Teresa’s Note: May 31, 2024

May 31

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Dear friends and members of University UMC:

I’ve been practicing yoga off and on for many years and, in recent months, have been trying to get back into the swing of attending a weekly yoga class. The word yoga comes from the Sanskrit meaning “to yoke” or “to join” and is often understood as the union of body, mind, and spirit. One of my favorite quotes comes from yogi Aadil Palkhivala who reminds us, “True yoga is not about the shape of your body, but the shape of your life.” I wonder how you feel about the “shape of your life.” My guess is it feels full. And for many of us, Sabbath rest can be hard to come by. Finding balance in our day-to-day living is a challenge.

This Sunday’s sermon text is from the Gospel of Mark and includes these words from Jesus: “The Sabbath was made for humankind”(Mark 2:27a). Keeping Sabbath can and does look many different ways. It can include taking an entire day away from your ‘regular’ schedule to live life differently such as fasting from electronic devices and/or purchasing products. It can include corporate worship and/or personal time filled with spiritual practices. It can include moments of rest and renewal. Always, it orients us towards a way of living that is life-giving for ourselves and all people.

This Sunday is also the beginning of PRIDE month. Find more information in the newsletter and on our website about events throughout the month including an Ally Training scheduled for Sunday, June 30th. Below you’ll find a poem written by Christian theologian and artist Sarah Speed in celebration of Pride month as well as several quotes about Sabbath to inspire and invite us into a richer life of Sabbath keeping.

What a joy to be your pastor!

Teresa

“Through Him, All Things” by Lauren Wright Pittman, A Sanctified Art

The Bravest Thing We Can Do

Trust your belovedness.

Let it be a protest,

an act of resistance,

a song of celebration.

Trust your belovedness in a world

that is rarely satisfied.

Wear it like a badge of honor.

Speak it as confidently as your last name.

Tattoo it to your heart.

When outside forces

chip away at your sense of self,

when life asks you

to hand over the keys,

remember the water.

Remember creation.

Remember how it was good,

so very good.

Let that truth hum through your veins.

Sing it so loud

that it drowns out the weariness of the world,

for the bravest thing we can ever do

is trust that we belong here.

—Rev. Sarah (Are) Speed

“A life built upon Sabbath is contented because in rhythms of rest we discover our time is full of the holiness of God.”

― Shelly Miller,

Rhythms of Rest: Finding the Spirit of Sabbath in a Busy World

“We live in a culture of restlessness, and the antidote is restfulness.”

- James Hazelwood

But Jesus presses his opponents — and disciples like us! — to look deeper. The animating objective of the sabbath, Jesus contends, the reason God established and commanded it in the first place, is for the sake of vibrant, healthy life in beloved community.

– from SALT, a spiritual commentary

“What if the church became the best place in the world to learn how to rest? This is an exhausting world, friend.”

― A.J. Swoboda,
Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World

“Today I'm flying low and I'm not saying a word. I'm letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep. The world goes on as it must, the bees in the garden rumbling a little, the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten. And so forth. But I'm taking the day off. Quiet as a feather. I hardly move though really I'm traveling a terrific distance. Stillness. One of the doors into the temple.”

― Mary Oliver,

A Thousand Mornings: Poems

Academy for Spiritual Formation

July 28-August 2 at Alamo Heights UMC

The Five-Day Academy for Spiritual Formation is a program of Upper Room Ministries, providing an opportunity for clergy and laity to draw close to a loving God through a daily rhythm of prayer, worship, learning, and reflection. Each day includes teachings by gifted spiritual leaders to deepen our walk with God, periods of silence, morning and evening prayer, Eucharist, and an opportunity to share with and encourage one another.

Learn More