News Briefs

Highland Lakes trustee shreds parsonage note
Special offering Sunday supports human relations
UM Women head to Austin for annual legislative event
Early signup ends today for Jan. 27-28 choir event
Commission seeks names for 2006 M.L. King Award
Gospel groups play weekly at service in San Antonio
Former pastor to receive 2006 Perkins alumni honor
UM agency backs program offered by center in Austin
Schulenburg pastor joins Sons of Republic of Texas
Bishops asked to lead UMs in immigration-reform study
Help stop killings, UMs tell president of Philippines
Christian Unity week slated for Jan. 18-25; UMs to join
Panel seeks music director for ’08 General Conference

Highland Lakes trustee shreds parsonage note
Members of Highland Lakes UMC, Buch-anan Dam, applauded Dec. 14 as trustee chair Leon Howard destroyed a paid-off promissory note for a former parsonage in a nontraditional way.
He shredded it. A microphone held up to a shredder allowed church members to hear the paper being cut up.
Paid-off notes are traditionally burned.
The shredding ceremony took place during the 396-member congregation’s annual Christmas Dinner.


Special offering Sunday supports human relations
Southwest Texas UMs can join church members around the globe Jan 15 in collecting a special offering for Human Relations Day.
The offering, established in 1972, is one of six on the UMC calendar each year. Proceeds support church-based community developers in low-income neighborhoods, grass-roots social-justice organizations and local youth-offender rehabilitation programs.


UM Women head to Austin for annual legislative event
Representatives of the 80,000 UM Women in Texas are heading to Austin Jan. 29-31 for the 18th annual UMW Legislative Event.
Churchwomen are to hear briefings about issues facing the state and spend time visiting lawmakers and legislative staff members at the state Capitol.


Early signup ends today for Jan. 27-28 choir event
The early registration deadline is Jan 13 for the 2006 Adult Choral Workshop Jan. 27-28 at University UMC, San Antonio.
The fee for registrations postmarked by Jan 13 is $30 per person. The fee includes Saturday lunch and a clinician’s music packet.
After today the registration fee is $35 per person.
Ann Howard Jones, professor of music and director of choral activities at UM-related Boston University, is featured clinician for the two-day event. She is a former music assistant at the Robert Shaw Institute.
Breakout session leaders are Gary Mabry, Mary McKay and Karen Andrews, all from University UMC, San Antonio.
The annual workshop, sponsored by the Board of Discipleship, brings singers, choir directors and accompanists to experience new music, improve musicianship and gain insights into worship leadership.


Commission seeks names for 2006 M.L. King Award
The Commission on Religion and Race has begun accepting nominations for the 2006 Martin Luther King Jr. Award.
Nomination deadline is March 1. Nomination criteria are posted at www.umcswtx.org.
The commission presents the award each year during the annual conference session to an individual whose life and actions follow King’s example on nonviolence and racial equality. The Rev. J. Charles Merrill of Austin received the honor in 2005.
For information contact Barbara Gardner at jeangrdnr@aol.com or the Leadership Development Office at (210) 408-4500 or toll free (888) 349-4191.


Gospel groups play weekly at service in San Antonio
Groups from the Southern Texas Gospel Music Association are now playing weekly at Laurel Heights UMC, San Antonio.
The gospel and country groups are part of a new alternative-music celebration service each Sunday at 9:45 a.m.


Former pastor to receive 2006 Perkins alumni honor
Southern Methodist University has selected a former Southwest Texas Conference pastor to receive the 2006 Perkins School of Theology Distinguished Alumni Award.
Bishop Janice Riggle Huie of Houston, who was elected a bishop in 1996 from the Southwest Texas Conference, is to pick up the honor Feb. 7 in Dallas. Huie earned a master of theology degree from Perkins in 1973.


UM agency backs program offered by center in Austin
The General Board of Church and Society has endorsed an Austin-based program as a model for congregations to use in addressing alcohol and drug addiction.
The Faith Partner Team approach was developed by the Rush Center of the Johnson Institute in Austin. Trish Merrill, University UMC, Austin, directs the center.
Jim Winkler, chief executive of the UM social-action agency, called the Faith Partner Team approach an “effective and sustainable way” for congregations to respond to addiction. He encouraged UMs to attend team leadership training offered by the Rush Center. To register for training or order a Faith Partner Call to Action Kit, call (888) 4519527.


Schulenburg pastor joins Sons of Republic of Texas
The pastor of First UMC, Schulenburg, joined the Sons of the Republic of Texas Oct. 24. The Rev. Mark G. Adams was inducted into the group’s Monument Hill Chapter, LaGrange. Organized in 1893, the fraternal lineage society is open to any male related to men or women registered as Republic of Texas citizens.
Adams’ great-great-great-grandfather was Daniel Young McKinney. A north Texas city is named for his father.


Bishops asked to lead UMs in immigration-reform study
NEW YORK—Bishop Joel N. Martinez is urging his fellow bishops to lead the denomination in understanding immigration reform.
A Jan. 3 letter addressed to each U.S. bishop notes that while most people recognize the U.S. immigration system needs to be fixed, “the question is how it is to be fixed—and if this is to be in a manner consonant with the tenets of our church as well as with the security and economic needs of the nation and also its basic values.”
The letter is signed by Martinez, president of the General Board of Global Ministries, and Bishop Edward Paup, president of the UM Committee on Relief. Co-signers are the Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the mission board, and the Rev. Paul Dirdak, chief executive of the relief committee.


Help stop killings, UMs tell president of Philippines
MANILA, Philippines—A UM delegation in the Philippines called upon President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Jan. 6 to help stop the killing of clergy, laity, journalists and human rights workers who work with the poor.
Noting that “extrajudicial” murders had increased in the past year, Bishop John Hopkins said in Manila, “The killing must stop.”
The delegation heard testimony from more than 20 victims and surviving family members from many parts of the Philippines. They described the pain and suffering resulting from murders targeting religious and community workers.


Christian Unity week slated for Jan. 18-25; UMs to join
NEW YORK—UMs are to join with other Christians Jan. 18-25 to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns and the ecumenical officer of the Council of Bishops are encouraging UMs “to enter into this period of prayer and meditation as we seek the unity of Christ’s Church.”
This year’s theme, “Where Two or Three are Gathered in My Name…” (Matthew 18:20), is intended for reflection on the meaning such gathering holds for the unity of the church and the renewal of the human community.
Materials for the week are available at http://wccoe.org/wcc/what/faith/wop2006contents.html.


Panel seeks music director for ’08 General Conference
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Commission on the General Conference is seeking a music director for the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth.
Application deadline is Feb. 1. A job description is at www.umc.org.
The music director oversees liturgy and music throughout the assembly, including inviting choirs and worship groups from across the church to participate.