Category: News

We give thanks with Michele Hockett Copper and Brendan Cooper and big brother Jesse on the arrival of Sal Tyler Cooper on Saturday evening, July 16. All are reported to be happy and healthy! Can’t wait to meet you, Sal! Welcome!

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.