From the Rio Texas Cabinet
/En Español - Noticia del Gabinete de Río Texas
Thursday, January 26, 2023
As we begin a new year, we hold onto the promises of God and the never-ending hope that God is close and that the people of God are never alone. 2022 has brought forth unprecedented and unique challenges for our communities, congregations, clergy, and for this cabinet. The United Methodist Church has roughly 30,500 congregations and as of writing of this statement, approximately 2,500 have discerned to exit the denomination. We are grateful for the nearly 92 percent of the denomination’s congregations that have currently decided to remain United Methodist and embrace its future. We are also grateful for the nearly 70 percent of congregations in the Rio Texas Conference that have decided not to enter into the discernment process. (Disaffiliations approved by annual conferences - umnews.org). We understand these numbers may change.
Every individual in the Rio Texas cabinet has made a commitment to continue to serve God through The United Methodist Church. We represent a wide array of theological perspectives and value different voices at the table. We believe that there is and that there will be progressives, conservatives, centrists, traditionalists, and modern perspectives in our churches; and we believe that is a strength. While we may not agree on every detail or conclusion regarding our friends in the LGBTQIA+ community, we are all committed to serve God in The United Methodist Church. We feel called to the Rio Texas Conference and its future; a future where we will no longer argue about human sexuality, but rather engage in holy conversations and healthy dialogue that seeks justice and dignity for everyone.
We grieve when any clergy and/or congregation departs the UMC, and yet we give thanks for each person and congregation who shared the love of Christ over the years. We acknowledge we have friends who feel called to an emerging and arising expression of Methodism. We seek to walk with them during this time of transition and give thanks to God for this opportunity to offer ourselves in such a time as this. We also see the efforts and commitment of those who feel called to remain and appreciate you and look forward to our continued work together.
The United Methodist Church has an opportunity to re-vision its place in our communities. For those communities who have churches departing, we will make intentional efforts through our Creating Congregations office to gather those who desire to remain United Methodist and help organize new communities and faith expressions. Our own conference leadership teams are already connecting with other annual conferences and other leaders in the connection to help us reconsider what God might do this new year and years to come. (See Bishop Ruben Saenz episcopal address)
There will always be a need for grace-filled houses of worship with a Wesleyan foundation. As we journey through this season, let us focus on hope and bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to our congregations and communities. Let us focus on that news in the promises of God’s hopeful future.
Signed,
The Cabinet of the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church
Laura Brewster
Marcus Freeman
Greg Hackett
Karen Horan
Robert Lopez
Ricky Sanderford
Robert Schnase
Andy Smith
Kendall Waller
