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In a recent edition of The New Republic, Ryan Lizza reports on the transformation that's occurred over the past few months in Democrat John Edwards' presidential campaign. According to Lizza, Edwards' early campaign agenda "seemed like a hodge-podge of small ideas lacking a vision." But thanks to the influence of his friend and mentor, Bill Clinton, Edwards has more recently developed a "meta-message--an organizing theme around which all of a candidate's specific proposals can be built." Not surprisingly, Edwards' organizing theme sounds quite similar to that of his mentor.
I don't mention this because I'm rooting for Edwards in the upcoming presidential election or because I'm nostalgic for Bill Clinton. Rather, I think Lizza makes an important point in his article: a successful presidential candidate must have a meta-message. The candidate must have an organizing theme, a grand narrative, a big story like...this is the United States of America...this is what's right with it, what's wrong with it, and how we can fix it...this is who we've been, who we are, and who we can be...this my part to play, and this is your part to play. Most important, the candidate's story must resonate with the very people whose support he or she is seeking. People must identify with it by discovering their personal stories embedded within the candidate's big story, not in a way that makes them feel insignificant in comparison, but in a way that makes them feel their story and the bigger story are intimately related, and that they and the candidate will determine together how the story unfolds.
Though he never held office, Martin Luther King, Jr. was arguably one of the most effective political leaders in our nation's history. While his personal courage and oratorical skills helped, it was his meta-message that moved people. He told a story--a very big story--about God and humanity. This story included God's liberating activity in Egypt, Jesus Christ's non-violent victory over the cross, the on-going movement of God's spirit in human struggles for liberation and reconciliation, and the promise of God's Beloved Community. This BIG STORY was the context in which King placed the lives of people struggling for civil rights in America. They were participating in the most recent chapter of a great unfolding drama--God's liberating/reconciling activity in human history. Without God, there was no story. Without them, there was no story.
This Fall, we're going to have the opportunity to discern and identify our place in the BIG STORY. Our individual stories as people of faith and our communal story as a church are embedded in God's bigger story of creation. On the corner of 23rd and San Antonio Streets, The Congregational Church of Austin, United Church of Christ, plays an ongoing and significant role in God's great unfolding drama. King demonstrated that when people discern their role in God's drama, articulate it clearly, and enact it boldly, they can become incredible agents of transformation. Our church has demonstrated this as well.
The Stewardship Committee will be asking each Board to articulate a vision for our church to pursue in 2004. Each Board's vision will reflect its particular mandate and set of responsibilities in our church's ministry. Rather than combining these visions together into a "hodge-podge of small ideas lacking a vision," the Boards' visions will be integrated into a meta-message, an organizing theme, a grand narrative, a BIG STORY. We'll place our church's life and vision in the bigger context of God's ongoing work of liberating, healing, and reconciling this world. Jesus Christ will be our mentor, and with his living spirit to guide and empower us, we'll play our part.
Each Board will be asked to make a budget recommendation to fund their vision. When combined, these budget recommendations will make up the proposed 2004 budget for our church. The budget will finance our liberating, healing, and reconciling part to play in God's BIG STORY.
Christian Education Matters
We're gearing up for a busy fall with many ways for you to get involved. Please sign up in fellowship hall to assist with the Sunday School program in whatever way interests you. We need assistance at both the middle school/high school level and the elementary school level. Let us know what age group you're interested in working with and how you'd like to help. We need teachers, assistants, and substitutes for weekly Sunday School, but would also like to know if you have an interest in coordinating or assisting with other youth events and activities, such as the Christmas Pageant, Youth outings and/or get togethers, Pumpkin Carving, Music activities, Drama activities, Liturgical/Other dance activities, and anything else for which you have the interest and energy.
We also have an 8-week series planned to begin in the fall on "Healing Relationships," led by Rev. Enid Lackey Ross. It will begin on September 7, 2003, and run through October 26, beginning each week promptly at 12:30 and scheduled until 2:00pm. Child care will be provided until 2:00 pm. The general topics for the 8-week series will be:
September 7, 2003: A heart of wisdom: values in action; social justice; "the mind of Jesus"
September 14, 2003: Our vocational I.D.: discovering individual strengths and gifts
September 21, 2003: Learning to live with limit and loss: bereavement and grief; stages of faith
September 28, 2003: A normative horizon: tradition/denominational resources; discipleship and pilgrimage
October 5, 2003: Healing as abundance of life: exploring the selfhood of the caregiver
October 12, 2003: Enabling healing: creative imaging; reframing narratives; listening between the lines
October 19, 2003: Witness: the 'pastorhood' of all believers; community outreach and spiritual growth
October 26, 2003: Recognizing God in the midst of crisis: the universal call to hospitality, evangelism, discernment and wholeness
Also look for upcoming Austin Fora, which Richard Jackson and Whit Bodman are beginning to organize to promote dialogue on local and global issues of concern.
Other upcoming dates with CE events planned are:
August 24, 2003: Anyone interested in being involved with the elementary age Sunday School program (teachers, assistants, substitutes, special projects coordinators, or just interested) is encouraged to attend a brief meeting after the Congregational meeting following church to hear about the upcoming Sunday School year and the new curriculum.
August 31, 2003: Anyone interested in being involved with the middle school/high school age Sunday School program (teachers, assistants, substitutes, youth event coordinator, or just interested) is encouraged to attend a brief meeting after the Congregational meeting following church to hear about the upcoming Sunday School year and the new curriculum.
September 7, 2003: Sunday School kick-off breakfast at 10am. Sunday School children and youth with their families, as well as others interested and involved in Sunday School, are invited to join us for a pre-church breakfast to inaugurate the new Sunday School year with a breakfast in honor of the children.
September 14, 2003: Christian Education Sunday. If you've had a memorable or life-changing experience that you associate with a Sunday School or other Christian Education experience, project, or event; a special Sunday School teacher; Youth Group; Adult Education, or the like, please share it with the Congregation in a short statement during the service on September 14, 2003. Please let John Burlinson, Marilyn Vaché, or Robin Chapman know if you're interested in participating. We're hoping to include testimonies from people of all ages!
Look for more CE opportunities in next month's newsletter....
The members of our church have certainly taken Jesus' command. "Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" very seriously. Many of us have been far afield and have certainly seen--if not preached to--lots of creatures!
Ellen and Paul Deisler report having just visited Alaska for the first time: four days on land followed by a week-long cruise on a small vessel through the Inward Passage's amazing islands, viewing glaciers' thunderous calving among other things. Few of Alaska's major fauna went unobserved, up close, and Central Alaska's immense spaces and enormous mountains gave Ellen and Paul an appreciation of what they had heard of the magnificent state. At a different scale but also immensely enjoyable, Paul and Ellen took a group (12 in all), including all grandchildren, to Burnet on Saturday, July 19 and then, the following morning, on the 2+-hour cruse on Lake Buchanan. With a high water level in the lake, this second cruise was great fun with much to see as the group enjoyed each others' company.
Frances Alford took a fabulous three week tour through New Zealand and Australia with her best friend from high school. They saw volcanic activity, wild life, farm land, sea coast and urban life. Highlights of the trip included an 8 passenger air plane ride over Fraser Island in Australia, hearing Mozart's Requiem Mass at the Sydney Opera House, and taking a luge ride off a mountain in New Zealand.
John and Carol Burlinson went to Ft. Worth to see the current exhibit at the Kimball Art Museum, "Quest for Immortality" - about the ancient Egyptians' attitudes toward life and death. They enjoyed it and felt that it was well worth the trip.
Rizer Everett flew to Albuquerque for a reunion of sorts this past month. He enjoyed the visits with all the Everett descendents as well as the chess games with the husband of his granddaughter Kate. The joy of visiting with his great-granddaughter, Megan, was very special because he had seen her only one time since she and her family had moved to Pearl City, HI three and a half years ago. Rizer thoroughly enjoyed interacting with Megan and seeing how she is growing and changing so fast. Later in July Rizer and his friend Doris Tyler spent two hours in the Ransom Center viewing the famous Nicééphore Niéépce photograph produced in 1826, the Gutenberg Bible printed between 1450 and 1455, and many fine etchings and photographs. Rizer has also recycled some fallen tree limbs (with the help of James, a worker at Englewood Estates) into fireplace logs for when it gets cold again. He took a day trip via Old Dime Box to Huntsville to see the 75 foot statue of Sam Houston, and then several days later drove to Lubbock to view the Wind Power Center where he was given a full tour by the executive director.
Pat and Mel Oakes enjoyed a reunion with long-ago (18 years ago) members of the church, Tad and Cindy Anderson. The last time Pat had heard from them, they were in Norway. Mel was one of Tad's professors in addition to their knowing them through church. That was just for a year and they now reside in Seattle with their two sons, Clayton, 15, and Trevor, 12. They came to Texas to show the boys where they used to live--and to attend a reunion of Cindy's family in Coleman, TX. They were just in Austin for one evening, so they had a lovely evening getting caught up and enjoying visiting with their sons. Tad has just been promoted to Research Assistant Professor in the Dept. of Atmospheric Sciences, University of Washington. He studies the climatic effects of atmospheric aerosol particles. Cindy works as a substitute aide in Seattle public schools. She is primarily involved with children with various forms of disabilities.
Mary Sinclair and Dick Jackson are the proud grandparents of Nathan Jackson Bardatti, born July 2nd in Burlington, Ontario to Paul and Tania Bardatti, their daughter. They were in Vancouver when it happened on their vacation. While in British Columbia,they took the Sunshine Coast ferry for a day, went up Mt. Seymour, shopped in downtown, visited the Museum of Anthropology, and drove up the Sea-to-Sky highway to Squamish, on the road to Whistler. While they were there, the International Olympic Committee announced that Vancouver and Whistler had won the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, so there was general rejoicing in British Columbia. Says Dick," It was a grand vacation. If it wasn't for missing y'all, we would be unequivocally happy about retiring there in a few years time. " Editor's note--I hate printing bad news--stay here!
Cathy and Clark Hubbs had a really adventurous time when Clark attended his favorite scientific society( which he has belonged to since he was a boy and used to attend with his dad and mom), The American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists. About five years ago some Brazilian members issued an invitation to come down to Manaus for their 2003 meeting. They sort of said, "We should live so long" and didn't do much about it, and then suddenly, lo and behold, it was 2003, and they got to go!
Cathy reports,"Manaus is in an entirely different part of Brazil from Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. It is in the northwest jungle area close to the Amazon River, and only two percent of the land has been deforested. They are working very hard to keep it that way and create jobs which sustain the land and people. It helps a lot to have a much less dense population than the rest of the country. Right outside Manaus we visited a zoo supported by the army to provide jungle survival information to their military. It was pretty much of a 1940's type zoo with small cages for the animals, but we saw capybaras, monkeys, macaws, and jaguars. I talked to a young woman veterinarian who had volunteered for four months and was fascinated by what she was learning. A young man told me he had joined the army to get away from the poverty and violence in the south and here it was much better.
We saw two beautiful waterfalls and went by boat to witness "the meeting of the waters": the meeting of the Rio Negro, black and swollen with leaf decay at the end of the rainy season, with the lighter waters of the Amazon. We even floated through jungle under water with huge lily pads and orchids.
We were a bit shocked to learn that our flight home on VARIG Airlines had been canceled. A long-suffering, patient American woman from VARIG came out, sat all day in the lobby, and tried to make connections for all of those affected (a whole overseas planeload). Then rumors started flying. VARIG had gone bust and/or it had merged with a competitor. They had had to sell a plane, and the one they sold was our flight. They were out of cash. The woman representative herself was out of a job. They were so strapped that the pilots were even having to pay cash to refuel! We didn't mention aloud until we were picking up our baggage in Miami that we had been hoping that they were keeping on their mechanics! But all went well, and we stayed overnight at the Miami Airport hotel and had dinner and breakfast courtesy of VARIG. Later we heard that Clark's niece and her husband, also members, were delayed at Sao Paulo and were put up for THREE DAYS by VARIG. No wonder they went bust!" What an adventure!
Julia Deisler with Ava, Olivia, and Eric had a great time on their vacation. They spent 2 days in Balmorrhea swimming and relaxing. Then they went to Alpine for 2 days and spent the evenings watching the full moon rise over the desert mountains.The kids especially enjoyed all the wild life they saw (snakes, fish,lizards, road-runners, chipmunks and many different types of birds). Eric was very surprised by a scorpion one night as well. He spotted it by his friend's hand on the dining room table. No one was stung and the bug went to his maker, but the boys were certain their lives were in peril. It was very exciting!!!! Julia's friend Connie and her 2 children joined us on the trip. They all agreed it was a great vacation.
Doyal and Tommie Pinkard had a wonderful visit with their son Chris, his wife, Rizza, and son Gabriel visiting them from California for a couple of weeks in July. They kept busy with visiting and playing games, but also made several day trips -- San Antonio for one. It was Rizza's first visit to Texas, but she has one friend here. The maid of honor at her and Chris's wedding -- in the Philippines -- is living in Austin right now, and seeing her and her husband was a joyful occasion for Rizza.
Weldon and Marie Scheel are doing well these days although they stay pretty close to home. Weldon's garden is limited to a few tomato plants, but they have the benefit of someone else's gardening bounty. Inveterate gardener and Pastor Emeritus John Towery visits them every week or so and brings all kinds of wonderful veggies with him when he comes. They did have a wonderful lunch at Luby's with Janna Rehbein. Janna is from Germany and has been visiting us very often this year. Vic Appel, champion networker, had found out that Janna's mother was from Finland as is Marie's family and arranged for the 4 of them to get together. Marie and Janna were both surprised to find out that Janna's aunt lives in the same town where Marie's family came from. They are both hoping that Janna will be able to connect with her aunt when she goes back home in the fall.
Sara Ross chronicled their trip. She says,"We started out on a very rainy June 5, running into blinding rain just in time for the noon rush hour in Dallas. The rain continued as we headed north through AK, ILL and MI. We visited brother Dan and sister Deb, one aunt and 2 cousins. From there we crossed into Canada camping just outside of Toronto then back into the New York at Thousand Islands. It was at this point we discovered the bane of the entire trip-- black flies. We are sure we will not go to the North country during the black fly season again! From there we went on through Vermont and NH to Maine where we saw sister Susan perform with the Bangor symphony. The following day we went with Susan, her husband Fred and sister Caroline in a time-share in western Mass near the White Mountains. Susan drove us up nearby Mount Washington in her car because they would not let us go up in the van. Good thing, since we had two bad tires that went in the next week! We went up through Maine to NB, climbed Mt. Carleton, the highest point in the Maritimes, then clockwise around the coast of NB, visiting an interesting reconstructed Arcadian village with cottages from all periods of Arcadian history. All the conversations we heard in the first 2 weeks of our vacation were in French, and it wasn't until we got into the southern parts of Nova Scotia and NB that we heard any English that was not directed to us. We stayed two nights at Fundy National Park, did a short hike there, then went on to Hopewell rocks, missed the tidal bore at Moncton, and on to PEI by way of the bridge. We stayed there three nights and took numerous pictures of lupines and lighthouses. Then took the ferry to Nova Scotia and went up into Cape Breton Islands. That was the most scenic part of the whole trip. We camped on a cliff above the shore, and a mother moose and twins visited the campground and caused quite a stir. We wanted to hike the Skyline Trail, but it was fogged in so we went on to Meat Cove. What a view! Lucky for us, it cleared up and we could hike to a hill overlooking the campground and the surrounding cliffs, and--we had the most scenic campsite in all our years of camping. We visited a small museum in Glace where Marconi made his first trans-Atlantic broadcast and the fortress at Louisburg. The fortress was the most interesting of all the historic sites that we visited. It was reconstructed from plans that had been saved in France until modern times. When the coal and steel mines closed there in the sixties, the Canadian government had a big WPA type project to give them work. From about 1960 through 1980, about a fifth of the original village was restored in accordance with archeological evidence and extensive historical records saved in France.
It was at this point that we were going south through Sydney to visit Lunenberg when we were involved in an accident. We were going along a narrow 2 lane road when we came over a small rise and saw a car in front of us approaching two pieces of sod in the road. The car ran over the first piece which got caught up under his car. He thought the second one was a stump and stopped dead ,without warning, in the middle of the road. Dave swerved to avoid him, but caught the rear of his car with the right front of our car. His car spun around and went over a bank with about a 45 degree slope. Dave was really relieved when he emerged unhurt. However, his car was totaled. He was a local, and his two brothers were the president of the local GM dealership and manager of its body-shop. They got a tow truck driver that they worked with to tow the cars back to town, and arranged to get our van restored to a road-worthy condition and on the road in four days. This kind of took the fun out of things, so we cancelled our plans to go to other places in Nova Scotia, but did get to Campobello, where we camped, picked up rocks on the beach and visited the Roosevelt summer home. Then went back to Susie's, down to North Carolina to visit Dave's nephew David C. Ross, to Aiken, SC, to visit Dave's brother Chuck and wife Joyce. Got home at 9:00 Saturday July 19.....Whew." What a trip, you two! We are so glad that you are OK.
You haven't seen Fran and Rambie Briggs lately because they've been enjoying the cooler climes of Maine and Cape Cod but have returned just in time for the very hot days of an Austin summer. They have also enjoyed the visit of granddaughter Margit from August 6-16.
Pat and Mel Oakes had a wonderful 2 weeks of vacation which included a week long stay at the Winter/Brown family reunion (54 of Pat's relatives including Beth, Eugene, Emily, Ethan, Sarah, and Mardie) at Coolfont Resort in West Virginia, a wonderful place recommended by the Deislers. At the end of the reunion, Pat and Mel and her sister Nancy and husband Doug drove 3 hours to Lancaster, PA, where Doug is at Lancaster Seminary. They had a lovely lunch with former members Rollin and Betsy Russell who send their best to one and all. Rollin has retired from the seminary and they will be building a new house in the Raleigh, NC, area and moving there when they sell their house in Lancaster. After Lancaster, the four went on for two somber and amazing days touring the Gettysburg battlefield and then to Washington, D.C., for more sightseeing. Two special highlights in Washington were seeing Dorothy's ruby slippers at the Smithsonian and touring the Library of Congress.
Earl Cornwell, church violinist for many, many years, will celebrate his 90th birthday on September 19. For those of you who remember Earl, take a few minutes and send him a card or give him a call. His address is 85 Trinity Street, Austin, TX, 78701, and his phone number is 477-8358.
We recently got a note from Ida Little. She reports that she is still living in Emmanuel Lakeside in Omaha, Nebraska. Occasionally she teaches a dance or two, but reports that her students are too busy "running around to see the sights, playing bridge, celebrating their 60th anniversaries or taking care of great grandchildren" to have the time for dancing. She also thanks the congregation for all the love you sent her and hers while they were in Austin. Pictures are available for viewing on the bulletin board in the fellowship hall.
Women's Book Club
Selections coming up:
September: Rose Tremain, The Way I Found Her
October: Margaret Atwood, Handmaid's Tale
November: Wallace Stegner, Angle of Repose
December: Sue Monk Kidd, The Secret Life of Bees
January: Leif Enger, Peace Like a River
FROM FUN & FELLOWSHIP
Mark your calendars now for Sunday, September 14! We'll be celebrating Diez Y Seis (or Dieciseis) with our annual Tex-Mex Potluck after worship. During dessert, Enid Ross will lead the second program in the series on "Healing Relationships." A double treat for all who join us!
Please sign up on the easel in the Fellowship Room. For questions or suggestions, call Suzanne VanderPoel (789-8551) or Lynne Lemley (336-1720.)
SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
4 Weldon B. Scheel
7 Marilyn Pickens
8 Ava Jean Deisler
9 Alessandra Herrera
10 Tamya Isenberg
Bill Phillips
13 Seth Murphy
Chris Pinkard
15 Steven Miles
20 Earl Cornwell
21 Ellen Deisler
22 Larbi Sennour
24 Allison Cole Stutz
Mary Halladay
27 Rambie Briggs
The inaugural season of the Austin Forum is planned and underway. The Austin Forum is a program designed to promote thinking about issues local, national, international and transcendent. Every second Monday of the month, there will be an evening encounter with someone knowledgeable about a particular subject, seeking to fathom the foundational issues that can frame our own thinking. Beginning at 7:30 pm at the Congregational Church, the program will begin with a formal interview, then continue with questions from the audience. The Austin Forum is open to all people, and will be advertised through AAIM and the Micah 6 churches, as well as to the whole Austin community.
This fall, we will be exploring four issues:
Monday, September 8th -- Fred Butler, Executive Director of the Community Action Network in Austin
Issue: Poverty -- how can we think productively about the issue of poverty, without retreating to hopelessness?
Monday, October 13th -- Paul Woodruff, Prof. of Philosophy, UT, author of ""Reverence""
Issue: You suggest reverence as an essential virtue for a civil society. Why? How do we achieve it? What have we lost without it?
Monday, November 10th -- Frank Warner, Prof. of Public Policy, LBJ School, UT
Issue: Health Care -- Why is it so difficult to solve the health care crisis, or is there a health care crisis?
Monday, December 8th -- Naim Ateek, Director of the Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center, Jerusalem
Issue: Israel and Palestine -- Is this a historical hatred without resolution? Is there hope? Is there a plan?
We invite you to subscribe to the series. Though there is no cost for the series (voluntary donations will be encouraged though), subscribers will receive a packet of 15-20 pages of reading material ahead of time to ""prime the pump."" These readings will be selected in consultation with our guest. Subscription for the fall is $15.00.
Breaking Ground on a New Outreach Effort
While some of you might not be aware of this, for the past 20 years there has been a nation-wide NEIGHBORHOOD NIGHT OUT celebration. Throughout the country residents of neighborhoods have gotten together to deepen acquaintances to discuss matters of concern, and especially to become familiar with available community resources to fight crime. As far as we could determine, this was the first time our neighborhood had decided to participate in this event.
Under the sponsorship of the University Area Partners of which our church is a member, our church volunteered to be this year's host for this expanded "block party." This is consistent with our church's current intent to expand it's outreach efforts in the community.
Our front lawn and patio served as an ideal locale. Participants enjoyed ice cold watermelon, Subway sandwiches, soft drinks and bottled water, all donated by local businesses. University Area Commander Piatt and SPO Sullivan attended representing APD. They answered questions about steps to take in the event of burglaries, graffiti and community safety issues. The heterogeneous group of approximately 40 attendees represented a cross-section of residents, church members, business employees and Renaissance Market representatives. The coordinating council were the official hosts of the affair.
To Everyone Starting Back to School
Rabbi Ben Hei Hei said:
We are here to do.
And through doing to learn;
and through learning to know;
and through knowing to experience wonder;
and through wonder to attain wisdom;
and through wisdom to find simplicity;
and through simplicity to give attention;
and through attention to see what needs to be done....
Pirke Avot 5:27
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