THE VISITOR

The Congregational Church of Austin, UCC
United Church of Christ

408 W. 23rd Street, Austin, TX 78705-5214 (512)472-2370
Fax: (512)472-1175   e-mail: ucausti@SWBell.net
http://congregational.faithweb.com

Rev. Thomas J. VandeStadt, Pastor (on Sabbatical)
Rev. Frank H. Dietz, Interm Pastor

Rev. John Towery, Pastor Emeritus

frankly speaking....

     About a year and a half ago Karen and I were the fortunate UCC guests in Germany of the Baden region of the newly created (merged or "smerged" depending upon those with whom one was speaking!) Evangelical United Church (EUK now from older and smaller EKU with whom we have had a productive relationship that spanned the iron curtain days nearly the entire life of our UCC). One of my own personal awesome moments was in the Melanchthon House (a museum and chapel now) where many of the original writings are housed. I had spent an earlier time becoming a bit scholarly in an exploratory excursion into the life and themes of Philip Melanchthon. I had been wowed that among Melanchthon's disciples were Zacharias Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus who were exceedingly and creatively productive at a very early age. The strikingly young twenty-eight and twenty-six years old, respectively, served as young faculty at Heidelberg and Olevianus as distinguished and celebrated preacher nearby. Suddenly I found myself seated in the chapel, absorbed and marveling at the statue of the scholarly pastor Melanchthon as both Luther and Calvin were positioned to give the master their undivided and rapt attention. I surmise the artist/sculptor had a sense of humor! (My concerned spouse and colleagues thought maybe I was having a "health issue" requiring me to sit and become pensive!)
     Seriously, Melanchthon's work, with the diligence of his disciples, led to the publication of the Heidelberg Catechism. It, along with the Evangelical Catechism, has had widespread use in many local UCC congregations. Further deepening my own interest was Melanchthon's penchant for trying to bring people across bridges of theological and cultural divides in a deep taproot of our UCC's ecumenism. Remember, we are a "united and uniting" church. The implications and impact of those early Reformer's efforts have payoff in the way we "do" church (practice a form of ecclesiology) today.
     For those present 16 August, you might smile when I lift up as significant for me and for what I think the church (Congregational UCC of Austin, our UCC and the whole Body of Christ) are called to today! Roughly and freely translated with help, the response to the first question of the Heidelberg Catechism reads: "That I belong...in life and in death---not to myself but to my faithful Savior, Jesus, (the) Christ!" It then concludes several sentences later "Therefore, by (God's) Holy Spirit, I am assured of eternal life and made wholeheartedly willing and ready from now on to live for (Christ)!"
     Karen and I enjoyed our first Sunday with you in the sabbatical journey! We'll focus on wholeheartedly living for Christ as we tap our spiritual wellsprings in texts and dialogue to make ready for expressions of faith and faithfulness with you. Let's pledge to one another to have fun in the process and discover a "new thing or two" as God in her good humor plays with us! We look forward to the journey, . . . !!!

fhd

p.s. Several asked for a copy of the Tagore quote after service:
I SLEPT and dreamt that life was all joy.
I AWOKE and saw that life was but service.
I SERVED and understood that service was joy.

p.p.s. You can reach me/us at home at 830-626-6833 or cell 830 515-8260 or through Trish or Greg Futch (facilitator for the sabbatical support team) or through the internet which I'll check most days: fkpdietz@yahoo.com. Yes, feel free to connect, for, that's what being church together is all about! I'll be in Austin at least a couple of times per week in addition to Sundays and as needed. Do not hesitate when the need arises!

Chairs of our Boards
Trustees:              Jaime Hadley & Rhys Ulerich
Deacons:              Barbara Burnham
Christian Outreach: Reuel Nash
Moderator:           John Goff

PERSONALS
by Pat Oakes
      It was a sad day for the congregation on August 16--Robin Rosson's last Sunday (for a while) with us. After seven years as our amazing cellist, he is heading to North Texas State University in Denton to finish his degree in history with a minor in Latin. Nodie Murphy did a wonderful presentation during the service and Robin was honored at coffee hour and presented with a generous gift certificate to Kroger's in Denton. Robin's mom, Barbara Burnham, was in attendance, but Robin's dad, Chester Rosson, was not able to attend as his mother was taken ill the day before and he had to stay with her in Crockett. Chester had planned to help Robin with his move, but that was up in the air as of the 16th. Good luck, Robin--and come and see us soon!
     The 16th was also a day of another transition for the congregation. We welcomed interim pastor Frank Dietz and his wife Karen. We are looking forward to getting acquainted with him and his wife Karen in the next three months while pastor Tom VandeStadt is on sabbatical.
     Doyal and Tommie Pinkard are back from Callaway Gardens, where they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary with a family reunion. Relatives turned up from California to New York, North Carolina and Georgia. Callaway Gardens is an environmental beauty, in north Georgia, established by a foundation set up by the Callaway family. Special acres are reserved for flower gardens, experimental horticulture, vegetables for the several restaurants in the gardens, a butterfly enclosure, a lake with a large beach, hotels and a conference center, hiking and bicycling trails, and just a wonderful place to spend a few days. Family news: Grandson Gabriel (almost 13) has matured surprisingly since last they saw him; granddaughter Kiana (almost 5) shows off her ballet facility whenever prodded, and son David has grown a mustache and goatee. Very distinguished!
     The intrepid Drachenbergs, John and Lois, have decided, after much thought, to relocate in the Orlando area near John's daughter. They have been in Bastrop near Lois's daughter for 7 years--and commuting to our church (a 70 mile round trip), but have decided that they would prefer to live in a more urban setting. They will be leaving on October first. Take the time to give them big hugs and wish them well as they set out on this new adventure. Earlier in the summer they drove to and from upstate New York to attend John's 65th high school reunion!
     Nodie Murphy arrived in San Antonio early for the Texas Choral Directors' Association Convention so that she could visit our former church pianist Aaron Carter-Cohn and girl-friend Julie before the meeting. She's had a standing invitation for two years, so Nodie decided she was overdue. Their house is simple but very nice; Aaron has learned how to do home improvements and has made an arched window between the kitchen and the living area. He has set up a well-equipped music studio in his attached garage. He likes to cook and made some great treats for a snack. He has built a large spice rack for the kitchen. He has finished his Masters in Composition at Texas State (he showed Nodie his thesis) and has given five papers this year, one as far away as Estonia! (He said he applied to five places expecting to get one and all five wanted him--all expenses paid!) He is in the midst of his Masters in Directing at UT-San Antonio and plans to get his Doctorate in Theory elsewhere and teach. Nodie visited the church where he is music director and he played a Bach piece for her on the organ (he's learning how to play the organ now). Julie, a school teacher, has been transferred to another school, so they may move to another location in San Antonio. In August Nodie and Dennis drove to the midwest and had whirlwind visits to several places, first to her aunt and uncle in Conway Springs, outside of Wichita, Kansas, then a side trip to Highland, Illinois, to see the former editor of one of the newsletters Dennis published. (She is staying in a very nice retirement community sponsored by a UCC church there.) Then they went back to Wichita for a family reunion (all the descendants of the aforementioned aunt and uncle, plus those of another aunt, so 26 in all, with 6 under the age of 4). Next they went to Topeka to meet a cousin on her father's side whom Nodie had last seen when the cousin was 1 year old. (Much of this trip was so satisfy Dennis' desire to complete the entries on Nodie's family tree!) They finished up by stopping by the vacation cabin of some friends of theirs near Denton, Texas, which is how they came to purchase the Kroger grocery gift card for Robin.
     Ben White's cousin Debbie Russell is president of the Central Texas American Civil Liberties' Union. At Texas ACLU's annual meeting on August 1, Debbie was recognized "Activist of the Year" for her work highlighting civil rights violations, especially as regards taser use by the police in 2008. Her mother, Jane Russell of Richmond, her father Dick Russell of Corpus Christi, and sister Lisa Roper of Katy were all here to join the celebration, along with Ben and local friends.
     Many thanks to Comfort Tysen, a member of our congregation, who collected and donated, on behalf of the Congregational Church of Austin, over 500 pounds of food and made a cash donation to the Micah 6 Food Pantry. Comfort has also been very active in organizing support groups in favor of health care reform. Keep up the good work, Comfort!!
     Greg Futch had the best birthday ever--his 60th--in May when he spent 4 days with his son Matthew hiking in southern Utah. They stayed in Kanab, Utah, and hiked the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. They had a wonderful time enjoying the spectacular scenery. Matthew lives in Denver and works for the Governor's Energy Office promoting alternative energy usage with utilities in the state.
     The late Clark Hubb's idea for converting his lifetime T-shirt collection into a travel-fund source for student attendance at his beloved American Society of Ichthyologists and Herpetologists became a reality in July beyond any of the family's wildest dreams. Son John came down to Austin in June, and he and Cathy, with more than a little help from their friends, filled and shipped fourteen big FedEx boxes to Oregon. There at the Hilton in Portland, they displayed them all on racks just beyond the student poster displays, side by side with the graduate library book raffle. There followed a memorial dinner, the slide show put together and presented by Ann with help from Laura and John. A couple from Illinois, Marlis and Michael Douglas, took back batches of shirts to start an effort in Illinois, and all told, including an auction finale, the society raised $10,000 to make the Clark Hubbs Travel Fund a permanent part of the organization. What a great idea Clark had--and how wonderful that his family made it happen for him.
     Nancy Edison went on her first Elderhostel trip August 2nd - 9th to Glacier National Park and loved every minute of it! Coming from Texas, the order of the first day was to take the moderate level hike to be sure to adjust to the altitude. With no difficulties suffered that first day, freedom reigned! Not wanting to miss a thing, the more difficult hikes were chosen: to icy lakes, to waterfalls, to mountain goats, and the most beautiful scenery. Engulfed in beauty, shared with new friends, Wow! Their accommodations the 3 middle days of the trip were at Many Glacier Lodge, a dream come true. Wow again!
     Congratulations to Hannah Norton who finished her Master's in Information Studies at the University of Texas in August. As her final project this summer, she worked with a librarian at UT's Life Sciences Library to create an online library instruction tutorial for an undergraduate biology course. The tutorial includes modules on: Scholarly Articles and Popular Articles, Research Articles and Review Articles, Keywords & Controlled Vocabulary, Boolean Operators and Search Strategies, and Searching in PubMed. She'll be staying in Austin, at least for now, while she searches for a full-time job in an academic library. Good luck in the job search, Hannah, but we are glad you are still here--especially in the choir!
     Marilyn Vaché took her daughter Olivia, an incoming freshman, off to Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville New York, near New York City. Have a great year, Olivia! It is going to be an adjustment for Marilyn and husband Graylin having Olivia so far away. Marilyn ran a small but lively (!) meeting on home funerals after church on Sunday, Aug. 9. For more information on materials, etc., give Marilyn a call.
     Matt Blackstock reports that his wife Mary broke her wrist in mid-July. She has now removed her velcro splint and is enjoying being able to use that hand; Matt notes that it was 6 weeks of crosstraining and thinks that maybe they're the bettter for it.
     If you have been missing seeing Florence Castle at church on Sunday mornings, she has a good reason. She is playing the piano for the South Austin Christian Church on West Annie. Florence, who plays the piano every Wednesday at the South Austin Senior Center on Manchaca, was approached by someone who comes each week and asked if she would like to play for the Sunday services at her church. Florence admits to acting on an impulse--but also admits she has missed playing for services--and she says, "I forgot I was old!" We are missing her, but know that the small congregation will enjoy and appreciate her wonderful playing--and she is still keeping involved with our women's book club. Not bad for 93!!
     In late August, Norma Hawes and Steve Domingue returned from a 2-week trip to the Pacific Northwest via San Francisco, Sonoma Valley, and did the entire Oregon coast. They ended with a 3 day stay in the San Juan Islands. While in San Francisco, they went to the Museum of Modern Art where they saw an exhibit featuring the work of Richard Avedon and a special exhibit of works by Georgia O'Keefe and Ansel Adams. The Museum of Asian Art featured artifacts from every Asian region you can imagine, and took almost an entire day to cover. In Sonoma Valley, they did a day of wine tasting, then headed for the northern California coast. It doesn't look far on the map, but Highway 1 was one curve after another, so it took longer than expected to actually reach the Oregon coast. The drive was one breathtaking ocean view after another. They only stopped to get in some good coastal hikes along the way. After Oregon, they headed for the San Juan Islands and stayed with some friends of a friend in Friday Harbor. They spent 2 days on San Juan Island, hiking through some spectacular scenery and whale watching from the beaches. They never saw a whale the entire trip. They also spent a day on Orcas Island hiking in the Moran State Park. They report that the weather was gorgeous, and COOL, the entire time. As of the week before school started, they were trying to come back down to reality.
     Beth Oakes and the Maia Quartet will be performing here in Austin with Michelle Schumann in early September under the auspices of the Austin Chamber Music Center. The first concert is a house concert on Friday, September 11 ($45.00/person) and a larger venue on Saturday, September 12, ($25.00/person) at the Unitarian Church. For more information on the program and locations, call Pat or check out the ACMC Web site at http://www.austinchambermusic.org. Pat and Mel had a marvelous time with Beth and grandchildren, Emily and Ethan, at Interlochen, Michigan, where the quartet was working in mid-July. Daughter Sarah was nanny for the first week, she overlapped with Pat and Mel, and they held down the fort for the second week. The highlight of the week was Grampa teaching the children to fish (everything from buying the $2.99 poles from China, digging the worms, learning how to sit in a canoe, and actually catching some fish--no keepers!). By the end of the week, Emily was happily working her own hooks! Pat and Mel also enjoyed the cool weather in Michigan.
     Former members, Herb and Nancy Pickett who lived in La Cañada, California, for a number of years after leaving Austin have moved to Rollinsford New Hampshire, to be closer to family. Herb has retired from JPL in Pasadena, but he is trying to update his molecular spectroscopy program, so keeps busy on the computer. Son Tim, his wife Mary, and Claire (7 yrs.) and Luke (3 yrs.) visited them from Arizona in early August. Tim is still flying 737s for US Airways. Nancy keeps busy with their grandchildren who live in nearby Dover,
     Say hello to Christie Wardle who has been worshipping with us recently. She lives in Georgetown where she is caring for her aging father. She was quite surprised to find that she knew two members of the congregation, Betty and Whit Bodman, when she came--through their connections to Wrentham, MA, and the church where Whit served. She also knows a number of Pat Oakes' family members as the Original Congregational Church in Wrentham is where her family has worshipped for more than 100 years.
     Marilyn Gaddis and George Carruthers flew to Lima, Peru, on May 16th with the Texas State Fine Arts Travel Group for a twelve day South American Odyssey experience. They stayed in Miraflores, a suburb of Lima, and visited points of interest in Lima before flying to Cuzco (11,000 ft.). The itinerary changed due to a two day railroad engineers strike and a pending two day strike by farmers over the government's plan to tax irrigation water. The next day, the farmers had blockaded all the roads and they had to walk four miles to their horseback riding excursion to view the Maras Moray Salt Mines. While on the walk back to the hotel, they encountered more barricades - burning oil and tires! The following day, roads were clear and trains were running. The bus was able to take them to Poroy Station for an early train to Aguas Calientes and a bus ride up to the Machu Picchu Ruins entrance (7,000 ft.). After a heart pounding, breathless climb; they reached the top and looked down on the ruins--amazing. The next morning, 16 of the group flew to Iquitos for a fifty mile boat ride down the Amazon River for three nights at the Explorama Lodge. Since the river was still at flood stage, most of the excursions were by small boat. Their guides took them fishing to catch piranha, but all they caught were pacus, their cousins. The cook fried them and they ate them at lunch. On the last morning, the group visited the area's elementary school and the children sang for them. The Texas group sang "The Eyes of Texas" for the students. Marilyn flew to Colorado Springs on June 3rd to attend her great-nephew's wedding and a mini-reunion of her late husband's family. On June 9th, Marilyn and George flew to Omaha and then went by car to a five day Elderhostel in Clarinda, Iowa. The program featured Iowa agriculture and the Glenn Miller Festival. Miller was born in Clarinda and lived there until he was three years old. The town has staged a festival for thirty-four years honoring him and his music. The only disappointment was that the Little Cherries Band from Kagoshima, Japan, was not able to travel to the U.S. due to the swine flu threat. Part of the program was a presentation by the nine young instrumental and ten young vocal Glenn Miller Birthplace Society Scholarship competition winners. Three were selected from each group for the big money! Next year the Glenn Miller Museum, by his home, should be open. A great Elderhostel! Marilyn played string bass for a number of years in various dance bands that had featured Glenn Miller music. She was finally able to attend the Festival!
     Michael Adams and wife Kerry Manning are looking forward to seeing much more of their two grandsons, Philip and Stephen, and son Jamie and his wife when they get moved to Round Rock--where Jamie and his family are located. They were to sign the lease in early August and planned to move gradually over the next month, and also clean and paint and do whatever repairs they could to their old house in South Austin and probably rent it out, since it's a bad time for selling. Daughter Julia finished eighth grade at City School in May, and started Brentwood High School the nineteenth of August. Kerry's IRS furlough started the seventeenth of July. Congratulations to Jamie who got his BS in Computer Science from Western Governors' University in June.
     You may have noticed that our stellar child-care provider, Melissa McFerrin, is sporting a new, shorter hairstyle. She donated 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love, a public, non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children. We celebrated three years with Melissa in early August. Thanks for all your good work with our children, Melissa!


SEPTEMBER BIRTHDAYS
  7 Marilyn Pickens
  8 Ava Jean Deisler
  9 Alessandra Herrera
10 Tamya Isenberg
    Bill Phillips
13 Seth Murphy
    Chris Pinkard
21 Ellen Deisler
    Reuel Nash
22 Larbi Sennour
    Giovanni Fracasso
    Stella Fracasso
24 Allison Cole Stutz
    Mary Halladay
27 Rambie Briggs
-----------------------------------
     Setsuko Kaneda, wife of our former pastor Yoshi Kaneda, broke two of her ankle bones at a church retreat camp site on June 6. She was slowly recovering from that injury when, 20 days later, she suffered a stroke and an aneurysm on June 26. They have been through some trials and tribulations this summer, but are making progress. They are fortunate to have family nearby. Their address is 5639 Sprinter Lane, Bonita, CA 91902--2814

Dear Members of the Congregational Church,
     Setsuko and I really really appreciate your prayers, concerns, support and care expressed by your cards and e-mails!!! Her recovery is progressing very well. On August 6, her orthopedic doctor gave permission to put some weight on her injured leg to walk with a two wheels walker. Her physical and occupational therapists have trained and assisted her to get back to her normal daily activities with efficiency and professionalism. Yes, she is now able to walk around inside house with the walker and she is delighted. She has learned how to dress and bathe with a minimum of help. Although she still uses the wheelchair most of the time, she has become much more independent.
     "Don't commit harakiri!" said my daughter to me at the initial stage when I lacked enough sleep and rest to care for her 24 hours. I was exhausted and stressed out then. Now, I can sleep all night through and get up refreshed. I have developed the "house wife's skills" to get all necessary tasks done with ease and speed. Yes, I am much relaxed.
     You have shared with us your encouragement and support from your own life's experiences. You have shared freely with us your joys and concerns, your life's celebration, your family situations, your personal experiences of caring for the loved ones and your sincere prayers and care for us. To all this we are most grateful. You have remarkably "connected" us to the wonderful church life we've shared as if the last ten years passed away in a flash. To this we are most appreciative.
     Setsuko tries to sing some hymns and songs within the right pitch, but she knows she cannot keep up to the right tune always. That discourages her at times, yet we hope she can recover her singing talent later as her hemorrhage on the brain gradually dissipates. Other than that, I cannot think of any after-effect of her stroke. She has been VERY lucky and she is well on the way to a full recovery.

     We THANK YOU so much!!!
          In Christ,
               Yoshi and Setsuko Kaneda

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BRAZOS ASSOCIATION NEWS
     Our Brazos Association Secretary, Kay Finch, resigned this summer due to work commitments. We appreciate her service, but now we need a new Association Secretary. Duties include taking minutes at our quarterly Executive Board meetings and at our twice yearly Association meetings, as well as a limited amount of correspondence and record keeping. Benefits include good fellowship among dedicated church members, an opportunity to learn about our great churches, and lots of appreciation. The Executive Board meets on Saturday mornings, usually either at St. John's in Burton or at St. Peter's in Coupland, the Fall Association Meeting is normally scheduled in October on a Saturday morning, and the Spring Meeting is normally scheduled in April on a Sunday afternoon. The Association meeting locations rotate among our churches. Churches send representatives to these gatherings, so people often carpool. If you would like to volunteer to serve, contact Liz Nash (contact info. below) or our Association Moderator, Wes Davenport at wesdaven@industryinet.com .
     The women of our Association have a wonderful opportunity to attend the UCC Southern Regional Women's Meeting, which will be held at the Heartland Country Inn near Brenham October 16-18. The registration deadline is Sept. 16, and registration with the late fee will be accepted from Sept. 17-30. Rev. Jo Hudson will be the keynote speaker, and there will be workshops covering a broad range of interests. This event has been held in North Carolina the last two times: we are blessed that is will be close to home this year. Most of our churches have registration materials, but if you need the forms, contact Liz Nash (see contact info. below).
     All are invited to our Brazos Association Fall Meeting, to be held at Evangelical UCC in Lyons on Saturday morning, October 24th, 10 am until after lunch. We will have two students and a professor from Eden Theological Seminary with us to share about their seminary education and learn about us. We have a chance to show them what great people are in our churches! Plan to join us.
     Blessings in Christ,
          Liz Nash, lizknash@gmail.com/512-231-0045
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 October VISITOR -- September 15