ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Easter
An Update On Worshiping In The Building
To the Good People of UBmegaC,
I’m writing to talk to you about UBCs potential reopening date. Because I like it when people get straight to the point I will do so now. We have no concrete date for when UBC will reopen for worship. Furthermore, it is the collective opinion of the UBC staff and leadership team that UBC should err on the side of caution in deciding when to resume meeting in the building.
Now for the nuance and reasoning.
As you may or may not know, Texas Governor Greg Abbot has clarified that restricting churches from meeting is a violation of religious liberty. In light of this information and because of the partial reopening that happened beginning this last friday May 1, some churches in the area have decided to begin meeting in person ... some of those are meeting as early as this Sunday, May 10. There is a letter circulating indicating that several of Waco’s larger churches will begin meeting on the weekend of June 7th. UBC will not be meeting that weekend. The main purpose of this entry then, is to let you know that we are actively discussing this as leadership. It is our deep desire for UBC to be reunited in corporate, incarnational worship, but safety will remain a top priority of us in deciding when and how to do so.
The leadership team met this past Sunday, May 3rd, to discuss this issue. Here were some of the thoughts/concerns that were articulated:
Some churches that are opening will do so abiding by the 50 person worship capacity suggestion. We don’t think that will work well for UBC for following reasons:
How do you decide who gets to attend what service?
What do you do if you are at capacity and visitors come?
How do you keep children six feet apart?
How would we adequately sanitize the building between services? We do not currently have the resources to clean sufficiently.
We would like an objective way to identify when we think it is best to reopen. Here were some thoughts, though I’d like to reiterate that we have not committed to any of these as an official benchmark.
When the CDC says it is safe to do so
When the state or local government says it is safe to do
When we can assure parents of their children’s safety
When we have a vaccine
When we reopen we realize the following will be true and consequently we will have to plan worship accordingly:
Some people will not come to church, but elect to continue worship through the live stream
Some that attend will elect to keep their children with them
After we decide to reopen or we deem it is safe to do so, we will take two weeks to prepare
Figuring out cleaning systems
How to best serve our children with our space in a way that is safe
Make adjustments to the liturgy that are situation specific
We would like to thank you for your patience, prayer and faithfulness to UBC during this difficult time. I’m reminded of Israel’s exile. Exile is a motif UBC knows well having spent a year away from our building in the period after Kyle Lake passed away. In exile we learn new things about God and the creative ways that community can be shaped by Him. So with weary and yet renewed hearts we look forward to this next chapter of UBCs worshiping story. Thank you for doing this with us.
Meet Our Newest UBCer
Shea Luke Blaylock
Birthday: 4/27/2020 @ 2:10pm
Birth Weight: 7 lbs, 11 oz
Birth Height: 20 inches
Enneagram Number: 7 w 8
New Giving App
In case you missed this info for the past couple of weeks:
We're excited to offer a new way to give to UBC - through a simple, fast and secure app! You can download the free Church Center app and enter "UBC Waco" as your church. In just a few taps, you'll have your account set up and can give any amount, anytime, from anywhere in the world. You can make a one-time donation or set up recurring giving instantly. Best yet, this app is designed specifically for churches, with reduced fees that make sure more of your donation actually goes to support UBC. If you're not an app person, no worries - we've added Church Center as an option under the "give" tab on our website. Thanks for your giving and support of our UBC community!
Family Resource Pantry
Thank you to everyone who has been donating items so far, we have served over 100 families within WacoISD over the past few weeks. Below you will an updated list of what items we currently need. You are welcome to have the items shipped to UBC, drop them off, or contact toph@ubcwaco.org for pick-up from your house. Thank you for your generosity UBC. If you would like to volunteer to help with the pantry, please email Toph.
Food: peanut butter (16.oz), jelly(18oz), cereal (10-11oz), granola bars (box), pasta(1 bag), Cooking Oil, Macaroni, spaghetti sauce(24 oz) ,ramen (Square), soup (Can), canned meat (tuna), canned veg (can), rice (16oz bag)
Baby items: Diapers (all sizes), formula, wipes
Cleaning supplies: Laundry detergent, dish soap, bleach. paper towels
Personal Hygiene: Toilet Paper, soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, toothbrushes, feminine products, deodorant
The Cove - Waco
The Cove is a non-profit that works with homeless HS students in Waco. They are currently in need of volunteers to help with getting support to their teens. Below are the volunteer opportunities, and who to contact to sign-up. If you'd like to help--even for one afternoon--please email Tarad@thecovewaco.org and we'll let you know the next steps!
1) Weekly Cove Care Visits - Commit 2-3 hours to deliver non-perishable, meals and hygiene items to students though no-contact, front porch drop-offs Monday, Wednesday, or Friday between 10:30am - 1pm.
2) One-time event to prepare non-perishable bags and hygiene bags here at The Cove on Tuesday, May 12th
3) Pick up food items from Shepherd's Heart on Tuesdays and deliver to The Cove
Parishioner of the Week
Bridges West who started a new job as a case manager at the CMH this week. Great job Bridges, we are proud of you.
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
Craig Nash: Craig_Nash@baylor.edu