Gather and rejoice with us in the UUMC Sanctuary as we celebrate Jesus' resurrection and God's irrepressible love, which not even the tomb could contain. Rev. John Elford, Senior Pastor, preaches on "What it Means to Believe the Resurrection" (Colossians 3:1-4, 12-17 and Mark 16:1-8). Campus Ministry will not meet tonight, but will resume April 12. To listen to our sermon archives, visit our UUMC podcast page: http://universityumc.podomatic.com/.
 
Good Friday | Fri. April 3

Good Friday | Fri. April 3, 7:30 pm, Sanctuary

Good Friday is the most somber day on the Christian calendar. It's the time we remember when Jesus was crucified and died. On Good Friday, University UMC marks the evening with a Tenebrae service. The word tenebrae comes from the Latin word meaning "darkness."  The Tenebrae is an ancient Christian Good Friday service that makes use of gradually diminishing light to symbolize the events of Holy Week, from the triumphant Palm Sunday entry through Jesus' burial. This increasing darkness symbolizes the approaching darkness of Jesus' death and of hopelessness in the world without God. The service concludes in darkness, symbolizing the death of Jesus. The worshipers then leave in silence to ponder the impact of Christ's death and await the coming resurrection.

   

Easter Picnic & Festival | Sat. April 4

Children's Ministry Easter Season Festival Picnic & Egg Hunt | Sat. April 4

10:30 am to 12:30 pm,  Eastwoods Park, 3001 Harris Park Ave., 78705  

Join us as we celebrate the Easter season as a multi-generational community of faith. Activities include a petting zoo, pi�ata, Easter egg hunt (cascarones), face painting and games. A barbeque picnic lunch will be provided. If you are able, please bring fruit, drinks, vegetables, salad or a side item to share. For more information, contact Natasha Ulack, Children's Ministry Director, at [email protected].

 

Get Involved, Grow in Faith | Social Justice & Missions 
Our community of faith is committed to working toward social justice and caring for the marginalized. "Praxis" serves as our congregation's online hub for news and conversations of social justice and mission at UUMC and within the surrounding Austin community. Please contact Heather Lee, Justice Associate, at [email protected] with mission or social justice updates, opportunities, pictures and event notices.
 
Rev. Susan Beaumont at UUMC | Fri. April 17
Working Together to Strengthen UUMC | April 17-18    
We want University UMC to be a community of faith that is spiritually vital, relationally whole and organizationally strong. We need your presence and voice as we build a community that is not only a place of healing and reconciliation, but one that is engaged in mission and justice in the wider community. Join us on Fri. April 17 at 6 pm for a church-wide dinner and conversation with Rev. Susan Beaumont, a noted expert in large-church dynamics. She's the author of "Inside the Large Congregation" and will be here to help us live into our calling as a community of faith. We also invite you -- especially UUMC members who serve in leadership roles -- to join Rev. Beaumont on Sat. April 18 from 9 am to 3 pm for workshops on effective church governance and what the future might look like for UUMC's internal organization. A light breakfast and lunch will be served. Please RSVP for both or either events to Maren Roberts, our administrative associate, at
University UMC News + Church Events
Tuesday Night Lights Registration Now Open
Tuesday Night Lights adult education classes are back at University UMC on April 7 through April 28. Click here now to register online. Cost is $20, including books and materials. Classes are from 6:30 to 8 pm, and free childcare is available by reservation one week in advance. 
Centering Prayer:
Centering Prayer is a receptive method of silent prayer that prepares us to receive the gift of contemplative prayer -- prayer in which we experience God's presence within us, closer than breathing, closer than thinking, closer than consciousness itself. This method of prayer is both a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationship. Centering Prayer is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer. Rather, it adds depth of meaning to all prayer and facilitates the movement from more active modes of prayer -- verbal, mental or affective prayer -- into a receptive prayer of resting in God. Centering Prayer emphasizes prayer as a personal relationship with God and as a movement beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Christ.
A testimonial from Annanda Barclay: "Centering prayer has transformed my faith and deepens my relationship with God, those who I am in relationship with, and myself. I find after prayer I am more calm, slower to anger, more present to myself and more aware of the world around me. As someone who has been active in the church, has gone to seminary, and is in the ordination process, I felt there was something missing from my spiritual discipline. Throughout my life I have heard a small number of Christians who I looked up to tell me, "prayer changes things" or "there is power in prayer". It wasn't until centering prayer that I now understand what they meant. They all had a similar spiritual discipline of intentionally spending time with God. This intentional time is what deepened their faith and understanding. It is what enabled them to be loving to all including the self. These were people who I also found were most open to personal and communal growth through empathy and compassion (even when it was most difficult for them). When I saw Jan, during my visit, I had to talk to her about it because I knew she could relate to the transformation I continue to experience. I am a better person because of Centering Prayer. These gifts it brings of self and other awareness have decreased stress in my life and have better equipped me to handle the storms that come. It is an ancient life-giving gift of our Christian tradition, one I am so grateful to re-claim."
Class facilitated by UUMC member Jan Reed
Reading the Bible Again for the First Time - New Testament emphasis: 
One of the vital challenges facing thoughtful people today is how to read the Bible faithfully without abandoning our sense of truth and history. "Reading the Bible Again for the First Time" provides a much-needed solution to the problem of how to have a fully authentic yet contemporary understanding of the scriptures. Many mistakenly believe there are no choices other than fundamentalism or simply rejecting the Bible as something that can bring meaning to our lives. Answering this modern dilemma, acclaimed author Marcus Borg reveals how it is possible to reconcile the Bible with both a scientific and critical way of thinking and our deepest spiritual needs, leading to a contemporary yet grounded experience of the sacred texts.
Class facilitated by Rev. John Elford   
Jesus, Sex & Violence:
What were Jesus' fundamental teachings about sex? What did he have to say about violence? How feasible are Jesus' teachings for us in the 21st Century? Come join this wide-ranging, thought-provoking discussion as we unpack faith-filled ways of understanding these issues.
Class facilitated by Rev. Bill Frisbie 

 

UUMC Family Camping Trip | Fri. April 10 through Sun. April 12 
It's camping time again! Join the families of children and youth for our 5th Annual Family Camping Trip. Bring your family and join us both nights or just one night for fun in the fresh air. Get ready for hiking, swimming, exploring and s'mores. All families will be asked to bring a dinner and breakfast item to share. The sites are accessible to bathrooms and water spouts. This event is for campers of all levels. Park entrance fee is $5 per night for adults while children under 12 years old are free. We will be having a Godly Play class for children and adults on Sunday morning. Spaces are limited -- RSVP by Friday, April 3, to [email protected].     
 
Sign up for UUMC's Vacation Church Camp | June 15-19, 9 am to 1 pm
Click here now to register your children and their friends for the best week of the year at University UMC: Vacation Church Camp! Our activities are geared to kids ages 4 through the completion of Fifth Grade. Cost is $25 per child. For more information about camp, contact Natasha Ulack, Director of Children's Ministries, at [email protected].
      
Flowers in the Sanctuary
If you'd like to place flowers in the Sanctuary on a special Sunday in the upcoming year, please contact the Church Office at [email protected]. We have openings throughout the spring including:  April 12, and May 3, 10, 24 & 31. Arrangements cost $75. UUMC volunteers later use the flowers to make and deliver arrangements for seniors on their birthdays as well as homebound and hospitalized parishioners.