Teresa’s Note: October 13, 2023

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Dear friends and members of University UMC: This week our hearts have been heavy with news from Israel and Palestine. A newsletter I subscribe to includes this brief prayer: As we strive for peace, give us humility. As we mourn with victims of violence around the world, we ask you to comfort us all and give us strength to live in harmony together. These words remain ever before me. I cannot muster the energy to articulate well the complexity of the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. And without question there is still much for me to learn. The violence and loss of innocent lives is tragic and horrific. In the face of so much pain, my prayer remains - give us the strength to live in harmony together.  I’m grateful for the ways you share the unconditional love of God and bear witness to justice in action. Below you will find a picture of Barbara Mason, our Lay Leader, and Tom Downing at the anti-voucher rally at the state capitol last Saturday. Several of us were there to support our local public schools and all Texas children. I am a part of an organization called Texas Pastors For Texas Children - one of several organizations opposed to private school vouchers. We believe that public money underwriting private religious schools is a violation of God’s principle of religious liberty accorded every single human being and that all our children and communities benefit when public schools are well funded. You can find out more on their website. You will also find a video I prepared following my participation in an interfaith prayer vigil on October 10, the World Day Against the Death Penalty. It was also on the evening of this day that Texas carried out the execution of Jedidiah Murphy. Several UUMC members were in attendance at the prayer vigil. I’m also including below the reading that Pastor Earl shared at the in-person service Sunday, October 8, entitled “What We Give,” as well as a prayer for Israel and Palestine by a writer at Sojourners Magazine.  In troubling times, my hope is renewed by the spirit alive among the people called University UMC. Join us for worship Sunday morning as many of our youth and children lead us in worship. Come to find joy, and may we be sent forth to live in harmony. What a joy to be your pastor! Teresa Barbara Mason, Lay Leader, and Tom Downing at Texas Anti-Voucher Rally on October 7, 2023 Statement on October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty “They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain...” — Isaiah 11:9 Prayer by Rose Marie Berger a Senior Editor of Sojourner Magazine God of Comfort, send your Spirit to encompass all those whose lives are torn apart by violence and death in Israel and Palestine. You are the Advocate of the oppressed and the One whose eye is on the sparrow. Let arms reach out in healing, rather than aggression. Let hearts mourn rather than militarize. God of Justice, give strength to those whose long work for a just peace might seem fruitless now. Strengthen their resolve. Do not let them feel alone. Show us how to support their work and bolster their courage. Guide religious leaders to model unity and reconciliation across lines of division. Guide political leaders to listen with their hearts as they seek peace and pursue it. Help all people choose the rigorous path of just peace and disavow violence. God of Love, we lift up Palestine and Israel — its people, its land, its creatures. War is a monster that consumes everything in its path. Peace is a gift shared at meals of memory with Christians, Muslims, and Jews. Let us burn incense, not children. Let us break bread, not bodies. Let us plant olive groves, not cemeteries. We beg for love and compassion to prevail on all your holy mountains. God of Hope, we lift up the cities of the region: Gaza City and Tel Aviv, Ramallah and Ashkelon, Deir El Balah and Sderot, so long divided, yet so filled with life and creativity. Come again to breathe peace on your peoples that all may recognize you. God of Mercy, even now work on the hearts of combatants to choose life over death, reconciliation over retaliation, restoration over destruction. Help us resist antisemitism in all its forms, especially in our own churches. All people, Israelis and Palestinians, deserve to live in peace and unafraid, with a right to determine their future together. God of the Nations, let not one more child or elder be sacrificed on altars of political expediency. Keep safe all people from unjust leaders who would exploit vulnerability for their own distorted ends. Give wise discernment to those making decisions to pursue peace. Provide them insight into fostering well-being, freedom, and thriving for all. Teach all of us to resolve injustices with righteousness, not rockets. Guard our hearts against retaliation, and give us hearts for love alone. Strengthen our faith in you, O God of All Flesh, even when we don’t have clear answers, so that we may still offer ourselves nonviolently for the cause of peace. Amen. WHAT WE GIVE from Ladder to the Light: An Indigenous Elder's Meditations on Hope and Courage My ancestors told many stories about the first days of creation. Among them is a story of light. Long ago, Raven found the light: the sun hanging like a shiny mirror in the midst of an empty sky. Raven liked shiny things. He could have kept the sun for himself, but he decided to give it to the people. He brought the sun, placed it in the nest of the sky, and let its rays bring life to the dark world below. Raven gave away his most prized possession. We are not what we have; we are what we give. Sharing is the measure of our faith, the simple test of how well we have learned the way of the Spirit - not to have more for the few, but enough for the many. When you see the sun rise, remember Raven and give your light to others.  – Steven Charleston, Episcopal Priest and member of the Choctaw Nation. 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