News Breifs
Organizers start planning for Thanksgiving event
Utopia UMs making plans for 2nd fall fair Sept. 29
Former missionary dies July 25 in Austin at 80
UMs in Shiner slate dance for German, Czech friends
Coker church newsletter cited for fine nameplate
Wellness effort adds site for lab work in San Angelo
San Antonio church adds Spanish class to program
Clergy spouses to discuss ‘surprises’ at Kerrville retreat
October event lets youths dive into Christian faith
UMs have helped 60,000 since Katrina hit in 2005
Relief agency offers help following Hurricane Dean
Publishing exec takes over as Women’s Division chief
Inclusiveness agency gets new top executive Sept. 1
Organizers start planning for Thanksgiving event
Organizers have begun planning the seventh annual Bishop’s Thanksgiving Gathering for Nov. 18 in Seguin.
The event, a special time for people of the Rio Grande and Southwest Texas conferences to celebrate their many blessings from God, is to begin at 5 p.m. in the Seguin-Guadalupe County Coliseum, 900 S. Austin St.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez is to preach at the gathering.
Utopia UMs making plans for 2nd fall fair Sept. 29
Utopia UMs are sponsoring their second annual Fall Fair Sept. 29 at their church.
Activities begin at 11:30 a.m. and include a fish and shrimp fry along with live and silent auctions.
For information contact Billie Nast at (830) 966-3787.
Former missionary dies July 25 in Austin at 80
An Aug. 19 memorial service at Trinity UMC, Austin, celebrated the life of a longtime UM missionary from Southwest Texas.
Mary Sue Hart Lowry died July 25 in Austin. She was 80.
A physician, Lowry served most of her life as a missionary in Chile. She retired in 1992 and moved to Austin.
UMs in Shiner slate dance for German, Czech friends
Members of First UMC, Shiner, are inviting their predominantly German and Czech neighbors to a community dance Sept. 29.
The Red Ravens polka band is to provide music from 7 to 11 p.m. in the church activity center. Members are to serve free drinks and snacks.
The dance is part of the congregation’s Open House Month outreach effort.
Coker church newsletter cited for fine nameplate
A national publication has recognized a San Antonio UM church for having a well-designed newsletter nameplate.
The Coker Courier from Coker UMC, San Antonio, is one of 25 newsletters cited in the October issue of The Newsletter Newsletter.
The publication said it selected those nameplates “from among the hundreds of newsletters we receive … for their simplicity and fine design qualities.”
Betty Sheaffer, Coker communications administrator, designed the Courier nameplate.
Wellness effort adds site for lab work in San Angelo
Pastors from the San Angelo and Kerrville districts can get a medical lab screening Oct. 2 in San Angelo.
The Clergy Wellness Program added the screening site at Sierra Vista UMC Aug. 29.
Other sites are at the UM Center, San Antonio, Sept. 18; Tarrytown UMC, Austin, Sept. 20; Mount Wesley Conference Center, Kerrville, Sept. 25; and First UMC, Corpus Christi, Sept. 27.
Screens at all five sites are to be done first-come, first-served from 8 to 11 a.m. Participants should start fasting at midnight before the screening date.
Pastors planning to attend should contact the Rev. Linda Jean Myers at (210) 408-4500, Extension 551; (888) 349-4191, Extension 551; or clergywellness@umcswtx.org.
San Antonio church adds Spanish class to program
St. Paul UMC, San Antonio, is adding beginning Spanish classes to its reading enrichment program Saturday.
The reading program for students in kindergarten through sixth grade meets two Saturday afternoons each month during the school year.
The 653-member congregation began an adult education and wellness program in February. It presents health education and Spanish classes three Tuesdays a month.
A grant from the Southwest Texas Conference Committee on the Ethnic Local Church funded a summer enrichment program June 11 to July 18 at the church. Classes, offered three days a week from 1 to 5 p.m., included reading and writing comprehension, language arts and spelling, math, health education, culture and crafts, and physical education.
Clergy spouses to discuss ‘surprises’ at Kerrville retreat
Southwest Texas Conference clergy spouses can explore next month in Kerrville surprises associated with being married to a pastor.
“Welcome to the Surprise Party” is the theme for the 2007 Clergy Spouses Retreat Oct. 12-14 at Mount Wesley Conference Center.
The Rev. Andy Stoker, First UMC, Denton, is featured speaker. He is to discuss “Strengthening your Marriage and Family in the Ministry.”
Registration fee is $95 per person before Sept. 21 and $100 per person after that date. Registration deadline is Oct. 5.
For information contact Maureen Sharp at (830) 997-2007.
October event lets youths dive into Christian faith
UMs 16 to 21 can dive deeper into their faith next month in Leakey.
“Dive N Deeper,” a student leadership retreat, is planned for Oct. 12-14 at Alto Frio Encampment.
Registration fee is $40 per person. Registration deadline is Oct. 2. For more information check reachingyouth.org.
UMs have helped 60,000 since Katrina hit in 2005
NEW ORLEANS—UMs have helped more than 60,000 people rebuild 25,000 homes in the Gulf Coast in the two years since Hurricane Katrina hit.
A new report issued by the UM Committee on Relief shows the church has taken a leading role in repairing and restoring broken homes and assisting those who lost everything in the storms.
The UM relief agency administers the national case management consortium sponsored by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. As of mid-August, more than 164,000 individuals had received services from Katrina Aid Today.
Meanwhile, a recent USA Today analysis of recovery work by faith-based groups reported that the UM home improvement efforts outpaced other religious charities working in the region.
Relief agency offers help following Hurricane Dean
NEW YORK—The UM Committee on Relief has contacted the Methodist Church of the Caribbean and Americas, the Methodist Church of Haiti and the Council of Bishops of the Methodist Church in Mexico to determine how best to assist in the wake of Hurricane Dean.
The storm hit Jamaica and Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and affected coastlines of other Caribbean nations during the week of Aug. 20.
The agency provides assistance for long-term recovery that lasts months and sometimes years after a major storm such as Hurricane Dean. Gifts for this effort can be designated for “UMCOR Advance No. 982511, Hurricanes 2007” and put into any church offering plate.
Publishing exec takes over as Women’s Division chief
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—An executive with the UM Publishing House began work Sept. 4 as chief executive of the Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries.
Harriett Jane Olson, elected last month, oversees the policy-making body of UM Women, an organization with 800,000 members in the United States. Its purpose is to foster spiritual growth, develop leaders and advocate for justice. Members give more than $20 million a year for ministries related to women, children and youths around the world.
Olson succeeded Jan Love, who left at the end of 2006 to become dean of Candler School of Theology at UM-related Emory University in Atlanta.
Inclusiveness agency gets new top executive Sept. 1
WASHINGTON—The agency that monitors racial inclusiveness welcomed a new chief executive Sept 1.
At 31, Erin M. Hawkins is possibly the youngest top executive of a UM agency. She was associate general secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race since 2001.
