Austin District happenings

District dodgeball tournament raises money for mission event
The Seis Amigos from First UMC, Austin, won last month’s Austin District Dodgeball Tournament in the high school league.
The Hawks from Bethany UMC won in the middle school league. 
The tournament at Bethany UMC raised more than $1,000 for the district’s April mission event, Neighbor 2 Neighbor.
The districtwide competition involved 27 high school and middle school teams.

Administrative staffers form group, plan San Antonio trip
Two dozen administrative and support employees of area United Methodist congregations met at the District Office Feb. 23 to get acquainted over lunch.
One outcome of the gathering was a plan to meet bimonthly for networking and fellowship. Support staff members from all district churches are welcome.
The group heads to San Antonio April 19 to tour the United Methodist Center. Lunch is to be provided.
Call Jill Barre at (512) 444-1983 for more information and to say you plan to attend.

Austin District Preteen Camp slated for June 5-8 in Kerrville
All children in the Austin District who complete third, fourth or fifth grades this May are encouraged to attend the Austin District Preteen Camp June 5-8 at Mount Wesley Conference Center, Kerrville.
Campers will be looking at how God Calls Us to Peace through crafts, family groups, worship and a group mission project.
Campers will have a chance to make new friends, go swimming, have yummy camp food and experience the infamous wake-up calls.
Packets were mailed to all Austin District churches and eligible returning campers. More information is available at www.umcad.org or by calling the District Office at (512) 442-9444.

Children’s Advocacy Council asks UMs to wear blue ribbons
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month.
The Children’s Advocacy Council urges all churches to provide blue ribbons for members to wear during April. By wearing blue ribbons, we take a stand against child abuse.
We encourage everyone in Travis County to attend Light of Hope April 4 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Wooldrige Park in downtown Austin. The park will be ablaze with the light of 1,989 candles—one for every child confirmed as abused in Travis County during 2004. This very powerful service is a visual reminder of the children in our community who were victims of abuse or neglect.
The incidence of child abuse continues to rise. In Travis County the numbers grew from 1,837 victims in 2003 to 1,989 in 2004. In Texas, 50,208 children were abused in 2003; 50,529 were abused in 2004.
Abused and neglected children frequently suffer drops in IQ and increases in learning disabilities, depression and drug use.

Healthy congregations event planned for Sept. 30-Oct. 1
The Austin District and New Life Institute are sponsoring a Healthy Congregations workshop at St. John’s UMC, Austin, Sept. 30 and Oct. 1.
The workshop is designed to give clergy and lay leaders practical tools for overcoming conflict and improving the decision-making processes. Sessions will be presented Friday evening and all day Saturday by the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center from Illinois.
A key concept of Healthy Congregations is self-differentiation—people’s capacity to calmly articulate what they think and value. This concept includes the ability to act on the basis of these thoughts and values while staying in active relationship with those with whom people disagree.
Congregations are often caught up in conflicted and nonproductive practices. These impede their ministries and create pain for pastors and leaders in the church.