District happenings

District slates stewardship event Nov. 16-17 at Corpus church
The Corpus Christi District is playing host to a stewardship event Nov. 16-17 at First UMC, Corpus Christi.
Cost to attend is $25 per person, which includes workshop materials, lunch and snacks.
The workshop is to feature David S. Bell, vice president of stewardship for the United Methodist Foundation of Michigan.
The event begins with Plenary I from 7 to 9 p.m. Nov. 16, followed by worship until 9:30 p.m.
Nov. 17 kicks off with coffee and Danish from 8:30 to 9 a.m., followed by Plenary II from 9:30 a.m. until noon. Lunch runs from noon to 1 p.m., followed by Plenary III from 1 to 3:30 p.m.
Brochures are to be mailed soon. All district churches are asked to send representatives to the seminar.
For more information, contact Cheryl Worley, program director, at (361) 852-8868 or ccprogram@bizstx.rr.com.

St. Luke’s honors civil servants during worship service Aug. 26
St. Luke’s UMC, Corpus Christi, kicked off September Open House Month Aug. 26. The mayor of Corpus Christi, Henry Garrett, and his wife visited the 10:30 a.m. service and delivered a proclamation dubbing Aug. 26 Civil Servants Day in Corpus Christi. The mayor invited all citizens to join St. Luke’s in thanking civil servants for their countless contributions.
Nueces County District Attorney Carlos Valdez was also on hand for the celebration.
More than 200 invitations were distributed to various civil service departments asking that all employees visit St. Luke’s for the special proclamation and a luncheon afterwards. The Rev. Charles Graff gave a live interview on KIII TV at 7:15 a.m. Aug. 26 and again invited everyone to join the celebration. He talked about several of the other events planned for September.
St. Luke’s goal in these events was to reach out to the community and touch people the church might not otherwise have touched. It met and exceeded its goal, thanks to the Holy Spirit and those who heard God’s call.

St. John’s UMC, Corpus Christi, joins in Oct. 6 prayer retreat
St. John’s UMC, Corpus Christi, invites the community to a prayer retreat Oct. 6 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at All Saints Episcopal Church, 3026 S. Staples. Those who can’t stay for the full day are welcome to come just for the morning (9 a.m. to noon) or the afternoon (1 to 4 p.m.) and lunch. Childcare will be available for the morning session only at St. John’s UMC, 5300 S. Alameda.
Stations are to be set up for participants to visit, including a labyrinth to walk, Lectio Divina, scripture prayer and journaling, and the oratory for centering prayer. Lunch will be provided.
Fee for this event is $5 or the donation of a children’s book for Mission 911 Los Amigos Reading Program.
For more information or to register, call Sandy Peltier, chair of the St. John’s spiritual life team, at (361) 877-6802 or the church office at (361) 991-4342.

First UMC, Portland, seeking praise band leader for service
First UMC, Portland, is seeking a praise band leader for a Sunday morning contemporary worship service. Candidate must have proved instrumental and/or vocal skills, be able to arrange music for and rehearse with the praise band and have knowledge of contemporary Christian music. This position is paid. For more information e-mail Mark Porterfield at portlandfumc-mark@ainternet.biz.