GREETINGS IN CHRIST’S NAME FROM AUSTIN CITY LUTHERANS! We are the ELCA congregations in and around the Texas capital city—and that includes you. Since its inception in 2011, ACL has sought ways to fellowship and minister in Austin following the simple moniker that we can do “more, better, together.”!
NEW MINISTRY EMPHASIS TO COMBAT HOMELESSNESS
We invite you to gather with other ACL leaders and members on Sunday, February 27, 2022 at 3–4:15 p.m. at St. Martin’s Lutheran Church, located downtown at 606 West 15th Street. Ample parking is available for those attending in person. This event will also be livestreamed.
We’ll focus on ACL’s four mission points in this new ministry:
1) Discussion of on-the-ground navigation for people experiencing homelessness, with Haleh Kersten of LINC-Austin;
2) Formation of support teams that will supply food, clothing, furniture, and other necessities to neighbors making the transition from the streets to housing;
3) A report from leaders of Peace Lutheran Church on their process and progress of using church property and resources to house single women with children who are homeless or at-risk of becoming so;
4) New info on homelessness to promote awareness, education, and advocacy to combat it and mitigate its effects.
Austin City Lutherans will be part of the efforts to scale up services in Austin and Travis County to combat homelessness. We are partnering with proven leaders in homelessness mitigation ministry and will continue to be in conversation with elected and appointed leaders to do our part to make homelessness “rare, brief, and non-recurring.”
“Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
The words of Jesus from Matthew 25:40.
BREAD FOR ALL FOOD PANTRY
In the month of December, BFA distributed grocery cards of $50 (one per household) to 148 neighbors to supplement the regular food distribution. Thanks to Randall’s, the Central Texas Food Bank, and ACL supporters for sponsoring this program.
Additionally, BFA donors contributed more than $10,000 to another grocery card program that will support the distribution of 100 HEB cards valued at $100 sometime later this spring.
We greatly appreciate the support of ACL churches Abiding Love and Shepherd of the Hills, and ACL congregants who buttressed this program. Any leftover cards will be used for ACL’s homelessness mitigation ministry. A year ago, thanks to grant awards from the United Way and the City of Austin, BFA initiated its grocery card program. We’re grateful to carry it out again on behalf of neighbors in need of additional assistance because of the ongoing pandemic.
BFA RENT ASSISTANCE PROGRAM
Thanks to a generous grant of $40,000 through the Austin Community Foundation, BFA will once again conduct a rent assistance program for BFA neighbors. As we did last year thanks to a St. David’s Foundation grant, we’ll use a structured application process that will guide our review committee in its determination of awards. We plan to conduct this program this spring, to the benefit of some 20-25 neighbors at-risk of becoming homeless.
MARIPOSA FAMILY LEARNING CENTER
Thanks to ACL churches and supporters who helped us raise more than $144,000 for Mariposa’s mission and expansion at the fall fundraiser at Shepherd of the Hills on October 22. Nearly 85 percent of this total came from ACL partners and churches. Thanks be to God for such great support.
Mariposa Director Sheila Pharis and two moms in Mariposa’s program, Rosemary and Kimiko, gave wonderful testimonies to the crucial importance of high-quality early childhood education—precisely what Mariposa offers low-income families—for children’s healthy development and their families’ sense of well-being. More info at www.mariposalearningcenter.org.
A WORD FROM ACL PRESIDENT, PASTOR BRAD HIGHUM
If the past two years have taught us anything it is adaptability. BFA continues to meet critical food needs for struggling families with processes adapted to provide maximum safety for both our neighbors and our volunteers. Mariposa FLC has navigated the vagaries of COVID protocols and interruptions of service and has continued to provide excellent nurture and learning through play for “the next generation.” We’re looking ahead to the next mission frontier—a meaningful response to the needs of the homeless in Austin. We will move purposefully through information gathering and awareness building to pragmatic ministry “on the ground,” connecting people with employment assistance, health care, transitional housing and other necessary support. I give thanks to God for our Board of Directors including Vice President Janis Coltin/Triumphant Love, Treasurer Steve Zwernemann/Faith, Secretary Dee Jackson/Shepherd of the Hills, along with ex-officio members Dick Moeller and Pr. Tom Grevlos, and financial secretary Denise Alaimo. Special thanks to our outstanding Director of Development, Pr. Tim Anderson, for his devotion, creativity and service.
And thanks to you! You make this possible. You make this happen, through your volunteer work and generous resource support for our shared ministries. God is already shining light on the path ahead. We follow in the footsteps of the One who comes to make all things new. Merry Christmas and blessings to you in the coming year!