The Electronic Newsletter of MCC Austin at Freedom Oaks
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February 17, 2010
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From Your Pastor 
 I recently read a line that said, "Love can endure all things save silence." I think that is probably right. In fact, I think that line could be modified to reflect that many of the things we value can endure anything but silence: faith, hope, trust...
About a year ago one of you introduced me to a book called Cross Talk. The author, Sally A. Brown, puts forth the thesis that Christian preachers are talking less about the cross than ever before. They're staying silent...
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What's Happening at MCC Austin
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 Sunday Worship on February 21
9 & 11 a.m.
"Were You There at the Last Supper?"
Rev. Karen Thompson
Luke 22:14-23
When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him. He
said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer; for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is
fulfilled in the dominion
of God." Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, "Take
this and divide it among yourselves; for I tell you that from now on I
will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the dominion
of God comes." Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given
thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body,
which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And he did the
same with the cup after supper, saying, "This cup that is poured out
for you is the new covenant in my blood.
"Look! The hand of my betrayer is at this table with me. The Chosen One is following the appointed course. But woe to the person by whom that One is betrayed!" Then they began to argue among themselves as to which of them would do such a deed.
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| H2O--A New Worship Experience
Are you looking for a deeply personal spiritual experience? Do you like a wide variety of music? Do you find value in other sacred texts along with the Bible? Do you enjoy the beauty of everything from candlelight to contemporary art? Do you want worship to "meet you where you live"? Do you long for a meaningful church experience that invites you to be more than a spectator?
Then you'll want to join us for MCC Austin's newest offering: H2O~Living Water. Each week you'll be invited to Receive the Word, Refresh Your Spirit, and Respond to Your Encounter with the Living God.
Based upon the Emerging Church model, H2O will feel familiar to those of you who enjoyed our Saturday @ 6:24 service, those of you who attend our Sunday morning services, and those of you who have never been quite sure that a worship experience has something to offer you.
If you'd like more information or if you'd like to take a role in the leadership of the service, please send an email to H2O@mccaustin.com. |
 "Snatch(ing) Our Humanity Out of the Fire of Human Cruelty": A History of the Black LGBT Movement
by Sylvia Rhue, Ph.D.
It began organically-in the wee hours of a June morning in 1969, in
the Greenwich Village section of New York City-with several brave men
and women who'd grown tired of the government-sponsored persecution of
them because of who they were.
It was a revolution. At the Stonewall Inn, our brothers and sisters
fought for their lives and their dignity while igniting a movement for
Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Rights. Today we are humbled by
our roots, and honored to be part of this movement that has evolved
over the past 40 years.
Read the full article... |
 Ash Wednesday Service
Tonight we will hold an Ash Wednesday service at 7 p.m. If you were raised in an evangelical religious environment or no church at all, talk about Lent and Ash Wednesday may be new to you. For others who grew up with this service, you still may have questions.
Ash Wednesday marks the first day of Lent. This observance dates back to the 900's A.D., and it is based on a practice that began in Biblical times, in which a mark placed on a person's forehead symbolized that the person belonged to a particular master. By having our foreheads marked with the sign of a cross, we symbolize that we belong to Jesus Christ. Ashes are used because they are a symbol of penitence. They also symbolize our mortality.
Ash Wednesday invites us to look at our lives and focus once again on developing, and keeping primary, our relationship with God. The ritual of the ashes helps us be honest in our self- evaluation. Please journey with us this Lent, beginning with Ash Wednesday, as we enter Lent together and ask ourselves and each other this question: "Were You There?"
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 New Class Starts February 22:Reflecting On My Journey
Are you looking for a way to connect and make friends? Are
you looking for an opportunity to dig deep, and to think intentionally about
your next spiritual step? Then "Reflecting On My Journey" might be just the
thing for you. Walk through eight key questions to assess where you are on your
spiritual journey, and what might be your next step. The class will meet from 7
- 8:30 p.m. on Monday evenings from February 22 - April 12 and will be
facilitated by Alycia Erickson, Director of Spiritual and Leadership Formation.
The class will explore the following key questions and concepts:
How might my past spiritual and church experiences impact my
current spiritual life? Where am I with Christianity and Jesus? How might sexual orientation affect a person's spiritual
journey? How might gender identity affect a person's spiritual
journey? Has trauma affected my relationship with God and the Church? Listening to God Taking charge of my spiritual life
Whether you are brand new to church or have been around this
church stuff for a while, this class is for you! Please register in advance for this class so we have enough materials for everyone. Class size is limited to 20 people (first come, first serve). For more information about the class, please contact Alycia Erickson. To register, please call or email Dustin Dutcher in the church office.
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 Garden of the Month
for February
The "Garden of the Month" for February has been awarded to the Children's Sunday School! The Children's Sunday School did marvelous work out in the garden and had such a wonderful time while they were at it. So please, when you see them, congratulate the children and the instructors on a job well done.
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 Red Carpet Ministry Lunch The Red Carpet Ministry invites everyone to lunch on Sunday, February 21 after the 11:00 service. Rachael Oaks and Capri Cowan will host this lunch. We will meet at Mr. Gatti's at 9900 IH-35 South. We especially welcome visitors and others who are new to the church to come join us so you can get to know more people in our church family. For information, please email the Red Carpet Ministry.
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 2009 Financial Contributions Statements ReadyWe have produced your 2009 giving statements electronically as part of our effort to reduce our carbon footprint. To receive yours, you may send an email request to Judie Cowan with "2009 Statement" in the subject line. You may also call the office at 512-291-8601 and ask Judie to prepare your statement as either an electronic or printed document. If you have any questions about or corrections to your 2009 giving statement, please don't hesitate to contact Judie in the church office. |
 Free Firewood, Compliments of
Gardening AngelsThe firewood is located by
the grass parking area near the Wray Education Building. First come first serve
until it is gone. Please email Donna Scott if you need more information. |
BEYOND OUR WALLS: MCC News & Updates
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MCC Headline News:
News from Metropolitan Community Churches
- Moderator of Metropolitan Community Churches Calls for Immediate Action in the Arrest of Gay Kenyans...
- Rev. Tania Guzman of MCC Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) Shares Her Story from the Haiti Relief Efforts...
Read Full Newsletter...________________________________________________________________ |
BEYOND OUR WALLS: News & Community Events
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allgo's Baile: The Dance
Pre-Sale Tickets Still Available allgo, a Queer People of Color Organization presents Baile: The Dance, The Colors of our Lives on Friday, February 19. Read more....
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Comedians Vickie Shaw and Jennie McNulty
One Night Only! February 20 at 8 p.m. at MCC Austin
Vickie Shaw and Jennie McNulty are coming
back to Austin for another night of Fantastic LGBT Comedy. The show sold out last year so get your
tickets early! You can buy tickets here.
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CROP Hunger Walk CROP Hunger Walk is an annual nationwide event sponsored locally by AAIM. Twenty-five percent of the funds raised stay in Austin to support food needs in local agencies. The rest go to more than 80 countries to alleviate hunger worldwide. Austin has consistently ranked among the top 6 cities across the U.S. in CROP Walk fundraising! Visit www.cropwalk.org or click here to sign up and begin raising dollars to help end hunger.
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OutYouth and Heart of Texas (HOT8) tennis tourney needs volunteers!
Fri-Sat, Mar 5-6 to help at tennis courts during the tournament for 3-4 hour shifts (8am, 11 am, 2pm, 5pm)
Tournament Locations: - Austin Tennis Center (7800 Johnny Morris Road, Austin TX 78724, 512-928-8119)
- Pharr Tennis Center (4201 Brookview Road, Austin TX, 512-477-7773)
Saturday evening, March 6 - volunteers needed to assist with banquet at Embassy Suites Hotel on IH-35 and Hwy 290 during these two time slots:
To volunteer or for more information contact Paula here. ________________________________________________________________
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Our Prayers...
- For all the people in Haiti as they continue the process of recovery from the recent earthquake.
- For our GLBT brothers and sisters in Kenya.
- For our newly elected Board members and the work of the entire Board in 2010.
- For all those who will help lead our Capital Stewardship Campaign.
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 E-Link Submissions
If you have information to share through our E-Link, please email it to the editor no later than Monday evening of the week you would like it published.
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(continued from above)
This is understandable though regrettable, Brown says. It's understandable because the theories and terms and treatises on the cross and the crucifixion that pastors learn in seminary simply don't translate into an accessible sermon topic. It's regrettable because people are left to "lean on their own understanding" as regards one of the central tenets in our Christian faith.
I'm no different than most of the preachers Brown describes. Oh, it's not that I don't accept that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ offer me the promises of grace, redemption, and new birth--it's just that I tremble at the thought of having a mere 15-20 minutes to offer you up my thoughts around the meaning of the crucifixion and resurrection. I especially hesitate when I think about the children that will be catching bits and phrases of my sermon and about those new to Christianity with no context in which to place the images of suffering and sacrifice.
This Lent, that's going to change. This Lent I am going to try to offer to you and to myself the gift of reclaiming our "cross talk." Beginning tonight, with our Ash Wednesday service, we will begin a journey together toward Jerusalem with Jesus. On Sunday, we'll begin a series of "Were You There?" sermons that will take us through the 22nd and 23rd chapters of the Gospel of Luke. We will ask this series of questions: Were you there at the Last Supper? When Jesus prayed? At his arrest? When Peter denied him? In the screaming crowd? At the cross?
We won't shy away from the language of body and blood and sacrifice and suffering. At the same time, though, we will do our best to reclaim those images of our faith in a way that makes sense to us in a world in which so much violence and suffering is still initiated "in the name of God." We will try to reclaim the whole of our Christian story in a way that allows ALL of it, from Eden to eternity, to speak to us of God's enduring love and saving grace.
Come, walk with us. This is a journey best taken with those we love.
See you tonight.
Grace and Peace,  Rev. Karen Thompson
Sr. Pastor
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