UPC UPdate January 16, 2017

January 16, 2017

UPdate from the Pastor Nominating Committee

After church on January 22, there will be a congregational meeting the congregation to consider and vote on calling our new senior pastor. At the meeting, the PNC will provide extensive information on the candidate and the candidate’s family, and let you share in our excitement.

The Pastor Nominating Committee is grateful to God for how—supported by your prayers—we have been led to this candidate, trusting that God’s hand has been in this process every step of the way.

The PNC unanimously voted to call this candidate because, even among a field of outstanding choices, we felt this candidate was exceptional and gifted. We all feel excited about the possibility of this person leading University Presbyterian Church into a faithful and exciting future, with energy, exceptionally strong preaching, and a heart for the calling of following Jesus.

We cannot identify the candidate before the congregational meeting in consideration of the timing of the candidate’s announcement to the candidate’s current church, which will, of course, happen after we have voted to actually extend the call. We are excited about our choice, and it is important for us to help you feel confident in the work we’ve done.

To learn more about how we got to our decision, please download a short summary describing our year of work.

Congregational Meeting
to Consider Calling a New Pastor

Session has called a congregational meeting for Sunday, January 22, 2017, immediately following worship in the UPC Sanctuary. Please plan to attend.

J. Herbert Nelson to Preach MLK Sunday

The Reverend Dr. J. Herbert Nelson, newly elected Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (USA), will be our guest preacher Sunday, January 22, 2017, as we commemorate the life and service of Dr. Martin Luther King.

Dr. Nelson has a long history of service to the denomination, including as pastor of St. James Presbyterian Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and organizing pastor for Liberation Community Church in Memphis, Tennessee. He has led the PC(USA) Washington office since 2010.

Nelson follows in the footsteps of his father, James Herbert Nelson; grandfather, Warren Julius Nelson; and two uncles, who were all Presbyterian pastors. His mother, Johnalee B. Nelson, was a ruling elder and active on the national level of Presbyterian Women and in global missions work. Nelson is married to the Reverend Gail Porter Nelson, pastor of Northminster Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. They have one adult daughter, Alycia Yvette Nelson.

Click here for the press release from General Assembly

Dr. Nelson will be the keynote speaker in the final plenary session at the Presbyterian Association of Musicians Annual Gathering, to be held at UPC January 19 through 21.

Celebrating the birthday week of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Chancel Choir is joined by soloist Dr. Nicole Taylor in offering a well-known Gospel song by Glenn Burleigh, “Order My Steps.”

Please plan to attend a reception
in the Great Hall immediately following the congregational meeting this Sunday.

Plan Ahead...
3M Half Marathon Sunday, January 22

Sunday, January 22, the annual 3M Half Marathon will be held. The course begins just south of Braker Lane, west of Mo-Pac. Finish line is at the Capitol. Wheelchair racers begin at 6:45 a.m., with runners start at 7:30 a.m. In Central Austin, the race is down Shoal Creek to 45th Street, then east on 45th to Duval, finishing just south of MLK at the Capitol. The best route from the north is Mo-Pac to 24th Street. From the south, Mo-Pac or Lamar will keep you west of the finish line. Visit 3mhalfmarathon.com for more information. See you Sunday!

Click here to download the course map

Click the image above to download a PDF of the poster and share with your friends!

A Message from the UPC Service Committee

The UPC Service Committee works to consider the most relevant and needed ways for UPC to give of our money and time in supporting local needs and beyond. One goal of ours is to better communicate to the church how the Service Committee's funds are helping others in need, and where else we are connecting with communities that benefit from our time and work.

In recent weeks, the Service Committee sent $3,000 to three different groups working to provide healing and maintain safety in Haiti following the devastation of Hurricane Matthew: The Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, Haitian Hands for Haitian Children, and the Haitian Association for Human Development. Our committee also gave funds to support Charles and Melissa Johnson in Zambia (also honored and celebrated at our November 13th service), and to support our own Bee Moorhead in her travel to Morocco where she represented PCUSA in a talk on climate change.

We hope to assist the greater church in feeling more connected to some of the work we do behind the scenes and how UPC is making an impact in the lives of people beyond the walls of our church, and to open more opportunities for all of us to engage with the external mission partners we have. Please keep an eye out for more from us as we enter 2017!

Tuesday Evening Bible Study Lesson Plan

Assignments for Spring 2016

Chapter 2, History Challenging Faith p 29-39
Chapter 2 - 39-56
Chapter 3 -Cultural Confusion and Collision 57-67
Chapter 3 -67-80
Chapter 4 The Limitations of History 81-104
Chapter 5 What’s Historical About Jesus? pp105-122
Chapter 5 pp 122-140
Chapter 6 The Real Jesus and the Gospels pp141-151
pp 151-166
Epilogue - Critical Scholarship and the Church 167-77

Please contact:
Jonathan Eddison
[email protected]
512-988-0333

Tuesday Evening Bible Study Fellowship Hall 7:00 p.m.

Searching for Truth Series Continues in Faith & Life Class

Join us Sunday for the third installment of Fred Morgan's 5-week series Searching for Truth: Confessing Christ in an Uncertain World. All are welcome!

How can we speak the truth, yet speak it in love?
How can we confess Jesus Christ without that confession being merely a rock we throw at a culture we are only too ready to dismiss or, worse, without reducing the gospel truth to something we find manageable and, finally, harmless?

The five lessons will focus on:

Jan 8 – Confessing Christ as an Act of Love
Jan 15 – Loving Our Enemies: Faith’s Difficult Questions
Jan 22 – Other Voices, Other Claims: The Gospel and Other Religions
Jan 29 – Feeling Uncomfortable at Home: The Gospel’s Encounter with North American Paganism
Feb 5 – Confessing Christ before an Indifferent or Hostile Culture: The Language of Love

Grace and peace to all,

The Faith & Life Class planning committee:
Madelyn Mitchell, Bobbie Sanders, Randal Whittington, Suzanne Wofford, Melinda Wofford, Elaine Wagner, James Brazell

Faith & Life Class Sunday Room 201
Coffee & fellowship 9:15 - 9:30
Class 9:30 - 10:40

January 22 – Our own class member Sara Sheerin will be bringing a topic for discussion (more on this next week).
January 29th – UPC parent Jon Holmsten will present a class with a topic along the lines of "Breaking the Taboo about Sex: Ideas for our marriages and kids."
February 5 – UPC parents Allison & David Phillips will join us for our first of 3 classes on the challenges of adolescence. Allison & David have 5 kids spanning high school to elementary and are currently living through and in these years with their youth. Bring your questions for a Q&A.
February 12 – Our second class on adolescence will be lead by UPC member Craig Deats. Craig will share his experience with raising two children through these trying years, with an outcome of positive and productive adult children!

Church Women United Meet February 3

Church Women United will hold its Annual Meeting at Holy Cross Catholic Church on Friday, February 3, 2017 at 9:30 a.m. The church is located at 1610 East 11th Street; parking is available in the rear of the building.

In observance of Black History Month, our guest will be Mrs. Para LaNell Agboga, Site Coordinator at the George Washington Carver Museum Geneology and Cultural Center. Please note that February 3rd is also National Wear Red Day. Wear something RED to show your commitment to help save women’s lives from heart disease and stroke.

For more information, please contact
Johnnie Overton, Board Chair, Church Women United.

UPLift Needs Next Week

Every Tuesday morning, UPC volunteers provide some food and coffee, hygiene items, and occasional financial assistance for our clients. While all donations are welcome at any time, here are some items to consider bringing to worship this week.

Thank you for your incredible support of this UPC mission!!