Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

Makers: Women Who Make America

Tuesday February 26 | 7pm on KLRU. Meryl Streep narrates the compelling story of women’s advancement in America in the past 50 years.  It is a revolution that has unfolded in public and private, on grand stages like the U.S. Supreme Court and Congress, and humbler ones like the boardroom and the bedroom. The series features the stories of those who led the fight, those who opposed it and those — both famous and unknown — caught up in its wake.  Meryl Streep narrates the three-hour stack, which features commentary and the stories of Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice, Oprah Winfrey and Katie Couric, and Gloria Steinem and Phyllis Schlafly, among others.  Check out the Makers website for more information and to watch videos with trailblazing women.

Tuesday February 12 | 7pm.Join us for preview screening of this program in Studio 6A. KLRU, the UT Center for Women’s and Gender Studies, and the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders are joining together for Inspiring Women Leaders, a discussion about cultivating

Saturday, February 23, 2013

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

3001 South Congress Avenue Austin, Texas

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, 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

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

Faith Action for Women in Need (Fawn) cordially invites 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/

The Montopolis Friendship Community Center is a tax-exempt, non-profit corporation formed in 1957 as a United Methodist Women’s response to help meet some of the needs in the Montopolis community in southeast Austin.  FCC provides the following opportunities in the Montopolis area: Mother’s Day Out for children 2-4 years old; Clothing sales room open on the first and third Saturdays; Senior activities; and Rental space available for community events.  The Montopolis FCC desperately needs a new roof – the existing roof at Colorado Hall has been patched and re-patched.  The new roof, to be repaired by professionals, will cost $4,000.  Groups and individuals are being asked to contribute toward this need that is not covered as a part of MFCC’s annual budget.  You can help by buying one square foot of shingles for $3.33, or 3 sq ft for $10.00!

The goal is to raise the $4,000 by 3/30/2013.

Please make checks payable to Montopolis FCC and mail to:

MFCC Treasurer, Eva Jordan, P.O.Box 4691, Austin, TX  78765

The General Board of Church & Society published a Faith in Action newsletter on January 22 that included many good articles and actions around the issues of gun violence, Roe v. Wade, Gay marriage, and human trafficking.  Please take a look an add your name to the email list if interested.  http://umc-gbcs.org/faith-in-actionBlank

MFSA has posted articles about issues of immigration, family planning, and gun violence on their website http://mfsaweb.org/

One way in which our local MFSA chapters can help our national organization and each other is through development of a network of volunteers who have expertise in researching the availability of grant funding for the myriad issues in which MFSA is involved.  It is clear at this time that individual donations alone are not sufficient to support the work that MFSA truly needs to do.  We are looking for volunteers to research grant sources, write proposals, and work with our national office to make this successful.  If you have skills or experience in these activities and would be willing to devote some time to this effort, please contact Rowland Curry at rcurry@austin.rr.com.

MFSA Responds to School Violence

Monday, December 17th, 2012 1:57 pm

The Methodist Federation for Social Action’s board, staff, and members continue to grieve the loss of life in Newtown, Connecticut this past Friday. “We stand firmly in our belief that violence, in all its forms, is anathema to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We encourage all people of faith to work for a world in which such violence is no longer commonplace,” stated Chett Pritchett, Interim Executive Director

MFSA encourages United Methodists to put into action General Conference Resolution 3426 (2008, 2012 Book of Resolutions) which encourages communities and congregations to address the issues of gun violence in schools and among children. “Advocating for stronger accountability in regards to gun ownership and greater access to mental health care are two ways to pro-actively work so that an event of this magnitude will not happen again,” stated Pritchett  “But beyond advocating for public policy changes, we must also change the way we address, or don’t address, these issues throughout our Church.”