Teresa’s Note: November 15, 2024

Dear friends and members of University UMC: This week I attended a conference sponsored by denominational leaders about the future of the church. The presentations were interesting, but the biggest takeaway for me was the networking and relationship-building. I saw colleagues I hadn't seen in years and made some new connections. We know the importance of having people we can turn toward as we journey through life. This Sunday we continue our sermon series on Grief and Loss. Connecting with loving family members, kind neighbors, and trusted friends can be a lifeboat during a time of despair. I also hear from many of you that being with your church family is a great help. Staff has been preparing a special worship service for this Sunday morning including a creative retelling of the Gospel lesson about Jesus’ visit to Mary following the death of her brother Lazarus by Melissa Wiginton and Ray Williams. I leave with you a few things I’ve come across in my reading over the last few weeks. You’ll find a “Mindful Moment” that accompanies a link to a new children’s book entitled The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids. The inspiration for Melissa and Ray’s sharing in worship Sunday comes from this book and I highly recommend this book for children of all ages. The Mindful Moment below follows the book’s interpretation of the death of Lazarus reminding us “Loss fills us with sadness, and that sadness shows us just how deeply we loved.” You’ll also find a couple of pieces I referenced in last week’s sermon including Jan Richardson’s poem “Blessing for the Brokenhearted” and a link to the article about Rev. Todd Salmi’s loving witness at Texas State University. Rev. Salmi is a Director of Campus Ministry in San Marcos. Finally, I’m including the statement from the Council of Bishops of The UMC following the recent presidential election. Bishop Tracy Malone, president of the Council of Bishops, presented at this week’s conference I attended, and she reminds us, “Our baptismal vows call us “to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves.”  We therefore reject rhetoric, policies, and actions that demean or discriminate against any of God's children and will be vigilant in defending the rights of the vulnerable and speaking out against oppression.” Amen! What a joy to be your pastor! Teresa The Book of Belonging: Bible Stories for Kind and Contemplative Kids from The Book of Belonging Campus Ministry at Texas State Shares a Message of Love Pastoral Letter from Council of Bishops God, Collect our tears Tears of sadness t ears of joy Tears of anxiety , nervous tears Tears that don’t know why they run like rivers down the face Gracious God, collect our tears in your bottle And pour them back on us as life-giving water! – Safiyah Fosua, The Africana Worship Book: Year B Valentine by Jan Richardson Blessing for the Brokenhearted Let us agree for now that we will not say the breaking makes us stronger or  that it is better to have this pain than to have done without this love. Let us promise we will not tell ourselves  time will heal l the wound,   when every day our waking opens it anew. Perhaps for now it can be enough  to simply marvel at the mystery of how a heart so broken can go on beating, as if it were made for precisely this— as if it knows the only cure for love is more of it, as if it sees the heart’s sole remedy for breaking is to love still, as if it trusts that its own persistent pulse  is the rhythm of a blessing we cannot begin to fathom but will save us nonetheless. – Jan Richardson 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