Rio Texas Methodist Federation for Social Action

Interfaith Environmental Network invites you to Green by Faith: A time to celebrate and grow our faith commitment to environmental care.

Sunday, April 25, 2010
2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
St. David’s Episcopal Church
304 East 7th Street
Austin, TX 78701

A celebratory interfaith worship service will begin at 2:00 PM in the Bethell Hall on the 3rd floor.

Immediately following will be a time of fellowship in Sumners’ Hall with an information fair featuring a cornucopia of non-profit, governmental, faith-based, and commercial organizations to help you or your faith community become more faithful stewards of our natural blessings.

Sign up for an upcoming environmental community service event with the IEN team.

A beautiful outdoor labyrinth will also be available for your personal time of reflection.

This is an area-wide event. All are welcome! You may forward this announcement to others in the faith community.

Interfaith Environmental Network (IEN) was formed in early 2009 to inspire the Austin area faith community to claim our common call of environmental stewardship. We carry out our mission through acts of learning, community service, and influence on public policy.

http://www.tumc.org/hope.htm

The Hope Food Pantry at Trinity United Methodist Church provides much-needed food to families in our community each week.  In an average month, the Pantry provides over 400 children with nutritious food and other staples such as diapers, juice, soap, etc.  As Austin’s unemployment rate rises, so does the number of families knocking on our doors in need of help.  Empty shelves are a strong reminder of the increased demand for help and our decreasing supply of funding.  They are constantly in need of volunteers and resources to help us with our mission. The Pantry is a fun place to volunteer and the experience of helping the families who come to us is very rewarding.

Contact Stephanie Humphreys to volunteer (cell 744-5136 or email stephaniehumphreys4001@yahoo.com).

Mark your Calendars – Saturday morning, June 12

MFSA will assist the University UMC Open Door program provide breakfast for Austin’s homeless.  Please contact Janice Curry at 836-7004 or jlcurry@austin.rr.com, if interested.

The General Board of Church & Society of The United Methodist Church publishes an excellent weekly newsletter, Faith in Action, providing news and views on current topics.

Subscribe today to receive the newsletter via email!

Please help us continue and improve the programs and activities of MFSA through your generosity!

There are several easy ways to join 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).

You can bring a check to the next meeting, made out to “SWT – MFSA”.  Or, you can simply mail your check to our Treasurer, Janice Curry, at 1509 Mearns Meadow Blvd, Austin 78758.

Our local chapter gets a portion of the gift for our programs.  We continue to need funding for visibility within our communities and to advance our social action movement.

Suggested Membership Amounts (you may also select your own amount):

$500 Stellar Membership Gift
$200 Spirited Membership Gift
$150 Supporting Membership Gift
$100 Sustaining Membership Gift
$60 Subscribing Membership Gift

Benefits of membership:

• Receive the MFSA newsletter (Social Questions Bulletin)
• Receive the MFSA E-newsletter with action updates
• Receive discounts on events sponsored by MFSA
• Connect with other justice-seekers in your annual conference
• Join with others in speaking up for justice in the UMC and world

Membership in MFSA is not predicated on ability to pay.  Any amount of money you are able to give is gratefully accepted.  Membership gifts to MFSA are tax deductible as provided by law.

Join us!

Please help us continue and improve the programs and activities of MFSA through your generosity!

There are several easy ways to join MFSA.  You can log onto the national MFSA website and follow the instructions there (you can safely use a credit card).  You can bring a check to the next meeting, made out to St. John’s UMC, with “MFSA” on the memo line and we will see that it is registered in our account.  Or, you can simply mail your check to our Treasurer, Janice Curry, at 1509 Mearns Meadow Blvd, Austin 78758.

Our local chapter gets a portion of the gift for our programs.  We continue to need funding for visibility within our communities and to advance our social action movement.

Suggested Membership Amounts (you may also select your own amount):

$60 Subscribing Membership Gift
$100 Sustaining Membership Gift
$150 Supporting Membership Gift
$200 Spirited Membership Gift
$500 Stellar Membership Gift

Benefits of membership:

• Receive the MFSA newsletter (Social Questions Bulletin)
• Receive the MFSA E-newsletter with action updates
• Receive discounts on events sponsored by MFSA
• Connect with other justice-seekers in your annual conference
• Join with others in speaking up for justice in the UMC and world

Membership in MFSA is not predicated on ability to pay.  Any amount of money you are able to give is gratefully accepted.  Membership gifts to MFSA are tax deductible as provided by law.

Join us!

What:  “Believe Out Loud”
Where:  3707 Laurel Ledge Lane (Tom & Robbie Ausley’s house)
When:  Saturday, April 17th (9:00 – 3:00)
RSVP:   robausley@austin.rr.com

A national Reconciling Ministry Network  facilitator, Laura Young, will guide us through a training session of how we can help move the 11 million member Methodist church towards greater inclusiveness, creating change one person at a time through our witness in small groups and gatherings.

Join us!

The Hunger Meal, a Hope Food Pantry fundraiser, educates the public about hunger issues in our community. The meal will be held at Saint John’s UMC Sunday, Feb. 21, at 5:00p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance and $15 at the door.

Similar to the way Hope Food Pantry serves food recipients, attendees are divided by a lottery into upper, middle and lower income status groups represented in Travis County. The dinner served depends on the group chosen.  The upper income group is served a 4-course meal by a wait staff, the middle income group has a buffet-style pasta dinner, and the low-income group has rice and beans.  There will also be a silent auction.

Tickets will be available in the Saint John’s gallery on Feb. 7 and 14.  For tickets or more information, contact Zada Doherty, 345-1605, zada@austin.rr.com.

Wed Feb 17, 11:30a – 1:00p, Austin monthly chapter meeting, St. Austin Catholic Church, 2010 Guadalupe, Austin.

Sat, Feb 20, 9:00a – 5:15p, 2010 TCADP Annual Conference “Seizing the Momentum:  Building Capacity, Community, and Coalition”, Highland Park United Methodist Church, Dallas.

Wed, Feb 24, 5:30p – 6:30p, vigil to protest the execution of Hank Skinner which is scheduled for 6:00p that evening, south steps of the Capitol, 11th and Congress.

Tue, Mar 2, 5:30p – 6:30p vigil to protest the execution of Michael Sigala which is scheduled for 6:00p that evening, south steps of the Capitol, 11th and Congress.

For more information, go to TCADP .

The Southwest Texas Chapter is planning a number of social action programs and activities for 2010 that will require additional funding.  Please consider a contribution as a part of your end-of-year giving.

You can pre-pay your 2010 membership this month, just by specifying that you want your contribution to be applied to your 2010 membership.

There are two easy ways to contribute to 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 simply mail a check to our Treasurer, Janice Curry, at 1509 Mearns Meadow Blvd, Austin 78758.  The check should be made out to St. John’s UMC, with “MFSA” on the memo line.

Please help us continue and improve the programs and activities of MFSA through your generosity!

January 14 – Monthly Meeting.  Saint John’s UMC
6:30pm social gathering, 7:00 meeting

Continuing our focus on poverty, our speaker will be Richard Troxel, who works with ARCH and House the Homeless here in Austin.  He will describe a “Let’s Get Back-to-Work” program that will support homeless families of the working poor while taking job certification courses which would enable them to significantly increase their income.  How can we help?

January 18 – MLK Day March

This march traditionally begins at the MLK statue on the UT campus, moves to the Capitol for a program and music, then to Huston-Tillotson.  We’ll be there with our banner!

February 11 – Monthly Meeting.

We are planning a panel presentation to follow up on the recent Hunger Summit in Waco.   Texas ranks 49th in food security for children (only Mississippi ranks lower).  There is money available to provide nutritious meals for school-age children during the summer months, if only there were delivery systems in place.  How can we help?

Join us!

You are invited to a Reconciling Ministries Network (RMN) social on Saturday, January 16, 7:30 PM, at 7403 Shoal Creek Blvd, Austin, at the home of Rev. Richard Bates and his partner, Joe.

The social is an informal gathering of Austin United Methodist individuals, Sunday School classes, or congregations who are a part of the Reconciling movement within the UMC, or who are interested in learning more about it. RMN is a growing movement of United Methodist individuals, congregations, campus ministries, and other groups working for the full participation of all people in the United Methodist Church. RMN 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.  You can learn more about this Methodist ministry here, including how you or your Sunday School class or other group can become more inclusive: http://www.rmnetwork.org/.

If you are able to come, everyone is asked to bring wine or an appetizer to share.  No RSVP is necessary.

Here is an updated list of executions schedule through March, 2010.

• 11/17/2009 Eldridge, Gerald
• 11/18/2009 Simpson, Danielle
• 11/19/2009 Thompson, Robert
• 12/03/2009 Woods, Bobby
• 01/07/2010 Mosley, Kenneth
• 01/12/2010 Johnson, Gary
• 02/24/2010 Skinner, Henry
• 03/02/2010 Sigala, Michael
• 03/30/2010 Alix, Franklin

Please Help Us Continue Our Programs

If you have not yet paid your membership gift for 2009, please make plans to do so as soon as possible.  There are now two easy ways to join 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 simply bring a check to the next meeting, made out to “MFSA” and we will see that it is registered in our account.  Either way, our local chapter gets a portion of the gift for our programs.  We continue to need funding for visibility within our communities and to advance our social action movement.

Suggested Membership Amounts (you may also select your own amount):

• $60 Subscribing Membership Gift
• $100 Sustaining Membership Gift
• $150 Supporting Membership Gift
• $200 Spirited Membership Gift
• $500 Stellar Membership Gift

Benefits of membership:

• Receive the MFSA newsletter (Social Questions Bulletin)
• Receive the MFSA E-newsletter with action updates
• Receive discounts on events sponsored by MFSA
• Connect with other justice-seekers in your annual conference
• Join with others in speaking up for justice in the UMC and world

Membership in MFSA is not predicated on ability to pay.  Any amount of money you are able to give is gratefully accepted.  Membership gifts to MFSA are tax deductible as provided by law.

Join us!

By Janice Curry

Do you wonder each Christmas what you can give to family and friends who seemingly need nothing?  Or, are you ready to forego the Christmas gifts to be part of making a difference in someone’s life?  Last Christmas, when my kids (in their 30s) asked what I wanted for Christmas, I told them that I wanted them to donate to some worthwhile effort to help others in my name.  I “got” a rabbit for the Heifer Project, as well as gifts that helped feed the hungry and provide books to the illiterate (The Hunger Site).

Here are some suggestions for alternative giving to consider:

• Shop The Hunger Site where purchases help feed in need. http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1
  
• Heifer International is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help end world hunger and poverty through self-reliance & sustainability. http://www.heifer.org
• World Vision is a Christian relief, development and advocacy organization dedicated to working with children, families and communities to overcome poverty and injustice.  http://www.wvi.org/wvi/wviweb.nsf
• Consider microfinance such as Grameen- http://www.grameen-info.org or http://www.grameenamerica.com – Grameen America is built upon the success of the Grameen Bank. Founded by Professor Muhammad Yunus in Bangladesh, the Grameen Bank is the most widely recognized microfinance company in the world. This success earned both Professor Yunus and the Grameen Bank the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006.
• Glimmer of Hope Austin – Recognizing that poverty comes in many forms, A Glimmer of Hope Austin was established in 2003 to fund programs designed to make a difference in the lives of disadvantaged youth and seniors in the foundation’s hometown. A Glimmer of Hope is run like a business and it measures its success like a business. It is in operation to turn a profit – a Social Profit.  http://www.aglimmerofhope.org

• Smile Train – Changing the world one smile at a time.  http://www.smiletrain.org/site/PageServer
• Fair Trade products – Working to build sustainable communities.
  http://www.globalgoodspartners.org/template/index.cfm
  
• http://twohandsworldshop.com/
  
• UMCOR – United Methodist Committee on Relief – http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor/give/gift-catalog/

And there are so many other ways to make a difference!  Give it a try!