ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Epiphany
Friends, (it’s Taylor) I’ve been thinking a lot about people lately. And about how we’re all so different. And about how it seems like no matter how many times I learn that lesson – that we’re all different, that we all have different motivations and different triggers, and different reasons for doing things – the lesson never really sinks in. Because every time I think I’ve learned it – it pops up again in some other way.
I think of one of the first times I learned that lesson – it was during my Covenant Group at Truett. At this point we were in our third year of meeting together and we were studying the Enneagram. I had previously been studying the Enneagram independently for awhile and I thought I understood that people were different that we all experienced the world differently. But, turns out, I did not.
One day we were all sharing a little bit about our own number and how we first understood ourselves to be that number. And my friend Elizabeth was going last. Elizabeth is a 9 and right before she shared our group leader said, “Ok, so it’s Elizabeth’s turn to share. But first I want to ask a question. Elizabeth – what if I said right now ‘It’s Elizabeth’s turn, but actually we’ve run out of time and Elizabeth won’t be able to share. See everybody next week!’ How would you feel about that, Elizabeth?” Elizabeth responded and said, ‘Um…I would feel fine. If we ran out of time, it’s not a big deal.” And I said, “Mmhmm, yes of course that’s what you’d SAY. But secretly you’d be mad and hurt and feel sad for the rest of the day, right?” And Elizabeth looked at me and said, “No. I’d really feel fine about it. Why would I be upset?”
And y’all. My world exploded. I couldn’t imagine not getting upset about that experience and Elizabeth couldn’t imagine getting upset about the same thing.
I thought I understood that we were all experiencing the world differently. But even when Elizabeth told me how she would react, I was making all sorts of assumptions about the secret thoughts and emotions she was having. And she wasn’t having any of them!
This same idea popped up at book club last night in the form of a question/topic that the internet has been obsessed with recently. Apparently, some people have an inner monologue running through their head all day and some people do not – some people are hearing their thoughts in the form of words inside their head most of the time and some people are not. I do not have a running inner monologue – my thoughts most often present in what can best be described as pictures or scenes.
But as we all sat around admitting whether we thought in words or in some other form I loved watching the expressions on everyone’s faces. We all looked like how I had felt that day in Covenant Group. Amazed. Amazed to learn that people were so different from us. Amazed to learn that people operated in ways that we couldn’t imagine. Amazed at our own ability to assume and not even know we were making an assumption. It is one of my favorite things in the world.
One of the things I have been focusing on in 2020 is remembering to assume positive intent from other people. I think it’s my tendency to believe that if someone hurts my feelings or behaves in a way that I don’t understand it is because they have poor intentions. But the reality is that I can’t really know what someone else’s intent is. But I can choose to believe that they didn’t intend to hurt me or upset me – they were just living their life in the way that made the most sense to them.
We are all so different. God has made us all so different. It is such a comfort for me – to see the different ways that we all exist. It is both frightening and beautiful. It reminds me of how big God is and also of how small I am in the grand scheme of things. It makes me curious – it makes me want to know more about how people operate in ways I couldn’t imagine. And mostly, it helps me to remember that, for the most part, we are all just trying our best and we ought to do our best to help each other through.
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Parents Night Out
Do you have children that you would love other people to watch for free while you go on an outing with your significant other? Well boy do I have a deal for you. UBC is hosting a parents night on Valentines day from 6-9 PM CST. Those interested in taking advantage of this rare opportunity should act now. Don’t wait! Please email Taylor@ubcwaco.org to sign up.
Leadership Team Nomination
Friends, one Byron Griffin’s stint on the leadership team is coming to an end. During his term, Byron got Griff-Care passed, helped balance the church budget and was instrumental in shaping for our foreign policy in Cuba as we withdrew from the Thailand. Thanks for the years of service Byrondo. That means we are looking for leadership team nominations. If you would like to nominate someone for the leadership team, please do so by using this link to fill out the form.
(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
Parishioner of the Week
Lindsey Roberson for and I quote Taylor Post, “truly do everything I ask her. Sometimes I have to tell people not to ask her for help because she’ll do everything.”
Work is Worship
Greeters: Corntassel
Coffee Makers: Glovers
Mug Cleaners: Howertons
Money Counter:
Announcements
Sermon Text: Special Guest Preacher CoKiesha Bailey Robinson
2-9 (week of) Mi Casa’s Resume
2-26 Ash Wednesday Service 5:30 PM CST
Youth Schedule
February 29 - Leap Year Celebration (Movie/Game Night)
March 11 - NO YOUTH (Spring Break)
March 27 - TBD (Talent Show?)
April 19 - 5/6 Family Game Night
April 26 - After Church Picnic
May 13 - Last Youth
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: Kerri Fisher: Kerri_Fisher@baylor.edu
Byron Griffin: byrontgriffin@gmail.com
Jeremy Nance: Jeremy.J.Nance@L3T.com
Joanna Sowards: jo.sowards@gmail.com
Kathy Krey: kathykrey@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga: jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Taylor Torregrossa: Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Student Position: Davis Misloski
Student Position: Maddy O’Shaughnessy
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.
Erin Albin: erin.albin1@gmail.com
Sam Goff: samuelgoff92@gmail.com
Rebekah Powell: rpowell671@gmail.com
Kristen Richardson: wacorichardsons@gmail.com