Las Misiones Pastors Explore Cultures at Encuentro in Monterrey

A small group of Las Misiones District preachers traveled to Monterrey to take part in a national gathering of Methodist pastors to commemorate the 500th anniversary of the protestant reformation. Seven annual conferences were represented at Encuetro: Nacional de Pastores held at the Iglesia Metodista la Trinidad.

La Trinidad UMC, San Antonio Pastor John Feagins; Westlawn UMC, San Antonio Pastor Lilliana Padilla; Emanuel UMC, San Antonio Pastor Jose Mercado; La Trinidad UMC, Laredo Pastor Cesar Duran; and Coker UMC, San Antonio Pastor David Blanco attended the gathering.

They heard several lectures from premier scholar Justo Gonzalez. He preached about Martin Luther’s hammer and nailing of the Ninety-five Thesus and its connection to the hammer and nails that went through Jesus’ wrist.

They also compared the differences between American and Mexican United Methodist cultures. “We saw another side of the picture between both cultures in the U.S. and Mexico,” said Emanuel UMC’s Pastor Jose Mercado. “It helped me understand the more about the culture as a Puerto Rican pastor.”

“It reminded us of the power of the connectional system and the connectional church we are a part of,” said Coker UMC’s Pastor David Blanco. “Overall, it was an amazing, fantastic experience.”

Rio Texas Leaders Gather at Leadership Institute

128 people from the Rio Texas Conference gathered at the 2017 Leadership Institute at The Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas.  Clergy and lay people alike gathered to learn more about how to revitalize their community and lead in their current context. Robert Schnase, Bishop of the Rio Texas Annual Conference and Rio Texas’ own Ruben Saenz, Jr., Bishop of the Great Plains Annual Conference were at the opening session to welcome and encourage the group. 

Attendees took home new knowledge and information to put into action to make their congregations more fruitful in the future. Mark your calendars for next year's Leadership Institute September 26-28, 2018.
 

We Are More Receives Emmy

The red carpet, the cameras, the celebrities! Most are familiar with the glamorous presentations of the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Daytime Emmy Awards. However, there are a number of different Emmy Categories whose awards are presented throughout the country at different times of the year.

At the Mid-America Emmy® Awards Gala on September 9 in St. Louis, the award for Short form Program went to "We Are More - Beyond The Walls" featuring Rev. Robert Johnson. The short film is a part of the United Methodist We Are More campaign. The campaign was developed under the leadership of Robert Schnase, Bishop of the Rio Texas Annual Conference, during his time as Bishop of the Missouri Annual Conference. Kim Jenne, Schnase's Director of Connectional Ministries in Missouri, led a team of communicators from across the South Central Jurisdiction and worked with Antidote Studio to produce the videos. These stories of ministry were shared on the web, social media, and at churches and conferences around the country.

All of the We Are More Videos can be viewed online at wearemore.faith.
 

Encuentro Brings UMC Leaders Together to Support Rio Grande Valley

50 UMC leaders from across the South Central Jurisdiction were in the Rio Grande Valley at Encuentro on Oct. 13 to learn about Hispanic culture and issues facing this rapidly growing demographic.

This group of folks included most of the bishops of the South Central Jurisdiction. They came with a wonderful spirit of openness to new possibilities regarding Hispanic ministries and a desire to see with new eyes.

They listened and learned from social scientists, medical professionals, local clergy, advocacy groups, and community center leaders. They visited different locations along the border, including a special worship service and meal at Los Naranjos colonia.

We celebrate this wonderful Encuentro experience and it gives us hope!

Creo que los posibilidades son grandes porque fue un Encuentro de esperanza! 

A follow-up Encuentro meeting will be scheduled for Spring 2018. 

Written by Robert Lopez, District Superintendent for the Coastal Bend and El Valle District. 

Rio Texas Young Adult Ministry Council Applications Available Now

This team will consist of young adults, ages 18-30, from across the Rio Texas Conference (¶ 256.3, United Methodist Book of Discipline). 

Together members of this council will work to create a Young Adult Ministry Council (YAMC) for the Rio Texas Conference. 

The purpose of a YAMC is "to strengthen the young adult ministry in the local churches and districts of the annual conference." (Book of Discipline, Paragraph 650.1) 

Interested young adults must have completed high school and be an active member in their local United Methodist Church. 

Feeling called to join this team? Apply now!

or

request a paper application form: 

Rev. Dr. Tanya Campen
16400 Huebner Rd
San Antonio, TX 78248  
tcampen@riotexas.org

Questions? Contact Tanya at the Conference office, tcampen@riotexas.org.

Rio Texas Launches New Online Tool for Keeping All Persons safe in our Congregations

En Español

We are excited to announce a new partnership with Safe Gatherings- an online tool for implementing a safety policy in your congregation. This online administration system provides an easy way for churches to screen, train, and track your staff and volunteers.

As children prepare to head back to school and churches plan to start another year of exciting ministries and faith formation opportunities, the screening and training of staff and volunteers should be forefront on every ministry leader’s to-do list. Safe Gatherings and the Rio Texas Conference are ready to assist you in this hard and holy work. 

Safe Gatherings provides screening (references and background checks) and training for the Rio Texas Trusted con Confianza certification process. Staff at Safe Gatherings and the Rio Texas Conference will work with you to make sure all of your staff and volunteers are approved for working with children, youth, and vulnerable adults. This is the first step in implementing the new Rio Texas Annual Conference Safety Policy.

For churches looking for an easy way to ensure your staff and volunteers are screened and trained, please visit riotexas.org/safesteps to set-up your church account and assist your staff and volunteers in their application and training process.  Once your church account set-up is complete, individual staff and volunteers will register online, complete an application, and view online training.

The church’s portion of the the background check fee is $10 per applicant. If you are screening someone who will be driving children, youth, or vulnerable adults, you will want to include a driving record check. The cost is an additional $10.50. Churches can choose to pay this fee for their staff and volunteers, or you can invite the individual applicant to pay the cost for both background check and driving record check. The Rio Texas Conference will cover the rest of the cost. Once Safe Gatherings receives the completed application, they go to work–checking the references and requesting a background check. Safe Gatherings will communicate with the applicant and the church regarding approval and process updates. Once individuals have reviewed the Safe Gathering online training, they are invited to attend a Rio Texas Trusted con Confianza interactive training. These will be offered online and in-person. Training dates and times can be found at: riotexas.org/safetrainings.

You are invited to begin using this tool immediately. Over the next 10 months we will work with interested churches to set-up and manage their accounts as they learn to use this new system. Following Annual Conference in June 2018 all churches will need to be entered into the system. Good news is you have time and can utilize this system as soon as you are ready.

There are videos and tutorials to assist you in this process riotexas.org/safesteps. Additional resources can be found at riotexas.org/safe. You can also contact Safe Gatherings ( 888.241.8258) or Tanya Campen (tcampen@riotexas.org) at the conference office for help.

Do you need resources in Spanish? Please complete this quick survey to let us know.
¿Necesita recursos en español? Por favor complete esta rápida encuesta para hacernos saber.