Church in Victoria joins ‘welcoming congregations’
Missionary in San Antonio for medical treatments
Preston Adkison, 82, dies March 22 in Corpus Christi
Eden UMC to celebrate 100th anniversary April 17
Roman Catholic order cited for work at Wesley center
March 26 funeral celebrates Howard MacAllister’s life
UM history buffs to meet April 21-24 in Fort Worth
Disciple training sessions scheduled for San Antonio
San Angelo pastor leads trip retracing Paul’s travels
Children’s council looks for summer camp leaders
Play about grief, healing set for production in July
UM relief committee calls for more flood buckets
Bishop Earl G. Hunt Jr., 86, dies March 26 in Asheville
Project needs physicians for ‘telemedicine’ project
Mainlines don’t dominate top 25 denomination lists

Church in Victoria joins ‘welcoming congregations’
Webster Chapel UMC, Victoria, was recognized March 22 as a “Certified Welcoming Congregation” for 2005.
The 138-member congregation is the second certified in the Victoria District. First UMC, Schulenburg, earned the status in November.
The certification, granted by the General Commission on Communication, means Webster Chapel has systematically evaluated its hospitality and intentionally embraced a lifestyle of welcoming newcomers.
Only 10 of the 2,079 UM congregations in Texas have earned certification plaques. Six of those are in the McAllen District.
The certification program is part of the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign.

Missionary in San Antonio for medical treatments
A UM missionary from Southwest Texas returned to San Antonio March 14 for medical treatment.
Diana Upchurch, who serves in Guyana, has been undergoing tests at Baptist Northeast Hospital for high blood pressure. She is to remain in San Antonio until her treatments are complete, her husband, Bill, reported.
The duration of those treatments isn’t known, he said.

Preston Adkison, 82, dies March 22 in Corpus Christi
The memorial service for the Rev. Preston S. Adkison was March 26 at First UMC, Rockport. Burial followed at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, San Antonio.
Adkison, a retired Southwest Texas Conference clergy member, died March 22 in Corpus Christi. He was 82.
Adkison began his ministry in 1947 as a licensed local pastor in Kerrville. He was ordained a deacon in 1954 and an elder in 1956.
During his ministry in Southwest Texas, Adkison served congregations in Bastrop, Browning, Cedar Creek, Dripping Springs, Lolita, Kerrville, La Vernia, Port Comfort, Portland and Taft. He was a U.S. Air Force chaplain from 1956 to 1970. He retired in 1988.

Eden UMC to celebrate 100th anniversary April 17
Eden UMC is marking 100 years of ministry April 17.
A special celebration is planned for 2 p.m. following lunch at the church. Morning worship is scheduled for 11 a.m.

Roman Catholic order cited for work at Wesley center
A San Antonio group honored the Daughters of Charity April 4 as corporation of the year for work at DePaul-Wesley Children’s Center in San Antonio.
The Roman Catholic order has run the childcare operation at UM-related Wesley Community Center for more than a year.
The San Antonio Association for Education of Young Children honored the Roman Catholic group for providing top-quality early childhood education for low-income families at Wesley and the DePaul Child Development Center.

March 26 funeral celebrates Howard MacAllister’s life
The funeral for the Rev. Howard L. MacAllister was March 26 at First UMC, Gonzales. Burial followed in Monthalia.
The retired Southwest Texas Conference clergy member died March 23. He was 84.
MacAllister began his ministry in 1946 as a licensed local pastor in the Central Texas Conference. He was ordained a deacon in 1948 and an elder in 1950.
He transferred to the Southwest Texas Conference in 1951 and served congregations in Austin, Benavides, Fentress, Gon-zales, Govalle, Harwood, Hope, McAllen, Martindale, Portland, San Antonio, Weimar and Yoakum. He retired in 1988. He then served Freyburg UMC and First UMC, Gonzales, from 1990 to 1998.

UM history buffs to meet April 21-24 in Fort Worth
UM history buffs are to gather this month in Fort Worth.
The Central Texas Conference is playing host April 21-24 to a joint meeting of the Texas Methodist Historical Society and the Historical Society of the UMC. Sessions are scheduled at First UMC.
Featured speakers include the Rev. James Kirby, former dean of the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, and the Rev. William Bryan III of the Perkins faculty.
For more information contact John Johnson at (817) 560-1591 or jjgonefishin@aol.com.

Disciple training sessions scheduled for San Antonio
Cokesbury Seminars has scheduled one- and two-day Disciple training events May 20 and 21 at University UMC, San Antonio.
One-day sessions are planned for potential leaders of Christian Believer (May 20), Disciple 1 (May 21) and Jesus in the Gospels (May 21).
A two-day Disciple 1 training session is available for people who have never participated in the Disciple program. They will receive more hands-on training.
Cost for one-day seminars is $100 per person. Two-day sessions run $150.
For more information call (800) 251-8591 or check www.disciple.cokesbury.com. Cokesbury is the retail arm of the UM Publishing House.

San Angelo pastor leads trip retracing Paul’s travels
A San Angelo pastor is signing up travelers for a November trip to Italy, Greece and Turkey.
The Rev. Nathaniel A.B. Hankins, associate pastor of First UMC, San Angelo, and his wife, Mary, are leading the tour. It is to retrace the Apostle Paul’s second and third missionary journeys.
The trip, organized by Educational Opportunities Tours, is to leave Nov. 4 from San Antonio International Airport.
For information contact Hankins at (325) 655-8981 or Nathaniel@firstmethodist.net.

Children’s council looks for summer camp leaders
The Council on Children’s Ministries seeks volunteer camp counselors to work with elementary school students in June in Kerrville.
The camp for third and fourth graders is scheduled for June 12-15 at Mount Wesley Conference Center.
The fifth and sixth grade camp is set for June 19-23.
For more information contact Sharla Mullen, (210) 831-1317; the Rev. Bill Duke, (361) 358-3350; or the Rev. Valeria Sansing, (512) 258-6017.
Charter bus trip scheduled for Aldersgate celebration
Seats are available on a chartered bus from San Antonio to Georgetown for a special celebration May 24 of John Wesley’s heartwarming experience.
UM-related Southwestern University is playing host to a celebration marking the 267th anniversary of Wesley’s salvation. The event begins at 10 a.m. in Perkins Chapel.
Following hymn singing, the Rev. Norman Spellman, a retired Southwest Texas Conference clergy member, is to discuss “Methodist Excitement in Texas.”
In 1738, at age 34, Wesley, founder of the worldwide Methodist movement, described his heart being “strangely warmed” as he understood and accepted God’s grace during a service at Aldersgate Chapel in London.
For details on the charter bus, which departs from Laurel Heights UMC, San Antonio, call (210) 342-6912. For reservations at the cele-bration in Georgetown, call (800) 960-6363.

Play about grief, healing set for production in July
Coker UMC, San Antonio, is co-sponsoring two performances of “On My Way Home” in July and a retreat with its author.
The play is scheduled for July 14 and 15 at 7 p.m. at Our Lady of the Lake University. The drama tells of author Paula D’Arcy’s grief and struggle for healing following the death of her husband and daughter.
The retreat with D’Arcy, titled “An Invitation to Dance,” is planned for July 16 and 17. Fee for the nonresident retreat, open to both men and women, is between $50 and $60 per person.
For more information contact the Rev. Sue Gibson, (210) 494-3455, Extension 226.

UM relief committee calls for more flood buckets
NEW YORK—The UM Committee on Relief is calling for more flood buckets.
The relief agency expects another season of heavy floods and storms. Therefore, it needs to increase its inventory of flood buckets at its Baldwin, La., disaster-response depot. Flood buckets contain supplies that volunteers use to clean up water damage.
The committee is asking UMs to donate kits or money. A bucket costs $45.
Specifications for flood buckets and other kits are available at http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits/.

Bishop Earl G. Hunt Jr., 86, dies March 26 in Asheville
CHARLOTTE, N.C.—Bishop Earl G. Hunt Jr., 86, a leader in world Methodism, died March 26 at Mission Hospital in Asheville, N.C.
During his 46-year career, Hunt served at all levels of the UMC and was active in the World Methodist Council.
Hunt was elected bishop in 1964 and served until 1988. He led UMs in the Western North Carolina, Tennessee and Florida conferences.

Project needs physicians for ‘telemedicine’ project
NEW YORK—Operation Classroom is looking for at least 50 physicians before the end of April willing to participate in a satellite/Internet-based program of consultation and training for medical staff in Sierra Leone.
Any specialty is welcome, said Joseph Wagner, director of Operation Classroom. That’s a program that helps UMs link with their counterparts in Sierra Leone and Liberia to assist with Christian-based education and health care.
The telemedicine project aims to enable U.S. doctors to connect to colleagues overseas using their home or office computer, Wagner said. Those who would like to participate can send an e-mail to ocmission@frontiernet.net or call Wagner at (765) 436-2805.

Mainlines don’t dominate top 25 denomination lists
NEW YORK—Pentecostal and historic African-American churches are increasingly visible on the U.S. religious landscape, and mainline Protestants no longer dominate a list of the 25 largest American churches.
That’s the report in the National Council of Churches’ 2005 Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. Three of the largest 25 churches in the United States are Pentecostal, and six are African American, the yearbook reports.
The list includes the rapidly growing Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Orthodox Church in America, Jehovah’s Witnesses and, largest of all, the Roman Catholic Church.
The UMC still ranks third, behind the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.