Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

With General Conference behind us and the November Election and the 83^rd Texas Legislature ahead of us, this year’s focus for the SWTX Chapter of MFSA will include State and Federal issues.  Upcoming meeting topics include the following:

• Voter ID Laws – What is the possible impact in Texas and other states on the November election?
• Death Penalty – What is our response?  Seminar with Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking, in October.
• Environmental Stewardship – What is “fracking” and what is its possible environmental impact?
• Immigration – How do churches respond?
• Racism – How can we become involved in local actions to improve racial relations?
• Gun Control – How do we start a conversation about guns and violence?

Some of our action items will include volunteering for voter registration, BOPA recycling event, Pride Parade, MLK March, and legislative actions.  Join us as we explore the possibilities of change as we work together for social justice!

September MFSA Meeting Will Focus on
“Possible Impacts of Revised Texas Voter ID Laws”

Saint John’s UMC, 2140 Allandale Rd, Austin, TX 78756

September 13, 7:00pm

Forty-seven years ago (August 6, 1965), President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the historic Voting Rights Act (VRA) into law to prevent voter discrimination.  But as we have seen, the law is not just history; it remains vital TODAY to ensuring that every American can cast a ballot and have it counted (League of Women Voters, August 2012).

The 1965 Voting Rights Act aimed to end literacy tests and other requirements that prevented people, many of them African American, from voting.  Opponents of the new voter ID laws argue that requiring photo identification presents a significant barrier to casting a ballot.  Supporters say it is no different from current laws that require people to register to vote. The fate of Texas’ new voter ID law is now up to a three-judge federal panel in Washington, D.C.

Texas is among eight states to require official photo identification in an effort to stop what officials say is voter fraud.  Opponents of the laws say they disenfranchise poor, minority and disabled voters.  The law, SB 14, requires voters to show one of a very narrow list of government-issued documents (not including Social Security, Medicaid, or student ID cards) to vote.  Gun licenses, however, are acceptable I.D. to vote.

The Justice Department in March rejected the Texas law, passed in 2011, using the state’s own statistics to show about 600,000 registered voters lack a state-issued driver’s license or identification card.  SB 14 amended an earlier voter identification law.

Join us as Rev. Richard Bates leads a discussion with Texas State Representative Eddie Rodriguez (invited) about the possible impact the new voter ID laws may have in Texas and other states in the upcoming Presidential election.

We will gather in the Fellowship Hall at Saint John’s UMC, 2140 Allandale Rd, Austin at 6:30pm for snacks & mingling.  The program begins at 7:00.  We hope to see you there!

The SWTX MFSA Chapter’s Executive Committee will meet on Saturday, July 14, to plan our programs and focus for the upcoming year.  If you have ideas for program focus or for individual meeting topics, or if you are interested in serving as an at-large member of the Executive Committee, please contact Deana Henry at deakenhenry@yahoo.com.

May MFSA Meeting Will Focus on Possible Unification of SWTX and
Rio Grande Conferences

Meeting at Emmanuel UMC, 200 Brushy Street, Austin. TX 78702

May 10, 7:00pm

The Reverend Edward Garcia, Pastor of Emmanuel UMC in Austin, will share his perspectives on the ongoing process of the Unification Steering Team.   Some of the questions that the  Unification Steering Committee explored include the following:

• Is it time to look at new models of ministry for our common life?
• Can we support and resource our local churches more effectively together than we can apart?
• Can we deploy our financial and personnel resources more effectively by being one conference than we can by continuing as two?
• Is our strength of disciple-making in our oneness or our separateness?

This will be discussed and voted on at Annual Conference in June.
Read more about the unification plan in the Pre-Conference Report, page 14.

http://www.umcswtx.org/download/2012%20Pre_Conf%20Report%204_27_12-1%20WORD%20FINAL%20WEB%20REDUCED%20%2004.27.12.pdf?inline

We will gather at in the Emmanuel UMC Fellowship Hall at 6:30pm for snacks & mingling.  The program begins at 7:00.  We hope to see you there!  Anyone wanting to carpool from Saint John’s, please email Janice Curry, jlcurry@austin.rr.com.

Celebrating the National Week of Prayer for The Healing of AIDS   

As our monthly chapter meeting, we encourage all to attend services commemorating the National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS.  In Austin, we will be attending the service at Simpson UMC.

Date/Time: March 8, 2012, 7:00pm

Simpson United Methodist Church

1701 East 12th Street

Austin, Texas 78702

512-472-8818

Simpson United Methodist Church of Austin invites you to this nationally celebrated service on March 8, 2012.  The focus of this year’s festivities is developing partnerships between the Faith and the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered (LGBT) Communities. The service will include messages of encouragement: rising above HIV; inclusiveness; and the love of Jesus Christ.  Pastor Charles Stephens will bring a word of encouragement following the keynote address from Conscious, a dynamic HIV-positive woman who has risen above extraordinarily difficult circumstances and now shares her journey through acting, presentations, and her book, “Getting Unstuck”.  In addition to the March 8th celebration service, several other events will take place during the week including a Pastor’s HIV Testing Day (a public event in which local pastors lead by example), prayer vigils, and other exciting events currently being coordinated.

The National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS is the coming together of all people of faith to unite with purpose, compassion and hope. Through the power of God’s love we will educate every American about HIV prevention facts; encourage and support HIV testing; advocate for the availability of compassionate care and treatment for all those living with the disease in every community in America; and love unconditionally all persons living with and affected by HIV/AIDS.

http://www.nationalweekofprayerforthehealingofaids.org/

Short Biography of Conscious: From difficult childhood to homeless to HIV – Conscious has mastered the art of “Getting Unstuck”, the title of her nationally acclaimed book of spoken word expression.  As a lesbian artist, actor, writer, and former bodyguard to celebrities, she has served as the Music Manager for the Queen Latifah Show and hosted Oxygen Media’s talk show She-Commerce.  Conscious now travels the country delivering a poignant message about HIV, AIDS, and recovery. A Native of Harlem, New York, Conscious currently resides in Los Angeles, California and Miami, Florida.

Sponsors: The Black Faith-based Health Initiative, based in Austin, Texas has teamed up with AIDS Services of Austin, Simpson United Methodist Church, the City of Austin Care Program, Wright House Wellness Center, Hill Country Ride for AIDS, and The Care Communities, and several other important community partners to assemble a coalition of diverse organizations with one goal in mind: to open up the lines of communication, fellowship, and blessing between people of faith, local AIDS Service Organizations (ASO’s), people in the LGBT community, and people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA).

At our monthly chapter meeting on April 12, Jay Brim, the SWTX Conference Lay Leader and the leader of laity delegates to General Conference, will be present to discuss the foremost issues to be addressed by GC2012 in Tampa.  Hundreds of petitions and resolutions have been presented, along with significant proposals to restructure the administrative agencies of the United Methodist Church.

Jay is a member of Westlake UMC and has long been a friend of MFSA.  He has been a member of the UMC General Council for Finance and Administration (1996-2004), a delegate to General Conference and a delegate to the South Central Jurisdictional Conference.  He is a member of the UMC Connectional Table, an official entity formed to serve as both the visioning body of the church and the steward of resources to carry out the vision of the denomination worldwide.

Love Your Neighbor:  Moving Forward to General Conference 

You are invited to join the Southwest Texas MFSA chapter as we further our knowledge of efforts to impact our denomination at General Conference 2012.  The SWTX Conference Reconciling Ministries’ Local Church Action Team will present the program.  Love Your Neighbor is this year’s theme of the Common Witness Coalition (http://gc12.org/sign/love-of-god-and-neighbor-statement/). Robbie Ausley, member of First UMC and long-time social justice advocate, will describe the actions planned by the SWTX team prior to General Conference.  Laura Holland, Northwest Hills UMC member, will talk about her experience as a Love Your Neighbor workshop attendee.  They will share ways that we can help affect change in the UMC.

The meeting will be in Saint John’s UMC Fellowship Hall.  We will gather at 6:30pm for snacks and mingling.  The program begins at 7:00.  We hope to see you there!

Approximately 95 people attended the January 14 Love Your Neighbor workshop at Trinity UMC.

Audrey Krumbach and Joey Lopez from RMN conducted the workshop.

March 8 – In lieu of our normal chapter meeting, we encourage everyone to attend the service of celebration of The National Week of Prayer for the Healing of AIDS at Simpson UMC Austin, as previously described.

April 12 – The program will be brought to us by Jay Brim, the SWTX Conference Lay Leader and the leader of laity delegates to General Conference, on the foremost issues to be addressed by GC2012 in Tampa.

Inclusivity in the UMC:  Pathway to Divorce or Reconciliation?

The United Methodist Church has been embroiled in a struggle over the issue of inclusion/equality/ homosexuality for 40 years now.  Many have threatened to leave the church, or they have hoped that those on the other side would leave.  What would that look like?  But what are other options? What if we agree to have both sides of the question as a part of our denomination?  What would that look like?  Would it become a “local option” and vary around the country?  Could we then move on to greater issues of concern to the Christian community?

Join MFSA in an exciting conversation about the future of the United Methodist Church.  Reverend Sid Hall from Trinity UMC and MFSA member Reverend Richard Bates will lead us in this thoughtful discussion.  The meeting will be in Saint John’s UMC Fellowship Hall.  We will gather at 6:30pm for snacks and mingling.  The program begins at 7:00.  We hope to see you there!

Rev. Dr. Sidney G. Hall, III is a United Methodist minister, a writer, an activist, a husband, a father, and a grandfather. He has served as the senior minister of Trinity United Methodist Church located in the Hyde Park Neighborhood of Austin, Texas since June 1988. Trinity voted to be a Reconciling Congregation (Welcoming of the LGBTQ community) in 1992 and continues in that public witness.   Rev. Hall was one of the original 15 signers of “In All Things Charity” in January of 1997 calling the United Methodist Church into full inclusion for sexual minorities.  He was arrested with other activists at the United Methodist General Conference in Cleveland in 2000 for protesting the church’s exclusive policies.   A native of Kokomo, Indiana, Hall has served United Methodist congregations in Indiana and Texas since 1978 and has been elected to the General and Jurisdictional Conferences Delegation from Southwest Texas for three quadrennials.   Read more about Rev. Hall at http://ucanbu.wordpress.com/staff/rev-dr-sid-hall-iii-minister-of-celebration/.

 Rev. Richard Bates is a retired United Methodist minister, a member of University UMC, and a long-time supporter of MFSA.  He attended Brite Divinity  School at Texas Christian University, and he has served as Associate Pastor of UM churches in Del Rio, San Antonio, and Seguin.  Rev. Bates took a five year Sabbatical to the Institute for Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco (founded by United Methodist ministers).  Upon graduation, he returned to the SWT Conference to start a private practice (appointment beyond the local church) in the area of Human Sexuality, and to work with the City of Austin as an HIV Counselor.  He is now retired and is active at UUMC, currently serving as Chairperson of the Church and Society Council.

Did you know that there are two Methodist Churches in Austin–Govalle & Emmanuel– that are not part of the Southwest Texas Conference of the UMC?  They are part of about 80 United Methodist Churches in Texas and New Mexico that are the Rio Grande Conference of the UMC.  Bishop Dorff is working with a Unification Steering Team to examine how these conferences can unify.  This statement by Bishop Dorff summarizes the efforts.

“At our last Annual Conference Sessions, the theme of my Episcopal Address was “Now is the Time.” Little did I know how accurate that thought would become.  In mid-July, the leadership of both the Rio Grande and the Southwest Texas conferences agreed to move forward with the recommendations of the consulting team we had asked to assess and report to us regarding their view of our future.  The most important of those recommendations was the creation of one new conference in the current San Antonio Episcopal Area.  Furthermore, they also recommended that the conference sessions of June 2012 decide whether or not to commit ourselves to this task.  It appears that “Now is the Time.”  Read more about this process at http://www.onepeopleumc.org/

Join us as Kerry Stevens takes us on an incredible journey from Austin to Matete, Kenya, and witness the transformation of lives along the way. Kerry is a member of Bethany United Methodist Church, which is leading a community initiative in partnership with World Vision to help the impoverished community of Matete find its own pathway to a life of self-sufficiency. As its local leader, Kerry will share in captivating photos, videos, and slides how the tools of social justice were used to bring Africa to Austin, changing hearts and minds to effectively fight the root causes of poverty. Discover how you can make a difference in this uplifting and informative story of hope.

The meeting will be in Saint John’s UMC Fellowship Hall.  We will gather at 6:30pm for snacks and mingling.  The program begins at 7:00.  We hope to see you there!