Good Friday Music Video

Luann Glowacz sings "Is That My Hand Upon the Cross?" Good Friday service at Abiding Love Lutheran Church, Austin TX. April 18, 2014. ©Copyright Tom Hokanson 2007.

A talk with Annie Verzwyvelt on Facing the Truth

Who do you rely on when you are afraid?

Facing the Truth

Mark 4:37 - 41 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?" He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the seas, "Peace! Be still!" Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?" And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?"

Why is it so hard to MAKE IT SIMPLE? We face daily a complex world of our own making. We feel pushed and pulled by forces beyond our control. And when things feel like they are out of control, we often feel afraid. We become like the disciples in the boat with Jesus. We are afraid that we are perishing, tossed about by the "wind and the waves" in our lives.

Imagine being one of the disciples in the boat. When you decide to wake Jesus up, what would you expect of him? What do you need from Jesus in the midst of the storms of your life? Can you hear Jesus' question in the calm in your life? "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"

Jesus' question can lead us to hear the words of the psalmist found in Psalm 51:10-12:

Create in me a clean heart, O God and put a new and right spirit within me. Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your holy spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and sustain in me a willing spirit.

Look at all that God does in our lives. Where do we focus? On the wind and waves? Can we focus instead on what God provides? And how do our choices matter or what we see?

Excerpts from ELCA, "Make it Simple" series

A talk with Sam Collins on Following Jesus

Symbols of the Church: Prayers, Exchange of Peace and Communion

Welcome to our last installment of Symbols of our Church.
If you missed the previous episodes, then go to our video blog home page:
http://abidinglovevideos.blogspot.com/

Today's episodes are on Prayer, Exchange of Peace and Communion. Hope y'all have enjoyed these videos!

Prayer:



Exchange of Peace:



Communion:

Symbols of the Church: Candles & Trinitarian Blessing

This past Sunday, a video was interspersed throughout the late service, detailing some of the symbols of our church. This video was well-received by most accounts, so we will present to you the opportunity to watch it again, or for the first time, whichever the case may be. It has been divvied up into easily managed sections and will be dispersed over the next week or two. A couple of young ladies at our church put in a lot of hours to narrate, act, film, video and edit this program- they hope that you will learn a few things, so, enjoy!

Today's segments- Candles and Trinitarian Blessing (girls presented this one especially well, I thought)

Please note that each one is its own video below:

Candles:



Trinitarian Blessing:

Macey and Maria present...

Boy, have we got a treat for you. A couple of young ladies of our congregation have spent hours working on...well, just watch the following 17 seconds of video to find out. Hope to see you Sunday!

An Amazing Worship Experience

It's going to be AWEsome. Join us this summer for some fantastic worship services. A mixture of traditional, contemporary and, most definitely, unique experiences await you beginning June 5th!

Help!!!

The Pastoral Call Committee wants your help! Pressure is on. The previous Call Committee hit a Grand Slam with Pastor Lynnae and the current Call Committee wants to avoid striking out. Watch the message below and please feel free to communicate with any of the committee members: Jan Haas, Emma Albin, Nader Ayoub, Jill Feary, Trey Huddleston, Bill Nicholson, Kyle Olson, Pastor Lynnae and Bob Thonhoff. Or, you can send an email to the committee: AbidingLoveCall@gmail.com

Advent Happenings at Abiding Love

Well, the Season of Advent is certainly upon us and there are many wonderful activities going on in celebration at Abiding Love. Who better than Pastor Lynnae to keep us up to date! But better watch soon! The contents of this video will expire on Sunday! Hope you can make one (or all!) of these terrific expressions of Abiding Love's vibrant spirit!

Stories to Tell & Gifts to Share...Mike Frisch

“We cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard!” – Acts 4:20

As the people of God, we have stories to tell about what God has done for us and about the difference that God’s grace has made in our lives. Sometimes we are less aware of these stories until they are coaxed out of us—but they are there, part of whom we are.

That’s not all. Whether we know it or not, we also have stories to tell about what God has done through us—stories about how God has used us to make a difference in the lives of others. Getting to know those stories makes us even more aware of God’s grace.

God has given us so much—and the gifts of God are for sharing.

Mike Frisch has much to share about his involvement with One House at a Time...




Your Stewardship Ministry Team – Reggie Kikta, Joel Lehman, Kyle Olson, Greta Rymal, Denise Alaimo, Jeri Lyn Sump

Three Points with Pastor Lynnae

Mission work is an important part of every church. Reaching out to spread The Word and helping others is important to our own wellness, not just that of others. Pastor Lynnae reflects on its importance within the Abiding Love community as well her favorite mission work.

Chili Cook Off 2010

A great time was had at the 2010 version of Abiding Love's Chili Cook Off. Although the attendance was down, the spirits were not and a festive atmosphere ruled the evening! Thanks to the Sr High youth for organizing the event and a special appreciation goes to Jared Clarkson for dropping some tunes as our DJ. We also appreciate our judges, Heath Haddock, Joel Lehman, and Pastor Lynnae, for their difficult deliberations determining the 2010 Chili Champion!

Thirty Years of Love

Wow. Thirty Years of Love. A plethora of memories. To borrow from an old bumper sticker- I wasn't born a Charter Member...but I got here as fast as I could. Watching my youngest brother, born in 1981, being baptized in the bowling alley (and hearing the crashing of the pins in the background). Acolyting in the original building. Confirmation classes in the nursery. Being submerged into frigid water in the dunking booth on a cold All Hallow's Eve Carnival as a teenager. Countless youth group activities as a high schooler (and now a sponsor). Playing softball against other churches. Easter egg hunts. Serving as a member of the church council. Warm, lazy summer evenings under the oak trees during Vacation Bible School. My first Communion. My daughter's first Communion. Mentors of my youth becoming good friends in my adulthood. What a wonderful place. Here is a motley collection of felicitations given on Abiding Love's big 3-0 !

Three Points with Pastor Lynnae- Lent

The Lenten season is upon us. Pastor Lynnae gives a short preview of upcoming Wednesday services, ruminates upon fond Easter memories and names a somewhat surprising "favorite apostle". In case you're curious- no, she did not have previous knowledge of the questions. I simply sprang them upon her and the on-the-spot responses are, to me, quite revealing of her personality.

Truffles for sale...

Truffles for sale. Yummy, yummy truffles for sale...

Wow- this may be the best Senior High Fundraiser yet! Support your friendly, neighborhood R.O.C.K. group while enjoying some terrific and tasty handmade candies! In the stores, these might cost up to $2.50 each, but you can purchase these youth-crafted candies for a dollar apiece! Find the booth in the narthex this Sunday and order yours!

Altar Guild

Vestments mysteriously changed. The altar seemingly "altered." Wine glasses filling themselves? The Altar Guild at Abiding Love is full of terrific people who do a lot behind the scenes. I caught up with three of them preparing for the recent Thanksgiving service and ended up with this 4 minute interview! Enjoy!

Three Points with Pastor Lynnae #3

Pastor Lynnae shares a bit about Ethiopia! From attempting to see the Ark of the Covenant to thoughts on meeting Haile Selassie (former Emperor of Ethiopia) and a quick rundown on Ethiopian cuisine, Pastor L drops some thoughts!

Three Points with Pastor Lynnae

Here's a quick hitter- in honor of her favorite sport, I'm calling it "Three Points with Pastor L". She was completely unprepared for the topics as I asked her fairly random questions. Find out her take on the Spurs, her favorite saint and Halloween plans- all wrapped up in under two minutes.

Senior Luncheon

Hi everyone! A thousand apologies for falling behind on the video blogs, but I've been without my camera for a couple of weeks. Fortunately, I've got it back now and I should soon be back to making regular posts!

It looks like we had a real nice turn out for the Senior Luncheon. It is always a pleasure to see the inter-generational interactions. I know that the high schoolers have expressed an interest in being more interactive with our more experienced church members and this was a great opportunity for that. Additionally, it was nice for the younger set to display some of their talents. Enjoy this short clip!

ROCKin' N'Awlins

My apologies that this is a little late arriving, but it looks like the youth had a terrific time in New Orleans. Thanks to everyone for their continued support and making this trip possible! Here is a brief peek into their experiences from the lens of one youth's camera: