JAMIE’S POST
Greetings.
I am currently on a retreat at a cabin in Whitney. I’m alone, apart from the roadrunner that chases butterflies through the back meadow and the family of deer that wander through around dusk. I’m also spending time with a stack of books, one of which I first read about 10 years ago when Craig recommended it to me as a good Lent read. It’s Annie Dillard’s For The Time Being, a collage of reflections on time and death and humanity and meaning. For today’s newsletter, I wanted to share a passage that came back into my life yesterday. This was written in 1999:
Is it not late? A late time to be living? Are not our generations the crucial ones? For we have changed the world. Are not our heightened times the important ones? For we have nuclear bombs. Are we not especially significant because our century is?—our century and its unique Holocaust, its refugee populations, its serial totalitarian exterminations; our century and its antibiotics, silicon chips, men on the moon, and spliced genes? No, we are not and it is not. These times of ours are ordinary times, a slice of life like any other. Who can bear to hear this, or who will consider it? Though perhaps we are the last generation—now there’s a comfort. Take the bomb threat away and what are we? Ordinary beads on a never-ending string. Our time is a routine twist of an improbable yarn.
We have no chance of being here when the sun burns out. There must be something heroic about our time, something that lifts it above all those other times. Plague? Funny weather? Dire things are happening. In fact, we are witnessing a mass extinction of animals: According to Oxford’s Robert M. May, most of the birds and mammals we know will be gone in four hundred years. But there have been five other such mass extinctions, scores of millions of years apart. People have made great strides toward obliterating other people, too, but that has been the human effort all along, and our cohort has only broadened the means, as have people in every century. Why are we watching the news, reading the news, keeping up with the news? Only to enforce our fancy—probably a necessary lie—that these are crucial times, and we are in on them. Newly revealed, and we are in the know: crazy people, bunches of them. New diseases, shifts in power, floods! Can the news from dynastic Egypt have been any different?
THIS WEEK
NO YOUTH GROUP (SPRING BREAK)
NO PINTS WITH TOPH (SPRING BREAK)
NO WEDNESDAY WHEEL OF AWARENESS GROUP (SPRING BREAK)
Wheel of Awareness Group- Sunday- 9:30am
If you haven’t signed up, just email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
Ubckids Meetup and Play- Sunday, March 16th-noon, Whitehall Park (weather permitting)
Pack a lunch or pick something up and meet us at Whitehall Park in Woodway for a picnic and some playtime. UBC will provide sodas and juice.
St. Patrick’s Day Liturgy- Monday, March 17th, 5:30pm
Test Your Luck at a St. Patrick's Day Game Night!
March 17th 6pm-8ish
*Insert every St. Patrick's/four leaf clover/gold coin stereotype here* because we are having an all-church game night! Immediately following the St. Patrick's Day liturgy, you are invited to stay and play board games, eat snacks, and spend time connecting with other UBCers. Bring a snack to share and your favorite (reasonably lengthed) board game; we'll provide the beverages. Sign up in the lobby or email andie@ubcwaco to register!
GIVING
UBC survives on the generosity of our congregation. Your financial contributions allow us to continue to create a space that is welcoming to all, embraces beauty, and seeks to live life to the fullest.
You can give, as you’re able, on Sunday mornings or set up a single or recurring online gift here.
If you ever have trouble with giving online or have a question about how to give, feel free to email administrator@ubcwaco.org.
CHURCH NEEDS
Mealtrain for Lee and Norm
Lee recently had foot surgery and is unable to put any weight on it. We have the chance to support her while she recovers and Norm while he cares for Lee. Sign up here.
Mealtrain for the Lemmons
NEW BABY ON THE LOOSE. Austin and Nikki welcomed baby Crosby last week. Sign up here to shower them with food.
Bring Food for Youth Group
Part of our youth group’s weekly gathering is sharing a meal together. You can be a part of making that possible. Sign up to bring dinner here!
UBC NEW BABY TEAM
ALERT. We’ve got a veritable gaggle of babies on the way this year, and are in search of a group of volunteers who will help support the new families and little nUBCers by organizing meal trains, postpartum support, etc! Email nicole@ubcwaco.org if you're interested on serving on this team.
Are you one of our soon-to-be baby having families? Take a moment to fill out this form so we can prepare to support you and your nUBCer!
Kid’s Volunteers
SIgn up to help with ubckids! Do it for the future! You can sign up here.
GROUPS
Micasas
Micasas are designed to build more intentional community within the larger community of UBC. They meet on either Sunday, Monday, or Tuesday night. If you would like to get plugged into a Micasa, sign-up in the foyer or contact toph@ubcwaco.org for questions.
March/April Dinner Clubs
Are you looking for a way to get to know other UBC’ers? Do you eat dinner? March/April dinner clubs are getting together, and you can sign-up in the foyer or email toph@ubcwaco.org You will be placed with 4-6 other people, and your commitment will be for everyone to find a time to grab a meal together 1-2 times in March or April. If you have any questions, please contact Toph.
Wheel of Awareness Meditation Group (beginning March 9th)
Greetings, this is Jamie. If you didn’t know, I’m in school to be a therapist (no, I’m not leaving ubc). Last semester, I did a deep dive into Interpersonal Neurobiology and came out with training in a science-y meditation that I’d like to share. It’s called the Wheel of Awareness, and I’m going to be running a group during Lent for us to practice together. We did a one-off during Advent for the Peace formation workshop, and I’d like to do it several weeks in a row and talk about it together. Starting March 9th, we’ll be meeting on Sunday mornings (9:30am) and Wednesday evenings (5:30pm) for 45 minute sessions. Those sessions will include a check-in, a 20 minute meditation, and a debrief. If you’d like to come, but haven’t signed up, just email jamie@ubcwaco.org.
KIDS CAMP
Kids camp will be July 20-23 at Glen Lake Camp in Glenrose for kids who have completed 3rd grade-6th grade. We have 10 spots. Cost is $438/camper, reach out to nicole@ubcwaco.com to secure a spot ASAP!
UPCOMING EVENTS
Town Hall- March 23rd, after church
n’UBC’ers Luncheon - March 30th - noon
Are you new to UBC in the last 6 months? If so, we would love to have you stay for lunch after church on March 30th. The luncheon is a time to learn more about UBC’s history, and how you can get involved. If you have any questions, contact Toph. You can sign-up in the foyer, or email toph@ubcwaco.org
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Find more details and our full calendar of events on our website. This calendar is updated frequently, so check back often!
PREACHING SCHEDULE
3/16- Craig
3/23- Andie
3/30- Andie
4/6- Andie
4/13- Jamie
COMMUNITY BOARD
CONTACT INFO
Pastoral Staff
Andie Pellicer, Lead Pastor
(andie@ubcwaco.org)
Toph Whisnant, Community Pastor (toph@ubcwaco.org)
Jameson McGregor, Worship & Arts Pastor (jamie@ubcwaco.org)
Nicole Dizdar, Kids Pastor
(nicole@ubcwaco.org)
Leadership Team (leadershipteam@ubcwaco.org)
Britt Duke
Andy Clark
Aleigh Ascherl
Marcus Franklin
Shelly Taylor
Katie Robinson
Margo Shanks
Staff Support Team (staffsupport@ubcwaco.org)
Abbey Mackey
Jim Wren
Betsy Bracken
Finance Team (finance@ubcwaco.org)
Brandon Glover
Jonathan Hill
Ben Rose