Ordinary Time
A Brief Introduction
by Brooke
Hey there,
I’m Brooke Cherry Reich and I’m both excited and humbled to be a pastoral associate learning from and with you this year. I’m a recovering perfectionist and know-it-all, an unrepentant bookworm, and a soon-to-be spiritual director.
I grew up loving Baylor, but it wasn’t until I came to Waco as an undergraduate in 1999 that I had the chance to fall in love with Waco and the surrounding area. I’ve loved it ever since. After a decade out of state, my husband Keith, daughter Addie, and I were thrilled to come back and make Waco our home for good in early 2021.
Exploring churches during a pandemic is an interesting proposition. It took us a good long time to find our way to UBC and then almost no time at all for it to feel like home. Thank you for being such a welcoming and spacious place. Our first Sunday visiting was Josh’s announcement, so we haven’t been around long and we’re still working on getting to know everyone but we’re looking forward to it.
As an undergrad at Baylor, I really wanted to study religion but caved in the face of pressure from family and conflict over a woman’s place in ministry so I majored in communications instead. It seemed like the safest and least limiting option at the time. In hindsight, I wish I’d been braver. Instead of studying religion I did the next best thing and married a religion scholar. Lectures and learning for LIFE. (All kidding aside, it was one of the best decisions I ever made.)
I’ve spent my professional life circling my way from work in PR, marketing, and branding back toward something that feels closer to my truest self. Each small step seems to lead toward something related to faith or formation. Last spring, I stepped down from a role helping run a spiritual formation organization in order to make more space for training as a spiritual director and for discerning what may come after that.
I love stories, both telling them and consuming them. Books are my favorite and if given the chance I’ll prescribe them like medicine for whatever ails you. I also love a good movie or podcast or email newsletter. Not such a big fan of social media. (I’m especially geeking out lately over a new favorite sci fi author. Any other Becky Chambers fans?)
I tend to listen more than I talk and ask a lot of questions. I’ve found the liturgical calendar and the lectionary and contemplative practices to be really meaningful and helpful and I consider cooking an act of prayer.
I am incapable of making a long story short, as evidenced here, and I hope you won’t feel the need to shorten the stories you tell me either.
I hope we get to chat soon!
~b
UBC Clean Day - This Sunday (August 7th)
It’s not too late to sign up for our annual clean day to help get the building ready for the fall. If you’re able to stick around after church on August 7th, we’d love your help with some summer cleaning in exchange for pizza and drinks. Please email toph@ubcwaco.org by Thursday if you plan to participate so he knows how much pizza to order.
UBC LGBTQIA+ Community Meetup
UBC is excited to host another LGBTQIA+ Community Meetup! We’ll be meeting on Tuesday, August 9th 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 Toph@ubcwaco.org
Town Hall - August 14th - directly after church
We will be having a Town Hall directly after church on August 14th. Please make plans to stay and attend. We will have an update from out Leadership Team, Finance, Team, and the Pastor Search Committee. There will also be a time for you to ask questions you may have. We will do our best to keep the town hall at 1hr, so folks can go eat afterwards. If you have any questions, please contact toph@ubcwaco.org
UBC Partnership Survey
If you haven’t filled out our survey on missions at UBC, please take a moment to click the link below and fill it out. Thank you so much.
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1GG1kfN52n96SgphHVKjAUnLp5XTE1yv5tPKo0vavdQM
COVID Update from Leadership Team
Hello UBC,
We hope you are all enjoying summer and finding ways to stay cool! You may have noticed that COVID numbers have increased locally—according to the CDC, the current COVID community level in McLennan county is Medium, falling from High last week. We want you to know that the staff and Leadership Team are carefully watching the numbers and being mindful of how we care for one another during this season.
Given the current spread of COVID in our community, we want to remind you that you are welcome to wear a mask if you feel that is best for you and your family. We are currently not requiring masks at UBC.
As always if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone on staff or Leadership Team.
To learn more about the community level, you can visit: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/your-health/covid-by-county.html
Summer Calendar!
We have many exciting events coming up this summer and you can find our full calendar of events here on our website if you’re looking to schedule which events you want to attend this summer!
UBC Meal Calendars
Hi friends! Here are the current Meal Calendar opportunities to serve members of the UBC community:
The Pittman Family: https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/mm81m6
The Howerton Family: mealtrain.com/08y894
The Hill Family: mealtrain.com/dy98dv
Parishioner of the Week
This week’s parishioner of the week is Joel Nelson, for helping us improve our bathroom stalls! Jesus was a carpenter Joel, so you’re in good company!
Preaching Schedule
Staff has put together a preaching rotation through the summer so that we might hear from the UBC community during this season. Here’s a reminder of that lineup for y’all:
August 7: Sharyl
August 14: Patrick
August 21: Taylor
August 28: Craig