Join us as we begin our Lenten journey! The evening Ash Wednesday service will take place at 7pm in the Sanctuary and will include readings, contemplative music, holy communion, and imposition of ashes. Also, Pastor Earl will be in the courtyard at 6:45 for anyone who wants to come and participate in the burning of last year's palm branches.

The scripture lesson is The Parable of the Wedding Banquet in Luke 14:15-24. We begin Ash Wednesday with an open invitation. Instead of inviting people to focus internally on fasting and self-deprivation during Lent, this parable invites us into a communal feast. As guests are gathered in, the miracle is that there is still room. There is more love and abundance available, if only we are present to accept it.

We will also have a mid-day service, with lunch, for those who are looking to come during the lunch hour.

The noon Ash Wednesday service will take place in the Chapel on Feb. 18. This mid-day service will include imposition of ashes, readings, and Taizé music. Plan to stay after worship for lunch in the courtyard with our campus ministry students and a time of fellowship.

Please Note: there will be gathering music shared from noon until about 12:15 to allow those working to travel in time for the service.

We will also hold an evening service featuring communion and burning of the ashes.

February 15th is the annual Austin Marathon.  Since the route runs right down Guadalupe we will all need to plan a little additional time for travel. 

As always, you can try using Google Maps, Apple Maps or Waze. However, sometimes those applications don't work as well on these type of occasions. We’ve put together some handy tips for getting to church this Sunday!

Planned and led by our Queer Council, this week in worship we celebrate UUMC's anniversary of our affiliation with the Reconciling Ministries Network. We’ll welcome Rev. Dr. Adama Brown as our guest preacher.

Meet Rev. Dr. Adama Brown

The Rev. Dr. Adama Brown currently serves as the Director of Impact and Grants at the United Methodist Foundation of New England, where she brings more than twenty years of experience in research, data, and evaluation to the Foundation. Prior to joining the Foundation, Adama directed research and data work at United Way of Rhode Island, where she utilized quantitative and qualitative analysis to better understand and reimagine social impact. Adama is particularly interested in the ways that data and narrative inform philanthropic work and can serve as a catalyst for change.

Adama has served in social justice ministries at the district and conference levels of the United Methodist Church. From 2015 to 2017, she served on the Amos Commission, the social justice arm of the Capital District of the Rio Texas Annual Conference, where she secured grant funding for Undoing Racism work. Beginning in 2010, The Rev. Dr. Brown became involved in the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN), where she served as a board member and became a reconciling church consultant, helping churches, including her home church, First UMC of Austin, in their discernment to become a reconciling congregation. From 2019 to 2021, Adama co-chaired the Open Spirit Task Force, designed to facilitate discussion about whether or how the NEAC would engage or create new expressions of Methodism. Since 2019, Adama has been a member of the New England Annual Conference Commission on Religion and Race, where she has co-created anti-racism curriculum and co-facilitated anti-racism training for NEAC clergy.

Adama is a sociologist by training and earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin and a PhD in sociology from Iowa State University with an emphasis on mental health, research methods, statistics, and social policy. She also earned an MDiv from Iliff School of Theology with a specialization in pastoral counseling and spiritual care. Ordained in the New England Annual Conference, The Rev. Dr. Brown is a Deacon in Full Connection and the Deacon in Residence at Arnold Mills UMC in Cumberland, Rhode Island.

In her spare time, Adama is passionate about genealogy, jazz, justice, and joy.

Join us for MLK Sunday as we remember the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. and re-commit to our ongoing anti-racism work.

On January 11 we remember the Baptism of Jesus and we will be invited to participate in a renewal of baptism ritual.

On Epiphany Sunday we remember the star the Magi followed to worship Jesus. You are invited to bring stocking caps and gloves for our Open Door guests. We will celebrate holy communion and all will be invited to take home a "star word" to use in prayer practices.

3:00 pm - Family-Friendly Service *NEW TIME*

Designed by Children’s Director Jillian Moore and Senior Pastor Teresa Welborn. This service will help tell the Christmas story to the youngest members of our community. We’ll also share in Holy Communion and sing some of our favorite carols.

5:30 pm - Traditional Service

A traditional Christmas Eve celebration with a brief homily by Senior Pastor Teresa Welborn, Christmas carols, special music by the Sanctuary Choir, communion and candlelight.

10:30 pm - Traditional Service

A traditional Christmas Eve celebration with a brief homily by Senior Pastor Teresa Welborn, Christmas carols, special music by the Sanctuary Choir, communion and candlelight.

Things you need to know for Sanctuary Services

Parking

All our usual parking will be available–the Platinum Parking Lot and the San Antonio Garage (see the Front Office for Parking Validation). There is limited parking available in the church parking lot on 25th, reserved for guests and those who might have some difficulty with the extra walking. If you are safely able to park in the platinum lot or San Antonio Garage, please consider doing so.

Doors

The South Sanctuary Doors and Education Building Doors will be open 30 minutes prior to the start of each service. If you arrive after the service has started, the best way to enter will be through the South Sanctuary Doors on 24th Street.

Join us for our annual Lessons and Carols service! The choir and congregation will join together to sing carols alongside choral compositions, interspersed with the traditional Lessons & Carols readings. Let's sing the songs of the season together!

We will only have one Lessons and Carols service this year. In the evening we be joined by University Christian Church and Trinity Church of Austin for a Festival of Carols to close our Musical Christmas Market Let's sing the songs of the season together!

Join us for worship as we welcome Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey to the pulpit! Bishop Harvey is the presiding bishop for both the Río Texas and Texas annual conferences. We are a part of the Río Texas Conference and the Texas Conference includes the Houston area. She previously served the Louisiana Annual Conference for ten years beginning in 2012. She was consecrated as bishop after leading UMCOR as Deputy General Secretary from 2010-2012.

Music this week will be led by our talented Youth Musicians! Come support them as they share their skills with our community.

Have a youth you think would enjoy participating? Contact AV, our music director, at av@uumc.org!

The UUMC Choir and friends present "Eternal Light: A Requiem" by Howard Goodall. Alongside the traditional Latin & Greek text of the Mass for the dead, Goodall places hopeful and comforting English poetry from the last 500 years. This creates a beautiful juxtaposition of ancient sacred texts- "Kyrie Eleison, Christe Eleison" (Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy) with English reassurances- "Close now thine eyes and rest secure, thy soul is safe enough, thy body sure." Many of the english sections are brought to us in solos by our congregations Choral Section Leaders: Andres Ojeda, George Sani, Annisha Mackenzie, and Cami Everitt. The accompaniment of this work will include local Austin harpist Shana Norton, and a chamber string ensemble.

UUMC's Sunday Schools will be introduced during the worship service, and we will get to know more about their exciting and meaningful programs and people. Following worship, you can also meet people from each Sunday School in the courtyard to engage in conversation and sign up for the Sunday School that interests you.

Questions? Contact Pastor Earl at PastorEarl@uumc.org!

Join us for a children-led, children-friendly worship service! This is our first family Sunday of the year so we will have tween Sunday School, Wesley choir performance, presentation of 2nd grade bibles and more. We can't wait to see you!

Questions? Contact Jillian!

Join us for Back to School Sunday! There’s something for everyone.

Parents, children and youth will all meet in the chapel at 9:45 (don’t forget backpacks to be blessed in service). We’ll send children and youth to Sunday School classes and Natasha and Jillian will hold a parent meeting with tacos and coffee.

Stay for Ice Cream after worship!

If you have any questions, or are unable to make the parent’s meeting, please don’t hesitate to reach out for all the info!

Can’t wait to see you there!

– Jillian (jillian@uumc.org), Children’s Ministry Director
& Natasha (natasha@uumc.org), Youth Ministry Director

Our August sermon series is inspired by one of our favorite new stickers that depicts Jesus saying, “Y’all, I Never Said That.” Pastor Teresa and Pastor Earl will share in this month’s preaching on relevant subjects including Christian Nationalism and The Prosperity Gospel as well as human experiences such as forgiveness and suffering. The sermons will take a look at common but incorrect assumptions about the sayings of Jesus while also exploring related sayings that are more accurate and perhaps even more challenging.

We gather together as a community for a time to share our collective grief following the flood in the Texas Hill Country. This time of prayer and reflection will include candlelight, special music, and held space to share with one another. Feel free to share this opportunity with family and friends. All are welcome.

During July, Pastor Earl and Pastor Teresa will join together in a Sermon Series entitled “Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others." This series is based on a book by the same name written by Barbara Brown Taylor. We will take a look at four world religions including Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism. The spirit of this series is not necessarily a primer on religions; instead this is about what is opened and what is revealed when we accept the invitation to investigate all the wonder before us. We learn not only that God's preferred language is driven by curiosity and specialized in questions, but we also discover the spiritual riches God can teach us from the faith of others.

We are thrilled to welcome Texas State Representative James Talarico as our guest preacher this Sunday. Talarico is a former public school teacher first elected to serve in the Texas House of Representatives in 2018. He was raised at St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Austin where senior pastor Rev. Jim Rigby is one of his mentors.

About Representative Talarico

He was named one of the Top 10 Best Legislators by Texas Monthly magazine for his accomplishments. During his three terms in office, Rep. Talarico has passed legislation to establish the first-ever cap on pre-K class sizes in Texas, equip schools with Narcan to fight teen overdoses, improve the quality and affordability of childcare, dramatically reduce prescription drug costs, and give incarcerated minors the opportunity to graduate with a high school diploma. He is currently a student at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary in addition to his work as a legislator.

Join us for worship as we recognize our college seniors and graduate students during worship.

Questions? Contact Megan at motto@uumc.org!

Join us for worship as we welcome Rev. Dr. Jeehei Park as our guest preacher. We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Park to the pulpit during the month of May as we observe Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month.

About Rev. Dr. Park

Dr. Park is assistant professor of New Testament at Seminary of the Southwest and is an ordained deacon in The UMC. The Rev. Jeehei Park, Ph.D. holds a Master of Divinity (concentration in New Testament and Early Christianity) from Harvard Divinity School and a PhD in Christianity in Antiquity from Fordham University. Her research and teaching interests include the New Testament, race/ethnicity in the Roman world, material culture in early Christianity, and decolonial and postcolonial theories and theologies.

Professor Park’s work has been recognized with several awards and fellowships including the Forum for Theological Exploration dissertation fellowship and the Louisville Institute postdoctoral fellowship.

It’s Confirmation Sunday!

During worship, our confirmands will profess their faith and join as full members of University UMC.

To celebrate, confirmands and their parents are invited to gather in the Fellowship Hall during the Sunday School hour (9:45 - 10:45 am) for brunch.

On Palm Sunday we remember Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Our worship service will begin with the traditional waving of palm branches and move into the story of Jesus' passion with scripture reading, congregational singing and special music.

ALL children and youth are invited to join in a palm and kazoo processional, walking up the aisle during the opening hymn at the beginning of worship. Please meet in the Children’s Sunday School Classroom (room 105) by 10:50 am to join the processional!

Join us for this fifth Sunday joint Sunday School. Our music director, AV, and organist, EunJoo, with Bill Bingham, will tell us about the status of our pipe organ, the repair options, and the process. For all of us who love and enjoy organ music in our worship services, this will be a good time to have an open conversation about how we can better care for and appreciate our beloved instrument.

Our Lenten Worship Theme this year is "Everything In Between." As we journey with Jesus to the cross, this series carries us through the Gospel of Luke as we explore a number of stories that invite us to reflect on how we live out our faith. Each week there is a sub theme that explores an assumed binary such as "grief and hope", "rest and growth", and "faith and works." We will learn together that these concepts and the stories from scripture hold more complexity and nuance. Instead of an "either/or" approach, we will see that God often appears in the spaces in-between.

Our February Sermon Series is "Called to Compassion." We will hear scripture passages about the gift of love, clothing ourselves with compassion, welcoming others, and even praying for our enemies. In this season filled with great conflict and concern in our nation, we are invited to consider how we are called to both show compassion while remaining committed to our values of resisting injustice. On February 9 we will observe Reconciling Ministries Network Sunday as we remember our vote to affiliate with RMN and continue to pray and work towards full inclusion of all LGBTQ+ individuals in the church.

As we remember the gifts the wise men brought to the Christ child, we will join together in collecting gently used or new coats and jackets for Fig Leaf. Please bring your items to worship with you on January 5, 2025. You can leave them in the collection containers available in each narthex. Thank you!

Join us for our annual Lessons and Carols service! The choir and congregation will join together to sing traditional carols as well as more contemporary compositions, interspersed with the Christmas Story read by congregants and community leaders. Doors will open at 6 pm, at 6:30 pm, we’ll have a special set of prelude music, which will only be performed before the 7 pm service. Let's sing the songs of the season together!

We will observe All Saints Sunday on November 3 at 11am in the sanctuary with a special worship service. The Congregational Church of Austin will join us for a worship service including a lighting of candles for All Saints’ Sunday and the Brahms Requiem. We anticipate the service being 90 minutes to 2 hours. Due to the length of the requiem, we will celebrate Communion on November 10.

Under the direction of A. Villareal, the UUMC Sanctuary Choir accompanied by Dr. Eun Joo Fierro, other guest musicians and the Congregational Church of Austin Choir will present the Brahms Requiem. The Brahms’ Requiem is a renowned work, composed by Johannes Brahms during a time of personal grief to provide comfort and peace to others experiencing grief and loss. 

On November 3rd we will present Johannes Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem (A German Requiem) as an integral part of our All Saints Service. This masterwork of the Romantic era features texts that Brahms himself selected from Luther’s translation of the Bible. The language was chosen for its accessibility to German congregations- deviating meaningfully from the Latin (Catholic) requiems. The opening line- “Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted” can serve as a succinct representation of the intention of the work: to comfort. Brahms began work on the requiem in 1857, a year after his friend Robert Schumann died. His mother Christiane passed away in 1865, and the work was completed in the summer of 1866. Many colleagues and conductors gave him guidance and feedback along this journey, including Clara Schumann.

Throughout the piece we meditate on the fleeting but meaningful qualities of life, the pain of loss in death, and the certainty of God comforting us both when we mourn, and when we die. We pass away, but the word of the Lord remains. And when we rest from our labors, our works follow after us. Together on November 3rd, amidst the lighting of candles and the voicing of names of those we have lost this year, we will have the opportunity to experience the breadth of emotions present in grief, and we will conclude with a reminder that there is great comfort to be found.

Choir: UUMC Sanctuary Choir and the Congregational Church of Austin Choir

Accompanists: Dr. Eun Joo Fierro

Conductor: A. Villarreal