GREER’S POST
I laugh at how frequently our Scriptures and themes covered in Youth Group are the same highlighted on a Sunday morning, and Andie’s recent sermons on community were no different. This was supposed to be lesson for last week, when a string of long workdays caught up with my body, rendering me too sick to host Youth Night. But something funny happened. Instead of teaching about community and caring, I found myself at the receiving end of the very concept I was supposed to be teaching in the form of dinner on my doorstep and a visit from one of the church families. How often do we ask one another, “Do you need anything?” without thinking? As a single, chronically ill woman with no family within driving distance, I am often on my own amidst sickness and emergencies. I find myself hesitating when I am asked. Can I be honest and ask for help or is it a burden? My therapist encourages me to accept the question as serious instead of sentiments. In this sweet family standing on my doorstep food in hand, I am reminded what it is to embody God’s call to share our resources and our hardships. We are invited to take up space! Jesus’s whole ministry involved making sure every person, especially the marginalized, received care and love. In our individualistic culture, where we receive more accolades when we go alone, a community that ensures there is no need among one another, is liberating as we embrace the invitation to reach out for those around us. To be brave enough to answer honestly when we get that text, “Do you need anything?”
EMBRACE BEAUTY FUND
As we’ve navigated changes and created a new vision for Ubc, we have found that we have an increasing need for meeting our budget goals. Would you consider establishing a recurring donation to our community? Recurring donations allow us to have a sense of how much money we are working with each month, which as you might imagine is extremely helpful in budgeting. We are of course open to one-time donations as well :). Please feel free to share with your friends, loved ones and social media as we work together to meet this need.
You can donate and read more about the giving campaign here.
THIS WEEK
Youth Group- Wednesday, 6pm
Sunday Liturgy- Sunday, 10:45am
Main Event Meetup- Monday, September 7th, 4-7pm
GIVING
UBC survives on the generosity of our congregation. Your tithes and offerings allow us to continue to create a space that is welcoming to all, embraces beauty, and seeks to live life to the fullest.
You can give, as you’re able, on Sunday mornings or set up a single or recurring online gift here.
If you ever have trouble with giving online or have a question about how to give, feel free to email administrator@ubcwaco.org.
CHURCH NEEDS
ubcYouth needs
Hey friends! Greer here! UBC's Youth Group has grown in recent months, and we are finding ourselves in need of more helping hands on Wednesday Youth Nights. The dream is to have two volunteers every Wednesday night to help with setup, discussion time, and cleanup afterwards. Youth Night ends at 8pm, so cleanup should be completed by 8:30pm if there are enough hands on deck! Eventually, we would also like to have volunteers facilitate a small group of students for more intentional discussion after lessons, but at this point, we need clean-up help and crowd assistance with the larger group of students. If you're interested, let me know, and we can set up a time to talk over next steps!
The Youth Ministry typically feeds about 25 students along with the volunteers every week, and this thrives with incredible volunteers that prepare meals. We are also looking for those who are willing and able to help continue making this happen for our kids that come into the church!
Interested in either or both of these opportunities to help? Fill out these forms or email greer@ubcwaco.org
UPCOMING EVENTS
Coffee Hour w/ Nicole @ CG Franklin- Thursday, September 10th, 10am
All Family Church- Sunday, September 13th
Small Group Fall Launch- Friday, September 18th, 6pm
Pizza & Pints @ Shorty’s Woodway- Monday, September 21st, 5:30pm
Pinewood Pub w/ Andie- Thursday, September 24th, 7pm
The Book Club @ ubc- Monday, September 28th, 7pm
We are reading The Farewitch of FoxeHoller by Ellen Pauley Goff.
Save the Date: All Church Retreat- October 9-11
All Church Retreat is happening this fall. We are headed back to Meridian State Park with GTG Outdoors October 9-11.
This retreat will be for the campers & the glampers. We’ve reserved some of the indoor shelters & the indoor dining hall! If tents aren’t your thing, you can choose one of these instead. GTG provides gear, meals and their expertise, and we get a fun fall camping trip together (and s’mores. Always s’mores!)
Keep an eye out for registration! And email nicole@ubcwaco.org if you have any questions.
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Text Updates Now Available
You can now receive text updates from ubc! If you haven’t already, please fill out this consent form (also, if you haven’t updated your email/phone with us in a while, probably a good idea to do anyway).
Find more details and our full calendar of events on our website. This calendar is updated frequently, so check back often!
PREACHING SCHEDULE
9/6- Andie
9/13- Andie
9/20- Annie Wilde
9/27- Andie
CONTACT INFO
Pastoral Staff
Andie Pellicer, Lead Pastor
(andie@ubcwaco.org)
Jameson McGregor, Worship & Arts Pastor (jamie@ubcwaco.org)
Nicole Dizdar, Kids Pastor, Community Engagement Coordinator
(nicole@ubcwaco.org)
Greer Rutt, Youth Pastor (greer@ubcwaco.org)
Leadership Team
Maggie Griffin
Adam Moore
Travis Cheatham
Mary Ellis
Brooke Reich
Staff Support Team
Jim Wren
Betsy Bracken
Finance Team
Brandon Glover
Jonathan Hill
Ben Rose