ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Pentecost
Unintended Benefits
Well hello everyone.
I subscribe to a podcast called The Daily. You’ve probably heard of it. It’s put out by the New York Times. It’s an in-depth look at one story related to current events. I don’t listen to it everyday. I listen to it when the topic seems interesting, but I always listen on Sundays. On Sundays, instead of doing the regular show they do something called the Sunday Read in which an individual reads an op ed that was previously published, usually in the Times. Maybe always in the Times, I didn’t research that. I find the Sunday read to be akin to a really good episode of Malcom Gladwell’s Revisionist History. This past week’s Sunday Read was called “Sweatpants Forever.” It was about the failure of the fashion industry. We know about bank failures. We know about the automobile industry failing back in 2008-10. Turns out the fashion industry crashed. Clothing sales dropped 78%. But the problem was brewing before that. The story details how the creative destruction was creating a vicious cycle of retailers needing more exclusive lines, which created more seasonal layouts, which created more fashion shows, which created more obscurity in the textile industry, which exhausted designers and pretty soon everyone was hating it.
The episode told the story of the fashion industry from the vantage point of Scott Sternberg, a successful designer whose line Band of Outsiders was a success and then a business failure for all the reasons above. His story is one example of why we knew the fashion industry was going to fail before COVID officially killed it. Sternberg, however, has been a surprise success during COVID. Here’s how - he got an idea for a simplified line, Entireworld, scaled back to simplicity. Sternberg’s line included quality t-shirts, socks, underwear, sweatpants. You can do the algebra. He wrote a personal email on May 15 about COVID, not intended to be a sales pitch. It did a kind of viral thing. In an average day Entireworld had been selling 46 sweatpants a day. Soon it was selling 1,000 a day. I’m tempted to gloat here and suggest that as one who has always championed comfort over fashion, I had anticipated this, but that would detract from the point of this newsletter, which isn’t really about fashion or good business sense. It’s a particular look at what’s thriving right now and why.
Yes, we can wear sweatpants to zoom meetings, but Entireworld represents something more. It represents someone who already failed and decided to enter back into a world he once loved with a simplified approach that returned him to his values. Often commercial success follows. It has to do with authenticity or love or something.
I’ve been thinking about COVID and how it's wearing on me … on us. The one thing I’m glad for is that it is forcing perspective. It is forcing us to step back and evaluate what is broken. We have time to see what was not working.
The older I get the more the order of the ten commandments makes sense to me. That idolatry is in the two spot used to puzzle me. Now I don’t think it could be any other way. Similarly, I used to think Sabbath sat too high on the list. Now that i’ve been working for 13 years the scope and the wisdom of the commandment seems not just prudent, but salvific, especially for a culture that doesn’t know how to rest nor how the absence of rest detracts from our humanity. What I have appreciated about the rest that COVID has forced on us (here I’m thinking specifically of UBC meeting) is that all of our volunteers are getting rest, and that is important. Even churches can fall prey to the incessant demand to create new, better and more. I know that not everyone is getting rest in COVID. Some people’s ergonomic lives have been complicated. Others are filling up the lack of ergonomic demand in their lives with the fear of not having enough, fiscally or otherwise. I don’t want to brazenly pass by those realities, but I am glad that the world has slowed down. Today I’m grateful for the rest.
Back to School Help - Immediate Need
UBC, one of community partners has several moms who need help getting their kids ready for school. We need 10, $100 gift cards for Walmart, so these moms can purchase clothes and back to school supplies for their children. If you are willing to donate toward these gift cards, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org. You can donate the full amount, or a partial amount.
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
David Rehfeld for successfully defending his dissertation.
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