This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Epiphany, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Mystery by ubcmusic (adapted from Charlie Hall)
SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band
Where God Has Always Been by ubcmusic
Anthem by Leonard Cohen
Eternal Anchor by ubcmusic
This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies. If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
we have gathered to worship the Eternal One
the one who entered in humility our weakness,
who both created and restored human dignity
to enter the story of God
with our songs, our prayers, and our listening
that the Spirit might form our hearts and minds
in the way of Christ
that we might relate to God,
our neighbor,
and our enemy,
in the way of Christ
Amen
Jeremiah 31:7-14
Thus says the Lord:
Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
"Save, O Lord, your people,
the remnant of Israel."
See, I am going to bring them from the land of the north,
and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth,
among them the blind and the lame, those with child and
those in labor, together;
a great company, they shall return here.
With weeping they shall come,
and with consolations I will lead them back,
I will let them walk by brooks of water,
in a straight path in which they shall not stumble;
for I have become a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn.
Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the coastlands far away;
say, "He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd a flock."
For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,|
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord,
over the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and over the young of the flock and the herd;
their life shall become like a watered garden,
and they shall never languish again.
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow.
I will give the priests their fill of fatness,
and my people shall be satisfied with my bounty,
says the Lord.
Ephesians 1:3-14
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love.
He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.
In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us.
With all wisdom and insight he has made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he set forth in Christ, as a plan for the fullness of time, to gather up all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.
In Christ we have also obtained an inheritance, having been destined according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to his counsel and will, so that we, who were the first to set our hope on Christ, might live for the praise of his glory.
In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in him, were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit; this is the pledge of our inheritance toward redemption as God’s own people, to the praise of his glory.
Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
After the wise men had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him."
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, "Out of Egypt I have called my son."
When Herod died, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who were seeking the child's life are dead."
Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.
And after being warned in a dream, he went away to the district of Galilee. There he made his home in a town called Nazareth, so that what had been spoken through the prophets might be fulfilled, "He will be called a Nazorean."
This week’s prayer was from Howard Thurman (adjusted for plural language):
Grant that we may pass through
the coming year with faithful hearts.
There will be much to test us and
make weak our strength before the year ends.
In our confusion we shall often say the word that is not true and do the thing of which we are ashamed.
There will be errors in the mind
and great inaccuracies of judgment…
In seeking the light,
we shall again and again find ourselves
walking in the darkness.
We shall mistake our light for Your light
and we shall drink from the responsibility of the choice we make.
Nevertheless, grant that we may pass through the coming year with faithful hearts.
May we never give the approval of our heart to error, to falseness, to vanity, to sin.
Though our days be marked
with failures, stumblings, fallings,
let our spirits be free
so that You may take them
and redeem our moments
in all the ways our needs reveal.
Give us the quiet assurance
of Your Love and Presence.
Grant that we may pass through
the coming year with faithful hearts.
This past Sunday was the second Sunday of Christmastide, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Amazing Grace by Citizens
Rise Up by Bifrost Arts
Eternal Anchor by ubcmusic
Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light
After the Dust Clears by Jameson McGregor
Noise by Jameson McGregor
I’m 38 years old. I graduated from high school almost 20 years ago. The end of 2019 is almost here and there is heightened sense of marking the moment because we are switching decades.
My dad died on my 35th birthday. He was almost 70. His dad died around 70. After my dad died, I wondered if my life was half over. Since that moment I have been determined to pay extra close attention to time. To seize moments. That was 3.5 years. While I have reminded myself more frequently that this is all going fast, it has slowed down my experience of time.
I wondered why this is so I started doing research. One of the more significant ideas I stumbled across was the theory of Paul Janet that he put forth in 1897 at the age of 21. Janet reasoned that every additional year we live is a smaller fraction of the total of our lives. Year 0-1 is 100% of our life. Year 1-2 is 50% of our life. Year 2-3 is 33% of our life … year 99-100 is 1.01% of your life. I’m 38 working towards 39 (checks interactive graph). On July 23rd 2020 I’ll have added another 2.63% of my life. This is why the years are so long when we are kids and so short when we get older. According to this theory, waiting 24 days for Christmas for a five year old is experientially the same as waiting an entire year for a person who is 76.
One of the conundrums about understanding our experience of time is that time is subjective, both as an experience and as a concept. On the one hand we can say that time is one of the four dimensions of space-time, but on the other hand time is nothing. It is made up. It is language applied to a perception. David Eagleman, a neuroscientist who studies time perception, calls time a “rubbery thing” that changes based on mental engagement.
So what can we do? Anything? Yes and no. Part of the truth is that our brains treat the world differently as we age. Here’s an extensive quote from a qz.com article written by John Mancini on Physics and Time:
“Time is happening in the mind’s eye. It is related to the number of mental images the brain encounters and organizes and the state of our brains as we age. When we get older, the rate at which changes in mental images are perceived decreases because of several transforming physical features, including vision, brain complexity, and later in life, degradation of the pathways that transmit information. And this shift in image processing leads to the sense of time speeding up.”
Or there is this bit from 2011 New Yorker profile on Eagleman
“The more detailed the memory, the longer the moment seems to last. 'This explains why we think that time speeds up when we grow older,' Eagleman said -- why childhood summers seem to go on forever, while old age slips by while we’re dozing. The more familiar the world becomes, the less information your brain writes down, and the more quickly time seems to pass.
Now I’m going to complicate the theories of the neuroscientist with my unqualified and uneducated pastor-enneagram opinion. It would seem then, that part of the strategy for combating the perceived pace of time would be to pay attention, or as conventional wisdom would suggest, be present. The enneagram subdivides the nine numbers into three categories to describe something called stance. One of the characteristics that each of the three triad’s posses is a particular relationship to time. I happen to be future oriented. This only exacerbates the problem I’ve been describing. Because I’ve been wrestling with this in therapy, I’ve been working on becoming present.
But I have also discovered this through the enneagram: each orientation to time has its own problems. Taylor is a 2. 2s are in the dependent stance - and that makes them present oriented. So I asked her what’s the drawback to being present. She said that it’s difficult to come up with big ideas and easy to get bogged down or overwhelmed. That makes sense to me when I think about it. We could find something to critique about those with past time orientations as well.
Here is my thesis then. If you want a quality life - if you want time to drip with meaning so you notice it’s occurrence - then you can’t just be present, you must also be grateful. So this is my new years resolution. I want to be grateful. See you in 2020.
UBC’s Christmas Eve service will begin at 5:30 P.M. Worshipers can expect to sing of their favorite carols and witness a pageant that is nothing short of magnificent.
Our impromptu Christmas pageant extravaganza will take place on the evening of December 24th. In order for this to be successful we will need a schmorgesborrg of children to participate. Someone to play Jesus, Mary, the angel, the Christmas lobster, etc. If you will be in attendance that evening have a willing participating child, please email taylor@ubcwaco.org so she can assemble her all star cast.
will be closed between the week of Christmas and New Years. However, we will have church on the 29th.
The last edition of the ITLOTC in 2019 will be published today. ITLOTC will be off the weeks of 12-24, 12-31, and 1-7. A new edition of ITLOTC will be published next year, in a new decade, on 1-14-20. We look forward to being re:united with our faithful readers at that point.
The youth did not provide a word of the week this week.
Dilan Braddock. Best youth pastor on this side of the Mississippi (tied with Hannah) serves his last youth group session Wednesday night (12-18). Silly Dilly, in our hearts forever.
Sermon Text: Matthew 1:18-25
Greeters: Richardson
Coffee Makers: Jessica Washington
Mug Cleaners: Sarah Cooley
Money Counter: JD Newman
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
One of the lectionary texts for this week is Mary’s Magnificat. Found in the gospel of Luke the Magnificat is also known as the song or canticle of Mary. When Mary goes to visit the home of Elizabeth (her cousin) and Zechariah. When she greeted Elizabeth – who was pregnant with John the Baptist at the time – Elizabeth immediately proclaims a blessing over her, saying, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord.”
And then Mary launches into the Magnificat, saying:
“My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.
Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed;
for the Mighty One has done great things for me,
and holy is his name.
His mercy is for those who fear him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with his arm;
he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,
and lifted up the lowly;
he has filled the hungry with good things,
and sent the rich away empty.
He has helped his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy,
according to the promise he made to our ancestors,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.”
I wrote some about Mary and the Magnificat last year in the blog. And about how I’m beginning to understand Mary as a guide for me on this leg of my spiritual journey. Lots of people have opinions about Mary – and lots of people have had opinions about Mary since the beginning of Christianity essentially.
One of my favorite things I learned about Mary in seminary is that at the Council of Ephesus in AD 431 they determined that Mary was henceforth to be understood as “Theotokos” or the bearer of God. There had been some people claiming that Mary had only been “Christokos” the bearer of the incarnated Christ. So, ultimately, they were saying that Mary had carried and given birth to the human part of Jesus, but not the divine part of Jesus. It was decided that this was heresy because it divided the divinity and humanity of Christ in a way that the Church did not affirm – Christ was fully God and fully human at all times. So – Mary must have been Theotokos – the bearer of God. What a title.
And it makes me thankful that our God is a God who chooses to let humanity be involved. A God who chose a human woman to be the bearer of God – to bring both the humanity and divinity of God into the world.
You can let me know if you have any questions or if you’d like to talk about any of this by shooting me an email at taylor@ubcwaco.org.
UBC is looking for a social media intern. Someone to help Digital manage and promote the happenings of UBC. This is not a paid position, but it does pay in resume building and access to a really great bunch of people (AKA the UBC staff). The expectation is that this person would work 3-5 hours a week, presumably, from wherever, because the digital world exists online. Interested persons can request the job description by emailing josh@ubcwaco.org.
The last edition of the ITLOTC in 2019 will be published on December 17th. ITLOTC will be off the weeks of 12-24, 12-31, and 1-7. A new edition of ITLOTC will be published next year, in a new decade, on 1-14-20. We look forward to being re:united with our faithful readers at that point.
We’re having a Christmas Party for “young” “professionals” on December 14th at 6pm. Sign up by emailing jamie@ubcwaco.org for more the details!
Yes, it is in fact Tuesday December, 10, but I thought that reading this in an email might remind you that study hall his happening RIGHT NOW! This a real time announcement baked right into the newsletter. Almost like a tweet. How’s that for a wild happening.
The youth word of the week was “geyser.” I did use the word geyser when describing the anger that erupted in me as the lady took my parking spot at HEB.
Sermon Text:
Last youth group meetings/Christmas Party 12/15 & 12/18
Christmas Eve Service December 24th, 5:30 PM
Greeters: Richardsons
Coffee Makers: Clark and Co.
Mug Cleaners: Nelson
Money Counter: George Thornton
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This past Sunday was the second Sunday of Advent, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Like It Was Then by ubcmusic
Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic
Peace (Change Everything) by ubcmusic
A Branch Shall Come by Jameson McGregor
It’s that time of year when church calendar nerds fight about the appropriate time and ways to celebrate Christmas. One might even accuse me of taking up this theme last week in my sermon on hope/waiting/gothic children/noah’s ark/apocalyptic readings. The truth is, I talk a big game on Sundays, but secretly start consuming all things Christmas in the middle of October. Shhh … don't tell the Anglicans or Jamie. In the spirit of waiting with tempered hope, joy, peace and love, I’d like to share with you my 4 favorite Christmas presents from my childhood? Because I think you care? No. Because nostalgia is powerful and I love googling things from my childhood? Yes.
4. Sega Genesis
Because creative desctruction is necessary for tech companies to survive, monsters like Nintendo, Sony Play Stations, and Xbox have made constant upgrades part of our American lifestyle. Joke is on them. I sit here typing at my desk next to an original NES. Still, I did fall prey once, and only once, to lie that my NES was not enough. I begged my parents for a Sega genesis. Mario sits on the throne of video game genius as the best thing that happened Xennials. Still Sonic the Hedgehod, the fearless warrior who set bunnies free and ran roller coaster courses with the ease of Usain Bolt, came in a close second. Sonic even got a movie this last year. So somewhere around the age of 12-13 I was gifted a Sega Gensis, and this 16 bit piece of artificial intelligence changed my life with it’s breathtaking graphics and sophistic game theories.
3. Super Mario Brothers 2
Since I often talk about growing up on a picturesque 3 acres on a lake in Northern, WI, let me continue with the video game theme. Prior to my Sega, I basked in the glory of Nintendo. I cut my teeth on games like Super Mario Brothers 1, Mike Tyson’s Punchout and Ice Hockey. Then after having been originally rolled out in Japan as Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, Super Mario Brothers 2 came to the states with a different look and new lead characters Mario and Luigi. I had to have it. That Christmas I opened presents, one after the other, like Ralphie looking for a red rider BB gun. I was continually disappointed by the things every 8 year old boy hates more than anything … clothes. Finally the last present was opened. No game. I pulled it together and feigned gratitude to my parents. I was good kid. Then on the eve of Epiphany, 1990, a holiday prior to this moment I had never heard of, my parents dropped another present in front of me after dinner. “An epiphany present,” they said. I unwrapped the paper, my heart now pulled in two directions. Gratefulness for having gotten the unexpected present, and dissapiontment, nay apathy … another Kohl’s box … the kind that could hold a sweater. Then I opened it and saw that there sat Mario, radish in hand, ready to thrash an unsuspecting turtle. I had never been so thankful for the 3 wisemen and now had a much better idea of how Jesus felt getting the frankincense.
2. Larry Johnson Rookie Sensation Basketball Card
every kid has to collect something. Since I wasn’t old enough to play in the NBA at age 12, I decided to do the next best thing, collect basketball cards. It was the first investment I made that I was sure was motivated by sound financial decision making. I read articles about how much an Honus Wagner rookie card was worth or what collectors were paying for Babe Ruth cards. Basically I was investing in what would extinguish my need for an actual retirement plan. Because I had already gotten a Duke starter jacket, I needed something to point out to people that my favorite NBA team was the Charlotte Hornets. They were new and they have amazing colors. Fresh off the near invisible UNLV Running Rebels, Larry Johnson was making waves as Grandmama in commercials and as a power forward in the NBA. What I wanted more than anything was his ‘92 Fleer rookie sensation basketball card. One problem it was $18 at Augie’s Collectables. So asked for it for Christmas and did the thing where, again, it was none of my presents. Then when Christmas seemed to have come to it’s conclusion, my dad asked me to read from a world history book on the shelf. When I opened it, guess what fell out? My LJ card. I arrived.
1. GI Joe Command Center
Every year my family would get a Sears Wish Book. Getting that catalogue was one of the great Carney Christmas traditions. Night after night I would stare at one page of the toy section. It contained the the GI Joe Mobile Command Center. A triple decker wonderland for my army men. It was $44 in the 1980s. I asked for it persistently, but without much real hope. I knew enough about our financial standing to have the proper amount of expectation. As you now know is the dramatic theme in our family, I opened all my presents … none of the the command center. But I knew I wasn’t getting it before then because I had scouted the size of all my presents. None of them could have been the command center. Still I did pretty good that year. Then as we were tossing wrapping paper into the fire place, my dad returned from the garage with a large Fleet Farm bag. He told me to open it. There inside was my command center. That was the moment I saw Clark Griswold’s Christmas star.
We’re having a Christmas Party for “young” “professionals” on December 14th at 6pm. Sign up on Sunday or by emailing jamie@ubcwaco.org for more the details!
It’s that time of year again, and you we have all your study essentials: wi-fi, coffee, snacks galore, and the ultimate pancake experience. UBC will be open from 10am-midnight next Tuesday and Wednesday for you to come study, and years of statistical research shows that studying at UBC improves every test score by at least one letter grade! We will have drinks and snacks throughout both days, and we will have our ultimate pancake experience at 9pm on Tuesday night. If you have any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org #yourbestfinalsnow #jesuswouldstudyatubc
UBC is looking to hire a part time (20 hour a week) office manager. The office manager need not be a member of the UBC community. They do need to be able to put up with the current staff and all their eccentricities, so please pray for us as that narrows the field significantly. Application and job description can be found by clicking this link.
The youth did not provide me with a word. I guess they aren’t as committed to the process as I am.
Betsy Bracken for calling an audible and jumping in to care for babies. Bri Childs for cleaning the towels in the kitchen and the clean team for making UBC a better place.
Sermon Text:
UBC YP Christmas Party 12/14
Last youth group meetings/Christmas Party 12/15 & 12/18
Christmas Eve Service December 24th, 5:30 PM
Greeters: Corntassel
Coffee Makers: Michael & Oliver
Mug Cleaners: Oliver & Michael
Money Counter: Carron
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This past Sunday was the first Sunday of Advent, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Hope (There Will Come A Light) by ubcmusic
Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light
Afternoon Sun by Jameson McGregor
There by Jameson McGregor
Greetings.
Many of you have offered kind words about Ubcmusic, Vol. 2, and I want to say thanks for those.
I have had the privilege of being Ubc’s Worship & Arts Pastor for almost 5 years, and I still can’t believe I get to do this job. There are many reasons for that, but one of them is that songwriting is in my job description. Thank you for allowing me to put words and sounds together in an attempt to speak of God and life. Thank you for allowing me to put time and resources toward recording those songs. And thank you, knowingly or not, for joining me in writing and shaping these songs.
Thanks also go to Andy, Colton, and Byron for all the time and creative energy they put into these songs in the studio, in addition to the time they put in to making music on Sundays, as well as the untold hours that Jack Parker spent producing all the songs and recording his contributions. All of these humans are gifts to our community, and I am thankful for them.
Before we released, I encouraged you to spread the word in the event that these songs might be meaningful to people outside of Ubc, and it seems that many of you have done that. In the past two weeks, The Word Is Yet Flesh has been played over 2,000 times, and most of those plays have come from places that aren’t Waco (Waco is our 4th most listening city). I find that exciting, humbling, and all-around strange, and am grateful to have been a part of releasing it.
Anyway, as we all contemplate our gratitude for any number of things this week, I want you to know that I am immensely grateful for this community, and the work that we get to do together.
-Jamie
Name: Emmett Gurley
Birth Weight: 5 lbs 8 oz
Birth Height: 19 inches
Birthday: 11-13-19
Enneagram Number: 2
UBC is looking to hire a part time (20 hour a week) office manager. The office manager need not be a member of the UBC community. They do need to be able to put up with the current staff and all their eccentricities, so please pray for us as that narrows the field significantly. Application and job description can be found by clicking this link.
We’re having a Christmas Party for “young” “professionals” on December 14th at 6pm. Sign up on Sunday or by emailing jamie@ubcwaco.org for more the details!
Champions for the Lord, AKA, you who have willingly taken the opportunity to love a foster child by purchasing a present. You should have received an email form me, josh@ubcwaco.org, last week about presents and other details. By way of reminder I’d like to gently point out the present are due back at UBC no later than December 3rd. Thank you for your help.
The youth did not provide me with a word. I guess they aren’t as committed to the process as I am.
Principal Hermann Periera who was honored last night as Educator of the Year by the African American Chamber of Commerce.
Sermon Text: Matthew 24:36-44; Isaiah 2:1-4
UBC YP Christmas Party 12/14
Last youth group meetings/Christmas Party 12/15 & 12/18
Christmas Eve Service December 24th, 5:30 PM
Greeters: Harris
Coffee Makers: Shanks
Mug Cleaners: Ron Miller
Money Counter: Ballas
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
Social media has changed the world that I began preaching in, into what it is now. More specifically, it has proliferated feel good sermon illustrations. This is hard for a pastor, especially if you want your illustrations to have the quality of being unique. Feel good moments inevitably go viral overnight. For me they are no less feel-goody, but my enneagram 4 wing doesn’t want me illustrating with threadbare moments. Some of them are so good, that I show them anyway. Like the Alabama dad getting football tickets for Christmas or the John Lewis Christmas advert from 2011.
I recently saw a feel good moment that slowed me all the way down. Let me set up the moment. In January of 2015 ESPN personality and sports reporter Stuart Scott passed away. I wrote the following and posted it on facebook.
I take in the world auditorily. Some of you are kinesthetic learners, some of you need to see to believe. I need to hear. Or at least I find that I understand something at the deepest level when I hear it. Voices are and were a big deal to me. “The soul is contained in the human voice,” said Jorge Luis Borges. It’s why I save my dad voicemails. As I indicated in my facebook post, certain voices formed me as a child. They were voices I learned to trust. Though I did not list them, Peter Jennings and Dan Rather were almost as formative as the ones I listed above. So when the power trio of Rather, Brokaw, and Jennings disappeared from network news within a few years, I felt something slipping away.
Alex Trebek is another one of those voices for me. It’s possible that my time to listen to him is coming to an end. In March this year Trebek announced that he had stage four pancreatic cancer. He stated that he would fight it aggressively and he must have because I almost forgot about it until last week when he announced he would begin undergoing chemotherapy again. This announcement came in the middle of Jeopardy's riveting tournament of champions. That evening, during final jeopardy, Dhruv Gaur used his answer to say, “we love you Alex.” You can watch that moment and Alex’s response here.
I’m trying to understand why these moments mean so much to me. I have some guesses. 1. I’m emotionally repressed and so what for a normal person might be Tuesday, an emotional experience that I connect to is something akin to a divine encounter. 2. Trebek runs a tight ship. The place of humor, anger, sadness and even happiness on the show is subtle to non-existent. The show and Trebek are particularly stoic. This moment then, was poignant. 3. Kindness is intoxicating.
I’m going with all three, but leaning into answer number three. Kindness is identified as a fruit of the Spirit by Paul in Galatians 5. It is, in my mind, the active attempt to use a small part of our platform, resources or our very selves to offer a grace to the other. It is one of the tools of discipleship. So i have tasked myself with an act of kindness this week. I’m looking for a moment to use my resources to ascribe worth and value to someone else. I hope you will do the same.
Name: Alexis Grace Thompson
Weight: 6 lbs 9 oz
Height: 19 inch
Birthday: October 29
Enneagram Number: 9
Name: Lorelei Dee Thompson
Weight: 6 lbs 12 oz
Height 19 inches
Birthday: October 19
Enneagram Number: 5
UBC is looking to hire a part time (20 hour a week) office manager. The office manager need not be a member of the UBC community. They do need to be able to put up with the current staff and all their eccentricities, so please pray for us as that narrows the field significantly. Application and job description can be found by clicking this link.
Champions for the Lord, AKA, you who have willingly taken the opportunity to love a foster child by purchasing a present. You should have received an email form me, josh@ubcwaco.org, last week about presents and other details. By way of reminder I’d like to gently point out the present are due back at UBC no later than December 3rd. Thank you for your help.
Our annual Thanksgiving Lovefeast is around the corner. If you would like to volunteer to cook a turkey or ham (UBC will provide the turkey and ham), please contact toph@ubcwaco.org
The word was moose. Taylor did not use the word moose. On thinking through Taylor’s sermon my only thought was maybe she could have snuck it in this way. “The vacuum salesman was aggressive like a moose cornered by wolves on a snowy Canadian cliff.”
Mike Dodson had let jamie/UBC use a 6K microphone to record advent songs. thanks Mike, for being on the finance team, seeing our numbers and still taking the risk of lending us the microphone.
Sermon Text: Luke 23:33-43
Christmas Eve Service December 24th, 5:30 PM
Greeters: Kristi Lee Pereira
Coffee Makers: Berenice
Mug Cleaners: Cooleys
Money Counter: JD Newman
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
Sunday I preached a sermon on idolatry and the modern notion of family … about how God’s vision for family is expansive and not predicated on progeny, but rather on the generous acceptance modeled for us by the gospel. A generosity that the church is called to participate in and embody. I then interviewed my friend Kareem who is single. I asked him what it is like to be single in the church. I asked him what it felt like to be lonely and in what ways he wished he was included.
Then, after the sermon concluded, the sermon in which I both criticized and built up the notion of family, I called us to a time of silence to listen to the voice of the Spirit as we do every week. If you were there, I wondered if you noticed what happened next. I sat down and somewhere to my left a baby cried almost the whole time during the silence. My first instinct was to feel bad for that/those parent(s). I’ve been there. One time when I was flying from San Francisco to Dallas I sat next to a family of three. A couple with a newish baby. The baby cried most of the flight. Not ear piercing crying, but crying nonetheless. They apologized profusely and repeatedly. Every team I tried to match their energy of concern with my energy of acceptance. I haven’t always been a really great person like that, but I have four kids. What the parents didn’t know about my absorbing their crying baby was that I was just so incredibly grateful that it wasn’t my kid because I have been in the circumstance where it was and nothing is worse.
I return from my airplane story thought in the moment of silence/crying baby at UBC and then I had a thought. What if that is the voice of the Spirit speaking in the silence. What if God broke the silence through the baby?
My friend Craig posted this on Facebook. 4 shares, 38 comments and 209 likes. Pretty good for a non-celebrity. It resonated with a lot of people.
My senior year of college I took what turned out to be my favorite college class: The Plot Thickens, Character Development In Life and Literature. In that class I was introduced to Wendell Berry, Stanley Hauerwas, and Flannery O’Connor. Not an insignificant cast of characters. I remember our professor teaching us how to read O’Connor. As sheltered evangelicals, mostly seniors, many of us were emerging from the exoskeleton we had just shed through the molting process of worldview development through higher education. We were suspicious of Catholics, especially southern gothic ones. Our professor pressed us: “Read for the moments of grace,” she coached. I did, and I found them. Sometimes. Years later I reassigned myself, O’connor’s entire volume of short stories during my semester of seminary mentoring. This time I was much better at spotting the moments of grace. O’Connor’s work has been described as grotesque, but if you read it, I think you’ll just find that it is real. And if you read with intention, you’ll find that it’s redeemed.
God comes to us in the most unexpected places. In the grotesque. In the mundane. In the annoying. In the baby cry when there’s supposed to be silence after a sermon on expanding our notion of family.
UBC has recently assembled a marketing team to address internal and external connection barriers. As part of the effort, the UBC marketing team (AKA the righteous gemstones) is sponsoring an instagram photo contest. Here are the rules. UBCers are encouraged to take a photo at UBC that is swanky and hip and then hashtag it with #ubcmyphoto. The winner of this contest will either get Lizzo tickets or a $20 Pinewood gift card.
Our leadership team met on Sunday October 27th and selected the remaining vacant spots for leadership team. Last week and next week we’ll introduce you to them.
Name: Maddie O’Shaughnessy
Why are you in Waco?: Student @ Baylor
TV Show: New Girl
Best Movie: Ferris Bueller's Day Off
Waco Restaurant: Alpha Omega
Bible verse/chapter/book you like: Gospel of Luke
Something we'd never know about you: I love to knit!
Our annual Thanksgiving Lovefeast is around the corner. If you would like to volunteer to cook a turkey or ham (UBC will provide the turkey and ham), please contact toph@ubcwaco.org
We are looking for some volunteers to donate some pies! We need your help for JSL’s annual pie outreach, will you sign-up using link? You can either sign-up as an individual sign up or sign-up with friends. Either way we would so appreciate any help you can provide! We need them by 11/14 and in individual boxes. They can be homemade or store bought! Here is the sign up link: https://jesussaidlove.com/pie-donations
If you have any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org
We are having our last gathering for college students and young adults this semester next Thursday night at 8pm. Come join us as we discuss hospitality and immigration and the call of the church. If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org
The word of the week was “preposterous.” I used the word preposterous when I described the nature of the Sadducees question to Jesus about remarriage in the resurrection.
Rachel Caldwell, for volunteering to help with the youth lock in.
Sermon Text: Luke 21:5-19; Psalm 98 (special guest preacher Taylor Post)
Christmas Eve Service December 24th, 5:30 PM
Greeters: Richardsons
Coffee Makers: Clark and Co.
Mug Cleaners: Kyle & Kristen
Money Counter:
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
Hello all - Taylor here. We have entered the month of November. (It’s hard to believe because August was approximately yesterday, but it’s true.) And I must admit that November has a special place in my heart because I have always loved Thanksgiving.
In her book An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor says, “My life depends on ignoring all touted distinctions between the secular and the sacred, the physical and the spiritual, the body and the soul. What is saving my life now is becoming more fully human, trusting that there is no way to God apart from real life in the real world.” And I love this reminder that we are moved towards God in our real every day lives. So often when I am in reflection or prayer I feel an old temptation to say or think just the right thing. As if saying or thinking the exact right combination of words will make my thoughts some how more holy. But the fact of the matter is that there is no combination of words or actions that I can complete that make me more holy. And the fact of the matter is that God has not asked for the holiest version of me. But God has asked for all of me, just the way that I am, and right now. And God has promised to take care of the rest.
So, this year I have decided to take some time every day in November to think about what I am thankful for in my real every day life and I thought it might be fun to share those things with all of you! Here are the 5 things I have been thankful for so far in November:
1) River by Joni Mitchell
For most of my life people have been telling me about how beautiful Joni Mitchell’s music is but it’s only really recently that I have begun listening to it for myself and this song in particular is so beautiful and haunting and feels particularly seasonally appropriate somehow. And I am always thankful for music that makes me feel something.
2) Ben Platt
I recently watched Ben Platt in The Politician on Netflix and he is just so talented in a million different ways and yet he still seems like he is a nice person. And also The Politician is phenomenal – please go watch it and then let’s go get coffee and talk about it because it is a show that is asking a lot of big questions and I want to talk about it forever.
3) Ruthie! (my dog)
I am always and forever thankful for Ruthie because she is the best girl and I love her so so so much!!
4) Breakfast Tacos
I’ve just really been on a breakfast taco high recently. I tried a new restaurant for some breakfast tacos (Spiciness Mexican Grill – down Valley Mills) and they were delicious!! But honestly – all breakfast tacos are delicious! And I am so thankful for that.
5) UBC
This might seem corny, and I guess it is but it’s also very true. I have been feeling especially thankful for this place and for all of you. On Sunday morning I felt (as John Wesley once did also) that my heart was strangely warmed by being together with all of you. I am thankful for this place and all of the people who call it home. Thanks for being a part of UBC – I am thankful for you.
So those are the things I am thankful for! I would LOVE (and I mean this so sincerely) to hear about the things that you are thankful for! And so if you feel like sharing you can tag me or UBC on social media or email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org and I’d love to hear what you’ve been thankful for in this season!
UBC has recently assembled a marketing team to address internal and external connection barriers. As part of the effort, the UBC marketing team (AKA the righteous gemstones) is sponsoring an instagram photo contest. Here are the rules. UBCers are encouraged to take a photo at UBC that is swanky and hip and then hashtag it with #ubcmyphoto. The winner of this contest will either get Lizzo tickets or a $20 Pinewood gift card.
Our leadership team met on Sunday October 27th and selected the remaining vacant spots for leadership team. This week and next week we’ll introduce you to them.
Name:
Davis Misloski
Why are you in Waco:
I’m in my senior year at Baylor as an Environmental Studies major.
TV Show:
Twin Peaks
Best Movie:
Her
Waco Restaurant:
Alpha Omega
Bible verse/chapter/book you like:
Ecclesiastes
Something we’d never know about you:
I’ve played more than 30 hours of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic since starting college.
We are looking for some volunteers to donate some pies! We need your help for JSL’s annual pie outreach, will you sign-up using link? You can either sign-up as an individual sign up or sign-up with friends. Either way we would so appreciate any help you can provide! We need them by 11/14 and in individual boxes. They can be homemade or store bought! Here is the sign up link: https://jesussaidlove.com/pie-donations
If you have any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org
We are having our last gathering for college students and young adults this semester next Thursday night at 8pm. Come join us as we discuss hospitality and immigration and the call of the church. If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org
The word of the week was “consternation”. I did not successfully use this word. Looking back, I think an ideal place to have located the word would have to describe Zacchaeus’ decision to climb the tree as one of consternation, or full of consternation.
Jamie McGregor for fixing the copy machine and also the bathroom nozzles.
Sermon Text: Luke 20:27-38
Night of Belonging 11-14 6:00 PM
Thanksgiving Love Feast 11-24 6:00 PM
Greeters: Corntassel
Coffee Makers: Davis Family
Mug Cleaners: Ron Miller
Money Counter: Ballas
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This blog is a record of the call to worship, Scripture readings, and prayers from our Sunday liturgies. If you are interested in writing something for the liturgy, or if you have a concern about any aspect of our liturgy, please email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
(contributed by Kerri Fisher)
we come to wrestle with the God who is over all and in all,
expansive and intimate
soother of wave-wild seas and restless hearts.
we come with the hope that though we may be wounded
though our sins may testify against us,
God is in our midst, pouring spirit upon flesh,
we trust, if only for this hour, that God will dwell in this place
and these people,
holding fast young and old, to our dreams and our visions,
believing that we will not leave the same as we arrived.
Amen
Jeremiah 14:7-10, 19-22
Although our iniquities testify against us,
act, O Lord, for your name's sake;
our apostasies indeed are many,
and we have sinned against you.
O hope of Israel,
its savior in time of trouble,
why should you be like a stranger in the land,
like a traveler turning aside for the night?
Why should you be like someone confused,
like a mighty warrior who cannot give help?
Yet you, O Lord, are in the midst of us,
and we are called by your name;
do not forsake us!
Thus says the Lord concerning this people:
Truly they have loved to wander,
they have not restrained their feet;
therefore the Lord does not accept them,
now he will remember their iniquity
and punish their sins.
Have you completely rejected Judah?
Does your heart loathe Zion?
Why have you struck us down
so that there is no healing for us?
We look for peace, but find no good;
for a time of healing, but there is terror instead.
We acknowledge our wickedness, O Lord,
the iniquity of our ancestors,
for we have sinned against you.
Do not spurn us, for your name's sake;
do not dishonor your glorious throne;
remember and do not break your covenant with us.
Can any idols of the nations bring rain?
Or can the heavens give showers?
Is it not you, O Lord our God?
We set our hope on you,
for it is you who do all this.
Luke 18:9-14
Jesus told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and regarded others with contempt: "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, `God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all my income.'
But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even look up to heaven, but was beating his breast and saying, `God, be merciful to me, a sinner!'
I tell you, this man went down to his home justified rather than the other; for all who exalt themselves will be humbled, but all who humble themselves will be exalted."
This week’s prayer was written by Kerri Fisher:
O God, if we have wandered, perhaps it is because we could not find you.
Not amidst the locusts nor the portents,
not in the desolate valley,
nor at the ends of the earth,
not even in our own bodies, brains, or behaviors.
We have looked for peace but found terror instead,
We have sought joy, but tasted bitterness on our lips,
We have coveted and compared and yes, we each have gone our own way,
But perhaps, oh God, our wanderings are our greatest acts of faith,
That if you are here, or there, anywhere or everywhere, then you will come and find us.
Amen
By the end of this week, it’s not going to be October anymore, so brace yourselves for the best month of the year. While I would love to write an entire newsletter about why November is the best month, November doesn’t need me to punch it up, and I probably just like it because it’s my birth month anyway.
So, let’s do this instead:
Friday is All Saints Day, and we are going to be having a liturgy at 5:30. Our All Saints Liturgy is one of my favorite gatherings of our liturgical year. If you didn’t come last year, or have never participated in one of these before, I wanted to take a minute to fill you in on what it is.
Like most notable points on the Liturgical Calendar, All Saints Day invites us to take a moment intentionally practice something that we would like to think we do all the time, but probably don’t.
All Saints Day, as we observe it, is about remembering and re-membering. It’s about remembering those who have died who have reflected Christ to us in their ordinary, or may not so ordinary, lives. In each of our lives, there are people we have encountered who have changed us—the way we think about God, about our neighbor, and about ourselves—for the better.
Perhaps in the most on-the-nose sense, these are people who have shaped our faith through teaching us or challenging us to seek God more fully. Or perhaps more subtly, these are people who have offered us the love of Christ in their care for us, modeling what it looks like to be being-formed in the way of Christ. All Saints Day invites us to remember them and express gratitude to God for the gifts they have been in our lives.
It’s also about inviting us to be aware of people who are currently in our lives who are actively impacting us in the sorts of ways we might otherwise only notice when they are gone. We are invited to take a moment to notice and offer gratitude to God for the gifts of these people in a sort of lateral remembrance.
In all of this remembering, All Saints Day invites us to re-member ourselves to the people who are alongside of us on the Way of Christ, knowing that we are one Body, challenging one another, caring for one another in a reciprocity that both reflects and embodies the presence of the Risen Christ; the Word who became flesh, and is yet flesh.
Hope you can make it. If you have any questions, you can email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Ubcmusic, Vol. 2 is coming 11/15. If you haven’t already, be sure to follow @ubcwacomusic on instagram, twitter, etc. Stay tuned for more details.
It has been requested that I josh reveal what the youth word of the week was and reveal if I used it. this week the word was “fabricated.” I had it in my head to suggested that the Pharisees prayer felt “fabricated,” but failed to include it. Stay tuned…
SEE MAIN ARTICLE
Kyle Howerton & Kristen Ritch for getting married.
Sermon Text: Luke 19:1-10
Night of Belonging 11-14 6:00 PM
Thanksgiving Love Feast 11-24 6:00 PM
Greeters: Harrison
Coffee Makers: NO ONE SO PLEASE VOLUNTEER … (Update David Rehfeld has volunteered, so give him an extra big thank you for your coffee Sunday!)
Mug Cleaners: Sandvall
Money Counter: Carron
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This past Sunday was the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Wideness by ubcmusic
House of God Forever by Jon Foreman
Wandering by Jameson McGregor
Breathe For Me by Jameson McGregor
Where God Has Always Been by Jameson McGregor
I gave an interview this morning for a class project someone was working on. In it, I answered a question that I get asked from time to time. “What do you do to get life/for formation/to stay healthy?”
I have objective answers for this question.
1. a devotional of sorts. Right now it’s David Whyte’s Consolations
2. before I work out I sit in my car in silence 5 minutes, then I read a small section of a formational book. Right that now that’s Richard Rohr’s Immortal Diamond. Then I pray simple prayers for the things I am moved to pray for.
3. Be outside. We are in the middle of the best time of the year in Waco. I recently hung two chairs that I purchased with my birthday money (picture below). Sitting in that chair and reading or making a fire and cooking over it are life giving. This summer I read Wayne Mueller’s book on sabbath and he said that a study was done on healthy people. The number one restorative activity was being outside.
4. Eat with friends. My favorite part of my day is usually a meal with someone I love.
5. Leave work at work. For the most part, I do a good job of not taking work home with me.
6. Working out. If I don’t work out on a day I’m supposed to, I feel the worse for it.
7. Watch TV with my wife from 8:30-10:00. After we get the kids down for bed, my wife and I hang out. This is really important for both of us and we are good at sticking to it.
8. Music. I listen to music that I love while I work.
Most of what I listed might seem obvious to you. These are not novel ways to keep oneself healthy. What I wrote is a compilation of disciplines, boundaries, indulgences and loves.
Now I’m going to tell you a secret that I learned that is fantastic. If you put this into practice (in so far as you have enough control over your life and schedule to do so), it will make your life better.
There’s a Baptist association in Waco. It’s called the Waco Regional Baptist Association. They partner with Truett to host something called Roundtable Discussions (or they did, I’m not sure if they still do it). The discussions are designed to be a brief fellowship time over a meal followed up by a short talk that is informative for pastors. I never go to these kinds of things. Not because they aren’t great, but because I value #4 (see above) more. A few years ago, professor friend of mine invited me to go to one. I don’t know for sure, but I suspect that they (the professors) got some pressure to invite their pastor friends to boost attendance. So to honor my friend, I decided to go. I did not know what the topic would be when I agreed to go. When I got there I discovered that it was “time management.” My first thought was, “the best way to help manage my time would be by not hosting a lunch that my friend was pressured to invite a pastor to on the topic of time management.” But alas, I was there and it was what it was.
The lady doing the presentation did a great job. I was much more enthralled than I planned to be. In fact she gave one piece of advice that I’ve implemented and it has changed my life. She said, “Everyone complains that they don’t have enough time. We all have the same amount of time. Every one of us has 24 hours in a day. You can’t change that. What you can do is control your schedule. You need to fill your day with as many things that give you life as you do that take it.”
Genius! Genius I tell you. So if I have a hard meeting that’s inevitable … what do I do? I make sure to put it on a day when I have my best buddy for lunch on the schedule and a new episode of The Good Place drops. If it’s time to renew the church’s health insurance plan, I make sure that it’s also time to order a new book off of Amazon. If I have to make a phone call I don’t want to, I follow that up with 30 minutes of a Planet Money episode while I grab snickers from the church refrigerator. For five years now, I’ve been a strategic scheduler and it has saved my life.
So my advice is this. Sit down and look at your schedule. What graces can you sneak into it, so that it will help make your day delightful?
Join us for a liturgy of remembering those who have died who have well-reflected the light of Christ in our lives and re-membering ourselves to the living who are embodying the presence of Christ in our lives today. We’ll gather in the Backside at 5:30PM.
Please keep our juniors and seniors in your prayers this weekend as they attend their UBC weekend retreat.
Braxton Ray and Parker Graham for getting married.
Sermon Text: Luke 18:9-14
Greeters: Kristi Pereira
Coffee Makers: Davis
Mug Cleaners: Davis
Money Counter: JD Newman
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.
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position,
Student Position,
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
“Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up.” Exodus 3:2
I told you in a previous newsletter that my wife and I went to the Catskills for our 15th wedding anniversary. We picked it because of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel season two. We flew from Minneapolis to Newark in the wee hours of a cool July morning. We parked downtown and took a trolley to the airport to save money because I am cheap. It was dark, the city was still asleep. No one is available to ask questions. In these moments of traveling ambiguity we like to pretend that we are on the Amazing Race. Soon we are on a jet plane to the east coast. When start descending I strain my neck to look out the window to see if I can find iconic New York landmarks across the river. No dice. We land. I don’t like Newark's airport. No free water. It reminds me of Europe. We aren’t there for two minutes and the fire alarm goes off in the airport. This is exactly what I expect from Newark.
Our car rental place is off campus. Not even close to the real car rental places like Hertz and Avis because we only use the black market car rental places. You know, the ones that are in the old cigarette shops made entirely from cinder block and have one broken plastic chair for you to sit in. Yes that one. I pick this place because I am cheap. It’s extra effort, but it’s worth it. With a mail in rebate, which no one makes the effort to send in aside from Lindsay Carney, we actually make $37 for renting our 1987 Mercury Cougar.
Once on the road we start navigating the kind of traffic that Dante describes in the third circle of hell for the impatient. Everyone appears to be rude, but I know they are not. I’m just from the midwest and they are from the east coast. Anger is their love language. I feign my own frustrations by throwing my hands up occasionally and joining the chorus of honkers so i don't’ seem like a tourist. Eventually we make it outside the city and on our way north to the mountains.
Once in the mountains I’m reminded why central TX topography is hard for me.
Finally we arrive at our resort. The Inn on Lake Joseph. The main lodge is, I think a Victorian something, but without all those saucy colors. A large roof swallows most of the building, so that it seems hidden on top of the hill it sits on. In this way, it feels like something out of the Shire. A big win.
After our bags are unpacked our vacation routine begins. We ask each other what should we do? Neither of us knows. Traveling at the age of 38 is akin to track practice when I was 17. The truth is we want to start our rigid vacation routine of eating, napping and reading, but we are in the Catskills and so feel compelled to go somewhere beautiful and take instagram pictures. Lindsay reads the tourist-things-to-do literature because she has an unrelenting commitment to support the locals. Call it Kathleen Kelly syndrome, she refuses to accept the depersonalized and/or commercialized aspects of 2019. I brace myself for what I imagine will be a choice between milking a cow or the third grade art gallery of a nearby school. She discovers that 1. We are about 15 minutes from Bethel Woods which is the location of the Woodstock festival and 2. that this very evening they are celebrating the 50th anniversary by having a special screening of The Graduate.
I’m mildly excited by this choice. It’s probably more honest to say I’m grateful I'm not participating in some of the other options I'd imagined. We arrive. I’m surprised by how nice the whole thing is. Hippies have ethos and culture, but my personal track record indicates that they are also dirty and unorganized. It’s raining. Our outdoor screening is moved inside this pristine wood lodge looking building where the vendors are selling Mrs. Robinson martinis and popcorn. I buy the popcorn and a Mountain Dew because I’m cheap.
A local film professor from an important small New York college participates in an interview before the movie. She says meaningful things and informs us that Robert Redford was originally supposed to be cast as Ben Braddock. Also, did you know that this was the first movie to use a rock and roll star to do the soundtrack? I’ve never seen The Graduate. We both laugh extensively. Heartily. The thing begins to feel magical. After it’s over we walk downstairs and take in a few artifacts from the woodstock museum. Something is happening to me in the place. I feel closer to the sixties. It has a spirit about it.
Place has this kind of power. I think about Moses and the burning bush. God tells Moses to take off his shoes. One time I heard a podcast, in it the podcaster tells me that some Jewish Rabbis say that the bush was always burning and in the story Moses was finally able to see it. I remember this Liz Barrett Browning quote I saw recently, “Earth’s crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God, But only he who sees takes off his shoes; The rest sit round and pluck blackberries.”
Thinking back to our happenstance night at Woodstock, I’ve decided this. I saw heaven crammed into it. I want to see this way all the time, so I keep practicing.
Join us for a liturgy of remembering those who have died who have well-reflected the light of Christ in our lives and re-membering ourselves to the living who are embodying the presence of Christ in our lives today. We’ll gather in the Backside at 5:30PM.
The Root Room UBC Kids Teacher Training is this Sunday directly after church. We will be getting to know each other, reviewing our policies and procedures, and talking some about classroom management! Hopefully teachers will come away with some practical ideas about how to engage the kids in our Root Rooms in formative ways! We will also make time to exchange phone numbers and let people switch for dates they already know they will not be available to serve. If you cannot make it or if you have not received an email from Taylor about this training please email her at taylor@ubcwaco.org.
If you are a 5-6 student or the parent/family of 5-6 student join us this Friday evening from 6-8 PM for our annual game night! We will pit parents versus students in trivia, hide and seek, and other competitions. Pizza and drinks will be provided by UBC, but we would love if you provided a snack, salad, or dessert. Contact Hannah or Dilan with any questions you might have!
Betsy Bracken, Kristen Davis, and Melody Zuniga for helping with the homecoming breakfast. (and all others who did that as well.
Sermon Text: Luke 18:1-8
Greeters: Richardsons
Coffee Makers: Clarks and Co.
Mug Cleaners: Nelsons
Money Counter: George Thornton
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.
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position,
Student Position,
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This past Sunday was the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
Come Alive by ubcmusic
The Word Is Yet Flesh by ubcmusic
What The Dry Years Took Away by Jameson McGregor
Pulse by ubcmusic
Last week I attended the final meeting of a ministry leadership cohort that I have been participating in for the past year. This was our third time meeting in person – we met at Duke in March and at Truett in May – and we met in Charlottesville, VA this time. The cohort is made up of a group of women (young women some might say – although I am feeling the ways in which “youth” is quickly becoming a word that people do not use to describe me) who are in ministry and non-profit jobs across the USA and Canada. It has been a truly special experience getting to know these women and hear about the important work that they are doing across the continent – and getting to see their passion for sharing the love of God and the message of the Gospel in ways that are unique to their own gifts and passions.
When we met together for the first time on Monday of last week we spent some time catching up with each other – listening to the stories of what we each had experienced since we’d been together last. Talking about the things we had been reflecting on since the last time we were together. Sharing with each other the things we were excited about in our own lives. And during that time my friend Alicia shared with all of us a question that she had been reflecting on lately. She said that she had been thinking a lot about the difference that the Gospel had made in her own life – and how she had been observing that some of the most meaningful moments relationally were moments when she had been able to share the difference that the Gospel had made in her own life.
I was taken by this idea and this question – as was the rest of the group and our leaders – and we spent much of the rest of the week thinking about it and talking about it. It was wonderful to see the way that this question and our reflections on it wove it’s way throughout the rest of the week. And it was beautiful to hear the different ways that people have been personally affected by the Gospel – the ways in which their lives have been changed and the ways in which their understanding of themselves and other people has been changed by understanding the work God has already done and is still doing on their behalf.
As for me, I knew pretty quickly what my answer was. And the more I think about it the more I know it to be true – the power of the Gospel in my life is that it is the only thing that convinces me that I am truly loved. And the power of that understanding and belief is so foundational that I cannot begin to imagine how I would live without it. There is not much in this world that convinces me that I am loved but the work of Christ on my behalf convinces me of that and empowers me to try to share that love with others. Because I believe that I am loved it is incredibly important to me to help other people understand that they are also fully known and fully loved. My whole life is oriented in this direction – because of the power of the Gospel.
And so I am thankful for my friend Alicia, for bringing this question before us. Because I think reflecting on it has been good work for me and will continue to be good work for me in the future. And I’d love to know from you – what has the Gospel meant to your life? How have you been formed by the good work of Jesus Christ?
Please let me know by emailing me taylor@ubcwaco.org, or by thinking and reflecting with your friends and family members and other UBCers. I’d love for all of us to engage in this conversation together.
Grace and Peace -
Taylor
Gentle Reminder, if you signed up to help with the homecoming breakfast, breakfast items are due this Sunday morning. Please have it there by 9:15. Grateful for everyone who is being a champion for the Lord and rising up to help in this way.
also this additional note from toph: Do you love UBC? Do you love free breakfast? Do you love your family? If so, join us this Sunday morning for Homecoming Breakfast. Bring your family to church, and hang out before the service as we eat breakfast together. If you have any questions, email toph@ubcwaco.org
Our annual Fall Retreat for upperclassmen is just around the corner, and you don’t want to miss out. We are headed to a beach house to relax, learn from another, and get to know other college students at UBC. The cost is $40, and this includes everything, a $20 deposit secures your slot. Sign-up this week before or after church in the foyer, or email toph@ubcwaco.org If you have already signed-up, bring your $20 this week.
Advanced Enneagram Workshop
October 13th from 6-9pm and October 14th from 5:30-9pm
Bobo Spiritual Life Center
The Baylor Department of Pastoral Care is excited to announce the visit of renowned Enneagram Teacher and Author Chris Heuertz to the Baylor Campus. On Sunday, October 13 from 6:00-9:00 pm and Monday, October 14 from 5:30-9:00 pm, Chris will be presenting an advanced Enneagram workshop for those who hope to dive deeper into self-awareness regarding their numbers. Snacks will be provided on Sunday, and dinner will be provided on Monday. Please register to attend by clicking here. Contact brianna_childs@baylor.edu if you have any questions!
Jana Parker for coming through like a baller on homecoming breakfast.
Announcements
Sermon Text:
UBC Kids Teacher Training:
Root Rooms - October 20 after church
11-1 All Saints Liturgy @ uBC 5:30
Greeters: Corntassels
Coffee Makers: Jessica W.
Mug Cleaners: Dilan & Jess
Money Counter: Ballas
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.
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position,
Student Position,
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com
This past Sunday was the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost, and our songs were gathered with this in mind. Below, you’ll find the list of the songs and artists. Clicking the song titles will take you to the lyrics. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Songs:
All Creatures of Our God and King
Pulse by ubcmusic
There by Jameson McGregor
Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light
Anthem by Leonard Cohen
Waking Life by Jameson McGregor