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Dear friends and members of University UMC:
This Sunday we begin a new sermon series “Called to Compassion.” As I mentioned in worship recently, it’s easy for me to show compassion to some people. Many people, even. But then there are others. How can I extend compassion to people who themselves demonstrate no compassion? I don’t have an easy answer, but I do think it’s a question Jesus invites us to live with in this world.
Father Boyle’s most recent book helps me reflect more deeply on all my thoughts and feelings around the work of compassion. Father Boyle is an American Jesuit priest and is the founder of Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, the largest gang intervention, rehabilitation, and reentry program in the world. Like his previous books, “Cherished Belonging: The Healing Power of Love in Divided Time” is filled with stories of heartbreak and humor as well as stories that are heart-warming. Father Boyle also challenges me as I consider this tenuous time in which we live. At one point, for example, he writes, “People aren’t unkind, just distracted”(page 43). I watch the news and think - “Some people must be really distracted!”
When I’m being honest, I can also acknowledge my own tendency to be distracted. At times, I don’t give full attention to the people in front of me. Often I fail to see the beauty of a sunrise or sunset because I’m hovered over my phone or computer. So much is swirling about and much of it is troubling. Yet the call of Christ weighs on my mind - to see the sacred in everyone.
Taking moments to tend to my own soul work has been more important than ever. Sometimes it’s lighting a candle and sitting in silence for several minutes. Sometimes it’s making sure I take a good, long walk with no podcast in my ears. Oftentimes it includes reading words of inspiration and encouragement from trusted voices. Earlier this week progressive Christian writer Diana Butler Bass wrote about the 10 practices that keep her centered and grounded. I shared these with staff who found the practices relevant and helpful and I share them with you here below.
I’ve received several questions of concern about the safety of persons in the immigrant community and I’m grateful for the many of you who stay engaged in conversations surrounding these issues. For those of you interested in learning more, you’ll find several links with information concerning advocacy work we can be engaged in from leaders at Texas Impact and Austin Sanctuary Network as well as a recorded webinar from the Río Texas Conference office of The UMC.
I encourage you to watch the video below from a global organization called The Charter of Compassion. It is a short video about the beauty of diversity and the power of kindness. As Father Boyle, says, “The answer to every question is compassion.”
What a joy to be your pastor!
Teresa |
| A Blessingfrom “A Black Rock Prayer Book”
The world now is too dangerousand too beautiful for anything but love.May your eyes be so blessed you see God in everyone.Your ears, so you hear the cry of the poor.May your hands be so blessedthat everything you touch is a sacrament.Your lips, so you speak nothing but the truth with love.May your feet be so blessed you runto those who need you.And may your heart be so opened,so set on fire, that your love,your love, changes everything. |
| |  | | Wisdom from Diana Butler BassIn her latest blog, Diana Butler Bass lists things to do that keep her grounded and hopeful in these days. “I call it the ‘Ten Ws.’ For me.”, she writes, “For anyone who is floundering.” (From The Cottage, Jan 28, 2025) |
| WAKE UP (everyday)
Sleep is important, but hiding under the covers is bad. Get on some sort of schedule for sleeping and waking. And don’t doom scroll before bed.
WELCOME THE DAY (everyday)
With gratitude. Say “thank you” first thing when you wake. The night and day are still doing their thing, no matter what. You may feel defeated or scared. But you are alive. Life is the first and most fleeting gift. Remember Stephen Hawking: “Where there's life, there's hope”
WALK (everyday)
Get fresh air and exercise. Walk to feel the ground under your feet and notice all the little things on your street, in your neighborhood, at the park. Feel your body in the world. Move, be attentive to your world, pray or meditate as you go (if you like). Or just put one foot in front of the other — because that’s the only way through the next four years.
(BE) WITH OTHERS (everyday)
Don’t isolate yourself. Reach out or connect with someone every single day. Face-to-face, via text or email, or write a letter. Go to church or synagogue. (I know lots of people who have theological questions who go to church just to be with others.) Volunteer to feed the hungry or read to children at the local library (also: support your local library!). Do good for and with others. Go to conferences. Hang out with people you trust. Start a book group.
WORK (most days, but take Sabbaths too!)
Keep doing your work. Do what you love. Practice your vocation. Don’t try to do everything all the time. Focus on your own gifts and calling. This isn’t just working at a job. Clean your house, rearrange your closets, take up a hobby. You may be challenged in the future to go far beyond your comfort zone. But it is far more likely that the work you do will be your primary arena of acts of assistance, democracy, and justice on behalf of others. Be an everyday hero wherever you are.
WRITE (everyday, weekly, or often)
Keep a journal of these days. Express yourself as fully as you can in its pages. If you don’t like writing, draw or weave or throw pots. Whatever. Have a creative way to work through your fears, losses, or doubts. You may think you don’t want to remember any of this. But one day, you — or someone who comes after you — will be grateful to know your story of now. And writing or art can clarify things for you.
WATCH THE NEWS (as able)
You must stay informed. The arsonists want you ignorant. If you can’t watch the news, read or listen to it. Subscribe to a few news digests that deliver news in smaller, digestible bits (I subscribe to ProPublica, The Guardian, Bloomberg, Heather Cox Richardson’s daily newsletter) along with newsletters you trust. I still get the Washington Post and the New York Times, keeping in mind their recent editorial shifts, etc. Support local journalism. Use the mute button on your remote. Be cautious with sources. You don’t need to know everything, but being aware of at least some things is important.
WIDE-SIGHT (a practice to develop)
Broaden your perspective by looking to the periphery.
Normally when we are taken by surprise, there is a sudden narrowing of our visual periphery that exacerbates the fight or flight response — an intense, fearful, self-defensive focusing of the “gimlet eye” that is associated with both physical and intellectual combat. But in the Japanese self-defense art of aikido, this visual narrowing is countered by a practice called “soft eyes,” in which one learns to widen one’s periphery, to take in more of the world.If you introduce a sudden stimulus to an unprepared person, the eyes narrow and the fight or flight syndrome kicks in. But if you train a person to practice soft eyes, then introduce that same stimulus, the reflex is often transcended. This person will turn toward the stimulus, take it in, and then make a more authentic response — such as thinking a new thought.
Don’t get fixated on the direct threats. Instead, remind yourself to look toward the edges of your field of vision. What’s there? What’s not immediately obvious? Is there something on the periphery that is helpful, healing, or hopeful?
WEEP (whenever)
Embrace whatever emotions come up. I’ve cried many days in recent months. But I’ve laughed, too. Don’t judge how you feel on any given day (or at any given hour). Don’t regret the tears and don’t feel guilty about joy — and all the feelings in between the two. If you have someone to talk to about your feelings, share what’s going on.
WONDER (as much as possible)
Go out into nature, spend time at an art museum, listen to your favorite music, read books and poetry, get obsessed with space photos from the Webb telescope — anything that connects you to beauty and deepens your awareness of awe. Researchers have discovered that “awe leads to goodwill, cooperation, and a transformed sense of self as part of a community” (Berkeley professor Dacher Keltner). Embrace mystery. Ask unanswerable questions. Awe is “pro-social” and has been shown to reduce polarization!
Wake up, Welcome the day, Walk, (Be) With others, Work, Write, Watch the news, practice Wide-sight, Weep, and Wonder.
Some are every day practices, some occasional. Some need to be learned; others are intuitive. This isn’t a to do list. It is a mapMix them up. Borrow what you like or need. Whatever helps. Add your own Ws. Keep it simple. |
| | | | | From Austin Sanctuary Network
Film screening and Q&A of Las Patrones: Wed, Feb. 5, 7 p.m.ASN monthly meeting w Span/Eng interpretation: Wed Feb. 12, 7 p.m.Both events at: Wildflower Church at 1314 E. Oltorf St, 78704.
Join us in solidarity to learn about our immigrant justice work including Know Your Rights training, advocacy, deportation defense, the hotline, accompaniment to San Antonio immigration court hearings or ICE appointments and fundraising. |
| | Texas Impact Postcard Campaign
Texas Impact is a non-profit that includes People of Faith who are Working for Justice. Texas Impact is currently asking people of faith to write postcards to their legislators regarding the current abortion ban. As it reads on their website: |
| “Texans don’t have to agree on every abortion question to know that pregnant patients deserve the best care, and doctors deserve respect. Texas legislators should fix Texas’ abortion laws so they reflect our shared Texas values.Unfortunately, many lawmakers are unwilling to acknowledge the Texas abortion ban goes too far. Women are risking death and lifelong health problems from pregnancy complications, while other women are afraid to get pregnant for fear they can’t get help if something goes wrong." |
| You can find postcards in the church office during office hours. For more information, contact Ann Leifeste at ann.leifeste@icloud.com or visit Texas Impact’s website. |
| | Response to LA Fires
On January 7, strong Santa Ana winds in Los Angeles caused wildfires to spread rapidly in multiple communities. Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed, as well as multiple local United Methodist Churches. Preliminary assessments of the damage is underway. The United Methodist Committee on Relief has awarded two solidarity grants to the California-Pacific Annual Conference to undergird their immediate relief efforts. This includes evacuee support like food and essential supplies as well as support for volunteer efforts and other relief activities. Our additional offerings will enable UMCOR to continue their efforts in the area as the recovery efforts continue. You can write "UMCOR" on the memo section of your check or on your offering envelope. Or by going online to uumc.org/give, selecting “Special Offiering” and adding “UMCOR” to the notes section. And many thanks to you who know of UMCOR’s good work and have already responded with special offerings! |
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