July 30 Notes from FLC

FLC Weekly Email

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Worship for July 24
7th Sunday after Pentecost

"The Rich Fool" by Rembrandt.

Today’s texts offer instruction and encouragement for all who are occasionally overwhelmed by the “unhappy business” of life. Jesus urges us to take care and be on guard against all kinds of greed. We who have died with Christ in holy baptism have also been raised with him and are encouraged to elevate our thinking, seeking the “things that are above.” To that end we seek the sustenance of the Lord’s supper and the encouragement of God’s word.

Attribution: Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, 1606-1669. Parable of the Rich Man, from Art in the Christian Tradition, a project of the Vanderbilt Divinity Library, Nashville, TN. https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=55520 [retrieved July 30, 2022]. Original source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_-_Der_reiche_Narr.jpg.

Zoom Link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/81459937029?pwd=Z0pTMXVjUWU5VkxEQXBva2FDRHhXQT09
Meeting ID: 814 5993 7029 Passcode: 106355
(Those shouldn't be necessary if you use the link)

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/firstlutheransmtx/
(If the above links do not work, try the red buttons on the top of https://flcsm.org/ instead.)

The worship book is posted at https://flcsm.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/July-31-PDF.pdf

The readings for this Sunday are:

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14; 2:18-23
Search out wisdom, for all is vanity
Psalm 49:1-12
My mouth shall speak of wisdom. (Ps. 49:3)
Colossians 3:1-11
Clothed in Christ, your life is hidden with him in God
Luke 12:13-21
Jesus says: Be on guard against greed; be rich toward God, your treasure

You can find the readings each week by going to https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu/ and clicking on the date. Our Old Testament reading and Psalm are the second set listed.

Our hymns are:

GATHERING SONG In Christ There Is No East or West (ELW 650)
HYMN OF THE DAY Faith Begins by Letting Go (ACS 1004)
Communion hymn: Lamb of God, Children of the Heavenly Father (elw 781)
SENDING SONG We Give Thee but Thine Own (ELW 686)

The worship book now has a permanent address so you can find it easily and there will be fewer chances for errors. It will be at http:// http://flcsm.org/next-sunday-worship-book/ . You might find a placeholder file there during the week. It will be posted by Saturday at the latest. (There may be changes in prayers and other small items, but the link should remain the same. If there are any major changes, which we do not anticipate, we would send another email on Sunday.)

More full instructions are on the website. Additionally, if you cannot access from the usual links, check the website because Zoom often implements updates on the weekend. The website can be changed in minutes if needed to update links or passwords. You can find all the information at

https://flcsm.org/onlineworship/
and more complete instructions at
https://flcsm.org/worshipaccess/

IF YOU GO there on Saturday and Sunday and find last weeks file you need to fully refresh your browser because your computer is reading its cached version.
If that does not work try getting the file from the specific date link on the worship page

Phone and Internet Changes at Church

The upgrading of our inside network at the church building has begun. The internet service is still delayed but our network upgrades have made connections much better overall.

Phones:
Our main phone number 512-392-2064 will remain the same. Kids Of The Kingdom will also keep their 512-353-5437 number. Others such as the current FAX number and the extra lines will be disconnected. There may be some short disruption in service as we get going. We are waiting on the

Email:
The grandecom.net email will go away because we will no longer have Grande as our internet provider. When we were first looking at this quite some time back we set up the address info@flcsm.org (that this email comes from each week). That will become the primary email address for the church, checked by Sue.

These changes will upgrade our internet speed and hopefully stop the issues with our worship livestream. They also will allow us to place cameras and electronic locks that will help keep our building more secure.

Prime Timers Returns
In August

We are preparing for a return to our Prime Timer’s lunch tradition for those who are ready.

If you are ready to gather for lunch at a local restaurant, let Sue know.

Organ Update

The organ project was unanimously approved at our July 3rd meeting and has been ordered! It will take several weeks for it to be built and shipped to us. We have just a little ways to go to meet our goal and complete this special project. For details, visit https://flcsm.org/organ/

Current FLC COVID Practices
(Last change in July 2022)

Update on July 28:
The FLC Council decided that we will NOT require masks even though we are in a high transmission status. Instead, we will encourage them as well as continuing to encourage people to keep social distance during worship.

From April 2022:
The FLC Council, based on current public health recommendations adopted the following.

“Based on guidance from the CDC, because we are currently in a “low transmission” status, the church council has decided that wearing masks will be optional during hours that Kids Of The Kingdom is not in operation. (7 am to 6 pm weekdays masks will be mandatory to follow State of Texas requirements for child care centers.)

If Hays County goes into a “high transmission” category we will immediately resume mandatory masking at all times per CDC guidelines.

Zoom and Facebook will continue to be available for those not wishing to be in person.”

This policy is effective immediately.

Other notes: As we adjust to a new phase and the pandemic becomes endemic (a disease that continues to circulate but against which we have more immunity and precautions available), we are all ready to respond to risks differently. Of course we expect everyone in our church community to respect the ways others choose to protect themselves. But we also want to be aware of ways to support one another. For some, wearing a mask may also be a sign that they are wanting to keep more personal space than we might have considered normal a few years ago. As our faith tells us to be more concerned for our neighbor than ourselves, we need to be aware of these signals and make returning to church in-person as comfortable as we can for all, no matter how we are ready to engage the risks of being in public.

Please be aware of the still increased cautions that Kids Of The Kingdom continues to take. The children in our care cannot be vaccinated yet because of age. During operating hours, we must require that you wear a mask when not in a separate space away from more than one other person. These are strictly enforced rules put in place by state childcare licensing and we cannot risk any violation.

If you visit the church building during KOK hours (M-F 7 am to 6 pm), PLEASE use the main doors by the church office. This is especially important at pick-up time in the late afternoon until 6 pm. Parents are still not allowed in the building and it is confusing to parents and difficult for staff when people use those doors while they are dismissing children.

First Lutheran Staff and Contact Info:

Pastor: The Rev. Tim Bauerkemper
Office Manager: Sue Cole
Music Director: Dr. Cynthia Gonzales
Organist: Joe Callan

pastortim@flcsm.org
firstlutheran@grandecom.net

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