ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Easter
Lasts
May is like December. It’s a month of goodbyes and lasts.
Last day of school. Last practice and game. Last test. Last time I see my friends who are graduating.
I remember the last time I was on my college campus as a student. I loaded my car and drove around campus one last time with the Braveheart soundtrack serenading my sad soul.
But I’ll tell you something I like about lasts. They give us a chance to reflect and be thankful.
My son Roy has been playing soccer since he was four. He did one season at Midway and then we moved to the H.O.T. league. It just so happened that he had a few school friends who played on the same team, and when word got around that Roy had entered the draft, the coaches picked him. So Roy and about five friends have played together for six years and 13 seasons.
Here’s another fact about Roy’s team, the Tigers: they’ve never been good. They had one miracle season when they almost finished .500, but most seasons have been filled with one or no wins. They are a kind of like the Bad News Bears.
Now let me say a word about their wonderful coaches. Roy’s coaches (a married couple and parents of one of Roy’s friends/teammates) are some of the most loving, committed, and passionate people I have ever met--the kind of coaches who make you feel bad for not being more into your child’s athletic career because you fail to match their own enthusiasm. On top of that, and most importantly, they love our kids.
This last Saturday I saw something I had never seen in his coaches. After the opposing team scored about their fifth goal, our coaches sat down. I’d never seen them do that. I could tell something was different. They had given up. I couldn’t blame them; they have been so generous in caring for and teaching our kids all these years without much return in terms of victory.
The following day, they had an end-of-the year soccer party. After handing out trophies and encouraging the boys, the coaches reported through tears that this was their last season. They said they had taught the kids everything they knew, they hoped the boys kept playing, but they couldn’t coach anymore.
I wasn’t there. Lindsay reported it to me. I knew how hard that decision was for them.
Because of a rain reschedule, the Tigers had one more game on Tuesday. So this game had the unique quality of the players all knowing that this was the last one. Roy was wearing the pain of this last. With Lilli and Mabel’s help, I made signs that said things like “Thanks for the Memories,” “Started as Boys, Finished as Men,” and “Left It All on the Field #4” and I brought my boom speaker to the game. When the last second ticked off the clock, the parents and siblings marched across the field toward the players to the beat of “The Mighty Rio Grande” by This Will Destroy You. At first people chuckled at me, but the mood turned out to be too perfect. With the help of a perfect sunset and my Friday-Night-Lights-kind-of-music, soon everyone was crying. Was it manipulative? Yes. Was it wrong? No.
Lasts are gifts, and we have to open them. We have to make friends with our potential pain and bless the fact that it comes from the beauty of what was.
My children had their last day of school this week.
My wife had her last day of her first pre-K class.
My daughter may have danced her last dance at her current dance studio.
This is my last Sunday before sabbatical.
Some of you may have lasts too. At UBC or outside of it.
If you do, my prayer is that you are able to bless and be thankful for what was. Your attentivenes to the moment can be a prayer to God.
Meet Our Newest UBCer:
Name: Simon Luther Raley
Birthday: April 30th, 2019
Birth weight: 8 Lbs
Birth height: 20.5 InchesEnneagram Number: 7
MealBaby Need:
At UBC we put together meal calendars for our families who have just had babies or who might need a little extra help for one reason or another. We are currently running three different calendars for families with new babies and have several more starting very soon!! We could really use your help to make sure that we can serve our families during these transitional seasons! If you are interested in serving in this way please contact Taylor at taylor@ubcwaco.org
Summer Lovefeast - June 2 - noon
It is finally summer!!! To kick off the summer, we are having a lovefeast after church next Sunday. We will have some yard games set up, as well as a classic summer movie playing. The theme for this lovefeast is a summer picnic, so bring your favorite picnic foods: fried chicken, potato salad, sandwiches, fruit salad, etc.... UBC will provide the drinks and a bunch of fried chicken (but we will need more). If you have any questions email toph@ubcwaco.org
Summer Book Club
To kick off the summer, we are going to do a book study together. The book for the month of June will be: Understanding Gods Will by Kyle Lake. We will read the book during the month of June, then we will have a time to get together and discuss it at the end of month: June 26th. We have copies of the book available, so if you don’t have the money to buy it, no worries. If you have any questions, email toph@ubcwaco.org
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Parishioner of the Week
Kareem Shane. After church this Sunday I, Josh, left all the coffee mugs and coffee carafes to clean up on Monday. When I came in the kitchen on Monday I discovered that someone came up Sunday afternoon and washed all the mugs by hand and cleaned up the kitchen.
Announcements
Text: Acts 16:6-10 “To Troas”
SWCC summer movie days 6-5, 6-26, 7-10, 7-24
UBC VBS 6-11-13
Young Adult/College Lake Retreat 7-12
Work is Worship
Greeters: Blaylocks
Coffee Makers: Kareem
Mug Cleaners: Kareem
Money Counter: Jen Carron
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
Catherine Ballas: catherine@refitrev.com
Jen Carron: jen.carron78@gmail.com
Mike Dodson: financeteammike@gmail.com
George Thornton: GeorgecCT1982@gmail.com
UBC HR Team
If you have concerns about staff and would like contact our human resources team, please feel free to email any of the following members.
Josh Blake: joshnblake@gmail.com
Ross Van Dyke: Ross_Vandyke@baylor.edu
Jared Gould: jared.gould1@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com