(In The Life Of The Church)
Easter
From Taylor
“Hope” is the thing with feathers -
That perches in the soul -
And sings the tune without the words -
And never stops - at all -
And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -
And sore must be the storm -
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm -
I’ve heard it in the chillest land -
And on the strangest Sea -
Yet - never - in Extremity,
It asked a crumb - of me.
- Emily Dickinson
As we move into Easter as a community, I am reminded of this poem about Hope by Emily Dickinson. And I am moved to remember that so many times - Hope is all that we have. And that we are constantly sustained by the work of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit.
I’ve been thinking a lot about Hope recently, actually, Thinking about how it’s illogical. It doesn’t make any sense to hope for things. I think it’s an anomaly of the human spirit. That we might Hope for things out of our reach. Or Hope for someone to be healed. Or Hope for systemic change.
But some days, in some seasons it is all we have. It is the only thing between us and giving up. Hope.
I hope(haha) you’re not personally in the middle of one of those seasons. And I hope that you’ll take the time to be hopeful this week. To believe that something that seems too good to be true. To know deep in your heart how loved you are. To choose belief - to help other people hope in good things in this world - even when it seems impossible. UBC may we be hopeful people this EasterTide, and always.
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 !
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
Pastoral Associate Applications
If you are interested in serving as one of our Pastoral Associates in the coming year you can find the application here: PA Application So please go check out the application and let us know if you have any questions!
Parishioner of the Week
All of our graduates! Good job on doing the hard work all the way to the end! We’re proud of you and are looking forward to celebrating you on Sunday!
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.
4-24 Mr. Rodgers Sunday
5-1 Jason Minnix
5-8 Jameson McGregor
5-15 Children’s Sunday
5-22 Ericka Graham
5-29 Ericka Graham