Take a moment to get to know Rev Bob Allen, Director of Congregational and New Faith Community Vitality.
You can learn more about the Congregational Vitality office here.
You can learn more about Membership to Discipleship here.
You can contact Rev. Bob Allen at ballen@riotexas.org
Today we begin our "Rio Texas Local Church Technology Survey." We are seeking 100% participation from our churches.
Read MoreThe Rio Texas Media Center has been encouraging local churches to make sure they have a modern, up-to-date, website to serve as a modern "front door" for people looking for a church. If your church is not there yet, I hope you will take advantage of a free an easy way to make sure your church can be found.
United Methodist Communication's "Find A Church" platform is a free resource that allows every United Methodist Church to have a presence on the web. It also lists your church in the "Find A Church" portal meaning that you can be found by people searching for a church through umc.org and riotexas.org.
The good news is that your church already has a listing. The question is "Is your church information correct and up to date?" Why not find out today? Go to "Find A Church" and enter your church's city, town or zip code. Make sure all of your information is up to date. You can also customize your welcome message and add more detailed information about your church. There are even places to add photos, show your social media links and list your events and activities.
Does your church already have a web page? It is still important to update your "Find A Church" page. When people find your church through umc.org or riotexas.org, their first stop will be your "Find A Church" page. Make sure it is up to date and has the correct link to your website.
Need help? Watch this short video on updating
It is with a great deal of sadness I write to inform you that after a four-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease, on October 4, 2015, Mary Lavelle Owen, wife of the late Bishop Ray Owen who served the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande Conferences from 1992-2000, passed away peacefully at home into the glorious presence of God. At her request and instruction, a private family service is scheduled for Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
Please keep the family in your prayers.
In lieu of flowers, I have been informed that memorials could be made to:
Hospice of Green County
11205 S. Boston Avenue, Suite 200
Tulsa, OK 74119
918-747-2273
Bishop James Dorff
San Antonio Area
The United Methodist Church
The Rio Texas Conference's Office of Leadership Vitality's Clergy Wellness Program is excited to offer a workshop by Reah Ministry. The workshop, Take A Day Apart, will focus on spiritual formation.
The three-part workshop will be held at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio on October 22, 2015; January 28, 2016; and April 28, 2016, respectively.
Please Click Here to download the flyer above.
To register, please click here. Ticket sales for Physical Well-Being will end on Oct. 14.
The Rio Texas Conference's Office of Leadership Vitality's Clergy Wellness Program is excited to offer a workshop by Reah Ministry. The workshop, Take A Day Apart, will focus on spiritual formation.
The three-part workshop will be held at the Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio on October 22, 2015; January 28, 2016; and April 28, 2016, respectively.
Please Click Here to download the flyer above.
To register, please click here. Ticket sales for Physical Well-Being will end on Oct. 14.
See also: Rev. Dr. Ruben Saenz, Jr. endoso para el episcopado at http://hispanic.umc.org/news/preview/rev.-dr.-ruben-saenz-jr.-endoso-para-el-episcopado.
Rev. Dr. Ruben Saenz, Jr. was endorsed this week by the Rio Texas Conference delegation to the General and Jurisdictional conferences as an episcopal candidate. Saenz is a well-known missional church leader that has specialized in church development, especially in populations with a Hispanic majority.
“We joyfully lift up Ruben for consideration by the jurisdiction. Ruben is well-known across the denomination as a bridge-building church leader, speaker and preacher,” said a statement released by the delegation.
The delegation took three-to-four months of discernment and prayer to make the endorsement. The decision was completed on Sept. 17.
"Each delegate involved in the discernment process brings their own perspective and experience of these gifts to the discussion; together we discerned that Ruben has the ability for entrepreneurial, transformational leadership with a sense of compassion, joy, and purpose," said General Jurisdictional Conference Delegation Leader Teresa Keese. "He is a visionary who is steady, thoughtful, self-confident yet humble, and passionate about the church becoming spiritually relevant."
Saenz began his call to ministry in 1993 after successful tenures in the education and small-business sectors in Rio Grande City, Texas. He graduated in 1997 with a Master of Divinity degree from SMU Perkins School of Theology and was awarded the Perkins Faculty Award for the student who best exemplified the goals and mission of Perkins. He would later receive his Doctor of Ministry Degree from Perkins in 2009.
Saenz served as Student-Intern Pastor at Oak Cliff UMC in Dallas from 1995-97. He served his first appointments within the Rio Grande Conference at La Trinidad UMC and El Divino Redentor UMC in El Paso from 1997-2000, where he increased worship attendance by 200 percent over four years. He served as Senior Pastor for El Buen Pastor UMC in Edinburg from 2001-2011. When Saenz left in 2011, the church became known as the largest Hispanic-American United Methodist Church in the country with over 900 members. Worship attendance grew by 150 percent over ten years. Giving increased over 300 percent during both of those appointments. Saenz focused his ministry toward facing the issues of generational, social and systemic poverty in those regions.
One of Saenz’s most gratifying accomplishments was the initiative called the “Levantate – Get Up” computer literacy program. The program offered technology courses and resources to single mothers in El Paso who lost their jobs due to factory shutdowns in the United States and relocation to Juarez, Mexico. He helped launch a faith community through trained lay leadership in impoverished colonias. The colonia ministry provided pastoral oversight, worship, faith formation and discipleship, musical instruments and instructions to underprivileged children; as well as free courses on budgeting and family life.
Saenz lent leadership to the six-year Rio Texas Conference unification process from beginning to end. As Executive Director of the Mission Vitality Center, he continues the unification work by overseeing the strategic direction and outcome delivery of the conference’s missional objectives for congregational vitality, starting of new faith communities, clergy and lay leadership vitality, uniting peoples, and transforming communities.
In 2010, Saenz was appointed to serve as the Southwest Texas Director of Congregational and New Church Development. He helped start 11 new faith communities for the Conference. He held that appointment until 2014. He was named Director of Conference Connectional Ministries and Executive Director of the Mission Vitality Center in January 2015.
Saenz looks forward to working with an annual conference to creatively and effectively address critical issues and opportunities for the United Methodist Church.
“There are several critical opportunities facing the United Methodist Church,” said Saenz. “The first opportunity I consider to be critical is the UMC’s ability to reach and disciple new people, younger people, and more diverse people. Related to this opportunity is how the UMC will engage and embrace the country’s multi-ethnic and multi-cultural reality. A necessary component of the church’s future vitality depends on the resolution of this pressing reality and opportunity.”
San Antonio Episcopal Area Bishop James E. Dorff, who will retire at the end of August 2016, is pleased with the endorsement of Saenz.
“Dr. Saenz brings a deep commitment to Christ and the church,” said Bishop Dorff. “He also has a proven track record of fruitful ministry in the local church, the annual conference and the general church. He has and will continue to actively look for ways to reach new people in new places for the spreading of Good News.”
If elected, Saenz would serve one of the Episcopal areas within the South Central Jurisdictional Conference of the United Methodist Church. The jurisdiction includes the states of Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The Rio Texas Conference will be expecting to receive a new bishop September 1, 2016. Bishops usually serve in one area up to two terms of four years each. The jurisdictional conference can grant a third term. Bishops are elected for life and serve in their assignment until retirement.
We are excited to announce that the newly formed Rio Texas Conference delegation has wholeheartedly endorsed the Rev. Dr. Ruben Saenz, Jr. for the episcopacy. We completed a three-step process filled with much prayer and discernment of God’s will to ensure we were bringing forward an excellent candidate for consideration by the jurisdiction.
Read MoreTo learn more about the Leadership Vitality office, please click here.
You can reach Rev. Dr. Marcus Freeman, Director of Leadership Vitality, at mfreeman@riotexas.org
Check out Leadership Vitality's E-Source center here!
The Rio Texas Conference has begun its case managing project thanks to UMCOR’s $100,000 grant. A supervisor and two part-time case managers will be working out of Martindale United Methodist Church to help with the projects.
The Disaster Response Case Managers’ purpose is to organize and help relief efforts for the Blanco River Regional Recovery Team and in surrounding areas affected by the Memorial Day 2015 floods. The team has twelve months to finish as many cases as possible. Cases include destroyed property and community support.
The grant will be supplemented by $27,000 from gifts made to the Rio Texas Conference Disaster Response fund.
UMCOR will be hosting a Case Management Training on Tuesday, September 15-16 in San Marcos. Rio Texas is asking for volunteers to help with the case managing efforts. Click Here to register for UMCOR Case Management training.
The conference is need of volunteer case managers. They will need to attend the UMCOR Case Management Training on September 15-16. There are also volunteers needed for data entry and office assistance. Please contact Thomas Monahan for more information by e-mailing him.
As the work of long-term recovery continues, The Rio Texas Disaster Response Team needs your help as part of the long-term recovery effort. Click Here to register.
Respond to the next natural disaster at ERT Training. Click Here to register.
On June 24, 1980 the very first Methodist Festival Choir convened on the campus of Shenandoah College & Conservatory of Music in Winchester, VA to prepare for their European Concert Tour. This choir was made up of approximately 150 young teens to college age youth from all across the United States. Under the leadership of Dr. Carlton Young Professor Emeritus of Church Music at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, the group was quickly molded into an outstanding choral organization.
The Methodist Festival Choir visited historical sites, missions, and parish churches rich in Wesleyan history and Methodist heritage. Their itinerary took them to Salisbury, Bristol, Leicester, Oxford, and London, England; Paris, France; Zurich, Switzerland; Salsburg, Austria; and Munich, Germany.
They brought their message through music to some of the most notable Cathedrals as well as to some of the most appreciative church's in Europe.
This year, 2015 marks 35 years since that very first tour. Through the power of social media and the Internet,that very first choir is reconnecting and renewing friendships. We have a Facebook group page where daily the "kids" from the past are returning. Our goal is to reconnect and sing one more time together as a choir and if possible have Dr. Carlton Young (the editor of our UM Hymnal) conduct us or at least be our special guest.
Facebook group may be found here.
Mr. Robert Palmer of Del Rio is trying to organize the reunion. You can contact him here.
This May, parts of our annual conference experienced severe storms and historic flooding. While many rushed to provide immediate help and relief, the process of rebuilding can take months and years.
The Rio Texas Disaster Response Team was on the scene as soon as the waters began to recede and will continue to provide support and assistance through the long-term recovery effort.
Due to the scale of the disaster in our area, The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has awarded a grant of $100,000 to assist the conference in our efforts. With the funding from this grant, the conference will be hiring one full-time Case Management Supervisor and two part-time Case Managers to facilitate connecting families in need with resources to help them rebuild. These case managers will receive training and support from UMCOR.
While the process of hiring the full-time position is nearly complete, there are still two openings for part-time Case Managers. Click here to learn more and apply. There is also a need for a number of volunteer case managers. If you are interested, click here to learn more. [Still working on this page.]
As the work of long-term recovery continues, The Rio Texas Disaster Response Team needs your help. There are projects already underway and Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Teams are needed right away. To learn more, visit our long-term recovery page at riotexas.org/long-term-recovery.
The Rio Texas Conference Clergy Wellness Program is now being planned for 2016. The 2016 Clergy Wellness Program will offer a wholistic approach to wellness that will offer self-care options for the spirit, mind and body of the clergy person.
Read MoreThe Interfaith Welcome Coalition is asking for volunteers to work at La Casa, where immigrant families facing deportation are being housed.
Read MoreJudicial Council Ruling
Response to Decision 1271
July 1, 2015
RULING
In my original Decision of Law on March 4, 2014, I stated, "It is my ruling that the organizational plan presented to and adopted as amended by the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande Annual Conferences is both Constitutional and in keeping with the 2012 Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church. Further, it is my ruling that it is specifically in keeping with Paragraphs 604, 610, 611, 635, 636, 637, 639, 640, 647, and 648."
It was further stated in the ruling, "It should be noted that no action was taken by the conferences regarding the adoption of Standing Rules for the purpose of implementing the Plan. Further, no budget was presented or approved for the purpose of funding the adopted Plan."
After the establishment of the Río Texas Annual Conference on January 1, 2015, the adoption of Standing Rules, a budget, and election of leadership at the Annual Conference Sessions in June of 2014 and 2015 and in review of questions raised by the Judicial Council in Decision 1271, I do hereby affirm my Decision of Law that the revised plan of organization as expressed by the actions of the 2015 Annual Conference Session of the Río Texas Annual Conference is in keeping with the Constitution and the Book of Discipline 2012. It is also my opinion that careful attention has been paid to the issue of representation and inclusiveness in the process of electing people to serve in the new structure.
BACKGROUND
In keeping with the timeline established by the Plan adopted at the sessions of both conferences February 8, 2014, the Río Texas Annual Conference was established January 1, 2015. The establishment of the new annual conference was approved by the Judicial Council in Decision 1271.
At the conclusion of the February 8, 2014 Southwest Texas Called Session of the Annual Conference, I was requested to offer a Decision of Law (copy attached). The request was in order. I submitted my ruling to the Judicial Council for review on March 4, 2014 (complete ruling attached).
The Judicial Council offered its Decision 1271 October 25, 2014. It stated in part, "The Rio Texas Annual Conference is permitted to use the Unification Plan as a provisional structure while they care for the matters that have been identified....The Judicial Council defers any further ruling on the Bishop's Decision of Law pending the outcome of Judicial Council review of the requested report and the Bishop's further ruling of law on the original questions asked during the February 8, 2014 sessions of the two annual conferences."
At the sessions of the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande Annual Conferences in June 2014, Standing Rules were adopted, a budget for 2015 approved and leaders elected for service beginning January 1, 2015 for the Río Texas Annual Conference. In light of further refinement of the organizational plan and the issues raised by Decision 1271, from June 12-14, 2015, the first session of the Rio Texas Annual Conference included the approval of a more detailed budget, revised Standing Rules and some further election of leadership.
The actions taken are attached, including the list of leaders elected in June 2014 since the majority of persons were elected at that annual conference session.
RATIONALE
The Plan of Organization approved by both annual conferences February 8, 2014 was intended to serve as a "road map" for the new Río Texas Annual Conference. It was to give both annual conferences the conceptual framework for the life, mission and ministry of the unified annual conference. As such, the Plan was received and almost unanimously approved by both annual conferences for implementation beginning January 1, 2015.
Great care was taken to begin the implementation process at the June 2014 sessions of both annual conferences. A common budget was approved, leaders elected and Standing Rules adopted by both conferences. The new Río Texas Annual Conference could now proceed effective January 1, 2015.
In October, 2014 the Judicial Council in Decision 1271 raised questions of concern and clarification regarding the Plan, while giving provisional approval to move forward. These matters were taken quite seriously by all affected conference agencies. A review of the Plan and subsequent review of the Standing Rules was initiated. In addition, the newly-created Finance Table reviewed the budget to be presented to the 2015 conference session in order to make certain appropriate agencies had funding for 2016. The Nominations Committee reviewed the make-up of the leadership elected in 2014 to make certain appropriate diversity was reflected.
Attached as Report I, Chairperson's Report from the Standing Rules Committee, you can see the nature of changes offered by the Committee in response to Decision 1271. Attached Report II was presented by the Standing Rules Committee for adoption by the Annual Conference session June 12, 2015. It was adopted (minutes attached).
Included in Report II are the Standing Rules adopted in June of 2014. Changes in June 2015 reflect the attempt by the Committee to provide specificity and correction regarding issues raised in Decision 1271 which had not been addressed in the previously-adopted Standing Rules.
In addition to the matters addressed in Report I, the role of the Partnering Elder is addressed in Rule 15.b. The Board of Laity is addressed in Rule 4.c. The Boards and Commissions are found in 2.a-e, 3.a-j, 4.a-c, 5.a-e, 6.a-i, and 7. The Role of the Vision Teams is addressed in general in Rule 1, and more specifically in Rules 2-5. The Role of the Mission Field Advocate is defined in Rule 1.a. The relationship of the Centers to the Vision Teams and the Uniting Table is found in Rules 15-16.
A statement from the Executive Director of the Mission Vitality Center is attached. This statement provides further clarification of the roles of persons elected to the boards and agencies, age-level ministries, and the Vision Teams.
It is my view that the issues raised by the Judicial Council in Decision 1271 have been cared for in a manner which is consistent with the Book of Discipline 2012. The Río Texas Annual Conference is appreciative of the concerns raised in the Decision and has been strengthened through the process of response.
Bishop James E. Dorff
San Antonio Episcopal Area
Editor's Note: A previous version of this article said this was a "free" beta test. This was a mistake. Rio Texas apologizes for any confusion.
Disciple Fast Track is looking for 10 churches from each Annual Conference to join us in our second round of beta testing to make sure the new Fast Track study is of the highest quality. For nearly thirty years, the original Disciple Bible Study has helped millions of people read through the Bible and grow their faith through a 34-week class. The new Fast Track study leads groups through the Bible in a shortened, 24-week format while maintaining the integrity and principles of the original study. New, easy-to-use print and video materials and an online community give participants the tools to absorb and retain what they learn in this shortened format. Churches that participate in this beta 2 testing phase will receive the final, official-release materials at no cost.
Main features of Disciple Fast Track:
* Classes meet for a total of 24 weeks
* Each group session lasts 75 minutes
* Designed for Small Groups and Large Groups
* A new, user-friendly Leader Guide
* 24 new weekly Illustrated Review Videos
* 24 new Introductory Videos
* Illustrated Review Flash Cards
* Leader Online Training and Online Community
Learn more and sign-up: http://www.disciplefasttrack.com.
Dr. Ernestine Gray Clark Dixon has joined the Church Triumphant. She was the wife of late Bishop Ernest T. Dixon. Dr. Dixon lived in California at the time of her passing.
Funeral services will be on Tuesday, July 7, 2015, at 11:00 am at St. Andrew’s UMC, 522 Missouri Ave, Ft. Worth TX 76104, 817-336-2117.
On Sunday, June 21, 2015, Pharr UMC held a service of discontinuance of the congregation and deconsecration of the church property. It was a brief but emotional service, after 103 years of active ministry. What is important, however, is the way the faithful people of Pharr UMC came to their decision, and the legacy they are sharing with the church at large.
Pharr UMC was long a church that took seriously the needs of its neighbors. In 1973, they gave birth to what would become the Food Bank of the Rio Grande Valley, where 1 of every 2 children lives at or below the poverty line. The church served as home to the Pharr Literacy Project and launched the Pharr Community Outreach Project as a Shalom Zone of the General Board of Global Ministries. English as a Second Language and Citizen Preparation classes were standard fare, and the church was home to sewing classes, computer classes, a thrift shop, a home repair program, Justice For Our Neighbors immigration legal aid, a food pantry that recently engaged as many as 70 people in worship, and Sunday worship that was intentionally bilingual, with translation equipment and bulletins prepared in both languages. Members included Anglos who had belonged since the 1940s, Valley native Latinos, and newer immigrant families.
The liabilities of the church were two main things--the building and the lack of a stable financial base. In 2013, the church agreed to conduct a self-assessment and shared the results with me. They found that everything the church was receiving in offerings each month went to insure, light, cool, heat, and constantly repair the aging structure. What little salary the church could afford to pay its pastor and devoted secretary and to use for non-building expenses came from special donations and the proceeds of various fundraisers during the year. After much conversation, deliberation, and prayer, the congregation came to the decision this spring that the faithful path would be to end the life of Pharr UMC, in order to allow its ministries to continue.
In the aftermath of that decision, Pharr UMC has been the giver of great gifts for ministry. Weslaco First UMC has received a freezer for their food pantry, as well as the Bernina sewing machines, with plans of starting sewing classes there. They also hope to house the home repair program. Manos Juntas, in Rio Bravo, Mexico, has received a sound system, computers and a printer, tables and chairs and a set of handmade chancel furnishings. Computers and children's books will be held in reserve by El Mesías UMC for a hoped-for chapter of Project Transformation. Altar candles, acolyte robes and hymnals went to Los Wesleyanos UMC in San Juan, Mission First UMC received Godly Play materials, and St. George Orthodox Church received tables. Pharr La Trinidad UMC has warmly received the transfer of many Pharr UMC members and is hosting the food pantry, as they discern ways to make it even more fruitful. Many kitchen items and the main chancel furniture have also found their home at La Trinidad. It is a complex process to find a new church home, especially after the loss of one so dear. But these faithful United Methodists are praying and working to find the path toward a new future, for the sake of the community Christ has called them to reach.
The order for disbanding a congregation ends with the following declaration:
This congregation...was God's gift for a season.
We are thankful for the many ways it has served the mission given to it by Jesus Christ.
It has accomplished its purpose.
We declare that it is no longer a United Methodist congregation and is now disbanded.
But Christ's holy Church is of God,
and will be preserved to the end of time...
We remain part of Christ's ongoing Church,
and as we scatter into other congregations
we shall be one with Christ, one with each other,
and one in ministry to all the world,
until Christ comes in final victory and we feast at his heavenly banquet.
May it be so.
This article was written by El Valle District Superintendent Laura Merrill.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
The just-issued ruling by the Supreme Court of the United States has settled the issue of whether or not same-gender weddings can be barred by actions of the states. The Court has ruled they can not. Therefore, same-gender couples may legally marry in the state of Texas in the very near future. There are currently 21 other countries and 37 states which permit such marriages. This issue is not new. It has been under discussion across our country and across the church for many years. The action of the Supreme Court, however, is definitive. From the perspective of the government, the issue has been settled.
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, June 25, 2015
[Click Here for a PDF version of this News Release]
Rio Texas Conference to Commemorate Valley Farm Workers’ Union 1966 March in Kenedy, TX this Saturday
SAN ANTONIO (Thursday, June 25) –The Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the 1966 Valley Farm Workers’ Union 400-mile march to the State Capitol this Saturday. They will also be celebrating the induction of a Texas Historical Marker at El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church, Kenedy, TX for its involvement in the march.
The 400-mile march stopped at El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church in August 1966. They were invited by Rev. Isabel Gómez, (pastor of El Buen Samaritano) and Rev. Roy Fisher (pastor of First United Methodist Church, Kenedy), for a brief service of scripture and worship. It was the only protestant church that welcomed the marchers. After stopping at Kenedy, they also stopped at the Alamo in San Antonio and met Cesar Chavez at the Capitol in September 1966.
“We are going to memorialize the people that died for that march,” said Retired Bishop Joel Martinez. “They put hard work into raising that cause for higher wages and better working conditions. We must not forget them.”
The celebration this Saturday will include a service of remembrance and thanksgiving. Speakers include Rev. Isabel Gómez, Doris Hudspeth Miller (widow of Rev. Roy Fisher), Retired Bishop Joel Martinez (former Bishop of the San Antonio Episcopal Area from 2000 - 2008) and Bishop James E. Dorff (San Antonio Episcopal Area Bishop). A fellowship luncheon will follow the worship service.
This open event will take place at El Buen Samaritano United Methodist Church in Kenedy, TX (249 Booe St., 78119) this Saturday, June 27 starting at 11 a.m. Multimedia professionals are welcome.
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ABOUT:
The Rio Texas Annual Conference aims to reach out to people of South and Central Texas. Some of our churches are located in some of the fastest-growing areas of the country. Others are located in areas where people are struggling with issues of poverty, lack of affordable housing, and a loss of hope. We are committed to providing vital missions, vital congregations, and strong leaders to connect our churches to the people. Our churches are in large cities and small towns from Austin to McAllen, from San Angelo to Victoria in vibrant cities, historic small towns and struggling communities. Our churches and congregations meet annually during the month of June to conduct the business of the conference and gather for worship in Corpus Christi at the American Bank Center. Our Bishop is Bishop James E. Dorff, who has presided as Bishop of the former Southwest Conference and the Rio Grande Conference (now Rio Texas) since 2008. For more information about the conference or our bishop, please visit http://riotexas.org and follow us on Twitter @RioTxAC.
CONTACT:
Rev. Will Rice
210-408-4500 Ext. 505
wrice@riotexas.org
16400 Huebner Road
San Antonio, Texas 78248
Rev. Nohemi Ramirez receives the Doctorate Honoris Causa from the International University of Human Development and Leadership in Mexico City.
