Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

Growth Through Justice

All are invited to attend the Second Annual Peace and Justice Luncheon at the Southwest Texas Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, TX on Friday, June 8.  The luncheon is a cooperative effort by our MFSA chapter, the Conference Board of Church and Society, and the conference’s Reconciling Ministries Team. The theme for this year’s luncheon is “Growth Through Justice”.

We are honored to have Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Church and Society, as our speaker at the 2012 Luncheon.  Mr. Winkler has served as general secretary of the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS), the international public policy and social justice agency of The United Methodist Church since November, 2000.  As the chief executive of the board, Jim leads a staff of 22 who seek the implementation of the Church’s Social Principles through education, witness, and advocacy.  The board carries out a wide-ranging ministry of peace and justice throughout the world with offices in Washington, DC and New York City.

Mr. Winkler is a member of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches of the United States of America, a member of the steering committee of the Campaign for Health Care Now, a board member of several organizations including the Faith and Politics Institute, Churches for the Middle East Peace, and Africa Action.

Jim Winkler is the son, brother, nephew and great grandson of United Methodist preachers and United Methodist Women. He studied history at the University of Illinois and George Mason University. After graduation from college, Jim served as a short-term missionary with the Pacific Conference of Churches in Suva, Fiji. At the Board of Church and Society he held the position of Seminar Designer, Director of Annual Conference Relations and Assistant General Secretary of Resourcing Congregational Life before his nomination as General Secretary.

For more details of the luncheon and the registration form,

Please contact Janice Curry jlcurry@austin.rr.com

Or, download the form at https://riotexasmfsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/luncheonflyer2012.pdf

Or, download from the Pre-Conference Report on page 134: http://www.umcswtx.org/download/2012%20Pre_Conf%20Report%204_27_12-1%20WORD%20FINAL%20WEB%20REDUCED%20%2004.27.12.pdf?inline

Training and Helping with Monitoring at Annual Conference

The Commission on the Status and Role of Women (COSROW) and the General Commission on Religion and Race (GCRR) are co-sponsoring a new monitoring tools training.  Our shared goal is to provide our annual conference leaders more constructive & comprehensive data toward intentional, invitational inclusivity in our churches. “Holding Up the Mirror” training will be from 9-12 on Thursday June 7th in Corpus Christi at the Convention Center, which hosts our Annual Conference every year (1901 N. Shoreline Blvd).  We will ask all the trained monitors to select various events at Annual Conference where they will serve as monitors!

What is a Monitor?  A monitor is aware of the life and commitment of the United Methodist Church to full and equal participation by all.  A monitor acts to promote that participation. Training will encourage: Respect, love, healthy conflict management and healthy relationships, using sound biblical and theological foundations.  Diversity is not to be “tolerated” but sought, affirmed, and developed as a benefit to the whole group.  It is not about “political correctness,” but about justice.

And, if you attend Annual Conference, you can also help with the MFSA/RMN booth and attend the Church and Society/MFSA/RMN Social Justice Luncheon with a wonderful speaker, Jim Winkler of Church and Society!

For more information, please contact Deana Henry or Pat Stewart .

We Need Your Books for MFSA Fundraising!

For the past few years, our MFSA chapter has been collecting gently used religious and spiritual books from our members and friends, and offering them for sale/donation at our Annual Conference booth.  We will do that again this year if we can collect enough books, so clean out your closets or shelves.  Please contact Rowland Curry (rcurry@austin.rr.com) who will arrange to pick them up.  The deadline is June 3.

Love Your Neighbor Tabernacle 

A tabernacle is a dwelling, a temporary shelter, and in our faith story the tabernacle is not only a tent sanctuary used by the Israelites during the Exodus, but also how the Gospel of John describes Jesus as among us.

It is fitting as we mark forty years of the “incompatibility” wilderness, that the Love Your Neighbor coalition’s center of activities will be a tabernacle located across the street from the Tampa Convention Center where the General Conference of The United Methodist Church is being held.  In this 100′x 40′ air-conditioned dwelling, we will host delegates, organize volunteers, eat, pray, strategize, plan, and launch action.

Speakers include both young adults and retired bishops, central conference leaders as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender leaders. Leaders will bring their experience on ordination equality, marriage equality, immigration, nonviolent action, church restructuring, gender equality worldwide, and more. Translators will be working in French, Portuguese, Shona, Zulu, Tagalog, Cebuano, Bicol, and Ilocano to expand our welcome. A partial list of presenters includes: Albert Otshudi Long, Julie Todd, Lorenza Andrade Smith, Bishops Ott and Rader, Rifat Kassis, David Weekley, Garlinda Burton, and Brad Laurvick.

Did you know that Rowland Curry, Vice President of SWTX MFSA, is the Hospitality Volunteer Coordinator for the Common Witness Coalition at General Conference 2012?  In addition to organizing volunteers for a multitude of tasks at GC, he has worked with MFSA staff to plan meals and logistics at GC.  Also participating as GC volunteers from Austin will be Anne Mund, Deana Henry, Janice Curry, Richard Bates, Joe Santoyo, Joy Butler, David Mauzy, Anita Privett, Robbie & Tom Ausley, and Sid & Rachei Hall.  Thanks to all of these wonderful volunteers!  Please support them with your prayers for a justice-filled conference.

Love Your Neighbor: Send Your Prayers to General Conference 

The Love Your Neighbor Tabernacle needs your prayers…literally.  As we (continue to) transform our church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love we’ll physically transform the fence around the Tabernacle into a prayer wall. Just as the Good Samaritan bound the wounds of the person who fell among robbers, our prayers and witness offer healing and hope to our world over run with physical and spiritual violence.

MFSA will be collecting prayer strips to take to GC.  At our April meeting, we will have strips of fabric for you to write a prayer for our church and for our world.  David Mauzy will take all of the prayers from Austin District churches to GC and place them on the prayer wall for us.

If you can’t get to the meeting and would like to make a fabric prayer strip, here are the instructions:

• Select a fabric or use scraps you have from other projects
• Written prayers show up best on bright colored fabric (patterned or plain)
• Cut a strip of fabric no larger than 2 inches wide x 30 inches long
  • Write your prayer on one side of the fabric
  • Permanent markers work best but bleed through fabric so remember to protect your writing surface

First UMC will have the strips available at the Reconciling Service at April 15 and Saint John’s will have the strips available April 8 and April 15 in the Gallery.  Let’s send lots of prayers from Austin to the delegates!

2012 General Conference Delegates from SWTX Conference

Lay Delegates:

Jay Brim – Westlake UMC, Austin

Teresa Keese – First UMC, Brady

Ralph Thompson – Grape Creek UMC, San Angelo

Byrd Bonner – Travis Park UMC, San Antonio

Clergy Delegates:

Rev. Laura Merrill – McAllen DS

Rev. Eradio Valverde – Corpus Christi DS

Rev. Carl Rohlfs – San Antonio DS

Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza – Assistant to Episcopal Office

 2012 Jurisdictional Delegates from SWTX Conference

The quadrennial meeting of clergy and lay delegates from the annual conferences within the boundaries of one of five U.S. jurisdictions: North Central, Northeastern, South Central, Southeastern and Western. Jurisdictional Conferences convene every four years. The business includes the election and assignment of bishops.

Lay Delegates:

Sarah Cloninger Howell – St. John’s UMC, Austin

Terry Schoenert – Oak Meadow UMC. San Antonio

William Ault – Coker UMC, San Antonio

Mark Nerio – University UMC, San Antonio

Clergy Delegates:

Terrence Hayes – Victoria DS

Russell Thomas Miller – First UMC, Boerne

Austin Frederick – Vice President – Pastoral
Services Methodist Healthcare System

Thomas Deviney – Bethany UMC, Austin

• In 2012, 988 delegates were elected to participate in General Conference.
• Half of the delegates to GC must be clergy, half must be lay.
• General & Jurisdictional Conferences happen once a quadrennium (every 4 years).
• 40% of delegates will be from outside the US in 2012.
• There are 13 legislative committees that consider about 1,600 pieces of legislation.
• Legislation is submitted by individuals, annual conferences, organizations, and churchwide agencies.
• All proposed legislation can be seen in the Advance Daily Christian Advocate on the www.gc2012.org website.
• In 1744, John Wesley held the first ‘Preacher’s Conference’.  Holy conferencing has a history longer than the Methodist Church.

Want to Learn More? Go Online!

• UMC General Conference 2012 website  www.gc2012.umc.org
• Common Witness Coalition GC2012 website (MFSA, RMN, & Affirmation    http://gc12.org/
• Advance Edition Daily Christian Advocate (ADCA) http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.7959675/k.2BA2/General_Conference
  _2012_Advance_Edition_Daily_Christian_Advocate_ADCA.htm
• The Official Mobile App of The United Methodist Church General Conference 2012 http://www.umc.org/site/c.lwL4KnN1LtH/b.8008845/k.3187/General_Conference_Mobile_App.htm
  • Reconciling Ministries Network – www.rmnetwork.org

MFSA – www.mfsaweb.org

The Southwest Texas Reconciling Ministries Team is organizing Pray for General Conference 2012 to take place during this quadrennial legislative event of The United Methodist Church that takes place in Tampa, FL, April 24 – May 4.  First, Grace, Saint John’s, and Trinity UMCs are joining other United Methodists around the world to pray for delegates to General Conference, including those from our own conference, for discernment and God’s guidance in their deliberations and actions. Anyone wishing to participate but unable to attend in person is encouraged to individually participate in supportive prayer at any time during General Conference.  For more information, contact swtxreconcilingministries@gmail.com.

Tuesday, April 24 :  Noon-2pm in Chapel at Saint John’s UMC:  http://stjohnsaustin.org/  Join us for a contemplative moment in the chapel, with individual prayer and an indoor labyrinth walk.  Host will be Saint John’s Reconciling Ministries Chair and SWTX Reconciling Ministries Team member, Joy Butler.

Thursday, April 26:  6:30-7:30pm at Grace UMC in the Garden. http://www.gracemethodistaustin.org/

Thursday, April 27:  12:00 noon in the Trinity Chapel, with Rev. Dr Sid Hall, III, who has served as the senior minister of Trinity United Methodist Church in Hyde Park since June 1988.  http://www.tumc.org/

Monday, April 30:  5:30-8:30pm at First UMC downtown in Garrison Chapel (Family Life Center at 1300 Lavaca, not sanctuary building):  http://fumcaustin.org/

Tuesday, May 1:  12:00 noon in the Trinity UMC Chapel, with Phaedra Chandler, Trinity member and Southwest Texas Reconciling Ministries Team member.  http://www.tumc.org/

Thursday, May 3:  Noon-2pm in Chapel at Saint John’s UMC:  http://stjohnsaustin.org/  Join us for a contemplative moment in the chapel, with individual prayer and an indoor labyrinth walk.

Austin Methodists Will be Providing Two Young Adult Scholarships to General Conference

Thanks to Joy Butler’s leadership and enthusiasm, SWTX MFSA and RMN members from Saint John’s, First,  and University UMC will be providing two young adult scholarships for General Conference.  The two recipients are:

• AJ Bush is a recent graduate of Colorado State University with a BA in Music, who is doing a year of service in San Antonio before entering seminary in the fall.  She is passionate about a wide-variety of “issues” including LGBT inclusion, poverty and environmental care. She worked in the Rocky Mountain Annual Conference in various positions before coming to Texas.  Her musical talents will be an asset to MOSAIC www.rmnetwork.org/extension-ministries/mosaic/ for helping teach the song and dance to volunteers who wish to participate in the Flash mob at GC.
• Johnny Gall is a senior who will be graduating from NYU this year.  He is an active MOSAIC leader, and one of the most important overall young adult organizers for General conference.  Johnny will be helping with volunteer coordination and general leadership for young adults.

It looks like we may have the possibility of a third Young Adult scholarship.  If you would like to help make this possible, please contact Janice Curry at jlcurry@austin.rr.com for more information.

Growth Through Justice

All are invited to attend the Second Annual Peace and Justice Luncheon at the Southwest Texas Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, TX on Friday, June 8.  The luncheon is a cooperative effort by our MFSA chapter, the Conference Board of Church and Society, and the conference’s Reconciling Ministries Team. The theme for this year’s luncheon is “Growth Through Justice”.

We are honored to have Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Church and Society, as our speaker at the 2012 Luncheon.  Mr. Winkler has served as general secretary of the General Board of Church & Society (GBCS), the international public policy and social justice agency of The United Methodist Church since November, 2000.  As the chief executive of the board, Jim leads a staff of 22 who seek the implementation of the Church’s Social Principles through education, witness, and advocacy.  The board carries out a wide-ranging ministry of peace and justice throughout the world with offices in Washington, DC and New York City.

Mr. Winkler is a member of the Justice and Advocacy Commission of the National Council of Churches of the United States of America, a member of the steering committee of the Campaign for Health Care Now, a board member of several organizations including the Faith and Politics Institute, Churches for the Middle East Peace, and Africa Action.

Jim Winkler is the son, brother, nephew and great grandson of United Methodist preachers and United Methodist Women. He studied history at the University of Illinois and George Mason University. After graduation from college, Jim served as a short-term missionary with the Pacific Conference of Churches in Suva, Fiji. At the Board of Church and Society he held the position of Seminar Designer, Director of Annual Conference Relations and Assistant General Secretary of Resourcing Congregational Life before his nomination as General Secretary.

For more details of the luncheon and the registration form,

Please contact Janice Curry jlcurry@austin.rr.com

Or, download the form at https://riotexasmfsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/luncheonflyer2012.pdf

We Need Your Books!

For the past few years, our MFSA chapter has been collecting gently used religious and spiritual books from our members and friends, and offering them for sale/donation at our Annual Conference booth.  We will do that again this year if we can collect enough books, so clean out your closets or shelves and bring them to chapter meetings.  Or contact Rowland Curry (rcurry@austin.rr.com) if you need for us to pick them up.  The deadline is June 3.

The General Conference of the United Methodist Church meets every four years (quadrennium). Legislative changes are recorded in The Book of Discipline which is revised after each General Conference.  Non-legislative resolutions are recorded in the Book of Resolutions, which is published after each General Conference, and expire after eight years unless passed again by a subsequent session of General Conference.  The last General Conference was held in Fort Worth, Texas, in 2008.  The next General Conference will be April 25 – May 4, 2012 in Tampa, Florida.

The UM General Conference essentially sets all policies and direction of the denomination.  There currently exist certain aspects of the denomination’s policies that are opposed by progressive groups such as MFSA.  The General Conference in Tampa will be the place where such policies are changed or retained.  For information on GC, the legislative process, and proposed changes to the Book of Discipline and the Book of Resolutions, follow this link.

MFSA is offering three petitions to General Conference 2012 as an alternative vision to the “Call to Action” proposals. It is our hope that together we might find once again what it means to be a connectional people of God’s grace and love at work in the world.  Click here to view the 3 models of UMC structure before us: Current Structure, the Call to Action proposal, and A New United Methodist Administrative Order.

Once again the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA), the Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) and Affirmation will be coordinating housing and volunteer activities. Many plans are still being worked out.  Volunteer opportunities abound for progressive United Methodists who are committed to justice and are willing/able to attend General Conference in Florida.

Some SWTX members are planning to attend all or portions of General Conference.  We have rented a house near downtown Tampa; you are invited to join us at the low price of $25 per person per night!  If you are interested in attending or volunteering, go to the websites below or contact rcurry@austin.rr.com.

For more information, go to www.gc12.org, www.rmnetwork.org or www.mfsaweb.org.

Planning is under way for our Second Annual Peace and Justice Luncheon at the Southwest Texas Annual Conference in Corpus Christi, TX June 7 – 10.  The inaugural luncheon in 2011 attracted about 150 persons to hear Dr. Joerg Rieger of Perkins School of Theology.  The luncheon was a cooperative effort by our MFSA chapter, the Conference Board of Church and Society, and the conference’s Reconciling Ministries Team.

Our 2012 luncheon will be on Friday, June 8 at the Convention Center in Corpus Christi.  Our principal speaker will be Jim Winkler, General Secretary of the UMC General Board of Church and Society.  The theme for this year’s luncheon is “Growth Through Justice”.

Our SWTX Chapter is also planning to once again sponsor an exhibit that will include MFSA information, an expanded display of the Shower of Stoles, and our traditional book fair.

We Need Your Books!  

For the past few years, our MFSA chapter has been collecting gently used religious and spiritual books from our members and

friends, and offering them for sale/donation at our Annual Conference booth.  We will do that again this year if we can collect enough books, so clean out your closets or shelves and bring them to chapter meetings.  Or contact Rowland Curry (rcurry@austin.rr.com) if you need for us to pick them up.  The deadline is June 3.

Yes, we have been very busy!

On January 16, over a dozen of our chapter members joined Austin’s MLK March, from the UT campus to the state Capitol.  Inspiring speeches and good music filled the air.

On January 27-28, our chapter hosted the spring meeting of the MFSA national Board of Directors at Saint John’s UMC.  At least 30 volunteers helped with overnight hosting, transportation, and food for our 17 Directors and Staff from other states.  The meetings were very productive, focusing on our role at General Conference, as well as other topics.  Thanks again to all who helped!