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AUSTIN INTERFAITH HOUSE MEETINGS
A shared vision is not an idea. It is not even an important idea such as freedom. It is, rather, a force of impressive power. It may be inspired by an idea, but once it goes further--if it is compelling enough to acquire the support of more than one person--then it is no longer an abstraction. It is palpable. People begin to see it as if it exists. Few, if any, forces in human affairs are as powerful as shared vision.
--Robert Seng, The Fifth Discipline
In a recent Sunday morning reflection, I reflected on my Sunday morning reflections. I noted that my reflections are really invitations to dialogue. I almost always wish I could sit down and talk to some of you after I share my reflection on a topic--really talk about it in some depth so I could hear how you heard me, hear what you're thinking and feeling about the topic, and get feedback from you to help me as I continue struggling with and working through the issue. Unfortunately, that almost never happens. So I offered a plan for further discussion, to begin after our window series ends in the Spring. A number of you thought this was a great idea and said you would participate.
However, as it turns out, we don't need to wait that long to be in dialogue with one another over a very serious issue--the economy. Through our growing participation with Austin Interfaith, several members of our church who have been participating in Austin Interfaith are organizing house meetings where we can gather to discuss the current economic climate--how it is directly affecting our lives, how we see it affecting the community in which we live (be it our street, neighborhood, city, or county), what economic justice means in our time and place, and how we can support one another and other citizens of our community by identifying and advocating for economic justice issues before our community's political leaders. Economic justice is a personal, communal, and spiritual issue, one worthy of serious and honest discussion, especially among members of faith communities like ours in which economic justice is part of our identity and mission.
The folks who have graciously offered to host a house meeting are Bill Beardall, Sharon Brown, and Cathy Hubbs, with the schedule as follows:
Monday, January 12, 7 pm: Bill Beardall's home.
Wednesday, January 14, 7 pm: Cathy Hubbs' home.
Thursday, January 15, 7 pm: Sharon Brown's home.
The issues we identify at our house meetings will be included with the issues that arise from house meetings occurring within Austin Interfaith member organizations (mostly Austin-area churches and synagogues). All of the information from the different organizations will be compiled and used during an Economic Summit that Austin Interfaith is sponsoring on Saturday, February 7, from 9am to 1 pm. This summit will include Austin-area business and political leaders, and members of Austin-area faith communities. Folks from our church who are interested in meeting with leaders from other Austin Interfaith organizations to discuss the issues that come up in our house meetings will have the opportunity to do so at a "Core Team" Assembly on Tuesday evening, February 24, at 7:00 pm.
I'm hoping that you take advantage of this opportunity to be in dialogue with other members of your church on this important and timely issue, and that in doing so, you'll see yourselves as participants in a growing movement to bring greater justice to the community in which we live and worship God.
Thanks to our house meeting hosts! And thanks to all of you who will join in the discussion, and than advocate for the justice we desire in our common life.
FROM THE DEACONS
Plans for the Easter 2009 Sunrise service are not yet complete, but site selection on the shore of Lady Bird Lake is well under way, and the outlines of the morning's events have been decided. Complete details will be announced at our church's annual congregational meeting later this month.
As noted in last month's newsletter, our pastor will be on sabbatical next year from mid-August through the middle of November. Betty Bodman, Greg Futch, Dan Jeffrey, Nodie Murphy, Pat Oakes, and Doyal Pinkard have agreed to serve on a committee formed to help with sabbatical planning.
The focus of our church's spring retreat - April 24-26 - will be "Mindful Citizenship." The retreat, organized by our own Marilyn Vache, will be led by Rebecca McIlwain, an experienced community organizer who is now offering workshops on spirituality and civic life. The retreat promises to be an enriching and empowering experience. Don't miss it! - get your name on the sign-up sheet as soon as possible. (Seton Cove is sponsoring a six-hour workshop by Ms McIlwain on January 24; for details, see the announcement sheet in the Fellowship Hall.)
Chairs of our Boards
Trustees: Reuel Nash
Deacons: Betty Bodman
Christian Education:
Christian Outreach: Dan Jeffery
Moderator: John Goff
WOMEN'S BOOK CLUB
The Women's book club is being resurrected! The 1st meeting (a planning session) will be on Thursday, January 15, 7:30 pm, at Tommie Pinkard's home. Bring a book you think the group would enjoy reading and discussing. The plan is to come to agreement on at least 6 books to get us through to summer. You are encouraged to invite friends who are not at the church to come, too.
THE FRIENDSHIP SUPPERS
Everyone wants to get to know you better! The Friendship Suppers give us all a chance to talk with each other in smaller groups over great food. We meet for dinner at someone's house (the host) who provides a main course and the others who are assigned to go to that home bring another part of the meal. There may be three or four dinners at different houses on any given date, depending on how many want to participate. The dates we've set for this year are January 17th and March 28th. The sign-up sheets are in the Fellowship Hall in the BLUE FOLDER. As usual, the dinners begin around 6pm; if you need a ride we can arrange that. Even if you don't know your schedule too far in advance, go ahead and sign up for all the dates if you'd like. Last minute cancellations are easier to handle than last minute additions. If you've got any questions, speak to Betty Bodman or Barbara Burnham.
PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
Pastor emeritus John Towery and his wife Eleanor celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary on December 9th. Daughter Mary Masters put on a beautiful dinner party for the family which was enjoyed by all. Mary is enjoying her retirement and is back and forth from here to Colorado where her husband Danny is working. John also shared that Danny and Ricky (John and Eleanor's grandson) were out hunting in mid-December. Ricky and his bride Monica had a wonderful honeymoon trip to New Zealand and created a great slide show for the whole family to enjoy--not at the anniversary dinner but on a separate occasion! John and Eleanor were in church the first weekend in December thanks to Tommie and Doyal Pinkard who picked them up. They had hoped to make it to the Advent service and lunch on the 12th but Eleanor was not feeling well that day. They were missed!
Speaking of the Advent service and lunch on December 12, it was a great success--even without the Towerys--the largest group ever. There were 26 attendees--Paul and Ellen Deisler, Lois and John Drachenberg, Marilyn Gaddis and George Carruthers (up from San Marcos--grandchildren have priority on Sundays!), Vic Appel, Mathis Blackstock, Pat and Mel Oakes, Tommie and Doyal Pinkard, Nodie and Dennis Murphy, Bill Beardall, Steve Mandelker, Betty Bodman, Florence Castle (who wowed the group with her piano playing), Cathy Hubbs, Barbara Burnham, Don Miles, Dave and Sara Ross, Marie Scheel, Jaime Hadley, and Tom VandeStadt. Hosted by the Deacons (Betty, Barbara, and Bill that Friday), everyone enjoyed carols, a reflection by Tom--and a very funny reading about the early days of charity dinners in New York City. After communion, the group adjourned for a delicious lunch served by the Deacons.
It was a special joy to see Don Miles at the Advent lunch and then again at church on the 14th. In the evening of Nov. 15, Don realized that he was having a heart attack, so he did the obvious thing and drove himself to the hospital! After being thoroughly scolded by the doctors, he was admitted and had triple by-pass surgery on the 17th. He is delighted to be doing very well in his recuperation. His daughter Juliette Ritzman from Missouri and his daughter-in-law Phoebe Miles, from Washington, D.C., each came and stayed a week to help out after the surgery. He thanks all of the folks from the church who have called, sent cards, and provided transportation and spirit lifting!
Dave and Sara Ross were delighted to have their son Michael Ross here from Florida for Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now that son Andy and his wife Leslie Poer are back here in Austin, they are enjoying more family gatherings.
Whit and Betty Bodman were looking forward to the arrival of their daughter Elizabeth for the Christmas holidays. Their son Noah and new daughter-in-law Erin were taking a delayed honeymoon (they married in July) to Vietnam and Japan, so Elizabeth was going to get all of her parents' attention. Elizabeth is at the Columbia School of Social Work in New York City.
Cathy Hubbs reports that her grandson Adam, son of daughter Ann and David Weissman, is making some heartening progress. Adam, 13, who was born profoundly retarded, spends half of his time at home and half time in a group home. Recently he has been fitted with a new helmet and glasses. He is responding much better. He can now see more and his improved receptivity has made him more responsive to the world around him. Adam loves Slinkies and plays with them all of the time.
Lisa Kirch reports from northern Alabama that daughter Sarah is now in the 7th grade, taller than she is, plays soccer, belongs to the math and writers club at her middle school, and she reads like mad and likes to sew. They spent 6 months in Munich where Lisa (an art historian) was working (on unpaid leave). When they got home, Lisa realized that she had engaged the world's worst house sitter, so there were many repair issues to deal with. Then she had to teach summer school to make up for lost wages the spring semester. She attended conferences at Duke and in Chicago and also one in Dallas (resisted the temptation to skip the conference altogether and come to Austin--but it was not a Sunday, so the conference won). She has sent an article off for review and is working on a book contract. All she needs is the time to write a sample chapter!
Exciting news for those interested in our church history. Caitlin Bumford, a graduate student at UT, is taking on the project of organizing our church archives as a "Capstone" project for her Master's degree. She will be volunteering 120 hours this next semester organizing the paper archives, giving us advice on how to digitize materials for our Web site, creating an archives and records management manual for future projects, etc. This will add to the interest in history that has already been created through our stained glass window series which has been underway for the past several months.
Matt and Mary Blackstock enjoyed a Wednesday night in early December at the Hyatt Resort near Bastrop, adjoining the McKinney Roughs Park, a gift from their daughter Clare and son-in-law Jim. They really enjoyed the elegant facility, something they'd never shell out their own money on! Matt reported that the resort is huge and was almost empty. They had an elegant dinner at a downtown Bastrop restaurant, Baxter's, which was also pleasant and interesting. They trotted back to Austin very early that Thursday morning. thinking there would be a place for huevos rancheros along the way: no such luck. So it was scrambled eggs and dark roast coffee at home, the best of all!
Mel and Pat Oakes' daughters were also thinking along the same lines when they gave their parents gift certificates to the Blair House bed and breakfast in Wimberley. Mel and Pat enjoyed their stay, especially spending Sunday afternoon at Market Days. There was a great mix of arts, crafts, antiques, and hardware which provided special entertainment. Distressing for them both (after all of their genealogy work this year) were the boxes of really old family photos--some with names--which were being sold for a pittance. The dealers all mentioned that the younger generation just isn't interested--sigh.
Fran and Rambie Briggs have been fighting an upper respiratory infection for several weeks, but managed to rally enough to enjoy a Thanksgiving visit from their granddaughter Margit Briggs who lives in North Carolina. The three of them put on quite a spread for coffee hour after church on the Sunday after Thanksgiving.
Ben White reports that his wife Marguerite was readmitted to St. David's Hospital in early December, again with heart failure and fluid on her lungs. Son Carl was here from Denver for a few days to help with her planning for the return home. Her improvement has been slow but steady, and her appetite and outlook are good.
Also on the ailing list has been Suzanne Vanderpoel who has missed the last 4 weeks of church. She also missed her daughter's wedding reception which had been rescheduled due to Hurricane Ike and a family Thanksgiving gathering at the coast. She was scheduled for tests on December 15 and hoped to find out what the problem is soon. Keep both Marguerite and Suzanne in your prayers.
Edith and David Scott of Strathaven, Scotland, were at the church for a year in the 1980s and have stayed in touch with those of us who were at the church then. Her mom died in November, so this was a bittersweet holiday season. Son David, Junior, who came to visit the church last year (he was about 6 while they were last here) was on business in the states--came to Nashville on the bus from Louisiana and was robbed when he arrived. Fortunately, he had paid his hotel up front using his credit card. The police took him to the Marriott where they were less than helpful. They would not allow him to order any food, drink, or use the phone. He was allowed to use the internet in the business center and that is how his parents got to know of his predicament. He lost his credit cards and bank cards as well as the cash in his wallet and his driver's license. His folks managed by giving the hotel their credit card and sending him money by moneygram, though Thanksgiving got in the way of that and delayed his opportunity to pick up the cash. His company was very good and expressed American Express gift cards which he could use outside the hotel but could not get change from them or exchange for cash. He survived past Thanksgiving on $6 in change that he had had in his pocket. They were just happy to see him back home safely. Edith was looking forward to her church's Christmas procession through the town led by three camels, and of course, three wise men. Police were stopping the traffic. The camels and procession came into the center of the village where there was an opportunity for a little community carol singing Then they continued to the church for carols and a nativity scene. This is a bit belated, but the Scotts send holiday wishes to all at the church.
JANUARY BIRTHDAYS
1 Bob Breihan
3 Suzanne VanderPoel
9 Cameron Goff
16 Annie Nash
18 Brad Ferguson
Betsy Ferguson
Paul Deisler
Kaitlyn Newell
19 Jamie Adams
20 Paul Deisler
22 Mary Masters
23 Danny Masters
Liz Nash
28 Yoshikuni Kaneda
30 Robin Chapman
31 Joe Nordstrom
Julia Ross
ANNUAL MEETING
OF THE
CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH OF AUSTIN
JANUARY 25, 2009
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
As many of you know, next year's Annual Meeting of the South Central Conference will be hosted by the Brazos Association on Friday - Sunday, June 5-7, at Huston-Tillotson University in Austin. A planning committee chaired by Anne Wehrly of Friends Congregational in College Station is in place working to plan an uplifting and informative gathering. The theme this year is the UCC and Disciples of Christ shared global missions work, with speakers and several workshop leaders coming from Global Ministries to tell us about UCC sponsored work being done around the world. Thanks to locally based Global Ministries representative David Owen, several of our committee members have been learning about the outstanding work representing our church around the world. We have been learning, as well, about the exciting programs Global Ministries has for churches to become more closely engaged with this work.
We are excited, too, at the prospect of meeting at Huston-Tillotson. This university has a long and historic affiliation with the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. It was formed by a 1952 merger of Tillotson College, which was founded by the American Missionary Association of the Congregational Church and opened in 1881, and Samuel Huston College, which opened in 1900 after a joint agreement by the Freedmens' Aid Society and the Methodist Episcopal Church. Tillotson College was one of nine predominantly African-American colleges founded by the AMA in the effort to make a college education available to African Americans in the South after the slaves were freed. (You can read about the magnificent history of the AMA in the abolition movement and after the Civil War at http://www.ucc.org/about-us/hidden-histories/blacks-and-the-american.html) Our conference has remained connected to Huston-Tillotson in a number of ways in addition to the official UCC ties. Joseph McMillan, member of Congregational Church of Austin, is a past president of the University, and several UCC members have served on the Board of Trustees, including current Board members Frances Alford and Don Brown.
Plan to join us June 5-7!
Blessings in Christ, Liz Nash, Association Minister
COMMITTEE REPORTS ARE DUE IN THE CHURCH OFFICE BY JANUARY 5!
Happy New Year to all the committee members, especially the ones of you who are tasked with supplying the report for your committee for the Annual Report. Please get your report to me as soon as you possibly can, but no later than January 5. The Annual Meeting is scheduled for January 25 and we need to have reports available for the entire congregation by January 18.
The preferred way to get your report to the church office is electronically. When you create your report please DO NOT USE headers, footers, OR page numbers.
The office staff thanks you!!!
COFFEE HOUR
Please sign up in the Fellowship Room to be coffee hour hosts on an upcoming Sunday. The coffee hour time is such a good opportunity to visit old friends and meet visitors. We keep coffee and ginger ale and some punch fixings in the pantry in the kitchen. There are usually paper napkins, and we use coffee mugs and punch cups to avoid wasting natural resources. Your menu can be as simple or complicated as you want. Cookies and/or chips and salsa are just fine! If you have questions, talk to Pat Oakes, Tommie Pinkard, or Lynne Lemley.
Deadline for February VISITOR -- January 15
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