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To see the kingdom of God, one must be born anew.
When Jesus says to Nicodemus one must be born anew, Nicodemus wonders whether he should take Jesus' words literally. Can an adult re-enter the mother's womb and be born anew? No, Jesus says, one must be born anew not of the flesh, but of water and spirit. However, Nicodemus' attempt at literalism is helpful because the image of birth from a mother's womb enables us to appreciate the profound implications of Jesus' claim that to see the kingdom of God one must be born anew.
Consider the transformation that occurs when an infant passes from life inside the womb to life outside the womb. Think of the mind-boggling array of mental, emotional, and physical processes suddenly set in motion--the eyes open, the lungs begin to inhale and exhale oxygen, the senses are stimulated in new ways, the infant's consciousness begins to engage the outside world. A whole new physical, psychological, emotional, and social existence begins to unfold and take shape. It's truly astounding.
Birth marks the end of reality as the infant knows it inside the womb, and the beginning of a new reality outside the womb. But the new reality the infant enters at birth is already present the whole time the unborn infant is inside the womb. The outside world already exists, and in a sense, the unborn infant is already in it because the mother is in it, though the unborn infant doesn't know it, has no clue it exists, cannot see it, and has no consciousness of it until being born.
The kingdom of God is an enigmatic reality Jesus spoke about quite a bit. Sometimes he seemed to say the kingdom of God is a future reality we will see one day, while other times he seemed to say the kingdom of God is already present, though we can't see it. In other words, we are like infants in the womb. One day, we will see this reality that already exists. But to see it, we must be born anew of water and spirit.
In Biblical symbolism, the combination of water and spirit serves as a symbol for God's creative activity. In the very beginning of creation, God's spirit hovers over water. Later on, God creates the people of Israel by leading them through water during the exodus and over water when they enter the Promised Land. Water and spirit are the two key elements in Christian baptism, a rite of passage in which a person sheds an old identity and takes on a new identity as a Christian. In the early Christian ritual of baptism, those baptized stripped off all their clothing, entered the water naked, immersed themselves fully, and then re-emerged from the water to be robed in white, symbolizing the stripping off or death of their old identity and the resurrection or rebirth of their new identity by the power of God's spirit.
When I reflect deeply on what it means to be a Christian, I find myself time and again believing that Jesus called for the birth of a new way of being human--a way that would bring people into a far deeper and more intimate relationship with God, bring people into far more loving and just relationships with one another, bring healing and reconciliation to God's creation, and save this world. I believe Jesus is the model of this new way of being human, and that he calls us to practice his way of being human.
I see being born anew as a life-long process of transformation and renewal that deepens as we practice daily, hourly, minute by minute, Christian discipleship, as we dedicate ourselves to a life of deep prayer, reflection, and self-reflection, and as we dedicate ourselves to serving the least of these, loving our neighbor, loving our enemy, being merciful and forgiving, pursuing justice, and sacrificing our own self-centeredness so we may be more compassionately present to others. When we learn to sincerely pray and practice, not my will be done, but thy will be done, we make room for God's spirit to be at work in our lives, and that is when we truly experience renewal. There may be times in our lives when we experience more punctuated changes, dramatic breakthroughs, or thorough-going transformations that radically transform our identities and leave us with a sense of being born anew. But even if we never have these experiences, we can throughout the course of our lives be born anew.
For me, the goal, if we can say there is a goal to becoming human in a new way, is not to strive for perfection, but to learn how to live more compassionately with our human imperfections. I believe it is when we are able to live with far greater compassion, forgiveness, understanding, mercy, charity, justice, and love with our own and one another's human imperfections and limitations that we begin to see the kingdom of God. May our eyes be opened to this new reality this Easter.
Tom
FROM THE DEACONS
Though the year has scarcely begun, the Board has several projects in hand. Planning for Easter services is complete, and preparations for the Spring Retreat are well under way (Marilyn Vache and her committee have worked out a wonderful design for this year's retreat - don't miss it!). We have scheduled an information session for anyone interested in joining our church or learning more about us, and we are exploring ways in which we might be more effective in our"in reach"to existing members, particularly to those who are experiencing health or other problems. Don't forget that there are cards in the Fellowship Hall that you can use to send your greetings to shut-ins and others conspicuous by their absence; the cards will be addressed and mailed to the person whose name you write on the envelope.
Chairs of our Board
Trustees: Reuel Nash
Deacons: Betty Bodman
Christian Education: Paula Fracasso
Christian Outreach: Tommie Pinkard
Moderator: John Goff
The Intersection of Art and Faith
Spring Retreat, April 11-13
This year at Slumber Falls Camp in New Braunfels we will experience the arts both as praise and as a spiritual path. We will leave "ordinary time" for a few days of fun, fellowship, and creativity. In workshops on photography, drawing, recitation, and writing we will work to quiet ourselves and observe our world. Can such an effort re-awaken us to the beauty of creation, touch our feelings, and allow an opening to the Spirit? Please join us as we explore this theme. Estimated cost per person for the weekend is $75; this includes room, meals, and materials costs. To register please contact Marilyn Vache.
HOLY WEEK AND EASTER WORSHIP
Palm and Passion Sunday, Sunday, March 16, 11:00am.
Join us as the children and choir lead the palm procession into our sanctuary. This service begins with Jesus entering Jerusalem amidst a cheering crowd and ends with another crowd in Jerusalem calling for Pilate to crucify him.
Good Friday, Friday, March 21, 7:00 pm.
This service follows Jesus from the last supper with his disciples to the cross on which the authorities crucify him. We will share Holy Communion together, and then as is our custom, extinguish the candles we lit during Advent and Christmas to signify the death of Jesus.
Easter Sunrise Service, Sunday, March 23, 7:15 am, Mt Bonnell.
We will celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection at sunrise once again on top of Mt. Bonnell. This year, Roger Temme, from The Care Communities, will be our guest speaker.
Easter Service, Sunday, March 23, 11:00 am.
As we have the past several years, we will celebrate Jesus Christ's resurrection by bringing the cross to life with fresh cut colorful flowers. This year, we are going to process out of the sanctuary into our courtyard with the flower-strewn cross at the end of our service. Please join us for this celebration of life.
PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
Longtime church member and world renowned ichthyologist Clark Hubbs died on Sunday, February 3. Clark had been fighting cancer for several years. He was amazing in his battle--refusing to give up until the very end. Three weeks prior to his death Clark and Cathy's son John came to visit. Clark had been in bed all week, but on that beautiful Sunday morning Clark told Cathy and John that he wanted to go to San Marcos to collect some more fish specimens from the river. They protested vehemently, but Clark persisted and they went (with Clark driving!). Cathy later reported that it was a gorgeous morning, clear and sunny, with swans and geese on the river and wonderful fish in the river. Clark was delighted with his new specimens and even let John drive home. He really was an inspiration to all of us. The memorial service was held at the church which was full to overflowing. Florence Castle played the piano, the choir sang a lovely anthem, and daughter Ann, daughter Laura's husband David Tait, and son John spoke as did Mathis Blackstock and Rambie Briggs. Several other colleagues also spoke. In a fitting and beautiful tribute, the front of the program featured the ancient Christian symbol of a fish. Judy and Garry Cole were able to come up from San Antonio and Mary Masters and Ches Towery brought John and Eleanor to the service. There was a reception at the church after the service and then another reception at the Pickle Center later that evening. Cathy is so grateful to all who have helped and called and supported her and the family during this sad time.
Congratulations to Nancy Brown who celebrated her 88th birthday on February 16th!
We have been missing Frances and John Alford. Frances reports that John is at the house with her. He has started using oxygen and has to stay on the ground floor, but he is still able to go out to dinner or take a drive. He has care givers around the clock. Frances had knee surgery on January 27 for a torn meniscus. It was arthroscopic surgery and went very well. It is the first time she has been free of knee pain in two years. She has been getting around pretty well and feels like she is on the mend. Frances wrote an article that was published in the December/January Quilting Arts Magazine called "Outrageous Embellishment" which got a lot of fan mail and inquiries. This month in the February/March issue of the same magazine, one of her small "Journal Quilts" was featured along with nine others. There were 800 small entries in this category at the International Quilt Show in Houston. So, her piece was one of the ten selected out of 800. John's nephew Eugene Alford, MD, was injured just before New Year's. A noted Houston physician, he is best known for his pro bono work on abuse victims such as Carolyn Thomas, whose face Eugene reconstructed from almost nothing (along with a team of other surgeons). Now Eugene is the patient. Eugene was using a tractor on his farm in Bellville. The tree he was knocking over went the wrong way and broke his back at T-3 and T-4. His spinal cord was not severed but is badly bruised and he has been in rehab as a spinal cord injury patient. He has gone home in a wheel chair to regroup before another round of therapy starts. He and his wife Mary are now solving some of the mobility and architectural problems that Frances has faced with John for the last few years. Eugene expects to have a full recovery. His first step is that he expects to be back in his office by June 1.
Ninety-one-year-old Rizer Everett was pleased that he got good blood work reports from his doctor in mid-February. He was looking forward to a visit from his daughter Dot Waldrip who was coming in from New Mexico.
Vic Appel reports that his six-year-old granddaughter, Emily Grace Knowlton, had a successful operation on her middle ear. The operation was the culmination of several months of unsuccessful efforts to prevent collection of fluids in Emily's inner ear. She now has small tubes inserted that assist with drainage of fluid that had previously become infected. Emily also had to have her adenoids removed. Her mom, Debbie, hopes that this will put an end to assorted problems she has had with her ears over the past couple of years.
Rich and Jane Thompson were not in town in time for Clark Hubbs' memorial service but were able to attend services at the church on Sunday, Feb. 10. Rich served as interim pastor at the church before Tom came to us. They came to Austin from Colorado to attend the memorial service of Jack Stotts , president emeritus of Austin Presbyterian Seminary. On Tuesday before they left on Wednesday, Rich was able to fit in a game of tennis with the old tennis crowd which includes Mel Oakes and Ben White. They missed John Towery who was a stalwart with the group for years, too.
The Church Ladies are at it again--spelling, that is. The Literacy Coalition of Central Texas is holding the 5th annual Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee which will take place on April 17th at the Austin Music Hall. The Church Ladies have won outright the first three times and tied for first in last year's competition. The Literacy Coalition is an umbrella group which coordinates a variety of much-needed literacy programs throughout our area. Team members include Susan Richter and Lauren Stoddard from Central Presbyterian Church and Pat Oakes from the Congregational Church. Doyal and Tommie Pinkard are the team coordinators. The team has to raise $1200 in order to enter. If you would like to help in their fund-raising efforts, send your check by March 21 to Doyal and Tommie at 813 Castle Ridge Road, Austin, TX 78746-5105.
David and Edith Scott, former members who went back home to Scotland 22 years ago, had a short holiday in Portugal in January. While they were away (for one week) two major things happened. The first was their daughter Susan had a baby!! It wasn't due till March but had to be delivered by emergency C-section. Apparently it was touch and go for one of them to not to survive as Susan's blood pressure had dropped through the floor. Anyway, the good news is that she has had a little boy (4 lb 8 oz) who is called Sandy after his dad. Both are well though Susan is still tired. The baby made it home from hospital and was weighing in at 5 lbs in mid-February. Also while they were gone, son David, Jr., was informed that he was being transferred by his company, Baker Hughes, to Celle in northwest Germany. He had ten days to get packed up, vacate his flat and travel. He came home to pack some things that he needed to take with him, and then his dad and Edith drove him back to Aberdeen to pack up the rest. They packed up his other belongings to bring them back home to Strathaven. Edith is despairing of ever having any spare room in their house! David did basic German at school that he didn't think would be very useful as it was ten years ago. However, it is coming back and his parents are hoping that he picks it up quickly and perhaps will even become fluent. He will be there for a minimum of 6 months. David, Jr., was here in Austin for a brief visit 6 months ago. He was only 4 when they left to go back to Scotland, but a number of the old-timers at church remembered him well--and remarked on how he had grown!
The newsletter query that went out this past month had two pictures attached related to church history. The pictures were of the original church building which was located at 10th and Colorado and the old parsonage which was located at 412 W. 23rd St. next door to the "new" church building. Matt Blackstock , longtime church member, has a hazy recollection of the old church building, which later housed the Bradford Paint Company in the '30's. He remembers the old parsonage, a scene of many memories such as Sunday School and Sunday evening spaghetti dinners served to high school and college students by Charlotte Maxwell, the wife of pastor Milton Maxwell. Matt remembers that Maxwell's family name was Bierbaum and he apparently wanted to soft pedal it (because it was German), so he took Charlotte's name for himself. Sara Ross pointed out that there were several skinny sycamore trees in the picture of the parsonage and that at least one of them is still standing. Michael Adams pointed out that the first church building was larger than the present one. They did not want to go into debt, so they built with the money that they got for the first building, but building costs were rising rapidly just after WWI, so they could not build as big as they needed. The beautiful stained glass windows that are in our church now came from the original church building. Michael also noted that the ventilators on the roof of the 23rd Street parsonage acted as early air conditioning.
MARCH BIRTHDAYS
4 Jillian Tomasek
9 Debbie Herst
11 Alex VandeStadt
12 Jennifer Howicz
14 Lisa Leaf
Margit Frances Briggs
15 Clark Hubbs
Mary Sinclair
17 Lori Gooding
22 Kristin Galle Hampton
John Drachenberg
23 John Herst
26 John Towery
27 Mary Herst
28 David Rossiter
HILL COUNTRY RIDE FOR AIDS:
To support Tom and/or George in their efforts to raise money for The Care Communities, an organization that provides care to people living with AIDS, please go to: www.hillcountryride.org At the home page, look for the list of cycling teams scrolling by on the lower right hand side of the screen. Push"stop" below the list when you see Care Communities Cycling Team scroll by. At the team page, click Tom or George, then click the button that says"Support Tom" or"Support George," and then follow the instructions. If you would rather send a check, send it to HCRA, PO Box 16529, Austin, TX 78761. Be sure to indicate that the check is to support the fundraising efforts of either Tom VandeStadt or George Hetrick on the Care Communities Team. Thank you!!!
THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING THE BUKASA FAMILY
Thank you to everyone who made a donation to help Martin Bukasa. The congregation was most generous, coming through to help him with rent and other expenses as he is out of work and having difficulty supporting his young children. Many in the church are too new to remember him and his family; he and wife Judith were in our church's care when they moved here from a resettlement camp in Congo. They later moved to New Hampshire but stayed in touch with us. Judith passed away from breast cancer a year or two ago, and this winter has been especially difficult for Martin. He is highly respected by those who know him and they responded quickly to the Deacons' request for help. The Spirit does indeed move within our body.
CHILDREN'S CORNER
The nursery has welcomed a new friend, Hannah, and her mom, Pamela. The children are still very busy with play-doh and are alternating weeks with art projects. We will be taking new pictures soon and will let you know when they are up.
Melissa McFerrin
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
There are two opportunities for fellowship and growth in the Brazos Association next month.
On Saturday, April 12th, the women of St. John's UCC Burton are hosting a women's retreat for the entire Brazos Association. All Association women are welcome. The theme is"Seasons of Our Lives." Publicity and registration forms are going out to the churches very soon: look for yours at your church when you read this. As a veteran of many church women's retreats, I can say with assurance these are wonderful events for fellowship and spiritual nurture. I hope many of our Association women can make it.
Two weeks later, on Sunday, April 27th, we will hold our Spring Association meeting at the Congregational Church of Austin UCC. The meeting will start at 3 pm and end with dinner. We look forward to the Ecclesiastical Council of Tamara Franks, who is completing her seminary studies at Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis and is a member of Friends Congregational UCC in College Station. At their January meeting, the Church and Ministry Committee reviewed Tamara's ordination paper that members had previously read, examined her, and voted to recommend her to the Association for ordination. At the Association meeting, we will have a chance to hear from Tamara after having her ordination paper available beforehand for reading, ask her questions, and vote on whether to approve her for ordination to Christian ministry in the United Church of Christ pending call. In other words, a positive vote at the Ecclesiastical Council will approve Tamara for ordination that can happen when she has received a call. This process of approving candidates for ministry is a central and sacred responsibility of our Association, and we need a broad representation from our churches to carry it out in the wisest and most considered way possible. We will also conduct other Association business, including voting on board members, on officers, and on a brief proposed amendment that is being sent to the churches (to allow the Treasurer to be appointed for more terms than other officers in order to allow for continuity in bank accounts, in handling funds, and in keeping records). The Congregational Church is planning a program that shares their ministry and music. Keep an eye out for the publicity to learn more. We hope you will join us in Austin on the 27th.
Blessings in Christ,
Rev. Liz Nash, Associate Conference Minister, Brazos Association
YOUTH GROUP
COMING UP
Palm Sunday (March 16) Cecile Adam will lead the combined CCoA, UCC youth group in a discussion about death and dying. In the Appel Room 12:30-2pm.
April 27 will be Youth Sunday, with the combined youth groups leading worship. Annie Nash will preach.
GREAT GROWN-UP SPELLING BEE
The Church Ladies, contestants in the Great Grown-Up Spelling Bee sponsored by the Literacy Coalition of Central Texas, will be competing on Thursday, April 17th, at a lunch at the Austin Music Hall. The team members are Pat Oakes from our church and Susan Richter and Lauren Stoddard (new this year) from Central Presbyterian Church. Tommie and Doyal Pinkard are our team managers. The team has won outright 3 years and tied for first last year. The team needs to raise $1200 in order to compete and is asking for your donations. The event is a lot of fun and raises money for literacy programs throughout our area. Please give your donations to Tommie or Doyal.
CONGRATULATIONS!!
Jennifer Donner as many of you know had been training to run the Feb 17, 2008 Austin AT&T marathon since October of 2007. She trained 5-6 days a week, combining shorter runs at faster paces and a longer Saturday run of anywhere between 10 miles to 20 at the peak of training. During the months of preparation, she came back from multiple set backs--illness, injury and travel that took her away to India where safe runs were not possible.
Jennifer happily reports that she completed the marathon and even exceeded her personal goal of 4 hours and 30 minutes, crossing the finish at 4 hours and 27 minutes. Miles 18 and 25 were the most difficult and painful, but the sideline cheerings of Jaime Hadley, Dr. Vic Appel, and the Bodmans, as well as that of family who flew in for the event gave her wings to carry on. She spent the next day recovering with a few sore muscles but is proud of the accomplishment and appreciates all the interest and support everyone at church has shown during the endeavor.
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 April VISITOR -- March 17
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