Trusting God “Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.” (Mat 15:27b). An anonymous Gentile woman suddenly falls into the light of Jesus' eyes. He speaks to her and heals her daughter. What has she done to catch the eyes of our Savior? It is intriguing to see what Jesus says to this woman who cried for help. He tells her, "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." This kind of metaphor is definitely not something we would expect to hear from our Savior. In fact, Jesus seems to be treating her unfairly on the basis of her racial origin. Since she was a Gentile, she did not deserve to claim Jesus's mercy. In other words, the woman needed to see that, while God is good, He is not good to me. Jesus Christ is the Savior, but He is not my Savior. There is a communion of saints, but I do not belong to it. There is a church community, but I don't feel like I belong to it. When unfairness is imposed upon us in our life or in the name of God, what do we do? In today's story, what does the woman do? In response to Jesus's harsh words, she says, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table." I think she accepted the fact that her label as a Gentile did not fit the definition of the children Jesus cares about. This tormented woman would even dare to just let grace pass her by. The most important thing in her mind, however, is that she knows who she is dealing with. She knows of the Hidden Love, which awaits despite His blunt refusal. Therefore, this woman does not draw back. Her trust surpasses the refusal and unfairness she is confronted with. She goes on to essentially ask him, “Lord, you are right. I do not belong to you, I have no claim to you, and you can even pass by me, but are you able to do that?" Jesus is not. As Luther says, "This woman takes Jesus in His own words." He loves the hungry, thirsty, the spiritually poor, and his mercy is endless, therefore, He will not despise a humble heart. She does what no other could do, that is, entangle the Savior in His own words. She triumphs because she takes the Savior at His word. She is able to catalyze the heart of God and prevail against His own refusal. This is the essence of our Christian faith: trusting God's love and mercy without the need for anything else. Trusting God does not mean we trust Him in our own terms and conditions. Trusting God must be enduring no matter what kind of situation we are in. We must trust God by persevering, in spite of all the afflictions, refusals, difficulties, sorrows, grief, and pain in our lives. Even at the face of death, we must persistently trust God's mercy and love. That is the faith we rely on. Amen. Pastor Jongkil Na In this Issue Page 1 Calendar/Trusting God 2 President’s Message/Music Ministry 3 Prayer Section/Benevolence/Bible Study 4 Synod Assembly 5 Salute to Our Members/Special Events 6 Mother’s Day Poem 7 Father’s Day/Birthday Celebrations 8 Pizza/Ice Cream Social 9 Pentecost/Confirmation 10 Council Report 11-16 News from the Pews/ Trivia Corner 17-20 Serving in Worship 10774 Rhode Island Avenue, Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 937-7646 www.APLChurch.org Calendar Every Wednesday 6:30 pm Bible Study 7:50 pm Choir Practice September 9 th Saturday Korean School Fall Semester begins October 29th Sunday 500th Anniversary of Reformation November Food Drive 5 th Sunday All Saints Sunday Daylight Saving Time ends 26 th Sunday Christ the King Sunday December The Gifts of Hope 3 rd Sunday First Sunday of Advent 10 th Sunday Greening of the Church 9 th Saturday Korean School Fall Semester ends 17 th Sunday Cookie and Chinese Gift Exchange 24 th Sunday Christmas Eve Service at 7:00 pm Volume 22 Fall Issue, 2017
Transcript
Trusting God
“Yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall
from their master’s table.” (Mat 15:27b).
An anonymous Gentile woman
suddenly falls into the light of Jesus' eyes.
He speaks to her and heals her daughter.
What has she done to catch the eyes of our
Savior?
It is intriguing to see what Jesus says
to this woman who cried for help. He tells
her, "It is not fair to take the children's food
and throw it to the dogs." This kind of
metaphor is definitely not something we
would expect to hear from our Savior.
In fact, Jesus seems to be treating
her unfairly on the basis of her racial origin.
Since she was a Gentile, she did not deserve
to claim Jesus's mercy. In other words, the
woman needed to see that, while God is
good, He is not good to me. Jesus Christ is
the Savior, but He is not my Savior. There is
a communion of saints, but I do not belong
to it. There is a church community, but I
don't feel like I belong to it.
When unfairness is imposed upon us
in our life or in the name of God, what do we
do? In today's story, what does the woman
do? In response to Jesus's harsh words, she
says, "Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the
crumbs that fall from their masters' table." I
think she accepted the fact that her label as a
Gentile did not fit the definition of the
children Jesus cares about. This tormented
woman would even dare to just let grace pass
her by.
The most important thing in her
mind, however, is that she knows who she is
dealing with. She knows of the Hidden Love,
which awaits despite His blunt refusal.
Therefore, this woman does not draw back.
Her trust surpasses the refusal and unfairness
she is confronted with. She goes on to
essentially ask him, “Lord, you are right. I
do not belong to you, I have no claim to you,
and you can even pass by me, but are you
able to do that?"
Jesus is not. As Luther says, "This
woman takes Jesus in His own words." He
loves the hungry, thirsty, the spiritually poor,
and his mercy is endless, therefore, He will
not despise a humble heart. She does what
no other could do, that is, entangle the Savior
in His own words. She triumphs because she
takes the Savior at His word. She is able to
catalyze the heart of God and prevail against
His own refusal. This is the essence of our
Christian faith: trusting God's love and
mercy without the need for anything else.
Trusting God does not mean we trust
Him in our own terms and conditions.
Trusting God must be enduring no matter
what kind of situation we are in. We must
trust God by persevering, in spite of all the
afflictions, refusals, difficulties, sorrows,
grief, and pain in our lives. Even at the face
of death, we must persistently trust God's
mercy and love. That is the faith we rely on.
Amen. Pastor Jongkil Na
In this Issue
Page 1 Calendar/Trusting God
2 President’s Message/Music Ministry
3 Prayer Section/Benevolence/Bible Study
4 Synod Assembly
5 Salute to Our Members/Special Events
6 Mother’s Day Poem
7 Father’s Day/Birthday Celebrations
8 Pizza/Ice Cream Social
9 Pentecost/Confirmation
10 Council Report
11-16 News from the Pews/ Trivia Corner
17-20 Serving in Worship
10774 Rhode Island Avenue,
Beltsville, Maryland 20705 (301) 937-7646
www.APLChurch.org
Calendar
Every Wednesday
6:30 pm Bible Study 7:50 pm Choir Practice
September
9th Saturday Korean School Fall Semester begins
October
29th Sunday 500th Anniversary of Reformation
November Food Drive
5th Sunday All Saints Sunday Daylight Saving Time ends
26th Sunday Christ the King Sunday
December
The Gifts of Hope
3rd Sunday First Sunday of Advent
10th Sunday Greening of the Church
9th Saturday Korean School Fall Semester ends
17th Sunday Cookie and Chinese Gift Exchange
24th Sunday Christmas Eve Service at 7:00 pm
Volume 22 Fall Issue, 2017
Page 2
Message from the President
Well, summer will soon come to an end so I hope everyone is getting out and enjoying
it while they can. Some of us are visiting and enjoying time with relatives, having cook outs,
going to beaches, parks and finding many other different ways to enjoy the last month of
summer.
During this summer we had two organists fill in while Laura Kalshoven was away on
vacation. Thank you, Laura, for organizing the substitute organists and showing them our
service setting. Thank you also for providing beautiful music of your own for us, and for
learning how to play the organ as well as the piano. We really appreciate you!
On Monday, August 21, 2017, after 99 years we experienced a total solar eclipse. The
“Great American Eclipse,” as it is frequently called, was visible within a band across the
entire contiguous United States passing from the Pacific to the Atlantic coast, and I was
fortunate enough to acquire those special sun glasses to take a look at it. It was indeed
beautiful!
In closing, I want to thank you all for making this congregation the family that it is.
May God’s blessings be on all of us as we continue our journeys, and may we always strive to
fulfill God’s vision for us. Let us truly rejoice in every day that the Lord has made, and be
ever vigilant to seek ways in which we can show God’s love in the world. Have a great fall!
Annie Gajadhar, Congregational President
Music Ministry
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen.” (Heb.11:1)
Not one of us, could have predicted, six months ago, that we would lose our
beloved friend and cantor, Frank Akers. Life is like that. We are often
sideswiped by unforeseen events. It is precisely at times like this when people of faith bravely
forge onward trusting in “things not seen.” Our congregation is like that!
The Church Council showed tremendous faith in hiring me (a violist!) to play the
piano and lead the choir. It is their confidence and kindness that enabled me to “take the
plunge” and attempt organ playing! Six months ago, I would have NEVER predicted that I
would have done that!
I am so thankful to Steve, Rich, and Donna, who so willingly put their faith in me to
lead the choir. Donna, with such a busy lecturing schedule, is often not in town. Without fail,
Steve and Rich are there to offer their voices to enhance our worship experience. We are so
lucky to have our three choir members, but we would joyfully welcome any new voices to our
choir. Please consider joining!
As we begin our fall schedule, I have great faith that we will continue to offer
beautiful music in our worship service, and I look forward with great anticipation to exciting
new things to come!
Laura Kalshoven, Choir Director/Pianist
Page 3
In Our Prayers: Members: Anna Graeber, Betty Wellborn, Martha McKisson, Ming Yee
Chen, and Laura Kalshoven, Our Friends: Ariana, Azad, Bernadine, Bob, David, Jerry,
In this issue, we want to let you know more about Murzeena Gajadhar, another member of our
wonderful Guyanan (Guyanian?) family, who is married to Jerome. Murzeena and Jerome are
the parents of Marlon and Sherlon, their twin sons, both of whom are married and living
nearby. Marlon, of course, was recently married to Stephanie Boyd.
Murzeena came to this country with the family in 1999 and fortunately, to our benefit, settled
in this area. She graduated from college in Guyana, and was a science teacher there for 23
years before coming here.
Always a "people person", she enjoys getting together regularly with family and friends.
Some close relatives are in Boston, and she enjoys traveling there...and to almost anywhere in
the States, Europe and the Caribbean Islands. Murzeena likes to cook, but just as she was
learning to drive she got sick, so that project has been postponed, maybe cancelled. (Since this
area isn' t the easiest place to learn, I'd say cancelling the idea is the better part of valor!)
She started working at Macy's in management in 2009, but became ill in 2013. With the many
prayers of the congregation, friends and family, she has completely recovered from her illness.
She credits God and her faith for her recovery, but having a potentially fatal illness has made
her faith stronger. She says, "Have faith and believe, and it will happen."...a good lesson for
all of us.
Special Events
Mother’s Day - The women of the church were given pink carnation corsages with baby’s
breath as they entered the sanctuary on Mother’s Day, May 14, 2017. Jason and Lydia
Kalshoven read a special poem written about mothers during the worship service. The tables
in the coffee room were adorned with pink table cloths and pink flowers in small glass vases.
The men of the church prepared a delicious assortment of refreshments to go with coffee:
pancakes, scrambled eggs with spinach, a Bundt cake with icing and strawberries,
cheese filled tea sandwiches, bagels and cream cheese, mini cupcakes, and iced strawberries
like those from Shari’s Berries. It was a very special treat for the ladies of the church.
Annie, Laura, and Pat Donna, Pat, Keisun, Jan, Jean, Jan, Murzeena, Norma, Stephanie, Annie & Anna (from left to right) & Jean (from left to right)
Page 6
Page 7
Father’s Day – On June 18, 2017 we celebrated Father’s Day. Some of the fathers were away
over the Father’s Day weekend this year. Billy Clark went to Florida to visit his daughter.
The Kalshovens were also out of town so Jason and Lydia were not
here to give their usual creative tribute to fathers this year. The men
who were at church received a boutonnière to wear for the day made
by Annie Gajadhar or Keisun Na. Some had yellow carnations and
some had red. Several of the church women prepared tasty refreshments for all to enjoy
during our coffee hour. We had bagels, fruit, brownies, a chicken and macaroni casserole,
some picnic foods, a Korean noodle dish, and more. It was a festive occasion designed to
honor the Fathers in our congregation
Birthday Celebrations - We celebrated the birthdays for some of our members who had
birthdays between April and August when they were present in church on a Sunday near their
birthday. We placed a candle in one of the “sweets” that was served that day for refreshments
and sang “Happy Birthday” to them. Those who were in attendance at church to be honored
included:
Ramesh Das – April 20 Billy Clark – May 12 Anna Graeber – June 13
Rich Moore – July 15 Nathan Na – July 18 Laura Kalshoven – August 13
Page 8
End of Summer Pizza & Ice Cream Social: On August 27, 2017 following the worship
service, we held our annual pizza and ice cream
social. Members brought in ice cream and toppings,
and Jan Kalshoven brought his snow cone maker and
some special homemade syrup for the cones. We had
a good attendance and more toppings than we could possibly put on one
Sundae! There was chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, and butterscotch syrup.
There was whipped cream and bananas. There were sprinkles, strawberries
in syrup and nuts in syrup along with pineapple, chocolate chips, chocolate
candy morsels, gum drops and some Korean toppings. Bette Deller made
(Bette’s Banana Split) her traditional banana split with a lot of those toppings as pictured to the left.
It was a delicious lunch, and we all thoroughly enjoyed the change of menu for this special
coffee hour! Jan will bring his snow cone machine again on Sunday, September 10.
Lydia and Jason Kalshoven Nathan Na Pastor and Laura Kalshoven
Chris Ham and Pastor Eugene Lehr Anna, Donna, and Pat
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Pentecost and Confirmation
On June 4, 2017 we celebrated Pentecost by decorating the altar with red carnations. Red is
the color of Pentecost. It symbolizes joy and the fire of the Holy Spirit. Pentecost is a feast
commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers of Jesus
Christ after the resurrection. We also celebrated the confirmation of Jason and Lydia
Kalshoven with a special lunch and a festive cake made by Annie Gajadhar for the occasion.
The confirmands were presented with gifts from the church.
Our Altar Adorned for Pentecost Blessing with Laying on of Hands Lydia & Jason
Jason & Lydia with Their Parents, Jan & Laura Kalshoven Special Cake for Confirmation
Page 10
COUNCIL REPORT
May – Pastor Na gave thanks to the publishing committee for
preparing the spring newsletter and to Anna Graeber, Bette Deller,
and Jean Opeka for editing it. He also thanked Anna Graeber, Jean
Opeka, and Pat Thornberg for their work on the call committee for
creating a job description and salary offering for the Choir Director
and Pianist position and for approaching Laura Kalshoven with an
offer for the Job.
He thanked Annie Gajadhar for coordinating the refreshments for Mother’s Day, and
announced that Gene Lehr and Anna Graeber will accompany him to the Synod meeting in
Virginia on June 16-17. He also announced that Bible Study would end for the summer on
May 31st and that the Korean school would begin its summer break on the second Saturday in
June. The purchase of a new printer was reported, and plans were made for Jason and Lydia’s
confirmation on June 4th.
The council voted on a title for Pastor Frank’s painting. It will be called “God’s Beautiful
Star-Filled Heavens.” The Call Committee for Frank Aker’s replacement reported that Laura
Kalshoven accepted the offer to become our salaried choir director/pianist. The council voted
to delay our annual church picnic until the fall when the weather is cooler and people will be
back from vacations. Annie Gajadhar said she would ask the women of the church to provide
some special refreshments for Father’s Day on June 18th. Pastor Na asked that we consider
ways to involve new people to serve in some of the jobs so that more people participate.
June – Pastor Na thanked Billy Clark for assisting with the confirmation ceremony on June
4th and thanked Annie Gajadhar for the beautiful cake she baked for the occasion. He also
thanked the fellowship committee for the table decorations in the coffee room for Pentecost,
Bette Deller for handling the orders for red geraniums to be placed around the altar, and Gene
Lehr and Anna Graeber for accompanying him to the Synod meeting in Virginia on June
16-17.
Since we currently only have 3 acolytes, the council decided to recruit new ones by asking for
volunteers in the church bulletin and training council members as back-ups. The council
discussed the recent lack of care regarding the condo grass and landscaping. Bette Deller will
bring this up at the next condo association meeting.
July, August – The council took a summer break and held no council meetings in the months
of July and August.
Bette Deller, Council Secretary
Page 11
NEWS FROM THE PEWS
- Ramesh & Joyce Das are the proud grandparents of their second grandchild, Elijah Watson, 2nd child of Nevena and Bradley Watson, born on August 12th at 1:51am. He weighed 7 lbs 3 ozs, and was 20 inches long. Both mother and baby are doing well. Noah, his big brother, is very happy to see his younger brother.
- Nathan Mertens Hopper wed Vanessa Kong On June 25, 2017, Donna Mertens celebrated the wedding of her son, Nathan Mertens Hopper to Vanessa Kong at Maritime Park, in Liberty State Park, Jersey City, New Jersey. The wedding was attended by about 250 guests. And about 85 of the guests were from Donna’s extended family, which had traveled from all parts of the United States to attend the wedding. Donna’s other son, Jeffrey Mertens Hopper served as the best man at the wedding.
- On the weekend of August 12, Jean and Matt Opeka traveled to Orlando for the celebration of Jean's sister's 85th birthday. Joyce (Jeans' only sibling) had rented a house for guests at the party and a wonderful time was had by all. A buffet and theater show began the weekend's festivities, followed the next day by cake and ice cream. It was a memorable event for all, even when the discussions got around to politics and religion. Sanity prevailed even though diversity was the order of the day, and everyone left in good spirits!
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- Ming Yee Chen is not doing well. Please keep her in your prayers during this trying time. - Anna Graeber had a three-week visit with her sister and family near Wurzburg, Germany. This included attending her niece’s July 1 wedding near the city of Weimar. Anna and her sister, Martha, also took a 3-day trip to London where they enjoyed two shows (The Ferryman, An American in Paris) and a trip to the fantastic Kew Gardens. - Donna Mertens’ travel to Japan August 2017 Donna Mertens was invited to Japan to lecture at two universities: at the Department of International Communication, Aoyama
Dinner at the Hot Springs Visiting Askusa Shrine in Tokyo
Gakuin University in Tokyo and the Ritsumeikan University in Osaka. The topic of both lectures was how to use mixed methods to research issues related to human rights and social justice. Of particular interest to the Japanese is research that might result in a shift of cultural perspective on the role of men and women in marriage. Traditionally, Japanese men have not helped with child care, house work, or elder care. Japanese women are now delaying marriage and remaining childless in higher numbers than ever before. The birthrate has dropped, resulting in the need to import foreign workers who experience discrimination in the workplace. Hence, the Japanese are looking for interventions that will result in more egalitarian relationships in marriage in order to support families who wish to have children. My hosts also insured that I saw some sights in Japan and enjoyed some of their delicious food, singing karaoke, and soaking in hot springs.
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- This summer, Julia Kalshoven traveled around the world for training with the United States Naval Academy. She began her summer with an LREC, “Language Proficiency,
Regional Expertise, Cultural Awareness,” training studying Arabic at the University of Haifa in Israel. After a two-week intensive crash course in basic Arabic at the Naval Julia (Second from Right) and Others in Israel Academy, Julia traveled with about a dozen other midshipmen to take classes in language and culture, and to tour the country of Israel. The group studied and traversed everything from the Dead Sea to the Golan Heights. She found it especially fascinating to witness first hand some of the political and religious tensions in the country, and enjoyed taking advantage of opportunities to hear the perspectives of various individuals. Julia had hardly spent a week back in America before she turned back around to fly out to
Singapore. She spent some time there before going underway for two weeks on the USS Stethem, DDG63, in the South China Sea. While on board the Stethem, Julia shadowed different members of the crew to learn more about the tasks and operations aboard a US Navy ship. She finished the cruise in Japan, where she
spent a couple days visiting Kamakura, Yokohama, and Tokyo before boarding a plane to return to the US. In one summer, Julia found herself floating in the Dead Sea, snorkeling in the Red Sea,
collecting rocks in the Sea of Galilee, avoiding jellyfish in the Mediterranean Sea, soaking in the South China Sea, and showering under a waterfall in the middle of an Israeli desert. She learned to shoot a variety of weapons, walked the
gardens of the Japanese Imperial Palace in Tokyo and the Baha’i gardens in Haifa, spoke with UN guards and officers from allied forces, steered at the helm and called commands for the Destroyer, and enjoyed everything from falafel to sushi.
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- Bette Deller spent Mother’s Day on May 14, 2017 with her son and his family having lunch at Lewnes Steakhouse in Annapolis and then opening presents back at Bette’s house.
She spent the Fourth of July with her sister, Joan, having their annual cookout at a local burger joint. They dressed for the occasion and took a few photos in Joan’s yard. Bette also sent her grandkids Fourth of July shirts again this year and her daughter-in-law sent her a picture of Mitchell and Brooke wearing them.
- Pat Thornberg: It’s a great delight to be a grandparent and to enjoy every moment possible! It’s been a great summer. We have had several cook outs with family and friends. It’s so great to be able to do this again. We were able to get playground equipment for the grandchildren to use. The kids have had so much fun this summer. My daughter, Angela, came to the east coast this summer with all the
family, her husband, and all three children. They spent a few days at Lake Gaston, where she grew up, camping and doing all types water sports. They learned to water ski and drive jet skis and met family they never knew. They visited their 95 year-old great grandmother who lives on a large farm. This was the first time the children saw tobacco, cotton, and peanuts growing in fields. They were introduced to southern cooking for the first time. Biscuits and sausage gravy
was a big hit. We went to King’s Dominion and spent the day. My nephew took us on tour. Steven runs the Halloween Park in the fall and showed us all the new features coming up this fall. It’s a must to see if you have not been there, especially at night. Then we left on Sunday and came home. We had planned to stop and see the sights in DC, but it was 95 degrees that day, so we just rode through and saw the sights. We did stop at National Harbor. Of course, we had to ride Ferris wheel and have dinner. The next day most of the family came over to enjoy a cook out, and all the grandchildren were together having fun. This is the first time that all the grandchildren were together.
Page 15
- Ryland Family celebrate their father’s 84 birthday: Ken Ryland celebrated his 84 birthday on August 14th. Most of the children were there. His great grandson, Troy, from Florida was there to help him celebrate, too. Not only did we celebrate Ken’s birthday, but we celebrated that Kathleen, Kenny’s wife, who has had a hard battle with cancer is doing well today. His granddaughter, Samantha,
was not able to be there, but she came later in the week. We also celebrated that Samantha is recuperating well, but is still fighting leukemia. She is home and taking care of herself. She still makes visits to the hospital in Richmond and the reports are good. She has had a huge weight loss, and we hope that she will be able to maintain her weight. We ask for your prayers for both Kathleen and Samantha. They are doing well, but are not out of the woods yet. We all appreciate your prayers. - Road Trip – The Beltsville Young at Heart Club of Beltsville offered a bus trip to
Pennsylvania’s Sight & Sound Theater on Thursday, July 13th to see a live production of “Jonah.” The trip included the bus transportation up and back, a buffet lunch, and the seats for the show. The Sight & Sound Theater puts on spectacular productions of Bible stories. The story of Jonah sprang to life on stage in jaw-dropping scale by an exceptional cast, spectacular
special effects and live animals – on stage and in the aisles.
Annie, Bette, Pastor Na, & Pat Annie, Pat, and Bette Bette’s Friends Four of us from church took the trip. Annie Gajadhar, Bette Deller, Pat Thornberg and Pastor Na met at Bette’s house at 9:30 am and rode together to the Beltsville Rec Center on Sellman Road to board the bus. We enjoyed a very nice afternoon of entertainment with a huge cast of great singers, dancers, and actors and some donkeys, goats, horses, and birds which frequented the stage. The special effects, stage scenery and costuming were great and the story was engaging. We had lunch before the show at a posh restaurant about a half hour’s ride from the theater, and on the trip back home we enjoyed watching and laughing at the movie entitled “Mrs. Doubtfire.” It was a bit risqué, but you could not help laughing at Robin Williams and his antics. A retired teacher friend of Bette’s joined us on the trip and brought a friend of her own along. The six of us had a really nice time and arrived back in Beltsville at about 8:15. The next production entitled “Jesus” begins on March 18, 2018. Maybe more of you can go along next year.
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Trivia Corner
On May 1, 1931, the Empire State Building was officially opened. It is a 102-story skyscraper located on Fifth Avenue in Midtown, Manhattan, New York City. It stood as the world’s tallest building for nearly 40 years, from its completion in early 1931 until the topping out of the original World Trade Center’s North Tower in late 1970. The Empire State Building is currently the fifth tallest skyscraper in the U.S and the 35th tallest in the world.
June is iced tea month. The oldest printed recipes for iced tea date back to the 1870s. Iced tea started to appear in the USA during the 1860s. Seen as a novelty at first, during the 1870s it became quite widespread. Not only did recipes appear in print, but iced tea was offered on hotel menus, and was on sale at railroad stations.
Its popularity rapidly increased after Richard Blechynden, an American merchant, introduced it at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis.
July is National Parks Month. One nearby National Park is Fort McHenry in Baltimore, where Francis Scott Key wrote our National Anthem, the Star Spangled Banner, on September 14, 1814. A National Park in Prince George’s county is one of our favorites: Greenbelt Park. It has picnic areas, nature paths for horses and hiking, and campgrounds. Another
National Park in Prince George’s County is Fort Washington National Park. It is one of the few remaining seacoast forts in its original design. Fort Washington was first built in 1809, but was destroyed on August 27, 1814, to prevent it from falling to the British during the War of 1812. The Fort was rebuilt and served as an active military installation until 1939 and from 1942 to 1946, when it transferred to the U.S. Department of the Interior. Today, Fort Washington National Park offers fishing, picnic grounds, historic lectures, and reenactments.
August is National Peach Month! Be sure to eat some of those sweet, juicy fruits before summer is over! Believe it or not, peaches are part of the rose family! And while Georgia may be known as the Peach State, the most peaches are actually grown in California (producing about half of the US crop).
