Tarrytown United Methodist Church

Sunday Worship Services
8:30am // 9:30am // 11:00am
Learn More
©2018 TUMC AUSTIN

To Everything There is a Season

By

“Timing is everything.”

While there is no consensus on who originated that quote, found everywhere from posters to country songs to novels, I like to think the following Bible verse might have started it all:

“To everything there is a season, and a time for everything under heaven.” —Ecclesiastes 3:1

This year the time change falls on the first weekend of spring break, and Palm Sunday occurs at the end. Easter is very, very early. Throw in SXSW and our city is filling, emptying and filling again at a frantic pace. Throw in days of rain. A season of drought, days of flood. Timing.

missy jenson family

Even closer to home… last year one of our associate pastors received a new appointment. This year we receive a new associate pastor. After listening to the congregation, we told the District Superintendent the skills we were looking for, and the District Superintendent found us a match. Rev. Missy Jenson learned well the season of pastoral appointments while growing up and moving six times to the next United Methodist church in her father’s ministry. She accepted the appointment to TUMC, and earlier this week the Staff Parish Relations Committee was introduced to Missy and her husband, Ryan. We accept her, too, and will welcome the family into our congregation on the official “change” date, July 1. Timing.

The season of Lent always brings us along the journey with Jesus to Jerusalem. This Lent we have considered how to Build a Beautiful Life through Love, Joy, Gratitude, Compassion and Prayer. I know you join me in praying for Missy, Ryan, Addison and Jacob Jenson as they begin their journey toward TUMC. Her experience, gifts, passion and presence will deepen this season in our life together and move us forward as Christ’s beloved church in the world.

Always time for worship, and your presence blesses many,

Bobbi Kaye

Introducing Rev. Missy Jenson

By

Mary McDonald with Rev. Missy Jensen and her husband Ryan after meeting with the SPRC.
Mary McDonald with Rev. Missy Jenson and her husband Ryan after meeting with the SPRC.

Meet Rev. Missy Jenson, our newly appointed associate pastor, who will join the TUMC staff on July 1, 2016.

As you may recall, we entered the appointive process following Margot Perez-Greene’s move to El Campo last summer. After receiving congregational input, the Staff Parish Relations Committee (SPRC) provided Rev. Teresa Welborn, our District Superintendent, with a pastoral profile and job description.

Missy is a wonderful match with the qualities we were hoping for: Hospitality and evangelism experience, a good communicator, strength in preaching, new member orientation experience, someone that can add diversity to our clergy team, a team player with experience working under supervision, and large church experience as member or on staff.

Missy currently serves as associate pastor at First United Methodist Church New Braunfels. Her husband Ryan is the Campus Minister at Texas State University in San Marcos and they have two children, Addison and Jacob.

Over the next few weeks we will be sharing more about Missy and our plans to welcome the Jenson family to Tarrytown United Methodist Church.

Mary McDonald
Chair of Staff Parish Relations Committee

Showing Radical Hospitality

By

Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so some have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.
—Hebrews 13:2

These lovely girls are not strangers, and many of them are our own TUMC daughters, even if perhaps not angels all the time.

They did receive hospitality on a recent Friday afternoon as I participated in earning their “My Promise, My Faith” pins and finishing up the “Give Back” badge. “My Promise, My Faith” pin is earned using the Girl Scout Law as a guide to discuss what faith and Scouting have in common, and “Give Back” provides them a way to direct funds from cookie sales in a philanthropic way. Led by Ashley Zimmermann, Misty Bray and Laura Howard, the Brownies discussed and voted on recipients of a cash gift: Haitian children’s relief. They also learned about Freestore Austin and sorted toiletries and other gifts to donate right here. They very naturally practiced our mission of “serving neighbors far and near.”

BK_girlscouts

Nearly every day of every week of every month, TUMC serves neighbors near through hospitality. Not only do we welcome Scout Troops, in these first days of 2016, we have shown hospitality to:

  • Conspirare Youth Choir
  • Six different Twelve Step Groups
  • Retired Doctors Monthly Gathering
  • Austin Chapter of the Native Plant Society of Texas
  • Alzheimer’s Support Group
  • Central Austin Young Life – Capernaum
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness Support Groups
  • Dream Come True Board Meeting
  • Austin Rotary Mission Project
  • Retired United Methodist Pastors Gathering
  • Full-time office space for Drive a Senior

Before I was appointed here, Sr. Pastor Robert Hall invited Bishop Robert Schnase to come and teach from his denomination-sweeping book Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. Radical Hospitality is chapter One. Why? In Bishop Schnase’s words, “Out of genuine love for Christ, vibrant, fruitful growing congregations focus on those outside their congregations as much as they attend to the nurture and growth of those who already belong. The words radical and hospitality are not usually together in one phrase. To advance the church of Jesus, perhaps they should be.”

Hospitality streams through Scripture: Deuteronomy, Jesus, Paul, and the early Christians. It is deep in our Wesleyan DNA. And it makes a difference. We are vibrant, fruitful and growing. Your generosity enables us to be so. At the beginning of my Brownie adventure, Gracie Greenway walked right up to me and asked, “Are you my mom’s friend? Her name is Virginia Greenway.” I said, “YES I am your mom’s friend,” and I was touched and pleased she wanted to make a connection on her own.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
—1 Peter 4.8

I’ll see you in worship on Sunday,

Bobbi Kaye