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Give us this day our daily bread.
With this prayer, we acknowledge that our bread comes ultimately from God--source of seed, soil, sun, and rain, source from which the sacred energy of life arises within and around us. We may plant the seed, harvest the grain, knead the dough, bake the loaf, or buy the bread from our local store, but we are not the source of our daily bread. We are not the source of life.
With this prayer, we acknowledge our corporate need for bread, and our corporate responsibility to share this bread. We pray for our bread, not my bread. Every single person in creation is dependent upon God for bread, and every single person is dependent on other people for bread. We depend upon God and one another for life.
Give us this day our daily bread.
A mark of holiness in the Bible is the just distribution of the harvest so that everyone has sufficient bread to feed their hunger. A mark of unholiness in the Bible is the unjust distribution of the harvest so that a few can hoard more than they need and many must scrape by without enough.
In the Biblical drama, this unholy reality becomes the dominant reality, a reality God's prophets judge with harsh words. When Jesus preaches the kingdom of God on earth, he preaches the overturning of this dominant unholy reality by a new holy reality, a holy reality in which all recognize their dependence upon God and one another, a holy reality in which all who hunger receive the bread that is their right. Jesus calls us to become this new holy reality.
Give us this day our daily bread.
We experience a hunger to feel connected to the ultimate source of our lives, a hunger to feel connected to the people with whom we share this life, and a hunger to make this life as fair, harmonious, love-filled, and just as possible. The bread that feeds this hunger is the spirit of God, the people with whom we gather as church, and the ministry that gives our lives meaning and purpose.
Hunger and bread are present whenever we gather with others around the communion table with bread and a cup, the Fellowship Hall table with cookies and punch, the Front Porch Lunch table with bologna sandwiches and chips, and the Freeze Night Shelter table with lasagna and hot chocolate. Around all of these tables, deep human hungers are felt in the stomach, heart, and soul, and many types of bread are provided.
Give us this day our daily bread.
When you pledge to the Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ, you affirm that all you are and all you have comes ultimately from God; that your life depends on the love and care of the people with whom you worship, share your joys and concerns, and minister; and that God is calling each one of us individually, and all of us together, to work for a more loving and just world.
The investment of your life--your time, talent, and resources--makes possible the creation of a community of people that hungers for daily bread, prays for daily bread, and seeks to make daily bread available to all who hunger.
Give us this day our daily bread.
If you are able to pledge, and do pledge, we thank you. If you are unable to pledge, and therefore do not pledge, we understand.
To everyone who participates in any way in the Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ, we thank you for giving whatever you can. Your presence, your prayers, your ministry, your time, your talent, your heart, your spirit, and your soul are invaluable to us. You are bread to our hunger, and we pray that we are bread to your hunger.
Tom
FROM THE DEACONS
The Friendship Dinners are returning! Look for the announcement in this issue of The Visitor about specific dates. These dinners are a great way to get better acquainted with other church members, to discover common (and different) interests, to make and deepen friendships. And the food is good too! Get your name on the sign-up sheet as soon as you can.
This year November 20th will mark the 10th annual Transgender Day of Remembrance. Our church will be co-sponsoring a community vigil that evening memorializing victims of anti-transgender hatred or prejudice. As the date approaches, details will be announced in worship service bulletin inserts. For background information, check out the website - http://www.transgenderdor.org.
Lastly, another date for your calendar: October 19th. That's when our board will be reporting to you, at a congregational meeting, the results of the Easter worship survey distributed on September 21st. We expect that the survey results will clarify feelings about the early morning service, and make it easier to decide how - and what - we should plan for Easter 2009. We're hoping for a large turnout on the 19th; please plan to attend.
STEWARDSHIP CAMPAIGN BEGINS
During October we will prepare ourselves for PLEDGE SUNDAY on November 2nd. On each of the four Sundays in October you will hear a presentation during worship from the committees which set our goals and priorities for the coming year. You will also receive a letter reiterating those goals accompanied by a letter from our pastor and a pledge form. Please think prayerfully about what God is calling us to do as a congregation and how you can participate.
Chairs of our Boards
We met at board member Jack Bonham-Harris' home on 9/4/08. Several from our congregation participated in the Eyes Wide Open event 9/12-9/14. Military boots were placed to represent Texas military personnel deaths in Iraq War, and shoes were placed to represent the Iraqi civilian cost of the war. Our pastor, Tom VandeStadt, was MC at the Candlelight Remembrance. (http://www.afsc.org/eyes/)
Also of interest to our church and community, Fr. Roy Bourgeois, founder of School of the Americas Watch, was in town 9/23-9/24 to speak regarding issues surrounding "combat skill" training of Latin American soldiers at SoA, Ft. Benning, Georgia. Fr. Roy spoke at CCA-UCC 9/23 at 7pm and at Texas State University, San Marcos. On behalf of CCA, Outreach covered the cost (a good use of our Equal Exchange Fair Trade product sales profits) of Fr. Roy's round-trip flights to Austin. Outreach members worked to facilitate meeting Fr. Roy's needs and to assure meetings with local media.(http://www.soaw.org/)
The Religion and Labor Network has recently ceased operations after years of faithful service. Outreach will ask CCA, at our next congregational meeting, to approve offering budgeted funds to Workers' Defense Project/Proyecto Defensa Laboral. Tom and other CCA members have participated in vigils with WPD/PDL, and have contributed funds in the past. (http://www.workersdefense.org/)
Doug Greco of Austin Interfaith provided training 9/28 following worship. Earlier, Doug gave an introductory training. This second training offered substantial hands-on instruction regarding organizing and the roles our church and Austin Interfaith offers to each other and the community. Tom attended a special training for AI on 9/6. (http://www.austininterfaith.org/)
It is time for another Mt. Bonnel clean-up day, and we will consult the church's schedule, hoping to plan a workday for mid-October.
On 10/19 this Board will present its vision to the congregation as described in the recent Coordinating Council meeting discussion regarding the Stewardship Campaign.
Members of this board are Sharon Brown, Don Miles, Ben White, Jack Bonham-Harris, Dan Jeffery, and Tom VandeStadt. Our next scheduled meeting is to be 10/9/08. This is a joyfully full time for this board and this Congregation. Please stop and chat with any of us "Reach Outers" regarding these topics or others matters of concern to you.
We've missed seeing Lynne Lemley over the past year and understood that she was working on a Spanish textbook. But, it turns out that there were other things going on. Here is Lynne's report. "Since around the beginning of 2008, I had been noticing that I became breathless after very small exertions, such as simply climbing to the second floor of my house. I attributed this to being close to 50 years of age, carrying around almost 90 pounds of extra weight, and moving rapidly only when chased. I ignored this breathlessness; other than that symptom, I didn't feel bad at all. My family and I were in Lubbock to celebrate my parents' golden anniversary the weekend of June 20th. The kids and I were in a grocery store, where Jeffrey and Junior decided to indulge their obsession with grocery-store blood pressure machines, and after they had both obtained their blood pressure and pulse rates, they made me sit down and do it, and I discovered that, as usual, my blood pressure was completely normal, but my resting pulse rate was 134! We took my pulse all weekend long, and it varied from about 126 to 160. As soon as we returned to Austin, I went to my doctor with this news, and he sent me immediately to a cardiologist at Medical Park Tower who informed me that two of his employees would be walking me over to Seton Hospital that minute. The cardiologist also told me that I was extremely lucky that I was still alive; I could have had a stroke at any moment, passed out while driving or bathing, etc. In Seton, I first underwent a procedure to find out whether I had any clots in the top of my heart since my ventricles were beating at only about 25% of normal capacity. I was anesthetized and a tube was run down my esophagus and no clots were found. That meant I could undergo an ablation to fix my heart. I had an electrical heart problem, not a "plumbing" heart problem. In an ablation, they go in near your groin and run a wire up to your heart; they find the irregular electrical current, imitate it, zap it, and (often) your heart immediately starts beating normally. Hallelujah, the ablation worked like a charm. After being placed on blood thinners and told to resume my customary inactivity for awhile so that my heart, (which my electrician cardiologist compared to a Pony Express pony that has been ridden into the ground), could rest. I have just found out from both of my cardiologists (plumber and electrician) that I am absolutely fine; I'm off the blood thinner and have no excuse not to exercise. I'm at a slightly higher risk to develop atrial fibrillation in my later years, but that's about the only consequence of the abuse I put my heart through. This was a NARROW escape for me! Please, please everyone, and especially women, do NOT ignore or rationalize strange new physical symptoms that manifest themselves; always check them out with a doctor." Lynne, we are glad you are doing well--and we will take your advice to heart! Come and be with us more often.
Beth Placek had a great nine-day trip to England in early September. She enjoyed a visit with her friend Elizabeth in Litchfield and made her annual run around Stowe Pool. Elizabeth took Beth to Bakewell in Derbyshire where she stayed for four nights. While there, she took her three favorite walks in the area. The weather was OK with only one really rainy day. From there she went to London for several days, meeting her friend Janet who is on the town council in Norwich representing the Green Party. They had a lovely afternoon wandering around Covent Garden and enjoyed catching up. Her last day in London was spent at the National Art Gallery followed by a long run along the Embankment by the Thames. What a great trip!
Ricky Masters and Monica Pfeifer were married on Saturday, October 4, 2008, at a lovely service at St. Paul's Lutheran church in the tiny town of Nordheim, TX, about a two hour drive from Austin--slightly south and east of San Antonio. The whole town was invited, but Ricky had representation, too. Ricky, the grandson of pastor emeritus John Towery and his wife Eleanor, was delighted that his grandparents were in attendance as was the entire Towery clan. Aunt Sally (Towery) and Uncle Tommy Johnson came all the way from Massachusetts. Maggie and Ches Towery and family were there, too. Ricky's folks, Mary (Towery) and Danny Masters, enjoyed all of the festivities leading up to the wedding. Mary has a bit more free time these days as she retired from her job at Travis High School where she worked for twelve years in the teen mom/dad program. Danny works out of town a great deal (near Denton currently) and now it is possible for Mary to spend time with him. We haven't seen a lot of Ricky at church recently as his electrical company, M & C Electrical, has been very busy over the summer. They do a great deal of work with AISD. Monica works for the LCRA. Both of them love the rodeo which is where they met several years ago. We look forward to seeing them back on Sundays.
Don Miles attended a conference in Albuquerque between September 2nd and 9th. A neighbor volunteered to help with both driving and lodging, so while they were out there they visited some friends and did some hiking in the national parks and forests in the area.
Eunice Paul did not have time to let us know all her news as she was leaving very shortly for a cruise in the Baltic--wonderful!
Hannah Norton is now working at UT's Perry-Castañeda Library as part of the Ask-a-Librarian Internship Program. Along with three other graduate students from the School of Information, she is responsible for staffing the evening hours of the library's chat reference service and responding to and referring e-mail queries that come into the library. Chat reference allows members of the UT community to ask questions about how to use the library's resources through online instant messaging. E-mail questions are on an even broader range of topics since they can come from anyone around the world. She will also be staffing the Information and Research Help (a.k.a. Reference) Desk, answering research questions in person, and potentially doing some library instruction for new undergraduate students. She is so excited to be working in a library at a job that allows her to use some of the skills she's been learning in school!
Olivia Vaché is in her senior year at Austin Waldorf School where a senior project is required for graduation. She is working as a housekeeper to make the money to support her long-time dream -- hang-gliding. She will produce a video, make a model, and talk about the principles of flight. So far she has obtained her "Hang 1" rating and is starting her "Hang 2" practice. This means going from jumping off the hill at Murchison Middle School on Far West to jumping off Pack Saddle Mountain west of Austin. Her parents are thrilled!
At this writing Jake Burlinson is in Enterprise, Alabama, preparing to attend Army flight school at Fort Rucker. In preparation, he recently completed a stint in SERE (survival, evasion, resistance and escape) School. This involved three weeks of wilderness survival and a simulation of being captured, imprisoned, and interrogated. Participants are not allowed to describe the school, but it's designed to train aircrew to resist interrogation should they be shot down and captured. Jake returned in good shape despite losing 16 pounds and being covered in poison ivy, bug bites, and bruises. He says he would never want to repeat the training, but considers it one of the more useful courses the Army offers. He has also gone through "Dunker" training - five students in full flight gear are put into a mock up of a helicopter and submerged in a swimming pool, then turned upside down. They each have a little bottle of air that lasts 2 minutes, but Jake says it's a real bear getting out from under the helicopter and to the surface without getting water into his lungs. He'll be glad when it's over! Jake will undergo some advanced officer training before flight school actually begins in three months. He'll be training to fly Black Hawk helicopters and, when finished, will be a medevac pilot for his Texas National Guard unit. He'll also be returning to work for the Texas Department of Public Safety, where he will attend trooper academy.
Rizer Everett continues to do well at the Summit at NW Hills. He loves the food, the friendly people, and the pleasant surroundings. Rizer delights in his room where he is surrounded by art work by his father and by family photographs. Lately he has had visits from several grandchildren and great grandchildren. His daughter Dot visits monthly and son John and his wife make it down every three months. Rizer also enjoys visits by several of his old Austin friends. He reads the paper daily and watches sports on TV. Life was recently made more enjoyable by an improvement in his hearing which makes conversations possible again. He has recuperated nicely from surgery to remove a skin cancer on his left ear. He spent 5 not so happy days at the Summit at Lakeway recuperating from the surgery and was thrilled to get back home. Rizer would love to see you any time you can drop by--or give him a call at 323-2943. Rizer told a wonderful story about himself and his late wife Hildegard. They were attending classes at UT in the early 1930s and Rizer took a photography course through the physics department that was taught by her dad, Dr. Kuehne (who was a founding member of this church). Hildegard also took that class--and Dr. Kuehne assigned them both to the same darkroom. Rizer reports with a chuckle "that more than photographs can develop in a darkroom!"
Michelle Thompson Ulerich, dancer with Ballet Austin, gave two yoga benefits for SafePlace on September 6 and September 20 at Ballet Austin's Butler Dance Education Center. It was a wonderful opportunity to enjoy yoga, to donate to SafePlace and to learn more about the work that SafePlace does. SafePlace is committed to ending sexual and domestic violence through education and social change. Thank you, Michelle.
Mel and Pat Oakes had a good visit with Marie Scheel in early September. They went out to her place to check out a number of clay roof tiles (leftover from the last roofing job on the church which was a number of years ago) which have been in storage in a carport on her property. The fate of the tiles is unknown, but it is likely they will be sold on E-Bay at some point. While they were there, they enjoyed lunch (sandwiches from Phoenicia Bakery--yum) and talked genealogy with Marie. Marie had some wonderful tintypes from her family back in Finland. Mel brought them home and scanned them onto the computer. He was able to make the pictures larger, clearer, and more recognizable, and he printed up the larger pictures for her to see and enjoy. Marie celebrated her 94th birthday on October 4.
OCTOBER BIRTHDAYS
1 Ann Horner
Frances Alford
Emily Grace Knowlton
2 Gary Pickens
4 Marie Scheel
Lana Harris
6 Kiana Pinkard
7 Catherine Hubbs
8 Samuel Jon Knowlton
10 John Burlinson
14 Beth Placek
15 Marguerite White
17 Derrick Evans
18 Olivia Deisler
19 Beth Oakes
George Carruthers
Conrad Deisler
Don W. Brown
22 Paula Fracasso
25 Michael Sparkman
26 Mark McCoy
28 Olivia Vaché
BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
We invite everyone from our Brazos Association United Church of Christ churches to our Association Fall Meeting, Saturday, October 18, from 10 am to early afternoon. St. John's UCC in Burton has graciously agreed to be the host church. Our meeting program will include sharing about clergy sabbaticals - how they benefit clergy and churches, how churches can prepare for them, and how churches can have vibrant and faithful ministry during them - and sharing from the wonderful UCC National Youth Event that the Association supported so generously. We will also have an ecclesiastical council for our friend and colleague, Rev. Dr. Jerry Carpenter, pastor of Weimar UCC, who is seeking privilege of call in the UCC. Jerry has been active in many ways in the Association. His ordination and pastoral service (before coming to Weimar) have been in the United Methodist Church. As always, we will have a business meeting, lunch, and fellowship. For those of you who haven't been to Burton since the church completed its new building, you will enjoy seeing all of their fellowship area, classrooms, and kitchen facilities.
As I write, Licensed Minister Frances Sidenblad and her husband are moving to the St. Paul UCC, Gerald, parsonage (just north of Waco) from their home in Brenham as she prepares to begin her ministry with that church on Sunday, September 21. Rev. Michael Vaughn also completes his ministry at St. John's Evangelical Lutheran UCC, Richland, on September 21, as he and Laura prepare to move to Zion UCC, Womack (near Clifton). We wish Frances, Michael, their families, and their new churches many blessings, and we lift up St. John's , Richland, in our hearts and prayers as they begin this time of interim ministry and pastoral search.
And as you read this, let's continue to lift up the UCC churches affected by Hurricane Ike, as well as the millions of people affected in so many ways by the storm. In our Association, Friedens UCC, Washington, and Friedens, Gay Hill, lost electric power for several days, as did many in the areas around those churches and near Evangelical, Lyons. Some in these areas also had greatly diminished water service for a few days. Our conference minister, Douglas Anders, has shared in his e-newsletter (received by most of our ministers and many lay people) a number of ways we can help those who will continue to struggle over a much longer period. You can also go to http://www.ucc.org/disaster/ucc-2008-hurricane-response.html to find out how to donate through the UCC to the relief effort.
Blessings in Christ,
Liz Nash, Associate Conference Minister, Brazos Association
THE FRIENDSHIP SUPPERS
Everyone wants to get to know you better! The Friendship Suppers give us all a chance to talk with each other in smaller groups over great food. We meet for dinner at someone's house (the host) who provides a main course and the others who are assigned to go to that home bring another part of the meal. There may be three or four dinners at different houses on any given date, depending on how many want to participate. The dates we've set for this year are November 8th, January 17th and March 21st. The sign-up sheets are in the Fellowship Hall in the BLUE FOLDER. As usual, the dinners begin around 6pm; if you need a ride we can arrange that. Even if you don't know your schedule too far in advance, go ahead and sign up for all the dates if you'd like. Last minute cancellations are easier to handle than last minute additions. If you've got any questions, speak to Betty Bodman or Barbara Burnham.
Trustees: Reuel Nash
Deacons: Betty Bodman
Christian Education:
Christian Outreach: Dan Jeffery
Moderator: John Goff
REPORT FROM THE BOARD OF CHRISTIAN OUTREACH
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 NOVEMBER VISITOR -- October 15
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