First English Lutheran Church | Austin, Texas
God Loves. We Love. Everyone!
This Advent we begin using our new Advent paraments and vestments. They were designed and created by Jeff Wunrow Designs, the same company that made our recent White, Green, and Red paraments and vestments. These beautiful additions to our worship life were paid for from the Metzger Endowment, established for these very purposes. We have one more new set to be completed next year: Lent.
We welcome your prayer requests for needs and thanksgivings for yourself, for individuals, and for families. Prayer requests for the FELC prayer list (online, in print, and in worship) should be submitted using this online form.
Service & Celebration: Sunday, November 20 at 3:00 PM
Please join Interfaith Action of Central Texas as we celebrate our 38th Annual Interfaith Day of Thanks Service & Celebration on Sunday, November 20, 2022 at 3:00 PM.
This year’s celebration will take place at St Matthew’s Episcopal Church (8134 Mesa Dr, Austin, TX 78759). People of all faith traditions will gather together to celebrate what it is they are thankful for in a stunningly beautiful and moving display of interfaith unity.
This event is free. To register if you plan to attend, click here.
In its first performance together in nearly three years, Austin Cantorum presents “The Infinite Path,” a choral reflection on our journey together through life. Presenting music that explores our intrinsic need for home and connection while acknowledging the drive we have for the unknown. Featuring favorite selections from Cantorum’s past concerts plus works by Thomas LaVoy, Alfred Schnittke, David Lang, Eric Whitacre, and others.
Please join Austin Cantorum. They are always thrilled to provide a charming evening of beautiful and reflective music. You won’t have to pay to attend, but they graciously accept donations at the door.
For more information, click here.
Have you noticed that in our worship bulletins we list Hospitality as the last part of the liturgy? Gathering together to welcome one another is a central theme of church life that we will explore in our next Sunday Symposium.
When have you experienced hospitality that touched you? How have you found joy in welcoming others? Why is hospitality named as an important characteristic of the church in the New Testament?
Join us for an open conversation on this theme as we seek to learn, listen, and seek a deeper understanding of the place of hospitality in our lives and how we might think about it and practice it in new ways.
We’ll gather around 11:30 in the parlor (continuing our hospitality time after worship) for this conversation.
Thanks to everyone who helped make this year’s Oktoberfest a great event with excellent food, beer, and even better fellowship.
The combined choirs from Peace Lutheran Church and St. Michael’s Episcopal Church in Austin present John Rutter’s REQUIEM
Sunday, November 6
5:00 PM
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church
1500 N. Capital of Texas Highway
Austin, TX 78746.
English composer, conductor, and arranger John Rutter’s Requiem is a musical setting of parts of the Latin Requiem. This Requiem has added psalms and biblical verses in English, and was completed in 1985. It is scored for soprano, mixed choir, and chamber ensemble.
Five of its seven movements are based on text from the Latin Requiem Mass, while the second movement is a setting of “Out of the deep” (Pslam 130) and the sixth movement is an anthem “The Lord’s My Shepherd” (Psalm 23) which Rutter had earlier written.
On Sunday, November 6, we celebrate the Feast of All Saints’ (which is November 1) – a time to remember and give thanks for saints near and far, famous and familiar only to us, those who died long ago, those we have lost recently. As part of the observance, we will read the names of those from FELC who have died during the past year. We invite you to bring pictures/mementos of anyone who has died to place on our Remembrance Table in the Chapel of the Saints. You will be invited to write the names of anyone who has died in the past year in the Book of the Dead. Candles may be lighted in honor of deceased loved ones. This sacred space will remain in the Chapel in November.
Join us for this beautiful and meaningful annual observance. Worship begins at 10 am in person and on livestream.
Join us for Sunday worship as we celebrate the heritage of the Lutheran Reformation and the good news of God’s grace in Christ through Word, song, prayer, and Holy Communion.
At the festival of the Reformation, we celebrate the heart of our faith: the gospel of Christ—the good news—that makes us free! By the end of the seventeenth century, many Lutheran churches celebrated a festival commemorating Martin Luther’s posting of the Ninety-five Theses, a summary of abuses in the church of his time. We pray that the Holy Spirit would continue to unite and empower the whole church in this age and in this place in its witness of love, justice, healing, and joy with and for all. The primary color red reminds us of the fire, warmth, strength, and challenge of the Holy Spirit in the church and with the world. We encourage you to wear red as a visible sign of the Spirit’s power among us.
Once again FELC will follow the ancient church practice of a longer Advent season – usually six or seven weeks beginning after All Saints’ Sunday. Advent is about much more than preparation for Christmas. It is a time for contemplation, repentance, hopeful waiting, and eager expectation of the restored world God is bringing through Christ.
Our current lectionary (the assigned readings for each Sunday) already contains bible texts that reflect these themes. Our liturgy will begin using the primary color blue, shift to a more contemplative style, and create opportunities for reflection throughout the liturgy and season.
To begin our extended Advent time on November 13, we welcome FELC music director Bryan Rust as our preacher.