ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Dedication
I’ve never been big on resolutions. If I had to guess why it’s because I don’t really like people telling me what to do and also I’m not very good at making decisions without outside input. (It’s a treacherous and illogical path the one I trod.) And so, because I am so other oriented I always seemed to feel like the resolutions I was setting for myself had really been set for me by other people. And I don’t like doing what other people tell me to do, as previously stated.
During and after seminary I went on the long and hard journey of finding my own voice. Over the course of this journey (one I have come to understand I will probably be on for most of my life) I learned that there are some people who know their voice so intimately that they never have to work to find it. It is always with them, as close to them as their skin. But this is not true for me. The sound of my own voice is illusive. I have over the course of my life replaced it with many other things. I have replaced it with the voice of my mother or my father, the voices of my grandparents, my siblings, my friends and my peers, the voices of my teachers at school and at church – even the voices of total strangers have seemed to me to be my own voice at times.
And while the reality is that it is good to hear and know and understand the voices of others (this is, in fact, the work that some people who are intimately acquainted with their own voice need to do) it is also incredibly important to know your own voice. Because it is only after we know our own voice - after we have done the work to unpack our own motivations and thoughts and desires - that we can use it correctly. It is only then that we can put it in it’s proper place – not above or below the voices of others, but alongside them. My voice is, of course, more important to me than it is to you – but it should still be important to you, just as yours is to me.
So I’m not much for resolutions. Although I might take them up again sometime – now that I’m more acquainted with my own voice. But until then a practice I have taken up is adopting a word of the year. And my word for 2019 is Dedication. For the past several years I have been working on being present and extending myself grace, and as I have worked through those ideas I find that I have circled back around to the need for dedication. To the need for commitment.
The Psalm in the lectionary this week is Psalm 19. Verse 14 says, “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.” The Psalmist is specifically referring to their own words and meditations in Psalm 19. And they are good words and meditations – words that remind us that the heavens are spend every day reminding us of the glory of God, that the law of the Lord is perfect, and that the commandments of the Lord are good. But I also think that I can take these words up even further than Psalm 19. Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in God’s sight. Right now and today and forever. May I commit myself to speaking and meditating on the things that please God. On things that further love, that further reconciliation, on things that remind the world of the glory of God. May we all commit to speaking and meditation on such things.
As always if this is something you’d like to discuss, because this is a journey you also find yourself on or because this seems like the rambling of an insane person to you, feel free to reach out! You can email me at taylor@ubcwaco.org.
Meet Our Newest UBCer
Name: Kenneth "Kent" Brooks Haecker
Birthday: December 2, 2018
Birth Weight: 6 lbs 7 oz
Birth Height: 19 in
Enneagram Number: 8
Mi CASA Chili Cook Off
Come join us for first annual Micasa chili cook-off. If you are in a micasa, or looking to join one, please join us for the chili cook-off Sunday night at 5pm. If you have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org.
Sunday School Classes
Sunday School will return this Sunday at 9:30am! These are the classes:
Attention Collection
Led by Jameson McGregor and Kerri Fisher
We all have a collection we've been curating since we were born. It is composed of all the things that have challenged and formed us more fully into who we are--that have shaped what we think about ourselves and our neighbor; about God and the cosmos. It is made up of movies, songs, books, places, memories....you get the idea. Collections like this do their job best when we take the time to notice them, and perhaps to share them with one another. So this class is going to be about that. About sharing parts of ourselves with one another by sharing things have that been meaningful to us. And in our sharing, we hope to come to know ourselves, our neighbors, and our God more fully.
Haunting and Holy: Conversations on Addressing Racial Injustice
Led by Liz Ligawa and Paul Fillmore
“Our only chance at dismantling racial injustice is being more curious about its origins than we are worried about our comfort. It's not a comfortable conversation for any of us. It is risky and messy. It is haunting work to recall the sins of our past. But is this not the work we have been called to anyway? Is this not the work of the Holy Spirit to illuminate truth and inspire transformation? It's haunting, but it’s also holy.”
-Austin Channing Brown, From “I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness”
This group will provide a space to explore and discuss the harm that racial injustice has caused in America, and the ways we might participate in healing and restoration. We feel that this work begins with honest conversation, and we want to be a place for curiosity and learning about these issues, in which we allow the Holy Spirit freedom to work on our hearts, in her own time and in her own ways. Following the example of the parable of the Good Samaritan, this group will help identify ways to: 1) Notice what has happened (and is happening) in regard to racial injustice in our communities and spaces, 2) Move toward (rather than away from) this legacy of injury and harm, with the goal of increased empathy and understanding, and 3) Learn about ways to show compassion (“suffer with”) and mercy where harm and injury has occurred, and think about pathways for meaningful action. To pursue the haunting and the holy requires courage and risk, but we believe there is much beauty and healing to be found in this process, and that it is vital work for the Body of Christ to be in the midst of.
Reading Someone Else’s Mail: A Study of Paul’s Letters
Led by Matthew Palmer
In this class, we will read the letters of Paul together and labor to understand who the Apostle was, the communities he formed, and the development of early Christianity decades following the death and resurrection of Christ.
End of the Year Giving Statements
Will be available for pick up starting after church this Sunday and will run through the end of January. If you have not or are unable to pick up your giving statement before then, it will be mailed. If you have had a change of address this last year and need to update that information, please email kim@ubcwaco.org.
Parishioner of the Week
Matthew Palmer for filling in as the new pastoral associate.
Announcements
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a; Special guest preacher Toph Whisnant
Spring Sunday school starts on 1-27
Mi Casa Chili cook off 1-27
Parents Night Out 2-8
Work is Worship
Greeters: Blaylock
Coffee Makers: Jillian H & Lindsey R
Mug Cleaners: Allie Ascherl
Money Counter: Hannah
Welcome Station:
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