Setlist 10-7-2018

This past Sunday was the twentieth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Mystery by ubcmusic (adapted from Charlie Hall)

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Up On A Mountain by The Welcome Wagon

Mother by Jameson McGregor

All Creatures of Our God and King by David Crowder* Band

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Mystery: We sang this song to proclaim the death, resurrection, and return of Christ, and to embrace the story that this Event imposes on our reality.

Wayward Ones: This is our communion hymn, and it contemplates Christ's self-giving love that is displayed and remembered in the eucharist.

Up On A Mountain: This song reminds us that Jesus entered fully into our suffering and occupies the space of our pain through the Spirit even now.

Mother: This song makes use of maternal images to think of the ways that God cares for and protects us.

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week’s songs. This is what we said about All Creatures then: We sang this song to join our voices to the whole of creation in acknowledging the grandeur of the Creator.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 10-5-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

ubcmusic, vol. 1 (by jamie)

Hello humans. I hope this finds you well. If you were in church last Sunday, you know that the ep we have been working on is now complete and is set to release to the world one week from today (10/12).

I’m really excited for that to happen. Recording these songs has been a great experience, and it’s been cool to watch them evolve as we sat in the studio and picked them apart. There was a lot of time and sweat (i don’t think any blood or tears) invested in getting these songs fleshed out. Jack Parker took on the role of producer and pushed us to get out of the mindset of playing the songs as we always have, and move more into the headspace of what the songs could be. His lifetime of experience and immense talent were a true gift to have on this journey.

A rundown of the musicians on the record is as follows: I sang and played guitar, Natalie Ramirez sang, Byron Griffin played guitar, and Jacob Robinson (who is dearly missed) played bass, piano, and synth drums. Bwack (drummer from DC*B and The Digital Age—read: ubcmusic veteran) played drums. [Colton, our current drummer, had been in the band for about a week when we began recording drums, so we didn’t think it would be right to throw him into the scrutiny of studio time right out of the gate.] In addition to engineering and producing the project, Jack Parker also played guitar (he is very good at that, and has been playing in the band on Sundays whenever he’s not out with Chris Tomlin for most of this year).

I feel very fortunate to be called ubc’s worship & arts pastor. I’ve been doing this for almost 4 years, and it still feels like an immense gift. It is my dream job. Thank you for letting me do this.

Like I said, the ep will release one week from today. But I don’t see any reason why any of you should have to wait until then to have it. So you can download it here:

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/yhwbb4ypkmr8hp6/AACpR9QVJIYHKrH9H6P6cLoPa?dl=0

Godspell

Baylor Theatre is in the middle of a three week run of Godspell. There will be Sunday matinees (2pm) for the next two weeks, as well as 7:30pm shows on October 9-12. It’s sure to be a fun time, but if you need any extra convincing, there are several ubcers attached to this project—Stan Denman, Reagan Seiler, and Andrew Sabonis-Chafee (apologies if I forgot someone)—and we want to support the art they’re making. Here’s the promo video:

SWCC Halloween Festival - October 17th

Friends, we need your help!!!  Our annual Halloween Festival with the South Waco Community Center is coming up, and we still need around 30-40 more people to sign-up.  You will be able to sign-up this Sunday, and next, or you can email toph@ubcwaco.org  The event will be from 6-8pm, but we will need volunteers there by 5:30pm to get set up for their game or inflatable.  This year we will be handing out volunteer bracelets, so please feel free, and encouraged, to dress up!  This is going to be even bigger and better than years past, and we need you to make it happen.  #yourbesthalloweentwoweeksearly

Fall Retreat (Juniors/Seniors) - October 18-21st

Our annual fall retreat is coming up for upperclassmen, and there are some still some spots left for you to sign-up.  The cost is only $40, and we are heading to down to a front row beach house in Jamaica Beach………TX.  This will be a wonderful time of getting to know other students, some formative discussions, and lots of leisure time.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org  

5th-6th Grade Lock In

On October 19th bring your sleeping bags, sugar filled candy, and flashlights because the UBC youth is having a Lock for our 5-6 grade students! This Event will be at UBC on Friday October 19th from 6:00 PM to Saturday October 20th at 9:00 AM. The giant sleepover will be full of formation time, games, food, and other shenanigans. Please email Dilan or Hannah by 10/12 to RSVP and confirm your spot. The event will be free #thankyouTacoFundraiser

Satan Slayer Recap (By Sarah Hamill)

Everybody loves a good baseball movie. This week’s double header reminded me of the beloved family sports comedy-drama, Angels in the Outfield. In short, young Joseph Gordon-Levitt is told by his estranged father that if worst-team-in-the-league Anaheim Angels win the pennant, he’ll reunite their family. Seems heavy for baseball, but okay. JGL sends up a prayer. It is answered.

Unbeknownst to the crowds, a team of OG-angels led by Christopher Lloyd (old guy from Back to the Future) perform a series of “miracles” that help the baseball-angels win a few games, and eventually rise to the top of their division halfway through the season.

And it all started with a fan.

Our team has been using the first few games of the season to establish ourselves as the underdog of the church league, and not to brag, but we’ve done an exceptional job. However, we all know that the best part of any underdog story is when the angels finally show up, start pulling their own weight, and singlehandedly win every game for said team from then on out. Unfortunately, recent events have made it clear that, despite the weight of slaying Satan being placed upon our collective shoulders, we won’t reap the same benefits until our fans send up some love on our behalf, JGL-style.

So should you decide to come support us, what can you expect? First, you might be the only one sitting on our side of the stands. Well actually, I take that back. The other teams have had so many people show up that they’ve been using our side for overflow. Humiliating, but less so only to being relentlessly berated by two 8-year-olds sitting in the other team’s dugout.

Second, and most importantly, you’ll be treated to the best show of optimism and varying hand-eye capabilities that have ever coexisted on a single baseball diamond. A guy with a beard (making him easily distinguishable from the rest of the men at UBC) hit a home run. In the park, but it’s early in the season so we’ll count it. There were some near-catches that had the potential to be seriously impressive, and a few slayers fell down made diving plays (with no injuries!).  

Our pitching was consistent and received praise like, “get in the box, wait forever, and then wait a little longer” from the opposing coaches. Our offensive strategy progressed from “just make contact” to “you’re immediately out if you hit a line drive at the pitcher, how dare you, get back in the dugout.” Things are looking up.

So I depart with this- at the end of Angels in the Outfield, Maggie Nelson confronts the Angels’ skeptical CEO with the iconic line, “it’s like you’re saying it’s okay to believe in God, but it’s not okay to believe in [the UBC Waco Satan Slayers]. Now, I thought they were on the same team.”  

Well UBC, we are on the same team, we do want you to believe in us, and we will do our best to be something you can believe in.

Bottom line, come to our games.

Slayingly,

#21

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

The youth parents who all helped make the taco thing a huge hit. Our youth raised almost $1,300!!! thank you to all of you who ate and gave generously.

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Walters

Coffee Makers: College Women’s Group

Mug Cleaners:  Glovers

Money Counter:  Newman

Welcome Station:  Kareem & Jake

Announcements

• Sermon Text: Mark 10:2-16/Job 1ish/2ish “Formation Part 1: Fundamentalism”

• 10-17 Halloween Festival at South Waco Community Center

• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat

• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)

• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)

• 10-27 Womens college group service project

• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party

• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12)

• 11-18 Youth Sunday

• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day

• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group

• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)

• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 9-30-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One who made all things

the One who is making all things new

bringing the whole of our selves

our joy and our pain
our hopes and broken dreams
our hearts and our minds

trusting that the Spirit of the Living God is in our midst

healing us in the love of Christ
sustaining us in the hope of Christ
and forming us in the way of Christ

Amen.

Scripture

Exodus 2:1-6

Now a man from the house of Levi went and married a Levite woman. The woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a fine baby, she hid him three months.

When she could hide him no longer she got a papyrus basket for him, and plastered it with bitumen and pitch; she put the child in it and placed it among the reeds on the bank of the river. His sister stood at a distance, to see what would happen to him.

The daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, while her attendants walked beside the river. She saw the basket among the reeds and sent her maid to bring it. When she opened it, she saw the child. He was crying, and she took pity on him. “This must be one of the Hebrews’ children,” she said.

Mark 9:38-50

John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him; for no one who does a deed of power in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. Whoever is not against us is for us. For truly I tell you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ will by no means lose the reward.

“If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.

“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Setlist 9-30-2018

This past Sunday was the nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Come Thou Fount

All Creatures of Our God and King by David Crowder* Band

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go by ubcmusic (adapted from G. Matheson)

Where God Has Always Been by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Come Thou Fount: We sang this song to turn our attention to who God has been for us, who God is for us, and who God will continue to be for us.

All Creatures of Our God and King: We sang this song to join our voices to the whole of creation in acknowledging the grandeur of the Creator.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go: We sang this song to grasp for hope in the midst of abandonment. Some of us sang this first-hand, and others sang this on behalf of those who are experiencing a sense of abandonment.

Where God Has Always Been: This song is about God’s consistent identifying with the trampled up the earth, and God’s being-set-against the power structures that do the trampling.

Rise Up: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week’s songs. This is what we said about Rise Up then: This song offered us words with which to ask God to rise to the defense of the trampled of the world, and to remind ourselves what sort of work we are stepping into when we say we are following in the way of Christ.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 9-28-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

What’s It Like To Be youBCer (Jeff Walter)

Backside

We're having a Backside tonight at 7.  If you play music, tell stories, read poetry, recite monologues, make short films, take pictures, paint pictures, bake stuff---you get the idea--we'd love to have you share something with us.  If you are interested in participating in Backside, email jamie@ubcwaco.org

St Francis Liturgy

This Thursday, October 4th, is the feast day of St. Francis, and we’ll be having a liturgy in the Backside to commemorate this day. We’ll be using the life and words of St. Francis as a lens through which to direct our attention to God, and to reflect on what it is to be formed in the way of Christ. We’ll begin at 5:30.

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

Trevor Carlson for setting up a killer kids vs parents game night on Friday.

Thank You UBC

In case you missed it earlier this week when it was posted to our Facebook page, we’ve included a thank you video from one of our partner churches Ecclesia in Houston.

College Group Skate Night

College students! Come join UBC's College Women's Group and College Men's Group Thursday for a skate night at Skate World at 6:00pm-8:00pm.  If you haven't been to either of the groups, we would love to connect with you - text Emmy @ 214.517.1965! 

Youth Fund Raiser

Hey, Order of the Phoenix here letting you know that this Sunday 9/30 is our annual youth lunch fundraiser! For the last three years this event has been a crucial source of funding for our group, and has allowing us to do things I never thought we could in our first year or so as a group. This money is used to help take us to Camp Eagle and CBF’s Passport as well as local retreats and special events. This Sunday we will be serving Tacos with meat, lettuce, and cheese as well as chips and salsa. We will also have a black bean option for our vegan friends. You can eat with us in the backside or take it to go. The suggested donation is $5 a plate (two tacos), and we will gladly accept cash, credit, or check!

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks

Coffee Makers: Glovers

Mug Cleaners:  Cooleys

Money Counter: 

Welcome Station: 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: Exodus 2:1-6, “God Will Find Them …”

• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night

• 10-17 Halloween Festival at South Waco Community Center

• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat

• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)

• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)

• 10-27 Womens college group service project

• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party

• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12)

• 11-18 Youth Sunday

• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day

• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group

• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)

• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 9-23-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the Living God

to direct our attention toward the One
who liberates the trampled of the world,
and whose righteousness is everlasting

hoping to be formed more fully in the way of Christ

to learn how to relate to God,
our neighbor, and ourselves

and to embrace the Spirit of God in our midst

that we might carry the Kingdom of God
in our ordinary lives

Amen

Scripture

Psalm 54

Liberate me, O God, by the authority of Your name.
Vindicate me through Your legendary power.
Hear my prayer, O God;
let the words of my mouth reach Your sympathetic ear.

The truth is, these strangers are rallying against me;
cold-blooded men seek to slay me;
they have no respect for You.

But see now! God comes to rescue me;
the Lord is my valiant supporter.
the Lord will repay my enemies for the harm they have done; they are doomed!

According to Your faithful promises, silence them.
I will sacrifice to You willingly;
I will lift Your name by shouts of thanksgiving, O Eternal One, for Your name is good.

God has pulled me out from every one of the troubles that encompass me,
and I have seen what it means to stand over my enemies in triumph.

Mark 9:30-37

Jesus and his disciples passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know it; for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is to be betrayed into human hands, and they will kill him, and three days after being killed, he will rise again.” But they did not understand what he was saying and were afraid to ask him.

Then they came to Capernaum; and when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the way?” But they were silent, for on the way they had argued with one another who was the greatest. He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.”

Then he took a little child and put it among them; and taking it in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me.”

Setlist 9-23-2018

This past Sunday was the eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Just A Closer Walk With Thee

Hope by Jameson McGregor

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Chasing the Wind by Jameson McGregor

There by Jameson McGregor

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Just A Closer Walk With Thee: This song offered us language to express our desire to be formed more fully in the way of Christ, despite the fact that this is a path that is difficult for us to stay on.

Hope: We sang this song as a reminder of the hope that undergirds our existence: that God’s act of re-creation in the world is not snuffed out by the darkness of the world.

Rise Up: This song offered us words with which to ask God to rise to the defense of the trampled of the world, and to remind ourselves what sort of work we are stepping into when we say we are following in the way of Christ.

Chasing the Wind: This song is about the way we seek to make ourselves worthy of love, or to numb the pain of the fiction that we are not, and grasps for the unknowing of childhood, before the fiction took hold.

There: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week’s songs. This is what we said about There then: We sang this to proclaim God’s constancy above and within the chaos of our world.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 9-21-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

On Silence by Taylor

While I was in seminary I spent quite a bit of time learning about prayer and silence. I had never practiced silence before coming to seminary and I have found that because of the type of person that I am (that is to say – the type of person who is a people pleaser and who leans a little bit towards extroversion, the type of person who really needs to be alone to be able to differentiate between my own thoughts and feelings and the thoughts and feelings of others) silence is a pretty formative and important practice for me. And so at one point I shared that on the old social medias – cause I wanted all of my friends to know. 

So I penned Facebook status that said something like, 

“I’m learning a lot about the importance of silence in my life right now.

I think that would surprise anyone who knew me in Middle School.”

And I’ll tell you what – the replies started rolling in. Turns out I have quite a few friends and family members who fancy themselves comedians because they had plenty of funny things to say. 

“Yeah!” They said, “That’d surprise anybody who knew in High School too!”

“Or Elementary School!” said someone else.

“Or college!” said another helpful friend.

“Or EVER!” said my mother. (Thanks, Mom.)

The Psalm for last week in the Lectionary is Psalm 19. V.14 says:

May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart by pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.

The Bible has a great many things to say about our words. How we use them, when we use them, what they accomplish, and what the consequences of them might be. And in thinking about my own words I  have often found Psalm 19:14 helpful because it seems that the two different actions described go hand in hand. When I am careful about the meditations of my heart I often find it much easier to be careful about the words of my mouth. 

And I think that is one of the reasons that I found the practice of silence so helpful – when I am remembering to practice silence daily (or at least regularly) I find that instead of feeling the pressure of having to fill up the rest of the day with words (and occasionally say something I don’t mean) I often have less to say, or I at least have created space within my life to process what is good and important to say and what is not. Which is important. Because the words we use, and how we use them, are important.

This is definitely something I’m still working on and figuring out. So if you have any questions or if you’d like to get together and talk about this sometime please let me know! You can email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org.

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Backside

We're having a Backside next Friday at 7.  If you play music, tell stories, read poetry, recite monologues, make short films, take pictures, paint pictures, bake stuff---you get the idea--we'd love to have you share something with us.  If you are interested in participating in Backside, email jamie@ubcwaco.org

Parishioner of the Week

All the champions who volunteered so that our parents could have a date night.  

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylock

Coffee Makers: Hoymeyers

Mug Cleaners:   

Money Counter:   

Welcome Station:  Palmers 

Announcements

• Sermon Text:

• 9-28 Backside

• 9-30 OOTP Taco Fund Raiser After Church

• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night

• 10-17 Halloween Festival at South Waco Community Center

• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat

• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)

• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)

• 10-27 Womens college group service project

• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party

• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12)

• 11-18 Youth Sunday

• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day

• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group

• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)

• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 9-16-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One
who is righteous and full of compassion

the One who brings rest for the weary,
and whose love is stronger than the grip of the grave

to enter into the story of God and the people of God

and be formed in the way of Christ

that we might be people of the Spirit

who walk with the Eternal
in the land of the living

Amen.

Scripture

Psalm 116:1-8

I love the Lord, because the Lord has heard the voice of my supplication,
because the Lord has inclined the Lord’s ear to me whenever I called.

The cords of death entangled me;
the grip of the grave took hold of me;
I came to grief and sorrow.
Then I called upon the Name of the Lord:
"O Lord, I pray you, save my life."

Gracious is the Lord and righteous;
our God is full of compassion.

The Lord watches over the innocent;
I was brought very low, and the Lord helped me.
Turn again to your rest, O my soul,
for the Lord has treated you well.

For you have rescued my life from death,
my eyes from tears, and my feet from stumbling.
I will walk in the presence of the Lord
in the land of the living.

Mark 8:27-38

Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”

And they answered him, “John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” He asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Messiah.” And he sternly ordered them not to tell anyone about him.

Then he began to teach them that the Son of Man must undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.

He said all this quite openly. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. But turning and looking at his disciples, he rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind me, Satan! For you are setting your mind not on divine things but on human things.”

He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.

For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it.

For what will it profit them to gain the whole world and forfeit their life? Indeed, what can they give in return for their life?

Those who are ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of them the Son of Man will also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Setlist 9-16-2018

This past Sunday was the seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Holy, Holy, Holy

Death In His Grave by John Mark McMillan

There by Jameson McGregor

Just the Same by Jameson McGregor

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Holy, Holy, Holy: We sang this song to orient our attention toward the Creator and Sustainer of us all, confessing the limits of our knowledge of God while also expressing wonder at the love and power of God in our midst.

Death In His Grave: This song rehearses the death and resurrection of Jesus, and we sang it to continue to immerse ourselves in the story of God’s re-creation of the world.

There: We sang this to proclaim God’s constancy above and within the chaos of our world.

Just the Same: This song swims through the dance of evolving faith, grasping for truth while knowing that whatever we find is only a piece of the whole.

Mystery: This song offers us a shorthand version of the Gospel story (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again) as an anthem to raise in the midst of struggle, and a reminder that the way of Christ is costly.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

9-14-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

 What’s It Like To Be YouBCer (Margo Shanks)

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://marginalchristianity.blogspot.com/2012/03/spikenard-sundaypalm-sunday-by-kurt.html%3Fm%3D1&ved=2ahUKEwjl4aCc95TdAhUNKKwKHZQcAwUQFjAAegQIAxAB&usg=AOvVaw0EpCvYdWXa9qWE9rXFm16h

nUBC’ers Luncheon

If you are new to UBC in the last 6 months, we would like to invite you to lunch on the 23rd of September, after church.  We will talk to you a little bit about UBC’s history, what we are currently doing, and give you time to meet other folks who are in the same stage of church life.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Ways to Serve

Are you looking for a way to serve within our community, or with our community partners? This Sunday after church, we will have tables in the sanctuary with the different ways to serve here at UBC. We will have opportunities to serve with Cesar Chavez Middle School, the South Waco Community Center, and Jesus Said Love. We will also have opportunities to serve within our community here at UBC. If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org

Life's Too Short To Pretend You're Not Religious Book Club

If you want to read David Dark's Life's Too Short To Pretend You're Not Religious and talk about it with other people, email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

Emmy Edwards, for acting as our a substitute children's pastor for Taylor this weekend.  

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Richardsons

Coffee Makers: Joneses 

Mug Cleaners:  Glovers 

Money Counter:  Newman 

Welcome Station:  Palmers 

Announcements

• Sermon Text: Mark 8:27-33 “learning to see Jesus”

• 9-16 Mi Casa's begin

• 9-16 Children Worker Teacher Training

• 9-21 Youth Game Night w/ parents (5-6)

• 9-23 nUBC'ers Luncheon

• 9-28 Backside

• 9-30 OOTP Taco Fund Raiser After Church

• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night
  10-17 Halloween Festival at South Waco Community Center

• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat

• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)

• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)

• 10-27 Womens college group service project

• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party

• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12)

• 11-18 Youth Sunday

• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day

• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group

• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)

• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 9-9-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the Lord of all

to direct our attention
to the One who sets the prisoner free,
who opens the eyes of the blind,
who lifts up those who are pulled down

to enter into God’s story

and find our own stories transformed

hoping the Spirit might infuse our lives with the way of Christ

teaching us to care for the stranger,
the orphan, and the widow,
and frustrate the way of the wicked

amen

Scripture

Psalm 146

Hallelujah!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
I will praise the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

Put not your trust in rulers, nor in any child of earth,
for there is no help in them.
When they breathe their last, they return to earth,
and in that day their thoughts perish.

Happy are they who have the God of Jacob for their help!
whose hope is in the Lord their God;
Who made heaven and earth, the seas, and all that is in them;
who keeps the Lord’s promise for ever;

Who gives justice to those who are oppressed,
and food to those who hunger.
the Lord sets the prisoners free;
the Lord opens the eyes of the blind;
the Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

The Lord loves the righteous;
the Lord cares for the stranger;
The Lord sustains the orphan and widow,
but frustrates the way of the wicked.

The Lord shall reign for ever,
your God, O Zion, throughout all generations.

Mark 7:24-37

Jesus set out and went away to the region of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know he was there. Yet he could not escape notice, but a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter.

He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” Then he said to her, “For saying that, you may go—the demon has left your daughter.” So she went home, found the child lying on the bed, and the demon gone.

Then he returned from the region of Tyre, and went by way of Sidon towards the Sea of Galilee, in the region of the Decapolis. They brought to him a deaf man who had an impediment in his speech; and they begged him to lay his hand on him. He took him aside in private, away from the crowd, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spat and touched his tongue. Then looking up to heaven, he sighed and said to him, “Ephphatha,” that is, “Be opened.”

And immediately his ears were opened, his tongue was released, and he spoke plainly. Then Jesus ordered them to tell no one; but the more he ordered them, the more zealously they proclaimed it. They were astounded beyond measure, saying, “He has done everything well; he even makes the deaf to hear and the mute to speak.”

Setlist 9-9-2018

Yesterday was the sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

There's A Wideness In God's Mercy by Jameson McGregor (adapted from F. Faber)

Mystery by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Charlie Hall)

All Creatures of Our God and King by David Crowder* Band

Where God Has Always Been by Jameson McGregor

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Doxology

Recording

Here’s a demo recording of Where God Has Always Been:

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

There's A Wideness In God's Mercy: We sang this song to begin our time contemplating the wideness of the mercy within which we find ourselves. 

Mystery: This song offers us a shorthand version of the Gospel story (Christ has died, Christ is risen, Christ will come again) as an anthem to raise in the midst of struggle, and a reminder that the way of Christ is costly.

All Creatures of Our God and King: This song invites us to consider our place amongst the family of all of creation, and to offer praise to the Maker of us all.

Where God Has Always Been:  This song was written while thinking through the texts from Psalms and Isaiah from the lectionary for last week.  It is in praise of the Lord of all with their backs against the wall, reminding us that God has thrown in with the oppressed and forgotten of the world and rises to their defense.

Crown Him With Many Crowns: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about Crown Him With Many Crowns then: We sang this song to begin our time by singing about Jesus as Lord of everything.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 9-7-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

Have I Got A Surprise For You? (by jamie)

No, I don’t.  But here you are.  

I hope your September is shaping up to be better than average.  

You may or may not be aware that Sunday School starts this Sunday at 9:30 am.  I don’t say “may or may not” because we haven’t announced it, but because communication is a strange and complicated thing and I don’t assume that announcing it always does the trick.  But now you definitely know, right?

Good.

Because I want to use my precious newsletter week to make an appeal to you, dear reader, to attend Sunday School this semester.  We have two classes, though we have a third ready to throw in the rotation if the other two are flooded.  

The two classes are as follows:

Cheers! The Sunday School Class Where Everyone Knows Your Name will be led by Jeff Walter and Adam Winn.  That class will be focused on getting to know one another (starting with names, as you might have gathered), and the discussion will be around Galatians.  Adam is going to be doing the teaching part, and he’s a world-class scholar who is a couple of weeks out from releasing a book on Mark that has a crown of thorns and an ancient coin on the cover.  He was also my professor for a class on Mark, and I can confirm that he’s very good at what he does.  

Attention Collection will be led by Kerri Fisher and me.  That class will be focused on getting to know one another, and the discussion will be around the things that have formed the way we think about life, God, the world, ourselves, etc.

Now, you might have noticed both of those classes will be focusing on getting to know one another.  And it’s true. 

Taylor and I have been working with a team to explore the dimensions of (dis)connection in this body we call ubc, and that process has been truly wonderful and exciting.  [ALSO, YOUR VOICE CAN BE A PART OF THAT IF YOU FILL OUT THIS SURVEY BUT ONLY IF YOU DO IT BEFORE SUNDAY BECAUSE WE NEED TO MOVE ON FROM THIS DATA COLLECTION PHASE].

It feels kind of strange to be so excited about getting critical feedback, but we literally asked for it, so whatever.

I think it might be exciting because it’s difficult to address problems (great or small) without looking at them, taking the time to notice and pay attention to the pain.  

I once heard Peter Rollins quote someone somewhere as having noted that problems/symptoms/aches are prophets to us—they proclaim the truth of what is wrong, and we have to learn to listen to them if we’re going to approach healing.

I think about it often, and it seems true enough.  

But anyway, back to my appeal to you to come to Sunday School.

I’ve been processing the data we’ve received so far, and I’m compiling a MEGA document to have it all organized together.  In this process, it is clear that the best points of connection among the things we currently have in place are mi casas, sunday school, and volunteering.

Of the three, Sunday School seems to be the most accessible—you are presumably coming to church that morning anyway, which means you don’t have to muster the energy to leave the house again after work, or wait to be scheduled in a rotation to volunteer in some capacity, and if you have kids, there’s stuff for kids/youth happening during that hour as well.  

The topics of the classes will no doubt be interesting and formative, but I truly believe that their most worthwhile and enduring value will be in the connection they foster. 

But connection can only happen if you show up. 

So please show up.

And, yes, showing up can be difficult. 

And connecting with other people has its own share of difficulties and potential awkward moments.  

But I’m inclined to believe it’s worth it.

—

As always, if you have any questions or concerns, lets get coffee: feel free to email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Parents Night Out

Could you really use a break?  Would you love nothing more than to sit on your couch and listen to silence?  Does your life feel like the Duggars without the paterfamilias?  PNO might be for you then.  On Friday, September 14, we invite you to drop your kids off at UBC and have a wild night on the town on us.  Interested persons should email Taylor@ubcwaco.org to let her know.

Life's Too Short To Pretend You're Not Religious Book Club

If you want to read David Dark's Life's Too Short To Pretend You're Not Religious and talk about it with other people, email jamie@ubcwaco.org.

nUBC’ers Luncheon

If you are new to UBC in the last 6 months, we would like to invite you to lunch on the 23rd of September, after church.  We will talk to you a little bit about UBC’s history, what we are currently doing, and give you time to meet other folks who are in the same stage of church life.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

Fall Groups

We will have another sign-up for our Fall Groups this Sunday after the service.  Tables will be set-up in the sanctuary for you to get more information from the leaders, and if you have any questions before hand please email toph@ubcwaco.org   All of our groups are rolling sign-ups, so don't feel like you have to sign-up this week if you aren’t ready.

Lunch Buddies

Hello all, we will be starting up our Lunch Buddy program with Caesar Chavez soon. Lunch Buddies is a great opportunity to get involved with the community,  if you choose to participate you will be pared up with a middle schooler at CC and you will get lunch with them once a week. If you are interested sign ups will be in the foyer starting 9/16 and more information will be given to you later.

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

Jon Davis, for securing a magnificent projector screen for the backside and leading the way in hanging it.

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Ricky & Rose 

Coffee Makers: College Women's Group 

Mug Cleaners:   

Money Counter:  Kuhl 

Welcome Station:  

Announcements

• Sermon Text: 
• 9-16 Mi Casa's begin 
• 9-16 Children Worker Teacher Training 
• 9-19 Faith & Family Session 1 
• 9-21 Youth Game Night w/ parents (5-6)
• 9-23 nUBC'ers Luncheon
• 9-28 Backside 
• 9-30 OOTP Taco Fund Raiser After Church
• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night
• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat 
• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)
• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)
• 10-27 Womens college group service project 
• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party 
• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12) 
• 11-18 Youth Sunday 
• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day 
• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group 
• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)
• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance <Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com>

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 9-2-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the Living God

to direct our attention to the Creator and Sustainer of all that is

hoping to be formed by God’s story

that our stories would be One

and hoping that the Spirit of God would work faith in our hearts

that in our living and moving,
we might reflect the way of Christ

amen.

Scripture

Psalm 15

Lord, who may dwell in your tabernacle?
who may abide upon your holy hill?
Whoever leads a blameless life and does what is right,
who speaks the truth from his heart.

There is no guile upon his tongue;
he does no evil to his friend;
he does not heap contempt upon his neighbor.
In his sight the wicked is rejected,
but he honors those who fear the Lord.

He has sworn to do no wrong
and does not take back his word.
He does not give his money in hope of gain,
nor does he take a bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be overthrown.

Mark 7:1-18, 14-15, 21-23

When the Pharisees and some of the scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around him, they noticed that some of his disciples were eating with defiled hands, that is, without washing them. (For the Pharisees, and all the Jews, do not eat unless they thoroughly wash their hands, thus observing the tradition of the elders; and they do not eat anything from the market unless they wash it; and there are also many other traditions that they observe, the washing of cups, pots, and bronze kettles.)

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not live according to the tradition of the elders, but eat with defiled hands?”

He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written,

‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching human precepts as doctrines.’

You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition.”

Then he called the crowd again and said to them, “Listen to me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside a person that by going in can defile, but the things that come out are what defile.”

For it is from within, from the human heart, that evil intentions come: fornication, theft, murder, adultery, avarice, wickedness, deceit, licentiousness, envy, slander, pride, folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

Setlist 9-2-2018

This past Sunday was the fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Crown Him With Many Crowns

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Come Thou Fount

Shadow by Jameson McGregor

Be Thou My Vision

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Crown Him With Many Crowns: We sang this song to begin our time by singing about Jesus as Lord of everything.

Wayward Ones: This is our communion hymn, and it contemplates Christ's self-giving love that is displayed and remembered in the eucharist.

Come Thou Fount: This song offered us language to anchor our faith in who God will be for us in who God has been for us up until this point.

Shadow: This song is about the tension between what we claim to believe and the beliefs revealed in our action.

Be Thou My Vision: This song is a petition for God to reframe our sense of vision, wisdom, security, and hope; to give us an overall different lens through which to view the world and our place in it.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 8-31-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Ordinary Time

When Church Leaders Fail

I had a conversation this week wihth a friend who got hurt by a religious figure.

That sentence, that scenario, is far too common in our church culture today.  If you’ve been following the news recently, you could point to the failure of the leadership at Willow Creek or the recent reports of the clergy abuse court findings in Pennsylvania.  

Those circumstances are formative and powerful.  “Detrimental” might be a better word to describe them.  What’s obvious in those situations is that the abuse that the survivors overome is terrible.  What’s not always obvious is what survivors should do with their positive religious experiences that happened in those places of abuse.  

What does it mean about my relationship with God when I seemed to experience God in the place of my terrible past? Was that real? Was I fooled into thinking God did something in my life? Did the bad things that happened negate the good?  

A version of this discussion has been hanging around the church for a long time.  In 311 Caecelian, the then new Bishop of Carthage in North Africa, was consecrated by Felix of Aptungi, an alleged traitor. Felix apostatized, but then he repented and was restored. The opponents of Felix, those who didn’t apostatize and remained true to the faith, were mad. So they thought that Caecelian couldn’t rightly administer the sacraments because his consecration had been done a by a tainted figure. It was no good. Caecelian was then no good either.  So the opponents decided they were going to refuse the sacraments of priests or bishops who were, in their minds, traitors. They set up their own priest, Majorinus, who was quickly replaced by Donatus.

If you look in your Christian history books, you’ll find the heresy of Donatism. But it’s not really a heresy, it’s a schism. In fact Augustine pointed out that Donatists didn’t believe anything heretical. But there was the issue about the experiences of those individuals who had followed the leadership of the traitors. Were their religious experiences invalid? The church answered no, they were not invalid. What came out of this is a doctrine called ex opera operato. It’s Latin and means “from the work carried out.” The application was this: the sin of the presiding priest or bishop couldn’t negate the work of God in the life of the recipients. It was the faith of the participant that appropriated the work of God, not the failing faith of the priest.  

I thought this was an encouraging word for us. Paul tells us that we are all sinners and fall short of the glory of God. Even the best of us.  Even Mother Teresa. But our sin and the sin of leadership can’t hinder the goodness of God. And the sin of leadership can’t nullify the power and work of God in our lives. So if you’ve ever been hurt by a religious figure, if you’ve ever been hurt by me, then know that my mistakes can’t keep God from moving in your life. So let us move forward in the power of the resurrection.  

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Parishioner of the Week

Van Davis for the electric bingo games she led us in at the Fiesta extravaganza.   

Satan Slayers Softball

After a two year hiatus the Satan Slayers, UBC Co-Ed slow pitch softball team, is back in business. The Satan Slayers have a history of excellence (and a lot of losing seasons), but I cannot wait for us to forge a new legacy. We have a few spots left on the team, but we are especially looking for some females to slay with us. The season starts the week of September 17, and anyone over 18 can play. The cost will be $30 a player. Email Dilan@ubcwaco.org if you are interested.

Sunday School returns September 9th

Cheers: The SS class where everybody knows your name
Led by Jeff Walter and Adam Winn

This class will be a place to grow in our relationships with God and with each other.  Each week this semester we’ll studying from the book of Galatians, and throughout the semester we’ll have opportunities to eat together, hang out, and get to know each other.  Whether you're new to ubc and looking to plug in, or if you’ve been around a while, you’re welcome to join us.  Cheers!

Attention Collection
Led by Jameson McGregor and Kerri Fisher

We all have a collection we've been curating since we were born.  It is composed of all the things that have challenged and formed us more fully into who we are--that have shaped what we think about ourselves and our neighbor; about God and the cosmos.  It is made up of movies, songs, books, places, memories....you get the idea.  Collections like this do their job best when we take the time to notice them, and perhaps to share them with one another.  So this class is going to be about that.  About sharing parts of ourselves with one another by sharing things have that been meaningful to us.  And in our sharing, we hope to come to know ourselves, our neighbors, and our God more fully.

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Walters

Coffee Makers: Toph & Emmy 

Mug Cleaners:  UBC Youth 

Money Counter:  

Welcome Station: Broadduses 

Announcements

• Sermon Text:  Mark 7ish 
• Sunday School Begins again on September 9th
• 9-6 Mens and Womens College Groups Begin 
• 9-14 Parents Night Out 
• 9-16 Mi Casa's begin 
• 9-16 Children Worker Teacher Training 
• 9-19 Faith & Family Session 1 
• 9-21 Youth Game Night w/ parents (5-6)
• 9-23 nUBC'ers Luncheon
• 9-28 Backside 
• 9-30 OOTP Taco Fund Raiser After Church
• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night
• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat 
• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)
• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)
• 10-27 Womens college group service project 
• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party 
• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12) 
• 11-18 Youth Sunday 
• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day 
• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group 
• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)
• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance <Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com>

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com

Liturgy 8-26-2018

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.

Call to Worship

we have gathered to worship the One who is near to the brokenhearted,

the One who saves those whose spirits are crushed

to enter into the story of God

and find our own stories changed

to be formed more fully by the Spirit of God into the way of Christ

that we might carry the love of God within us
and learn to live as citizens of the Kingdom of God

Amen

Scripture

Jeremiah 29:1-8

These are the words of the letter that the prophet Jeremiah sent from Jerusalem to the remaining elders among the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon.

This was after King Jeconiah, and the queen mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the artisans, and the smiths had departed from Jerusalem. The letter was sent by the hand of Elasah son of Shaphan and Gemariah son of Hilkiah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah sent to Babylon to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.

It said: Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.

But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare. For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream

Ephesians 6:10-20

Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace.

With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. Pray also for me, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

Prayer

This week's prayer was written by Brianna Childs:

A Prayer for Transition

Our good and gracious God,

In times when the future is so unsure, please be our sureness.

In times when we feel like we cannot go on, please be the solid rock on which we stand.

In times when the lies from fear make us doubt, please be our truth.

In times when our feelings are a roller coaster or we don't even know how to feel, please be our unwavering constant. 

In times when we fail, please give us mercy.

In times when we compare those failures to the successes of those around us, please be our identity.

In times when we begin to rely on our own plans and successes, please be our humility. 

In times when the heartbreak makes it hard to go on living, please be our comfort.

In times when a new birth brings infinite possibilities, please be our deepest joy.

In times of separation from loved ones, please be our connector.

In times when we have to say goodbye, please be our peace. 

In times when we Your plans come together perfectly, please receive every ounce of glory.

In times when we experience rejection and have nowhere to turn, please be our refuge.

In times when we follow You blindly, please be the lamp to our feet and the light to our path. 

In times when we wait for direction, please grant us patience.

In times when we do become impatient, please be our contentment.

In times when we yearn for more, whether in this life or in eternity with You, please be our all-consuming satisfaction.

In times of transition, thank you for being the God of it all.

Amen.

Setlist 8-26-2018

Yesterday was the fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost.  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.  Below the songs, you can find a brief example of one way you might think of these songs. If you want to talk about any of these, feel free to comment at the bottom of this page or email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.

Songs:

Heart Won't Stop by John Mark and Sarah McMillan

Be Thou My Vision

Rise Up by Bifrost Arts

Anthem by Leonard Cohen

How Great Thou Art

Doxology

How They Fit In:

There are many ways to think about the significance of songs and the way they fit together–-this is simply one way you can look at these songs in light of this week’s theme. 

Heart Won't Stop: We sang this song to begin our time together by directing our attention to God's incessant pursuit of the redemption of God's creatures.

Be Thou My Vision: This song is a petition for God to reframe our sense of vision, wisdom, security, and hope; to give us an overall different lens through which to view the world and our place in it.

Rise Up: This song is a prayer for the trampled of the world, that God would rise to their defense and strike down the systems that attack them, and implicitly that God would form us into people who rise to their defense as well.

Anthem: This is a song about the Light of God entering our world through broken places, and offers us a different way to see ourselves in this broken world.

How Great Thou Art: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week's songs.  This is what we said about How Great Thou Art then: We sang this song to begin our time together by acknowledging the glory of God in creation, what God has done in Christ, and the ongoing redemption of all creation.

Doxology: We close our time together each week with this proclamation that God is worthy of praise from every inch of the cosmos. 

-JM

ITLOTC 8-24-18

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church) 

Does Kiki really love UBC? - come to the fiesta to find out

Pentecost

Fall 2018 - Community

At UBC we take the phrase "mi casa es su casa" seriously. We know one of the best ways to develop meaningful connections is through small groups.  Below you will find the groups/retreats we have for this semester.

From Mi Casas to Ladies’ Nights to Pub Group, as well as smaller discipleship groups, Bible Studies and Book Studies, we seek to create several spaces for you to sit next to and across from other UBC’ers in an environment that encourages authenticity, openness and growth. These groups change from semester to semester, and some of them have limited space available based on size constraints for healthy small groups. For more information please email toph@ubcwaco.org

This Sunday after church, and on Sunday September 9th, you will have an opportunity to learn more about these groups and sign-up.  After the service, while folks are setting up for our Fiesta, we will have the leaders/organizers of these groups in different rooms of the church.  These leaders/organizers will head straight to the room(s) after church, and hang around for about 20-30 minutes.  You will have time to go to multiple rooms, so feel free to sign-up for more than one.  You can sign-up anytime through the semester, so don't worry if you don't get a chance on Sunday.  Here are where the groups will meet for the sign-ups:

MiCasa's and Fall Retreat and Cuba Mission Trip - Youth Room
College Men's and Women's Groups - Piano Room
Women's Bible Study and UBCYP - Blue Room
Middle Ages - Children's Check-in area

MiCasa's

Small groups the meet once a week at someones house to practice discipleship and share life together. Each MiCasa takes on a life of its own.   Micasa's meet on S,M,T,W, and Th nights.  If you have any questions, email toph@ubcwaco.org    *Micasa's begin 9/16

Sunday School

If your weeknights are crowded and crazy, find community in a Sunday School classes.  Class topics change each semester and are open to anyone who wants to attend.  If you have any questions, email jamie@ubcwaco.org.    *SS starts 9/9

College Women's Group

This group meets weekly, on Thursday night at 7pm, to study the Bible, following along with the lectionary as read and preached in UBC's Sunday services. This group is a safe space to ask questions about who God is, what the Bible says, and how we as young women interact with the the text itself and with one another as a result of the text.  If you have any questions, email emmy@ubcwaco.org.     *starts 9/6

College Men's Group

Gentleman, if you are guy in college, this group is for you.  This group, which meets on Thursdays at 6:30pm, is designed for you to build intentional community within the larger community of UBC.  If you have any questions, email shane_ward@baylor.edu    *starts 9/6

Pub Group

If you enjoy beer, talking current events or discussing theology then this is the group for you. Join us at 5:30 on Wednesday evenings at the Dancing Bear Pub. 21 and up, please.  If you have any questions, email Jamie@ubcwaco.org

Women's Book Study

Ladies! This weekly bible study meets in the evenings and is centered around fellowship, discipleship and a book study. This bible study, which meets Mondays at 8pm, is for any women who are out college.  If you have any questions, email taylor@ubcwaco.org    *starts 9/10

UBCYP

This is a group for "young" "professionals." [Or, that vague category of people who have graduated college and are now working, in grad school, wondering if they should have gone to college in the first place, etc.]  We get together 2 or 3 times a semester to hang out.  If you have any questions, email Jamie@ubcwaco.org 

Middle Ages

Do you fancy yourself as an adult?  If so, join this group for lunch after church once a month.  It's guaranteed to be a swell time.  If you have any questions, email Jeff_Walter@baylor.edu 

Fall Retreat (College Juniors/Seniors)

The retreat will be October 18-21, at at beach house in Jamaica Beach.  This is a great time to meet other students, learn/discuss how to engage the world "post-college," and relax for the weekend.  The cost will be $40, and includes meals, t-shirt, and lodging.  If you have any questions email toph@ubcwaco.org 

Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic

Cuba Partnership Trip - November 10-17

UBC has initiated a new partnership with the Fraternity of Baptist Churches in Cuba (FIBAC).  Our first engagement with the fraternity will be this November.  We will be participating in a theological summit, as well as doing some work around their retreat center.  The cost of the trip is roughly a $1000.  If you are interested, please see Toph after church this Sunday, or email toph@ubcwaco.org if you have any questions.

UBC Fiesta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Sunday, 8/26, after church.....we are going to PARTY!!!  UBC will be provide the food, drink, and fun!  We will be catering mexican food from the best place in town, we will have door prizes, and we will have a few surprises you will want to see to believe!  Plan to stay after church this week, lunch is on us.  All indications are, this will be the party of the year; we will kindly know if kiki really loves UBC.

Mug and Coffee Help

UBC champions.  As you know, each week when you come in you are greeted by good looking pastors and should you so choose, a warm cup of joe that is likely poured into a stylish mug.  The hard truth is, that coffee doesn't make itself and those mugs don't clean themselves.  That my friends, is done by some #champions4thelord.  It just so happens that a lot of my mug washers and coffee makers have graduated and gone on to do smaller things.  So I'm looking for some replacements.  If you would consider serving in this ministry, please email josh@ubcwaco.org.  

Sunday School returns September 9th

Cheers: The SS class where everybody knows your name
Led by Jeff Walter and Adam Winn

This class will be a place to grow in our relationships with God and with each other.  Each week this semester we’ll studying from the book of Galatians, and throughout the semester we’ll have opportunities to eat together, hang out, and get to know each other.  Whether you're new to ubc and looking to plug in, or if you’ve been around a while, you’re welcome to join us.  Cheers!

Attention Collection
Led by Jameson McGregor and Kerri Fisher

We all have a collection we've been curating since we were born.  It is composed of all the things that have challenged and formed us more fully into who we are--that have shaped what we think about ourselves and our neighbor; about God and the cosmos.  It is made up of movies, songs, books, places, memories....you get the idea.  Collections like this do their job best when we take the time to notice them, and perhaps to share them with one another.  So this class is going to be about that.  About sharing parts of ourselves with one another by sharing things have that been meaningful to us.  And in our sharing, we hope to come to know ourselves, our neighbors, and our God more fully.

Work is Worship

Greeters:  Blaylocks 

Coffee Makers: Winns

Mug Cleaners:  Titterington 

Money Counter:  JD Newman 

Welcome Station: Carlsons

Announcements

• Sermon Text:  Jeremiah 29:1-9 "God in Exile"
• Sunday School Begins again on September 9th
• 9-6 Mens and Womens College Groups Begin 
• 9-14 Parents Night Out 
• 9-16 Mi Casa's begin 
• 9-16 Children Worker Teacher Training 
• 9-19 Faith & Family Session 1 
• 9-21 Youth Game Night w/ parents (5-6)
• 9-23 nUBC'ers Luncheon
• 9-28 Backside 
• 9-30 OOTP Taco Fund Raiser After Church
• 10-4 College Womens/Mens Group Skate Night
• 10-18/21 Junior & Senior Fall Retreat 
• 10-19 Youth Lock In (5-6)
• 10-26/27 Stay in Retreat for youth (7-12)
• 10-27 Womens college group service project 
• 10-31 OOTP Halloween Party 
• 11-9 Youth Boys and Girls Night (7-12) 
• 11-18 Youth Sunday 
• 11-4 Bring Parents to Church Day 
• 12/5 Pre-Pancake Party Mens and Womens college group 
• 12-9 Last Sunday of the fall semester/Christmas Youth (5-6)
• 12-12 Last Wednesday of fall semester/Christmas party Youth (7-12)

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- Adam Winn:  adamwinn68@yahoo.com

Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com

Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu

Emma Wood: emma.wood@yahoo.com

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy Nance <Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com>

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu

Student Position: Leah Reed: Leah_Reed@baylor.edu

UBC Finance Team

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 

Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com  

Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com

Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com 

UBC HR Team

If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.

Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com

Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu

Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com

Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com

Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com