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E-Link Newsletter
News from Metropolitan Community Church of Austin
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 August 31, 2011
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From Pastor Alycia
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Join a Growth Group this Fall!
Sign up takes less than 90 seconds.
I am so excited to share news of our inaugural semester of Growth Groups! Growth Groups are made up of 10-15 people who get together each week in a convenient location in Austin to grow and have fun together.
It's a great way to meet new people while growing in your faith. Groups meet on different days at various times all over the Austin area-from Cedar Park to New Braunfels. Pick a topic or activity that interests you and go online to mccaustin.com/growth to sign up. You can also sign up on Sundays on your Connection Card. It's that easy!
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What's Happening at MCC Austin
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September
4 Worship at 9 and 11 am
**Children's Sunday School begins today**
**Sign up for Fall 2011 Growth Groups**
8Austin PRIDE Multi-faith Service at 7 pm
9 MCC Austin Pride Parade team preparation at 7 pm
10 Austin PRIDE Parade & Festival from 10 am-6 pm
11 Worship at 9 and 11 am 18 Worship at 9 and 11 am 25 Worship at 9 and 11 am **Last chance to sign up for Fall Growth Groups!** Growth Groups begin meeting the week of September 25
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Sunday Morning Worship*
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September 4 at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. *
Sensational Song Sunday!
Sing and hear your favorite songs:
"Amazing Grace"
"Shout to the Lord"
"It Is Well"
"My Life Is in Your Hands"
and more...
Psalm 104:24-30
What a wildly wonderful world, God!
You made it all, with Wisdom at your side,
made earth overflow with your wonderful creations.
Oh, look-the deep, wide sea,
brimming with fish past counting,
sardines and sharks and salmon.
Ships plow those waters,
and Leviathan, your pet dragon, romps in them.
All the creatures look expectantly to you
to give them their meals on time.
You come, and they gather around;
you open your hand and they eat from it.
If you turned your back,
they'd die in a minute-
Take back your Spirit and they die,
revert to original mud;
Send out your Spirit and they spring to life-
the whole countryside in bloom and blossom.
The glory of God-let it last forever!
Let God enjoy all creation!
God takes one look at earth and triggers an earthquake,
points a finger at the mountains, and volcanoes erupt.
Oh, let me sing to God all my life long,
sing hymns to my God as long as I live!
Oh, let my song please God;
I'm so pleased to be singing to God.
O my soul, bless God!
* ASL Interpretation for the 11:00 service will be available upon request. Please your requests via email to Courtney Webster in the church office.
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| Thanks Be to God! We Did It! | | 
Through God's goodness and your generosity, we have paid off our "Big Bond." Over the last 4 weeks, our friends and members who were able to have accelerated their capital stewardship campaign pledges and raised an ADDITIONAL $160,000 to pay off our 11 year-old bond and free us from bond payments of $10,000 per month.
Thank you to all of you who have been with MCC Austin since the purchase of Freedom Oaks. You have provided us a rich legacy of courage and generosity.
Thank you to all of you who have taken up the call to continued courage and generosity and have helped us in more ways than we can name toward this goal.
Thank you to all of you who have recently joined our fellowship and whose presence, prayers, and generosity are already blessing this congregation.
Thanks be to God, who has opened the doors of heaven and showered down overflowing blessings!
Faithfully,
The MCC Austin Board of Directors
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Notes from the Board of Directors
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Our congregation continues to show overwhelming generosity and a commitment to being good stewards. The Board is committed to being as faithful as you are, and one of the ways we are doing that is by finding opportunities to use your gifts to the fullest.
One opportunity that we have been aware of but have never fully taken advantage of is the employer matching contributions programs that many businesses have. Employers with these programs often match charitable contributions dollar for dollar, in effect doubling your contributions to nonprofits.
In the past, we have largely left it up to individuals to investigate whether their employers matched donations to charitable organizations. Other than Dell, we weren't aware of specific businesses that had matching programs. Now we are! In fact, we have a list of over 200 businesses, ranging from AT&T to Xerox that do.
Beginning today and continuing for the next 2 weeks, we are making it as simple as possible for you to find out if your employer has a matching program and if you are eligible.
Here are some easy steps you can take:
- Come to church this Sunday and next and check our lists for your employer.
- Send an email to your human resources department (We have samples for you to take.) asking if the business has a matching program, how you can participate if they do, or how to suggest one if they don't.
- Or send an email to the Board of Directors asking for a copy of our list and for the sample email to send to your HR department.
Please let us know if you have questions or suggestions, and thank you for continuing to support the ministry of MCC Austin and the work of the Board.
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| Sunday School Notice | | 
It's time to start back to Sunday School! Classes will begin again THIS WEEKEND--Labor Day Weekend, Sunday, September 4, at 11 am in the Wray Education Building. We have three classes this year: Preschool age 3 through Kindergarten, Grades 1 through 4, and Grades 5 through 8. Please note that this year our classes include 8th Graders.
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| Sunday School Teachers Wanted | | |
Do you like kids? Want to serve your church in meaningful ways and have fun at the same time? The Sunday School Ministry needs teachers and helpers for elementary grade children. Please contact Rev Alycia Erickson or Phyllis Ringdahl.
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| Be a Part of Pride with MCC Austin | | 
Thursday, September 8 - Saturday September 10
Multi-faith Pride Service: Thursday, September 8 at 7 pm
Pride Parade Saturday morning
The parade starts at 10 am and we will have a trailer available to ride in for people who can't walk the full two miles. Seating on the trailer will be first come, first serve for those who need it. Our float theme this year is the 80's so get out your parachute pants, neon socks, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood shirts--we're going to party like it's 1999! Roller skates welcome! We will have a DJ rocking out to 80's faves and it will be a great time.
Pride Festival Saturday afternoon
The festival is at Fiesta Gardens from 12-5 pm. We will be handing out beads again this year, along with information about our church. We still need people to help staff the booth for parts of the afternoon.
Sign up Now!
If you're interested in walking with our group or helping at the booth, please email Pastor Alycia or call her in the church office (291-8601). Help us spread the word of God's love to Austinites who haven't heard of us! Last chance for T-shirts before Pride! Don't forget! T-shirts cost $10 each and are available for sale between services. Back to Top |
| Our Prayers... | |
- Gratefulness for the generosity of God and God's people
- For our area struggling through the drought and its effects.
- For all affected by the famine in Somalia.
- For our GLBT brothers and sisters around the world who live in fear of violence and discrimination because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
- For our church as we discern next steps for our building and/or building search process.
- For all who struggle with epilepsy and their loved ones.
- All the teachers, all staff, and students heading back to school.
- MCC staff and governing board as they continue to lead us.
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| From Your Pastor, continued | |
Our Vision is to be a Church Without Walls and Growth Groups fit right in. A big part of my job is to find ways to help people grow spiritually--and no one can do that alone. So we are taking the next step in spiritual growth here at MCC Austin beyond our walls through Growth Groups.
Our Fall 2011 Growth Groups will begin meeting the week of September 25 and last between six and ten weeks, depending on the group. They're not designed to eat up your schedule. Each group will meet once a week for 60-90 minutes. It's a short-term commitment for something that could change your life.
We are offering 19 Growth Groups this fall, and all the leaders are part of the MCC Austin community. Growth Groups are open to members, regular attenders and visitors to MCC Austin AND people who aren't, or haven't ever been to church here.
This is the first of three semesters we will have each year: Fall, Spring and Summer. Don't worry if you can't decide which group to join-there's a good chance it will be offered in future semesters. You can sign up for more than one group IF your groups don't fill up. If they do, you'll be asked to pick your top choice.
The only cost to you will be any supplies or books needed for your particular group-or if your group is meeting at a restaurant for a meal. Then you'll pay for those things. It doesn't cost anything to register.
Growth Groups are a great way to meet new people and learn something new or try a new activity. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact me. I hope you'll sign up!
Peace,
Alycia
Rev. Alycia Erickson
Pastor of Faith Formation
512-291-8601
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| Beyond Our Walls: News from MCCs Around the World | | |
MCC Headline News: News from our Denomination about recent meetings and decisions of the Senior Leadership team and Governing Board.
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MCC News: MCC Pays Tribute to Canadian NDP Leader Jack Layton
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MCC News: An Update about the U. S. East Coast (Hurricane Irene)
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MCC News: From the Office of Outreach
Emergency Relief and Ecumenical/Interreligious Teams
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MCC News: From the Office of Emerging Ministries
On the Occasion of the Dedication of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial
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| Beyond Our Walls: Community News & Events | | |
HOLY AND WHOLE: An LGBTQ Multi-Faith Pride Service
Featured Speaker: Dr. Stephen Sprinkle
Date: Thursday, September 8, 2011
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Place: University United Methodist Church
2409 Guadalupe St.
Austin, TX 78705
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Austin PRIDE 2011 - Want to celebrate Austin PRIDE 2011 AND do it at a discount? Visit the Austin Gay and Lesbian Pride Foundation site for information on discounted 5K Run, Festival, and VIP tickets.
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allgo Presents:
Adelina Anthony and D'Lo in
Jotalogues: Talking Taboo in the LGBTQAI-U!
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