ITLOTC
(In the Life of the Church)
Advent - Joy
And Now for Joy
I’ve been out of sorts with Advent this year. This might be a clergy problem. By this I mean we are always preparing a week ahead of everyone else. Before Advent began I was thinking about hope. Once hope arrived I started writing my sermon about peace. Now, during our peace week, I’ve skipped ahead to joy. So all week I have been thinking about joy. Here’s a sneak peak (but not really if you’ve heard me talk about joy before), joy is intrinsically tied to surprise. Joy is unexpected.
This is easy for me to see with four kids in the house. My ability to anticipate their development consistently fails and so I’m constantly being surprised by their ideas, vocabulary, and abilities. Often the focal point of parental surprise is the hilarious stuff of toddlers and small children. It’s the same stuff that makes Steve Harvey’s show, Little Big Shots, funny. Most kids default mode is funny. The kinds of surprises in our house range from Wendell having the emotional intelligence to smooze, to Mabel utilizing deadpan humor, to Lillian’s self confidence on the stage. But there’s a different kind of a joy that comes from surprise. It’s not a joy that makes me laugh, it’s a joy that makes me appreciate.
Lately, I’ve found that joy in my interactions with Roy. I’m not sure if this is unique to me, but when I was a kid I always appreciated when adults talked to me like I was an adult. If I was given inside information I felt important. If I was taken seriously, I wanted to do my best to honor that and offer maturity in response. So I’ve taken some risks with Roy recently by engaging him in complex conversations. I have been surprised by his capacity for meaningful conversation. It’s strange … delightful, to find wisdom in such an unsuspecting source.
This experience has me thinking about UBC. I think I would like joy for UBC in 2019. So I’m praying for God to surprise me. To surprise all of us.
Christmas Eve Service
Christmas Eve service will be at 5:30. There will be no child care at the service, but that is because the children are going to be a significant part of the service. We hope that you’ll make UBC part of your worship plans on this holiday season because we think it’s going to be awesome.
Christmas Eve Service - Parents and Kids
Hey UBC Families! It’s Taylor. We are going to be doing a Kid’s Nativity with our UBC Kids this Christmas Eve! If you are planning on being there could please shoot me an email at taylor@ubcwaco.org so that I can have a general idea about how many kids we are going to have present and participating! All kids 4yo-6th Grade will have an opportunity to participate and I would love to have some youth helpers! So if your kids are any of those ages and want to participate or help please let me know! Thanks!
ITLOTC Break
ITLOTC, our beloved newsletter, which many have argued is on par with The Onion in entertainment value, will be taking a two-week break. So please step away from your computer screens on Friday December 28 and January 4 and quit holding your breath. We will be back with riveting material on Friday January 11. Should information arise within our community that needs to be shared before then, we will commission someone to produce a special edition of ITLTOC.
Leadership Team Member
UBC is looking for a new leadership team member. If you this is something you are interested in or would like to nominate someone in our community for please use the following link to do so.
Here is some information from our bylaws about the leadership team.
Section 1. Leadership Team
(A) Purpose. The Leadership Team shall be the primary decision-making body of UBC. The Leadership Team will oversee all the business and property of the church, as well as make the final decisions regarding hiring and dismissal of staff and the acquisition and selling of assets that are beyond budgetary provisions.
(C) Qualifications. Each member of Leadership Team shall have been a member of UBC for at least one year, exhibited an understanding and commitment to the mission and values of the church, and be willing to fulfill all responsibilities in the Leadership Team job description.
(E) Term. Members of Leadership Team may serve for a duration lasting up to three years. While they are encouraged to remain the full three years, members may voluntarily remove themselves from their position at any time. Members serving as student member commit to a year with the chance to renew up to three years.
Random Pic To Generate Clickbait Traffic
Parishioner of the Week
Angela Beeler and Catherine Ballas for winning Wacoan of the year.
Announcements
Sermon Text: Zephaniah 3:14-20 “Jerusalem’s Joy”
Work is Worship
Greeters: Richardsons
Coffee Makers: Clark Mi Casa
Mug Cleaners: Cooley
Money Counter: Ballas
Welcome Station: Broaddaus
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 Nance
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Student Position: Samuel Moore: samuel_moore2@baylor.edu
Student Position: Anna Carol Peery: anna_peery@baylor.edu
UBC Finance Team
Do you have a question about UBC’s financial affairs? Please feel free to contact any of your finance team members.
JD Newman: JD_Newman@baylor.edu
Hannah Kuhl: HannahKuhl@hotmail.com
Justin Pond: pondjw@gmail.com
Doug McNamee: douglas.mcnamee@gmail.com
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com
Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu
Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com