As we move through this year of ministry transition, we have opportunities to reflect and engage transformation. In our worship each first Sunday of the month, we will receive a witness to the impact of generosity in our lives. This witness could be about a ministry our congregation is currently undertaking, a ministry that people in the congregation engage, or an initiative that is new to many of us.
In April we receive a witness on child abuse prevention from LaRu Woody. We invite you to read LaRu’s witness by clicking here.
The FELC Transition Team has answered all of the questions in the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) and is beginning to wrap up our editing phase. The team is currently finalizing the wording and cohesiveness of the MSP and also focusing on answers to the optional MSP component which is called “Seven Reflections on Ministry and Context.”
The team will be coordinating with the FELC Council to present the MSP draft for discussion and review. Once accepted by the Council and finalized, the MSP will be submitted to the Southwestern Texas Synod. A copy of the MSP will also be shared with the congregation at that time. Please note that when the MSP is shared with the FELC community, it will be in its final form and accepting no further edits. We will then await pastoral candidate matches from the Synod for discernment and interviews.
The Transition Team continues to be grateful for your support, patience, and prayers. —
On Sunday, April 7th, FELC bid farewell and offered God’s continuing blessings to Pastor Timothy Lincoln, a member of our congregation. Tim and Laura Lincoln are moving to Eau Claire, Wisconsin this month as Tim retires this year. We’re grateful for Tim’s witness among us, thankful for his leadership as a supply preacher and presider over the years, and we give thanks to God for his faithful ministry in the ELCA.
For more photos and information, see the First English Lutheran Church-Austin, Texas Facebook page.
The Rev. Timothy Lincoln, PhD, is an ELCA minister of word and sacrament. After serving as pastor in Detroit Lakes, MN and as librarian at Maryknoll School of Theology in New York, Pastor Lincoln was called as the Director of the Stitt Library (Wright Learning & Information Center) at Austin Presbyterian Seminary in 1994, and then also as an Associate Dean. A graduate of Concordia College (MN), Yale Divinity School, Simmons College, and UT Austin, Dr. Lincoln has published in several journals, including Feminist Theology, Theological Education, and Journal of Men, Masculinities and Spirituality. He’s also published a book on qualitative research methods. Tim served on the Council of the Southwestern Texas Synod. Tim and Laura Lincoln are parents to two adult children and grandparents to three granddaughters. Texas has blessed to be in life and ministry with the Lincoln’s for 30 years.
This is an unusual month – solar eclipse, all the hype surrounding the solar eclipse, special eclipse donuts. And now, to make April more unusual, Game Night is moving from April 20 to Saturday, April 27.
On April 20 the church is hosting the Austin Cantorum Sparks! of Genius concert (https://www.austincantorum.com/), so the space will be unavailable for Game Night entertainment. However, if you are a fan of Hildegard von Bingen, this is a chance to enjoy some of her music. But be forewarned – April 27 will not include a potluck.
By fortunate happenstance, or perhaps because it was pre-ordained, April 27 is the church’s annual Chicken BBQ! As always, everyone is welcome. And once we lick all the BBQ sauce from our fingers, we can play board games! Assuming we’re not all in a food coma by then…!
On Sunday, April 7, FELC will join Upbring in calling awareness to and advocacy for the prevention of child abuse. This is an opportunity to join with churches across Texas to raise awareness of Upbring’s efforts to break the cycle of child abuse and ask God to protect, comfort, and heal the thousands of children who are survivors of child abuse each year. For more than a century, from the service-minded Lutherans who dreamed of building an orphanage in the 1860s to the vital programs in place today throughout Texas, Upbring has grown and adapted to the changing needs of society. Although they have been known by different names, the meaning behind Upbring, honors the past while promising a commitment to the future – one that is long standing, innovative, and designed to “bring up” children and families just as predecessors have done. On Sunday, April 7 we are invited to wear the color blue in solidarity and awareness with children and families responding to child abuse. For more information, visit www.upbring.org
Learning Ministry Update Happy Easter! Faith Formation is reconvening after taking some time off for Holy Week festivities.
Children’s Faith Formation: Children will join Leigh Northcutt this Sunday, April 7 at 9am in the Library for our first week in our Parable of the Prodigal Son rotation. We currently do not have anyone signed up to lead on Sunday, April 14. Please contact Betsy Appleton if you are able to lead on April 14.
Adult Faith Formation: Adults will join Gwen Flory this Sunday, April 7 at 9am in the Parlor for her session, Every Day Is Earth Day: Actionable Ways Each Of Us Can Help Protect Our Planet. On April 14, LaRu Woody will lead a follow-up session to talk about some of the issues raised in Leigh Northcutt-Benson’s previous discussion of mass incarceration and the book The New Jim Crow. In this session we will be exploring questions related to punishment in the criminal justice system. This will be a “nuts and bolts” presentation of accountability in Texas criminal courts. Come prepared to talk about the theories of punishment, sentencing practices, Texas law and how would YOU decide?
FELC is volunteering at Lutheran Campus Ministry’s Tailgate Tuesday next Tuesday, April 9. LuMin is now feeding over 450 students each week. Thank you to everyone who has signed up for the 3pm to 5pm shift. Currently, no one is signed up to cook from 5pm to 7pm. This is a great opportunity to experience God’s work, Our hands. Please sign up to volunteer. Your time will be greatly appreciated. You may also come and offer support and presence – and you can give financially. Please click on this link https://tinyurl.com/2s46e45d to signup.
There is parking on the south side of 21st St. If you need a ride, we will meet at FELC at 2:45 and carpool to West Campus, or you can meet us there. If you have any questions, please contact Paul Barlow at tpaulbarlow@gmail.com.
. . . our west doors are back, right in time for Holy Week. We were able to process in Sunday morning, waving palms and signing Hosannas!
The Restorhaus crew was on-site for 2 full days, installing the doors and making many small adjustments, there are still some hardware and trim items outstanding. The south doors are now on their way up to Lubbock to be repaired and refinished.
Also, big thanks to Randy and Nancy who put their skills to work painting the lamps and railings. It’s tedious work getting into all those crevices and curlicues, but they knocked it out. Our west patio is looking sharp!
Greetings and a Blessed Holy Week from the FELC Transition Team! We have largely completed our first draft of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). What we are now doing is working through the document as a whole to ensure each answer authentically captures our ministry site and is reflective of our whole community. We’re editing and revising! This part of the process will take place over multiple meetings. When we’re ready, the next step will be to present the MSP to the Council for review and discussion. Once accepted by the Council, the MSP will be shared with the congregation and submitted to the Southwestern Texas Synod (you will have an opportunity to read the MSP in its final form). Once in the Synod’s hands, we will wait for the Office of the Bishop to provide us with potential pastor candidates for discernment and interviews. We are so grateful for your prayers, support, and patience throughout this important process.
