frankly speaking....
| (appreciating & relying upon Peterson's lead, these words in Ephesians) Plain enough, friends, isn't it? You're no longer wandering.... This kingdom of faith (and faithfulness) is now your (spiritual) home country! You're no longer strangers or outsiders. You BELONG here... God is building a home, using us all! |
Indeed, friends in ministry expressed as Congregational UCC of Austin, we are all "built into" God's construct of a spiritual home and haven! Each of us, with talents and integrity all our own, find ourselves knit into this marvelous expression! Our task in the journey of faithful pilgrims is to:
keep our minds open and to keep them deep, to keep our sense of beauty
and our ability to make it,
and our occasional ability to see it in places remote and strange and unfamiliar; we shall have a rugged time of it, all of us, in keeping these gardens in our villages, in keeping open the manifold, intricate, casual paths, to keep these flourishing in a great, open, windy world; but this, as I see it, is the human condition; and in this condition we can help, because we can love, one another. (Man's Right to Knowledge, Robert Oppenheimer a long time ago!)
Covenantally we are linked just like all those colorful and varied pieces of an artfully assembled quilt---little remnants for the expression and achievement of the whole. Partners in mission and message! Or, in the symphony, single instrumental voices blended into a whole new crescendoing of expression for service and witness! That's been my experience with you on this sabbatical period and journey toward Tom's return. Be vital. Be faithful. Be valiant. Be joy in expressing the dance, challenging and demanding as it may prove to be!
Samuel Miller in a lecture away from his Harvard classroom said to some of us in a midwest chapel:
“To bring forth the sound of music never heard before, to elicit from mind and heart the symphony of your life, affirmed in faith and resonant with the vast voices of this mysterious world---this is your task. Make something not only of yourself, but of the thousand, aye, tens of thousands---of this life's possibilities. Be salt to the earth, light to the world---be man (be woman), and join this world with God's intention.” (Man the Believer in an Age of Unbelief, Samuel Miller)
So, in keeping with the best in our strivings in our United Church of Christ, continue in your prayerful and social discernment; for, God is still speaking, . . . !!!
Grateful for this little taste of your pilgrim journey, ...
fhd
a personal note: Karen joins me in a "thank you" for this period of fellowship and prayer. You're great! Welcome Tom in a special way! fd
A personal comment: My use of SHALOM is to reach deep into the richness of Hebrew tradition for this word too big, too rich, too deep for adequate translation. I've never discovered in another language a sufficient rendering for translation this expression of health, healing, restoration, harmony and wholeness in its many facets. Yes, Karen and I have oft utilized the expressions on the market of peace words and characters from many of our world's languages but SHALOM reaches beyond any and all of these in my discoveries. And, my searches have been far and wide, including exploration of my "home congregation's "Salem" and the German "Friedens." One of my Pacific island colleagues says the closest is "Aloha!" Over the years I've been a collector of "shalom stones!" Namasté fd
HOME FUNERALS
Personalizing Funerals and care of loved ones bodies
Joan Mueller recently went to a meeting run by two local Austin women which introduced her to ways to plan home funerals. She is collecting information to share with the congregation including a wonderful DVD used on Frontline a few years ago about one of the earliest groups that began helping people do home funerals. The film shows their preparations and actual footage of home gatherings. Also, Rev. Dietz mentioned Christian Century, the current issue which has several articles on the subject of home funerals. There is also a beautiful film ('Departures") which played at The Arbor recently about a Japanese tradition of preparing the body with the family present. Joan has been taking names of those who expressed interest after she made a brief mention of perhaps gathering church members who want to become knowledgeable about what is possible. If you would like to talk with Joan, seek her out at church or via e-mail at: mueller.joan@yahoo.com.
Chairs of our Boards
Trustees: Jaime Hadley & Rhys Ulerich
Deacons: Barbara Burnham
Christian Outreach: Reuel Nash
Moderator: John Goff
OUTREACH
The Board for Christian Outreach thanks you for your contributions to the fundraiser for Hala. A total of $407 was raised, which should support her for at least a year.
Also, thank you for your contributions to the Neighbors in Need offering. So far the total of contributions is $436.
Thank you to Rambie, Fran, and Dennis for the presentation about Back Bay Mission's anniversary.
The November Outreach Moment will focus on our Equal Exchange Coffee and Chocolate sales. How is the money used? How can you get involved?
TRUSTEES
Some of the Trustees and congregation members met with a city representative for the 23rd Street Project to discuss how our street will be changed. We will be keeping our two oldest trees, receiving a major sidewalk face lift, and getting some new sidewalk lighting. We are confident that the congregation will be pleased with the results. Our side of the street will be the last portion of the project to be completed. Beyond this and the other usual tasks, the Trustees have begun the process of preparing next year's proposed budget.
PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
Dan Jeffery and Carol Johnson were married on Saturday, November 7, in  Hermiston, Oregon (not too far from Walla Walla, Washington). Dan met Carol while working in Oregon last summer, they corresponded all year, and decided to tie the knot this summer. The day before the summer camp where he was working ended, he got word that he had gotten the job he had applied for--so he has not been back to see us since. He is working as a Head Start Family Advocate. Dan has been attending an Episcopal church in the area and the last half of Carol's church most Sundays. Carol works as a Juvenile Probation Counselor, has three teenage sons, her parents live nearby, and she attends Living Water Foursquare Church. Dan's dog Maggie is joining their menagerie of one dog, three cats, and two fish!. Dan and Carol's new address is 210 SW 7th Place, Hermiston, OR 97838, and their phone number is 541.701.4838. We miss you so much, Dan, but we all send our very best wishes to you both!
Don Miles attended the Mountains-and-Plains Regional Conference of the American Association of Museums in Cheyenne, returning home late Sunday Oct.11. While there, Don awoke one morning to see two inches of snow resting atop his car. He thought, "You're not in Austin, Texas, anymore, Don." Conference seminars dealt with Building Museum and School Partnerships, Re-Enactors, Historical Performance and Interpretation, etc. He toured a large collection of frontier carriages and wagons at the museum and shop where they are repaired, to prepare for an 1800s parade in Austin during the first week of May, 2012. Negotiations are still in progress, but it looks like Austin will be having an 1863 French army military ball at the Driskill and a re-enactment of the Battle of Puebla at Camp Mabry. The ladies have 31 months to get their gowns ready!
Beth Placek was already looking forward to her October trip to D.C. to enjoy contra-dancing at Glen Echo, jogging on the Mall, and going to the National Gallery when two days before she left she heard an interview on NPR with Vietnam vet and triple amputee former Senator Max McClellan, Democrat from Georgia. Inspired by his story and his work (he has been appointed by the Obama administration to the War Memorial commission), Beth decided to try and find him and meet him. Finally, with the help of a number of folks including the office of Representative Lloyd Doggett, she finally located his office in Arlington and was able to leave him a personal message. His office was very appreciative of Beth's efforts to see him--but he was out of town. Having made contact, Beth is looking forward to meeting McClellan when she goes to D.C. again in April.
Rich and Jane Thompson are still enjoying Ft. Collins. Jane, who was instrumental  in forming the Church Ladies spelling team (Central Presbyterian and Congregational Church of Austin team members) five years ago, put together a team for the first Fort Collins Reads Adult Spelling Bee. Jane reports that they did not come in first, but neither were they last! Rich and Jane send their regards to one and all (Rich served as interim pastor for us several times).
Jaana Rehbein sends her fall greetings from home, Hannover, Lower Saxony,Germany. She enjoyed seeing the pictures of the church that were sent with the Personals query. She was sitting at her computer on the other side of the world when they arrived. She sends her best to the church family. She says, "Missing y'all much!"
Fran and Rambie Briggs spent the first two weeks of October in Ocean Springs and Biloxi, MS. While there, they and the Murphys attended the dedication of new buildings at Back Bay Mission. Pastor Vandestadt was there also for part of the festivities. Attending the worship service, shrimp dinner, and visiting with old friends were the highlights of their visit to the Mississippi Gulf coast. Fran, Rambie and Dennis Murphy shared some history of the mission and brought everyone up on what's happening currently at the mission during our worship service on October 18.
Carol Barrett reports that the Barrett family returned in early October from a family vacation in Italy visiting Milan, Vincenza (Palladian architecture), Verona, Padua, and Venice. A wonderful time was had by all. Below: Gary, Craig, and Whitney Barrett along with Craig's friend Delan Kai.
The last weekend in September marked Dean Tapley's retirement from the ministry of Christ Church, Leatherhead, England. On Saturday night there was a dinner in the church hall for as many people as could be accommodated. It was a gourmet meal as the son of a member of the catering committee is a trained chef. He planned and supervised the menu. For the "entertainment" Dean's wife Lydia had prepared a Power Point presentation of Dean's life which was much appreciated. There were also some original songs about Dean and Lydia from members of Dean's first church in England at Burnham-on-Crouch. It was from there that Dean and Lydia had the pulpit exchange with the Towerys in the summer of 1982. John and Eleanor would probably remember some of the people involved. The service on Sunday was conducted by the Southern Synod Moderator who is the equivalent of your U.C.C Conference Minister. The church was full and all available Tapley family members were there - son Nathaniel with his wife Zoë, Eleanor and baby Thomas and son Joshua from Austria. Sunday lunch was a family-time celebration (Zoë's birthday on the 20th, Dean's 65th on the 21st, Joshua's daughter Victoria's first birthday (in Austria) on the 22nd, Joshua and Martina's wedding anniversary on the 23rd and Eunice Paul's 88th birthday on the 28th. and Dean's actual retirement on the 30th) A week to remember! Dean still has not had time to read the wonderful book Lydia has put together with reminiscences from friends from all times and places (including the Congregational Church of Austin, Texas)- at the moment, like many other retirees, he is wondering how he ever had time to work!
It was a pleasure to see John Hubbs, Cathy and Clark Hubbs' son, at church on Sunday the 11th. He was here for a week--a combination of some business to clear up and a celebration of both Cathy's and John's birthdays. He's celebrating 57 of them. Cathy says that she has already found out that 87 is fun so far!
It was also good to see Brent Malkus at church on the 11th. It had been quite a while since we had seen him as he travels a great deal with his band, The Texas Sapphires. He notes that it is hard to come to church on Sunday morning having just gotten in from Dallas or Houston or San Antonio at 4 or 5 a.m. However, the band has been on hiatus while working on a new album which is coming out, as Brent says, "February-ish." That meant that Brent was once again in our midst.
Florence Castle is still working on Sundays as the pianist for the South Austin Christian Church, Disciples of Christ and continues playing the piano for the South Austin Senior Center singalong sessions on Wednesdays. She is doing a lot of practicing but is hoping that the church will consider looking for a sub, so that she can join us sometimes.
Michael Adams and Kerry were still in the process of moving to Round Rock in mid-October. Their new house needs some work, but it is nearly twice the size of the South Austin house, so they are excited about that. Julia started out the school year at Brentwood Christian School, but they were not happy with it, so at the moment Julia is being home-schooled. Jamie and Lauren are busy with their sons Stephen and Phillip. Michael is convinced that Stephen is going to continue in his grandfather's footsteps and become a professional laugher! Michael has a new nursing case in the 03 ZIP code, just 30 minutes from home in Round Rock.
Marilyn Gaddis and George Carruthers just returned to their home in San Marcos from a 10 day "Heart of the Ozarks" Elderhostel. It began in Hot Springs where they toured the Springs National Park including the Fordyce Bath House where Marilyn posed for the group in a bathtub (clothes on) in the women's bath area. (They had planned to take a "bath" but the public bathhouse closed early!) They visited the new Gangster Museum and learned about the "shady side of the Springs!" The flowers at the Garvan Woodland Garden were past their prime, but the trees were beginning to turn colors. The next stop was Eureka Springs with a tour of the Crescent Hotel, historic district, and the Passion Play site and Jesus statue. En route to Branson, they stopped at the Thorncrown Chapel for a concert by the Minister of Music. A morning was spent in Silver Dollar City with a special visit with 93-year-old Miss Violet, who makes and plays her own fiddles. The group attended several shows including the Presley Family's Music Show. From there they went on to Mountain View and the Ozark Folk Center. In the evenings, there were music presentations including a concert by an eleven-year-old girl fiddler, and music at Jimmy Driftwood's Barn. Then it was back to Little Rock through the colorful Ozark Mountains. Marilyn and George recommend this Elderhostel/Exploritas if you really want to learn more about the "Hillbilly and Baldknobber" Culture of Arkansas. Before returning to San Marcos by Amtrak, they stopped in Tyler to spend several days with George's sister and family.
Steven and Jeanine Neuse were in San Antonio recently visiting their sons and their families. They spent Oct. 9-10-11 celebrating their 50th (!!) New Braunfels High School class reunion. Their celebration included a gathering at the Greene River Grill, a party at the Landa Haus, and a breakfast at the Red Rooster...up to 101 of their classmates (out of 164 living) attended. It was a great reunion with lots of wonderful memories and catching up on classmates' lives. They planned to be in the area until Oct. 25th visiting other family members, friends, watching grandsons' football games, etc.
Mel and Pat Oakes took advantage of a sale on Southwest Airlines and made arrangements to visit daughters on both coasts within in a two week period. First, the last weekend of September, they visited their daughter Mardie and son-in-law Tony in Sausalito and had a great time visiting 14 houseboats in the annual Floating Homes Tour. Mardie and Tony are currently living on a houseboat in Sausalito, although their home was not on the tour. Pat and Mel got home on Monday and the next Friday they went to Washington, D.C. to visit daughter Sarah and to meet her new boyfriend, Joe Pierce. They all had a wonderful time getting acquainted while visiting Mount Vernon and the National Arboretum. Also, while in the area, Pat and Mel visited a cousin each--both of whom live in nearby Arlington--while continuing to work their family genealogy project.
NOVEMBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Tommie Pinkard
2 Wilmer Brown
Celia Ross
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
Harrison Tucker
14 Hulen Brown
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
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
I am writing this month from the UCC Disaster Ministry in New Orleans where I am spending the week. As many of you know, the UCC has had a ministry here since shortly after Hurricane Katrina struck. People from churches all around the country come each week as volunteers to help rehabilitate houses and UCC churches. This week, groups from Illinois, Connecticut, and Rhode Island are working on projects including installing insulation at Beecher Memorial UCC, doing home finish work at a house in east New Orleans, and doing wall/ceiling removal at Central Congregational UCC. They are staying in other UCC churches with bunkrooms, showers, kitchens, and washer/dryers – churches that have opened their spaces, allowed renovations to accommodate volunteer workers, and made this hospitality a fundamental part of their ministries. Rev. Alan Coe directs the UCC Disaster Ministry here, which has its offices at Little Farms UCC in Riveridge. Long term volunteers serve as office staff and project supervisors, along with staff person Tim Fonderlin, who oversees construction sites. Any and all of our churches are invited and welcome to send volunteer groups to this well-organized and much-needed ministry. Call 504-258-7306 or email them at ucchurricanerecoery@yahoo.com if you are interested in coming, or talk with me to learn more. I encourage you all to be part of this life-giving work.
I also want to share good news from our Association churches. Congratulations to Rev. Dan DeLeon of Friends Congregational UCC who was recently honored as one of the winners of the Texas Impact sermon contest on health justice. Church of the Savior in Cedar Park is joining with a number of Austin area Baptist churches in a Habitat for Humanity home build later this spring. They have fund-raising and awareness-raising activities coming up, including a multi-church youth “lock out” at Church of the Savior on November 20th as well as a multi-church Choirfest Concert at First Baptist, Austin on Dec. 11. Faith UCC in Bryan is making major progress with its new building, and hopes to be worshiping there soon. You (individuals or churches) can still donate to their Elijah project to support them in purchasing chairs, following the tradition during the Jewish Passover Seder Meal of having an extra chair at the table for Elijah should he come to join the family. They are making great progress but, as of the time I am writing, still need more chairs. The cost per chair is $52: to donate, send checks payable to Faith UCC to the church at their current mailing address, 2402 College Ave., Bryan, TX 77801. It would be great if all of our Association churches could support Faith's journey into a new stage of discipleship by giving a chair. Friends Congregational in College Station continues to extend hospitality to homeless families by offering shelter on a rotating basis with other churches through the Family Promise program. Friends and Faith churches have a great partnership in this work, with Friends as a host church and Faith helping provide good meals to those who stay at Friends. Weimar UCC is currently sponsoring a series of sermons on mission opportunities, having guest preachers from many UCC mission outreach ministries in this part of the country while their pastor, Jerry Carpenter, is on sabbatical. Finally, United Christian, Congregational UCC, and Church of the Savior youth and adult chaperones completed the latest of several mission trips with Austin area Disciples of Christ churches last summer. They worked along the Texas/Mexico border with Southwest Good Samaritan Ministries, a Disciples of Christ outreach center in Los Fresnos, TX. This is a sampling of the work of our churches showing the many ways all of our Association churches are seeking to express our faith in Christian discipleship.
Blessings in Christ,
Liz Nash, Brazos Association Minister
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 December VISITOR -- November 15
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