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In his book, What Matters Most, psychologist James Hollis tells us that psyche is the Greek word for soul and that its two roots derive from the Greek verb "to breath" and the Greek noun "butterfly." Both words have rich spiritual connotations.
To breathe. Not just literal breath--the air entering and leaving our lungs--but pneuma or ruach, the Greek and Hebrew words for breath, wind, and spirit, words signifying the dynamic energy and creative spirit of life.
Butterfly. The butterfly is a rich and powerful symbol for the transformation of life that is bound to crawl along the surface of things to life that is free to fly with the pneuma or ruach, symbol for life transformed from sleeping unawares in the darkness of a protective shell to life that awakens, casts off its shell, and enters the light of day a brand new creature.
Psyche and soul convey that inner impetus that pushes us from within to continue unfolding, unwrapping, opening, enlarging, evolving, and transforming. It's that drive and energy that pushes us along our journey through which we outgrow, shed, and cast aside the husks of established forms and patterns in order to be recreated anew.
Hollis warns us that we ignore and deny our soul at our own peril, for our soul is that deepest and richest, most vital and creative part of us. Our soul expresses our most authentic self and offers creation our very best. To ignore and deny our soul is to live a partial or false life, a life other people want us to live, one that simply conforms and accommodates itself to the rules, norms, and expectations of the world "out there."
And yet, according to Hollis, many people do ignore and deny their souls. He reminds us of one of Carl Jung's favorite expressions: "most of us wear shoes that are too small for us."
Jung came to believe, and Hollis' psychotherapeutic work has led him to the same conclusion, that our soul's aspirations are often much larger and more expansive than the lives we end up living. We're capable of far more depth, breadth, creativity, and ability to accomplish good than we typically realize. But because of the ways we're raised and taught to conform and accommodate ourselves to "reality," because of our fears and our strong desire for comfort, security, and predictability, most of us never truly tap into that deep stream of life energy pouring through our soul, and we don't create that human being we have the potential to become.
Many of us, Hollis writes, find a way-station somewhere along our journey--a place, a condition, or a way of life that feels comfortable to us, that's secure and stable, and that enables us to say we're making enough money, we have a career, and we've "made it" in ways our culture defines "making it." We fit in, we're accepted, and we're relatively content. But living in the way-station often comes at the price of ignoring and denying our soul.
We wear shoes too small for us.
Because living in a way-station often means we're suppressing our soul's desire, our soul becomes discontent, and because our soul is an energy force, a stream of life seeking expression through us, it won't just sit silently within us.
Our soul's discontent may cause us to feel uneasy feelings or think uneasy thoughts, especially when our defenses are down: O my God, maybe there's more to life, or the life I'm living is not really my life, or the beliefs I'm professing in church are not really what I believe, or there's a depth to my life to which I'm cut off, or a destiny I have not fulfilled, or an authenticity I'm missing, or a creativity I'm not expressing, or an anxiety I can't figure out.
We may choose not to listen to these uneasy thoughts and feelings. We may choose to ignore them, deny them, or chase them away with a few beers at night, some extra hours in the gym, more miles on the bike, pre-occupation with the latest electronic gadget, television, movies, books, ice cream, or any other number of distractions. I've tried all these strategies and some I won't mention, but in the end none of these strategies make us truly happy because it is our soul we're ignoring and denying.
These uneasy thoughts and feelings are actually good news because if we really listen to them, feel them, and pay close attention to them, they can lead us to a profound spiritual crisis in our lives, and that can be one of the most productive growth events that can happened to us.
Hollis writes, "a spiritual crises occurs when our identity, our roles, our values, or our road map are substantially called into question, prove ineffective, or are overwhelmed by experience that cannot be contained by our understanding of self and world."
In other words, a spiritual crisis occurs when our soul, too long ignored, denied, or suppressed, erupts within us and pushes at the very limits and boundaries of who we think we are--our roles, values, road maps, world views, religious beliefs. The spirit within us, the aspirations within us, the potential within us, the life-force seeking expression through us refuses to be contained by the limitations of our limited self-identity, or lifestyle, or beliefs. Our soul is demanding transformation from us so that it may express itself through us more fully, authentically, creatively, and passionately.
Our soul is demanding that we get a bigger pair of shoes!
All of this talk of the soul is to let you know that from mid-August to mid-November I'll be away on sabbatical. In one quick sentence, here's my goal for my sabbatical: to listen to and respond to my soul so that I may return with a bigger pair of shoes.
Tom
FROM THE TRUSTEES
In addition to handling the usual issues, the trustees have been looking into our investment policy. We want to ensure that current funds are not eaten away by inflation while ensuring we have sufficient, protected reserves to allow for replacement of large items (e.g. air conditioning units, boilers) when they fail.
FROM OUTREACH
The Board of Christian Outreach (BCO) enjoys our Outreach Moment on the third Sunday of each month. June's topic was Workers Defense Project; Tom VandeStadt serves on the organization's board. Please let us know what you think of our little presentations. Our last meeting was 6/11, and we discussed upcoming involvement with Workers' Defense Project, and the need to raise funds to support the UCC Global Ministry's Child Sponsorship Program. (We sponsor a girl named "Hala" in a school in East Jerusalem.) The board discussed the possibility of becoming involved in local cleanup activities in the church's neighborhood on a regular basis. We also discussed the then upcoming Congregational Meeting to vote on CCA officially joining Austin Interfaith. As you know by now, CCA did meet and voted to join Austin Interfaith. Stay tuned for more information and opportunities to participate in these and other CCA Outreach ministries.
Chairs of our Boards
Trustees: Jaime Hadley & Rhys Ulerich
Deacons: Barbara Burnham
Christian Outreach: Dan Jeffery
Moderator: John Goff
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Pam Tucker would like to encourage folks in the congregation to check and see if their companies have matching funds that would apply to the Congregational Church of Austin. Pam can work with anyone whose company matches to see if their donations to CCOA can be matched and how to do it.
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UNIVERSITY AREA PARTNERS REPORT
Water/wastewater upgrades and rebuilding of streets will begin in the west campus area by the end of this summer. Rio Grande from MLK to 24th will be done first and then 24th to 29th.
The 23rd Street project should begin late June and will include a water line from Guadalupe through the Renaissance Market and the narrowing of the street to make it safer. There will be three or four pedestrian lights on each block to light the area where people are. Our alley will also have new pipes installed.
Early 2010 will see the new Parking Benefit District. There will be no marked parking, only "No Parking" will be marked. Drivers will buy tickets from six-foot tall pay stations, which will call parking violations to alert patrol officers. Pay stations will accept credit cards and will be solar-powered. The stations have been used in NY, Boston, Houston, and Miami for 10 years; and in Europe, 30 years. There will be special permits for owners and tenants to park in our area.
The Beautify Guadalupe project is on hold, because the funds were to come from Capital Metro. The city is now responsible, but nothing is expected any time soon.
Sharon Brown, your UAP representative
PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
Sunday, June 14, 2009, was a day of celebration at the church. What was the occasion, you ask? It was Dave and Sara Ross's 50th wedding anniversary. Also celebrating were Dr. Andy Ross and his wife Dr. Leslie Poer. They married 25 years ago at the church on Dave and Sara's 25th wedding anniversary. To make the celebration complete, son/brother Michael Ross flew in from Florida. Dave and Sara hosted a delicious coffee hour for everyone--complete with sandwiches, fruit, veggies, cake (delicious Italian cream cake made by Pat Oakes (ed. by SSR)), punch, coffee--and photos from the two weddings. Fifty years ago, Dave and Sara graduated from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Saturday, May 13, (Dave in physics--he attended the ceremony-- and Sara in education--she skipped out on graduation). On Sunday, the 14th, they got married at 2 in the afternoon at the Congregational Church in Ann Arbor, enjoyed a reception, stopped by the farm/home-place outside of Ann Arbor to say goodbye to family--and set off for South Carolina where Dave had a summer job with the Savannah River Project. At the end of the summer they ventured to Cambridge, MA, where Dave was in graduate school for 5 years at Harvard. Sara worked for a year at the Harvard Biology Labs and then Michael and Andy arrived on the scene. From there it was to the University of Illinois where Dave did a post-doc, arriving in Austin in 1966. To mark the anniversary, Andy and Leslie gave Dave and Sara a gift certificate for a hot air balloon ride. We'll report on that adventure in the fall! Congratulations to both couples.
Another smaller celebration that same Sunday was the presentation of Bibles to Megan Goff and Jacob Alvarado, both of whom have finished the 4th grade.
Actually, there have been several other celebrations in the last month. Amy Harris (make that Dr. Amy Harris) was honored at coffee hour on May 17th as she graduated from the UT School of Music with a Ph.D. in violin performance. Amy has been a faithful member of the choir and has often filled in when our regular violinist Andy Streitlemeier is out of town. On May 31st, Rhys Ulerich and Olivia Vaché were honored for their graduations--Rhys with a master's in computational and applied math and Olivia graduating from the Austin Waldorf School. She will be attending Sarah Lawrence College in the fall. Rhys will be continuing at UT in the Ph.D. program.
Paul and Ellen Deisler report that they've had a good spring this year, despite Ellen's continuing decline as her Parkinson's worsens. Also, Paul's eyesight remains in doubt (but with hope). Because of Paul's eyesight, they no longer have a car, though it remains in the family with their son Conrad (the bright side: no more car insurance payments). However, they live comfortably at the Heritage, using the Heritage's scheduled transportation when it goes their way, staying home, otherwise. Two wonderful visits from their younger daughter, Julie, who is a professor of English in Santa Fe, NM, brightened their spring, as did a fine send-off dinner at the Siena restaurant for granddaughter Ava as she was in the last stages of preparation to go to the Colorado Institute of Art in Denver. Thirteen members of Paul and Ellen's extended family attended, making the dinner a perfect setting for an Agatha Christie murder mystery, but all had a very good time and parted cheerfully. The Austin Lounge Lizards, son Conrad's band, played at the Heritage this spring and got a very warm reception. Paul and Ellen were in the front row. Ellen reads voluminously and Paul continues to write, using very large print. This year he has had two letters published in the Statesman ("Forced Military Service" and "There's Strength in Numbers"), the former objecting to the repeated return of troops to war and the second in reply to a letter that advocated Texas' secession from the Union. He has had an article accepted for publication in late summer (more on this, later; no chickens counted before they hatch) and continues to research and write about his and Ellen's ancestors, a forever project. They look forward to a visit from their Corpus Christi family in July or August and to whatever else turns up in the meantime. Paul and Ellen remain grateful for their blessings in a world where so many lack so much.
Joan and Bill Mueller had a wonderful trip to Bad Ischl, Austria, to attend the graduation of their son Bill (who lives in Zurich) from the Barbara Brennan School of Healing. After the graduation the whole family went to Vienna for a few days where they had a great time. Joan encourages us to ask for details. After they got home, they realized that they are becoming more connected to Austin having been here about a year. They are still trying to figure out where they will put their focus. Joan, an artist, has realized that she will be moving out of her big art studio and is looking for a quiet, secluded spot with running water where she can continue her creative efforts. She is thinking maybe someone knows of a residential detached space out back? Any ideas? Bill just had surgery to repair a broken ear drum and everyone is hoping that his hearing and balance will improve. They love being here in Austin and are finding that our church community is very enriching.
The Men's Book Club (spouses invited also) held their annual poetry reading at Rambie and Fran Brigg's home on Lake Travis on Saturday morning, June 13. Poetry was read aloud and enjoyed by Fran and Rambie Briggs, Dave, Sara, and Michael Ross, Matt Blackstock, Ben White, Don Miles, Bill Briggs, and Mel and Pat Oakes. The group adjourned for a delicious lunch which was further enlivened by the arrival of Paula, Giovanni, and Stella Fracasso who were visiting for the day. The Men's Book Club is considering including the Women's Book Club in the poetry event next year!
How many folks in the church remember the Congregational Church of Austin BAC (before air-conditioning!)? It was grim. We held services at 9:30 a.m. If the sanctuary was still too hot at that early hour, we would move downstairs into the choir room. Fans were an absolute necessity. One great tradition that developed from the early services was that many folks brought bathing suits and picnic lunches and adjourned after coffee hour with children in tow to Westenfield Pool (MoPac and Enfield Road) where everyone swam and played and cooled off. Perhaps someone in the congregation remembers when the AC system was added--perhaps in the late 1970s--early 1980s?
Crystal Towery, granddaughter of John and Eleanor Towery, graduated from Stephen F. Austin in May, has earned her teacher certification, and is looking for a job in the Dallas area. Crystal's brother K.C. is working on a degree in finance at Texas State and is running summer training camps for soccer. Danny Masters, John and Eleanor's son-in-law, is working in Corsicana. Daughter Mary Towery Masters gets to spend the weekends with him there every now and again. Danny and Mary's son Ricky and his bride Monica are also doing well. Danny and another fellow are owners of M and C Electric and are glad to report that business is improving. John and Eleanor are doing OK, but Eleanor is sad that their old home--where so many parties were held and so many good memories were made--has been sold. Give them a call sometime--they still have the same number--453-1800.
Suzanne Vanderpoel returned in mid-June from a glorious 50th Reunion at Wellesley. The 50th is the BIGGY, so her class turned out in force and the College pulled out all the stops for them. Their superstar classmate Madeleine Albright spoke to all of the alumnae classes and then delivered, more informally, the after-dinner speech at the class dinner Saturday night. Suzanne says that it was wonderful to see old friends on that beautiful campus. It made her homesick for New England again! One of the highlights was the Alumnae Parade on Sunday morning, which was led by a member of the class of 1929 in an antique car. Great fun! Suzanne can't wait for the next reunion 5 years from now.
In the summer of 1982, Dean and Lydia Tapley came to our church with their two sons for the summer as Dean was the exchange pastor--our now pastor emeritus John Towery and his wife Eleanor went to Burnham-on-Crouch, England, to the Tapley's church. Lydia has sent a notice to those of us who remember their time here--and their relation to Bob and Eunice Paul, encouraging us to send notes or pictures for a book that will be presented to Dean on his retirement in September. Please read below for more information.
JULY BIRTHDAYS
1 John R. Gage
2 Enid Ross
4 Kay Lewis
5 Ellen Ryan
7 David Pinkard
8 Julia Adams
Sarah Murphy Sennour
9 Betty Phillips
11 Katelyn Lemley
15 Jonathan Ashton
17 Andy Ross
19 Joseph P. McMillan, Jr.
21 Chester Rosson
23 Gary Barrett
Chester Rosson
24 Brenda Tingle
26 Eric Deisler
28 Doyal Pinkard
Andrea Putz
31 Lillie Kate Webb
AUGUST BIRTHDAYS
5 Sharon Brown
6 Steven Hawes Domingue
10 Dehbia Catherine Sennour
11 David Ross
Marty Gooding
13 Sarah Ashton
21 Loretta A. Lewis
John Goff
22 Cecile L. Ervin
24 Mike Ross
James Ross
26 Travis Moore
27 Becky Nash
Dear Congregational Church of Austin,
Believe it or not, Dean is retiring at the age of 65, this September. As many of you know, his years of ministry in the UCC and URC (39 years) have spanned continents and decades. As a surprise gift and a tribute to his life of service I am compiling a collection of friends' remembrances of his friendship or his ministry.
I would be delighted to hear from you - so, if you would like to contribute, could you please send me:
1) a photo of you with Dean, or a photo of you, perhaps, from when we were in Austin.
2) a paragraph or two about how he and/or his ministry might have had a positive effect on you and/or your life. Or, a memorable story in which he was involved.
If you do not have a photo of Dean I would not be surprised, as he is notorious for avoiding photographers whenever possible. If you do have one, however, please share it! They are like gold dust!
If you could create this in an A4 word document and forward it to me at Lydia.tapley@googlemail.com before the end of July, I could then get it bound to give him at his last service on Sunday, September 27th, 2009.
If you wish to send it as a hard copy, please address it to me and send it to my school address: (Lydia Tapley, Head of Lower School, Caterham School, Harestone Valley Road, Caterham, Surrey, CR3 6YA, Great Britain).
With very sincere thanks,
Lydia Tapley
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
The South Central Conference, hosted by the Brazos Association, met in our Annual Meeting on the first weekend of June at Huston-Tillotson University. Five members of our national Global Ministries/Wider Church Ministries staff preached, gave the keynote address, led workshops, led a pre-Annual Meeting Ministries and Mission Interpreters (MMI) Training at United Christian Church, and preached on Sunday at area churches. Many thanks to our national staff leaders for their outstanding leadership: Cally Rogers-Witte, Executive Minister of UCC Wider Church Ministries; Jan Aerie, Executive for Mission Education and Interpretation; Michael Schuenemeyer, Executive for Health and Wholeness Advocacy; Mary Schaller-Blaufuss, Executive for Volunteer Ministries; and Felix Ortiz-Cotto, Executive for Latin American-Caribbean Ministries. Also, we had outstanding workshop leaders from the Brazos and South Texas Associations who gave us their time and knowledge on issues of migrant worker workplace rights and justice, the Jubilee Partners' refugee ministry, Epiphany Prison Ministries' work with incarcerated youth, and how to talk about race. Many thanks to these workshop leaders: Bill Beardall, Marilyn Vaché, Ray Tirado, Rita Wilbur, and Wilmer Brown.
The Annual Meeting Planning and Worship committees, plus all of the volunteers who helped in so many ways, made the whole event happen. Annual Meeting Planning Committee Worship Committee members included Anne Wehrly and Liz Nash co-chairs, Tamara Franks, Gerry Metzger (outgoing SCC Board President) Melynda Giesenshlag, David Owen (Austin Global Ministries staffperson), Velma Brady, Flo Mason, Tim Tutt, Mary Wilson, Jerry Carpenter, Nodie Murphy, John Sumner, and Carla Cheatham. Worship committee members who planned worship and provided leadership included Tom Vandestadt, Mary Wilson, Tim Tutt, and Carla Cheatham. Special thanks to Nodie Murphy, our spirited choir director; Tim Marquez from the Conference Office who worked for many hours on Annual Meeting; Conference Minister Douglas Anders for his leadership; the Huston-Tillotson staff; Betty McDaniel who ran our AV presentations; the Howdy, Help, and Hospitality Team from St. Peter's UCC in Coupland; Church of the Savior who loaned us their beautiful banners; United Christian for hosting the Friday MMI training; Glenn and Dottie Schoeneberg and Greg Felder who brought and set up sound system for Saturday evening; Carla Cheatham who made the arrangements with the Djembabes and the jazz trio; Charles Stark who put our registration on-line; Friedens UCC, Washington who provided tasty cookies; Eden Home who hosted the Sat. morning coffee break; University Christian Church who loaned us the big screen; Howard Hartman from Church World Service who served as resource person for our service project; and especially to Tamara Franks who worked so hard all weekend assembling the 920 Church World Service school kits donated by SCC churches as well as doing a great deal of work on much of the planning for the meeting. And thanks to all of you who pitched in to help that I haven't mentioned - many people made our Annual Meeting work so well.
On Sunday afternoon, June 14th, I had the privilege of attending the dedication of the Evangelical UCC, Lyons new sanctuary. I expected a lovely sanctuary, but it exceeded even what I had heard. Light, airy, with the former sanctuary stained glass, a magnificent stained wood ceiling, a great sound and AV system, and a handicapped accessible chancel, this sanctuary is itself a song of praise to God. John Boydston led worship, Douglas Anders preached at the dedication, the many who worked on it were recognized, and the church celebrated its history and future. Go visit when you can!
Blessings in Christ,
Liz Nash, Brazos Association Minister
WORSHIP GIFTS
Summer is here. If you have a poem, song, dramatic reading or some other offering you would like to share with the congregation during the summer, please contact Nodie Murphy at 255-4602, or by e-mailing: nodienice at gmail.com --or see her after Sunday service
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 September VISITOR -- August 15
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