Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

MFSA Will Sponsor 4^th BOPA Recycling Event April 20

Saturday, April 20,– 8 am to 10:30 am

We need Volunteers!  We need your items for recycling!

Start cleaning the garage and find those batteries, oil, paint, and antifreeze and bring them to the MFSA BOPA event on Saturday, April 20, at Crestview UMC, 1300 Morrow Street, Austin, from 8:00 – 10:30 am.

At the BOPA event last March, we collected 225 gallons of paint, 30 gallons of oil/antifreeze, and 80 lbs of batteries.

If you can volunteer or you have questions, please contact Anne Mund at ennadnum@hotmail.com.

You are invited to participate in the January Reconciling Ministries workshop, Fri 1/18, and Sat 1/19 at Travis Park UMC in San Antonio.  This is a more in-depth training than the 2012 workshop and will involve learning how to help facilitate Reconciling processes in UMC groups and congregations.  Please contact Joy Butler joylbutler@gmail.com if you are interested in attending.

The Annual Community March celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King’s legacy while uplifting diversity and multi-culturalism in our city. The MLK Community March kicks off on Monday, January 21, 2013 at 9 a.m. with a short program at the MLK Statue on the University of Texas campus. We will then march to the Capitol for Gospel music and then on to historic Huston-Tillotson University, where exciting activities are planned.  If you are interested in marching with the MFSA banner, please meet at the MLK Statue at 9am. Contact Anne Mund with questions – ennadnum@hotmail.com  or 343-0803.
http://www.mlkcelebration.com/celebration-events/march-and-festival/. 

Day of Service

Join State Representative Dawnna Dukes and United Way for Greater Austin at the 14th Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. Clean Up on Saturday, January 19, 2013. This year, the entire MLK Day of Service will be focused on cleaning MLK Blvd.

This event is family friendly! Volunteers will meet at JJ Seabrook Park to get cleaning supplies and refreshments and then set off to beautify the roadside of MLK Blvd. Volunteers are encouraged to wear clothing that can withstand the weather- whatever it may be and are encouraged to wear bright and comfortable clothing. Long pants or jeans are recommended. www.handsoncentraltexas.org

“Changing the Conversation”

 Saturday, February 23, 2013

St. Edward’s University 8:00am – 5:30pm

3001 South Congress Avenue Austin, Texas

Download 2013 Annual Conference flyer with complete information – Print and Share!

TCADP Announces Annual Award Winners!

The TCADP Board of Directors is delighted to announce the recipients of the 2013 TCADP Annual Awards.  These individuals and organizations will be recognized at the TCADP 2013 Annual Conference – Changing the Conversation – on Saturday, February 23, 2013 at St. Edward’s University in Austin, Texas.  Please make plans to join us in celebrating these extraordinary individuals and organizations!

• Appreciation: JC Dufresne, who played an instrumental role in the Texas Democratic Party’s decision to endorse abolition of the death penalty in its 2012 Platform.
• Appreciation: Methodist Federation for Social Action-Southwest Texas Chapter, for their years of involvement and ongoing contributions to the abolition movement.
• Media: Joe Bailey, Jr. and Steve Mims (pictured), Filmmakers of “Incendiary”, a documentary about the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, who was executed in 2004 despite serious flaws in the forensic science used to convict him and doubts about his guilt.

Plenary Session
In addition to the annual awards luncheon, the conference will feature a plenary session on how instances of wrongful convictions and evidence of wrongful executions are changing the conversation on the death penalty. Confirmed panelists are:

• Karen Boudrie, an award-winning journalist, news director, and public relations consultant who covered the trial of Carlos DeLuna in Corpus Christi in 1983 and was the last person to speak with him before his wrongful execution in 1989;
• Anthony Graves, a motivational speaker and legal consultant who spent 12.5 years on death row before being exonerated in 2010; and
• Professor James Liebman, Simon H. Rifkind Professor of Law, Columbia University School of Law, and the lead author of Los Tocayos Carlos: An Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution

Pre-register for the conference today and book your hotel by February 1!  Special rates are available for TCADP members and students. https://secure.qgiv.com/for/tcadp/event/15076/

Faith Action for Women in Need (Fawn) cordially invite your faith community to participate in The Interfaith Prayer/Meditation Vigil for Healthcare Funding each Saturday, 8:00-10:00am at the Governor’s Mansion.  Because 26% of Texas citizens lack health insurance and Texas ranks worst in the nation for health care coverage, we are seeking:

·         Acceptance of all available Medicaid fund.

·         Reinstatement of Planned Parenthood into the Women’s Health Program

·         Expansion of Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act

·         Restoration of cuts to program designed to encourage doctors to stay in Texas and to enter General Practice.

The prayer vigil will be ongoing until our goal is achieved.  The vigil is interfaith, and secularists are welcome.   Contact Cindy Noland at cgnoland03@yahoo.com or 512-636-1333 with questions. Also on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Faith-Action-for-Women-in-Need-FAWN/478234135535473?fref=ts

When:  March 3, 2013 @ 1:45 PM – 5:00 PM 

Where:  Camp Mabry – 2200 W 35th St

Contact:  Desaree Williams  (512) 386-9145 ext. 308

                        dwilliams@interfaithtexas.org

ONE DAY!
Sunday, March 3, 2013, starting at 1:45 p.m.

NEW LOCATION!
Camp Mabry, 2200 W 35th St, Austin, TX 78703

Recruiter Orientation on Saturday, January 12 at 9:30 a.m.
First United Methodist Church in Wesley Hall, 1201 Lavaca St, 78701

Please visit the Austin CROP Hunger Walk website for more information on registering for the walk and ways to participate.  http://austincrophungerwalk.org/

In preparation for the November 6 Presidential election, MFSA will be participating in registering voters during the month of September.  The last day to register for the Presidential election is October 9.  To register voters, you must first be certified by the county.  For Travis County, one-hour voter registrar training workshops are held the first Tuesday of each month at 5501 Airport at 10:30, 12:30, and 6:30.  http://www.traviscountytax.org/goVotersVDR.do

Volunteers from MFSA will be registering voters on Saturdays – September 15, 22, 29, and October 6.  If you are interested in helping with this effort, please contact Jan Dawes jdawes@grandecom.net.

Celebrate Inclusivity

Join other SWTX Conference Methodists and MFSA in the 2012 Austin Pride Parade on Sept 22 at 8pm!

Walkers will walk in support of full inclusion of LGBT persons in the United Methodist Church and in society.  Limited seating in convertibles will be available for anyone who would like to ride in the parade.

This year, entries will line up at the Capitol and proudly march down Congress Avenue and through the 4th Street Warehouse District. Limited free parking available at First UMC lot, and also at the surface lot next to the Texas Oil and Gas Association building, next to the FUMC Family Life Center, 13th and Lavaca.  Carpooling is encouraged.

Austin Pride Parade site here:  http://www.austinpride.org/#!events

We will be wearing t-shirts with the ‘Love Your Neighbor’ logo on front, each participant church in a different color of the pride rainbow:  Trinity (red), University (orange), First (green), Saint John’s (blue).  Order shirts from Joy Butler – joylbutler@gmail.com.

T-shirts are $10 per participant.  Register by Sept 1.  Or, you can wear a shirt that is one of the colors of the rainbow.  If your church is not participating, you are still welcome to march with us!

Contact phaedra.chandler@gmail.com or revbates1@gmail.com for more information.