e-communications from University Presbyterian Church January 8, 2020
BAPTISM OF THE LORD
JANUARY 12, 2020

Sunday morning programming resumes at 9:30 a.m.
Laudate Choir, Sweaty Sundays,
and Adult Classes
10:00 a.m., join The BIG Hello
Youth Room, upper level

WORSHIP 11:00 AM

Reverend Matt Gaventa preaches "Factory-Refurbished"
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RECENT SERMONS
January 5, 2020, Pastor Matt Gaventa

December 29, 2019, Pastor Krystal Leedy

December 25, 2019, Pastor Matt Gaventa

December 22, 2019, Pastor Matt Gaventa


Find our sermon archive at
UPDATE ON THE ELEVATOR
University Coop has been informed that the specially manufactured parts required to repair the garage elevator are scheduled to arrive January 17. They anticipate that following a week of installation and testing, the elevator will finally be safely working. We hope that it will be fully operational in time for Sunday school and worship on January 26. Thank you for your patience as the Coop works to make a permanent repair.
Social Witness & Christian Formation:
ISSUES IN 2020 SUNDAY SERIES

This year, voters across the US will make decisions about the future of our cities, states and the nation at the voting booth in November. The Social Witness Committee, in collaboration with the Christian Formation Committee, is offering a series of monthly adult Sunday school sessions on some of the key issues at stake. These discussions will be strictly non-partisan and led by experts, focusing on how we as Christians are called to reflect, pray, and respond. Readings, links, and DVDs will be available in advance. 

Please join us for the first in the series,”The Legacy of Dr. King, and the History and Future of the Civil Rights Movement in Austin and around the US” 
Sunday, January 19, 2020, 9:30 a.m., UPC Great Hall

Speakers: Austin Mayor Steve Adler
the Reverend Freddie Dixon, retired pastor of Wesley UMC, University of Texas official
Discussion moderator: Roscoe Overton

UPCOMING SUNDAY DISCUSSIONS

January 26: Texas issues—Our own Bee Morehead of Texas Impact will focus on Texas policies on guns, immigration, climate change, and homelessness, helping us understand what’s at stake, what to watch for, and what faith communities in Texas are planning.

February 16: Immigration & Civil Liberties—Don Tamaki, will talk about the film And Then They Came for Us, in which Japanese Americans draw parallels between the WW II internments and today’s Muslim registry and travel ban, immigration, and the need to defend civil liberties for all. (Copies of the DVD will be available for circulation later this month.)

March 22: Gun Violence—the Reverend Deanna Hollas, PC(USA) Minister on Prevention of Gun Violence

April 26: Climate Change leader to be announced

May 24: Homelessness leader to be announced
MLK MARCH MONDAY, JANUARY 20, 2020

The Annual Community March celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy while uplifting diversity and multi-culturalism in our city. The MLK Community March kicks off on Monday, January 20, 2020 at 9:00 a.m. with a short program at the MLK Statue on the University of Texas campus on the East Mall.

At the conclusion of the program at the MLK Statue, we will march to the south steps of the Capitol for a rally. After the Capitol program, the march will proceed to the historic Huston-Tillotson University, where exciting activities are planned.

UPC members and friends are welcome to park in the University Coop garage, then meet up at the statue for the program and march to the capitol.
There will be no events at UPC Monday, January 20; the church office will be closed.

To learn more about the event, please visit the MLK Celebration website.
We are packing our bags! Next Thursday, January 16, I, along with UPC members Sharon and Jon Bayer, Cathy Morgan, Johnnie Overton and daughter Marva, will join students from Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary for two weeks of touring and learning in South Africa. Our focus is racial reconciliation and the quest for racial justice. We will spend a few days each in Johannesburg, Cape Town, and Stellenbosch, visiting cultural sites, meeting with churches and advocacy groups, and exploring cities that have been grappling so explicitly with their own history of Apartheid.

On a personal level, I’m very excited for this trip — it mirrors somewhat a similar trip that I took in the fall of 2014, and it will give me the opportunity to share with members of the UPC family some of the people and places that were so critical to my formation then. But I am also excited for the new surprises that wait for us, including for the opportunities to return and share. Thank you all for supporting us and praying for us in our discovery, and we will look forward to seeing you when we return!
WELCOME NEW MEMBER
RON SHEAFFER!
We are delighted to welcome Ron Sheaffer as a new member, who joined by reaffirmation of faith on the first Sunday of 2020! Ron has been worshiping with us since last fall, having previously attended Metropolitan Community Church in Austin. Please look for Ron and introduce yourself the next time you see him in church!

UPC Session meets the first Sunday of each month to welcome new members. If you are interested in joining, please speak to any pastor.
SOUPER BOWL OF CARING 2020

During the month of January 2020, youth groups from across Mission Presbytery are competing to see which congregation can donate the most food for the Souper Bowl of Caring! Last year, UPC took a noble 2nd place - and this year we want to go all out! During the entire month of January, we are asking all UPC members to bring in donations of canned or dry food goods that will go to support the Micah 6 food pantry. Financial donations are also accepted and every dollar donated will go toward our can count. To donate toward Souper Bowl of Caring, please mark cash envelopes or check memo lines with "Souper Bowl Donation" and make the check out to UPC.

We are also asking church members to get their groups and friends involved! If you lead a Sunday School class or UPC group - challenge them to bring in cans and donate them as a class. Who will donate more: the Faith & Life Class, the Chancel Choir, or the Session? If your kids are on a sports team or in a scout troop - see if you can have the other parents help donate toward our church's cause. Ask your neighbors or office co-workers if they would like to donate canned goods to our food pantry and bring in the donations on a Sunday morning or anytime during the week.

Let's overflow the cart every Sunday this January. The Souper Bowl Smackdown begins on January 5 and ends on February 2. Please help the UPC Youth go for first place this year and help our neighbors in need by supporting our Micah 6 food pantry. Thank you!

For questions about the Souper Bowl of Caring 2020 Challenge, please contact Pastor John.
Join Roscoe Overton as The Present Word class examines ways of honoring God through worship. The class meets in Room 3 on the lower level Sundays at 9:30 a.m.
The Faith & Life class meets Sundays in Room 201 on the upper level. Come for coffee and snacks at 9:15 a.m. Presentation and discussion begin at 9:30.
SAVE THE DATE
UPC BORDER MISSION TRIP 2020

Our annual Border Mission Trip in 2020 with Faith Ministry will again be during spring break. The dates: March 15-20, 2020.

Please consider going with us. If you have any questions, see Craig Deats or call him at 512-567-1419.

Don’t forget: everyone who goes needs a passport. So if you don’t have one, or it’s about to expire, now’s a great time to get a new one; the process takes awhile.
A CHRISTMAS VISIT WITH AUSTIN REFUGEES

UPC’s Refugee Welcome Team paid a Christmas visit to our refugee family. We asked them what they needed, they responded, and the Service Committee and Welcome Team made it happen. Now that the family has been in Austin for over a year and a half, we have fulfilled our commitment to them, but like old friends, we like to check in now and then to see how things are going. The father is employed, the kids are making new friends, the family is surrounded by a loving extended family who preceded them to Austin. We will pray that this family who glows with cheerfulness will continue to make strides in their adjustment to life in Texas.
HAT & GLOVE DRIVE

The UPC Service Committee and our UPLift volunteers are calling for donations of knitted hats and gloves for people who come to our church on Tuesday mornings seeking food, warmth and services. The need is greater for men than for women. Please place items in the box just outside the Fellowship Hall. Thank you for considering this opportunity to give to others!
CELEBRATIONS & CONCERNS
Please pray for

the friends of Bonnie Fae Terraciano, who was killed December 23, 2019, in San Marcos. Bonnie was a frequent guest of the UPLift outreach ministry.

Dorothy Quick, who is having a followup surgery on an outpatient basis on January 8, with recovery at home afterwards.

Jane Payne, who is in Encompass Health Rehabilitation Center on Ben White, following a fall at home this past Monday.

Sherry L. Smith, who recovering at home following neck surgery.

Debbie Warden, who is recovering at home following foot surgery.

Gretta Riccobene, who is recovering at home following a brief hospitalization for pneumonia and shingles.

Larry Moore, who now requires oxygen full-time due to COPD. Richard Moore is Larry's brother.

UKirk graduate student Luis, native of Puerto Rico, who is home with family and friends, dealing with the after effects of the recent earthquakes. Please also pray for all those affected by the quakes.

Kathy Anderson, chaplain at Mo-Ranch, who will have foot surgery January 15 in Austin.
There are many ways to participate in the prayer life of UPC:

To request prayers for yourself or a loved one, email   upc@upcaustin.org .
To have a deacon pray with you, look for the  Deacon of the Day  on the pulpit side front of the sanctuary any Sunday following the postlude.
Celebrations and Concerns of the congregation are published weekly and include prayers and people to pray for. Download Celebrations & Concerns for Sunday, January 5, 2020, or pick up a copy in the narthex or outside the library.
UPC's Prayer Chain is a group of faithful prayer warriors who commit to praying for people throughout the week. If you'd like to be part of the Prayer Chain, click the button below. You will receive periodic emails (no more than one per day), with specific requests from members to pray. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer.