ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Any Given Sunday Morning
It is safe to say that one of my favorite parts of my job is Sunday morning. It brings me a lot of life to have kids and families (and college students and young professionals and grandparents and visitors and friends…) in the building. And it gives me so much joy to walk in and out of rooms where kid’s Bible study and formation is happening and hear our kid’s actively engaged in learning about the story that God has been eternally writing. It is hands down my favorite part of every week.
And one of the reasons I love it so much is because the formation that is taking place in every room is so different – and it always reminds me of different ways that I am still trying to be formed. In the Nurture Room with the babies I am reminded that my constant determination to be completely 100% independent is foolishness. We were created to be in relationship with other people and that includes being dependent on those with whom we are in community. Babies model this dependence for us every day and in every moment. May we all remember to depend on the people around us.
In the Sprout Room with the tiny toddlers who have just learned to walk I am reminded that joy is never too far away. In this classroom kids laughter comes readily and something as small as a fist bump can bring a giant smile to a kid’s face. It forces me to ask the question – how much more joy would I find if I was expectantly looking for it? May we all be people who look for joy.
In the Bloom Room with the 2 and 3 year olds I am reminded about the importance of grace. 2 and 3 year olds have the tendency to test their boundaries – they’re figuring out the world and they have a lot of opinions about how they want to go about doing that. But they are resilient and quick to bounce back. It is a room full of grace – extended by our awesome teachers to our kids and by our 2 and 3 year olds to their teachers and their classmates – that reminds me that we are all still figuring this world out. May we all extend a little bit more grace to others and to ourselves.
In the Branch Room with our Pre-K and Kindergarten kids I am reminded of the importance of imagination and creativity. They are quick to envision the setting of the Bible Story (this past Sunday they told me all about what Jonah might have been experiencing in the belly of a giant fish) and always so excited and pleased to show off their in class creations. We are all created in the image of the Creator and on most days these 4 and 5 year olds trust their own creative instincts more than most adults I know. They believe that it is important to create things and that the things they create are important. Might we all remember that we are created and creative beings, too.
And in the Root Rooms with our 1-4th graders I am reminded of the importance of curiosity. Our older kids are full of big and important questions – about the Bible, about the world around them, and about life in general. And I am reminded about the importance of knowledge. I am a person who deals primarily in feelings – but our 1st-4th graders keep my on my toes with all the things they know and their excitement and curiosity about what is left to learn. May we all keep learning about God and letting that knowledge form us more and more into the image of Christ.
I hope our kids never lose these attributes. That they are forever curious and creative and gracious and joyful and willing to depend on and trust the people around them so that they might be healthy and helpful community members. And so that they might see the Spirit of Christ in the world around them always. And I ask the same thing for you – that you might embody these qualities. And for myself – that I might embody them too. And when we don’t (because I am certain that there will be days that we don’t) – that we are able to point each other back to the work that the Holy Spirit has already done in our lives and continue to push each other towards Christ as we participate together in the kingdom of God.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns, feel free to email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org.
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Parishioner of the Week
Hogan Nance, for helping (actually showing) the adults how to run sound and lights on the Mid Winter Retreat for youth two weekends ago.
Human Trafficking Prayer
Our liturgy this Sunday will include the reading of a declaration and prayer regarding human trafficking, provided to us by the Heart of Texas Human Trafficking Coalition. This will occur after the third song, and the Roots class will be dismissed at that time rather than after the Scripture readings.
Ordination Service
UBC will be ordaining Joanna Sowards for the ministry of the gospel. Joanna is a hospice chaplain. Her service will be Sunday evening at 5:00 in the Backside @ UBC.
nUBCer Lunch
If you are new to UBC and would like to learn more about the church we will be hosting a lunch after church on Sunday February 4th. Sign ups will be in the foyer this Sunday or you can sign up by email toph@ubcwaco.org.
Work is Worship
Greeters: Blaylocks
Coffee Makers: Emmy and Caroline
Mug Cleaners: UBC Youth
Money Counter: Doug McNamee
Announcements
- Sermon Text: 1 corinthians 8
- 1-28 Quarterly Leadership Team Meeting
- FEBRUARY BLACK HISTORY MONTH LITURGY
- 2-11 Love, Love Feast 6:00 PM CST
- 2-16 Date Night
- 2-12 Finance Team Meeting
- 2-14 Ash Wednesday Service, Lent Begins
Do you have an emergency and need to talk to a pastor?
254 413 2611
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- Emma Wood: emmaj.wood@yahoo.com
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Stan Denman: Stan_Denman@baylor.edu
Adam Winn: adamwinn68@yahoo.com
Bridget Heins: bheins@hot.rr.com
Sharyl Loeung: sharylwl@gmail.com
Jon Davis: jdavis83@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
Anna Tilson: Anna_Tilson@jrbt.com
Doug McNamee: douglas_mcnamee@baylor.edu
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.
Rob Engblom: Rob_Engblom@baylor.edu
Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu
Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com