Hello from the Transition Team! As Allen mentioned at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, we had a lengthy meeting last week where we talked through recent events, began to analyze survey data trends, and reaffirmed our working plan going forward to complete the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). Our team will continue meeting regularly as we work to finish up the MSP which we aim to bring to the Council for review this spring. One trend that emerged through some survey data is a desire to gather together for a bit more in-person discussion. The Transition Team will be setting up a number of in-home small group discussions throughout the city in the coming weeks. These discussion groups will help to further reflect your voice in our Ministry Site Profile, so we hope you will plan to join one of the discussion groups near you! Stay tuned for more detailed information about when and where these small groups will take place. The Transition Team’s next meeting is planned for February 11th. As always, please feel free to reach out to us individually or at: FELCTransitionMinistry@felcaustin.org.
Febuary is African-American History Month. Many significant events in African-American history occurred in the month of February. Each week of this month we will share historical information for each date. The source for this information is here.
On February 1: Feb. 1, 1865 – The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery, was adopted by the 38th Congress.. Feb. 1, 1902 – Langston Hughes, a famous poet, was born this day in Joplin, Mo. Feb. 1, 1926 – What is now known as Black History Month was first celebrated on this date as Negro History Week by Carter G. Woodson. It became a month long celebration in 1976.
On February 2: Feb. 2, 1862 – District of Columbia abolishes slavery. Feb. 2, 1914 – Ernest Just, genetic biologist, wins the Spingarn Medal. He received this same medal on this day in 1915 for his pioneering in cell division and fertilization. Feb. 2, 1948 – President Truman sent Congress a special message urging the adoption of a Civil Rights program, including the creation of a fair employment practices commission.
On February 3: Feb. 3, 1903 – Jack Johnson wins the Negro Heavyweight title. Feb. 3, 1920 – The Negro Baseball League is founded. Feb. 3, 1965 – Geraldine McCullough, sculptor, wins the Widener Gold Medal Award.
On February 4: Feb. 4, 1913 – Rosa Parks (born Rosa Louise McCauley) was born on this day. Feb. 4, 1971 – National Guard mobilized to quell rioting in Wilmington, N.C. Two persons killed. Feb. 4, 1996 – J. C. Watts becomes the first Black selected to respond to a State of the Union Address.
On February 5: Feb. 5, 1866 – Congressman Thaddeus Stevens offered an amendment to Freedmen’s Bureau Bill authorizing the distribution of public land and confiscated land to freedmen and loyal refugees in 40-acre lots. Feb. 5, 1958 – Clifton R. Wharton Sr. confirmed as minister to Rumania. This career diplomat was the first Black to head a U.S. embassy in Europe. Feb. 5, 1962 – Suit seeking to bar Englewood, N.J., from maintaining “racial segregated” elementary schools filed in U.S. District Court.
On February 6: Feb. 6, 1820 – “Mayflower of Liberia” sailed from New York City with eighty six Blacks. Black population: 1,771,656 (18.4%) Feb. 6, 1993 – Arthur Ashe dies. First African American tennis player to win at Wimbledon. Feb. 6, 1867 – Robert Tanner Jackson becomes first African American to receive a degree in dentistry.
On February 7: Feb. 7, 1926 – Negro History Week originated by Carter G. Woodson is observed for the first time.
On February 8: Feb. 8, 1944 – Harry S. McAlphin, first African American to be accredited to attend the White House press conference. Feb. 8, 1986 – Oprah Winfrey becomes the first African American woman to host a nationally syndicated talk show.
This Sunday, February 4, we celebrate our scouting ministry in worship and hospitality. Four years after founding First English Lutheran Church, church members organized and chartered Boy Scout Troop 28 (1940). Cub Scout Pack 28 was chartered in 1951. Since the 1990’s the Pack & Troop have gone through different iterations. Boy Scouts of America is now “Scouts BSA”. Elementary age girls may now join Cub Scouts, and Scouts BSA is chartering Scout Troops for older girls.
Come worship together, onsite and online, and welcome our scouts and share in the endeavors and commitments of this ministry. We are grateful to FELC Scout Representative Charlie Boas for his leadership. See you in church!
Worship at 10:00 AM, Potluck at 11:30 AM, Annual Meeting at Noon
The congregation council has set the annual congregation meeting of First English Evangelical Lutheran Church for Sunday, January 28, 2024.
We will gather for worship at 10 am, followed by a hospitality time in which we will enjoy a potluck luncheon in the fellowship hall. Please bring a dish to share if you are able.
At noon we will convene the annual meeting, both in the fellowship hall and via a special Zoom link.
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Please review the 2024 Annual Meeting Packet in order that you have an opportunity to review the written reports of the various ministry teams and committees within your church. Oral reports will be delivered at the meeting but we are not anticipating printing a hard copy of the reports for each attendee.
The Nominating Committee is pleased to announce the following nominees to serve as First English Congregation Council Members beginning February, 2024: Leigh Northcutt Benson, Mari Ward, Charlie Boas, and Margaret Bruesch, each for a full three-year term. The entire slate of nominees will be presented for a vote at next Sunday’s congregational meeting. We thank these members for their willingness to serve on the church council. See their bios below:
Leigh Northcutt Benson
Leigh Northcutt Benson is a native Austinite and a lifelong Lutheran. She is devoted to her faith, husband, son, extended family, cats, and garden. As a child, she attended Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church, until the entire Northcutt family moved to First English in 2003. Leigh was a public educator in AISD for 23 years, serving in teaching and administrative roles and specializing in civics education and equity work at Title 1 schools. She has always enjoyed singing in church and community choirs. Leigh is grateful to use her administrative and leadership experience in the service of FELC.
Mari Ward
“I joined FELC about five years ago when my husband and I moved to Austin from College Station to be closer to our grandkids. My father was called to be pastor at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in College Station when I was three years old, and I grew up in Bryan, College Station’s “sister city.” After marrying a TAMU math professor in 1977, we settled in College Station and raised our family there. We attended Peace Lutheran Church in College Station for several decades, where I sang in choir and played piano and organ regularly. At FELC I’ve enjoyed singing with the choir and working on the Racial Justice and Care Ministry teams, and I look forward to getting to know my fellow church members even better now on the church council.”
Charlie Boas
“I was born and baptized into the LCA (predecessor to the ELCA). I was married in the LCA. I have been a member of FELC for about 25 years, and have been on our Council once previously. During worship I can be found filling such roles as Assisting Minister, Lector, Crucifer, Usher, and Live Stream Operator. I serve as the Chartered Organization Representative for our Scouting units, help coordinate the Game Night Outreach Ministry, and have recently started leading children’s Faith Formation classes again. I have been known to trim branches, replace ceiling tiles, do ad-hoc electrical and plumbing repairs, and even lead theatrical endeavors on our stage.
Beyond FELC’s walls, I volunteer heavily with Scare for a Cure, a charitable fund-raising organization supporting the Breast Cancer Resource Center of Austin, where I do construction, special effects, electrical work, and performing. I also do design work for local theatrical performances, and volunteer with the Scouting Organization in various roles. I am retired now, but my career history includes being a Geospatial Analyst, a Research Analyst, a Code Compliance Officer, a Living History Interpreter, a Retail Hardware Store Manager, a Theatrical Technical Director, a Short Order Cook, and a Circus Ringmaster.
I am not afraid to politely share my opinions and to get my hands dirty. I look forward to serving again on Council.”
Margaret Bruesch
“I found First English in 2008 after deciding to get back to my Lutheran roots. I find the worship experience here deeply satisfying and challenging in turn. Outside of FELC I am a soon-to-be retired software engineer. I share my home with a kind-hearted border collie mix named Comet. (Yes, I have pictures.). I look forward to serving on FELC council during this exciting time of transition.”
The Transition Team thanks you for completing “The Leader We Seek” survey! This week we will begin to process the results of the survey which will help us complete a meaningful portion of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). We have information to complete certain parts of the MSP while other sections are moving forward in draft form. Once completed, the Transition Team will work in concert with the Council to review a finalized MSP that will get sent to the Synod. The Transition Team will meet again at the end of next week to review draft portions of the MSP. We look forward to offering additional updates at the Congregational Meeting on January 28. Feel free to reach out to the Transition Team at FELCTransitionMinistry@felcaustin.org.
The 3M Half Marathon will be Sunday, January 21. Some tips to arrive onsite at FELC for worship at 10 AM.
1. Use MoPac if possible and exit at 38th Street or at Northwood to 29th Street.
2. If you’re traveling from the north on I-35, use 45 th Street or 183 to MoPac.
3. If you’re traveling from the south on I-35, take Ben White to MoPac or Cesar Chavez to Lamar Blvd.
4. If you’re traveling from nearby east of Duval Street, north of 45th Street, or from East Austin, take I-35 or local streets to Cesar Chavez to Lamar Blvd. The Marathon will impact getting to FELC only if you’re coming from I-35, or nearby in the neighborhood east of Duval Street or north of 45th Street.
Epiphany and New Year greetings from the FELC Transition Team!
As the 2024 opens, we invite you to engage with us in our transition process by completing a brief survey, which will close on January 14th, at 5:52PM (sunset). Your responses will assist us with “The Leader We Seek” portion of the Ministry Site Profile (MSP). The survey provides a way for you to communicate what ministry gifts and leadership qualities & characteristics are important to you in our search for pastoral leadership at FELC. We invite you to take a few moments of quiet to complete the survey with an open mind and a prayerful heart.
“God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow we hear our lives reflected in the stories with you of our past; we experience our lives now, with you, through each other and those you call into our midst; we experience hope in your call to us now and in all our tomorrows. We ask your Spirit to guide our stories, o God – help us hear you in them as we enjoy them again, mourn them again, and dream through them again. Remind us that our stories are yours, as we are yours, called to serve our Siblings. Keep us building your stories, in Christ. Amen”
With gratitude, The FELC Transition Team felctransitionministry@felcaustin.org Allen Jensen, Barbara Schutz, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Erin McCracken, Lillian Rodriguez-Coburn, Nikki Northcutt, Randy Baden, Tim Adkinson, and Pastor J. Michael Mills
Siblings and friends of First English: in what has become a tradition in our time, our nation has moved quickly into counting innocents as dead and wounded as a result of gun violence. You might recall from this past Sunday, that I invited you to explore and reconcile that innocents are an often-overlooked part of the Magi Story. As we move through this Epiphany season I invite you to recognize that the slaughter of the innocents continues in our time. And “Herod”, as an archetype, continues to exist alongside us. Education Week reports two school shootings already in this year, and 183 such shootings since 2018. US News and World Report offers a much more damning critique on our society in counting 384 school shooting incidents across the country in 2023.
“On Jan. 4, a 6th grade student was killed and seven others—four students and three faculty members—were wounded in a shooting at Perry High School in Perry, Iowa. Police say the 17-year-old student suspect died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. This marks the highest number of casualties in a single incident since the Oct. 24, 2022, Central Visual and Performing Arts High School shooting in St. Louis, Mo.”
We’re Connected
Outside of the reality of our neighborhood returning to school this week, and our sibling-teachers returning to school this week, Al and Kathy Wicks were Vicars (over a two year period) at First English under Rev. Merle Franke’s supervision. Kathy reports that Al’s brother is superintendent of schools in Perry, Iowa where [the January 4th] shootings took place. It was a long, tough day for him [on the 4th], and I shudder and weep to think what it must be like for the families of every child of that school and those that died that day. 2023 has shown us that these events are not likely to stop, unless…
First, Al and Kathy Wicks were FELC Vicars (1977-1978, 1978-1979). While one of them served with us as Vicar, the other served as a chaplain at the Austin State Hospital; after the first year they switched “jobs.” They returned to Austin and served as co-pastors of Holy Cross Lutheran from 1991-1997 before returning to their roots in Iowa. They remain connected to us through relationships born out of their time in Austin.
Al’s brother, Clark S. Wicks, is Superintendent of the Perry Community School District. I’m not sure how long he has held that position, but he’s been with the District for 31 years in (it appears) several capacities, including Principal. A Google search brought up several links to recent days’ news conferences featuring him—trying to deal and rebuild, and restore classes. How godawful!
To quote Rev. Bob Karli, “God damn guns!!!”
What can we do?
Gun violence is a heated and polarizing topic in this nation and amongst our neighbors, regardless of political leanings. Most people like the nation’s constitution, some thrive under the constitution’s protections, and many people like the Second Amendment. We’re not going to debate the efficacy or intended impact of the words collected in one of the largest plagues on our existence as a society. Where a great number of people, gun owners included, agree is: gun control is a step in the right direction.
Supporting candidates whose platform supports gun control is a good step.
Getting connected to a community that is working with our local leaders to engage gun control conversation and legislation is another good step. Who can you connect with? Excellent question, here are some places you might start:
Prayer is always a good option and I would invite you to understand the invitation that prayer can be to us to get involved, and engage action around civic policy and legislative change.
“Most of us don’t live in an agrarian culture with divinely appointed monarchs. My faith tradition doesn’t offer animal or grain sacrifices, but we do hold vigils, we do pray, we do lament, we do oppress, we do cause harm and enact violence. The ways we engage with our faith and the world have changed, but the heart of God’s call through Amos remains the same: Care for the well-being of each person. Adapting Amos draws us closer to the text, connecting and calling us to action in the world.”
Photo, Protestor holding a sign during the rally in the Texas Capitol to demand age increase for AR-15 sales. Patricia Lim /KUT Excerpts, Ewing, Emily E. “God Will Not Accept Your Thoughts and Prayers.” Sojourners, June 2, 2022. https://sojo.net/articles/god-will-not-accept-your-thoughts-and-prayers.
Join the FELC Racial Justice Action Team next Sunday, January 14, immediately after our services, at the event described below. Held at the Northeast College High School (7104 Berkman Drive) from 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., food will be provided.
Austin Justice Coalition (AJC), a dedicated organization committed to creating positive change in our community, is thrilled to join forces with the Hogg Foundation, a champion for mental health and well-being. In line with AJC’s mission, we eagerly embrace the National Day of Racial Healing (NDORH) by organizing a special event on January 14th, 2024. We extend a warm invitation to the community to participate in an enriching experience where we will guide attendees through a series of healing activities, placing a spotlight on the profound connection between race, racism, and mental health. Join us in this transformative event, where we collectively foster engagement and facilitate healing discussions on the critical issues of racism, bias, inequity, and injustice. Expect an event that not only enlightens but empowers, as we explore the intersections of race and well-being. We will have free on-site childcare for children under 13, free food and refreshments, and free public transportation passes.
