Category: News

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.

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. —

FELC Transition Team 

FELCTransitionMinistry@felcaustin.org

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.