Why All the Hoopla?
Moment 1: Skybox
As a youngster my parents offered a pretty loaded Easter basket on Easter morning. Did yours do that? Most years it was candy. A large amount of candy. Easter put it's pagan holiday cousin Halloween to shame in our house. As I got older and older the Easter bunny myths disappeared and the treasures found in Easter baskets became more sophisticated. My older brothers and sisters had almost no candy. Instead they would get one big item like a Body Glove color change t-shirt or Oakley Blades. Eventually my own palate for Easter goodness became more sophisticated. One year I decided to aim for the moon. As an avid basketball card collector I was constantly buying packs of cards. Packs of cards ran one to two dollars and if I had birthday money I might live on the edge and spend an entire $2.50. There was the one kid that my friends and I didn't like. Dan. We thought Dan was spoiled because he'd routinely roll into Augie's Collectibles Trading Card store and drop a cool $30 on an entire box of cards. An entire box full of about 20 packs of cards!
I envied that entire-box-of-cards-purchasing-experience so I decided to ask my dad. Dad, because my chances with him these sorts of these things were always better. I had one picked out. Skybox. They seemed high end and the colors! Oh, the colors in the background. It was the best of the 80's and 90's combined.
I had a problem though. My dad was a terrible shopper. Though I was making a direct request this was supposed to be a surprise. I couldn't go with my dad to get the cards. To make matters worse, a box of Skybox basketball cards was only available in Rhinelander, a metropolis just 18 minutes to the northeast that had their own Wal-Mart (a novel treasure in northern WI back in '92). Wal-Mart! Do you know how many things exist in a Wal-Mart store? My dad was terrible with these sorts of details, I was sure he was going to get the wrong thing. So I walked him through exactly how to find the cards over and over and over. I even called ahead to make sure they hand't been moved since the last time I was there. I desperately wanted to get those cards. During my 407th time explaining to my dad where the cards were, he, the most docile and laid back person I know, lost it. I can't remember, but cards might have even been modified by "damn." As in I'll get you your "damn" cards.
I was floored. I had never seen my dad do that, much less to me. But that experience was a good one. It sent me on introspective journey in which I began to realize that I hadn't even given Easter any real thought. I had fallen prey to the War on Christmas's primary concern. I really had forgotten that Jesus was the reason for the season.
Moment 2: March/April 2014
The Carney life has been filled with a series of no small events. We sold our house and moved into an apartment, where we welcomed home our fourth child and where we have also hosted a smorgasbord of family (all here to celebrate baby Wendell). To make matters more interesting I've found myself among one of the busiest Springs at UBC since I can remember.
As an enneagram three I live in the deep irony that though I exist at the center of what is called the heart triad, and can be extremely intuitive in detecting what others are experiencing and feeling, I often cannot connect with how I feel. When stoicism is needed it can be a gift. When life circumstances intimacy and emotive response it can be a curse.
Lindsay and I put a contract on a new house this week. Objectively ... rationally I'm so excited. But as was the case with my new born son, I feel like with all that's going on I haven't really had the time to connect with what has happened and in some way I'm missing out on these moment's celebrations.
It has been 22 years since I got that box of Skybox basketball cards, but my circumstances seem to similar. I've found that almost everything is begging me to ignore that Easter is a week away.
Moment 3: Holy Week
After I finished my introspective journey inaugurated by my dad's rebuke, I decided to begin my Easter morning by reading the gospel of accounts of the resurrection. I wasn't sure what church was going to hold, but I felt like I owed it to Jesus. That was what I was offering back to God for this gift He'd given me. Five minutes of my eleven year old time to remember that I live, move and have my being is because of His sacrifice on Friday and His gift on Sunday.
As Baptists or whatever you grew up as many of us didn't know about the church calendar. You may or may not have had a good Friday service, but I suspect that for most of us Easter Sunday was a great Evangelical celebration day surrounded by a few days off of school for good measure.
The church calendar is a gift to us. It orients us. It demands that we push past Skybox basketball cards, new houses, and yes even the arrival of our own children to remember that there is something more precious than all of that. Christ has died, Christ has risen, and Christ in coming again.
I hope you'll join us for our Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday services this week.
Meet the HR Team
Meet Jeff Walter
Family: Husband to Teri (40 years now--lucky me), Father to Erika, Logan and Mason (all grown and living in Austin), father-in-law to Chris, Maddie and Rachel. (I’m counting Rachel because she said “yes” to Mason last weekend), and – drum roll please – Grandfather to Walter, who is – quite possibly – the greatest 7-month old on planet Earth. Vocation/Job/What I do: I take care of the Rec facilities at Baylor, a four-year university here in Waco.
Favorite Movie: Trains, Planes and Automobiles (I like the Planes part best, but Trains and Automobiles are funny too.)
Best Restaurant in Waco: El Cuecero (UBC’s other fellowship hall)
Chapter from the Bible that is meaningful to me: …the one I’m reading at the moment, I hope.
Best Television Show: Live Sports. (and – like all intelligent people – The Good Wife.)
Favorite Holiday: March Madness. (on a side note: I think Scott Drew is a good coach.)
Something you might not know about me: I was raised in Roswell, New Mexico, by aliens. (funny stuff right there)
Hobbies: Baylor Sports, popping popcorn on the stovetop, and trying too hard to be funny.
Holy Week Schedule
Saturday April 12th
UBC and SWCC Present: Epic Easter Egg Hunt
What: An Epic Easter Egg Hunt
When: 11:00 AM
Where: South Waco Community Center (2815 Speight)
Who: both UBC families to participate & everyone else to volunteer. (Last year the SWCC served 400 hundred kids with 4,000 Easter Eggs. This year they are expecting more kids and so they need to prepare 7,000 eggs!!! Please come help make our neighborhood better).
Thursday April 17th
Maundy Thursday Service
6:00 PM
If you have not been to one before, the Maundy Thursday service is a pot luck gathering in which we read scripture and eat while fellowshiping in the Lord. At the conclusion of the service, we will celebrate the Lords supper together. It will be located in the backside.
Friday April 18th
Good Friday Service
Will also be located in the backside. It will start at 6:00. Please enter silently. Service will last about 40 minutes.
Sunday April 20th
He is Risen!!! Come and join us for our normal sunday worship hour as we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus.
Picnic In the Park
This Sunday we are scheduled to make our way to Miss Nelly's Pretty Place in Cameron Park after church. Grab or bring your lunch and join us for some fellowshiping in the Lord. As of right now there is a 50% chance of rain so please be checking this blog, and the twitter feed for an update on Sunday.
Sunday School
This is the last week of spring Sunday School. There will be no Sunday school on Easter. Starting the following week (the first Sunday after Easter). We will be hosting one big 3 week long Easter Sunday School class that will be more participational from a pedagogy perspective. Hope you will join us for that.
Work Is Worship
4-13-14
Coffee Makers: Sarah Joyave & Vince Cooley
Coffee Clean Up:
Greeters: Charlie Shores & Gabbie Pucket
April-June sign ups are now posted. Please consider signing up for our new quarter.
Leadership Team Nominations
- UBC is governed by an executive body which we call the leadership team.
- The leadership team is made up of 7 non-staff members of the UBC community.
- Leadership team terms last 3 years.
- A year term runs from July-June.
- The existing leadership team selects new members as old members rotate off.
- The leadership team meets once a quarter (July, October, January, April) and for any other emergency sessions.
- In the April meeting nominations for new leadership team members will be reviewed and voted upon.
- A new leadership team member’s first meeting is the July meeting.
- There is one spot being vacated this year.
- We are now accepting nominations for leadership team members.
- Nominees can be self-nominated or nominated by someone else in the community.
- Those wishing to nominate themselves or someone else should send nominations to josh@ubcwaco.org.
- We are taking nominations between now and April 20th.
Announcements
- Marriage Ministry Presents: Game Night. Where: UBC. When: 6:00 PM/Saturday April 12th. Who (should I contact)?: Alwilhite@gmail.com. Childcare: Provided.
- Sunday Sermon Text: Matthew 21:1-11 (Palm Sunday)
- John Sunday School:
- Christians in the Headlines: TV Church. Good idea or Bad idea?
- Psalms of Ascent Sunday School: Psalm 132-133
- If you feel like the music is at times too loud, we have earplugs available next to the mints out front.
- If you’d like to purchase a children’s ministry t-shirt for you or your child, please email Emily@ubcwaco.org or find her at church on Sunday. The shirts cost $8.
Do you have an Emergency? Do you Need to talk to a Pastor?
254 366 9779
(please do not send texts to this number)
Leadership Team
If you have a concern or an idea for UBC that you’d like to share with someone that is not on staff, feel free to contact one of our leadership team members.
Chair: Jana Parker jparkerslp@gmail.com
Kristin Dodson kschwebke@prodigy.net
Kaley Eggers kaley.eggers@gmail.com
David Wilhite david_wilhite@baylor.edu
Austin Tiffany Austin_Tiffany@baylor.edu
Byron Roldan Byron_Roldan@baylor.edu
Teri Walter terijan@gmail.com
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
Tom Haines: thomas_haines@baylor.edu
Paul Taft: ptaft@extracobanks.com
Josh McCormick: Josh.McCormick@dwyergroup.com
Chris Kim: chris_kim@alumni.baylor.edu
Tom McCarty: tomjmccarty@gmail.com