A Note from Pastor Teresa: July 21, 2023

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A Note from Pastor Teresa Dear friends and members of University UMC: Last Sunday I shared about road trips from my childhood and how some lessons from those experiences are good metaphors for life. I had several people ask me for the liturgical pieces used in the worship service because the language of trusting God in uncertain times resonated with them. Whether talking about one’s personal life, church life or the state of the world, the future can seem worrisome for a host of reasons.  Below are the three key points to the Sunday sermon along with a simple quote followed by the Prayer of Thomas Merton and a Celtic Blessing called “The Path” used in worship Sunday. Megan Otto will be preaching this Sunday and we’ll also have a time of blessing our youth who will be heading out on their own road trip to attend their mission trip.  I’m not sure where on life’s journey you feel you are today. Maybe the ground you are standing on is solid or maybe it feels shaky. Maybe the future seems full of fear or maybe it seems full of hope. Regardless I pray you trust in the good words of the Canadian Creed - “God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God!” And I pray you take to heart the words of welcome we share here at UUMC - “Wherever you are on your life journey or your faith journey, you are welcome.”  What a joy to be your pastor! Teresa ROAD TRIP LESSONS FOR LIFE It is not all about the destination. “Sometimes the most scenic roads in life are the detours you didn’t mean to make.” - Angela Blount  It is all about the relationships.  “It doesn’t matter where you are going, it matters who is beside you.” - Anonymous  Believe the God of Love is with you! “The best of all is that God is with us.” - John Wesley  PRAYER OF THOMAS MERTON  My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Amen. THE PATH A Celtic Blessing  God bless the path on which you go. God bless the earth beneath your feet. God bless your destination. God be a smooth way before you, A guiding star above you, A keen eye behind you This day, this night, and forever. God be with you whatever you pass. Jesus be with you whatever you climb. Spirit be with you wherever you stay.  God be with you at each stop and each sea, At each lying down and each rising up, In the trough of the waves,  on the crest of the billows each step of the journey you take. 2409 Guadalupe Street Austin, Texas 78705 512-478-9387 Want to change how you receive emails from us? Click here to update your preferences or unsubscribe or unsubscribe from this list