(In The Life Of The Church)
Lent
From Leadership Team
UBC Congregation,
We, as a Leadership Team, want to give y’all an update on what we’ve been working on and where we are in our process to fill the Lead Pastor position.
Since Josh announced his resignation to our team, we have been working diligently to move forward on this process, meeting weekly with each other and communicating with staff and our other essential teams, including the HR team and Finance team.
Our initial efforts were largely focused on Josh’s transition – ensuring his duties were covered upon his exit, discussing the financial details of hiring an interim pastor, getting up to speed on hiring processes as outlined in our bylaws/handbook, and meeting with staff and other teams to discuss important items to keep us moving forward.
Shortly after, we began discussing the search committee in more detail, touching base with our teams regarding the self-elected positions and working to form a list of congregational members, with input from staff, that would offer a diverse representation of our community.
And we’re excited to share today that we have a 9-member Search Committee:
Toph Whisnant will serve as the self-elected staff person
Katie Valenzuela will serve as the self-elected Leadership Team member
Patrick Broaddus will serve as the self-elected HR Team member
The congregation members are as follows:
Kareem Shane
Alex Lux
Maggie Griffin
Paul Carron
Jackson Conner
Kelly Harp
We want to make sure you know that as the search committee begins their work, there will be opportunities for congregational feedback during the search process so that all of your concerns and priorities can be heard and valued. We will be working closely with the HR team to discuss congregational feedback throughout this process.
In the meantime, our team has received several applications for the role of Interim Pastor. We are currently evaluating them and hope to fill that role as soon as possible, focusing on the candidate who will be the best fit to support our staff and congregation and share UBC’s values of inclusion and authentic self-expression in Christian community. Our team is also seeking wisdom from sister churches and like-minded organizations who have experienced these types of transitions and have valuable insights to share.
Lasty, we want you to know that we really appreciate the feedback that has been given to us so far, and continue to encourage you to share any questions, comments, or encouragements with our team at leadershipteam@ubcwaco.org.
Thank you for trusting us with this important task….we are committed to each of you, to UBC and to her bright future.
Embrace Beauty,
UBC Leadership Team leadershipteam@ubcwaco.org
Kathy Krey (chair) kathykrey@gmail.com
Ben Raley (chair-elect) Benjaminraley@gmail.com
Taylor Beard Taylordtorregrossa@gmail.com
Luci Hoppe lhoppe@gmail.com
Bryce Sandvall Bryce@holeintheroof.com
Katie Valenzuela KatarinaEValenzuela@gmail.com
Jose Zuniga jzgrphix2002@yahoo.com
Maundy Thursday Potluck (4/14) 5:30pm
Join us at 5:30 on Thursday, April 14th, for our Maundy Thursday Potluck! Our meal will be accompanied by a liturgy in memory of the night Jesus was betrayed. If you have any questions, email jamie@ubcwaco.org
Good Friday (4/15) 5:30pm
Join us at 5:30 on Friday for our Good Friday Liturgy as we follow Jesus to the cross and the grave.
Cesar Chavez MS Thank Yous!
We are gathering gift cards and notes for our teacher friends at Cesar Chavez MS! If you are able it would be very appreciated if you could buy one (or however many you can afford!) $5 gift cards to Sonic or Pinewood (or you’re favorite soda/coffee joint) and come drop it off at the church over the next few Sundays! We are also taking them notes so if you want to write several notes that would also be appreciated! We’ll be taking them to CCMS the last week of April and we would love your help in making sure that every teacher and staff member gets a gift card! If you can’t be at church over the next two Sunday you can just bring them by the church and drop them off with a staff member!
Third Wednesday - Daniel and Lydia Harris and missions (4/20)
Hello all! I (Daniel Harris) wanted to let you all know about this upcoming third Wednesday discussion happening on Wednesday the 20th of this month. Many of you know that Lydia and I are planning on serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, and we’ve been getting a lot of questions about it. On this third Wednesday, I will be discussing the modern missions movement, Bible translation, and World Christianity. We’ll be digging into hard topics like the history of colonialism in missions, short-term missions, race and missions, and other difficult topics which might arise. We’ll also be discussing whether or not international missions are viable in the 21st century and what models might look like to be a healthy Christian witness to our global neighbors. We hope you will make it!
UBC LGBTQIA+ Community Meetup (4/21)
UBC is excited to host its first LGBTQIA+ Community Meetup. We’ll be meeting on Thursday, April 21 at 7 p.m. at Pinewood. This is a time for members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies to meet one another, connect, and have a fun time. We hope you can join us! If you have any questions, you can email Katie (who serves on our leadership team). KatarinaEValenzuela@gmail.com
Mister Rogers and Grad Luncheon (4/24)
As one of our patron saints Mister Rogers will lead us in worship on April 24th as we recognize our graduates and bless them in whatever work or education they are moving into in their next season of life and affirm them for the skills and knowledge they acquired in this one. We will ask for graduates to introduce themselves and announce their degree (from high school to PhD) and there will be a grad luncheon after church. If you are interested in coming to the luncheon please email Taylor at taylor@ubcwaco.org or sign up at church on Sunday.
Community Book Discussion (4/28)
The Advocacy Center is hosting a Community Book Discussion for Sexual Assault Awareness Month over Tarana Burke’s book Unbound. It will be at Cultivate 712 at 7pm on April 28th. If you are interested, here’s a link to the registration form. https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScv0_5OIdYSyhJemXL7K-nRvAYGXnFeJkPWZ05NxmJapzmyyQ/viewform
Parishioner of the Week
All of our NUBCers for coming to lunch on Sunday! It was so much fun to get to meet so many of you and get to learn about so many of you! Thanks so much for taking time fo come learn about UBC and her history and values.
Preaching Schedule
One of thing the leadership team asked Josh to do before he left was schedule preaching through May. Here’s a reminder of that lineup for y’all.
4-17 Jason Minnix (Easter)
4-24 Mr. Rodgers Sunday
5-1 Jason Minnix
5-8 Jameson McGregor
5-15 Children’s Sunday
5-22 Ericka Graham
5-29 Ericka Graham