Sunday, August 14
Preacher: Rev. Taylor Fuerst
Scripture: Matthew 5:13-16
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9:00AM and 11:00AM | Sanctuary
Austin/Travis County's community COVID level is currently medium. At this time, masks are recommended during worship at FUMC Austin. Masks are required for staff and children (age 3 and up) in Childcare. They are also required for adults and recommended for children participating in Children’s Sunday School. For more information about this community of faith's approach to masking, visit our website.
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Back-to-School Blessing
During both the 9:00AM and 11:00AM worship services, all students, teachers, and administrators will receive a blessing and a gift as a tangible reminder of God’s and our congregation’s love and support. Students are encouraged to bring their backpacks with them to church.
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Coffee Talk: Colorful Pride
Sunday, August 14
10:00-10:45AM | EDU Murchison Chapel
Let’s celebrate Pride as playful resistance by making and coloring signs for Saturday’s Pride Parade. Join us for this brief, casual time of connection even if you can’t come to the Parade. We’ll also be highlighting other fun opportunities for LGBTQ+ advocacy and allyship this week. Each Coffee Talk stands alone, but we will play through Labor Day weekend. Starting August 21, join us in the Parlor! For more information, contact Pastor Cathy Stone.
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Family Rally Day
Sunday, August 14
9:45AM-10:45AM | SAN Wesley Hall
Celebrate the end of summer and the growth of children of every age with Family Rally Day. All children, infants through rising 5th graders, and their grown-ups are invited for food and fellowship. Children will then be able to go to their fall classrooms or childcare rooms to meet their teachers and caregivers. Grown-ups will remain in Wesley Hall to learn about the opportunities and ministries specially designed for your family and meet other families. Coffee, juice, and light breakfast provided. If your child is not promoting to the next grade in school, please let us know at children@fumcaustin.org.
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6th Grade Parade and Youth Sunday School Kick-Off
Sunday, August 14 | 10:00-10:45AM
SAN Wesley Hall
We are celebrating back-to-school by throwing our annual 6th grade parade to welcome our newest youth members! New 6th graders and their supporters will gather on the front steps of the Sanctuary at 9:50AM to prepare to move from the children’s ministry side of the street to the Family Life Center where they will be received by the youth ministry. Parade leaves the front steps promptly at 10:00AM!
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Music Under the Dome Presents Arias and Art Songs
Sunday, August 14 | 3:00PM |
EDU Murchison Chapel
Enjoy free admission to an afternoon of classical music and contemplation in our tranquil Chapel. FUMC musicians Chelsea DeLorenz, Mezzo, Christina Whitford, Soprano, and Scott Davis, Piano, will perform works by Brahms, Verdi, Bachelet, Duparc, Chausson, Santoliquido, and Heggie.
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Austin Pride Interfaith
Worship Service
Sunday, August 14 | 5:30-700PM | upRising ATX Church | 8601 S First Street www.uprisingaustin.org
Worship in community with BIPOC and LGBTQ+ friends and allies at the Austin Pride Interfaith Worship Service. Participate in this free worship event in person or livestream. Pride Interfaith Partnership is dedicated to uniting the LGBTQ+ community and our allies in order to support spiritual environments for all people to come together. Learn more>
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TOAST Happy Hour
Sunday, August 14 | 4:30PM
Scholz Garten | 1607 San Jacinto Blvd
FEAST is a community of young adults and professionals (mid-20s to mid-40s). While dinner FEAST events delve into the more difficult aspects of our faith lives, our happy hours are a chance for us to TOAST and celebrate one another. For more information about the FEAST community or this event, email Pastor Brad King.
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Spare a Pair? Socks and Underwear Drive Begins Soon
Now through August 28, the Joy Circle of the United Women in Faith is collecting donations for Pickle and Zavala Elementary Schools. We are accepting new, unopened packages of children’s socks and underwear for ages 5-12, with underwear in sizes 2-6 particularly needed.
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Volunteer at the Pride Festival
Saturday, August 20 | 11:00AM-6:00PM Fiesta Gardens |2101 Jesse E. Segovia St. Tickets: $19.19
First Church is teaming up with several other LGBTQ+ affirming area churches to host a table at Austin’s Pride Festival. Volunteer for 1.5 hour shifts available throughout the day. You will need to purchase a ticket to volunteer at the table. If cost is a barrier to you, email Pastor Cathy Stone. Learn more about the festival, purchase your ticket, and sign up for your volunteer shift at fumcaustin.org/pride.
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Pride Parade
Saturday, August 20 | 7:00PM
Family Life Center
Walk or ride in the 2022 Pride Parade! After three years, we can’t wait to celebrate Austin’s queer community and the gifts that LGBTQ+ persons bring to our city and the church. Meet at 7:00PM in the Family Life Center to make signs and use restrooms. We will leave at 7:30PM to walk to our float starting position as a group. Spots are limited. Wrist bands will be given out at the FLC. Reserve yours at fumcaustin.org/pride.
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Fear and the Queer Community in Christian Tradition
Sunday, August 21 | 12:15-2:00PM
FLC Great Hall
The history of homophobia in Christian cultures is neither as simplistic nor as black and white as the narratives that we have inherited through American Christianity. Join Pastor Brad King for Fear and the Queer Community as we examine the cultural and historical factors that have shaped Christian perceptions of queer romantic and sexual relationships. In addition to some historical examples, we will also consider how to continue moving the needle as we engage our faith in action and advocacy. Sandwiches and salads, with a vegetarian option, will be available for $10 for participants that register by August 19. Sign up at fumcaustin.org/pride.
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Children’s Choir Practice Begins
Sunday, August 21 | 9:30-10:00AM
SAN Room 111
Children's Choir returns at a new time and in a new place! This opportunity to learn music and prepare to sing in worship and musicals is open all year to children, from kindergarten through 5th grade. For more information, email Roxie Garza, Children’s Choir Director.
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Youth Back-to-School
Party Barge
Sunday, August 21 | 3:00-7:30PM |
Lake Travis
All youth are welcome to join us for our back-to-school kick-off event! We will take a party barge onto Lake Travis for the afternoon. The cost is $30 and space is limited. Contact Director of Youth Ministries Devon Bailey with questions. Sign up today while spots are available>
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Parenting is Hard: A Gathering for Caregivers of Children
Sunday, August 28 | 10:00-10:45AM
EDU Murchison Chapel
Ever feel stressed? Anxious? Like you are faking this raising kids thing? Your family juggles work, home, family, friends, church, school, sports, dance, drama, friends, and so much more. How can the rhythm of your days breathe life into you instead of draining the life out of you? This gathering will help you find a few ways to lead your family into a good place as you start the fall. For more information, contact children@fumcaustin.org.
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Engage Kick-Off and Parent Meeting
Sunday, August 28 | 4:30-7:00PM
Family Life Center
Join us as Engage, our Sunday evening youth fellowship for 6-12 graders, returns on Sunday nights for a new semester. We will play games, sing, and share a meal together. Parents and guardians are also invited to take part in an important conversation about the social and emotional development of tweens and teens and how caregivers can stay aware of the challenges kids are facing and support their mental health. For more information, contact Director of Youth Ministries Devon Bailey.
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Disciple I Fast Track:
The Old Testament
Wednesdays, beginning September 7 6:00-7:15PM
The Bible is a complicated artifact that exemplifies some of the worst and absolute best aspects of humanity. At the same time, it is without a doubt the most important single repository of information about the history of our lives with God. The first of two 13-week programs, this fall module of Disciple I examines the Hebrew Bible. In the spring, we will offer the New Testament. Join Dr. Brad King and Pete Meeker for this conversational exploration of the social, theological, and historical aspects of the Hebrew Bible, from Genesis to the prophesies that Jesus' early followers interpreted in light of their faith in the Christ. Register today>
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Distaster Relief:
Early Response Team Training
Live out the skills you have built from ministries like Appalachia Service Project right here at home by joining First Church's Early Response Team (ERT). ERTs work through the United Methodist connection to help victims when natural disasters occur and we know from experience that the best time to prepare for a local disaster is before it happens. For this reason, First Church hopes to recruit at least 10 people who are interested in training for the first time or who want to be recertified so that we can schedule an ERT training on our campus. If you are interested in ERT training or want more information, contact Mark Steves at mark@fumcaustin.org.
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This summer, Dr. Becca Edwards joined the First Church staff as a seminary intern. She worked closely with Pastor Cathy, focusing on mercy and justice ministries, while also observing and learning from the other pastors and staff. We are grateful for the work she has done, the questions she has asked, and the new ways she has participated in the work and life of this church. We asked Becca to reflect on her time as a pastoral intern this summer:
It is hard to put into words how much my time serving here at FUMC as the pastoral intern has meant to me, but one thing I notice when I reflect on the last ten weeks is my deepening understanding of the link between the work we do in worship and the work we do across the street with our unhoused neighbors. In the Sanctuary, we celebrate our connection to God and God's abundant grace in our lives and in the FLC we extend that grace to our neighbors, celebrating the connection we have to one another. Spending the summer immersed in this work, learning the routines and support work that go into running the church, and working as a part of the staff to handle the unexpected over and over again has affirmed my call to practical ministries of mercy and justice in a congregational setting. I am so grateful to have been part of the team this summer.
The staff will miss working with Becca during the week, but she'll still be around! She is entering her final year at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary this fall and is seeking ordination as a Deacon in the United Methodist Church. Becca and her family will continue to worship and engage in community life here as members of First Church. She's even chair of the Mercy & Justice team! We give thanks for the work God is doing in and through Becca and celebrate the completion of this milestone with her. Thank you, Becca!
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The Transgender Education Network of Texas (TENT)is the largest trans-led, trans-focused organization in the state of Texas. TENT is an organization dedicated to furthering gender diverse equality in Texas through a racial justice lens, with an intersectional approach. They work to accomplish this through education and networking in both public and private forums and they strive to halt discrimination through social, legislative, and corporate education.
Our giving helps TENT continue this work to protect the rights of trans Texans. Recent studies estimate there are 17,000 trans kids, ages 13-17, living in Texas. Become an advocate today to help defend the rights of all trans people in Texas, especially kids, by visiting www.transtexas.org and learning from the toolkits provided there.
Your gifts, marked “TENT,” may be brought to worship, mailed to or brought by the church office, or made online by typing “TENT” in the optional memo box on the giving page of our website.
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Submit a prayer request online.
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Within Our Congregation
Griffin Ancipink; Betty Berkey, Fay Brown, Russell Deason, The Drazic Family, Ann Fields, Pat Freeman, Sallie Novinger, and Dan Wood.
Congratulations to Mary Higgs on the birth of her great grandson, Dakota Curtis Higgs.
Condolences to Howard Hartman on the death of his cousin, Nancy Hartman.
Beyond Our Congregation
Jo Rene Altenberg, sister of Fay Brown; Bianca, our At the Well neighbor; Sue Byrd, sister-in-law of David Bonner; Fuhong Cheng, father of Coco Cheng; Jack Collins, friend of Robbie and Tom Ausley; Dick Fuerst, father of Brad Fuerst; Johnnie Houston, mother of Marcia Houston; Elaine Jackson, mother of Melissa Jackson-Burns; Wayne Kellberg, father of Tami Kellberg; Bill Kilday, father of Dan Kilday; Jon Long, friend of Rick Russel; Elissa Marek, friend of Curt Ashmos; Robert McCarroll, son of Virginia McCarroll; Mitzi Moore and Vickye Patrick, friends of Jan Ashmos; David Rodriguez, friend of Mary Faye Randolph; Jewel Ruth, mother of Barbara Ruth and grandmother of Rachel Wright; Lauren Stafford, niece of Cheryl Bias; Tonya Basler Stout, sister of Grady Basler; John Walker, brother of Sharon Fillion and son of Carol Walker; Marcus Wilkerson, son of Sandy Wilkerson.
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Contact Us
First United Methodist Church
1201 Lavaca St. Austin, TX 78701
(512) 478-5684
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