AUSTIN CITY LUTHERANS
“More, Better, Together”
Ministries Serving Low-Income Neighbors – Winter 2023
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.”
Thank You, Bread For All Volunteers and Supporters! Celebrating 10 Years of Food Pantry Service
On September 21, more than 50 BRead for All (BFA) volunteers and supporters gathered for dinner at Abiding Love Lutheran Church in recognition of ten years of uninterrupted food pantry distributions. Bread For All was mentored into existence by Abiding Love’s food pantry leaders during a six-month lead-up in 2013.
BFA opened its doors at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church on Monday, September 9, 2013. We served 35 neighbors at that distribution. In 2018, BFA moved over to Faith Presbyterian, right across from Travis High School. We’ve been there since, having trudged on through a pandemic, and continue to operate during evening hours to serve working low-income individuals and families.
Thanks also to wonderful supporters who continue to provide financial and prayer support, in-kind donations of food and diapers, and rent assistance funding. BFA is truly a volunteer-fueled ministry led by Christ’s admonition to feed the hungry (Matthew 25:31–46).
BFA continues to serve upwards of 125 individuals and families every Monday evening at Faith Presbyterian Church. Thanks to our wonderful volunteers who labor from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Mondays to set-up and accomplish the distribution. Non-perishable food such as peanut butter, canned beans and pasta, and diapers (sizes 4, 5, 6) are always needed.
Thanks be to God and thanks be to supporters who help spread a community table of sharing every Monday evening in SE Austin.
Mariposa Family Learning Center
Mariposa FLC uniquely provides subsidized, exceptional early learning and childcare in SE Austin, enabling children to thrive and families to build pathways out of poverty – www.mariposalearning center.org.
“I Live Here, I Give Here” – Giving Tuesday, November 28 – Support Mariposa FLC with a donation at https://www.amplifyatx.org/.
Christmas Pancake Breakfast, Saturday, December 9, 8:30–10:30am at Triumphant Love LC. Hear the Mariposa story replete with current updates and future plans!
ACL’s Move-In Ministry
We will come and pick up the following items, store them, and then deliver them to provide a sense of “home” for people exiting homelessness:
Kitchen tables and chairs Coffee tables Pots, pans and other basic kitchen items Bed frames (and lightly used mattresses) Dressers Towels and bed sheets
Living room chairs and sofas (free of pet dander, no sleeper sofas)
I receive email requests from case managers at homelessness service providers (like Sunrise Navigation Center and Foundation for the Homeless) who have clients who are exiting homelessness, newly moving into housing. Most providers will have a year-long relationship with the client after the move-in, providing stability and support. We know that our efforts to claim, store, and deliver furniture help these neighbors establish themselves in their new households. Most have minimal financial resources to rely upon. We trust that our efforts help them feel welcomed in their new communities. As of the end of October, we’ve served almost 60 individuals and families in 2023.
Contact me – tca.blueocotillo@gmail.com – if you have furniture or household items to donate. Please attach photos of the items. Also, contact me if you’d like to join our team. If you can move furniture, organize household items at our storage sites, or if you have a pickup truck – we have a place for you!
– Pastor Tim Anderson, ACL Director
A Word from ACL President, Pastor Brad Highum
“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord! They will be like trees planted by water, sending out roots by the stream.” Jeremiah 17:7–8
My friends, the strong support of our people and congregations this year has enabled Austin City Lutherans to substantially expand our shared ministries. Early this year, ACL was able to provide a $25,000 Matching Grant to our Homelessness Prevention Ministry. The grant was instrumental in raising $57,000 to fund Rent Assistance support that helped people in danger of losing their homes to remain housed through a difficult time. ACL was also able to provide a $50,000 Matching Grant to Mariposa Family Learning Center supercharging the Center’s “May Flowers” initiative to raise scholarships and operating capital in excess of $120,000.
From our Move-In Ministry helping to re-home our neighbors stepping out of homelessness, to our Bread For All Pantry ministry providing critical food support to more and more families struggling in poverty, to the high-quality education Mariposa provides for families who struggle to afford it … you are making a difference every day in the lives of thousands of people. Thank you! And bless you and your generous hearts, sharing with the same generous spirit of the One who gives us life!