Author: FELC Office

Everyone is invited to the longest-running community & social event of FELC (since 1964): our annual chicken BBQ, to be held in our parking lot (weather permitting)! Our pitmasters will start smoking chickens in our outdoor smoker pit in the afternoon, and our potato salad and beans team will be getting the sides ready.

You’re welcome to come and visit beginning at 4 pm. BYOB.

Dinner will be served around 6 pm, and includes BBQ chicken, beans, potato salad, drinks, and ice cream. Beans and potato salad are vegetarian. Vegans are welcome to bring their favorite dish to share. All are welcome! 

Support Lutheran Disaster Response & Folks at the Texas Border

The Synod Assembly of the Southwestern Texas Synod will convene May 3-5 in Corpus Christi. And, this month, there are tangible ways FELC can participate and support friends in need!

At its annual meeting in January, FELC elected Claudia and Paul Barlow to serve as voting members from our congregation. As a congregation and synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America FELC gathers annually for worship, witness, learning, service and support, and to conduct the business of our church.

This year, Southwestern Texas Synod voting members (comprised of rostered leaders (deacons and pastors) and elected lay members from congregations) will also elect our synod bishop. The ELCA consists of 65 synods (or regions) and each synod is served and led by an elected bishop. The term of a bishop in the ELCA is normally six years. For more information on the election of the synod bishop, including pre-identified potential nominees, visit here.

There are several ways that FELC participants can support the synod assembly benevolence activities.

This year’s assembly offering will support the Lutheran Disaster Response, our ELCA ministry that responds to natural and unnatural disasters in the United States and around the world.  If you would like to contribute to the donations to Lutheran Disaster Response you may share a contribution on Sunday, April 28 (please make checks payable directly to Southwestern Texas Synod, memo Lutheran Disaster Response; cash is also welcome).

Assembly participants are also collecting new or gently used laceless tennis shoes for adults and children to be distributed at the Texas border in response to the crisis there.  Please consider bringing shoes to FELC to donate to the synod assembly through Sunday, April 28.

For more information on Synod Assembly benevolence activities, contact Claudia Barlow.

Thank you for your input to identify organizations and agencies our community of faith will partner with in 2024. The Benevolence Task Force and Church Council considered organizations that reflect our biblical and congregational values; some organizations that are local and others that are global in their outreach and witness.

At its April 15 meeting, the Congregation Council enthusiastically approved organizations that we will support and advocate with this year: LuMin Austin, Global Refuge, and our very own FELCDC!

Please read the comprehensive report here for more information!

We have hired our church office administrator! Dawn Wetzel will be joining our ministry this coming week in the 20 hour per week position. Some may know Dawn, a former FELC member, former member of the Church Council, and former FELC choir member. Dawn comes among us with decades of professional ministry experience.

The Church Office Administrator will serve on campus and offsite, and will be available Monday through Thursday. The church office is closed on Friday. Stay tuned for church office hours and more information.

We are excited to welcome Dawn and to serve in ministry together.

Here’s some information about Dawn Wetzel:

Dawn Wetzel had her eyes on retirement in December 2023. Then in April 2024, a conversation with a friend at First English opened up a new professional opportunity in an environment she knew would be welcoming and challenging. 

Dawn is a graduate of Concordia University-Texas. She has worked as an administrative assistant in the Round Rock School District, then went on to serve two Lutheran congregations in the Austin area in an administrative capacity, as well as in the area of Youth and Family Ministry. 

Dawn has been married to Daryl for 42 years. Their family of two daughters now includes husbands and four grandchildren. They live in Spicewood, Texas, with Dawn’s mom, Janet. When they’re not enjoying Hill Country sunsets, they’re traveling, spending time with family and friends, or simply living and appreciating life to its fullest. 

The Church Council met on April 15.

We have hired a new church office administrator. Dawn Wetzel, previously a member of this congregation, of Church Council, and an alto in the choir, will serve in the 20 hour/week position. We look forward to benefiting from her many years of experience as a church office administrator. Welcome back, Dawn!!

Pastor Katy Miles-Wallace of the Southwestern Texas Synod joined the Council meeting at our invitation to share details of the IDE program they have designed. The Council unanimously agreed to commit engaged participation in these trainings which may be used in other congregations to spread the message of inclusion, diversity, and equity across the region. A schedule of the training opportunities is flexible and yet to be determined. We look forward to growing into a more informed congregation and sharing feedback with Pastor Katy to help refine this program over the next couple of years.

The Council received a Transition Team update confirming that completion of the Ministry Site Profile is near. Final edits are ongoing. The Council is prepared to receive the MSP from the Transition Team when sent.

The Child Development Center reported that enrollment increased slightly. They will host a book fair April 22-26.

The Racial Justice Ministry Team report included that some Adult Faith Formation classes in May will focus on the history of Native American Citizenship.

The Council approved the recommendation of the Benevolence Task Force (Merrily Porter, Ben Rode, Teresa Ringness, Claudia Barlow) to direct our pooled benevolence of 2024 quarterly surplus offerings to Global Refuge, LuMin, and FELC Child Development Center. (Please read this report.)

The Council received other ministry team and committee reports.

The next Church Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 20.

Respectfully submitted,
Nancy Baden
Council Secretary

councilsecretary@felcaustin.org

Caregiving — it’s called loving our neighbors as ourselves.  Our neighbors are family members and friends, near and far, who may need our support for the activities of daily living..  And FELC caregivers meet to support one another.  

Join us 7-8:30pm on the 4th Monday of each month via Zoom.  

Next meeting is Monday, April 22, 7pm.  Come and be with us this Monday. 

Email Barbara W at bwiederaenders@att.net to receive the link to the meeting.

The FELC Book Club gathers Sunday, April 14 from 1:00 to 3:00pm. Our book this month is Beyond Magenta: Transgender and Nonbinary Teens Speak Out, Susan Kuklin. It’s a fascinating book. Join the conversation; all are welcome, even if you haven’t read the book. For information and meeting location contact Anne Wiebe at wiebeanne@hotmail.com.

Here’s amazon.com’s summary:

Author and photographer Susan Kuklin met and interviewed six transgender or gender-neutral young adults and used her considerable skills to represent them thoughtfully and respectfully before, during, and after their personal acknowledgment of gender preference. Portraits, family photographs, and candid images grace the pages, augmenting the emotional and physical journey each youth has taken. Each honest discussion and disclosure, whether joyful or heartbreaking, is completely different from the other because of family dynamics, living situations, gender, and the transition these teens make in recognition of their true selves.

Last week we said goodbye and gave our thanks to outgoing Church Office Administrator Randi Ladolcetta.

The Congregation Council offered Randi a gift and she returned her thanks: “I want to thank you for such a thoughtful gift. It was a wonderful surprise and left me speechless.  It’s been a pleasure working with you all, and I’ll be praying for FELC during your time of transition.”

May God bless you, Randi- in your family, your health, and your next adventures!

: Cantor Bryan Rust, Randi Ladolcetta, CDC Director Dr. Paulette Clemons, and Assistant CDC Director Cat Holness.