Preaching: Rev. Taylor Fuerst
Scripture: Ephesians 4:1-16
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Join us in the Sanctuary for worship this Sunday at 9:00AM and 11:00AM or participate in 11:00AM worship online via livestream by visiting Youtube Channel or Facebook or listen to the podcast on our Worship Archive. | | |
Children's Choir Practice Begins
Sunday, August 20
9:30-10:00AM | SAN Room 111
Make a joyful noise with our children's choir, open to all children from Kindergarten through 5th grade. Led by music education professionals, our Children's Choir meets on Sunday mornings throughout the school year to learn, sing, and prepare for regular opportunities to share the gift of music in worship. For more information, contact Roxie Garza, Children's Choir Director, at roxie@fumcaustin.org.
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Kindergarten Gathering
Sunday, August 20
10:00-10:45AM | EDU Room 101
Kindergarten is a time of big change (and even bigger feelings) for children and parents alike! The Children's Ministry team has a special invitation for all new Kindergartners (2023-2024 school year) and their caregivers to help you celebrate and acknowledge all the feelings that come with this transition. We will share a reading of The Kissing Hand and do a family craft. Enjoy a chance to meet other families at this stage of life and to learn more about how to help foster your child's faith formation during a milestone year.
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Youth Party Barge
Sunday, August 20
3:00-7:30PM | Lake Travis
Middle and high school students are invited to start the school year with the chance to explore Lake Travis aboard a two-story party barge. The cost is $45/student and dinner is included. Our group is limited to 50, so get details and secure your spot at fumcaustin.org/youth and indicate if you need help carpooling from the church. Scholarships are available by contacting Devon Bailey, Director of Youth Ministries.
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Prayer Beads Workshop
Saturday, August 26
9:30AM-12:00PM | FLC Room 104
Prayer beads are used as a devotional aid for focusing the mind in many religions. Catholics say the Rosary using prayer beads; Hindus and Buddhists use mala beads to repeat mantras; and Protestants use prayer beads in our own way. This summer workshop, led by members Kristin Robertson and Karen Janes, will help you access this ancient practice. Learn about the history of prayer beads, how to use them as you pray or meditate, and create your own bracelet or bead string and a prayer to accompany it so that you can introduce them to your own prayer practice. This is a great way to end your summer with a bit of quiet centering and contemplation. Contact Kristin for more information.
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Joy Circle Underwear Drive
August 1-27
Sanctuary Foyer/Family Life Center
Our Joy Circle of the United Women in Faith is collecting donations of children's socks and underwear for Pickle and Zavala Elementary Schools in Austin ISD. Please contribute new, unopened packages for both boys and girls, ages 5-12. All sizes are welcome, but sizes 2-6T are particularly needed. Collection bins will be in the Sanctuary Foyer and Family Life Center throughout the month of August.
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Acolyte Training
Sunday, August 27
10:00-10:45AM | Sanctuary Foyer
Have you ever wondered why children carry the light into the Sanctuary at the beginning of a worship service or when a child is old enough to be an acolyte and serve in this way? Children from 2nd through 5th grades are invited to learn how to serve as acolytes in worship. We will gather at 10:00AM in the Sanctuary Foyer. Children can be picked up in the Sanctuary at 10:45AM. Once children have completed this training, more information will be sent to parents about how to schedule a time for your child to serve. If your child is interesting in becoming an acolyte but cannot make this date, email the children's ministry staff at children@fumcaustin.org.
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Volunteer Teacher Training for Children and Youth Sunday School
Sunday, September 10
12:15PM | Wesley Hall
Anyone interested in volunteering in Children and Youth Sunday School for the 2023-2024 school year is invited to Join Devon Bailey, Lara Greene, and Jen Seibel in Wesley Hall for a time of food, fellowship, & fun (with a side of learning all about serving the wonderful children and youth of FUMC.) Please register so we have enough food for everyone!
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First Steps
Sunday, September 17
12:15-2:00PM | FLC Garrison Chapel
Meet the pastors and staff in this informal gathering during which you are encouraged to ask questions about this community of faith and explore what it means to be a member of FUMC-Austin. Lunch is provided! For more information, email Amy Wink.
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Before Cana: Preparing for Marriage
Saturday, September 23
9:00AM-4:00PM
FLC Garrison Chapel
Are you preparing for marriage? Marriage is one of the most important relationships you will enter into in this life, and premarital counseling is a proven method to get your marriage started on the right path. This workshop is required for couples who plan to get married at FUMC, but we also welcome all couples (regardless of sexual orientation or religious affiliation) who are in preparation for matrimony. Registration for this inaugural workshop is only $100 per couple, which includes registration, a personalized couple assessment, and a workbook. For more information, contact Pastor Brad King at brad@fumcaustin.org.
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Baptism Preparation Class
Sunday, September 24
12:15-2:00PM | SAN Library
Thinking about having your child baptized? Pastor Taylor Fuerst and Director of Children's Ministries, Lara Greene, host this class for parents to discuss our beliefs about baptism, logistical information about scheduling and service preparation, and ways to help your child live the baptized life. This class is required for those preparing for Baptism, and is only offered twice each year. Lunch provided. Childcare available upon request.
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Confirmation Class Forming for Fall 2023
Confirmation offers young people a chance to learn about faith in the United Methodist tradition—our identity as Christians, history and heritage, practices, and beliefs. With weekly gatherings in participant families’ homes from October to April, Confirmation lets youth question, wonder, and learn together in a casual, pressure free environment. Typically meeting on either Monday or Tuesday nights, participating families will have input on the day of the week we meet. If you have an 8th-10th grader who is interested in exploring faith through Confirmation, register now to receive more information or direct your questions to Devon Bailey.
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Administrative Board
Sunday, August 27
12:15-2:00PM | FLC Great Hall
Join us for the August Administrative Board Meeting. Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in discussion, though only Administrative Board members have voting rights. Please register for the meeting. An optional light lunch is available for those who prepay. Childcare will be provided in EDU Room 104. Contact Amy Wink with questions about this event.
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Engage Kick-Off and Parent Meeting
Sunday, August 27
4:30-7:00PM | Family Life Center
Engage, our weekly Sunday evening youth gathering, returns for the fall semester! We can't wait to hang out with new middle schoolers, see old friends, swap stories of the summer, and start our school year together. Parents are invited to stay this week to meet in Garrison Chapel and participate in an ongoing conversation we regularly host on the mental health and development of our youth. Dinner is included.
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Mercy & Justice Book Study: Dying of Whiteness
Tuesdays, September 5, 12, 19, and 26
6:30-8:00PM | Zoom
Physician and sociologist Jonathan M. Metzl travels across America’s heartland seeking to better understand the politics of racial resentment and its impact on public health. Although many recent measures have promised to restore greatness to white America, Metzl’s systematic analysis of health data dramatically reveals that these policies made life sicker, harder, and shorter in the very populations they purported to aid. Powerful, searing, and sobering, Dying of Whiteness ultimately demonstrates just how much white America would benefit by emphasizing cooperation, rather than by chasing false promises of supremacy.
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Deep Dive Into Scripture
Wednesdays, September 6, 13, 20,
and 27 | 6:00-7:15PM | Zoom
Deep Dive is more than just a bible study! It is a chance to dig into the text, to explore some of the deepest history of our faith, and to wrestle with the problems that scripture provokes and the unanswerable questions that scripture invites us not to solve, but to consider. Join Dr. Brad King on a journey through Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians). We will meet once a week for four weeks to examine this epistle and delve into the critical and faith-focused issues that it invites us to consider.
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Caregiver Support Group
Wednesday, September 6
8:00-9:00PM | Zoom
Henri Nouwen writes, “Caregiving feels solitary. We look out from our own lives and see so many people who seem not to experience what we feel. But we are not alone. Christ and caring friends are our companions.” Caring for a loved one in their season of need is a sacred trust and holy work. Maybe you are caring for a spouse, a child, or a friend; it might be temporary or long-term. Often, caregivers need a brief time away to renew their spirits, to just be themselves, and to connect with others in similar circumstances to receive support and encouragement. Pastor Cathy Stone and member Judy Breckbill will host this time that is open to those currently caring for a loved one or who have recently been in this role, whether in home or miles apart. For questions or the Zoom link, email Judy Breckbill.
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Kids Night Out
Friday, September 15
6:00-9:00PM | EDU 102
While parents enjoy an evening out, children play, eat pizza, and watch a movie with our trained childcare staff. We accept infants-4th graders. Cost is $45 for the first child and $15 for siblings. Scholarships are available on a case by case basis and spaces are limited, so register now.
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Connect for Tweens
Friday, September 15
6:00-9:00PM | Family Life Center
All 5th-7th graders are invited to Connect, a time just for tweens! Connect helps kids bridge the transition between child and youth by helping tweens connect with each other and God, while having tons of fun. Together, we will cook dinner, play games, talk pre-teen life, and give kids and parents a Friday night break.
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This school year, we will continue to support our longtime partners at Pickle Elementary School. Last year’s generosity transformed an empty classroom into a Teacher Mindfulness Room, a space for yoga stretches, a cup of tea, coloring, or a few minutes in a recliner. What a gift of peace for this dedicated staff!
Your financial support will enable us to continue to encourage and support the teachers and staff throughout the 2023-2024 school year.
Your Gifts Make an Impact:
- $500 provides yummy treats and encouragement for the staff throughout the year.
- $800 provides breakfast tacos and coffee for teachers on their first day back to school in both August and January.
- $1300 provides a $20 gift card in each of the 65 back-to-school care packages our VBS children assembled.
Your gifts, marked “Pickle Elementary,” may be brought to worship, mailed to or brought by the church office, or made online by selecting “Pickle” from the drop-down menu when you follow the step-by-step instructions at fumcaustin.org/giving.
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Submit a prayer request online.
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Within Our Congregation
Nancy Collins, Rocio Garcia, Chris Higgs, Mimi Raper, Rick Ortiz, Linda Van Horne, and Cecily Wright.
Condolences to the family and friends of Jack Collins on his death.
Condolences to David Bonner on the death of his aunt, Chris Bunton.
Condolences to Jen Seibel on the death of her father, Hank Blanks.
Beyond Our Congregation
Jo Rene Altenberg, sister of Fay Brown; Bianca, our At the Well neighbor; Sue Byrd, family of David Bonner; Chuck and Rita Cherry, brother and sister-in-law of Jan Berger; Nancy Ellison, friend of Jan Ashmos; Lauren Gann, friend of Randy Teich; Aida Garza, friend of Anne Venno; Mackey Greene, father of Bert Greene; Linda Hinojosa, friend of Meridith Albright; KIPP Austin Collegiate; Elissa Marek, friend of Curt Ashmos; Judy McAngus, friend of Steve and Dixie Houston; Patty McCormick, friend of Jan Ashmos; Jerry McMurtrey, uncle of Curt Ashmos; Mitzi Moore, friend of Jan Ashmos; Sue Norris, sister of Mary Kathryn Kane; Naomi Pacheco, mother of Rick Ortiz; Vickye Patrick, friend of Jan Ashmos; Debbie Spivey, sister of Ken Spivey; Lauren Stafford, niece of Cheryl Bias; Tonya Basler Stout, sister of Grady Basler.
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Contact Us
First United Methodist Church
1201 Lavaca St. Austin, TX 78701
(512) 478-5684
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