January 9, 2017  
UPdate from the Pastor Nominating Committee
The Pastor Nominating Committee would like to thank the congregation for electing the committee and trusting us to work on your behalf to bring you a candidate for your approval. 
 
We are 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.  After church on January 22nd, there will be a congregational meeting for you the congregation to consider and vote on calling our new senior pastor.
 
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.
 
After church on Sunday, the 15th, the PNC will have an informational session discussing what guided our decision. We are excited about our choice, and it is important for us to help you feel confident in the work we’ve done by sharing how we got to our decision. We’d like to share the process we went through, how many people we talked to and who we called in to help us along the way. This information will also be shared in the weekly UPC email sent in the week of the 16th.
 
At the congregational meeting on January 22nd, the PNC will provide extensive information on the candidate and the candidate’s family, and help you share in our excitement.
2017 Budget Presentation from Session
Last week's congregational information meetings were well attended, and many people had an opportunity to express their feelings, ask questions, and gain a better understanding of the reasons for staff changes. Several have asked for the presentation made by the Staff Support Committee to be made available.

To download the presentation, please click here.

Thanks from Kathy
Dear UPC Family,
It has been an honor and a pleasure to worship, serve, learn and fellowship with you for the past five years. I am grateful for the warm welcome you offered when I arrived at UPC and I am grateful for the warm support and affection you offer as I leave. 2017 will be an exciting and eventful year for UPC and I will be holding the congregation in prayer as you embark on new church adventures. 

I pray, as well, that each of you may know blessing, hope and joy in your lives this year and always.

Please stay in touch. I'd love to hear about what's going on with you in the months to come.

mailing address:
10306 Morado Cove,
Apt. 135, Austin, 78759

e-mail:   kescandell@gmail.com

phone: 512-466-5662

God be with you till we meet again,

Kathy Escandell

Many people have asked for the beautiful poem written for Kathy Escandell by Bobbie Sanders and illustrated by Mary Beth Maher. Please click the link below to download a PDF of the poem.

Thanks for Asking
PAM Conference Week...
We Need Your Help!

UPC is hosting a major event in the life of our denomination from January 19 through the 21st. The Presbyterian Association of Musicians will gather for its annual conference. We’re anticipating about 75 faculty and staff to participate, beginning Thursday afternoon. Many faculty members are affiliated with Austin Presbyterian Seminary, including Eric Wall, Margaret Aymer, and one of the senior executives of PC(USA) General Assembly, Dr. J. Herbert Nelson. 

Friday night, there will be a wonderful choir concert, organized by Scott McNulty, to which the public is invited. On Sunday, January 22nd, Dr. Nelson will preach at UPC. Following the congregation meeting to call our new senior pastor, we’ll celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. at a reception in the Great Hall.

 To make these four days a success, we need volunteers to:

  • Get the church ready for PAM and our 125th anniversary kick-off
    Clean-up Day
    Saturday, January 14

    9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. 
  • Conference Hosts
    A small team of people to work shifts helping people find their meeting rooms Thursday or Friday, January 19 and 20
  •  Ushers
    Four people for the choral concert Friday, January 20 (open to the public)
  •  Parking Garage Helpers
    One or two people stationed in the courtyard or at the parking garage Thursday, January 19, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Sign up for one or more of these volunteer jobs outside the church office, or email the church office at upc@upcaustin.org if you can help. Thanks!    
New Support Group Forming
  Is someone you care about living with dementia? Susanna Caballero and Jennie Chao are starting up a support group so that we can help and inform each other during the caregiving process.

Join us for informal conversation and brunch next Saturday, Jan. 14, at 10:00 a.m. at Bribery Bakery in Mueller.

Contact Jennie at 512-699-1153 (text or call) for more information.

Faith & Grief Gathering January 12
The Mission of Faith & Grief Ministries is to provide ongoing comfort to persons who have experienced the death of a loved one. As we prayerfully discern our mission, we value most the gifts of the Holy Spirit’s gentle and restless source of comfort; community that understands grief and mourning; compassion revealed in silence, listening, tears, and surprising laughter; stories that speak truth in love and promote wholeness; and collaboration that joins strength to strength.

The Austin area Faith & Grief Gathering occurs January 12 at noon, Westminster Presbyterian Church.
For more information, go to www.faithandgrief.org.  

Faith & Life Class Schedule

We are excited that we will be starting this new year with a 5 week series led by Fred Morgan. He will be discussing Tom Currie’s book Searching for Truth: Confessing Christ in an Uncertain World, which explores several questions: 

  • 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

J
an 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

Thank You from UPLift!
"Thanks very much to the Parenting and Faith class for sponsoring a “Christmas Family” again this year.  The family includes 4 children who recently lost their mother in a car accident. Two of the children are high school age, one is in junior high and one is in elementary school.  Prior to the accident, the children lived with their mother.  Since her death they have moved into the 2-room apartment of their grandmother along with their biological father. The grandmother came to Uplift for  assistance with her electric bill. In the past, we have helped families that needed items such as underwear, clothing and shoes. The children in this family wanted video games!  We wrestled with the decision to provide items that are not essential and finally came to the conclusion that a true gift would be to honor the requests of children living in such tight quarters away from their friends and schools. Clearly the light of Christmas was in the eyes of these children when they received a gift card for Target sufficient to buy what they wanted most, and a wheeled shopping cart for the grandmother which is what she wanted most!  Thanks to the generosity of all!"

- Gretchen Stone, on behalf of UPLift

Sneak Peak! UPcoming P&F Classes

January 15 – Rev. David Evans discusses our new political life and how to approach the change with a Christian mind and heart. This is all timely with the inauguration just around the corner!
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!

Circles
The Ruth-Dorcas Circle meets Tuesday, January 10, at 2:30 p.m. at the home of Dottie Penn. The lesson is #5.
For more information, please contact the church office

Saturday, January 14, is our Martha Circle meeting at the church with Johnnie as hostess.  Please let me know if you are able to attend. Our meeting will be at 11:30 as usual.  If you get there early they will probably put you to work since there's a cleanup going on as well!  

See you  Saturday!  Our lesson is #5.

- Karen Grice
kwgrice@grandecom.net

Tuesday Evening Bible Study Reminder

Tomorrow January 10th at 7 PM in the Fellowship Hall as per usual.  In this class we will talk about the plan for the semester, discuss the Nicholas Kristof interview with an Evangelical and go over our book before diving into it next week.  This should be a very interesting study.

- Jonathan Eddison
512-988-0333


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!!
For this week's grocery cart:
  • oregano
  • large peanut butter - shelf stable
  • large jelly
  • large cinnamon
  • 10 lb box of oatmeal
  • snack bars

Celebrations & Concerns
Please continue to pray for Debbie Warden, who has been transferred to Cornerstone Hospital for intermediate care. The focus now is on working up to three hours of physical therapy per day so that she can go to a rehabilitation facility.

A note from John regarding emails:

I'm receiving emails at jrwarden49@yahoo.com 
and generally am keeping up with reading them  (brevity is prized!).  In lieu of writing many responses I'm concentrating on updates here on CaringBridge, but it's good to hear from you by postal or email.  I've been reading your cards and notes to Debbie a few at a time and can add some emails to the mix.
Please pray for

Hal Hopson, who had surgery on Tuesday, January 3. He is currently in St. David's Hospital in Round Rock.

The family of Mona Wright who died Saturday, December 31, 2016. A memorial service was held Sunday, January 8, at 4:00 p.m at Faith Presbyterian Church. Many UPC members, including 14 from the Chancel Choir, were present to remember Mona.
If you'd like to be part of UPC's Prayer Chain, please email the church office.
You will receive emails asking you specifically to pray for people who have requested prayer support.

To request prayers, email upc@upcaustin.org
Contact
University Presbyterian Church
2203 San Antonio Street
Austin, Texas  78705
512-476-5321

Rooted in worship. . .

   Growing through education & s
ervice. . .

       Connecting to campus & community. . .