It’s not too late to stop by and sign the Habitat Studs! They are in the fellowship hall. Just stop by and sign them. If you don’t have the access code call the church office or the pastor’s cell phone.
These two studs will be built into the new Habitat house this fall. They represent a $400 donation towards this new house.
From: Sheila Angerer
Texas Impact presented a webinar last Sunday, August 23rd. I attended four panel discussions via Zoom. Texas Impact is a trusted voice for faith and justice at the Texas Legislature. Faith in Democracy is in partnership with a team from Dallas faith organizations for this webinar. The speakers were from Hamilton Park United Methodist Church, Yaqueen Institute for Islamic Research & Faith Forward, Northern-Texas Northern Louisiana Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America And Faith Commons (representing the Jewish faith).
They each shared their experiences within their faith and the problems they are facing during COVID, racism and the political climate. The next presenters spoke about recruiting election workers. They stressed the need for volunteers to step up to help and explained the process which you would be required to do. This is a paid position. If anyone is feeling the spirit to volunteer for early voting or election day, please contact the Democratic Headquarters in New Braunfels, 830-620-5739.
The next panel discussed Vote By Mail. The Presbyterians, in Austin, conducted an extensive VBM strategy. They were successful and talked about the problems they incurred. This panel encouraged those who are eligible to send in your application for a ballot as soon as possible. And when you received your ballot, mail it as early as possible. If you have questions, once again call the Democratic Headquarters. Their message was to be expedient.
The final panel talked about the 2021 Legislative and gave a preview and how much different it is going to be due to the ongoing COVID. Texas Impact was even certain the legislation was equipped for a Zoom gathering. To be continued in January.
I joined another Zoom meeting with a representative from Congressman Lloyd Doggett. There were five in attendance and we discussed climate change/global warming. The topic discussed at length was a rail system from San Antonio to Austin to alleviate the congestion on I-35. The may or may not be any movement on this project.
It was a short Zoom meeting with sharing our thoughts about the topic and the election. I will make an effort to update anything from Texas Impact is involved with during the rest of this year and into 2021. There is a conference meeting Sunday and Monday, August 31st and September 1st. I plan to attend by Zoom.
VOTE!
Sheila Angerer
Our Heart of Texas Association Fall Meeting is still on for Saturday, October 10, 2020. We had planned to hold it at Hope United in Georgetown in celebration of its 10th anniversary, but as all of us know, the COVID situation has sent all of us in directions we could not have imagined several months ago. Many of our churches are not meeting in person yet, including Hope United. Hope is also in transition, as it is in the interim and pastoral search process. The plan now for our Fall Meeting is to meet via Zoom. Our Association Board will be planning that gathering over the next month, and we will send each of our churches and ministers information and a link to the meeting as soon as that planning happens. I think we can all look forward to the opportunity to share our churches’ experiences, commitments, and journeys together as we gather — always an uplifting and vitally important part of our meetings. Perhaps even more important than ever in this time will be your stories of how our churches are continuing to minister and how we are each dealing with the challenge that the COVID pandemic is presenting. We will look forward to the time when we can meet in person once again but are grateful, in the meantime, that we have the opportunity to gather easily from home online.
I am also grateful for the many ways I am aware of that our churches and pastors are adapting their ministries and even growing them in new ways over this time. Some of our churches are meeting outdoors (seated outside or by driving up and staying in cars); some are meeting in person but spread out to keep each other safer; and some, particularly those in areas with high COVID case numbers, are meeting online in various ways. Many have found that the process of learning to meet online has led to new and very creative worship formats. Some have also found that our online platforms have brought distant members and friends to worship with us as well as allowing very broad participation in discussion and study since people do not have to drive. Our pastors have met via Zoom several times to continue our “Jam and Bread” gatherings, the last time being to say farewell to Ron Trimmer as he prepared to move to Lake Ozark, Missouri. Ministers who otherwise would have had to drive a long distance have been able to gather easily with colleagues. The youth of United Christian and others who joined them were able to have a virtual mission trip this summer after the muti-church mission trip they have been part of was cancelled. A host of people have worked hard to make all of this happen. I thank God for all of you.
On Sunday, September 17th, Lee Zillman, pastor of Redeemer UCC in Marion (in the Zuehl community) will retire. Lee has served Redeemer for the past 11 years, and in ministry and in Christian ministry for forty three years. I hope to give news of the celebration in a future newsletter. At this time, I ask for prayers of thanksgiving and support for Lee and Sharon, and prayers for the ongoing service in ministry of the whole Redeemer community as they embark on this interim time.
Blessings in Christ,
Liz Nash, Association Minister
From Rev. Peter E Bauer
Our lives make imprints. I have a good friend that I meet with every couple of weeks for coffee. We have known each other a long time. It’s wonderful to be together to discuss our work, our mutual intellectual interests and family. Right now, of course, with the ongoing quarantine, there are no opportunities to meet. Instead there is the occasional E-Mail or telephone call, but it is not the same as seeing the person in real time.
As I have noted before, more and more of our time is being devoted to digital space. We do our work online, maybe go to church online, meet with chat groups online, or go to a happy hour online. Many of us are noticing different interiors of rooms. Maybe we are getting some ideas for home decorating or renovating by observing the living spaces of others. Then there is the altered perception of having a conversation digitally with people in unexpected places. I have had people talk to me from their cars, their bathroom, sitting against a headboard talking to me while sitting up in their bed. Depending upon the conversation and the depth of material , the experience can feel disconcerting. You can feel like a voyeur, that somehow you are not in the right place, that this may not be what you need to see.
Where is the comfort of having someone else in the same room sharing time with you ? The pleasure of another’s company can get obliterated in the pursuit of making as many digital contacts as possible. All of the Emojis that one can use will not necessary replace the connection of a handshake or the warmth of a smile in real time. This pandemic has forced people to get very creative. New opportunities for contact over the internet are emerging all of the time. Churches are also experimenting with new offerings including the digital coffee, tea and conversation hour.
Former Secretary Of State Madeleine Albright has noted in her book: “Hell And Other Destinations: “ We all, in our own way, search for fulfillment, happiness, or a general sense of well-being. Many-by far the majority-are too busy coping with life’s complications to allocate to this quest more than a series of passing thoughts; We measure our serenity in coffee spoons. Perhaps we hope to find time in the future to sit on a mountaintop or recline beneath a banyan tree and figure everything out. “ ( P. 318 )
For now, I will settle for being able again to see people, those I love , friends and family who are important to me, in person and in real time. It’s important to be in the room and know it again as if t were the first time.
May it be so.
The Cactus at
Church Were in
Full Bloom on
Monday, August 3
Come By and Sign the Habitat Stud
Come on by the fellowship hall and sign the Habitat stud. They will be built into the next Habitat House this fall. You have until September 15 to come by. Share your prayers and best wishes for Gary’s new house and his two young boys.
More Kiva Loans Confirmands Help Choose
Veronique Cameroon/Fruits & vegetables $25
$25 A loan of $350 helps to buy more stocks of fresh foods
(plantains, taro, and cassava).
Abisunzekristo Cb Group
A loan of totaling $3,500 helps a member to increase the stock of various types of food in her restaurant
Yeremy Rafael
Alpha, Gutierrez Brown, Coto Brus,
Puntarenas, Costa Rica / Cattle $25
A loan of $525 helps to purchase calves
to raise so he can take advantage of his land.
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