Please help us continue and improve the programs and activities of MFSA through your generosity!
There are several easy ways to join or support MFSA. You can log onto the national MFSA website, http://www.mfsaweb.org and follow the instructions there (you can safely use a credit card).
Or, you can mail a check made out to “SWT – MFSA” to our Treasurer, Janice Curry, at 1509 Mearns Meadow Blvd, Austin 78758. Thanks for your support!
Join us!
Our MFSA chapter witness at SWTX Annual Conference in Corpus Christi June 8 – 11 was a very positive experience. Our MFSA/RMN “compound” served as a meeting place for many friends during the stressful business of Conferencing. As many of you know, our progressive voices did not fare as well as they did four years ago during delegate elections for General Conference. However, we celebrate the supportive delegates who were elected as delegates to General Conference 2012. We especially want to congratulate our Austin friends, Jay Brim, Laity Delegate to General Conference; Sarah Howell, Laity Delegate to Jurisdictional Conference; and John Elford, Clergy Alternate Delegate to Jurisdictional Conference. In addition, the Inclusion Resolution – sponsored by the Conference Board of Church and Society – PASSED on Saturday morning! (See more below.) Thanks to everyone’s hard work in making MFSA’s presence and witness successful.
Much of the Conference schedule on Thursday and Friday was devote
d to the election of delegates to the 2012 General Conference. As a result, there was little time for Annual Conference delegates to browse in the exhibit area. Nonetheless, we did collect about $500 for the books we offered. Many thanks to those of you who donated your used books for this event. We had a few boxes left over which we will likely take to sell next year.
We again displayed the beautiful beads of BeadforLife, the project that helps Ugandan women in their fight against poverty in their villages. We sold about $500 in necklaces, bracelets, and other items at Annual Conference. Thanks to Janice Curry for organizing the table for this worthy cause.
Our partner in faith at this event was the Reconciling Ministries team of First UMC Austin. They had a wonderful display, and we shared the space for the Shower of Stoles, with a display of 30 stoles from a collection of over one thousand stoles representing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered people of faith.
Wow!
The luncheon was a tremendous success, 
with over 140 people in attendance. After the invocation by Rev. Greg Hackett (Corpus Christi First UMC), we heard from Rev. Steve Clunn, the MFSA-RMN Coalition Coordinator from Washington, DC, who stressed the importance of networking, and promoted the upcoming Sing a New Song (www.sans2011.org) event in August.
Awards presentations followed, with Rev. George and Wanda Holcombe receiving MFSA’s Lifetime Community Achievement Award, and Rev. Sid Hall and Trinity UMC Austin being recognized with the award for Congregational Achievement. Additional awards were presented by the Conference Board of Church and Society and the Peace and Justice Coordinator, including an award to Wimberly UMC’s Barnabas Project, accepted by Vicki McCuistion. All of the presentations and the recipients’ remarks were warm and well-received.
Our featured speaker was Dr. Joerg Rieger, Wendland-Cook Endow
ed Professor of Constructive Theology at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas. He spoke on concepts presented in his latest book, “Grace Under Pressure – Negotiating the Heart of the Methodist Traditions”. His presentation was enlightening and received excellent feedback.
Rev. Susan Sprague (University UMC Austin) gave our benediction and sent the delegates back to the conference floor for more elections.
Special thanks to Robbie and Tom Ausley and Jimmie Sue and Dick Francis for the wonderful table decorations. We gave away door prizes including several cross centerpieces, copies of Dr. Rieger’s book, and jars of jelly beans to attendees.
We had a great contingent of volunteers (in addition to delegates) who volunteered for all of the activities at Annual Conference. Janice & Rowland Curry, Anne Mund, Jan Dawes, Jane German, Pat Stewart, Mary Foster, Mike Renquist, Tom & Robbie Ausley, and Dick & Jimmie Sue Francis. The lovely stoles worn during the luncheon were made by Travis Park UMC San Antonio, led by Betty Curry.
The Reconciling Ministries Network, with support from MFSA and others, has worked for months to develop a petition and Resolution to be approved by the Southwest Texas Annual Conference that calls on the UMC General Conference (2012) to amend the Constitution of the United Methodist Church. Many of you may have signed a copy of the petition. The Resolution was sponsored by the Conference Board of Church and Society, and formally presented to the Annual Conference by Rev. Cynthia Kepler-Karrer (Chair of CBCS) on Saturday, June 11.
The Resolution seeks to expand the list of people not to be discriminated against as stated in Paragraph 4, Article IV of Division 1 of the United Methodist Constitution to include those people who have traditionally excluded from membership and full participation in the church. Specifically, the Resolution would add “sexual orientation, or gender identity and expression” to the listing of those not to be excluded.
The Resolution was presented by Rev. Kepler, and after an hour of parliamentary wrangling and discussion, the Resolution WAS PASSED by the SWT Annual Conference! The vote was 384 “for” to 325 “against”. Special thanks to Ann Teich of First UMC Austin’s RMN team for heading up the effort to circulate this petition and resolution, and to Rev. Kepler-Karrer and the Conference Board of Church and Society for their courage in taking the Resolution forward.
Please join University United Methodist Church to celebrate becoming a member of Reconciling Ministries Network
Sunday morning, June 19, 2011 at 11 A.M.
Rev. Troy Plummer, preaching.
There will also be a small installation of The Shower of Stoles.
Mark your calendar for the RMN/MFSA Convocation, “Sing a New Song”. (Reconciling Ministries Network mobilizes United Methodists of all sexual orientations and gender identities to transform our church and world into the full expression of Christ’s inclusive love.)
Join hundreds of United Methodists singing of and organizing for justice and inclusion for all God’s children as we celebrate in joyful worship designed by Mark Miller and Tanya Bennett.
In word and song, at rest and play, through action and organizing, being church together, “We are called to act with justice, we are called to love tenderly, we are called to serve on another, to walk humbly with God!”
Sawmill Creek Resort
400 Sawmill Creek Drive West
Huron, OH 44839
For more information, see http://www.rmnetwork.org/sing-a-new-song/
Anne Mund, Joy Butler, Robbie Ausley, and Janice and Rowland Curry have already registered. Contact Janice Curry at 836-7004 or jlcurry@austin.rr.com if you have questions.
Thanks to your generosity, SWTX-MFSA provided a meaningful witness at Annual Conference, and came out within budget. As we set our sights on General Conference 2012, join with us as we connect progressive United Methodists in putting faith into action!
Membership in MFSA is not predicated on ability to pay. We do not have “dues”. However, our Chapter and the National Office need funding each year for programs and activities. Membership gifts and special giving are always appreciated.
MFSA is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization by the IRS. Membership gifts to MFSA are tax deductible as provided by law.
Here are two simple ways to join or support MFSA:
You can log onto the national MFSA website, http://www.mfsaweb.org and follow the instructions there (you can safely use a credit card).
Or, you can mail a check made out to “SWT – MFSA” to our Treasurer, Janice Curry, at 1509 Mearns Meadow Blvd, Austin 78758. The suggested annual donation is $60, but any amount is welcome. Thanks for your support!
The next meeting of the Southwest Texas Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action will be Thursday, Ma
y 12, at Saint John’s UMC. The topic will be the Peace and Justice luncheon that we are co-sponsoring at Annual Conference (along with the Reconciling Ministries Network and the Conference Board of Church and Society). We will talk about where we are in the planning process, what things still need to be done, and how we all can help. This luncheon is the biggest event our chapter has ever undertaken, and it will be a great opportunity to educate people about MFSA, encourage more people to participate, and network with other like-minded people of faith in our Conference.
In addition to the luncheon, MFSA will have 5 vendor tables for the Book Fair, BeadforLife, and Shower of Stoles. Remember to bring your used books dealing with religious, spiritual, or social action topics! Janice Curry will bring a sample of the beads that we will take to Annual Conference for sale to support women and children in Uganda.
We will also have an update on the 82nd Texas Legislature and social justice issues.
The meeting will begin at 6:30pm for snacks and mingling. The program begins at 7:00. This is the last meeting scheduled until August/September. We hope to see you there!”
Join us! Bring a friend!
Wanted: Used books dealing with religious, spiritual, or social justice topics.
The MFSA Book Fair is our major annual fundraiser, so please contribute books if you can. Please let Rowland Curry (836-7004 or rcurry@austin.rr.com) know if you have books to contribute. We can make arrangements to pick them up. We will need the books by June 4. Thanks for your help!
Deana Henry opened the meeting with prayer. The program was about the Reconciling Ministries Network, the Methodist movement to encourage greater inclusivity in the UMC, particularly regarding Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender persons. The speakers were representatives from Trinity (Deana Henry), University (Bruce Kellison and Mike Coughlan), First (Robbie Ausley and Ann Teich), and St. John’s (Janice Curry) UMCs. Each of those churches is at a different place in the process of being a reconciling community, and the representatives talked about their respective processes so far. In addition, representatives from Westlake UMC talked about their process. A few of the major points:
There was a lively discussion following the speakers’ presentations. There were more than 25 people in attendance, representing 9 UMCs in the Austin area.
Rowland announced the CBCS/RMN/MFSA luncheon at Annual Conference in June. George Holcombe closed the meeting with prayer.
MFSA will again be active at Annual Conference in Corpus Christi June 8 – 11. We will sponsor an awards luncheon, Growing the Heart of Methodism (see below) in partnership with Reconciling Ministries Network and the Conference Board of Church and Society. We plan to again sponsor the MFSA Book Fair, which has been a successful fundraiser for our chapter. We will have our Informational Display about MFSA and its mission and activities. We will again sponsor the sale of BeadForLife, which supports Ugandan women and communities. And we will again co-sponsor a display of the Shower of Stoles, an extraordinary collection celebrating the gifts of GLBT persons who serve God in countless ways, while also lifting up those who have been excluded from service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
This is shaping up to be an exciting time! Join us
Featuring
Professor Joerg Rieger
Perkins School of Theology
On his new book:
Grace Under Pressure:
Negotiating the Heart of the
Methodist Traditions
This is our chapter’s first large-scale event to be held during Annual Conference in Corpus Christi. It is being planned at lunchtime on June 10, and will consist of a luncheon, the presentation by Dr. Rieger, and awards for special recognition for Building a Just Community. We will also have a presentation by Steve Clunn, the MFSA/RMN National Coalition Coordinator regarding national issues and Sing a New Song (see below).
We owe a great deal of thanks to Dr. Rieger for his willingness to rearrange his busy schedule to be with us for this event. He is extremely supportive of MFSA and its mission.
The luncheon cost is $12.00 per person if paid by May 15, $15.00 afterward. Mail check to Janice Curry at 1509 Mearns Meadow, Austin, TX 78758. Registration Deadline is June 1.
This should be a great event to share MFSA’s message with others at Southwest Texas Annual Conference.
I recently had the honor of attending the meeting of MFSA’s Board of Directors in Los Angeles, CA on April 30. The most important decision of this meeting was the approval of the new MFSA Executive Director, Jill Warren. She will begin her duties with MFSA on July 5, at the office in Washington, DC.
Jill is a lay member of West Bloomfield United Methodist Church 
in the Detroit Annual Conference, and has been active at the congregational, district and conference levels. She is an experienced nonprofit executive who has led agencies, taught management and leadership courses at the graduate and undergraduate level, and provided consulting services to foundations, agencies, boards of directors and nonprofit CEOs. Her faith has led her to do justice work in family violence prevention, reproductive health, and civil rights while giving boldly in her personal philanthropy to create a more just world. Jill brings a contagious level of enthusiasm and energy to her work, and MFSA is delighted to welcome her to its leadership.
In addition to the selection of Jill as the Executive Director, the Board approved changes to the MFSA Bylaws and other documents, heard financial and budget reports, and discussed reports from the Coalition Coordinator and the Sing A New Song planning team.
– Rowland Curry
Many of us attended the May 7-8 events at Trinity UMC to honor Jimmy Creech, former United Methodist Pastor & Author of Adam’s Gift: A Memoir of a Pastor’s Calling to Defy the Church’s Persecution of Lesbian & Gays. The event was sponsored by Trinity UMC and the Southwest Texas Reconciling United Methodists.
“Jimmy Creech, a United Methodist pastor in North Carolina, was visited one morning in 1984 by Adam, a longtime parishioner whom he liked and respected. Adam said that he was gay, and that he was leaving the United Methodist Church, which had just pronounced that no “self-avowed practicing homosexual” could be ordained. He would not be part of a community that excluded him. Creech found himself instinctively supporting Adam, telling him that he was sure that God loved and accepted him as he was. Adam’s Gift is Creech’s inspiring first-person account of how that conversation transformed his life and ministry. Creech was tried twice by The United Methodist Church, and, after the second trial, his ordination credentials were revoked. Adam’s Gift is a moving story and an important chapter in the unfinished struggle for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender civil and human rights.”
Excerpt from Adam’s Gift.
We highly recommend Adam’s Gift for its inspiration and insight.
Find Jimmy Creech on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.208952379124986.53318.208934022460155&saved#!/pages/Jimmy-Creech-Author-of-Adams-Gift/149222551797725
On April 26, 2011, the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee passed House Bill 1065 (the companion to Senate Bill 377) by a vote of 7-0. (SB 377 passed the Senate on March 30.) This legislation expands the scope of the death penalty by making the murder of a child who is less than 10 years of age a capital offense. TCADP abhor violent acts against children of any age. We opposes this bill because we believe it is wrong for the State of Texas to expand the reach of the death penalty at a time when Texans are turning away from its use, when victims’ family members are speaking out about the terrible toll the process takes on them, when new evidence of the flaws and failures of our capital punishment system continues to come to light, and when other states across the nation are moving away from it. HB 1065 now heads to the Calendars Committee, which will decide whether/when to place it on the calendar for consideration by the full House of Representatives.
Please call or email your State Representative to urge him/her to oppose HB 1065. Texas does not need to expand the scope of the death penalty – it needs to end it! To find your Representative, go to http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/Home.aspx and type in your address. This will provide you with the phone number for your legislator’s Capitol office. To send an email, type the Representative’s first name.last name@house.state.tx.us (for example, Jessica.farrar@house.state.tx.us).
House Bill 819, the repeal bill, has been left pending in the House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee (as have most death penalty-related bills). There are only 23 days left in the 82nd legislative session.
On Saturday, April 23, CBS “48 Hours” aired a special on Anthony Graves, the most recent death row exoneree from Texas. After spending 18 years in prison, 12 of which were on death row, he was found to be innocent by the Burleson County District Attorney and released from custody in October of 2010. View the episode that has resulted in an outpouring of outrage against the injustice experienced by Anthony Graves.
To actively support TCADP’s Religious Outreach efforts, please be in touch with Vicki at info@tcadp.org.
Scheduled Execution
June 1: Gayland Bradford
On May 4, the Senate passed the budget by a vote of 19-12. The bill will now move to conference committee. As it stands now CSHB 1 removes $3 billion of Economic Stabilization (“Rainy Day”) Fund money from the bill, moves a $1.25 billion Medicaid payment into 2013 and enacts 1.2% cuts to all agencies besides the Foundation School Program.
The Senate’s version of the bill now spends $5 billion more in state funds than the House version. Senator Ogden promises to fight for the bill in committee while several Senators have pledged to fight against it. Senators opposing the bill raised issue with the magnitude of cuts being made to education, health care and social services.
Senators want to characterize their budget as “better than the House budget.” This is wishful thinking. The Senate budget results in most of the same draconian cuts as in the House budget, and is still inadequate for Texas.
For a quick review of the massive cuts to State funding read 50 Facts About the Senate Budget at http://texasimpact.org/content/50-facts-about-senate-budget
To read Texas legislators ignore the outcry against school funding cuts at their peril, by Carolyn Boyle, St. John’s member & volunteer chairwoman of Texas Parent PAC (www.txparentpac.com) in the American Statesman go to http://www.statesman.com/opinion/boyle-texas-legislators-ignore-the-outcry-against-school-1459619.html
Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action 