Category: News

The FELC community provides and serves a meal to youth experiencing homelessness in the UT area.  You can be a part of this ministry, by preparing food, serving the meal, and adding your prayers.  Our next time to serve is Saturday, August 3, 2-4 pm. Click here to sign up! Any level of participation is welcome! To learn more, contact Heidi Goebel, heidigoebel@sbcglobal.net.

Join Texas Early Music Project at FELC for the Summer edition of our TEMP-Oh Community Madrigal Sing on Tuesday, July 30th at 7 pm! No experience is required for this “TEMP-orary choir,” just a love of singing madrigals! Suggested donation of $10. PDFs of the sheet music will be provided in advance to those who request it, but studying is NOT required–you can show up and sing. For more info: www.early-music.org/tempoh.

While the world celebrates Pride in June, for scheduling issues, Austin moves its Pride celebration to mid-August. Join Austin area Reconciling in Christ Lutheran congregations to celebrate and advocate for the full welcome, inclusion, and equity of LGBTQIA+ people by marching in the Austin PRIDE Parade or volunteering at our Festival booth throughout the day on Saturday, August 10. 

The Austin Pride Parade begins in downtown Austin on Saturday, August 10 at 8 pm. Click here for details and registration information. Please register for either or both events so that we can plan and give more specific information.  To learn more, contact Leigh Northcutt-Benson, leigh.northcutt@gmail.com.

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, benevolence, action, and joy of FELC for 88 years strong.

Join together on Sunday, July 21 in worship & hospitality as we give thanks to God for the congregation and community of FELC!

For information about our history and witness, including photos and stories, click here.

The First English Council met on Monday, July 15.

An employee review of Dawn Wetzel, our Church Office Administrator, was conducted by Cantor Bryan Rust and Nancy Baden as a condition of her employment. Dawn expressed much satisfaction with the available resources and is finding the duties similar to her previous position.  She is enjoying the company of the Child Development Center staff. Her skill set matches our needs, and we are happy to have Dawn here!

The Council looks forward to continuing its training with Claudia Barlow on The Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team.  At her first training during the Spring Council Retreat, she helped council members discover traits about themselves. We look forward to learning more from her soon!

 Council members received an updated schedule and expanded instructions for opening and closing the church building on Sundays.

 Ministry Reports were received.

The next council meeting will be held on Monday, August 19.

Submitted by Nancy Baden, Council Secretary

Micah 6 needs someone with organizational skills to spend some time at the Micah 6 Food Pantry and the Micah 6 Youth Drop in Center to finish organizing all of the clothing donations for easier use by the clients.  Contact Andy MacLaren, 512-947-4186. Andymaclaren@cs.com. Andy can accompany to either location if preferred.

Sunday, July 21 is our monthly Intergenerational Faith Formation time. We will be celebrating high summer that supports sleeping in and celebrating the gift of water. All are welcome to join us after Anniversary Sunday worship & hospitality for a potluck picnic and swimming at Shipe Pool. Bring your favorite picnic dish in a pool-safe container, along with your suits and sunscreen!

Sunday, July 28, Children’s Faith Formation will continue with the Sermon on the Mount, led by Betsy Appleton. Children will be engaged in service learning as they work together to prepare a side dish to be frozen/reheated for FELC’s next Micah 6 Youth Drop-In Meal on August 3. Adult Faith Formation will continue with the Faith and Food series, Feed the Hungry, led by Michele Hockett Cooper. 

by Nancy Baden

What do Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright, Albert Einstein, Bela Bartok, Freddy Mercury, Muhammad, Gloria Estefan and Jesus have in common?  If you answered ‘refugees’, you are pretty smart. These refugees needed help long ago and refugees need help still. Global Refuge, formerly known as Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services, is uniquely positioned to resettle refugees since they have been doing so since 1939.  Almost as long as First English has been a church.  Nancy and Randy Baden became acquainted with Krish O’Mara Vignarajah last summer at Holden Village, where she spent a week lecturing on immigration and the need for humanitarian policies in our country.  She is an articulate and outspoken advocate and is the President and CEO of Global Refuge, the largest faith-based national non-profit in the US dedicated exclusively to serving immigrants and refugees. They have recently opened a Welcome Center in San Antonio, one of six such centers across the country. These centers provide a single place to receive emergency care, legal assistance, mental health screenings and information about community resources available locally and in destination communities. There are many ways to support Global Refuge.  We encourage you to check out their website www.globalrefuge.org and to listen to some of Krish’s interviews.  Global Refuge is one of FELC’s 2024 benevolence partners. You’re invited to commit today to the care and advocacy of refugees.

Five things to know about Global Refuge:

1. We are local! We have a field office in San Antonio that serves across the region, including in Austin and even to Corpus Christi. Learn more about our San Antonio Welcome Center here.
2. We must fight fiction with fact. See our disinformation toolkit and join us in our advocacy around this issue.
3. We need you. Refugee Resettlement is under threat of being completely ended in a new Presidential Administration. Our private dollars only make up 6% of our budget, and we are at risk of losing funding for this critical work.
4. You can volunteer and engage with us through programs at your congregation. Learn more here.
5. We have opened an office in Guatemala and Mexico to address the root cause of migration. By providing holistic support to those we serve, we can keep families together while also ensuring safety for youth and young adults. Here is a powerful video showcasing our work in Guatemala.

A big Thank-You to Barbara Wiederanders for her review of the work of the FELC Racial Justice Task Force during Adult Faith Formation on July 7. 

 On July 14, Merrily Porter will be leading Children’s Faith Formation, starting a rotation on Sermon on the Mount, 9 am, in the Library. Adult Faith Formation will not be convening on July 14.

July 21 is our monthly Intergenerational Faith Formation time. We will be celebrating high summer with a schedule that supports sleeping in and celebrating the gift of water: all are welcome to join us after Anniversary Sunday worship & hospitality for a potluck picnic and swimming at Shipe Pool. Bring your favorite picnic dish in a pool-safe container, along with your suits and sunscreen!

Faith Formation has become a welcome and integral part of congregational life at First English. However, summer attendance and the availability of leaders has created a significant challenge in scheduling regular Faith Formation sessions.  To support the Learning Ministry’s goal to offer consistent and meaningful faith formation for children and adults, contact Betsy Appleton, betsy.appleton@gmail.com. She has information and resources to assist your leadership! 

 For more information on leading Children’s Faith Formation, please check out our FAQ document.