ITLOTC
(In The Life Of The Church)
Pentecost
Wolves, Violence, Creation, & Hope (by Josh)
On Sunday I showed a video about wolves being reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park and how their presence reshaped the ecosystem including the flow of the rivers. This was, based on the feedback I’ve received, one of the most appreciated videos I’ve used in a sermon. So thank you for not only indulging my amature attempts at understanding and rearticulating eccological realities, but for celebrating with me the wonder of nature. In the spirit of wolf excitement I’d like to expound upon a twitter thread about wolves that Taylor shared with me. It was written by Zach Stentz, a screenplay writer with 29K followers, but no blue checkmark. Zack eloquently summarizes Rick McIntyre’s The Reign of Wolf 21: The Saga of Yellowstone’s Legendary Druid Pack.
Stentz picks the high points to paint a picture of wolf 21, the alpha male, in peculiar terms. For example he refers to 21 as a cross between Buddha and Batman, because while 21 engaged in fights and challenges to retain his alpha male status, he never killed another wolf. He used his superiority to maintain dominance, but not to be excessively brutal. 21 is referred to as a gentle and nurturing dad/uncle, “the role model we all need,” because 21 would often kill prey and leave it for others to eat.
In one particularly moving observation Stentz quotes McIntyre who reports that on one occasion when 21 was a teenager he noticed one of his little pup siblings was a kind of underdog. The odd dog out. After bringing back some food for his little pup brothers 21 sought out the ennea4 dog and hung out with him.
But the most moving part of the 21 tribute was this. Here I’ll quote McIntyre at length:
“The majority of wolves die violently. Despite a violent, eventful life even by wolf standards, Twenty-one distinguished himself to the very end: He was a black wolf who grayed with the years and became one of the few Yellowstone wolves to die of old age.
One June day when Twenty-one was 9 years old, his family was lying bedded down when an elk came by. Everyone jumped up to give chase. He jumped up, too, but just stood watching the action and then lay down again. Later, when the pack headed up toward the den site, Twenty-one crossed the valley in the opposite direction, traveling purposefully somewhere, alone.
Sometime later, a visitor who’d been way up high in the backcountry reported having seen something very unusual: a dead wolf. Rick got a horse and rode up to investigate.
That last day, it seems, Twenty-one knew his time had come. He used the last of his energy to go up to the top of a high mountain. In a favorite family rendezvous site, where he’d been with his pups year after year, amid high summer grass and mountain wildflowers, Twenty-one curled up in the shade of a big tree. And on his own terms, he went to sleep for the last time.”
A few years ago Ryan Richardson called me to tell me that their beloved family dog Molly had died. Syler was having a particular hard time with it. So that evening I printed off a picture of Edward Hicks’s Peaceable Kingdom and went over there to talk about animals, heaven and to pray for Syler and the Richardsons. The painting is stunning, if not in its execution surely in its suggestive theological content. Hicks’s painting is a depiction of Isaiah’s vision from chapter 11. Animals that have no business being pals, hanging out. It’s stunning because of how hardwired we are for the violence of evolution even if we don’t believe in that narrative. As proof I simply point you to the Purge movies and all their sequels.
In Romans 8:22 Paul writes, “We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” I think I like the wolf story from twitter because it bears witness to the hope of Edward Hicks’s painting and because it testifies to the truthfulness of Romans 8. In January of 2005, David Crowder played the song Rescue at UBC for the first time. This came on the heels of the 2004 Tsunami. Dave observed that even the ground beneath our feet is bent. This observation is consistent with the violence of evolution. It makes sense of alpha wolves that kill their young and behave selfishly. But then comes wolf 21. An anomaly. And in him we see the deeper and truer confession of the church. We all groan for something better. It’s not only possible, it’s happening.
Meet the UBCer(s)
Team Harris
Waco Dives Location
Waco dives location: Revival Eastside Eatery.
Liturgy of Mourning (Thurs 7/1, 5:30 PM)
We are all carrying various sorts of grief from this past year. In the interest of grieving well and honoring what has been lost, we are gathering together to offer our mourning to God on 7/1 at 5:30 PM.
Nativity of John the Baptist- Thurs 6/24 6pm
What is this? It's an excuse to eat dinner together, to listen to a story, and to think about the changing of the seasons. Bring a dinner of your choice (this was previously announced as a potluck: sry about that) and join us at 6pm on Thursday, June 24th. Wondering about covid precautions? We'll be eating outside. If it rains, we'll be eating in the lobby with the front doors open for airflow.
Parishioner of the Week
Kaleb Loomis and Aly Vukelich. This is a congratulations and goodbye. Kaleb has been selected to the the assistant Chaplain at SMU. So while we are sad to see them go we count this as a big win for the Dallas area and the Methodists. They’ve certainly snagged a winner in team Loomis.
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
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
Craig Nash: Craig_Nash@baylor.edu
Kristen Howerton: khowerton94@gmail.com
Patrick Broaddus: patrickjbroaddus@gmail.com