Congratulations to Laura and Jonathan!

Austin Agape says a big congratulations to our dear friends Jonathan Cross and Laura Weise who were married on Friday night! They are now Jonathan and Laura Cross!

Jonathan and Laura actually met right here at Austin Agape as they went to college. They began dating after one of the ski trips, and on the 2008 Ski Trip, Jonathan proposed! Now they are beginning an exciting adventure of marriage. Laura recently graduated from UT, and now she is excited to begin graduate school at the University of North Carolina in the Fall. They will be moving to Durham, North Carolina in August, and we will miss them deeply!

We send our warmest love and friendship as you enter these new journeys. Love to you both!

Micah 6 Food Pantry Is Going Strong

Every Thursday night from 6:00-7:30 pm and every Saturday morning from 10:30am -12:00pm, UPC hosts the Micah 6 Food Pantry, a service which helps 200 families per week in the Austin area. UPC is part of a partnership of university area churches called Micah 6. Each congregation serves the local area with a form of service. Click here to learn how the different congregations participate.

The coalition of churches takes its name from Micah 6:8:

What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

The Micah 6 Food Pantry is one way that our university area churches try to live according to this question.

Austin Agape is a part of this ministry as well. Our students are invited to serve as volunteers. They have discovered that the pantry itself is a partnership as well. Our congregation helps to distribute food to those who are in need, and the clients teach us so much through their stories and gifts.

We are thankful to house such an important ministry right under our roof!

Poem

The Guesthouse
Rumi,13th century Muslim Mystic

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they're a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.

Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

Our Favorite Tongue Twister

Well, you people have made your mark. . . You always do! Believe it or not, small remnants of your personalities and silliness have made their way into my CPE at Seton Hospital this summer!

Now in case you're new to such a silly phrase, I dare you to say it. C'mon. Just try out loud once. It's so hard. Irish Wrishwatch! Irish Wiswatch! Iris Wishwash! Argh! IRISH WRISTWATCH!

Okay. Now try Irish Wishlist!

It's hard, isn't it? Now the person above is Jason. He has been conquering this phrase since the beginning of CPE. Jason is one of my fellow interns at Seton, and we have made it a daily practice that our first and last words to each other on a given workday must be Irish Wristwatch!

A CPE update. For those of you who are hearing the CPE acryonym for the first time, it stands for clinical pastoral education. Basically I'm interning as a hospital chaplain this summer. I work at Seton Medical Center on floor 4 North. That is the pulmonary and renal floor. I am working with people who have serious lung and kidney ailments. I'm also doing a bit of work on the 7th floor which is oncology. I am dealing with a lot of end-of-life issues on a regular basis, which can be difficult, of course. But I will say that it has been a deep, meaningful privilege to walk with patients and this point in their lives.

I appreciate your prayers. I am enjoying myself and learning a lot. But I will admit that I really miss being at UPC full time. Nine more weeks, and that's where I'll be!

Peace,
Renee

Summer at the Spiderhouse!

Last night, we had a wonderful sized summer group! We're meeting every Tuesday night at 6:30 upstairs in the youth room to build community, play foursquare, and have meaningful theological conversation. And then what do we do?



What else? Go to the Spiderhouse!







This summer, we are also reading some C.S Lewis, and we're starting with the Screwtape Letters. This book is a creative one. It contains letters from a senior demon named Screwtape to his younger nephew, an apprentice demon. How can Screwtape teach his protege to mess with human life and experience? We are going to go to the Spiderhouse each Tuesday night to discuss what we've read. Next week, we'll discuss letters 1-8.






We certainly enjoyed ourselves!

Joint Worship With Corinth!

On Sunday afternoon, UPC joined Corinth Missionary Baptist Church for worship and fellowship. We are so blessed to have a partnership with Corinth. Two years ago, both congregations came together to join as sister churches, to deepen their commitment to mulit-culturalism and interracial fellowship. Unfortunately in our nation, Sunday morning continues to be the most segregated hour of the week. We are called to be disciples together - to mirror God's diversity and God's justice for everyone.


The service was held at Corinth Missionary Baptist Church, and the hospitality and friendship was so meaningful. Pastor San gave the message, and the choirs from both churches sang pieces of music that were beautiful and energetic. Each congregation blessed the other, and we celebrated communion together.




After the service, we joined together for a time of refreshments. We were thankful to spend some time together and eat some delicious desserts!







Austin Agape hopes to join students and young adults at Corinth to get to know one another in the Fall. We would like to brainstorm some ways to work together and make deep relationships among both congregations. Thank you Corinth for such a meaningful time of worship and fellowship!

Thinking About Church and Diversity

On Sunday morning, the Present Word Sunday School Class discussed the history and the unique perspective of African-American experience and worship. Roscoe Overton, an elder at UPC, leads this class, and he has a heart for educating and challenging the church on multi-culturalism.



Roscoe invited Bill Greenway, member of UPC and professor at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary, to help lead Sunday's class and facilitate discussion. Bill mentioned that particular experiences and unique perspectives affect how people read scripture and how they worship. We should be aware of our own perspectives and work to appreciate the cultural particularities of others.


Members of the class also thought about ways that we can promote multi-cultuPralism at UPC. They answered this question: How can we promote multiculturalism in our church?


We should "get to know our neighbors, individually and in community."

-Max Sherman






We could offer a "Spanish service at 9:00, a contemporary service at 9:00 (choice of music critical), or a service in Fellowship Hall for the unchurched."

-Jon Eddison





"Of course, I'm going to mention a group that everyone is welcome to join and that is the Presbyterian Players - multi-cultural and inter-generational!"

-Connie Jones