First UMC, McAllen, welcomes new pastor

The Kisers: Stacy, Ray and
their children.


First UMC, McAllen, welcomed the Rev. Ray Kiser as senior pastor this month.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez appointed Kiser to fill the vacancy left when the Rev. Robert Schnase was elected bishop last July.
Kiser and family come to McAllen from First UMC, Corpus Christi, where he has been the senior pastor for seven years.
Before serving in Corpus Christi, Kiser served Northwest Hills UMC in Austin and Travis Park UMC in San Antonio.
A native of West Virginia, Kiser graduated from Yale Divinity School and received his doctorate from Claremont School of Theology in California.
Kiser and his wife, Stacy, have three children: Christopher, Sarah, and Grace.

Pharr UMC honored for outreach project
For the second year in a row, Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas has honored the Pharr Community Outreach Project, a Community of Shalom based at Pharr UMC, for excellence in parenting programs.
The San Antonio-based organization named Pharr UMC the Project Site of the Year. Pharr Community Outreach’s Parents Helping Parents, a weekly support group, is one of the outreach programs provided to Pharr families.
Pharr Community Outreach offers mission outreach programs in five areas: Pharr Literacy Center, Satellite Outreach Adult Education Classes, Health and Wellness Programs, Home Repair Initiative and Community of Faith.