Join SWTX MFSA on Monday, January 19 at 9am at the MLK Statue on the UT Campus to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  After a brief ceremony, we will march to Huston-Tillotson University, where there is a community festival planned.  http://www.mlkcelebration.com.

NOTE: The MLK March WILL NOT go to the Capitol this year due to the preparations for the Gubernatorial Inauguration on the following day.

This year, organizers are asking marchers to help by donating can goods or non-perishable food items, which will be donated to the Capital Area Food Bank. Help to give to those in need by helping the Capital Area Food Bank fill their shelves with non-perishable food items.  Donation receptacles will be available at The University of Texas where the march begins.

Contact Janice Curry at jlcurry@austin.rr.com if you are interested in carpooling to the march from Saint John’s, or if you have questions. Hope to see you there.

America’s Sunday Supper and Peace Through Pie Social

Sunday, January 18

6:00 pm – 8:00 pm

Trinity UMC | 4001 Speedway | Austin, TX 78751

512-459-5835

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“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Inspired by the legacy of Dr. King, America’s Sunday Supper invites people from diverse backgrounds to come together to share a meal, discuss issues that affect their community, and highlight the power each one of us has to make a difference.  Join us at Trinity United Methodist Church (4001 Speedway) on January 18, 2015 from 6-8 pm, for Sincere Ignorance and Conscientious Stupidity: A Conversation on Race, Privilege, and Power – an open conversation and guided discussion on racial dynamics and how to combat racism and other forms of systemic discrimination in our community here in Central Texas.  As they did last year, Jeremy Solomons and Dr. Kazique Prince will create a safe space and provide thought-provoking questions and activities. This is a potluck Peace Through Pie Social – so bring a pie (savory or sweet) to share!

Please RSVP at bit.ly/SundaySupperEvent if you are planning to attend. Everyone is welcome and an RSVP is not required in order to attend, but it will help us get a general sense of how many folks for whom we should plan.

[Movie opens in Austin January 8]

Selma is the story of a movement.  The film chronicles the tumultuous three-month period in 1965 when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led a dangerous campaign to secure equal voting rights in the face of violent opposition.  The epic march from Selma to Montgomery culminated in President Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, one of the most significant victories for the civil rights movement. Director Ava DuVernay’s Selma tells the real story of how the revered leader and visionary, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and his brothers and sisters in the movement prompted change that forever altered history. (Check theater schedules for times)

Allies Against Slavery have big plans for 2015

• Mapping slavery across Texas: We’re starting the Texas Slavery Mapping Project to gather data needed to disrupt traffickers and improve care for survivors. http://www.utexas.edu/news/2014/12/04/texas-slavery-mapping/
• Expanding survivor support: We’re continuing to support survivors at all stages of recovery, connecting them with resources and meeting direct needs alongside our partners. We’ll also explore new ways to fill in gaps in care that still exist in our community.
• Launching the Slave-Free City Network: Slavery is too complex for one organization to solve on its own. That’s why we’re coordinating partners from 8 sectors to develop collaborative solutions and move our city closer to the slave-free goal.

Upcoming Events:

Voices of Innocence: A night celebrating hope after life in human trafficking

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

7:00pm  10:00pm

The Long Center

It’s an evening to remember. Join us as we raise awareness in Austin and beyond.  We invite you to be a part of our hopeful journey to end this horrible crime against children.

http://www.alliesagainstslavery.org/upcoming-events/2015/1/15/a-night-celebrating-hope-after-life-in-human-trafficking

The Slave-Free City Summit

Fri, Apr 17, 2015 8:00am – Sat, Apr 18, 2015 9:00pm

For the City Center

500 E St Johns Ave.  Austin, TX, 78752

Monday, January 12, 7pm

The Emmy-nominated Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir will be singing a free concert at Saint John’s at 7 p.m. Monday, January 12.  Annually the choir does national tours and has done extensive international travel.  Their music offers great variety, and is rich in its global diversity.  The Saint John’s Chancel Choir is hosting this group for dinner and an overnight stay in Austin.  Please come and welcome our very talented singing guests.

First UMC Austin 175th Birthday Celebration

In early 1840, the City of Austin was about a month old and the State of Texas didn’t yet exist.  And the Reverend John Haynie was granted a request to form a charge conference on January 18-19, 1840 for what is now First UMC Austin.

On January 18, 1840, FUMC Austin will be celebrating its 175th birthday, with Bishop Jim Dorff serving as the guest preacher.  Our guest preacher for Sunday, January 18th, will be Bishop Jim Dorff. Bishop Dorff, a native of Oklahoma, spent the majority of his ministry serving large churches in the North Texas Annual Conference.  In 2008, he was elected a bishop by the South Central Jurisdiction and assigned to the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande Annual Conferences, known as the San Antonio Area.  During his tenure, he honored the work begun by his predecessor, Bishop Joel Martinez, to merge these two conferences, and on the first of January, these efforts will culminate in the official creation of the new Rio Texas Annual Conference.  All are invited to share in this celebration.

Other Special Guest Pastors will be:

February 22nd: Bishop Mike McKee
March 8th: Bishop Mike Lowry
April 12th: Reverend Dr. Kim Cape

Check here for other celebration events: http://www.fumcaustin.org/YouAreHere/index.html

Several Austin UMCs, including First UMC and Saint John’s, have committed to participating in the Habitat Methodist Build for 2015.  The 2015 Habitat Methodist Build will begin April 11th, 2015. The house will be built in the Gilbert Lane neighborhood off of Highway 969 past the 130 toll road. We will learn the name of the family in February.

Austin Habitat for Humanity helps low-income people who qualify according to Habitat’s selection criteria to become first-time homeowners. They participate in financial education classes, and they must contribute to the building of other Habitat houses before they are approved for their own home. Habitat homeowners are an asset to the communities in which their houses are built. Homeowners take more pride in their houses and surrounding property, and they are the rocks on which community is built.

What does participating in a Habitat build mean? First, it entails a financial commitment. Habitat houses cost $65,000 (building materials only, land is already provided). Sponsors help provide that amount through financial donations. Second, it entails volunteers to help construct the house. Volunteers will work with other Austin District United Methodists, as well as with volunteers from some other faith communities.

MFSA encourages Capital District churches and members to participate in the 2015 Methodist Build!

Join Us for Legislative Session Opening Day Events:
Service of Public Witness and Legislative Training

Faithful engagement with civil power has always held in tension the prophetic and the pastoral, the pragmatic and the pure.

Tuesday, January 13, 2015 is the opening day of the 84th Texas Legislature. Join us at 9:00 a.m. on the South Steps of the Capitol for our Interfaith Service of Public Witness, featuring prayers and wisdom from leaders of diverse religious traditions about our shared responsibility to work together for the common good.

27th Annual United Methodist Women’s Legislative Event

Sunday, January 25, 1:00pm — Tuesday, January 27, 12:00pm

Onward into the next quarter-century!

UMW Legislative Event registration is open!

As usual, Legislative Event 2015 will be packed with expert policy presentations, practical advocacy training,  conversations with top Texas lawmakers, and time at the Capitol.

The 2015 Legislative Event will be held at our new home, the Austin Holiday Inn Midtown (at the old Highland Mall). Registration is not capped, and in 2013–our first year in the new location–attendance topped 225. There’s plenty of room for everyone…even if you can’t stay for the whole 3 days. We are offering day passes again, and this year for the first time we are offering a tour of the Capitol led by Texas Impact staff on Saturday afternoon before the event.  Legislative Event is not just for Methodist Women!

http://texasimpact.org/content/27th-annual-united-methodist-womens-legislative-event

You’re Invited! Austin’s Second-Annual

Preach-Off on Climate Change

In February 2015, religious communities across the U.S. will participate in the national Interfaith Power & Light Preach-In on Climate Change. Clergy and lay leaders from many different traditions will highlight the importance of religious leadership on one of the most pressing challenges of our time. It’s one of Interfaith Power & Light’s most-beloved annual programs.

In Austin, we’re taking it up a notch.

Austin’s Interfaith Environmental Network and iACT (Interfaith Action of Central Texas) are inviting religious leaders to share their tradition’s wisdom with not just their own congregations, but with the entire community.  Back by popular demand, we are holding our second-annual Preach-Off on Climate Change—and we invite you to come!

Sunday, February 8, 2015, 4:00 p.m.

The Sanctuary

2614 Exposition Blvd.
Austin, TX 78703

For more information, to R.S.V.P., or to ask about participating as a speaker, please contact Yaira Robinson or Sarah Macias.