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Dear friends and members of University UMC:
Like many of you, I voted early this week. (My husband and I both voted early on different days in different locations; in both locations they had run out of “I voted early” stickers!) After I voted on Wednesday, I made my way to a yoga class where the instructor began class by sharing a prophetic word about the tragedy of complacency and the importance of exercising our right to vote. She explained that using our voice and voting is an important way to orient our hearts and minds towards the common good - an act counter to complacency. She then read a short writing from the ancient Yoga Sutra text about the dangers of violence and untruth. I found all her words timely!
God has gifted us with a variety of spiritual disciplines and practices that can help us when we feel anxious or worried, fearful or sad. Yoga is one of the practices that helps me. While my practice is not always consistent, when I do take time to be on the mat whether at home or in a class I find my breathing slows down and the scattered thoughts racing through my mind slow down, too. I come back to the realization that I am beloved and that my work in the world is to be loving. I’m excited this yoga instructor has agreed to be with us on Tuesday at 1pm for our “Election Connection event.” Yoga will take place in the chapel and people of all ages and abilities are welcome. Seriously! If you’ve practiced for years or have never practiced, this class is for you. As I met with the teacher Chris Leigh about this event, she immediately understood the vision of this class as an opportunity to come together in community and receive some gentle practices that we can take with us in our day-to-day living. You can find more information here: |
| | Thank you to all who have voted and will vote. And thank you to all who are walking the streets, making calls, and engaged in other ways. The United Methodist Social Principles states: |
| “Our involvement in political systems is rooted in the Gospel imperative to love our neighbors, to do justice, and to care for the vulnerable. As United Methodists, we acknowledge that love requires responsible political action and engagement aimed at the betterment of society and the promotion of the common good. We acknowledge that such political engagement demands humility and mindfulness of our own complicity in perpetuating injustice. It also necessitates compassion, prayer, and a willingness to discern God’s guidance.” |
| This past Sunday in worship I preached from Ecclesiastes, which in Hebrew is Quoheleth and can be translated as “Collector of Sayings.” I smile when I think of that because often I see my Friday Note as a place to share sayings I’ve collected through the years. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s collection: A writing entitled “Ecclesiastes sorta, kinda says this in the third chapter” which I found clever. “A Blessing for Those Who Have Faced Loss” by Kate Bowler. We continue our worship series on Grief and Loss with the Brahms Requiem this Sunday followed by sermons on anticipatory grief and being a good friend to ourselves and others during times of loss. You can find more of Kate Bowler’s Blessings centered in themes of loss and sorrow on her website. One of my favorite quotes about voting by Ralph Warnock. A video of me reading the Prayer Psalm for Election Day I wrote a few weeks ago along with Paul Harper sharing Mary Chapin Carpenter’s song “Why Shouldn’t We?” One of my favorite All Saints quotes by Native American Linda Hogan that reads: Suddenly all my ancestors are behind me. “Be Still”, they say. “Watch and listen. You are the result of the love of thousands.” Austin ISD is closed today for Diwalli, the Hindu festival of lights. If you want to learn more, find links to an article and brief video below.
Thanks to all of you who read each week. Share with friends and let them know they can subscribe to receive these notes each week by visiting our website!
See you Sunday!
What a joy to be your pastor!
Teresa |
| by Maren TirabassiFor everything there is a season, even the winter season –
when my joints creak .
The time to be born is in the past,
but it’s time to consider improving my obituary.
There’s a time, when the snow falls,
to plant myself in front of the fire,
but when someone needs help,
it’s time to pluck up my behind from the recliner.
I hope there’s always time to kill the sharp response,
and heal the family wounds;
and a time to break down in public
with tears or laughing out loud,
and a time to build up the confidence of somebody else.
There’s a time to weep, creep, and unexpectedly fall asleep,
and a time to laugh at myself doing it;
a time to throw away useless baggage from the past –
you should see our house!
and a time to gather some technological expertise
to be engaged in the future;
a time to embrace and embrace and embrace,
and a time to silently hope I will not soon
experience what it is to refrain from embracing
some very precious people.
There’s a time to seek, to lose,
and to wonder why I came in a room in the first place;
a time to tear down walls between people,
and a time to stitch up my lips;
Yes, lots of time to keep silence …
in front of a sunrise, a child’s smile,
and even enthusiastic plans
that I know from experience won’t work out,
but need to be tried anyway —
and a time to speak kindly and with a lot of love
…after that happens.
There are months and months for love,
a couple hours to hate loneliness, cancer, dementia.
There is a time to really hate war, racism, intolerance,
and always a time to work for peace,
no matter how tired or frustrated we feel.
What gain do workers or retirees have from their toil?
I have seen that many things fail or fade
or fritter away — quite a few in churches
in spite of everything we try —
but God has given a joy to being busy.
God has put past and future in our minds,
and sometimes they flip flop,
and my brain goes back to the beginning.
It’s OK. There is nothing better than to be happy,
spread happiness, but never be comfortable
while there is one unhappy story on the news —
a war that is killing children, a refugee,
a mass shooting, a broken police force
and remind everyone of God’s simple gifts –
food, drink and the pleasure of work well done. |
| | By Kate BowlerBlessed are we, who feel the wound of fresh loss.
Or of a loss… no matter how fresh… that still makes our voices crack all these years later.
We who are stuck in the impossibility of it. Frozen in disbelief.
How can this be? It wasn’t supposed to be this way.Blessed are we, fumbling around for easy answers or quick truths
to try to make this go down easier.
We who are dissatisfied with the shallow theology and trite platitudes.Blessed are we, who, instead, demand a blessing.
Because we have wrestled with God and are here.
Wounded. Broken. Changed.Blessed are we,
who keep our relationships and friendships and jobs afloat,
and who stock the pantry…because… what choice do we have
but to move forward with a life we didn’t choose
with a loss we thought we couldn’t live without?One small step. One small act of hope at a time. |
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