Category: News

Since July 19, 1936 we have shared the love and mercy of Jesus Christ through the witness of First English Evangelical Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas. We give thanks to God for all the saints who have and continue to shape the character, worship, proclamation, learning, engagement, witness, benevolence, and volunteer action of FELC for 86 years strong. On Sunday, July 17 we celebrated with festive worship & hospitality. We welcomed the Rev. Robert Karli as our guest preacher.  Bob Karli served as the fourth pastor of FELC from 1984-2007.

To watch Pastor Karli’s anniversary sermon, visit here on YouTube. The sermon begins at 23:17.

For historical information about our church and our mission and life, visit here

“We all know the church is not a building, it is people. People helping and loving other people in the name of Christ.”

The Rev. Doris Gurst Williams Dupree Harris died July 8, 2022. Born on March 5, 1949 in Biloxi, Mississippi and studying at the University of Minnesota, Pastor Harris was the first Black female pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to serve in Texas. Most of her ministry occurred in the Dallas area. Pastor Harris served her seminary internship year at St. John’s / San Juan Lutheran Church in Austin. She became the first Black female to attend clergy, conference, and youth meetings in Texas. Pastor Harris is survived by numerous family, friends, and colleagues.  Her funeral liturgy will be celebrated on Thursday, July 21 at 11:00 AM at New Life in Christ Lutheran Church in Duncanville, Texas. The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America gives thanks for the ministry and faithful witness of Doris Harris.

More/Mas, Better/Mejor, Together/Juntos

On Sunday, July 10, we welcomed the Rev. T. Carlos (Tim) Anderson as our guest preacher. Pastor Tim is the Director of Community Development for Austin City Lutherans (the “other” ACL). For more information on ACL’s ministry, including Bread for All food pantry, Mariposa Family Learning Center, and supporting homeless neighbors in transition, visit breadforall-atx.org. You can also find more information about ACL’s comprehensive strategy on combating and preventing homeless in Austin—and how to be involved!  FELC is an active participant in ACL since 2011. Click here to watch the gospel story and Pastor Tim’s sermon from Sunday, beginning at 15.00.

We give thanks to God and celebrate with the Rev. Ele Clay as she was installed as pastor/redeveloper of Augustana Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas on Sunday, July 10. As a community leader, Pastor Clay will serve with the faithful people of Augustana in reconciliation, advocacy, caring, and justice-making with neighbors in the Third Ward of Houston. Pastor Clay has also been appointed by Bishop Michael Rinehart of the Texas-Louisiana Gulf Coast Synod as his advisor for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. She was ordained into the ministry of word and sacrament in the ELCA on June 3, 2018. Ele served as Administrative Assistant at First English from 2009-2016 and was a seminarian to Luther Seminary from this congregation. Blessings on your continued ministry, Pastor Ele.

Pastor Coffey will be on vacation from July 4 and returning on July 18. If you are in need of pastoral care, please contact Bryan Rust in the church office.

Tiny Desk Sermon will not air on Wednesday, July 13. Join us later in the month on the First English Lutheran Church YouTube channel as we explore the bible stories for our Sunday worship. The Summer Adult Forum with Pastor Coffey will not meet the first two weeks of July and will resume on Tuesday, July 19 at 7:00 PM on FELC Community Zoom.

ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a pastoral message on the SCOTUS ruling regarding Roe v. Wade. We invite you to read it here.

This weekend we remembered Juneteenth (June 19), the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the ending of slavery in the United States. From its Galveston, Texas origin in 1865, the observance of June 19th as the African American Emancipation Day has spread across the United States and beyond. We reflect on the vision of hope that filled the newly freed people in this country who began new lives by creating schools and colleges.  Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stressed that education is one of the pillars of equity. We are invited to act by directly supporting Huston-Tillotson University in Austin, one of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We encourage you to invest now at: www.htu.edu Donor cards and pre-addressed envelopes are also available in the sanctuary and during Sunday morning hospitality time.

POOR PEOPLE’S CAMPAIGN is a nonviolent inclusive movement, bringing together a multi-faceted group in what Bishop William Barber, its co-chair, calls “fusion politics.” This group is concerned with the lack of the moral will in Washington to respond to the needs of 140,000,000 Americans who are not making it in our country today. 

Last Saturday an estimated 150,000 came together for the event in person and many more virtually, including a number of our FELC Action Team members and participants.

Here is the link for the entire live stream:  https://fb.watch/dMskxWqV7t/ .  We of the FELC Racial Justice Task Force recommend it to you.  It does have a “tremendous cumulative power”, but it is five hours, so you may want to do some skipping to get an overview.  

As a congregation and synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America we gather regularly for worship, witness, learning, service and support, There were approximately 300 total participants, including lay, rostered pastors and deacons, and guests involved in the 2022 Southwestern Texas Synod assembly, entitled Got Good News? Go with it! meeting in New Braunfels June 10-12. FELC voting members included Pastor Coffey, Michelle Lingo, and Andy MacLaren.  Others from FELC in attendance included Pastor Brad Fuerst (LuMin, Austin) and Pastor Tim Lincoln (Austin Presbyterian Seminary) and Cassie Smith was present as a regional coordinator for Reconciling Works, our ministry of welcome and advocacy with and for people of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions. There are 115 congregations with over 33,000 baptized people as a part of our synod, A report from the assembly follows:

• $42,320.64 has been given so far to the Evangelical Mission Endowment fund, which provides services throughout the State of Texas to vulnerable settings like Platicas de Santa Sophia in San Antonio, Eagle Pass Frontera Ministries (that FELC currently supports with benevolence donations), and New Lutheran Apostolic Network of South Texas. To encourage gifts, Bishop Sue Briner and the synod staff has issued a challenge: every dollar donated to this offering before August 31, the synod staff will take one step! Visit the Give Tab at www.swtsynod.org for more info.;

• There were two memorials voted on during the assembly which encourage our churches and to a broader sense that all of us personally must reduce our greenhouse gasses and remain self-aware of how we can better sustain our planet for the future generations;
• Our own Bob Karli was recognized on his 50th anniversary of ordination to the ministry of word and sacrament in the Lutheran Church (July, 2021), to which we thank Pastor Karli for all his years faithful service. Pastor Karli served as the 4th pastor of FELC from 1984-2007;
• We were reminded that we all need to “Become the Beloved Community”, whereby we do not tolerate racism and work for a broader and more diverse group of participants in the life of our churches;
• All Creation Sings is a new, multi-cultural worship and music hymnal and resource of the ELCA, with new musical settings, which we at FELC already are using in recently singing newly composed hymns from that resource;
• The assembly was presented in multiple languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, French, and English;
• We were given reports by our Cross Trails Ministry, whereby we learned that 1500 people had already been served in 2022; Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville is 70 yrs young and Ebert Ranch in Harper is 40 yrs young. Cross Trails also hosts a Men’s Conference is Oct 21-23 at Camp Chrysalis. Go to crosstrails.org/news to learn how you can contribute and become involved;
• Lutheran Women in Mission is another way to become involved, through project Radical Hospitality. They need gift cards and your involvement; go to www.swtsynod.org to learn more;
• We attended workshops and directed conversation on collaborative ministries, the church’s role in a divided society and modeling deliberative dialogue for crucial conversations, and on migration ministries. All of these workshops provided resources that we have for our use and guidance, including facilitators willing to come to our congregation to offer training;
• We learned the value of One to One Story sharing guidelines, which we can all benefit from as we learn about others in our congregations and neighborhoods. This is a tremendous way to be in relationship and connection with others and gives all of us the opportunity to learn about one another. We were reminded that this can happen with multiple generations, not just our own age group!

Andy MacLaren plans to be at FELC Sunday, June 19th to provide any feedback or answer any questions. 

Respectfully submitted,

— Andy MacLaren & Michelle Lingo,

FELC Voting Members to 2022 Synod Assembly

andymaclaren@cs.com or michellelingojd@gmail.com