Category: News

November 3, 10, & 17, 2021 at 7 PM

From Pastor Coffey: I am moving the adult forum from Sunday mornings to Wednesday evenings in November. We currently have several different musicians coming to play for our worship services, and each one is new to our liturgy. Because I need more time on Sunday mornings to prepare them for worship, I will have little time left to lead the adult forum.

Join me on Wednesday evenings on Zoom using the FELC Community Zoom link (look at the bottom of the weekly email for the details).

Note: There will not be an adult forum this Sunday, October 31. The new adult forum “The Endless Conversation” will begin on November 3.

Here is a snapshot of the church’s finances as of September 30, 2021 / Q3:

	In the Month of September	Actual Year-to-date	Budgeted Year-to-date
Total Operating Income	$22,856.07	$233,582.46	$253,125.00
Total Non-Contingent Operating Expenses	$28,592.04	$232,880.90	$247,266.00
Total Contingent Operating Expenses (Synod, Benevolence, Savings)	$0.00	$0.00	$5,895.00
Net Income (Loss)	$-(5,735.97)	$701.56	$-(36.00)

Monthly Giving Income*

	Jan	Feb	Mar (Q1)	Apr	May	Jun (Q2)
Unified, Current, & Benevolent Income (Giving income)*	$16,547.41	$26,668.38	$28,220.38	$22,508.38	$27,110.38	23,913.38
July	August	Sept (Q3)	Oct	Nov	Dec (Q4)
$24,989.69	$37,042.38	$21,855.38

*Our monthly budget for giving in come is $26,250

Operating Income fell short of Operating Expenses by $5,736 for the month of September (see Net (Loss) above). As of the end of September / Q3, the church maintains a year-to-date surplus of $701.56.

Per our 2021 budget structure, here is how the Q3 year-to-date surplus of $701.56 will be allocated:

Southwestern Texas Synod (50%)	$350.78
Transfer to Savings (25%)	$175.39
Benevolence Pool (25%–split between Micah 6 and Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center):	$175.39
Micah 6	$87.70
Sunrise Homeless Navigation Center	$87.69

We will next assess our ability to make benevolence payments and a transfer to savings at the end of 4^th quarter (December 31^st).

With gratitude,

Erin McCracken, FELC Treasurer

Beginning October 27, 2021

We will begin using a new service to send our weekly email newsletter and other church communications. We are switching from iContact to MailPoet, which will be integrated with our website. Some of the great features of this new service include:

• Each news story will be a separate post on our website. The most recent news will appear on our home page. All news posts will be available on our News page.
• News posts will be included automatically in our weekly email news, making newsletter creation easier. New posts will be shared in full in the weekly email. Older posts will have an excerpt with a link to read more on the website.
• If you ever can’t find the email weekly newsletter in your inbox, you can find all the information on our website quickly.
• Individuals can subsribe to our newsletter on the website.
• Individuals can manage their own subscription through a link in each email.

The integration of our newsletter with our website will increase visibility for our church online by adding more search results. And best of all: this service is free.

Everyone who was already subscribed to our newsletter mailing list will be subscribed on our new service. You don’t need to do anything to begin receiving the newsletter on October 27. Look for emails sent from “info@felcaustin.org.” You may want to add this email address to your address book to help prevent emails being sent to your spam folder.

If you have any questions, or think you aren’t receiving the newsletter from the new service, contact Pastor Coffey.

Dialogue between Different Voices in Scripture and in Contemporary Culture

Moved to Wednesdays at 7 PM. November 3, 10, and 17, 2021

It often seems like we are deeply divided in the church and society in how we view things. Some people tend toward conservative understandings, some toward liberal. Some are concerned with preserving what is, others with transforming what is. At times it feels like the two are in separate universes.

Pastor Coffey will lead this adult forum so we can explore together how to engage faithfully in dialogue with different voices. Based on an understanding of Scripture as an unresolved, endless conversation between different voices, we will consider how we can better live in the tension of difference rather than listen only to those who agree with us.

The forum will meet on Zoom using our FELC Community Zoom meeting. See the bottom of the weekly email news for Zoom information.

The slides from the class are available here.

We are re-forming our ministry teams. Everyone is welcome; you do not need to be a member of First English to participate. Consider what area you want to return to, or what ministry is something new for you to try.

The main areas at this time include:

Altar Care, Usher, Worship Ministers, Communion Ministers, Lectors, Hospitality Ministry, Learning Ministry, Property and Building Care Ministry

This is not a comprehensive list of FELC ministry areas.

Please fill out the form even if you have served in an area before.

Here is the link:

https://www.felcaustin.org/re-gathering-and-re-forming-ministry-teams

Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, and for an abundance of caution, we have canceled the FELC Oktoberfest for 2021.  We look forward to gathering in 2022!

The FELC community serves a meal to youth experiencing homelessness in the UT area.  You can be a part of this ministry, too, by preparing food, volunteering to serve the meal, and adding your prayers.  Our next time to serve is Sunday afternoon, October 24 at 4:30 pm.  Any level of participation is appreciated.  To find out more and to serve, contact Pastor Coffey pastor@felcaustin.org

We have an online form for you to use for conversation with the preacher about the sermon each week.  There are questions about how you responded to the sermon, and you can ask questions about the sermon for the preacher to respond to.  Find the form here: Sermon Conversation Form | First English Lutheran Church | Austin, Texas (felcaustin.org)

During Bryan Rust’s sabbatical we are glad to welcome Renee Kesselring.

Renee Kesselring earned Bachelor of Science and Master of Music Education degrees at the University of Missouri.  She taught elementary and secondary music in Missouri and Texas public schools for thirteen years and now teaches piano in her home.  Renee and husband, Tom, have lived in Pflugerville for twenty-four years.  They have two grown sons, Andrew and Mark.  Andrew earned a vocal performance degree at the University of North Texas.  Mark earned a Music Education degree at the University of Texas, Austin, and performed his senior recital at First English Lutheran Church.

from Vicar Wes Isberner

As I reflect on my first two months in ministry with FELC, I give thanks for the connections I have made so far through worship, hospitality time, and ministry team meetings. As fall settles in, I would love to start meeting one-on-one with folks.

Relationality is one of the foundational pieces for my understanding of faith and community. We are built up, in faith and in spirit, through moments of connection. And after the isolation the pandemic has wrought on us, it is more important now than ever to connect, check-in, and build each other up through life together.

So, this is an invitation to come together. This could be over tea or coffee at a local shop, on your front porch, or at the church office. Wherever you feel comfortable. These meetings are time to get to know one another and check-in – little ways to do life together.

If that sounds life-giving, let me know. You can reach me via text at my cell (ask if you don’t have it), or at my email: vicar@felcaustin.org. I’ve also created a booking page; follow this link and you can book a time to meet with me.

The Link: https://vicarwesfelc.youcanbook.me