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E-Link Newsletter
News from Metropolitan Community Church of Austin
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 September 14, 2011
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From Your Pastor
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Last January, we had two large posters printed that read: 9:00 & 11:00 -- Blended Worship. Even after 9 months, I continue to receive questions about the signs. "What's blended worship?" people ask, and I realize it probably wouldn't be helpful or appreciated for me to say, "It's what we just did!
Our commitment to blended worship began in earnest at the beginning of this year. For several years prior to that, we had offered "traditional" worship on Sunday mornings and "comfortable church" on Saturday nights. After we ended our Saturday night service, we continued to offer "traditional" worship on Sunday mornings and added an "emerging" worship service on Sunday afternoons.
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What's Happening at MCC Austin | | |
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Sunday Morning Worship* |
| September 18 at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m. *
"Growing Smaller To Grow Bigger"
Rev. Karen Thompson
Exodus 18:13-27
The next day Moses sat as judge for the people, while the people stood around him from morning until evening. When Moses' father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, "What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, while all the people stand around you from morning until evening?" Moses said to his father-in-law, "Because the people come to me to inquire of God. When they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make known to them the statutes and instructions of God." Moses' father-in-law said to him, "What you are doing is not good. You will surely wear yourself out, both you and these people with you. For the task is too heavy for you; you cannot do it alone. Now listen to me....You should represent the people before God, and you should bring their cases before God; teach them the statutes and instructions and make known to them the way they are to go and the things they are to do. You should also look for able individuals, who fear God, are trustworthy, and hate dishonest gain; set such people over them as officers over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Let them sit as judges for the people at all times; let them bring every important case to you, but decide every minor case themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, and God so commands you, then you will be able to endure, and all these people will go to their home in peace."
*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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Notes from the Board of Directors
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Ever so often a well-meaning Austinite teases me about sounding like a Houstonian every time I open my mouth. Other times it's about my being slow to throw off some of
my "big city" attitudes. Well, perhaps I'm a slow learner or just maybe it's that old habits die hard.
In this writing my purpose is to admit to one of those habits and to try to convince you to take up the habit with me. Most of you probably do not know that Houston is the birth place of RANDALLʼS grocery stores. In H Town, Randallʼs is a big deal-----not as much so in Austin. That said I do
count fourteen Randallʼs stores in Austin. The habit to which I must admit is always buying my groceries at Randallʼs. Even though Randallʼs has a reputation for being more expensive than other stores, I remain a loyal costumer. Besides, In the last few years competition has brought Randallʼs prices more in line.
I began this habit many years ago for two reasons. First of all I was aquatinted with the Randallʼs founder and owner. Actually the name of the family who owned Randallʼs is not Randall but rather Onstead.
My second reason for being a faithful customer has much more to do with the Randallʼs Good Neighbor Card. When I shop at Randallʼs, a small percentage of what I spend is set aside as a gift for MCC Austin. For the individual shopper it doesnʼt amount to a whole lot, but collectively it adds up quickly.
You too can join me in supporting MCC Austin by linking your Randallʼs card to the churchʼs account. This may very well require you to let go of your old habit and develop a new one. Look at it this way----what is good for MCC Austin is good for all of us. How do I go about doing that, you ask? Well, just so happens we have the necessary form right here in the church office. All one has to do is ask. Or, of course, one can accomplish the same thing at the Costumer Service Counter in the store. The linking
number for MCC Austin is: 391.
Oh, by the way, when you shop at Randallʼs speak a little south east Texan to them; they love it.
Len Shelton
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| Sign Up for Fall Growth Groups | | |
 It only takes 90 seconds!
Growth Groups are groups of 10-15 people who get together each week in a convenient Austin location to grow and have fun together. It's a great way to meet new people while growing in your faith.
Fall 2011 Growth Groups begin the week of September 25 and last for 6-10 weeks. We have 19 different groups meeting all around town with lots of different topics. Growth Groups will meet for 60-90 minutes each week. To register and for more information, please go to our website.
It's a short term commitment for something that could change your life!
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| Deacons Offer Fire Response from MCC Austin | | |
Many of you have already offered your time, resources, and homes to victims of the Bastrop fires. We are grateful for your caring and generous hearts!
In addition to the ways you have already reached out, the Deacons wanted to offer a way for MCC Austin to respond as a faith community, and we explored ways to best do that.
We will be joining First United Methodist Church of Bastrop in their assistance drive. FUMC is collecting $20 gift cards which they are then distributing to families that need to replace lost belongings such as clothing, personal items, cooking utensils, etc. All families affected by the fires are welcome to receive gift cards; all they have to do is sign for them so that records can be kept.
If you would like to donate through MCC Austin, you may place your cash or checks made payable to MCC Austin in the FIRE RELIEF envelopes that you will find at church on Sunday. Write your name on the envelope and you will be credited for your donation on your MCC Austin giving statement.
We also want you to know that MCC Cares will make an extra grant this month and add $500 to the amount collected by the Deacons. Many of you contribute to MCC Cares to make those grants possible, and we thank you for that.
If you have questions, please ask any of our Deacons in person or call the Care Line at 512-291-8819.
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| Sunday School Notice | | 
Sunday School classes are back in session! We meet every Sunday 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.
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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|
Red Carpet Luncheon | |  This Sunday following the 11 a.m. service. The Red Carpet Ministry invites everyone to lunch on Sunday, September 18 after
the 11:00 service. We will meet at Chi Buffet, 9900 S I H 35 Ste O500 (Southpark
Meadows next to the movie theater). 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, contact Scot by email or call the church office at 512-291-8601 |
| Soul Connections | |
 Please Join Soul Connections for Lunch on October 2nd after the 11 a.m. service
Texas Land and Cattle
(Northwest corner of IH-35 & Stassney Lane; near Fiesta Mart and Lowes)
5510 S I H 35
(512) 442-6448
Soul Connections gathers on the first Sunday of each month after the 11 a.m. worship service.
Future activities for Soul connections are available on our website http://soulconnect.weebly.com/
If you have any questions regarding this event, please contact Dana McVey.
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| Our Prayers... | |
- For all who have lost their homes or had damage to their homes from the wildfires in our area.
- Gratefulness for the generosity of God and God's people.
- 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.
- MCC staff and governing board as they continue to lead us.
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| From Your Pastor, continued | | |
When we returned to only two services each week (identical Sunday services) we put much prayer, thought, and time into determining how we could best address people's needs for their truest worship expressions. Now, this was not a big change for us because for some time we had been blending different worship elements in our morning services. However, we recommitted to creating every single worship service in a way that honored traditional elements, emerging and contemporary elements, and "sensory" elements. We hoped for the congregation to become more and more worship participants as opposed to worship audiences -- which is an oxymoron if ever there was one!
For those who prefer definitions, blended worship is a service in which the old (hymns, creeds, liturgies, traditional instrumentation) are joined with the new (participation, sensory elements, varieties of music and instrumentation). Unfortunately, for many, blended worship has become only about music. Worship planners will mix hymns with a praise set, for example, and call it blended worship.
But blended worship is so much more than that. To counter the temptation to limit blended worship to music content, some people advocate for the term "convergence" worship, bringing the old and new together. I prefer the word "expansive" to refer to our worship. That word is borrowed from theologians who have chosen "expansive" as a descriptor for theological language. Instead of, for example, using the term "inclusive" to indicate that both male and female words and images will be used for God, some people speak of "expansive" language for God which indicates that we are not limited in any way in our expressions about and to God.
For those of you who prefer examples to definitions, here is a closer look at one of our recent services.
We always begin our planning with the Word, the scripture that has been chosen by the preacher. The preacher then shares with our other staff the major themes or parts of the sermon. Recently, our scripture was Matthew 15:21-28, and the sermon asked the question "Is God exactly the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow?" By the time we'd all exchanged suggestions and provided input in our specific areas, here's what the service looked like:
Organ Prelude: "The King of Love My Shepherd Is," based on an ancient Irish melody; words composed in 1868 by Henry Baker; sung at the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, at Westminster Abbey, in 1997.
Guitar and Piano Processional: "Everlasting God" recorded by Chris Tomlin; includes the lyrics "Our God, You reign forever/Our hope, our Strong Deliverer."
Taize Prayer Response: "Oh Lord, Hear My Prayer" from the Taize Community (an ecumenical monastic order begun in 1940)
Choral Anthem: "God's Love Never Changes," the title of which proclaimed the main message of the day: incidentals may change, but God's love never changes.
Sermon: The sermon contained scripture stories, descriptions of ancient Tyre and Sidon, pictures and video of the Mississippi River and the Mediterranean Sea, ideas from progressive theologian John Shelby Spong and conservative Canadian minister D.H. Kuiper, with a couple of mentions of the Indigo Girls and George Straight and others thrown in for good measure.
Corporate Confession: In traditional form but with modern words, we acknowledged together that we often fail to show forth God's great love to each other and that we desire forgiveness for our failings.
Of course this single description doesn't adequately explain all that we mean when we talk about blended worship. The only way to really "get it" is to "do it." This Sunday will be a great time to start!
Love and Blessings,
Rev. Karen Thompson
Senior Pastor
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 from the Moderator : Remembering 9/11
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| Beyond Our Walls: Community News & Events | | |
allgo Presents: Tim'm West's "The Front Porch" Words, beats and Life.
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