ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Lent
Daily Reflections (by jamie)
Greetings. I hope this finds you well. Since we are a couple of weeks into this strange new world, I’m sure that you have already encountered any number of people commenting on the importance of taking on some sort of routine to cope with shelter in place life. To that end, I’ve collected some prayers, poems, and pericopes that might offer you a point of reflection as you go through your days. I’m going to attempt to provide something like this weekly for the remainder of our distanced life (however long that might be). The readings are in a particular order, but you need not follow it. And feel free to use these however you want—you could conceivably make a liturgy of the whole thing in a single sitting, to be repeated throughout the week, or you could read one of these a day. THERE ARE NO RULES HERE.
These readings are all Lenten in theme, as that is the season in which we find ourselves for another week or so. In the midst of this strange time, let us continue to be present to the reminder offered to us on Ash Wednesday that life is, in fact, happening now.
If you want to talk about any of these, email me at jamie@ubcwaco.org.
——
The other morning some of us were together in a church where the rector was saying Morning Prayer, and leading us in a guided silent prayer. He said, ‘Let us pray for those whom we love.’ And that was easy. Then he said, ‘Let us pray for those whom we do not love.’ And there rose up before my mind three men for whom I had to pray. They were men who have opposed my work. In this they may have been wrong. But my wrong was in resentment and a feeling of letting myself be cut off from them, and even from praying for them, because of it. Years ago I read a quotation from Mary Lyon that recurs to me again and again: ‘Nine-tenths of our suffering is caused by others not thinking so much of us as we think they ought.’ If you want to know where pride nestles and festers in most of us, that is right where it is; and it is not the opposition of others, but our own pride, which causes us the deepest hurt. I never read a word that penetrated more deeply into the sin of pride from which all of us suffer, nor one which opens up more surgically our places of unforgiveness.
Samuel Moor Shoemaker, And Thy Neighbor
——
O Son of God
Do a miracle for me
And change my heart.
Thy having taken flesh
To redeem me
Was more difficult
Than to transform
My wickedness.
Irish, 15th century
——
Come swiftly, O Lord, to the dark moments when we
are lost. Make us aware of Thy presence. Strengthen
us to resist the urges and pulls to deeper darkness. Stir
us to move away from the dark moments of sinfulness
toward the light of Thy forgiveness. Come quickly,
O Lord, as we call—or forget to call—and keep Thou
close to us and keep us close to Thee this day and
night and as far as the days and nights stretch before
us, through Christ. Amen.
James W. Kennedy, Holy Island—A Lenten Pilgrimage
——
“I love and love not: Lord, it breaks my heart
To love and not to love.
Thou veiled within Thy glory, gone apart
Into Thy shrine which is above,
Dost Thou not love me, Lord, or care
For this mine ill?”—
“I love thee here or there, I will accept thy broken heart—lie still.”
“Lord, it was well with me in time gone by
That cometh not again,
When I was fresh and cheerful: worn with pain
Now, out of sight and out of heart;
O Lord, how long?”
“I watch thee as thou art.
I will accept thy fainting heart—be strong.”
“Lie still, be strong, today: but, Lord, tomorrow,
What of tomorrow, Lord?
Shall there be rest from toil, be truce from sorrow,
Be living green upon the sward,
Now but a barren grave to me,
Be joy for sorrow?”
“Did I not die for thee?
Did I not live for thee? Leave me tomorrow.”
Christina Rossetti, “I Love and Love Not”
——
He forever goes before us to prepare a place for us.
he is on the road we tread. Wherever life is leading
us., He has gone before. Perhaps we have no clue
about what lies ahead; we know who is ahead of us,
so the future is not quite unknown.
David Adam, The Edge of Glory
Leadership Team Meeting
We have our quarterly leadership team this Sunday after church. The agenda is pretty thin at this point: selecting a new lead team member, hr member, and check ins. If you’d like to reach out to them with a concern or an agenda item please feel free. Their emails are listed at the bottom of this blog or if you are reading this through email please click on the blog link and scroll to the bottom.
Sunday Liturgy Stream
If you missed the livestream from Sunday and/or don’t have Facebook, we’ll be uploading the videos to our Vimeo account. You can watch the service from 3/29 here: https://vimeo.com/402650510.
Social Distancing Social Opps
Because the pub group extravaganza live on instagram was such a wild success, brother Jameson McGregor will come to you live again this Wednesday 4-1-20.
We had a second great lunch today with 14 folks in attendance from "Alabama to Waco".” The UBC Staff will be hosting lunch virtually every Tuesday at 12pm, for about an hour. We would love for you to join. Follow us on FB, and will send out the meeting link shortly before noon each week. Any questions, contact toph@ubcwaco.org
Friendly reminder that the youth are gathering digitally on daily from 1:00-1:45 and Wednesday evenings 6:30-8:00 PM. Links can be requested from hannah@ubcwaco.org
We are going to be starting a UBC Pen Pal Program! If you would like the opportunity to connect with other UBCers during this time to exchange emails (or letters!! In the real mail!) please contact taylor@ubcwaco this week and she will get you connected!
Parishioner of the Week
All of our fearless champions that work at the Texas Hunger Initiative. Kathy Krey, Craig Nash, Dustin Kunz, and Jared Gould. These ballers have been providing food for children (probably 100 million at least) everyday since school shut down.
Work is Worship
Greeters: No Greeters this week
Coffee Makers: no coffee makers this week
Mug Cleaners: no mug cleaners this week
Money Counter: no money counters this week
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