June 20, 2025

Jun 18

Teresa's Note - June 20, 2025

͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌ ͏ ‌

Dear friends and members of University UMC:

Today’s Friday note falls on my birthday. I am now 52 years old. I’ve been known to say I am not much for birthdays. While I find it important to remember and mark the birthdays of friends and loved ones, I admit I’m not always great at doing so. And when it comes to my own birthday, I don’t need or even want anyone to make a big deal about it. I hope this is more about not wanting to be the center of attention and less about sounding like a grump!

Here I am as a little girl photographed with a splendid birthday cake before me.

The photo is poor quality, but it’s astonishing for me to look back on my younger self and consider all the years, moments, and experiences that have passed between that day and this day. (I’m also loving those vintage 1970’s curtains in the kitchen!) Birthdays quite naturally cause us to contemplate and ponder who we are, how we got to where we are, and what it is we are doing (in the words of Saint Mary Oliver) with our one precious life.

In his birthday blessing, John O’Donohue wrote, “Blessed be those who have loved you into becoming who you were meant to be.” This day unfolds before me as an invitation to ponder the great number of people who have shaped and formed me into who I am today. That includes you. Thank you! One of the best things about being a pastor is getting to know people and their stories. I’ve included the whole of O’Donohue’s ‘A Birthday Blessing’ below. Even if today is not your birthday, the words are for you–because it’s a message for all who are alive. I wonder what it would be like to live each day as if it were our birthday - keenly aware of the gift of life, profoundly attentive to the world, awake and intentional about how we spend each moment. Whether one is big on birthdays or not, I am convinced God’s great desire is that we hold dear the incredible gift of being fully alive.

I also believe God’s great desire is that we live in ways that honor the sacredness of everything and everyone who has breath and life. This is because our life and well-being cannot be separated from the life and well-being of others. The Zulu word “Ubuntu” gets at the heart of this. It literally means “I am because we are.” It is a way of saying that my well-being is inextricably tied up with your well-being. It is a longing for all who have breath and life to be free from suffering and filled with every good thing.

As Desmond Tutu says when describing the concept of Ubuntu, “When you do well, it spreads out; it is for the whole of humanity.” Deep down I know part of the reason it’s hard to be completely joyful about a birthday is because the world is filled with people who are suffering and dying. Those in power have forgotten that we belong to one another. We are bombarded at every turn with this reality.

At the Río Texas Annual Conference in Corpus Christi last week I heard a report from the Lydia Patterson Institute (LPI). LPI is one of the best things we do together as United Methodists. If you haven’t heard about LPI it’s because preachers like me are not always good about sharing the good news of what the wider denomination is doing. Lydia Patterson Institute is a historic El Paso institution that has educated thousands of young people along the U.S.–Mexico border for over 100 years. It provides a faith-centered, bilingual education to students from both El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. The only United Methodist secondary school in the South Central Jurisdiction, Lydia Patterson's graduating classes routinely boast a 100% college acceptance rate and nurtures future leaders who are faithful and community-minded.

At annual conference last weekend, we received news that on May 28, 2025, the U.S. State Department paused all new and some renewed student visa appointments to implement expanded social media screening. The policy was issued without notice and with no clear guidance for schools or families.

LPI Students crossing the border on their way to school

Photo Courtesy: Lydia Patterson Institute

At first, I thought to myself, “This impacts about 50% of the students.” But then I thought, “No, it impacts the entire campus.” And the cruel and unnecessary policy affects all of us as United Methodists. Ubuntu - we belong to one another. This was clear as tears were shed during the report and as social media posts continued to increase calling out the harm and with passionate pleas to help. You can read more on their website and know that here at UUMC our July altar rail offering will go to Lydia Patterson Institute.

When it comes to being fully alive, I don’t know any other way than to be both astonished by joy AND attentive to the suffering of others. This day I pray that as you hold your own struggles and/or consider the needs of others, there will be an opening for joy. It can show up in a variety of ways. Sometimes it is the birthday cake. Sometimes it’s rolling up our sleeves to serve. Sometimes it’s a quiet day with beloved companions. Sometimes it’s showing up for and with your community.

Many of you did just that at the No Kings protest last Saturday. As I was driving back from Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, I saw the crowds gathering there for the protest. And here in Austin, a great number of UUMC members and friends attended our city’s protest. Some of you showed up at the church to head to the Capitol together and a few incredibly kind souls showed up in the church parking lot to shuttle you back and forth. I appreciated one of the speakers at the protest who reminded us that not everyone who wanted to be present could be present last Saturday–some were with us in spirit as they stayed at home caring for children or loved ones who are ill, some were unable to get off work, and still others feared for their safety as underrepresented persons.

Below are a few of our community’s pictures from that day. Make sure to check out how some of our parents of young children were creative in showing up in ways that were safe and service-oriented as they delivered cold water to protestors. Amazing! Church–this day and every day I give thanks for all you do and who you are. Thank you for being a part of those who love me into becoming who I am meant to be. And let’s keep showing up for one another and for those who hurt in this world.

What a joy to be your pastor!

Teresa