News Briefs

Corpus Christi musicians plan south of border fiesta
San Antonio congregation to mark ministry of women
Advanced lay speaking class set for March in Kerrville
San Antonio church plays host to VIM training session
2012 General Conference switched to Florida city
Yearly conference sessions begin meeting this month
UM congregations spread gospel through podcasting
World Methodist Conference to meet July 20-24 in Korea

Corpus Christi musicians plan south of border fiesta
Southwest Texas UMs can visit a “South of the Border Fiesta” today and Saturday in Corpus Christi.
The First UMC music ministry is following the fiesta theme for its annual Broadway by the Bay dinner, musical revue and silent auction. The program begins at 6:30 p.m. today and Saturday. Church musicians are to perform songs from stage, screen and TV while diners eat inside a fictitious Mexican coastal resort.


San Antonio congregation to mark ministry of women
Members of Jacob’s Chapel UMC, San Antonio, are to celebrate women’s contribution to ministry Sunday.
Barbara Ford-Young, a member of St. Paul UMC, San Antonio, is guest speaker for the special 3:30 p.m. gathering. Theme is “Women Anointed and Appointed to Serve God.”


Advanced lay speaking class set for March in Kerrville
Lay speakers can receive advanced training next month in Kerrville.
Southwest Texas Conference Lay Speaking Ministries, a unit of the Board of Laity, is sponsoring the March 10-12 advanced course at Mount Wesley Conference Center.
The Rev. Steven Manskar, a staff member from the General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn., is to lead the session. It is titled “Lay Speakers are Accountable Disciples.” Participants are to explore the biblical, theological and historic foundations for the Methodist way of making disciples.
For more information contact Sam Dubberly at (830) 741-3416 or sdubb27@aol.com.


San Antonio church plays host to VIM training session
UMs interested in joining mission or disaster-response teams can attend training March 18 in San Antonio.
Susan Hellums, Southwest Texas Conference Volunteers in Mission coordinator, is leading the 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. session at St. Matthew’s UMC.
For more information contact Hellums at (956) 661-9771 or shellums@mcfirst.com.



2012 General Conference switched to Florida city
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The UMC’s top legislative assembly is to convene in Tampa, Fla., in 2012, not Richmond, Va., as announced last fall.
The Commission on the General Conference made the change because of a church policy regarding meeting in cities with professional sports teams having Native American names. Richmond is home to the Richmond Braves, a minor league baseball team affiliated with the Atlanta Braves.
The 2012 General Conference is now to meet April 25 to May 4 in the 600,000-square-foot Tampa Convention Center.
The 2008 General Conference is to meet in Fort Worth.


Yearly conference sessions begin meeting this month
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The 2006 annual conference season began last week in Africa.
The Liberia Annual Conference session met Feb. 13 to 19. It was the first of 122 regional UM legislative meetings around the globe this year.
The 63 regional U.S. gatherings begin May 10, when the Troy Conference convenes in Burlington, Vt., and conclude June 25 with the adjournment of the California-Pacific Conference in Redlands, Calif.
The Southwest Texas Conference meets June 7 through 10 in Corpus Christi.


UM congregations spread gospel through podcasting
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—UM churches are using 21st century technology to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission of making disciples.
Borrowing a page from pop culture, churches are finding that one of the hottest resources available is podcasting. Podcasts allow people to listen to sermons and other material online at their convenience and to share that content with others.
Podcasting “represents yet another form of citizen journalism,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, top executive of General Commission on Communication. “It enables an individual to produce a program and distribute it directly to an audience.”
UM Communications and the General Board of Discipleship are using podcasts to inform the church and to provide words of healing, comfort and inspiration—tools of evangelism.


World Methodist Conference to meet July 20-24 in Korea
LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C.—Methodists from across the globe are to gather July 20-24 in Seoul, South Korea, for the 19th World Methodist Conference.
The assembly is the only event that specifically brings together people from all of the world’s Wesleyan traditions. The 2006 theme is “God in Christ Reconciling.”
Information on the conference is available at www.worldmethodistcouncil.org.