ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Pentecost
Hi Team! Taylor here. Here’s the thing – living in a global pandemic is not awesome. And that might seem obvious, but for some reason I keep being surprised by my own reactions to this season of life.
One of the things that continues to surprise me is my response to myself. I don’t know if any of the rest of you are experiencing this, but let me describe the cycle to you: I find myself growing frustrated because I am not performing and producing at the level that I normally can perform or produce. And then I get frustrated with myself for not performing and producing more efficiently. And then I remind myself that I am not built to just perform and produce but that I am a whole person living in a global pandemic and that it is reasonable that there might be a number of things hindering me from being as productive as I can be in other seasons. And so, then I try to extend grace to myself. And then (normally) I get frustrated with myself for not remembering sooner to offer myself grace. And then I tell myself that that is ridiculous, and I attempt to extend myself grace for not extending myself grace sooner. It’s a real spiral.
Two of my long-term goals for my own personal and spiritual development are: 1. To become present to the reality of each moment (including my own experience and the experiences of others) and 2. To be a non-judgemental presence to myself and in the lives of others. I think much of working towards these goals includes practicing what Brene Brown calls authenticity. Brown says, “To be authentic, we must cultivate the courage to be imperfect—and vulnerable. We have to believe that we are fundamentally worthy of love and acceptance, just as we are. I've learned that there is no better way to invite more grace, gratitude and joy into our lives than by mindfully practicing authenticity.”
In this article Brown gives three tips for practicing authenticity:
1) Develop a playlist. Literally – she says hers is a mix of Johnny Cash, Alicia Keys, and The Who. Fill the playlist with songs that help remind you who you are and help you to embody your full self. (As a side note - if you make a playlist for yourself I would LOVE to know what you put on it! Please let me know!)
2) Share your practice with someone you love and trust. Brown says that acknowledging your struggles to a friend can help remind you to make conscious choices that lead you into authenticity. And in this season where so many of use desire community and friendship a phone call can often help us develop relationships and feel better about the choices we’re going to make moving forward.
3) Have the courage to say no – and yes. I found this to be a particularly potent reminder. This season is filled with so much unknown and that can make it hard to say yes to good things! But when we are our healthiest selves we say yes and no in ways that are boundaried and help us to grow!
I hope that you find these tips for practicing authenticity helpful! I have found that in this season it has been more important than ever to focus on my own self-care and growth. Which has been surprising! I would not have expected that when we began quarantining in March. I hope that you are finding ways to care for your self and offer yourself grace and rest in this season!
Staff Favorites
Because our newsletter has grown thin of late, i’ve added a new feature called, “staff favorites.” The instructions are as follows. Draw a line, either on a piece of paper that you printed this on or in your mind, connecting the correct individual with the corresponding category. After you venture your guesses, you can view the solution here.
Family Resource Pantry
UBC, we need volunteers this week, and for the rest of August on Thursday and Friday’s at the Food Pantry. The need has increased, we are serving over 70 families a week now. We need more hands to help pack boxes and deliver boxes on Thursday and Friday. Please consider signing up for a shift using the link below. If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org. We are have decided to extend the pantry through Labor Day, so please help out over the few weeks.
https://bit.ly/communityfoodpantry
Parishioner(s) of the Week
One of our student leadership team members, Maddie O’Shaughnessy married her long time lover, fellow UBCer Joe Hayes.
Great job team. Way to help love flourish during the pandemic.
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
Luci Hoppe: lhoppe@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.
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