Once again, the state of Louisiana is recovering from historic flooding. Rescue efforts are still underway as recovery efforts are just beginning. As United Methodist from around the country have reached out during our time of need in Rio Texas, we have the opportunity to offer aid in the midst of natural disaster. Here is how you can help.
Read MoreLast evening, United Methodists and friends from across the Rio Texas Annual Conference gathered at Bulverde United Methodist Church to send off newly elected Bishop Ruben Saenz. If you couldn't be there, here are some photos from the event. You can also watch video of the event on our Facebook Page.
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United Methodist Communications wants to make branding easier for churches in our annual conference. For any church that adopts the denominational branding standards, United Methodist Communications will develop a free suite of logos for use in print and online — at no charge. There is no expiration date to this offer. The goal is to strengthen The United Methodist Church's identity through consistent design that gives top billing to local churches while paying respect to our global connection.
In the spring of 1966, farm workers in the melon fields of Starr County walked out to protest wages of 40 cents an hour and inhumane working conditions in the fields, including lack of sanitary facilities. Over four hundred workers organized a local labor unit related to the United Farm Workers of America.
On July 4, 1966 they begin a March to Austin to demand a minimum wage of 1.25 an hour for farm laborers in the state of Texas. With the support of churches, religious leaders, labor leaders and students, they arrived in Austin on Labor Day, September 5, 1966 at the State Capitol. Nearly two years later, their efforts bore success when the State of Texas passed a minimum wage law covering agricultural workers.
This year, events in Rio Grande City in Starr County, Edinburg, Corpus Christi, San Antonio and Austin are celebrating their courageous march for justice. We join with many other religious, civic, and community leaders in endorsing the 50th Anniversary celebrations. The people who marched were persons motivated by their faith, their desire for a new future for their children and grandchildren, and their embrace of the prophet Micah's call to "act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:6-8).
We affirm and celebrate the efforts of our local churches, pastors, and laity, who are joining in the celebrations and acts of remembrance as all of us continue to work for a more just and equitable future for all.
The Episcopal Leadership Team of the Rio Texas Conference
Bishop Janice R. Huie
Bishop J. Michael Lowry
Bishop Joel N. Martínez
Bishop Robert Schnase
bishop joel n. martínez talks to Rev. Arturo Mariscal, Mary Howard and Rev. Suzanne Isaacs about the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the 1966 Texas United Farm Workers March on Labor Day. The planning meeting was held on Thursday, July 28 at St. Paul UMC
As a child, I picked cotton with my paternal Grandfather, Refugio Martinez, in Seguin. As teenager, I chopped cotton in West Texas one summer. As a college student, I worked with the National Council of Churches in Migrant Ministry in Minnesota and Wisconsin in the summer of 1958. Raquel and I later worked in Migrant Ministry in Indiana the summer of 1961.
So when I was invited to join the efforts of south Texas farm workers in their march for just wages and improved working conditions during my first pastorate in San Antonio in the summer of 1966, my faith, my life experience, and my heritage led me into a ministry of accompaniment of the poorest of workers in our state. As pastor of El Buen Pastor UMC in San Antonio, I helped organize the gathering of food, clothing, and funds for the families of the marchers. I marched in Kenedy, San Antonio, and Austin on that sunny Labor Day of September 1966 with 15,000 others up Congress Avenue to Capitol.
What I remember about the workers I met was their faith and hope in the future. Many were grandmothers and grandfathers who wanted a new future for their grandchildren and their future great-grandchildren. It reminded me about those summer days with grandfather Refugio and how he wanted me to succeed in school and how proud and hopeful he was about my future.
I marched in 1966 in honor and remembrance of generations of my family, in faithfulness to the Gospel, and solidarity with humble workers whose faith and hope helped to change me and my generation.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez
To march with your United Methodist brothers and sisters during the San Antonio Labor Day Celebration, please click the link below. The San Antonio Celebration starts with an interfaith mass at 10:00 a.m. at San Fernando Cathedral in downtown San Antonio, Texas and ends at Milam Park at 1 p.m.
CLICK HERE TO RSVP FOR THE SEPT. 5 MARCH IN DOWNTOWN SAN ANTONIO
The Council of Bishops Office of Christian Unity is offering three $1000 to groups that "strengthen ecumenical and/or interreligious relationships."
Application deadline is Sept. 16.
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie, Interim Bishop of Record for the Rio Texas Conference, welcomes Bishop Robert Schnase back to the Rio Texas Conference. Bishop Robert Schnase will begin his term as Bishop for the Rio Texas Conference on September 1.
Interim Bishop of Record, Janice Riggle Huie, has announced the appointment of Rev. Dr. Robert Lopez as District Superintendent of El Valle District effective Sept. 1. Robert is currently the superintendent of the Crossroads District and will continue to serve in that capacity during the transition. Incoming Bishop Robert Schnase will name a new superintendent of the Crossroads District at a later date.
Rev. Lopez has a deep love for the Rio Grande Valley, where he grew up and where his family members still live. He is bilingual as well as bicultural. Preaching, organization, and leadership are Robert’s gifts. These graces and tools are essential in helping churches reach the rapidly changing mission field of the Rio Grande Valley.
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After two successful inaugural summers in the Rio Texas Conference, Executive Director of Project Transformation Rio Texas Nathaniel O’Dell is returning to Dallas as the Director of Development for Wesley-Rankin Community Center, a Methodist mission providing educational programming and resources to the people of West Dallas.
O’Dell led the birth and advancement of the summer literacy program from 2015-16.
“It has been such a privilege to help launch Project Transformation for the Rio Texas Conference. Through the dedication and support of hundreds of individuals, the ministry is already changing lives,” said O’Dell. “I am excited to say that over my time with the organization, structures have been put in place to ensure that the ministry will continue to thrive and grow. I look forward to seeing all the wonderful things it will do in the future."
Project Transformation Rio Texas has held two summers transforming lives by building relationships in the Rio Texas Conference thanks to the leadership of O’Dell.
Project Transformation Rio Texas accomplished these milestones for Summer 2016:
Kercida McClain, Chair of the Advisory Board for Project Transformation Rio Texas, ensures a smooth transition and the formation of a search committee for the vacancy.
“As with all ministries, a part of our prayer was for the innovative leadership Project Transformation demands. Nathaniel O’Dell has been that kind of leader,” said McClain. “His willingness to pick up his family and move to San Antonio to help begin this ministry has been instrumental in the setting of the firm foundation we now have.”
May God bless Nathaniel and his family during this time of transition and for their fruitful ministries to the United Methodist Church.
Read more about Project Transformation here
Click Here to watch a video about Project Transformation Rio Texas!
Mt. Wesley is a sacred space for many members of the Rio Texas Annual Conference. Countless United Methodists have committed their lives to Christ on its rocky grounds. Many of our pastors first heard their call to ministry under the shade of the live oaks. Children, young adults, men and women have felt their heart changed within the walls of the historic chapel.
As the colors of the landscape of Mt. Wesley change with the seasons, so does the life of our beloved retreat center. It is in such a season of change that we say goodbye to a fixture of Mt. Wesley as recognizable as the Bolivian Cross.
Read MoreJuly 25, 2016
Nashville, Tenn.: Meeting in Chicago last week, the Council of Bishops' Executive Committee approved a framework for implementing the Commission on a Way Forward and took a step toward a called session of the General Conference in 2018.
The Council acknowledged that the landscape of the church has changed dramatically since the General Conference approved the Council's proposal in May, but re-affirmed their commitment to lead the church forward.
"The reported declarations of non-compliance from several annual conferences, the intention to convene a Wesleyan Covenant Association and the election of the Rev. Karen Oliveto as a bishop of the church have opened deep wounds and fissures within The United Methodist Church and fanned fears of schism," said Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Council president, in a detailed statement outlining the actions taken. "The church finds itself in an extremely fragile, highly contested season."
The statement further reads, "We affirm that, as disciples of Jesus, we are all called to maintain unity in the bond of peace. As a Council, we re-affirm our commitment to lead the church in discerning and charting a way forward. We intend to do so with prayerful attention to both urgency and thoughtful preparation."
The Council adopted a purpose statement for the Commission, including its mission, vision and scope, and determined that it will be composed of 20-25 members to be identified by August 31 with a target of October for an initial meeting. Each bishop will nominate up to five persons, and names that have previously been submitted to either the president or executive secretary of the Council will be considered as well.
A search is already underway for a professional facilitator to design and guide the Commission’s discernment process. Bishops Ken Carter, Sandra Steiner Ball and David Yemba have been selected to serve as a team of moderators to preside, provide spiritual guidance and pastoral care. Updates on the Commission's actions will be provided through regular press releases every 4-6 weeks.
An invitation to prayer for the Commission involving the entire church, called "Praying Our Way Forward," will be launched in October. More details regarding that initiative will be forthcoming.
The Executive Committee will bring the matter of a called special session to the full Council for consideration in November. Only the full Council could authorize such a session.
In a related action, the Council further voted to urge the Judicial Council to include the South Central Jurisdictional Conference's request regarding the election of Bishop Karen Oliveto on the docket for their fall meeting on October 25-28.
For additional, more detailed information, read the full statement.
Thanks to your generosity, over $821,000 has already been given to support flood relief across the Rio Texas Conference—and the work continues.
In this video, Bishop Harvey celebrates the overwhelming response so far and reminds us that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint
In this video message, Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey offers words of comfort, gratitude, and hope following the devastating floods that have impacted communities across the Rio Texas Conference.
The Rio Texas Conference is excited to welcome Lamar Davis as our new Disaster Recovery Coordinator. Lamar brings a wealth of experience in crisis management and a deep sense of calling to serve. He will guide our Conference through the long-term work of recovery and resilience following recent floods.
With 150 years of history, Memorial UMC joins Restore Austin to celebrate a new chapter of ministry, mission, and witness in the heart of Austin.
Restore Austin—a vibrant, inclusive church community—will soon join The United Methodist Church and merge with Memorial UMC to form a new congregation in Northeast Austin. This Spirit-led partnership marks a fresh chapter of shared mission, expanded ministry, and hope for the future.
