Back to Top 

MCC Austin is part of the Interfaith Hospitality Network, which helps provide support and housing for homeless families in Austin area churches. We are looking for help in cooking and hosting evening meals and overnight hosts. We also need help setting up the house on the afternoon of July 26 for the week, and cleaning up on Sunday, August 2. If you cannot be there as a host, consider donating pantry staples and supplies for the week.Please contact Alycia Erickson in the office [291-8601] for more information. 

To sign up, please go to the online form we've created. The passcode for the form is "MCCA."

Are you ready for some good old summertime food, fun, and fellowship? Then you'll want to join us for our Summer Potluck Celebration series.
The next potluck will be on July 19 after the late service. Each potluck will have a specific theme, based on the faith tradition you grew up in. (No matter what age you were as you grew up in the tradition!)

Bring two dishes to share (meat and vegetable, salad and dessert, etc.) when you come to a potluck, and please come to as many as you would like. We'll share stories and memories from the beginnings of our faith journeys.

• July 19 - Catholic
• August 9 - Baptist
• August 16 - Charismatic (widely defined)
• August 23 - Mainline

The "No Experience Necessary" Bible Study that regularly meets on Sunday morning from 9:30 to 10:30 AM in the Wray Educational Building will tackle the Beatitudes in its next series of meetings beginning June 28th.  The study will borrow concepts and dialogue from Emmet Fox's Sermon on the Mount.  All are welcome, and as usual no experience is necessary.  Bring a bible or simply borrow one when you get to class.

Join Kindred Spirits for a Game Night at MCC Austin on Friday, July 17 at 7:30 PM. Bring your favorite board game, an appetizer to share, and a non-alcoholic beverage. Anyone's welcome to come.

To find out about more social events, please join the Kindred Spirits Yahoo Group.

MCC Austin has formed a new Care Team to support individuals who have AIDS, cancer, or another serious illness. Care Teams consist of 4-6 volunteers from local faith communities, corporations, other small and large businesses and interested individuals. These 4-6 volunteers are matched with an individual (Care Partner) needing non-medical care and support.  The unique aspect of the care team process is that the workload is shared throughout the team, which gives each Care Team volunteer the opportunity to choose what he or she may prefer doing for the Care Partner. If you are interested in committing four hours a month (weekdays, evenings, or weekends) for one year, please contact Care Team Coordinator, Christina Camacho, LMSW, at 459-5883. You may also find more information on their website.

Our friends at Central Presbyterian Church in downtown Austin have graciously opened their VBS program to our church's children and families. We will partner with them this year for Discovery Canyon! The registration deadline has been extended to July 17. If you are interested in volunteering, please contact either Stacey McTaggart or Phyllis Ringdahl.

Discovery Canyon is just around the rim! Mark your calendars and grab your hiking gear. This is a week packed with rockin' music, energy-packed games, and amazing Bible stories. We'll have special activities for 3 and 4 year olds as well as for children in Pre-K through 5th grade. The friendly canyon critters they meet will delight your kids and remind them of the Bible lessons they learn at VBS.

 Back to Top

It feels like I've been working harder than usual this week. I've been poring over lyrics, listening to choruses, and watching film adaptations of musicals. Now, for those of you who are wondering if I've picked up a second job, the answer is "No." I've been right here, in my office, preparing for our upcoming sermon series, The Bible on Broadway: Redefining Family.
 
Some of you might be thinking that it sounds like I haven't been working at all! You're wondering how you can find a gig that'll pay you for immersing yourself in the best that Broadway has to offer. Others of you (and I do know who you are) are thinking there's not enough money in the world to make Broadway appealing to you.
 
Without divulging the truth about where along that spectrum I lie, let me tell you what I think is important about this observation-that those of you from each extreme and every point in between will come to MCC Austin this month expecting to worship God in a way that offers renewal, rest, joy, forgiveness, and meaning to your life. Whether you can sing every word of Dreamgirls' ballad "And I Am Telling You," or you think Rent is only something due on the first of each month, you will come expecting that God will meet you here.
 
Take me at my word: God will.
 
And even though most of us would say that that's enough, the truth is, most of us want more. We want God to meet us here in the manner in which we're most comfortable, or in the manner we find most appealing. Some of us want God to meet us in jeans and t-shirt, smelling like Grandma's kitchen, gathering us up in loving arms and assuring us everything is gonna be alright. Some of us prefer that our worship service be like an audience with royalty: we like to see our God as Christ the Victor, wearing robes and crown and ushering in God's dominion. Some prefer to greet Jesus on a colt, entering triumphantly amidst our shouts of praise and waving arms. Some of us wouldn't recognize God in any of these forms but can always find God in the swirl of baptismal water or the glow of a candle's flame or the nuanced rhythm of silence...
 
As we worship together these next few weeks, I invite you to open yourself fully to the possibilities for meeting God in the words and music and messages of the musical stage. Remember, Broadway may not be your cup of tea, but to others, it's music to their ears.
 
Always in Hope,

 

 Visit Penguin Properties