145 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
Connectional giving runs $485,000 ahead of ’06 total
Literacy project in Pharr wins 2007 host site award
10 youngsters in Seadrift win awards from UM Men
UMs in Zapata celebrate 45th anniversary Nov. 4
Young women to explore missions at Dec. 28-30 event
Music professor to lead Jan. 25-26 choral workshop
3-day spiritual retreat set for Jan. 10-13 near Mathis
Interfaith panel dismisses chief staff executive Dec. 5
Bush visits UM church, urges more AIDS money
Agency plans official poll of UM delegates this month
Pan-Methodist commission affirms ‘full communion’

145 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
One-hundred-forty-five—or 42 percent—of the 348 Southwest Texas congregations had paid their 2007 apportionments in full as of Nov. 30.
Skidmore UMC led the list. The 52-member congregation in the Corpus Christi District had paid 104 percent of its share of expenses for connectional ministries across the state, nation and world.
Oak Meadow UMC, San Antonio, had sent in 103 percent of its 2007 asking.
Bruni UMC in the McAllen District; Richardson Chapel UMC, Hallettsville, in the Victoria District; and First UMC, Menard, in the San Angelo District had all paid 101 percent of their apportionments.
The count of “100 percent” congregations by district was Austin, 23; Corpus Christi, 15; Kerrville, 31; McAllen, 11; San Angelo, 25; San Antonio, 12; and Victoria, 28.

Connectional giving runs $485,000 ahead of ’06 total
Southwest Texas congregations gave nearly $485,000 more to connectional causes through Nov. 30 than they did during the first 11 months of 2006.
Contributions to apportioned funds totaled $8.07 million. That’s 79.92 percent of the $10.1 million asking for the year. The remittance rate is up 2 percent from November 2006.
The San Angelo District had paid the highest percentage of apportionments through November—94.43.
Other district percentages were Kerrville, 92.51; Victoria, 85.97; San Antonio, 79.19; Corpus Christi, 75; McAllen, 74.74; and Austin, 74.12.

Literacy project in Pharr wins 2007 host site award
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas recognized the Pharr Literacy Project last month as Host Site of the Year for 2007.
The award was presented Nov. 8 during a banquet in San Antonio.
Begun in 2003 as an outreach mission in the McAllen District, the Pharr Literacy Project aids low-income parents. The project offers English, reading, culture and General Educational Development classes at nine sites in the Rio Grande Valley.
The project is to begin a partnership with UM Campus Ministries of the Rio Grande Valley in January. Students from the University of Texas Pan American are to help with health fairs, parenting programs, cultural activities and colonia visits.

10 youngsters in Seadrift win awards from UM Men
Ten children won medals Nov. 3 in a fishing tournament sponsored by UM Men of First UMC, Seadrift.
Twenty-eight youngsters, ages 4 to 15, took part in the event. They caught 10 fish from the bay wall at Bay Front Park.
The young people pulled in fish ranging from 4.5 to 23.5 inches long.

UMs in Zapata celebrate 45th anniversary Nov. 4
Zapata UMC marked its 45th anniversary Nov. 4 with an open house.
The afternoon anniversary program included displays of historic pictures, singing, fellowship and make-your-own sundae refreshments.
The congregation began in November 1962 with 28 members. They met in homes, schools and the Figueroa Building until they moved into an old barracks building. The congregation built its first sanctuary in 1969.

Young women to explore missions at Dec. 28-30 event
Women 13 to 25 are to gather in Kerrville Dec. 28-30 for a Young Women’s Mission Awareness Event.
Southwest Texas Conference UM Women are sponsoring the three-day event at Mount Wesley Conference Center.
The program includes six workshops. They cover leadership development, spiritual growth, UM stands on social issues, social justice work, and prayer and praise.
The Rev. Wanda Ritchea, campus minister in Victoria, is to lead a Bible study.
Registration fee is $145 per person. For information contact Glenda Sanders at Glenda@grandecom.net or (361) 992-7985.

Music professor to lead Jan. 25-26 choral workshop
A music professor from UM-related Emory University, Atlanta, is featured clinician for the Adult Choral Workshop Jan. 25-26 in San Antonio.
Eric Nelson, associate professor of choral conducting and director of choral studies at Emory, is to lead the annual event. It begins at 6 p.m. Jan. 25 at Coker UMC and concludes at 4 p.m. Jan. 26.
The Board of Discipleship Worship and Music Committee sponsors the annual event. It is designed to let church musicians experience new music and gain insights into choral performance.

3-day spiritual retreat set for Jan. 10-13 near Mathis
Southwest Texas UMs seeking to nourish their spiritual lives can attend a three-day spiritual retreat next month near Mathis.
The Spiritual Formation Committee of the Board of Discipleship is sponsoring the Jan. 10-13 event. Called “Spirit Streams,” the retreat will be at Zephyr Baptist Encampment.
Registration deadline is Jan. 1. Registration fee is $275 per person. For information contact Chris DiSabato at cdisabato@ahumc.org.

Interfaith panel dismisses chief staff executive Dec. 5
BIRMINGHAM, Ala.—The General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns dismissed its chief executive Dec. 5 and named an interim leader.
The Rev. Larry Pickens, 49, was fired as general secretary upon recommendation of the personnel committee.
Retired Bishop Albert F. “Fritz” Mutti, commission president from 2000-2004, was elected interim chief executive.
Pickens became general secretary July 1, 2004. He succeeded the Rev. Bruce Robbins, who left after 17 years of service to the New York-based agency.

Bush visits UM church, urges more AIDS money

MOUNT. AIRY, Md.—President Bush observed World AIDS Day by calling on Congress to double funding for HIV/AIDS work overseas.
Speaking Nov. 30 at Calvary UMC in Mount Airy, Bush, a UM, called for doubling the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to $30 billion to expand AIDS prevention and treatment in some of the world’s most needy nations.
Bishop John R. Schol of the Washington Episcopal Area praised Bush’s call for additional funding to address the AIDS pandemic. Global health, he noted, is one of the four major UMC ministry emphases. World AIDS Day is observed each Dec. 1.

Agency plans official poll of UM delegates this month
NASHVILLE, Tenn.––The UMC plans to begin its official online survey of 992 delegates to the 2008 General Conference this month.
In November, however, some General Conference delegates were asked to participate in a telephone survey by the Conquest Communications Group. The Richmond, Va., firm has declined to identify the survey’s sponsor.
General Conference organizers emphasized that the Conquest survey is not being conducted by or for the UMC.

Pan-Methodist commission affirms ‘full communion’
CHICAGO—Members of the Commission on Pan-Methodist Cooperation and Union have affirmed their covenant as churches in full communion with one another.
The commission adopted a resolution to that effect during its Nov. 15-17 meeting. The body includes representatives of the UMC and three historic African-American Methodist churches.
Full communion, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Bishop Nathaniel Jarrett explained, means that each of the Methodist bodies accepts its common Wesleyan tradition and honors various doctrines and orders of ministry.