Liturgy 4-7-2019

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

the One who draws rivers in the desert,
who makes a way where there isn’t one

and to enter God’s embrace

to find rest
renewal
and strength

as we invite the Spirit of God
to transform our hearts and our minds

teaching us to live, to love, and to die
in the way of Christ

Amen

Scripture

Isaiah 43:16-21

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,
who brings out chariot and horse,
army and warrior;

they lie down, they cannot rise,
they are extinguished, quenched like a wick:
Do not remember the former things,
or consider the things of old.

I am about to do a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.

The wild animals will honour me,
the jackals and the ostriches;
for I give water in the wilderness,
rivers in the desert,
to give drink to my chosen people,
the people whom I formed for myself
so that they might declare my praise.

Philippians 3:4b-14

If anyone else has reason to be confident in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, a member of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew born of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless.

Yet whatever gains I had, these I have come to regard as loss because of Christ. More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but one that comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God based on faith.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by becoming like him in his death, if somehow I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or have already reached the goal; but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.

Beloved, I do not consider that I have made it my own; but this one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the heavenly call of God in Christ Jesus.

Setlist 4-7-2019

This past Sunday was the fifth Sunday of Lent, 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.  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:

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Come Alive by Jameson McGregor

Be Thou My Vision

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. 

In the Night: This song traces the thread of God’s presence within struggle throughout the biblical narrative, and invites us to step into the lineage of hope-in-despair.

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

Wandering: We sang this song to remind ourselves and proclaim aloud that God is faithfulness is constant when ours falters, and that God is, for whatever reason, choosing to draw us in to God’s work in the world despite how unreliable we can be.

Come Alive: This song is about our coming alive as we learn to do the dance of Christ.

Be Thou My Vision: This song will accompany us through Lent, reminding us to turn to God for our vision, wisdom, and security.

ITLOTC 4-5-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Lent

The Daughter that Left

I’ve been thinking all week about MAB’s sermon and how the Father didn’t go after the son. In both the other parables the people search for what was lost, but when the son left by his own choice the father did not chase after him. What does this mean? That God won’t come after us when we leave?

When I finished my junior year at The University of Oklahoma I didn’t believe that Jesus was God. I took a couple classes in my Religious Studies major and couldn’t make sense of anything anymore: Jesus, sin, heaven/hell, etc. I told my Christian sorority, my church, and my parents that I was no longer a Christian. 

I didn’t dabble in anything too serious, but I was the daughter that left. I didn’t want anything to do with my Father’s house anymore, and I didn’t want to pretend to live by God’s rules—which I didn’t believe. I still believed in one God (and almost converted [reverted] to Islam), but I didn’t know what that meant. And I didn’t think I’d ever want to come back home. 

But I did. 

I don’t think God chased after me. I think God waited until I was ready to come back home. And that is beautiful and meaningful and incredibly confusing when we hear that God will come after us and then doesn’t. I think we are granted time for doubt, for complete disbelief, and for running away. But this doesn’t mean God doesn’t want us back—just waiting for us to want to be back. 

So UBC, may you be encouraged when you run away and don’t feel God’s presence. May you be encouraged when you are home and God is blessing your sibling that has come back. May you be encouraged that no matter how long you are gone, God desires you. 

If you want to meet and talk about anything I’ve mentioned, feel free to email me at Kim@ubcwaco.org. 

Town Hall

As you might have observed UBC has spent a large amount of effort this semester on our LGBTQ conversation. Alas, there are other things going on in the life of the church. We will have our quarterly town hall on Sunday April 14th after church.

Children’s Sunday

Parents reminder that children’s Sunday is Sunday April 14th.

Pastoral Associate Application

Hello potential pastoral associates. If you would like to work with the UBC staff on a volunteer basis for 5-10 hours a week, we’d love for you to consider applying to be one of our pastoral associates. The pastoral associate commitment is a 13 month commitment from June-June in which PAs will help staff with various ministerial tasks and take on formal leadership roles within the church. Please use this link to apply.

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Cesar Chavez Support - April 6

Make plans to support the kids and teachers of CCMS on April 6, from 10-12:30.  We will encourage them as they prepare for their state exams, and enjoy some time playing together.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

College Retreat - April 12-14th - $30

This will be a relaxing weekend away were we dive into some spiritual practices and work our way through some communal brainstorming as well.  The cost includes lodging and all meals.  Last day to sign-up is on Sunday.  If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org

South Waco Community Center Easter Egg Hunt - April 13, 11am

We are helping out with the annual easter egg hunt for our community at the SWCC.  We need your help.  You would arrive around 10:15am, and we would be done by 11:30am.   Also, they are in need of prize baskets for the Easter Egg Hunt.  We would like to get $20.  See Toph on Sunday morning for a slip to buy and bring it by church next week.

Cuba Partnership - July
(two trips - last two weeks - each trip is a week)

We are headed to Cuba this summer, and we will have two teams going.  The dates will be the last two weeks of July, we will finalize exact dates in a few weeks.  There will be an informational meeting after church this week, so please come if you have any questions.  The cost will be somewhere around $1500, which includes everything.  If you have any questions before Sunday, shoot toph@ubcwaco.org an email.

Announcements

Sermon Text: Philippians 3:4b-14

Work is Worship

Greeters: Harris’s

Coffee Makers: Jessica Washington

Mug Cleaners: Order of the Phoenix

Money Counter: 

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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

ITLOTC 3-29-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Lent

An Important Announcement About Our Discernment Process

As you may have noticed, over the last few weeks Jamie has used his time during the announcements to stress the importance of you giving your feedback about the following two questions:

1. Should pastors have individual autonomy to decided to preform LGBTQ weddings? and

2. Can our building be rented for LGBTQ weddings.

We now have an official date for the closing of that window for feedback. It is Sunday, April 7th.

Individuals, of course, are free to share their views about these questions at any point during the year, but if you would like to be assured that your opinions will be viewed, thought about and deliberated on, before a vote is taken, then you must submit your feedback by that date.

I would like now to address a few reasons you should share your feedback, if you are not planning on doing so:

1. the feedback, that “I don’t know” or “I’m not sure,” or “I trust leadership team to do what is best,” is still feedback that we need and want to hear.

2. “my view won’t matter.” that is not true. your voice matters.

3. “I’m scared what people will think of me if I share my view.” We have several ways for you to share anonymously.

4. “I haven’t been going here that long, I don't have a right to speak.” We still want to hear from you.

5. “someone already said what I have to say.” that might be the case, but if 2 people feel a particular way about this, that’s twice as significant as knowing just one person feels that way.

6. “my spouse and I don’t agree,” or “my friend and I don’t agree, so we’d just cancel each other out.” that’s fine, we’d still like to know that both your voices exist.

Wednesday Night Educational Moment

Our last Wednesday night educational moment will be this Wednesday April 3 from 5:30-7:00. The format for this last session will be centered around conversing with one another as a community, with the goal of hearing from each other, hopefully with different perspectives. We will sit at tables in small groups and walk through some questions that have been prepared and guided by either staff or leadership team. Child care and food will be provided.

Coffee Makers

UBC champions. I have noticed that I have had relatively few people volunteer to make coffee this Spring. The mugs have been taken care of, but the coffee makers have been scant. If making coffee in the morning from 9:00-10:30 is something you can do from time to time, please let me know. josh@ubcwaco.org.

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Parishioner of The Week

Brother Jameson, who during the week of spring break, cleaned out the music closet behind the stage and spend numerous hours collecting wax from the stage to make new candles and save your hard earned tithe dollars to spend on something more exciting.

Cesar Chavez Support - April 6

Make plans to support the kids and teachers of CCMS on April 6, from 10-12:30.  We will encourage them as they prepare for their state exams, and enjoy some time playing together.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

College Retreat - April 12-14

Join us for an all college retreat on the weekend April 12th.  The cost is $40, and that covers everything for the weekend.  Sign-ups will be being this Sunday.  If you have any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org

April 4th - 8pm

If you are a college student or young professional, join on us on Thursday evening April 4th for a time to connect, learn together, and grow.  Jamie will be playing some music, Taylor will be preaching, and we will spend some time reflecting on our shared humanity.  You don’t want to miss this.  If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org

The Harris’s

We have some UBC folks who are going to Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific to do some work translating this summer. We as a community are committing to praying for their time there, and if you would like to support them financially you can go to this link: www.wycliffe.org/partner/Harris   If you have any questions, please contact Daniel or Lydia Harris: Daniel_Harris2@baylor.edu lydia_harris@wycliffe.org 

Announcements

Sermon Text: Special Guest Preacher Mary Alice Birdwhistle, to help us celebrate women!

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks

Coffee Makers:

Mug Cleaners: Andrew S-C

Money Counter:  Hannah

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 3-24-2019

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 Eternal One

the One who created and sustains all that is,
our Desert Stream and Storm Shelter,

to enter into the Story of God

and find our own stories there

that our hearts might be formed in the way of Christ

and our lives might carry the hope
of the Kingdom of God

amen.

Scripture

Exodus 3:1-15

Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian; he led his flock beyond the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of a bush; he looked, and the bush was blazing, yet it was not consumed.

Then Moses said, “I must turn aside and look at this great sight, and see why the bush is not burned up.” When the Lord saw that he had turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then he said, “Come no closer! Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground.” He said further, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.

Then the Lord said, “I have observed the misery of my people who are in Egypt; I have heard their cry on account of their taskmasters. Indeed, I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them from the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with milk and honey, to the country of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites. The cry of the Israelites has now come to me; I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.

So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.” But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” He said, “I will be with you; and this shall be the sign for you that it is I who sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall worship God on this mountain.”

But Moses said to God, “If I come to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your ancestors has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.”

He said further, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'I am has sent me to you.'” God also said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the Israelites, 'The Lord, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you':

This is my name forever,
and this my title for all generations.”

Luke 13:1-9

At that very time there were some present who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans?

No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did. Or those eighteen who were killed when the tower of Siloam fell on them--do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others living in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish just as they did."

Then he told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, 'See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none.

Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?' He replied, 'Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

Prayer

This prayer written and read by Vanessa Zuck:

Lord, Thank you that we know you and can love you. Thank you for being God three-in-one, for being YHWH, the I Am, the yet to come, the always. Thank you for the all the ways we can know you as our God, our truest love, and thank you for always seeking and reaching out to us.

Help us to keep reaching out to you too. May we continue to find you in familiar and new ways. Open our eyes to see you in all of faces of your beloved, and teach us how to trust that you are who you say you are. May we continue to abide in the light of your love, precious in your sight. Thank you that we are seen and that we can see you. We love you, in Jesus' name, Amen. 

Setlist 3-24-2019

This past Sunday was the third Sunday of Lent, 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.  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:

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go by ubcmusic

There by Jameson McGregor

Mother 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. 

In the Night: This song traces the thread of God’s presence within struggle throughout the biblical narrative, and invites us to step into the lineage of hope-in-despair.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go: We sang this song as an anchor in the midst of Lent, reminding ourselves that the Living God clings to us despite our shaky discipleship.

There: This song is an anchor of a different kind, reminding us that, while God is present in our suffering, God also stands above and beyond it.

Mother: This is a song about God as Mother, offering comfort and wisdom in the midst of growth and suffering.

Be Thou My Vision: This song will accompany us through Lent, reminding us to turn to God for our vision, wisdom, and security.

ITLOTC 3-22-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Lent

A Collection for Reflection (by jamie)

Greetings.  Hope your Lenten season is going well.  I don’t know if you are actively pursuing a particular practice or taking up a particular fast this season, but if you are, I hope that it is proving to be meaningful for you.

I’ve put together a little collection here of offerings for reflection, and hope that whether or not you are already engaging in something specific this season, you’ll find what follows to be something meaningful to engage for a little while.

1) This is an excerpt from Henri Nouwen that I found in a Lent and Easter collection of his quotes.

Life is a long journey of preparation—of preparing oneself to truly die for others.  It is a series of little deaths in which we are asked to release many forms of clinging and to move increasingly from needing others to living for them.  The many passages we have to make as we grow from childhood to adolescence, from adolescence to adulthood, and from adulthood to old age offer ever-new opportunities to choose for ourselves or to choose for others.  During these passages, questions such as: Do I desire power or service; do I want to be visible or remain hidden; do I strive for a successful career or do I keep following my vocation? keep coming up and confront us with hard choices.  In this sense, we can speak about life as a long process of dying to self, so that we will be able to live in the joy of God.

2) This is a section from the fifth chapter of David Dark’s incredible Life’s Too Short To Pretend You’re Not Religious (106-107) [note: at some point he refers to “religion” and “bad religion”—he isn’t using that word to specifically refer to what we might think of as organized religions, but rather, more generally, as a controlling story we carry that informs how we make sense of the world and our place in it.]

What I’m up to with my imagination is what I’m up to.  It’s me making do.  And complicatedly—oh so complicatedly—neutrality doesn’t appear to be a live option, because writer Ronald Sukenick was rich: “If you don’t use your own imagination, somebody else is going to use it for you.”  The question of how I imagine myself and others is at the core of my lived life, how I relate (no getting away from relating), the way I dwell in the world.  How shall I go about mattering if not mattering isn’t an option for anyone anywhere anytime?

Slowly and carefully and with a wary eye on all the flashy, artificial offerings that serve to obscure the reality of where I’m sitting, standing or walking.  There is so much that can call me away from a proper estimation of who I am, where I am and what the joys of right relation might yet require of me; so much that draws me into a denial of the reality of my own body, so much that drives me to deny, to my everlasting detriment and that of others, the fact of the living world.  As I see it, we most effectively practice the right of dissent and resistance when we begin to realize that we’re in the thick of a religious quandary, one in which we’re in danger of no longer meaningfully experiencing our own lives.  It’s as if we’re awash in bad ideas that often render us unable to engage with anything larger than our own misperceived egos.  Recognizing bad religion when we see it—and it is coming at us from every angle—can make us more vigilant and alive to the possibilities of genuine consciousness and more wary of the trivializing shallowness into which we’re otherwise unwittingly enlisted.  Amid the static that degrades, how might we access wisdom, compassion, hospitality and other forms of life for which there is no app?

As I see the bad religion situation, the answer isn’t a matter of stepping out and starting new traditions so much as it’s a matter of approaching the currents we’re already in from a different angle, one person, one relationship at a time.  And even putting it this way brings to mind the poet-pastor Eugene Peterson, who once observed that the besetting sin of the American people is probably impatience.  This sounds so right to me, especially when I consider the possibility that there’s hardly a sin I can think of that isn’t somehow born of misperceived need, of haste and its accompanying inattentiveness, of some feverish variation once more of Hurry up and matter!  Being true—ringing true— will have to involve a slow work of recognition and resistance to that mad and nervy, deluding spirit.  To begin to be true is to try to choose—or risk choosing—presence over progress, really showing up and taking the time to wonder what we’re really up to, what we’re doing and why.

3) This is a prayer from Prayer: Forty Days of Practice by Justin McRoberts and Scott Erickson (Prayer 15):

May my limitations be doorways to partnership and relationship
Rather than reasons to feel shame and isolation.

4) This is a song called Rejoice by Julien Baker:

5) And, finally, Jon Davis took the time to put together a mix of the live recording of last week’s offering song.  The song is called “Acetone,” and it is about God’s dissolving away of the decorative paint we make of our faith, which in some way is what we are leaning in to during Lent.  It also includes the moment a little ubcer concluded the song with “Yay! We did it!” which is wonderful.

Sunday School Resumes This Sunday

9:30am—see you there.

Cesar Chavez Support - April 6

Make plans to support the kids and teachers of CCMS on April 6, from 10-12:30.  We will encourage them as they prepare for their state exams, and enjoy some time playing together.  If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org

College Retreat - April 12-14

Join us for an all college retreat on the weekend April 12th.  The cost is $40, and that covers everything for the weekend.  Sign-ups will be being this Sunday.  If you have any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org

April 4th - 8pm

If you are a college student or young professional, join on us on Thursday evening April 4th for a time to connect, learn together, and grow.  Jamie (and maybe company) will be playing some music, Taylor will be preaching, and there could be a special surprise.  You don’t want to miss this.  If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org

The Harris’s

We have some UBC folks who are going to Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific to do some work translating this summer. We as a community are committing to praying for their time there, and if you would like to support them financially you can go to this link: www.wycliffe.org/partner/Harris   If you have any questions, please contact Daniel or Lydia Harris: Daniel_Harris2@baylor.edu lydia_harris@wycliffe.org 

Benny Fountain Art

This week Benny Fountain (Ph.D. art) was teaching our roots class and did some real time story art. here is a sample of his work.

Finance Team Help

Are you good with numbers? Do you have some business experience? Would you love to serve on UBC’s finance team? We’d love for you to do that. Here is some information from the bylaws below. Interested persons should nominate themselves or eligible candidates by sending your nominations to josh@ubcwaco.org.

(A)Purpose.  The Finance Team shall exist for the following purposes:

a.     To serve as the primary advisory group for the Leadership Team in all budgetary and financial aspects of the church.  

b.    To oversee, in coordination with the ministerial staff, yearly budgetary processes, working to create a financial ministry plan in alignment with the ethos, mission and values of UBC.

c.     To advise the staff and Leadership Team on any emergency financial matters that may arise with regards to the physical infrastructure of the church building, as well as those matters pertaining to compensation and benefits of personnel.

d.    To assess the current financial status of the church on a monthly basis and advise the staff and Leadership Team on matters concerning changes in planned ministry expenses.

e.    To advise the Human Resources/Staff Support team on all financial matters regarding new and existing personnel, including available resources concerning salaries, salary increases, insurance, taxes, etc.

(C) Qualifications.  Finance Team members shall have been an active participant in the life of UBC for at least a year, have received at least a bachelors degree level of education (or roughly an equivalent amount of experience in business or finance,) and have at least a basic understanding of financial reports and budgets.

(E)Term.  Finance Team members shall serve for a duration lasting up to five years.  All efforts shall be made by the Finance Team to ensure that no more than two members in a given year rotate off of Finance Team due to duration requirements. While they are encouraged to remain the full five years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.  

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Parishioner of The Week

That kid that yelled, “yay!” after Jamie’s song and during Emmy’s sermon last week.

Announcements

Sermon Text: Exodus 3:14 “Ineffable God”

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks

Coffee Makers: Clark Mi Casa

Mug Cleaners: Aleigh Ascherl

Money Counter:  JD

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 3-17-2019

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,

the One who is with us,
before us,
and behind us

to enter into the story of God,
who is in us, beneath us, and above us,
on our right, and our left

to find our stories formed in the way of Christ,
in our lying down in our getting up

that the Spirit might shape our minds

to find Christ in the heart of everyone who thinks of us
Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of us,
Christ in every eyes that sees us
and Christ in every ear that hears us

Amen

Scripture

Genesis 15:1-12, 17-18

The word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?”

And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.”

Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness.

Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old, a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove, and a young pigeon.”

He brought him all these and cut them in two, laying each half over against the other; but he did not cut the birds in two. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses, Abram drove them away.

As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram, and a deep and terrifying darkness descended upon him.

When the sun had gone down and it was dark, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these pieces. On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates.”

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Brothers and sisters, join in imitating me, and observe those who live according to the example you have in us. For many live as enemies of the cross of Christ; I have often told you of them, and now I tell you even with tears.

Their end is destruction; their god is the belly; and their glory is in their shame; their minds are set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and it is from there that we are expecting a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

He will transform the body of our humiliation that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, by the power that also enables him to make all things subject to himself. Therefore, my brothers and sisters, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, my beloved.

Prayer

This prayer accompanied a time of silence for the victims of the mosque shootings in New Zealand:

Living God, we are for you, and it is to you that we return. 

We come to you grieved by the display of evil that claimed the lives of 50 of your children in Christchurch this week.

We pray for the community that is learning to live in a world without some people that they love in it, and ask that you would grant them comfort and peace.

For those who are still in intensive care, we ask that you would grant them healing and strength.

We pray for the shooter, that the Light of your love would pierce the veil of the hatred he has embodied.

We ask also that you would care for our Muslim neighbors, both in New Zealand, and Waco, as they carry this story with them. Protect them from harm, unjust aggression and discrimination, breathe healing into their wounds, and teach us what it means to be Christ to them.

We are aware of the overwhelming scope of that which we cannot do about the evil in our world, but we ask that you would give us eyes to see the scope of that which we can.

Amen.

Setlist 3-17-2019

Yesterday was the second Sunday of Lent, 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.  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:

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Deliver Me by David Crowder* Band

For Those Tears I Died by Jameson McGregor (adapted from Marsha Stevens)

Acetone 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. 

In the Night: This song traces the thread of God’s presence within struggle throughout the biblical narrative, and invites us to step into the lineage of hope-in-despair.

Deliver Me: This song offers us language to carry through Lent as we turn toward the Living God.

For Those Tears I Died: We sang this song to accompany a time of prayer and lament for the mosque shootings in New Zealand.

Acetone: This song is about God cutting through the decorative ways we wear our religious convictions, revealing to us the tombs we disguise.

Be Thou My Vision: This song will accompany us through Lent, reminding us to turn to God for our vision, wisdom, and security.

ITLOTC 3-15-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Lent

The Credibility of Belonging

In November of 2017, so about 1.5 years ago for those of you who love math and chronological clarity, I was invited by my good friend, one Rev. Dr. Robert “Bob” Creech, to share a breakfast with Mary Berry.  Mary Berry is the daughter of the legendary Wendell Berry. Wendell Berry, you may or may not know, is a person so significant in my life that I did that cheesy thing of naming my child after him.

Let me tell you what happened at that meeting.  I wore my overalls and cardigan. I gushed and played it cool.  I was given a copy of Wendell’s book Blessed Are The Peacemakers by Mary.  I beamed.

At the end of our conversation Mary Berry began talking about one of the Wendell’s philosophical-theological-sociological truths.  She said, “Daddy always says there is no environmentalism there is only my environment.”

What I  have learned as I have continued reading Wendell Berry with this hermeneutic, is that meaningful discourse can really only happen in the context of a community.  The most important politics for Wendell Berry are not those of the United States of America, they are those of Henry County Kentucky. Henry County is a place to which he belongs, with people to whom he belongs.  It is in this context of knowing and being known that he can make a meaningful contribution to the world he inhabits.

Or that is my best attempt to understand what Mary Berry meant when she said “Daddy always says there is no environmentalism there is only my environment.”   

I’m not sure how you learn, but I have come to realize I do it very slowly.  What I mean is this. When I hear a new idea, I have to think about for a while and try and understand what is meant by it.  When I have my best guess of what is meant by it, which could be wrong BTW, I then live life with that lens. While I’m wearing the new idea i find that the truthfulness of a thing, or lack thereof, is usually made evident by its existential fit. Jesus said something similar, “look for the fruit,” [my paraphrase].   As I have considered Berry’s claim that the only real meaningful work I can do is within the community to which I belong, I have decided he is right about that.

I’ll add my own addendum.  The smaller the community is the more effective one’s impact can be.  That may be so obvious it’s not worth stating, but let me share what I mean.  

I was listening to a podcast yesterday on my eight hour drive from the thunderous Guadalupe National Park to Waco, TX.  The podcast, The Bible for Normal People, is hosted by Peter Enns &  Jared Byas. They were interviewing Jen Hatmaker.  Jen is a co-pastor of a church in Austin that decided to become open and affirming a few years ago.  The interview was about her life in the aftermath of that decision.

Jen is a celebrity of Christian sorts.  In the interview Jen talked about how she was taken to task by the world of social media.  This is zero percent surprising for 100% of humans alive. After talking through her Lord-of-the-Flies-experience in social media, the hosts turned the conversation to the local response of her community.  She said it was more, “painful and gracious.”

Ah-ha! Do you see what just happened?   I’m right.

Of course it was more painful and gracious locally.  It’s not as easy to condemn people in our lives to whom we belong and who belong to us, even if we disagree with them.  The reason people were able to “destroy” or attempt to destroy Jen’s credibility and life’s work online without regard for the consequence of their criticism was because the world of cyber criticism is not real.  No one really belongs to that world. It is devoid of the accountability born of compassion.

Eugene Peterson said that he would never take a church over 300 people because it wasn’t possible to pastor that many anyhow.  I was thinking about how this conversation, the one Jen’s church had, went down in the United Methodist Church with its thousands of delegates from all over the world, a few weekends ago.  I was thinking about our comparatively small community of a few hundred. I was thinking about full time staff of four people. And I was thinking about your marriages of two people.  In all of these relationships there is disagreement. What I have noticed is that the smaller the community is, the deeper the sense of intimacy and the less threatened the relationships become.  

UBC is in the middle of the navigating a difficult conversation.  Insofar as it has been successful, it has been so because we belong to one another.  Which leads me to my conclusion. The most important work you will ever do in your life is to love someone else.  It is to entangle your emotions, desire, wants and needs with someone else’s so that there is no escape from one another without the possibility of pain.   It is to fill your life up with the accountability born of compassion.

Finance Team Help

Are you good with numbers? Do you have some business experience? Would you love to serve on UBC’s finance team? We’d love for you to do that. Here is some information from the bylaws below. Interested persons should nominate themselves or eligible candidates by sending your nominations to josh@ubcwaco.org.

(A)Purpose.  The Finance Team shall exist for the following purposes:

a.     To serve as the primary advisory group for the Leadership Team in all budgetary and financial aspects of the church.  

b.    To oversee, in coordination with the ministerial staff, yearly budgetary processes, working to create a financial ministry plan in alignment with the ethos, mission and values of UBC.

c.     To advise the staff and Leadership Team on any emergency financial matters that may arise with regards to the physical infrastructure of the church building, as well as those matters pertaining to compensation and benefits of personnel.

d.    To assess the current financial status of the church on a monthly basis and advise the staff and Leadership Team on matters concerning changes in planned ministry expenses.

e.    To advise the Human Resources/Staff Support team on all financial matters regarding new and existing personnel, including available resources concerning salaries, salary increases, insurance, taxes, etc.

(C) Qualifications.  Finance Team members shall have been an active participant in the life of UBC for at least a year, have received at least a bachelors degree level of education (or roughly an equivalent amount of experience in business or finance,) and have at least a basic understanding of financial reports and budgets.

(E)Term.  Finance Team members shall serve for a duration lasting up to five years.  All efforts shall be made by the Finance Team to ensure that no more than two members in a given year rotate off of Finance Team due to duration requirements. While they are encouraged to remain the full five years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time.  

No Sunday School This Week

SPRING BREAKKKKKKKKK

Wild Torch Help

Jesus Said Love is currently preparing for their annual fundraising gala, Wild Torch, on April 23 and needing volunteers the day-of! If you're interested in volunteering go to https://goo.gl/forms/N6j8FgqmK6qvYo8D3, fill out the form, and their team will be in contact with you!

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Parishioner of The Week

I’ll be honest, I was gone all week, so I got no one. But I’m sure somewhere, someone lived self sacrificially in the way of Jesus so the world could be a better place. So if that was you, go ahead and imagine your name here.

Announcements

Special guest preacher Emmy Edwards!!!!! Let’s celebrate women!

Work is Worship

Greeters: Richardsons

Coffee Makers:

Mug Cleaners: Cooleys

Money Counter: 

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 3-10-2019

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 is gracious and merciful, abounding in steadfast love

to find rest for our weariness,
and a balm for our aches,
in this wilderness of Lent

at this seam between seasons,
this space between death and new life,

we trace the stitches with our hearts
and invite the Spirit to trace the seams within us

to find our loose threads and pull them

that we might begin again
our journey on the way of Christ

amen

Scripture

Deuteronomy 26:1-11

Once you enter the land that God, your God, is giving you as an inheritance and take it over and settle down, you are to take some of all the firstfruits of what you grow in the land that God, your God, is giving you, put them in a basket and go to the place God, your God, sets apart for you to worship him.

At that time, go to the priest who is there and say, “I announce to God, your God, today that I have entered the land that God promised our ancestors that he’d give to us.” The priest will take the basket from you and place it on the Altar of God, your God. And there in the Presence of God, your God, you will recite:

A wandering Aramean was my father,
he went down to Egypt and sojourned there,
he and just a handful of his brothers at first, but soon
they became a great nation, mighty and many.
The Egyptians abused and battered us,
in a cruel and savage slavery.

We cried out to God, the God-of-Our-Fathers:
He listened to our voice, he saw
our destitution, our trouble, our cruel plight.
And God took us out of Egypt
with his strong hand and long arm, terrible and great,
with signs and miracle-wonders.

And he brought us to this place,
gave us this land flowing with milk and honey.
So here I am. I’ve brought the firstfruits
of what I’ve grown on this ground you gave me, O God.

Then place it in the Presence of God, your God. Prostrate yourselves in the Presence of God, your God. And rejoice! Celebrate all the good things that God, your God, has given you and your family; you and the Levite and the foreigner who lives with you.

Luke 4:1-13

After his baptism, Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over, he was famished. The devil said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread." Jesus answered him, "It is written, 'One does not live by bread alone.'"

Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And the devil said to him, "To you I will give their glory and all this authority; for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours."

Jesus answered him, "It is written,
'Worship the Lord your God,
and serve only him.'"

Then the devil took him to Jerusalem, and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple, saying to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written,

'He will command his angels concerning you,
to protect you,'

and

'On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.'"

Jesus answered him, "It is said, 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"

When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.

Prayer

This week’s prayer was from Gill Le Fevre:

Merciful God, You see deep into our hearts and know us better than we know ourselves. Forgive us we pray. For the times we turn away from Your word, remind us that You are the Lord our God, our eternal protector and guide. For our impulses of anger and jealousy, scorn or spite, grant us Your healing peace. For our resistance to forgiveness, generosity and mercy, inspire us with Your compassionate love.

Setlist 3-10-2019

Yesterday was the first Sunday of Lent, 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.  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:

In the Night by Andrew Peterson

Lord, I Need You by Matt Maher

Wandering by Jameson McGregor

Chasing the Wind 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. 

In the Night: This song traces the thread of God’s presence within struggle throughout the biblical narrative, and invites us to step into the lineage of hope-in-despair.

Lord, I Need You: We sang this song to take on its confession of dependence upon the Spirit as we make our way further into the Lenten season.

Wandering: We sang this song to celebrate God’s faithfulness to us despite our failing to be faithful to God.

Chasing the Wind: This song is about the emptiness that comes with trying to make ourselves whole.

Be Thou My Vision: This song will accompany us through Lent, reminding us to turn to God for our vision, wisdom, and security.

ITLOTC 3-8-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Lent

Love/Hate

I Love Lent. I love thinking of things in my life that I don’t need and then getting rid of them. And at the same time, I hate it. I hate how difficult it is to give up something so minuscule. This year, my husband and I are giving up animal product substitutes, no fake meats, no fake cheese, imitation salad dressings, and so many other things like ice cream and butter. Y’all, I love these things. I’ve been vegan for over 6 years, and it gives joy to my soul to have a vegan burger that tastes eerily like a burger made with cow (see Beyond Burger, it is amazing!). Food science has come so far! When my husband suggested we give up these things, I was filled with sadness and immediately knew it was the correct decision.

I love a challenge. I love winning, making it through to the end and being able to say, “Yeah, I did it. I did the Lent thing.” Although, I’ve never made it to the end. I tend to give up about week 2, throwing in the towel and telling myself I’ll do better next year (#enneagram1). It feels like I never have the time to commit to the thing I’ve decided on - that life eventually gets in the way - and in order to stay on-top of things, Lent gets put aside.

I’ve had the flu all week, and one thing I’ve realized is that life goes on without me. The church office is functioning just fine, my yoga classes are being taught by somebody else, each of the students in my Truett small group have vast leadership qualities and can be trusted to lead themselves, my husband is a functioning adult and can do things, and I can take care of myself. This is hard for me. It’s difficult to let go of control, to let others help me, to even ask for that help! But I’m so grateful I have the flu right now, because through it I’ve learned that there is always time. I can always make space in my schedule to devote time to God.

And so with love and hate, I’m entering this Lenten Season with a dedication that I can live intentionally for 40 days of the year. I can dedicate portions of my mornings, afternoons, and evenings to prayer and meditation, and I can sacrifice taste to let God begin to break me apart from my desires.

I’m excited to move through this season with you all and would love to hear what you are doing for Lent. You can reach me at kim@ubcwaco.org to schedule coffee or an email chat. Grace and Peace.

Mens Group

Are you a male at UBC who occasionally here’s about the women’s college group, mens college group or women’s groups. And if that is you have ever thought, “hey is there a mens group for non-college people. I might like to be a part of such a thing.” Well boy do I have good news for you. This is an exploratory offering to how many of you have that thought process there are. Should you be interested in a version of a mens group, though not necessarily one that fixes cars and reads John Eldredge books, but you know, one that is like “hey, I’d like to meet some other guys at UBC and become friends and converse about the facets of Christian faith,” please let us know by emailing josh@ubcwaco.org.

No Sunday School This Week

SPRING BREAKKKKKKKKK

Youth Spring Break Schedule

The Order of the Phoenix will not be meeting this Sunday 3-10 and Wednesday 3-13. The 5-6 graders will begin meeting again on Sunday 3-17.

Wild Torch Help

Jesus Said Love is currently preparing for their annual fundraising gala, Wild Torch, on April 23 and needing volunteers the day-of! If you're interested in volunteering go to https://goo.gl/forms/N6j8FgqmK6qvYo8D3, fill out the form, and their team will be in contact with you! 

A Primer on the Exegesis of Sexuality Podcast

Special thanks to Dr. Jonathan Tran for visiting with us this last Wednesday to give us a primer on the hermeneutics of sexuality. If you were unable to attend, but would like to hear that discussion, a recorded version of it can be found here.

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Parishioner of The Week

Emmy Edwards for cleaning up after the potluck and throwing garbage bags over the dumpster, missing it entirely, and then laughing about it and proceeding to pick up our trash from the parking lot with great joy and laughter.

Spring Forward

• Sermon Text: Deuteronomy 26:1-11, “liturgizing the ordinary”

Work is Worship

Greeters: Ricky and Rose

Coffee Makers:

Mug Cleaners: Sepasnki

Money Counter:  JD

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 3-3-2019

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 Eternal One

to direct our attention toward
the Creator and Sustainer of all,

offering our songs, our prayers,
our silence, and our listening

that the Spirit of God might illuminate our ordinary lives,
renewing our hearts and minds
and shaping our imaginations

that, as a Body held together in the Word-made-flesh,

we might carry the light
of the love
of the Living God
together

Amen

Scripture

Psalm 99

The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!
   the Lord sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!
The Lord is great in Zion;
   the Lord is exalted over all the peoples.
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
   Holy is the Lord!

Mighty King, lover of justice,
   you have established equity;
you have executed justice
   and righteousness in Jacob.
Extol the Lord our God;
   worship at the Lord’s footstool.
   Holy is the Lord!

Moses and Aaron were among the Lord’s priests,
   Samuel also was among those who called on the name of the Lord.
   They cried to the Lord, and the Lord answered them.

The Lord spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
   they kept the Lord’s decrees,
   and the statutes that the Lord gave them.

O Lord our God, you answered them;
   you were a forgiving God to them,
   but an avenger of their wrongdoings.
Extol the Lord our God,
   and worship at the Lord’s holy mountain;
   for the Lord our God is holy.

1 Corinthians 15:50-58

What I am saying, brothers and sisters, is this: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I will tell you a mystery! We will not all die, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must put on imperishability, and this mortal body must put on immortality.

When this perishable body puts on imperishability, and this mortal body puts on immortality, then the saying that is written will be fulfilled:

“Death has been swallowed up in victory.”
“Where, O death, is your victory?
   Where, O death, is your sting?”

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

Luke 9:28-36

Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they saw two men, Moses and Elijah, talking to him.

They appeared in glory and were speaking of his departure, which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Now Peter and his companions were weighed down with sleep; but since they had stayed awake, they saw his glory and the two men who stood with him. Just as they were leaving him, Peter said to Jesus, "Master, it is good for us to be here; let us make three dwellings, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah"--not knowing what he said.

While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, "This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!" When the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. And they kept silent and in those days told no one any of the things they had seen.

Prayer

This week’s prayer was from Christine Jerrett:

We wait for you, God of truth and freedom.
We wait for you, Holy Spirit.
We wait for you, Lord Jesus, full of the glory of God.

God of goodness and grace,
you summon us into a world
made large by your expansive, creative salvation.
Open our eyes and ears and hearts
to your unexpected presence in our lives.

You know the ways we wander from your love and your truth:
the fears that drive us to make our world small and manageable;
the selfishness that shuts down our hearts;
the arrogance that limits our reach towards the ones you love.

Immerse us again and again
in your lavish grace.
Bathe us once more in the
cleansing stream of your truth.
Send your Spirit flowing through the
dried-up, worn out places.
Bring life — your life,
your wondrous, abundant life,
for we pray in the name of Jesus,
the Way, the Truth, the Life,
your Word made flesh,
your love that transfigures our world.
Amen.

Setlist 3-3-2019

Yesterday was the final Sunday of Epiphany, also known as Transfiguration Sunday, 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.  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:

The Transfiguration by Sufjan Stevens

Pulse by ubcmusic

The Word Is Yet Flesh by Jameson McGregor

Trusty and True by Damien Rice

Wayward Ones by The Gladsome Light

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. 

The Transfiguration: We sang this song to enter into the story of the Transfiguration.

Pulse: This song offered us language to petition God to reconnect our hearts to our interconnectivity with all of creation.

The Word Is Yet Flesh: This song is a petition to the One in whom all things hold together to hold us together and breathe the Spirit of life anew into our collective body.

Trusty and True: This is a song about reconciliation.

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

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 3-1-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Epiphany

Trusty and True (by jamie)

Greetings.  I hope this finds you well.

I have elected today to share with you from my attention collection in lieu of a wall of words. It’s a video of Damien Rice playing a song called Trusty and True, and it continues to be one of the most moving things I’ve seen for reasons I admittedly do not fully understand.

If you’re not familiar with Damien Rice, I would recommend that you remedy that.  He is one of few artists that I have listened to for over a decade that I can return to out of genuine appreciation, with no shade of irony (this song is from a record that is only a few years old, but still).  Put differently, his work resonated with me at 15 and it resonates with me at 30.  Trusty and True is, at it’s core, a song about reconciliation, and I of course receive pretty much anything reconciliation-oriented through a lens that is informed by my seeking to be formed in the way of Christ.  But, subject matter aside, this performance sparks in me a sense of the sacred, and I imagine I would have been reduced to a puddle on the floor if I happened to be in the room when this occurred.

So, anyway, grab some headphones if you’ve got them, dim the lights, and behold:

Unity Sunday

This Sunday UBC will be intentionally entering a space of unity together as we are in the midst of our discernment process. What that means is a few things, two of which I will name here. First, I Josh, will be giving a kind of update/sermon on what we’ve been discerning so far. Secondly, after church we will have a potluck. Not a thing where we provide lunch for you or a thing where you go get lunch for yourself. Like a legit potluck. You can either go grab potluck item after church while we set up or bring something delicious that your grandma would make. UBC has a warming rack if you need one. In addition to the potluck we will do something fun. A mysterious something to be named later.

Ash Wednesday

We will have two Ash Wednesday services on 3-6. The first will be service will be @ 7:00 A.M. The evening service will be @ 5:30 P.M.

A Primer on the Exegesis of Sexuality

If you were unable to attend our Wednesdsay night gathering this last week, you can listen to a version of that discussion here.

The Hermeneutics of Sexuality

If you were at church this last Wednesday you heard a conversation on exegesis and sexuality. This Wednesday, 3-6, we will be having a kind of part 2 on sexuality and the Bible. Hermeneutics means something like, “the lens you see the text with.” Said differently now that we have the biblical data made available by exegesis how do we read the Bible? Our own Dr. Jonathan Tran will lead us in the discussion. One note, because of Ash Wednesday, this will start at 6:00 and go 7:30 PM.

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Parishioner of The Week

Glovers and David Rehfeld for being willing to help with coffee when no one else was there.

Announcements

• Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 15:58. “never in vain.”

Work is Worship

Greeters: Ricky Lhotan and D-Train Harris

Coffee Makers:

Mug Cleaners: Order of the Phoenix

Money Counter: 

Welcome Station: Broadduses

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 2-24-2019

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 offer our songs, our prayers, our attention, and our listening
to the One in whom all things hold together

to enter the story of God and the people of God

and find our own stories there

and to find our hearts and minds transformed by the Spirit of God

that we might learn to love, to live, and to die,
carrying the Light of Christ in our ordinary lives

Amen

Scripture

Psalm 37:1-12, 41-42

Do not fret yourself because of evildoers;
do not be jealous of those who do wrong.
For they shall soon wither like the grass,
and like the green grass fade away.

Put your trust in the Lord and do good;
dwell in the land and feed on its riches.
Take delight in the Lord,
and he shall give you your heart's desire.

Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him,
and he will bring it to pass.
He will make your righteousness as clear as the light
and your just dealing as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord
and wait patiently for him.
Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers,
the one who succeeds in evil schemes.

Refrain from anger, leave rage alone;
do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.
For evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.

In a little while the wicked shall be no more;
you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.
But the lowly shall possess the land;
they will delight in abundance of peace.

But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
The Lord will help them and rescue them;
he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them,
because they seek refuge in him.

Luke 6:27-38

If you’re listening, here’s My message: Keep loving your enemies no matter what they do. Keep doing good to those who hate you. Keep speaking blessings on those who curse you. Keep praying for those who mistreat you. If someone strikes you on one cheek, offer the other cheek too. If someone steals your coat, offer him your shirt too. If someone begs from you, give to him. If someone robs you of your valuables, don’t demand them back. Think of the kindness you wish others would show you; do the same for them.

Listen, what’s the big deal if you love people who already love you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you do good to those who do good to you? Even scoundrels do that much! So what if you lend to people who are likely to repay you? Even scoundrels lend to scoundrels if they think they’ll be fully repaid.

If you want to be extraordinary—love your enemies! Do good without restraint! Lend with abandon! Don’t expect anything in return! Then you’ll receive the truly great reward—you will be children of the Most High—for God is kind to the ungrateful and those who are wicked. So imitate God and be truly compassionate, the way your Father is.

If you don’t want to be judged, don’t judge. If you don’t want to be condemned, don’t condemn. If you want to be forgiven, forgive. Don’t hold back—give freely, and you’ll have plenty poured back into your lap—a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, brimming over. You’ll receive in the same measure you give.

Philippians 1:21

For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain.

Setlist 2-24-2019

Yesterday was the eighth 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.  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:

How Great Thou Art

Crown Him With Many Crowns by ubcmusic (adapted from Matthew Bridges)

SMS [Shine] by David Crowder* Band

When the Saints

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. 

How Great Thou Art: We sang this song to begin our time together giving voice to the greatness of God’s activity in history.

Crown Him With Many Crowns: This song offered us language to speak of Christ’s greatness being rooted in his coming low and suffering among us.

SMS [Shine]: This song is a petition for Christ to continue to be the light in the darkness the darkness did not overcome, and to make us bearers of this light.

When the Saints: We sang this song to tie ourselves to those who have gone before us, and to locate our stories within a great parade of stories God is weaving together into redemption.

There: We sang this song to look over our shoulder at last week’s songs. This is what we said about There then: This song celebrates God as an anchor beyond every pain we encounter.

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 2-22-19

ITLOTC

(In The Life Of The Church)

Thank You from Taylor

Today Kim and I are at the Texas Baptist Women in Ministry Conference. And it has me thinking about a lot of things. I’ve been thinking about UBC and how I’ve been formed by my time there as a congregation member and as a pastor. And I’ve been thinking about women in ministry – the ways that women have found to be ministers no matter their circumstance and how that has formed me and the church. And I’ve been thinking about women generally – about the ways in which we move through society and the church, about the ways in which we are affirmed and the ways in which we aren’t affirmed.

And I think mostly I’ve been thinking about myself – about my particular call to vocational ministry and the ways that this call has changed and transformed my life. Or – maybe more accurately – the ways that the Holy Spirit has changed and transformed my life through this call. A part of my story that you might not be familiar with is that I grew up in a church that was not affirming of women in ministry. When I first felt a call to ministry in the 7thgrade I was met with skepticism. And then eventually, a reluctant compromise: “Well,” they said, “maybe you’ll be a pastor’s wife.”

But I knew, deep within myself, that that was not the call – that my calling to ministry was about my own particular vocation. But because I was met with such skepticism and because I had never seen a woman be a pastor of any kind I did not have the imagination to even begin to set a vision for how I might become a minister. And so I went to college, and I got a degree in music, and I spent a season of life teaching music. And while those years were dear and valuable and I learned and grew so much and I could not be the pastor that I am without those experiences it is also true that those years were a sort of wilderness for me. And a particular lonely one because even though I felt a deep calling – I did not believe in my own ability to be a minister. And I didn’t think anyone else did either.

But eventually I could suppress the call no longer. So I came to Truett, and eventually I came to UBC as well. And let me tell you friends – I know that we all love UBC so deeply and in our own individual ways – but it was a revelation for me. At UBC and at Truett I found a place where I was affirmed in my ability to be a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was encouraged to lean hard into the person that God had crafted me to be, to see and learn how to use what my own particular gifts and skills were and then use those gifts and skills to tell and show other people about the way of Jesus. I was set free – and I had not even know that I was living in bondage.

And so I guess what I’m really trying to say is thank you. Thank you to UBC. Thank you to the versions of UBC that existed before me. Thank you to the many different versions of UBC that I have experienced. Thank you the versions of UBC that will exist long after I have gone. Thank you to each of you. Thank you for accepting me, for encouraging me, for refining me, and for loving me well. Thank you for creating a place where our little girls will never have to wonder whether or not they are fully invited to the table. None of our children will ever lack the imagination to see themselves as ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I cannot tell you how much of a gift that is. Thank you for being UBC. May we continue to be UBC to each other – in hard seasons and in easy ones. May we continue to love each other well – and to life each other up.

As always - if you have thoughts about this and want to talk or process - please feel free to email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org.

Guest Preacher

As February comes to a close and we continue to celebrate Black voices and lives that have changed the world and shown us Jesus we prepare to welcome guest preacher Rev. Cokiesha Bailey Robinson. Please be in prayer for Cokiesha as she prepares to bring a word from the Lord to UBC.

Second Wednesday Training

This Wednesday, 2-27, we will have our second conversation with regards to UBC’s relationship with the LGBTQ community. In this particular session we will be talking about biblical exegesis of verses that address sexuality.

If you’d like to do your own study before hand, the primary verses we will be talking about are:

Genesis 19:1-29

Leviticus 18:22, 20:13

Romans 1:18-32

1 Corinthians 6:9-11 (as a collective read of 1 Tim 1:10, Acts 15:28-29, etc.)

This discussion will be led by Dr. Brian Gamel. Brian’s work is in the field of New Testament.

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Parishioner of The Week

Karen Carney for coming up and cleaning the Sunday school rooms and the youth room.

Announcements

• Sermon Text: Philippians 1:21 with Rev. CoKeisha Bailey Robinson

• 3-3 Unity Sunday

• Ash Wednesday Service 3-6 @ 5:30 PM

• Hermeneutics Training Session on LGBTQ texts 3-6 6:00-7:30 (note this time shift as we will be observing Ash Wednesday).

• Lenten Prayer Services begin

Work is Worship

Greeters: Blaylocks

Coffee Makers:

Mug Cleaners: Andrew S-C

Money Counter:  Catherine B

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

Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com

Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com

Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com

Kathy Krey: kathykrey@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 2-17-2019

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 Creator and Sustainer

to direct our attention
toward the One in whom we live
and move and have our being

to find comfort for the afflicted
in the Story of God and the people of God

and to find our stories formed
in the way of Christ

so, may the Spirit of God carve the love of God into our hearts,

and may we learn to embody
the Kingdom of the Living God
in our ordinary lives

amen.

Scripture

Genesis 48:1-20

Soon after this, Joseph was brought word that his father was gravely ill; so he took his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, to see Jacob. When Jacob was told that his son Joseph had come to see him, he gathered his strength and sat up in bed.

Jacob (to Joseph): The All-Powerful God appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan many years ago and spoke His blessing over me, telling me, “I am going to make you fruitful and multiply your descendants so that you will give rise to nation after nation. I will give this land to them after you to have as their possession forever.”

So Joseph, your two sons who were born to you in Egypt before I came here are mine. I claim Ephraim and Manasseh as my own, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine. As for any children you father after them, you may regard them as your own. When it comes time for your other children to gain their inheritances, they will be given land within the regions granted to their brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh.

When I left Paddan, your mother Rachel died on our journey in the land of Canaan. We were not far from Ephrath, so I buried her there on the way to Ephrath (which is also known as Bethlehem).

Just then Israel noticed Joseph’s sons.

Jacob: And who are these?

Joseph: These are my sons, Father, whom God has given to me here in Egypt.

Jacob: Please bring them here to me, so I can lay my hands on them and bless them.

Israel’s eyes were dim because of his old age, so he couldn’t see well. Joseph brought the boys near to him, and Israel kissed them and hugged them warmly.

Jacob (to Joseph): I didn’t know if I would ever see your face again, but now God has given me more than I hoped: He has let me see your children too.

Then Joseph moved the boys aside—they had been at his father’s knees—and he bowed down low with his face to the ground. Then Joseph took his sons and brought them near to his father. He took his younger son Ephraim in his right hand and put him to the left hand of Israel, and he took Manasseh in his left hand and put him to the right hand of Israel. But Israel stretched out his hands and crossed his arms, laying his right hand on the head of Ephraim, the younger, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, the firstborn. And he spoke this blessing over Joseph.

Jacob: May the God before whom my ancestors Abraham and Isaac walked,
       the God who has been my shepherd all of my life and still to this day,
   The messenger who has rescued me from all harm,
       bless these boys.
   And let my name be perpetuated through them,
       as well as the name of my ancestors Abraham and Isaac,
   And let them grow into a great multitude of people
       throughout the world.

When Joseph saw that his father had laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, he was troubled, and so he took his father’s hand to move it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s.

Joseph: No, Father! Since this one is the firstborn, put your right hand on his head.

But Israel refused.

Jacob: I know, my son, I know. Manasseh will also become a people, and he will be great. Nevertheless, his younger brother will be greater than he, and his children will give rise to many nations.

So it was that Israel blessed Joseph and his sons that day.

Jacob: When the people of Israel speak blessings, they’ll remember you: “May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh.”

So this is how Israel ranked Ephraim ahead of Manasseh.

Luke 6:17-26

Jesus came down with the twelve apostles and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them.

Then he looked up at his disciples and said:

“Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.

“Blessed are you who are hungry now,
for you will be filled.

“Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.

“Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets."

"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have received your consolation.

"Woe to you who are full now,
for you will be hungry.

"Woe to you who are laughing now,
for you will mourn and weep.

"Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets."