ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Epiphany
A Renewed Mind? (By Josh)
The Green Bay Packers lost their NFC championship game. That piece of information is every bit as trivial as it appears to be on first glance. It’s a game. A game that pays millionaires. It represents a form of leisure that has cult-like control of a segment of the population. I might be guilty of that last claim. Here is why I’m pointing out that the Packers lost, because I am a fan and I was devastated.
The Packers have made it to the NFC championship 5 times since Aaron Rodgers took the helm of the quarterback. They won one of those, which thankfully preceded a superbowl victory. The Packers were in the NFC championship game last year and lost. They were the 2 seed and visited the #1 San Francisco 49ers. I expected they would lose that game and so I wasn’t as hurt by it. This year the Packers were the 1 seed with home field advantage. I believe they are better than the team that beat them. I believe, as the fans say, they should have won.
Back to my emotional state of being after the Packers lost. I was devastated. I know, it’s embarrassing. I was even thinking in the middle of feeling devestead, that it was embarrassing to feel that way. The good news about my commitment to the Packers is that, it is such that I’m fine today. So here’s why I wanted to talk about this. A key ingredient in my devastated disposition, a difference from last year to this year, was my expectation. My friend Tye says that expectations are prepaid resentments. The Buddists tell me that desire is the root of suffering. I can tell you from my Packers experience that, that is true. If I watched the Packers like I watched highlights from games in which teams play that I do not care about, I would experience no emotional pain.
I listened to Sam Harris on the podcast Shameless today. He’s an atheist, so perhaps a funny guy for a pastor to take spiritual cues from, but at the end of the podcast he began talking about meditation. He offered a very specific definition of it. The practice of being present to whatever you are experiencing so that you can differentiate yourself from your thoughts and detach from those thoughts in a healthy way. In other words it’s about reducing our ego so that we can take those emotional experiences on for what they are as opposed to letting them consume us.
At one point, Will Arnet asked about the possible downside of missing out on the good emotions. Then Harris offered a corrective, namely, that he wasn’t advocating distancing from any emotion, but rather moving fully all the way into them without the narratives that perpetuate them. In that case, you can experience them for what they are and move on. I was thinking, that, that would be really helpful because I still want to be a Packers fan, but I don’t want to suffer for it. I want to be joyful when they win and sad when they lose, but not in a way that either controls my life.
I was thinking since I’ve cited the Buddhists and atheist I should also check in on my own tradition with this one. I think of Paul who said, “be no longer conformed to the pattern of world, but transformed by the renewing of the mind.” Maybe a way to renew the mind is to give the space it needs to live into each emotion without being controlled by them. To let go of expectation while still having hope. These are the fine lines we walk.
Meet the UBC(ers)
Aleigh Ascherl
Sunday School
(De/Re)Constructing Together
We'll be listening to episodes of Pete Enns's "How the Bible Really Works" podcast together in order to talk through broad views of the Bible, deconstructing various issues, and then hopefully doing some reconstructing alongside one other, too. We hope you can join us! Email bri@ubcwaco.org with questions and to be put on the email list.
Attention Collection
Over the years we accumulate a series of inputs and influences that shape our imaginations and thus the way we relate to ourselves, to God, our neighbors, and the world around us—this is our attention collection. Join us for an exploration of the art, music, books, movies, hobbies, people, experiences, etc. that have shaped us. You’ll be invited to share from your own attention collection and to cultivate a curiosity about the collections of your fellow ubcers. For more info and, importantly, the zoom link to the class, email jamie@ubcwaco.org
How to Fight Racism - Book of the Month in February
Hello UBC Family! Many of you know that in February we celebrate Black History Month at UBC in a variety of ways through our liturgy and the pulpit. This year we are also encouraging you to read a book with us: How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice. This is the latest book by Jemar TIsby, which “provides a practical framework for pursuing racial justice with hands-on suggestions bolstered by real-world examples of change.” We will read the book over the month of February, and then set up a time the first week of March to discuss the book together over zoom. We would love for you to join us in the important work of fighting against racism and injustice. If you want to participate, but can’t afford the book, let us know, we can get you a copy. If you would like to be a part of the group, or have any questions, please email toph@ubcwaco.org
Giving Statements
Giving statements will be available for pick up at UBC on Sundays 12-31 & 1-7 from 12-2 PM. Any statements not picked up during those times will be mailed after.
UBC’s New Roof
Hello everyone. In the spirit of financial transparency and what is a significant decision in the life of the community, I wanted to tell you about the new roof that UBC will be getting in the coming days. For some time I have known that two large expenses on the horizon have been our need to have our roof redone and our parking lots resealed. The time for the roof being improved is upon us. We have avoiding this expense for as long as we could have patching different spots, but alas, it is time. So a few things.
Cost: The roof will cost us $79K. However, you may have noticed that much of the fascia is rotten and the gutters are in disrepair. To that end, we also need to have those replaced. That will cost us an additional $30K bringing our total roofing expense to $109K. The good news is that we have that money on hand. UBC currently has $59K in checking $36K in our operating savings budget and another $393K in our savings. A quick glance in the math then reveals that the roof expense will be about 20% or our liquid assets.
Decision Making: I wanted to take this opportunity to talk through polity and process since this is a big decision. As I’ve indicated we’ve identified that the roof needed to be redone for a few years now. Once it was identified that it needed to be done, the leadership team asked for several estimates. The finance team consulted with Risse on the best strategy to fund the roof and then that proposal was sent to leadership team to approve or veto.
Gratitude: I want you to imagine a moment in the future when we are all worshiping together. In this moment we are glad to be back in our building, which though we can all affirm the church isn’t the building, are now supremely grateful for the opportunity to gather in space and also those spaces themselves. It’s raining. The million drops create sound of nature’s applause in our large vacuous space. The sound of the rain is delightful as is the comforting thought that we are protected from it by our roof. $109K is a large sum of money and I wish we could be spending it on something that feels less … sterile … necessary? I can’t find the right word. But still, I want us to be grateful or the roof, that we have the money for it even in a pandemic and that it has helped house so many holy moments and will so again far into the future because of the investment of this current amalgamation of our community.
Parishioner of the Week
Candi Cann for her artistic ability and humor creating this photo.
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