Category: News

On Sunday, October 6, as part of our “Blessing of Animals” celebration Fred Woody will lead a Children’s Faith Formation session on Saints, specifically the story of Saint Francis of Assissi, gathering at 9 am in the FELC Library. Following the 10:00 am worship service, “Tiny Tails to You” will have some of God’s small creatures in the Fellowship Hall for children of all ages to hold and pet until 12:15.

Also on Sunday, October 6, join us for the opening session of the 2024-2025 Learning Ministry Series, Better Know a Ministry. The idea behind this series is to provide a space for all FELC service, worship, and support ministries to share information with the wider FELC community regarding their ministries and current operations. The first session on October 6 will be led by Rev. Barry Smith and Andy Maclaren, featuring an overview of Micah 6, 9 am in the Parlor. Our next featured ministry in this series will be Stewardship, coming in November. 

On Sunday, October 13, Merrily Porter will be leading Children’s Faith Formation on the subject, A Rich Man’s Question, 9 am in the FELC Library. Leigh Northcutt-Benson will be leading an Adult Faith Formation Session about Project 2025, 9 am in the Parlor. Please join us!

On Sunday, October 6, everyone is invited to bring their leashed and contained pets for a blessing of the animals, a St. Francis Feast Day* tradition. 

Dogs, cats, frogs, gerbils, snakes, birds, and hamsters, among others, will be invited for an individual blessing in the worship service. Soft animal toys, photos, and mementos will also be blessed. 

Our worship service will be inside the sanctuary & online at 10:00 am. 

During hospitality time at 11:15 am, we will host a Petting Zoo in the Fellowship Hall. Tiny Tails To You will be at FELC for in-person animal snuggles, with experiences for all ages. For more information on Tiny Tails, visit www.tinytailstoyou.com

We hope to meet you and our animal friends!

*Saint Francis of Assisi, renewer of the church, died October 4, 1226

Born into the family of a wealthy merchant, Francis gave up his inheritance to serve poor people. He formed the Order of Friars Minor (called Franciscans), who took on poverty and the task of preaching “using words if necessary.” Francis had a spirit of gratitude for all of God’s creation.

The FELC Book Club will meet Sunday, October 13, 1-3 PM, at the home of Kymrie Dinsmore.  We will share a potluck lunch and discuss our October book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande, available at Austin Public Library, Amazon, and Bookfinder.

Here’s the summary from amazon.com:

In Being Mortal, best-selling author Atul Gawande tackles the hardest challenge of his profession: how medicine can not only improve life but also the process of its ending. Medicine has triumphed in modern times, transforming birth, injury, and infectious disease from harrowing to manageable. But in the inevitable condition of aging and death, the goals of medicine seem too frequently to run counter to the interest of the human spirit. Gawande, a practicing surgeon, addresses his profession’s ultimate limitation, arguing that quality of life is the desired goal for patients and families. Gawande offers examples of freer, more socially fulfilling models for assisting the infirm and dependent elderly, and he explores the varieties of hospice care to demonstrate that a person’s last weeks or months may be rich and dignified. Full of eye-opening research and riveting storytelling, Being Mortal shows how the ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life – all the way to the very end.

The Southwestern Texas Synod joyously invites you to the ordination of the Rev. Katherine Ann Graham as Pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in McDade, Saturday, October 12, 2024, at 3:00 pm, St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, 606 W 15th St. | Austin, TX 78701. Ordained by Bishop Susan Briner, of the Southwestern Texas Synod. The color of the day is red.

Ann served with First English from September, 2020 – May, 2021, during her Supervised Practice of Ministry through Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary as an ELCA candidate for ordained ministry. You may send Ann an acknowledgement:  anngraham@sbcglobal.net

Included here is the latest summary of what Micah 6 is doing in the community.  Thanks to President LaRu Woody and the FELC Council for their comments and suggestions. Soon we hope to have an Austin Police Officer who is experienced in dealing with the Micah 6 clientele and their specific issues. Also under consideration is to engage specialists from Austin ISD to work with our younger clients with similar behavioral and/or mental health issues.  My heartfelt thanks to council members Leigh Northcutt-Benson and Ben Rode for their suggestions in this area.

Keep bringing your donations to the plastic bins near the fellowship hall doors and in the narthex. Thanks to Teresa Ringness who plans to bring coats when we get respite from this heat!

Here’s our most current critical needs:

Micah 6 Food Pantry:

Canned fruit

Canned vegetables

Canned meat

Rice

Clothing of any type—adult and children’s

Youth Drop-in Center:

Extra large size men’s clothing

Small and medium size women’s clothing

Men’s shoes, both tennis and other

Men’s tee shirts

Cell phone chargers

Old laptop computers, iPads and phones, which have had their data scrubbed

 Contact Andy MacLaren. Micah 6. 512-947-4186. andymaclaren@cs.com.

In the 5th century, a basilica near Rome was dedicated in honor of Saint Michael the Archangel on September 30, which then began celebrations on the eve of that day. September 29 is now kept for Saint Michael and all Angels throughout western churches. Michael, the archangel, captain of the heavenly hosts, is remembered along with the other angels and archangels. The word “angel” means messenger, and in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, these beings have a fully spiritual nature and no physical body. In some traditions, the Archangel Michael is considered as the greatest of all the angels. On Sunday, September 29, come celebrate and give thanks for the ministry of angels and mortals as we embrace how our faith and lives are shaped by God’s messengers.  

A huge thanks to everyone who came out to Bedtime Stories, over 200 in-person and those via livestream. This Austin Cantorum concert was a great success. We were able to collect many books for the Women’s Storybook Project of Texas, and they were very grateful for this support. We also extend enthusiastic thanks to Testify, who shared their stories with us. What a powerful collaboration this proved to be! Mark your calendar for the Holiday Concert at FELC, Saturday, December 21.

The LuMin students, board, and I are deeply grateful for the partnership we enjoy with MY home congregation: First English Lutheran Church. I cannot tell you how much it means for me to know you’re including in your intercessory prayers, YOUR Lutheran campus ministry at UT – and that’s even on the Sundays when I and our kids aren’t there! It’s like you really, really support what God is doing in and through us at 2100 San Antonio St.

And you show up, too. We’re grateful whenever you come to help us serve a mass of hungry Longhorn humanity for a Tailgate Tuesday. You know this massive outpouring of Christ’s love through a hamburger doesn’t just magically happen. It happens because you take seriously – beyond the month of September – that feeding hungry college students is God’s work, our hands.

Whenever you include LuMin in your giving and in your serving, you are supporting a Reconciling in Christ Campus Ministry that welcomes all – not just with our lips – but with our hearts, with our Sunday offerings, with our presence, and with our advocacy in the halls of power here in Austin.

So yes! Thank you, indeed, First English Lutheran Church! Thank you for financial gifts, your gifts of presence, and your gift of prayer.

Pr. Brad Fuerst

LuMin-Austin

https://lcmaustin.org

lcmutaustin@gmail.com

The ELCA “Truth & Healing Movement” (Indigenous Ministries and Tribal Relations) encourages participation in National Day of Remembrance for Indian Boarding Schools. As a Church, we are committed to understanding our role in the tragic and sinful history of Indian boarding schools so that we can journey towards healing together. You are encouraged to wear an orange shirt, scarf, and/or raise an orange flag and post a photo on social media.

On Sunday, September 29 FELC ushers will have small, symbolic orange tee-shirt pins for all who want to display support for the thousands of Indigenous Children of North America who were removed from their homes, incarcerated in boarding schools, stripped of their cultural identities, and often physically abused.

During Adult Formation on Sunday, September 29, Frederick “Fritz” Woody will lead a discussion of Indian Boarding Schools, repatriation of buried remains, and bills in Congress to form a “Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies”.

The Southwestern Texas Synod is working on connecting FELC with additional pastor candidates. When candidates prayerfully accept to enter into conversation with FELC, Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt sends those names to the Call Committee. Last week, the Call Committee met with a new candidate and will be setting up a follow-up interview with this candidate soon. We are grateful for your prayers as this Spirit-led work continues to unfold. For questions about the call process, contact the Call Committee: FELCTransitionMinistry@felcaustin.org.