Teresa’s Note: January 26, 2024

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Dear friends and members of University UMC: As a pastor, I’m wired to begin thinking of Lent as soon as a new year comes around. Thinking ahead to the next season even while moving through the present is something we do. We prepare for Christmas Eve services but know Lent and Easter are on the horizon. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Lenten season as we make our journey with Jesus through the wilderness and to the cross. This year, Ash Wednesday falls on February 14–which is of course also Valentine’s Day. Do I mark the ashes in the shape of a heart upon people’s foreheads? Joking aside, the pairing of these two is an interesting thing to ponder. Last week, as I spent some time reading and thinking about the season of Lent here at UUMC, I was reminded that Brené Brown often used the word ‘wholehearted’ in her writings. It was in her book The Gifts of Imperfection that she wrote: “Wholehearted living is about engaging with our lives from a place of worthiness. It means cultivating the courage, compassion and connection to wake up in the morning and think, ‘No matter what gets done and how much is left undone, I am enough.’ It’s going to bed at night thinking, ‘Yes, I am imperfect and vulnerable and sometimes afraid, but that doesn’t change the truth that I am also brave and worthy of love and belonging.” As a practicing Episcopalian, Brené Brown was often struck by the language in a traditional prayer of confession that prays, “We have failed to love you with our whole heart.” Today, I share with you a piece called “Loving with Our Whole Hearts,” which I wrote last week. It emerged from a time of sitting with the prayer of confession, pondering the twinning of Valentine’s Day and Ash Wednesday, and considering what it means to love with our whole heart. Even when we know the wisdom of wholehearted loving, such a posture is challenging given the difficulty of some of life’s seasons. Brené Brown knows intimately that this is true. When I thought of some of her research, I began wondering why I hadn’t come across her name recently. For years, she would often show up in podcasts, interviews, and articles. I assumed I was just busy with other things, but as I went looking, I learned that she had, indeed, spent some time going through an especially difficult season. Specifically, Brown’s mother died about a month ago on Christmas Day. As she juggled caregiving, her business, family, and other things, she admitted her heart had become more of “an armored heart” - a fortress built around it. In her sharing, Brown’s honesty and vulnerability invite us into a place of acknowledging our own grief and our need for love, belonging, and community. We have an exciting couple of weeks before Lent begins with guest preachers and then we will open ourselves to the season that was made for holding us as we tend to grief work, vulnerability, and becoming people who love with our whole hearts. I’m grateful for the community we know as UUMC. Whatever season of life you find yourself in right now, I hope you feel a sense of belonging and know you are beloved. I look forward to seeing you this weekend as we welcome Diana Butler Bass on Saturday evening at 7pm and Sunday morning in worship. What a joy to be your pastor! Teresa Loving With Our Whole Hearts by Teresa Welborn We love with our whole hearts when we bring all of who we are When we own what we’re good at When we name our so-called failures When we know the wisdom of being able to change our minds When we admit we were wrong When we know the agony of having been right We love with our whole hearts when we stand up for a cause When we know there will be fall out remaining resolute anyway When we step into places of suffering assisting where we can sitting with those in pain staying even though there’s nothing we can do When we resist turning away from all the bad news When we allow ourselves to feel joy anyway We love with our whole hearts when we are vulnerable When we are the first to say “I’m sorry” When we allow ourselves to be forgiven When we’re the first to say “I love you” When we allow ourselves to be embraced When we say “I need help” and “I need space” When we’re the first to reach out When we’re the last to give up We love with our whole hearts when we pay attention to its beating before the anticipation of something good with the expanse born of heartache When we can look in the mirror and say “What if nothing is wrong with me” Nothing is wrong with you We love with our whole hearts when we try something new When we call an old friend When we meet a new neighbor When we create and dream When we wake up and head out When we lift up our face When we lift up our heart When we remember being alive is a gift And live as if it were so You can read more of the latest from about Brené Brown on her website 2409 Guadalupe Street Austin, Texas 78705 512-478-9387 Want to change how you receive emails from us? 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