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During a recent worship service, I reflected on the parable of the Widow and the Unjust Judge. For those of you who've seen the movie, School of Rock, you know that the unjust judge is really the man. The unjust judge, or the man, is any manifestation of corrupt, abusive, irresponsible, exploitative, unresponsive, and unjust power. The unjust judge represents everything that is hard-hearted, cold-hearted, callous, uncaring, unsympathetic, pitiless, merciless, rigid, immovable, unbending, unyielding, and unfair in this world. It's the impersonal bureaucracy, the arrogant CEO who's above the law, the soup Nazi who terrorizes his customers, the city hall that can't be fought.
The widow, on the other hand, represents the people who are vulnerable before, and disadvantaged by, the hard-hearted, cold-hearted, callous, uncaring, unsympathetic, pitiless, merciless, rigid, immovable, unbending, unyielding, unfair, and unjust forces at work in this world, but who refuse to be victimized by them without putting up a struggle. The widow is every person who refuses to roll over and take it lying down. Every one who refuses to put up and shut up. Every man, woman, and child who resists the unjust status quo. Every tenacious citizen who fights city hall without ever giving up.
Jesus used this parable to address his disciples' need to pray always and to not lose heart. I believe Luke included the parable in his gospel for the very same reason--to address his church's need to pray always and to not lose heart. Jesus' disciples and Luke's church were folks who lived in a time and place where the forces of injustice were powerful and unyielding, a time and place where the man's rule burdened many lives. They longed for that day when God would overthrow those diabolical forces, kick the unjust judge out of office, give the poor, hungry, and sick good things, and establish Christ's reign over God's Kingdom. They longed for that day in the future when God's justice would come swiftly and without delay.
When would that day come? Jesus would not say. But he did tell folks that in the mean time they should remain alert, hold fast to their faith, pray always, and not lose heart.
Nearly 2,000 years later, we still live in the mean time.
Today, some Christians continue to long for that day when God's justice will come swiftly and without delay, that day when the living Christ will reign over God's Kingdom. But some of us question whether that day will ever come, or at least whether it will come in the sudden, dramatic, apocalyptic manner described in some parts of the New Testament. Rather than pinning our hopes on that future day of reckoning when God's justice will be swift and Christ will ascend the throne of righteousness, we look for signs of Christ's return in this day. We look in our own time and place, right here and now. We look in our own surroundings and in our own lives. We look right under the nose of the unjust judge.
I'm more of a this day Christian than a that day Christian.
When I look at the world today, I see a fair amount of corrupt, abusive, irresponsible, exploitative, unresponsive, and unjust power at work. I see a generous helping of the hard-hearted, cold-hearted, callous, uncaring, unsympathetic, pitiless, merciless, rigid, immovable, unbending, unyielding, and unfair. In his many manifestations, the unjust judge is secure in many positions of power.
But I also see the widow when I look at the world today. I see people refusing to be victimized without putting up a struggle. I see people refusing to roll over and take it lying down. People who are not putting up or shutting up. Men, women, and children resisting the unjust status quo. Tenacious citizens fighting city hall without giving up.
With my spiritual eye, I see the widow as the living Christ's persistent spirit actively present in the world, struggling against the powers that diminish life and perpetuate injustice. With my spiritual ear, I hear Jesus Christ calling the Christian Church to be the widow in the world. I hear Jesus Christ calling the Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ, to be the widow in the world. In this day.
These are difficult and trying times, especially for liberal, progressive Christians. Regardless of the outcome of the 2004 Presidential election, they will continue to be difficult and trying times. Many of us find ourselves responding to events and trends occurring in our state, nation, and world with a mixture of alarm, fear, and anger. Many policies that impact our common social, political, and economic life violate our Christian values and convictions. Just about everywhere we look we see the smug face of the unjust judge smirking at us. Arrogant. Unyielding. Telling us that our liberal, progressive Christian values and convictions are wrong, unbiblical, and laughable. Telling us to shut our mouths, to admit defeat, and to let him get on with his business of running the world.
But I believe with all the passion my heart can muster that God, in and through the living Christ, is calling us--the Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ--to be the widow. Hold on. Keep the faith. Pray always. Do not lose heart. Continue to persist for justice until justice is delivered.
Tom
Attendance at our Front Porch lunches continues to build. On Thursday October 7 we hosted 34 homeless youth for sandwich lunches - we'd planned for a maximum of 25! We continue to have plenty of volunteers for making sandwiches and serving lunch, but we'll need to start requesting more donations for Cooler Sundays. We appreciate everyone's generosity.
Although the Micah 6 food pantry is mostly well stocked with volunteers, there is a continuing need for Thursday evening volunteers. If you are interested, please contact Robin.
That last cold front reminds us that winter is not far off, and that means that we will once again be hosting the Freeze Night shelter for homeless youth when the temperature dips below freezing. As before, we will split the duty with St. Austin's Catholic Church (we will operate Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and alternate Sundays) and hire professional staff support throughout the night. Church volunteers are mainly needed to cook the evening meal and clean up, staying until 11PM or so. Volunteers may also help out in the morning to help prepare breakfast and clean up. If you are interested in volunteering, please email Trish, along with any information about when you would and/or would not be available to attend. We also request donations of casseroles, which we'll store in the freezer and heat and serve for dinner.
If anyone is interested in the Back Bay Mission trip next June/July, but couldn't make our get-together meeting on Sunday Oct. 17, please let Tom or John G. know and we'll add you to the list.
Trustees: John Moore & Pam Tucker
Deacons: Liz Nash
Christian Education: Marilyn Vaché
Christian Outreach: John Goff
Christian Education Matters
Planning is underway for this year's Christmas Pageant, which the middle school and high school youth will be planning and coordinating this year, so mark your calendars to be sure to be in church for a great performance on December 19! The Youth can use your help in implementing their ideas. If you are interested in working with them to channel their creative energy into a successful youth-led pageant, please let Sunday School Superintendent John Burlinson or Christian Education Chair Marilyn Vache know!
Please mark your calendars for April 15 to April 17, 2005 for the Spring All Church Retreat and watch for upcoming announcements about the program.
By the time of the publication of this article, the kids and youth will have held an undoubtedly successful fundraising event consisting of the sale of Halloween pops and decorated cookies on October 24 to benefit the Sponsor-A-Child Program, which supports a Palestinian school in East Jerusalem (see our bulletin board in Fellowship Hall for information about this program and about Hala, the child being sponsored through our donations to her school). Thanks for everyone's support!
If you're interested in becoming involved in teaching or assisting with Sunday School for any age, please contact Sunday School Superintendent John Burlinson.
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Tommie Pinkard
3 Stella Morrison
4 Nannette Strickland
5 Mary Blackstock
7 Ann Hubbs
Tom VandeStadt
8 Setsuko Kaneda
Maggie Taylor
9 Craig Barrett
Bree Hawes-Domingue
12 Michael Adams
Gabriel Pinkard
16 Brian Prioleau
Norma Hawes
17 Dennis Murphy
18 Jennifer Bratton
Jacob Bardati
22 Mariah Newell
23 Kathleen Strong
Terri Ocean
24 Jim Howicz
27 Tess Howicz
30 Betty Bodman
Rev. Liz Spencer and her co-workers from SouthernCare Hospice walked together in the 13th annual Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk on October 2nd. Team SouthernCare raised $1,114 for the fight against Alzheimer's. Mr. William Browning Spencer was the official SouthernCare photographer. On Saturday, October 16th, Liz and Bill attended an ecclesiastical council at the meeting of the Brazos Association in Bryan,Texas. An ecclesiastical council is an official meeting of an association, the purpose of which is to authorize a person for a specific form of ministry in and on behalf of the United Church of Christ. Having previously submitted two papers to the Church and Ministry Committee (a theological perspective paper and a paper on UCC history and polity), Liz gave a presentation to the ecclesiastical council. The presentation articulated her reasons for seeking privilege of call and her desire to serve as a pastor in a UCC church. Then Liz answered questions posed to her by the people in attendance. The council voted unanimously to grant Liz privilege of call. This does not mean that Liz will be re-ordained. The UCC accepts her Baptist ordination. However, having privilege of call means that Liz is now eligible to have a Ministerial Profile placed on file and distributed by the Parish Life and Leadership Ministry Team in order to assist her in seeking a call to a UCC church. Liz's long-term goal is to be a pastor/Director of Pastoral Care for older adults in a UCC congregation. Congratulations, Liz!
Karl and Andrea Putz send their apologies for not keeping in touch since they moved. It's been a crazy time for them. A few days after they moved from Texas to Des Plaines, IL, they left for Mexico City to see two group-mates of Karl's get married. They had a great time seeing the archeological areas, and Karl even drove a rental car there (quite an adventure! even compared to Chicago driving). They got back from Mexico, and the next day they left for Jefferson, MD, to see Karl's brother graduate from high school. Unfortunately, a few days after they got back from MD, Karl's grandmother died, so they left for the funeral in Philadelphia. That was their June! Karl started work shortly after (as a post-doc at Northwestern) and Andrea started work in August doing research at Jardine Water Purification Plant. The commute for Andrea from Des Plaines to downtown Chicago is too much, so they're moving yet again. Their new address is Karl and Andrea Putz, 540 N. Lake Shore Drive #206,Chicago, IL 60611. Karl's e-mail is k-putz@northwestern.edu. Andrea's UT e-mail address is still in use.
Our church family is celebrating two new grandchildren and a new baby for our co-chair of the Trustees. Vic Appel's new grandson, Samuel John Knowlton was born October 8, 2004, and weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces. Debbie (Appel), husband Robert and big sister Emily are all doing fine as well, although the parents are sleep deprived. Sammy weighed in at 8 pounds and 4 ounces and was born two hours after Debbie and Bob got to the hospital. Debbie admits that there have been some rivalry issues, but that Emily is adapting well. She loves her 4 afternoon a week preschool, a 30 minutes commute from their new home in New York. Debbie and Robert are so thankful for God's miracle of Sammy. At 43, Debbie had so hoped that Emily Grace would have a sibling--and it has come to pass. Sammy came home from the hospital in a yellow sweater knitted by his maternal great-grandmother--and wrapped in a pink blanket made by his grandmother Jean for Emily when she was born.
Doyal and Tommy Pinkard are the proud new grandparents of Kiana Amista Pinkard, daughter of Rizza and Chris Pinkard. Tommy was in the delivery room in Santa Clara, California, when Kiana was born (her name was selected by her brother Gabriel and her middle name is Rizza's maiden name). She weighed in at 7 pounds and 8 3/4 ounces. Tommy says Kiana has a good appetite and well-developed lungs.
Pam Tucker, Trustee, is expecting to deliver a baby boy on November 12 (the doctor should induce that day). Savanna will be a big sister! Pam used the same donor, so they are full siblings. Pam's mom will be in town to help out for a few weeks. We'll all be looking forward to seeing the new baby with Mom and Savanna in church!
Nancy Brown continues to recuperate from her mastectomy which she had in late September. The cancer was caught early and there has been no spread. By the time this newsletter comes out she hopes to be back in church.
Frances Alford was in Houston November 4-7 for the International Quilt Show, the largest in the world. She has spent years trying to get to a level with her art quilts where they could be displayed there. She is happy to report that she had SEVEN in this year's show. Two of them were quilts that she did with her family members for a special exhibit called "I Remember Mama" where they honored their mother, Nancy Hayes Holliday. Frances also had several quilts on display at the local Austin quilt show in early October. She got second place in the Austin show for her art quilt "Mulberry Lane" and her group quilt "Leaves" got first place in group category. In September, Frances met two sisters and a niece in Wooster, Ohio, for a week of instruction at a quilt camp with Susan Shie, a world famous art quilter. She is happy to report that her husband John is continuing to improve after his last winter's surgery.
Jeri Winter will be graduating from UT in December and will be having a farewell/graduation party at the church. We will announce it again next month, but put Monday evening, Dec. 20, on your calendar and come to say good-bye and congratulations to Jeri.
It was good to see John Burlinson back in church on a recent Sunday. He was using a cane--not a good thing, but it was helping him get around. He is having lower back problems and is hoping that he can put off back surgery for a good while.
Rizer Everett recommends reading ANNALS OF THE FORMER WORLD by John McPhee, an excellent book telling about the movement of continents, the building of mountains, and other events of geologic interest presented in a very readable manner. On September 24th, he made a bus trip with Nana Householder and others to the Kimbell Museum in Fort Worth. The exhibit, "Caravaggio to Dali," contained 100 masterpieces from the Wadsworth Atheneum Art Museum. One of the most impressive paintings, "Interior of a Picture Gallery," was made in 1749 by Panini. Some of the group were surprised to see some paintings by Picasso that were interesting enough to take more time than the usual quick glance. Rizer picked up his daughter Dot from the Austin airport on October 7, and they drove to Houston to attend the biennial Stanvac reunion of fellow employees who worked in Indonesia in the '50s and '60s. The conversations and trip this year were even more enjoyable as his son John was able to attend the meeting. Before John and Dot left from Houston they all enjoyed a visit with an old family friend, Lynne Woods, and her 101 year old father in Katy, TX.
Bill and Betty Phillips report that their new pastor at the Balboa Union Church in Panama is exactly the right person for their congregation. His father was Gyaumi (indigenous Panamanian tribe) and his mother was African. He speaks 5 languages fluently. He is from the Methodist Church of the Caribbean but has studied in the U.S., England and Africa. His Service of Installation will be November 14, and is expected to draw dignitaries from Protestant and Catholic churches as well as from the Panamanian government. Bill was chair of the Pastoral Services Committee, so he is delighted at the new choice. Bill and Betty expect to complete their work in Panama in December and hope to see us at Christmas and for many Sundays thereafter.
Marilyn Harris, former church cellist, is back in Austin and has found a new apartment. She was house-sitting for her mother Bee and her husband Milt Weiss while they were in Norway visiting Carole Marie and her family. Bee's lung cancer is under control at the moment so that she was well enough to travel.
Paul Deisler reports, "Thirty years ago this August eleven men from eleven chemical companies got together with an independent counsel to launch an ad hoc effort with a single idea as its motivation: the chemical industry should not wait to be told by government or anyone else to assess the risks its common products might pose but should do the assessments, including obtaining the basic data, itself. Out of this ad hoc effort was born, ultimately, the Chemical Industry Institute for Toxicology (CIIT) at Research Triangle Park, NC. The guiding principles for the Institute were as follows: all research work must be of impeccable quality, fully reproducible by others; all results must be transmitted simultaneously to member companies and governmental organizations interested in such results when the scientific staff (not the Board or the industry) finds it ready for dissemination; and results should be published in the open, peer-reviewed literature as soon as possible. Quite an ideal! Paul Deisler became the Construction Committee Chair for the laboratory, Chair of the first Membership Committee, a member of the Board and of its Executive Committee and served the CIIT in other capacities for many years. Last week Paul and the other founders (only nine are still living) were invited to Research Triangle Park for the dedication of the new, 28,000 square foot wing of the laboratory, including a review of past and current work and an inspection of the facilities. Paul was intensely impressed with the results of thirty years of work, with the sophistication of the research now in progress and with the amazing use the CIIT now makes of modern computing and communications technology. Assembling, sorting classifying and correlating the enormous amount of data produced during genomic and proteomic studies, solving the thousands of simultaneous equations required for modeling pharmaco- and toxicokinetic reactions and inter- and intracellular communications pathways and for similar enormous modeling tasks can now be done in short order, accelerating the rate at which deep understanding of the impacts of chemical substances on living beings is achieved. Electronically, the CIIT is immediately in touch with developments in its fields of study world wide. In Paul's view, the original dream and ideal have been reached and surpassed. Paul came home walking on air: it is rare that something you have put your heart and your sweat into bears such fruit so, many years later!"
Marie Scheel reports that she heard from Crystal Underwood and her husband Max Fitzgerald. Crystal sang in the choir for several years. She and Max are the proud and overwhelmed parents of twin boys Samuel (6 lbs. 11 oz.) and Josiah (5 lbs. 11 oz.) who were born on Aug. 5 They live at 534 North King Street, Northampton, MA 01060-1125.
Mel and Pat Oakes had a wonderful week In Iowa City helping with the grandchildren and attending the last Maia Quartet concert with Amy Appold, the first violinist, who has played with Beth for the past 15 years. Amy and her husband have moved to Missouri, leaving Beth as the last original member of the quartet (which will be auditioning for a new first violinist in the spring). The week was bittersweet as Pat's mother was admitted to hospice care while they were in Iowa. Lois has been fighting uterine cancer for the past year. Her folks have attended the church often over the 40 years that Mel and Pat have been in Austin. It is hoped that her mom will be able to stay in their apartment in their retirement community in North Carolina. Pat will be spending more time in North Carolina over the next few months.
Pastor emeritus John Towery is still having trouble with bursitis in his right hip. A cortisone injection has helped, but John is still reluctant to get back to the tennis court. He is much missed by the Tuesday and Thursday tennis groups who have played together for many years. He is bowling once per week and Eleanor continues to bowl twice per week. John attended a Towery family reunion in Princeton, KY, with his brother Bill, sister-in-law Joan, and nephew Danny. Bill (who lives in Georgetown) is the president of the National Towery Association which sends out a newsletter every two months with genealogical information on Towerys. About 40 people were in attendance. One of the field trips in Princeton was to the old Towery cemetery where they found an old dog cemetery in one of the corners. John says. "We saw that the Towerys had now gone to the dogs."
There are all sorts of hidden talents in our church. One you may not know about is Lois Drachenberg's talent--although if you see her face all alight as she sings in the choir, you will not be surprised. She is a wonderful story teller. Back in the 1960s when she was working for the Oakland public schools in the audio-visual department she came up with the idea of recording children's stories. Her administrator had an even better idea after hearing the tape--she had the idea of ringing a bell whenever a page was to be turned. They produced 15 story tapes which became a staple of the 40 Head Start pre-schools which were started in Oakland. McGraw-Hill Publishing Company liked the idea so much that they eventually incorporated the idea into their work. Lois, who was at that time Lois Von Gogh , after she retired, enjoyed reading stories to senior citizens. Now she listens to the rural sounds in Bastrop where she and John live near her daughter. Lois, it is time for a talent show!
Dave and Sara Ross spent 8 days in Aiken, NC, visiting with Dave's brother Chuck's family. Dave's brother has been very ill with a series of medical crises over the past 5 months. Dave and Sara got home on the 17th of October, but were ready to return if necessary. At this writing Chuck was in critical but stable condition on full life-support. Their nephew Gary, the youngest son of his brother, is also being treated for a sarcoma. Keep them all in your prayers.
The CORRECT address for Debbie Appel-Knowlton is :
17 Valeria Circle
North Salem, NY 10560-3707
Musical Offering in November
On Sunday, November 7th at 4 o'clock the united choirs of the Ecumenical Partnership of the Alliance of Baptists, the Christian Church, and the UCC will be presenting John Rutter's "Requiem." Various members of our choir are practicing diligently for the concert which promises to be a wonderfully uplifting event for both participants and listeners. The performance will be held at the University Christian Church, across from the Littlefield Fountain on the UT campus. The choir will be accompanied by organ and various instruments. Come support this ecumenical musical effort by the partnering churches.
Nodie Murphy
Get ready for some important
Open and Affirming
meetings you won't want to miss
The committee appointed by the coordinating Council to initiate a study on whether this church should designate itself as an Open and Affirming Church has scheduled the following information sessions for all church members and friends:
Sunday, November 14 - Dr. Richard Grant, psychologist, will discuss psychological aspects and problems of homosexuality, and recent insights into its basis.
Sunday, January 9 - Members of the Open and Affirming Committee will sum up what we learned in the previous sessions, and discuss exactly what is meant by the term, Open and Affirming. This is in preparation for a vote on this issue at our annual meeting later in January.
Each of these meetings will start about 15 minutes after the end of the regular Sunday morning worship service. Our guests will speak for about 30 minutes, and then there will be an equal time for questions.
During the 15-minute interval mentioned above, church members will have a chance to select snacks for lunch from a selection we hope they will provide - as a "mini potluck" of finger foods - sandwiches, fruit, veggies, cookies - that can be taken into the sanctuary and eaten during the meeting.
Designating ourselves as an Open and Affirming Church is a very important step, one that we should not take without serious study. For this reason, the O&A Committee hopes that all members will attend these sessions and feel free to discuss their concerns on this matter with our visitors.
Get ready for potluck season: We're planning two more mini-potlucks for the coming months.
Each will be after Sunday church services. We are looking for simple, casual, finger foods (no forks or spoons allowed!), so we can load up our plates and get back into the sanctuary for special presentations.
Bring sandwiches, fruit, vegetables, or cookies, and deposit them in the Fellowship Hall. Then, after our regular services, we'll have 15 minutes to select our goodies and get ready for our guest speakers.
The dates are November 14 and January 9.
Deadline for December VISITOR -- November 16
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