Epiphany marks appearance
of Christ
 UMs try to reclaim
liturgical season that
follows Christmas days
By Rachel L. Toalson
Staff Writer
The Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza of San Antonio remembers falling asleep as a child in Mexico with a view of his shoes at the end of the bed. Excitement over what might fill them Epiphany morning made closing his eyes difficult.
By the time the San Antonio District superintendent was 10, Santa Claus and his Christmas gifts had overshadowed the events on the Day of the Three Kings, Jan. 6. That’s Epiphany, the start of the liturgical season that follows the 12 days of Christmas and continues until Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent.
During Epiphany Christians celebrate, among other things, the arrival of the magi to worship Jesus, the revelation of Christ to humanity and the baptism of the Lord.
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Holy Boldness guest seeks justice for common good
The Rev. Tex Sample can name many churches that fight hard for justice in the lives of the poverty-stricken, minorities or the down-and-out.
Then there are a few Methodist churches in Missouri.
A Missouri group fighting the death penalty asked the United Methodist congregations if they would play host to a state meeting, Sample said. Each church said no. The group was too “controversial,” even though its position was consistent with The United Methodist Church Book of Discipline.
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UM kitchen band helps take seniors down memory lane
Their faces say it all.
Not all the seniors seated around tables at Vista Village, a retirement community in New Braunfels, may be able to express their nostalgia or sing with tunes they remember from childhood. But their joy is apparent.
At the first strains of “You Are My Sunshine,” the elderly men and women begin to beam, swept away on a journey back in time.
And members of the Jolly Jubilee Jammers, a kitchen band from Windcrest UMC, know they have once again fulfilled their mission.
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