken them seriously, and that we are not afraid to address militant atheism.

We need to consider a more postmodern understanding of truth, in which truth is no more a matter of one-size-fits-all; but we must also avoid a crass relativism too.

While young adults are searching for answers, they are also wary of those who claim to have all the answers. We should avoid a purely parental type of moralizing that talks down to educated adults. If we present ourselves as “the church with all the answers” and don’t listen to their questions, they will surely stay away in droves. We must be honest; we might even humbly advertise that we don’t have all the answers!

We should remember that before Jesus is the Answer, Jesus is the Question!—and he remains so throughout our lives.

Young adults will not make a commitment if they cannot ask questions and expect honest and informed responses. Before we can ask young adults to make a commitment to the church, the church will need to make a commitment to them.

_______________________________

* See attached report, Excerpts from “No Media Day” Student Reflective Essays.
** Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era, April 17, 2010, p. B5.
Excerpts from “No Media Day” Student Reflective Essays

General Humanities courses provide opportunities for students to reflect on their cultural surroundings, including popular culture and the media. Each semester, students in Catherine McCormick’s COMM100 Mass Media and Society class at Penn State Harrisburg are asked to go one day without consuming any mass media (TV, radio, recorded music, newspapers, magazines, books, Web sites, film, video games, etc.) They write about the experience in a three-page Reflective Essay.

Here are some of their insights:

I have no social life besides the appointments I keep with the television.
It was funny how something so simple made me feel so deprived.
After going a day without any media what so ever, I feel like I’ve been living under a rock.
I never realized how much the media impacts our daily life.
It was definitely a wake-up call for me.
The drive felt like it took twice as long as it usually takes.
We did not know what to do so we ended up playing cards.
The assignment not only affected me, but my friends.
. . . the assignment was invaluable.
I think that this media watch was one of significant importance.
By cutting out the television . . . in a sense [it took] away a little bit of our personalities.
I had to guess the weather from its appearance.
The world seemed to be a little more drama free.
The media is the center of society and without it, we are nothing.
Why are we so reliant on media? I think it’s our way of pinching each other to let ourselves know that we’re still here.
Not being able to watch or listen to media reminded me of Amish people.
The main problem that I had was that without media, I had very little to do.
I played solitary with an actual deck of cards and not the computer.
. . . I felt like I was dead to the world.
I found it very hard to ignore the media.
I have determined that media is not something you necessarily seek out, but something that seeks you.
On the average day, I would be awake not even an hour before using five different mediums.

August 1 & 8 Adult Forum: Criminal Justice Ministries

2010-07-20T08:29:00.001-07:00

ADULT FORUM THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM (CJS) MINISTRY

DATES: Sunday August 1 and Sunday August 8
TIME: 9:45am until 10:45 am
PLACE: Trinity Lutheran Church, Parish House

AUGUST 1:
View the DVD production of TOSS (Take One Small Step) shown at the 2009 Lower Susquehanna Synod Assembly.
• Produced with Trinity funding
• “Stars” several Trinity members who will be with us

Hear well-respected Adult Probation Officer, Todd Blackenstein, who has worked in the CJS over 30 years and individuals on probation
• Learn surprising facts about what probation involves
• Learn how churches can be helpful to those in the CJS

AUGUST 8:
Come hear Melanie G. Snyder, mediator, conflict resolution trainer and writer whose articles have appeared in more than 50 publications across N. America. She teaches writing courses at Elizabethtown College and speaks regularly about restorative justice, criminal justice and related topics.

Melanie will share the story of Marie Hamilton, Avon lady turned prison reformer, a story she wrote about in Grace Goes to Prison. See her website http://melaniegsnyder.com/

And come hear an update about the CJS Co-Ministry of Trinity Lutheran and St James Episcopal Churches and involvement with:
• Beth Shalom outreach to women released from prison
• Proposed Support Group for family members of those in prison
• Ongoing Monday Prayer Gathering 12:05pm in the Chapel at Trinity

Both Sundays we will have time for questions and discussion.
Grace Goes to Prison is available in the church office for $20.00.

Easter and April at Holy Trinity

2010-03-28T13:23:00.001-07:00

Friends, please take advantage of the Easter devotional guide, available Thursday, Friday, and Sunday. Our pastoral staff and retired clergy have composed a daily devotional guide that will take you through most of the book of Revelation in seven weeks.

If you're interested in Revelation, we're also recommending Barbara Rossing's The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation. Rossing's popular book has won attention on 60 Minutes and NPR, and it provides a highly readable interpretation of Revelation for ordinary Christians. Barb teaches New Testament at the Lutheran School of Theology in Chicago.

Adult Forum presentations in April:

April 11: Jeff Engroff on his November trip to Ensenada, Mexico, and the Lantern Hill Ministry there. Jeff's presentation will reflect on his interaction with local families and potential opportunities for service in that area, and it will set the stage for a possible mission trip by families in 2012. Sponsored by the International Ministries Committee.
April 18: Craig Haas, on "What I'm Learning from Teaching." Craig teaches courses in humanities, philosophy, and religion at Penn State Harrisburg.
April 25: Vicar Carolyn Hetrick hosts the Crossroads Event. A diverse group of seminarians from the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg will join us for Adult Forum, worship, and a meal. This conversation provides a strategic opportunity for us to explore our own identity and our relationship to our neighbors.

Oh, and did I mention the devotional guide?

Lent in the Adult Forum

2010-02-15T18:19:00.001-08:00

For the five Sundays of Lent we have a special treat.

Professor Charles H. Melchert will speak on February 21, March 7, and March 21. A lifelong Lutheran, Chuck retired as Dean of the Presbyterian School of Christian Education, served as Executive Secretary of the Association of Professors and Researchers of Religious Education, and taught the introductory doctoral seminar at Lancaster Theological Seminary for many years. He's the author of Wise Teaching: Biblical Wisdom and Educational Ministry (Continuum, 1998).

Professor Melchert's talks are entitled, "The Beginning of Wisdom." We'll reflect on the biblical wisdom traditions and how they may help us understand -- and perhaps redirect -- our lives.

On February 28 and March 14 our own Rev. Robert Kurz, a retired Lutheran pastor, will guide two sessions on "Lenten Spirituality." How does the Lenten story speak to our own spiritual journeys, as well as to our journey together as the people of Trinity?

Comments on this site

2010-01-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

First, please note the entry below, in which Vicar Hetrick provides more information concerning the prayer resources she shared in Adult Forum last Sunday.

Now for the announcement. You no longer need a Google or Blogger account to post comments on this blog.

Vicar Hetrick: Resources for Morning and Evening Prayer

2010-01-16T12:09:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday, Vicar Carolyn Hetrick provided a rich presentation concerning morning and evening prayer. Below are some of the resources she shared with us.

Spiritual disciplines of Morning Prayer and Daily Review (Examen)
For morning prayer:

For All the Saints, a Prayer Book for and By the Church- a four volume set published by American Lutheran Publicity Bureau. This resource contains prayers for various times of the day, and includes the Apostles’ Creed, Small Catechism and some icons. Included are the readings from Scripture as well as from theologians and scholars. It follows a two year reading cycle and includes resources for all seasons of the church year. It is available at http://www.alpb.org. A little pricey it is $130 for the set, but well made.

Evangelical Lutheran Worship- this is the cranberry colored worship resource in our pews in the sanctuary and chapel. Extra copies are available in the church office. In addition to containing the hymns and liturgy, it contains morning, midday and evening and topical prayers. It also contains the three year daily lectionary readings beginning on page 1121. We are currently in year C and the Church year begins with the first Sunday of Advent and ends with Christ the King Sunday. It also contains the small Catechism, creeds, the Lord’s Prayer and the scriptural basis for the elements of our liturgy on p. 1154.

Luther’s Small Catechism- both large and pocket sized copies of the Small catechism are available at www.augsburgfortress.org and in our library.

For daily review:

Luther’s Small Catechism

Celtic Treasure by J. Phillip Newell. This is a book of scripture and prayer which includes illuminations (images) from the Book of Kells. The book highlights themes of creation and justice, wisdom and hope, vision and love. The order calls for lighting a candle to set the environment. A great resource for evening prayer and review but also for table fellowship. Available at www.amazon.com for about $13.60 plus shipping.

www.pray-as-you-go-org. This is the site for daily review which was played in class. The eight minute daily review may be downloaded to your computer or i-pod and can be burned onto a CD for listening. Also available at this site is daily prayer on Mondays through Fridays. These can be downloaded and listened to by the day or by the week and are also able to be recorded onto a CD. This site is run by Jesuit Media in the UK. This site is free, but accepts donations.

January Adult Forum -- Practices of Devotion

2010-01-06T09:12:00.000-08:00

If most Americans make New Year’s resolutions, how many of them involve cultivating their spiritual lives?

This two weeks, our Pastoral Staff will share things they do to provide nourishment for their souls.

Jan 10: Vicar Hetrick on Morning Prayer and Daily Reflection

Jan 17: Pastor Pounder on Spiritual Retreats: Near, Far, and Homemade

Jan 24: Pastor Mentzer on Thoughts Matter: Renouncing Our Mindless Thoughts

On Jan 31 I'll be introducing the Gospel of Luke, our Lectionary Gospel for the year.

Walter Rowen's Health Care Reform Journey

2009-12-09T10:18:00.000-08:00

Holy Trinity member Walter Rowen testified before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee on November 3. His story has been chronicled in a front page article (with picture) in the New York Times.

Walt, a 1975 graduate of the University of Colorado, started his professional career with Susquehanna Glass Co. in the fall of 1975 as the company Sales Manager. However, as the grandson of one of the founders of the company, he had been working in the factory in the summers since he was 15. In 1999, Walt and his wife Kate signed a purchase agreement with Walt’s mother, Nancy Roye thus formally transitioning the company ownership to the third generation of the Roye/Rowen family.

Walt and Kate have 3 children and live in Lancaster, PA. Here's his own account of the experience.

My brush with the Health Insurance Reform issue and Washington all started around the end of September when a good business friend of mine called and asked if I’d mind if he gave my name to a lobbying firm working for small businesses. “The Small Business Majority”. http://www.smallbusinessmajority.com/profiles.php, was actively compiling data and working on several issues relevant to small business issues. They were putting a lot of effort into building profiles on small business owners around the country and asked if I’d send them some information on my company.

One of the major issues this group was focused on at the time was the rising costs of health insurance for small businesses, and since my company was just in the midst of re-negotiating our policy with horrifying increases, I had a compelling and relevant story. Consequently, when a NY Times reporter contacted this group for background information on a story she was writing about small business health insurance, they gave out the names of a few of their business members to be interviewed.

My name was included and I was contacted by the writer, Reed Abelson on Wednesday, October 21^st. The story she was following was whether small businesses were seeing unusually high renewal increases now that a health care reform bill was making it’s way through congress with a fairly good chance of passage. I told her that the renewal for our current plan from our current provider was quoted at a 160% increase. (We later realized and my senate testimony reflects that the increase was only a meager 128%) Most insurance executives when asked were quoting average increases to small businesses in the 10-15% range, but our experience was proving otherwise.

After being interviewed by phone Wednesday, I was called back the next day to confirm a few other details and asked if I would be willing to be photographed for the article. She told me the article was tentatively scheduled to run in that Sunday’s paper, possibly as a front page article. It did run that Sunday, on the front page. You can read her article at;

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/25/business/smallbusiness/25health.html?scp=1&sq=walter%20rowen&st=cse

A funny side note is that a condensed version of the article also appeared that same Sunday on the front page of the Lancaster paper. The photo and the last part of the article with information about our local business was left out.

I was sitting in my office the Monday after the article when I got a phone call from Senator Arlen Specter. He said he had just read the Times article and wanted to know more about our problems trying to secure affordable health insurance. After talking for about 10 minutes, he said he was hoping there might be a Senate hearing looking into why small businesses were being hit with these huge increases, and would I consider coming to Washington to testify? I told him I would and he said he’d be back in touch. Later that week, his aide contacted me with details about a Senate Hearing by the Health, Education, Labor and Pension committee to be held the following week and an invitation to testify. I was told I would have 5 minutes to make a statement before the committee Senators and then would be part of a panel for questions and answers.

On Tuesday, November 3^rd, I went before the committee in the Hart Senate building. The hearing was set to begin at 2:30, so I drove to Washington that day. My wife Kate, my mother Nancy Roye, who is a political/news junkie, and my business partner Chad Yaw all came with me. The panel was made up of me and another small business owner from Iowa, the Insurance Commissioner from Kansas, a woman representing the Insurance Industry, and two economists who specialized in health insurance issues. If you have ever watched CSPAN, you’ve probably seen some Senate Hearings under way and you would know that although the committee might have 20-25 members, the Senators are coming in and out through out the hearing . I did meet Senator Specter when he first came into the room before the hearing started, as well as Senator Bennett of Colorado, Senator Roberts of Kansas and Senator Harkin of Iowa.

The hearing started on time with the Chairman, Senator Tom Harkin of Iowa making some opening remarks. The first thing Senator Harkin said was he received a call from Senator Specter last Sunday about an article he had just read in the NY Times. He said the article was about small businesses experiencing huge health insurance premium increases, and that the article mentioned a business in his state, Susquehanna Glass Co. Senator Specter asked that he consider convening a hearing of his HELP committee to look into this. Senator Harkin was saying that the article I contributed to, and more directly the information I supplied to the reporter for the article was in fact the very reason we were all gathered that day. I was shocked and amazed!

Trinity Member Walter Rowen's Health Care Reform Testimony

2009-12-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

Walt and Kate have 3 children and live in Lancaster, PA. Here's his testimony.

November 3, 2009

Mr. Chairman, distinguished members of this committee, thank you for inviting me to testify before you today on the rising costs of Health Insurance for small businesses.

In 2 months, my company, Susquehanna Glass will be celebrating its 100^th Year in business. For at least the last 30 years, we have been offering health insurance coverage to our full time employees. We employ about 35 people, and 20-24 of them normally participate in the plan.

I own a family business, but I run my business like a family. Many of my employees have worked for me more than 15 years, a few more than 30. In these difficult economic times, I know all of you would agree that small businesses like mine, companies that keep employees for years because we treat them with decency and provide fair benefits, should be encouraged if not rewarded for our policies. Providing health insurance coverage to those employees who want and need it is one of those policies we still believe in and hope to continue.

Unfortunately, over the past several years, securing affordable health insurance has become increasingly difficult. From 2006-2008, we faced premium increases of 22%, 24% and 10%. In order to deal with these huge increases, we constantly shopped for new carriers and changed our policy, primarily by adding a deductible component to the plan and then steadily increasing the deductible amount. When we went to a deductible, the company fully funded an HRA for the employees for the last three years.

However, whatever problems we had in previous years paled in comparison to this year’s problems. Our initial cost increase from our insurer was quoted at 128%. When we shopped around, the best we could find was a policy that increased our premiums by about 43%, but this policy now carries an even higher deductible than last year. The total amount of the increase in premiums alone is a staggering $40,000. We were suddenly faced with a terrible dilemma, how do we divide up the added costs between the company and our employees? We decided the company would absorb all the premium increase, but the tradeoff was we could no longer pay for our employee’s deductibles. We will be paying $22,000 more without paying deductibles than our total spending last year when we paid all deductibles. But the real burden now falls on our employees who will be at risk for a $2,000 individual, $4,000 family deductible. This will potentially put some of our employees, if they need to use their health insurance to any extent, at a financial risk they will not be able to handle!

In talking to our insurance agent, the Broker Report they received from last years carrier indicated the huge premium increase was justified due to changes in three areas;

1. Demographic or Age change. The average age of our enrollee went from 45 to 49 years…11.32%

2. Pricing Trends for our industry…21.09%

3. Assessed Risk of our group…70.29%

Although this doesn’t add up to 128%, these were the risk areas and their relative percentages used to justify the rate increase. When you look at my company as an insurance group, it is abundantly clear that we will always struggle to get fair and affordable health insurance rates unless we can become part of a much larger insurance group.

To me, there are really two separate but interconnected issues involved in “Health Care Reform”.

1.) How do you create a better Health insurance system that will provide affordable coverage to more people?

2.) How can you start to control the spiraling cost of health care to the American population?

I am here today to simply bring to you my personal experience as a small businessman as it relates to the insurance issue. How can we create a better insurance system to spread the risk for individuals and small businesses? To me, creating a large, robust health insurance exchange that crosses state lines is a good first step toward distributing the risk. Requiring all individuals to have some form of health insurance, enacting reasonable tort reform and putting in place some accountability by the consumer when getting health care are also required if a good solution is to be found.

What has disappointed me as a small business owner is how long it has taken for any real work on health insurance reform to take place. As my insurance history shows, we have been living with dramatically rising health insurance costs for the last 4-5 years, which is evidence that the current system is unsustainable. This year’s increases are now proof that the system is absolutely broken and without reform, small business and the foundation upon which our economic system is founded is in real jeopardy. I applaud this committee’s efforts toward finally enacting Health Care Reform.

Again, thank you for allowing me this opportunity to share with you my company’s story.

Walter Rowen

CEO

Susquehanna Glass Co.

From Vicar Hetrick: Trinity Institute

2009-12-06T09:59:00.000-08:00

Does Theology have a Role in Shaping a New Economy?

Trinity Lutheran Church in Lancaster is hosting a webcast of Trinity Institute's 2010 Conference in conjunction with Saint James Episcopal Church to ponder this question. Leading theologians and economists will discuss the relationship between economics and Christian belief and action, with relections by the participants as well. Topics include:

Theology and Economics: Two Different Worlds?

Is Capitalism a Belief System?

What Is Wealth?

What Do We Owe the Future?

Speakers include Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury, Kathryn Tanner, Sir Partha Dasgupta, and Bernard Ntahoturi. More information at www.trinitywallstreet.org/institute.

When: January 28-29, 2010

Time: 9 am to 5 pm each day

Registration cost: $30 inclusive for both days (includes snacks, beverages, and lunch); seminarian discount $15.

To register, call the Trinity Church office at 397-2734 or by email to vicar@trinitylancaster.org.

DEADLINE: January 15, 2010

Kingdom of God series

2009-11-25T17:58:00.001-08:00

Our next three sessions of the Adult Forum will be devoted to an Advent topic, the Kingdom of God. For now, just a couple of thoughts. Israel's Scriptures testify to a tension between a desire for a king and the recognition that king's always fall short of God's standards. What would God's rule look like in the world?

Walter Rowen in the New York Times

2009-11-18T10:47:00.001-08:00

If you'd like to see our own Walt Rowen's piece in the Times, just click here.

Health Care Reform Resources

2009-11-15T12:15:00.000-08:00

Friends, we've been blessed with two weeks of outstanding information on health care reform in the United States. Many thanks to Jo Ann Lawer, Dr. Julie Jones, Dr. Steve Ratcliffe, Dr. John Garofola, and Dr. Gary Seldomridge for their contributions. Here are the resources we shared, both from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

ELCA RESOURCES ON HEALTH CARE REFORM

From the ELCA website, Advocacy section: resources on Health Care Reform:

ELCA Health Care Café Small Group Study Guide

ELCA News Service Report: “ELCA Advocacy Director Speaks to Reporters at Health Care Rally”

“Caring for Our Health: A Shared Endeavor,” from the ELCA Social Statement, August 15, 2003

Lutheran Services in America, “Health Care Reform: Responsibility for All”

ELCA Health Care Sunday Congregational Toolkit

Joint Statement on Health Care Affordability (signed by ELCA)

From the Kaiser Family Foundation: Resource home page for health care reform