News Briefs
San Antonio church plans Family Fall Festival Sunday
Author to tell how religions of world can become evil
Austin meeting to examine hope in Revelation Nov. 7-8
Nov. 11 gathering to help youths explore God’s call
Bible scholar to visit Alamo Heights Nov. 12
Monthalia UMC to mark 120th birthday Nov. 12
Online class helps churches develop ministries for Web
Alaska Supreme Court gives property to conference
Belmont University to host men’s four-year gathering
Session to study effects of 2 church court rulings
San Antonio church plans Family Fall Festival Sunday
Aldersgate UMC, San Antonio, has scheduled its annual Family Fall Festival for Sunday from 5 to 8:30 p.m.
Activities include free games, music, food and prizes. Nail Driven Hands, The Kyle Langford Band and the Mark Swayze Band are to perform live.
For information call (210) 532-6671.
Author to tell how religions of world can become evil
Travis Park UMC, San Antonio, is playing host to a free lecture by the author of When Religion Becomes Evil Nov. 2 at 7 p.m.
The Rev. Charles Kimball, professor of comparative religion at Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, N.C., is to appear as part of the Justice In Action Speakers Series. He is to outline five basic corruptions that are seen in each of the world’s major religions.
Publishers Weekly named When Religion Becomes Evil one of the “Top 15 Books on Religion for 2002.”
For information call (210) 226-8341 or check www.travispark.org.
Austin meeting to examine hope in Revelation Nov. 7-8
Southwest Texas UMs can explore the message of hope in Revelation Nov. 7-8 in Austin.
The Texas Conference of Churches Faith and Order Conference at the Austin Hilton Airport hotel is to focus on the last book of the Bible. Meeting theme is “The Rapture Expose.”
The Rev. Barbara Rossing, professor of New Testament at Lutheran School of Theology, Chicago, is featured speaker.
The Southwest Texas Conference is a member of the Texas Conference of Churches.
For more information about the meeting, check www.txconfchurches.org.
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Nov. 11 gathering to help youths explore God’s call
Southwest Texas youths and young adults can explore God’s call on their lives next month in Spring Branch.
The Council on Youth Ministries and the Board of Ordained Ministry are sponsoring a special leadership free retreat Nov. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at The Loft Coffee House off U.S. 281.
Called “Discovery Zone: Dive N Deeper,” the clergy-led session is designed to help probe their call to ministry more deeply.
For information call the Rev. Rusty Freeman at (210) 408-4510 or check www. reachingyouth.org.
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Bible scholar to visit Alamo Heights Nov. 12
Internationally known Bible scholar Ray VanderLaan is to visit three worship services at Alamo Heights UMC, San Antonio, Nov. 12.
Those visits are to follow presentations at Trinity University’s Laurie Auditorium Nov. 10 and 11 titled “Walk as Jesus Walked.”
Tickets for the Trinity presentations are still available, said Jeanie Wehmeyer, a member of Alamo Heights. Tickets cost $20 for adults and $10 for students. For more information call Wehmeyer at (210) 828-0151.
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Monthalia UMC to mark 120th birthday Nov. 12
Monthalia UMC in Gonzales County is celebrating 120 years of serving God Nov. 12.
The 122-member congregation, originally founded by German-speaking Methodists, has invited former pastors and members to a special 10:30 a.m. worship service and a 2 p.m. history presentation and men’s chorus reunion. The men’s chorus traces its roots to 1915.
Online class helps churches develop ministries for Web
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—UM Communications has launched an online tool at www.umcom.org to help local congregations develop Web sites and Web ministries that are inviting and provide opportunities for spiritual growth.
Web Ministry 101 provides 25 how-to steps to guide a person from the purchase of a computer to launching a church Web site.
The Rev. Larry Hollon, top communications staff executive, likened Web ministry to the early Wesleyan movement. It took the gospel to people beyond church walls and into homes, the streets and other settings.
Alaska Supreme Court gives property to conference
ANCHORAGE, Alaska—The Alaska Supreme Court ruled Oct. 13 that the Alaska Missionary Conference owns a building that once housed the 60-member St. Paul UMC.
Almost eight months after the case was argued before the five justices Jan. 25, the Supreme Court affirmed the decision of Alaska Superior Court Judge Richard Savell. He awarded the disputed property of St. Paul Church to the conference. The five-member state Supreme Court affirmed the UMC’s historic “trust provisions.”
Those provisions say local congregations hold property in trust for conferences.
Belmont University to host men’s four-year gathering
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—Belmont University has been chosen as the site for the 10th national gathering of UM Men July 9-12, 2009.
The General Commission on UM Men and Belmont University made the announcement Oct. 17. The men’s commission, the agency that plans the national gathering, voted Sept. 16 to move the quadrennial men’s conference from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., to Nashville.
Nearly 5,000 men are expected for the conference at Belmont University’s 90,000-square-foot Curb Event Center.
Session to study effects of 2 church court rulings
NASHVILLE, Tenn.––A UM agency is sponsoring a February consultation to study rulings by the denomination’s highest court in the case of a pastor who blocked a homosexual man from church membership.
The General Board of Higher Education and Ministry is to gather a diverse group of bishops, seminary professors and pastors Feb. 16-17 in Nashville. The group is to probe the implications of Judicial Council decisions that upheld the right of a Virginia pastor to deny membership to a practicing gay man.
The Rev. Jerome King Del Pino, top staff executive of the Nashville agency, said the heated debate across the denomination in the wake of the council’s decisions highlights the need for focused, careful and deep-running dialogue about the theological, ecclesial and pastoral implications of the council’s action.
