To date, the Call Committee has prayerfully voted to release two candidates from the call process. We held a second interview with an existing candidate this week and have an initial interview with a fourth candidate scheduled for next week. The names of and conversations with all candidates will remain confidential. We continue to pray for open and listening hearts and minds to discern what God knows to be right for FELC in this moment. As always, please feel free to reach out with questions about the call process: felctransitionministry@felcaustin.org.
On Sunday, July 21, FELC celebrated 88 years of ministry and witness in central Austin and beyond! May God’s blessing be upon, and may God’s Spirit go with, the saints of God at First English for many years to come.
Our thanks to the Rev. Robert J. Karli, fourth pastor of FELC from 1984-2007, for preaching. Our gratitude to all who made this celebration festive, including Henri and Tim Atkinson, Nancy and Randy Baden, Bailey Barlow, Claudia Barlow, Heidi Goebel, Leroy Haverlah, Lois Holck, Allen Jensen, Nancy Neuse, Desmond Peterson, Merrily and Terry Porter, and LaRu and Fred “Fritz” Woody, and our choir and other worship leaders.
Below are links to our worship, prayers, and history:
For more photos, visit the First English Lutheran Church-Austin TX Facebook post from Tuesday, July 23.
God of all power, you called from death our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep: send us as shepherds to rescue the lost, to heal the injured, and to feed one another with knowledge and understand; through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen. (Lutheran Book of Worship, p. 22)
On Sunday, June 23, FELC was delighted to welcome Deacon Darcy Mittelstaedt, Bishop’s Associate for Lifelong Learning & Faith Formation in the Southwestern Texas Synod. Deacon Darcy preached and led our Faith of A Child time in worship.
We commissioned & installed our Pastoral Call Committee. This has been a time for reflection and prayer, a time for examination and seeking, a time for expectation and hope. We seek to call a pastor of word and sacrament to lead and serve with us among God’s people. To read and reflect on the call committee installation liturgy, click here.
Deacon Darcy will offer support to our Pastoral Call Committee as they begin the discernment and interview process for our next pastor.
During the liturgy on Sunday, we also remembered the Emanuel Nine martyrs & made renewal to the work of racial justice & equity.
Photo below: Cantor Bryan, Deacon Darcy, Pastor Brad, & Assisting Minister Nikki
We are currently working on final reviews of our drafts for both the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) as well as the Seven Reflections on Ministry and Context (an optional component to the MSP) and preparing both documents to be presented to the Council. This final review process will take place over the next few weeks. Our goal is to present the MSP and the Seven Reflections on Ministry and Context to the Council at their May meeting. After the Transition Team presents the MSP package, the Council will have the opportunity to review the MSP package and provide feedback. Once finalized and accepted by the Council, the MSP will be sent to the Southwestern Texas Synod. A copy of the MSP will then be shared with the congregation for informational purposes only. Once the Synod has our MSP, the Transition Team will shift focus as a Call Committee and begin preparing for discernment and interviews with pastoral leader candidates provided to us by the Synod.
–Allen, Erin, Lillian, Nikki, Barbara, Randy, and Tim
We are making final edits to a few of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP) questions and are also turning our focus to drafting answers to the “Seven Reflections on Ministry and Context” which is an optional component to the MSP that includes seven open-ended questions, allowing us to further describe our ministry site context.
We will be coordinating with the Council soon to present the MSP draft for discussion and review. Once accepted by the Council and finalized, the MSP will be submitted to the 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 congregational 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.
–Allen, Erin, Lillian, Nikki, Barbara, Randy, and Tim
Greetings and a Blessed Holy Week from the FELC Transition Team! We have largely completed our first draft of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). What we are now doing is working through the document as a whole to ensure each answer authentically captures our ministry site and is reflective of our whole community. We’re editing and revising! This part of the process will take place over multiple meetings. When we’re ready, the next step will be to present the MSP to the Council for review and discussion. Once accepted by the Council, the MSP will be shared with the congregation and submitted to the Southwestern Texas Synod (you will have an opportunity to read the MSP in its final form). Once in the Synod’s hands, we will wait for the Office of the Bishop to provide us with potential pastor candidates for discernment and interviews. We are so grateful for your prayers, support, and patience throughout this important process.
Greetings from the Transition Team! We met this week and talked through our draft answers to the final few questions in our Ministry Site Profile (MSP). Once each section is drafted, the Transition Team will begin reviewing the entire MSP document as a whole. This process will take place over multiple Transition Team meetings as we carefully ensure our entire Ministry Site Profile is reflective of our community and of the congregational feedback we have received. Once we are ready, the next step in this process will be to present the Ministry Site Profile to the Council for review and discussion. This will ideally happen within the next month or so. Once accepted by the Council, the MSP will be shared with the congregation and then sent on to the Synod where it will be used to match our ministry site with pastor candidates who may be a good fit for FELC. We are grateful for your continued prayers, patience, and support.
Thanks to all who were able to participate in the Small Group Meetings last week! We truly enjoyed getting together and hearing directly from you. The Transition Team met earlier this week to talk through our notes taken during those small group discussions. Part of our process is to make sure we, as a team, have a shared understanding of what was said and heard. This is an important step as the valuable feedback received from you serves to directly inform our responses to questions in our Ministry Site Profile (MSP). As we process all congregational input, we continue to draft answers to the final few questions in the MSP. Looking ahead, once the Transition Team completes the MSP, it will be shared with the Council for review. After the Council accepts the MSP, it will be presented to the congregation and then sent to the Synod. While our goal is to complete the MSP by the end of March, we know it’s possible that it could take a bit longer. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and prayers.
We are grateful for this week’s small group discussion gatherings! Your input is valuable as we work to complete the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). Thank you to those who have been able to participate. The Transition Team is meeting next week to review important topics and trends that came out of the small group discussions. Additionally, we are working on drafting answers to the final questions in the MSP. Looking ahead, once the Transition Team completes the MSP, it will be shared with the Council for review. After the Council accepts the MSP, it will be presented to the congregation and then sent to the Synod. While our goal is to complete the MSP by the end of March, we know it’s possible that it could take a bit longer. Thank you for your continued support, patience, and prayers.
As we continue our work on FELC’s Ministry Site Profile (MSP), we want to hear from you! Are you signed up to attend an upcoming Small Group Gathering? The purpose of these gatherings will be to further discuss issues of importance related to our ministry together and to better reflect YOUR voice in our MSP. Our finalized MSP will be reviewed by pastor candidates who are looking for a church that will be a good fit for their unique leadership qualities and gifts for ministry.
Please click here to view available small group gathering sites and to sign-up to attend one that works best for you.
Each gathering will be limited to 10 participants. In addition, two Transition Team members will be present at each meeting to guide the discussion and record meeting notes.
Home hosts for each gathering will provide beverages.
We invite small group attendees to bring a light snack to share.
One area of discussion will relate to what we’d ideally like our next pastor to focus on during their first year of ministry and how we as a congregation will support them in those focus areas.
We’d also like to share with you some trends from The Leader We Seek survey. Please click here to view summary charts and graphs.
We look forward to seeing you at one of the small group gatherings!
