Teresa’s Note: September 13, 2024

You can listen to Teresa read this note here. Dear friends and members of University UMC: Earlier this week I watched the presidential debate. I know I wasn’t alone. And from conversations with many of you, I also know I’m not alone as I look to this election season and feel at times worried and afraid. As intense as these emotions are at times, I know I am more than the difficult emotions I feel. There are feelings of joy and hope, too. There are experiences of meaningful connection. There are moments of awe and wonder. Being part of the faith community called University UMC fosters a great deal of that joy, hope, and meaning for me. Thank you church!   John Wesley’s Three General Rules also provide helpful guidance. These rules include the following: Do Good, Do No Harm, and Attending upon all the Ordinances of God (or, simply, stay in love with God such as committing to times of worship and other spiritual disciplines). No matter the political climate, these three rules are helpful for the living of all our days. But perhaps especially these days, I find them important - as well as challenging. A brief prayer in a recent message from Sojourners magazine reads,  “God who listens, grant us the ability to fully hear one another during this time of division and anger. Open our hearts and ears to those around us, and help us approach conversations with your infinite love. Amen.” I’m holding onto that prayer in the days ahead because it just might help me do some good, do less harm, and stay in love with God. Gathering for fellowship and worship each week, small group gatherings, and service opportunities at the church can also help ground and center us in this challenging political season. This Sunday in worship we conclude our Commitment to Service emphasis and a few weeks ago many of you signed up for the first time to volunteer in ministry areas. In Sunday’s sermon, you’ll hear me speak to the importance of balancing our “doing good” with self-care. It is true that rolling up our sleeves to help with a good cause can do our hearts and souls good. We’ve experienced this and can affirm that a life of service leads to increased joy and hope. It is also true that sometimes some of us can get so caught up in ‘doing’ that we can unintentionally cause harm. It was years ago when my spiritual director gently asked if my compulsive doing might be causing distance in my relationships - my relationships with loved ones, God, and even myself. I’m not sharing this because I’m worried about any of you! And I’m not sharing this because I think you should worry about me! I am sharing because life is often busy, the news is often empty of good news, and God is looking for people like you and me to be signs of peace and possibility. During that visit with my spiritual director all those years ago, she shared with me a writing by Thomas Merton that cautions about “the rush and pressure of modern life.” Below I leave with you the full quote. And for some levity, I’m also leaving a poem by children’s author Shel Silverstein. I’m referring to one of his books Sunday (come to Worship to find out!), but this poem was one of my favorites as a child because it talks about a girl named Theresa (spelled with an “h”, but still!). Thanks again for all the ways you love and for all the ways you embody peace and hope. What a joy to be your pastor! Teresa “There is a pervasive form of contemporary violence to which the idealist most easily succumbs: activism and overwork. The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence. To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit oneself to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything, is to succumb to violence. The frenzy of our activism neutralizes our work for peace. It destroys our own inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our own work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.” - Thomas Merton 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