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E-Link Newsletter
News from Metropolitan Community Church of Austin |
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 October 19, 2011
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| From Your Pastor | | 
Christmas at MCC Austin Don't worry, you haven't slept through two months of your life. And your pastor has not lost her mind. And advertisers have not hijacked this space. You really are seeing a lovely red poinsettia and the words Christmas at MCC Austin on the screen in front of you. Yes, Christmas is still two months away, but our staff is currently finalizing our Advent and Christmas worship plans. While last year we celebrated the fact that "Christmas Can Still Change the World" and began singing Christmas carols in a fully decorated sanctuary on the first Sunday of Advent, this year we are inviting you to a more traditional Advent season. This year we will celebrate "Lessons and Carols," and we will be offering services and sermons that incorporate some of your favorite Christmas hymns and carols. You can see the schedule at the end of this piece...
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| What's Happening at MCC Austin | |
October
23 Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.
30 Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.
November
6 Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.
Soul Connections Luncheon following 11 a.m. service
Daylight Savings Time Ends
13 Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.
19 New Member Class 9-11:30 a.m.
20 Worship at 9 and 11 a.m.
Hanging of the Greens worship service at 3 p.m.
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| Sunday Morning Worship | | October 23 at 9:00 and 11:00 a.m.*
"Being the Bible"
Rev. Karen Thompson
I Thessalonians 2:1-8
You yourselves know, brothers and sisters, that our coming to you was not in vain, but though we had already suffered and been shamefully mistreated at Philippi, as you know, we had courage in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in spite of great opposition. For our appeal does not spring from deceit or impure motives or trickery, but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the message of the gospel, even so we speak, not to please mortals, but to please God who tests our hearts. As you know and as God is our witness, we never came with words of flattery or with a pretext for greed; nor did we seek praise from mortals, whether from you or from others, though we might have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, like a nurse tenderly caring for her own children. So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us.
*ASL Interpretation for the 11:00 service will be available upon request. Please send your requests via email to Courtney Webster in the church office.
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| Notes from the Board of Directors | | |
You will want to be here this Sunday, October 23,
for an announcement about a new and significant development in our building plans.
Parking continues to be a great challenge for us. As we've explained, when our sanctuary is 75% full, our paved parking lot is 150% full. If you come to church early because you are participating in the service (musicians, pastors, presiders, etc.) or because you attend Bible Study, you can help us tremendously by parking in the marked spaces at Scizzorz salon next door or parking in front of the church, under the trees. We're hoping that those who are able will begin parking in those two "overflow" areas, and we will not need to resort to a more formal parking plan.
The Board of Directors has finished their initial round of weekly E-Link updates and has not reached a decision yet about whether the updates will continue and if so, with what frequency. When you have questions about Board actions, you are always welcome to ask members in person or email them. Specific email addresses are available on your Who Can Assist Me With...directory. A directory is posted in the Social Hall on the bulletin board.
Faithfully,
Rev. Karen Thompson, Board Moderator
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| SOUL CONNECTIONS LUNCHEON | |  Sunday November 6 after 11 a.m. service
Soul Connections gathers on the first Sunday of each month after the 11 a.m. worship service. Please join us for a presentation from AARP on PRIDE information for LGBTQ members and lunch at Taiwan Restaurant, 500 W William Cannon Dr Suite 420, Austin Tx 78745.
(512)-445-0677
Future activities for Soul connections are available on the Soul Connections website.
If you have any questions regarding this event, please email Dana McVey.
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| New Member Class | | 
Saturday, November 19
9 - 11:30 a.m. - MCC Austin
Come learn about the history of MCC Austin, our current ministries are, and where God is calling us as a church for our future. You will also find out how to get involved in ways that are meaningful to you. If you're interested in attending the class, please register with Courtney Webster, by email or by calling the church [291-8601]. Please include your first and last name, email, and the best contact number for you.
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Fall Homeless Outreach Projects
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Help Us to Reach Out to the Homeless
Warming the Body and Soul of Austin Project
Project: Providing blankets to Austin's homeless
What can you do: Donations of gently used and/or new blankets/throws would be appreciated. We will have boxes & one of our group members at the church entrance on Sunday October 30 & November 6.
Our goal: To collect 50 blankets.
If you have any questions, please email Kathryn.
 Caring with Care Packets Project
Project: Providing Care packets to the homeless
What can you do: We will be collecting donations of socks, toiletries, bottled water, and breakfast-bars. There will be a large basket located at the front of the door beginning this Sunday through Sunday November 27 for you to leave your donations in.
Our goal: We would like to collect as many as possible.
For more information, please email Courtney.
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| Our Prayers... |
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- For all who are dealing with the consequences of the recent wildfires in our area as they begin to rebuild their lives.
- Gratefulness for the generosity of God and God's people.
- 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 are homeless.
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From Your Pastor, continued | |
The reason I'm bringing this up to you so early is that this year Christmas Day falls on Sunday. Now, while I would hope that this would strike all of us as a glorious occasion (celebrating the birth and resurrection of Jesus Christ together in a Sunday worship service), the truth is that it will probably have many of you moaning.
I'll admit, with more than a little embarrassment, that our children have already begun to explore the implications of this from the perspective of "When will we get to open presents?" Others of you will worry about how this affects the preparation of Christmas dinner, what to do with the in-laws (I won't make an obvious comment), what this means for our plans to go out of town, etc.
Here is my wish: We will all set worship together on Christmas Day as our priority. Christmas Day just doesn't seem to me to be the day that you want to explain to God why you were too busy to go to church...
My guess is that I'll probably have more to say about this as the time grows closer. (You're probably guessing I'll have more to say about it too!) But until then, I would appreciate your input as we finalize our planning. What time would you prefer to worship with us on Christmas Day? You can cast your vote for 9:00, 10:00, or 11:00 by clicking on your choice and sending us an email. Yes, even though I hope everyone will find time in their morning to worship with us, I'm realistically expecting that we won't have two full houses (9:00 and 11:00) on that day, so we'll offer one worship service at the time that most of you prefer.
Here's that schedule I promised you. Please notice the carol for Christmas Day!
Advent 1 - November 27
"O Come, O Come, Emmanuel"
Advent 2 - December 6
"Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus"
Advent 3- December 13
"O Little Town Of Bethlehem"
Advent 4 - December20
"The First Noel"
Christmas Eve - December 24
"O Holy Night"
Christmas Day - December 25
"Oh, Come All Ye Faithful"
May God Bless You This Season and Always,
Rev. Karen Thompson
Senior Pastor
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Beyond Our Walls: News from MCCs Around the World
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MCC News: Tithe Assessment Note from the MCC Governing Board
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MCC Headline News: 13 October 2011
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