New in Brief

Southwest Texas leaders endorse return of bishop
2 Southwest Texas pastors backed for bishop election
Southwest Texas, Rio Grande to meet back to back in ’05
Freyburg church moves closer to getting marker
2005 budget approved without any discussion
Task force to consider outreach to young adults
Mandatory training added to policy on sexual ethics

Southwest Texas leaders endorse return of bishop
Southwest Texas leaders jumped to their feet and applauded a motion last week to seek the return of Bishop Joel N. Martinez to the San Antonio Episcopal Area in July.
The Rev. Ray Kiser, chair of the Episcopacy Committee, asked the annual conference session June 5 to endorse his panel’s request to have Martinez assigned to preside over the Southwest Texas Conference through 2008.
Kiser said the Episcopacy Committee was “extremely pleased” with Martinez’s “extraordinary gifts.” He had moved the Southwest Texas Conference toward “holy conferencing,” improved cooperation with the Rio Grande Conference, advanced Hispanic ministry and laid the foundation for planting new churches.
If Martinez doesn’t return, Kiser said, plans for a capital campaign for new church development would be considerably hindered.

2 Southwest Texas pastors backed for bishop election
Southwest Texas Conference leaders formally nominated two pastors last week in Corpus Christi as candidates for bishop.
A standing ovation showed support for the Revs. J. Michael Lowry, senior pastor of University UMC, San Antonio, and Robert Schnase, senior pastor of First UMC, McAllen. Their names are to be considered for four episcopal openings during the July 14-17 South Central Jurisdictional Conference in Corpus Christi.
The Rev. Kim Cape, leader of the Southwest Texas Conference delegation to the jurisdictional conference, asked the annual conference session to affirm the two candidates. They had been endorsed by the delegation last fall and interviewed by all 15 annual conference delegations in the jurisdiction.

Southwest Texas, Rio Grande to meet back to back in ’05
Leaders of the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande conferences are to make history next June in Corpus Christi.
The two annual conference sessions are to meet back to back, said Bishop Joel N. Martinez, who presides over both meetings. Preliminary plans call for a joint ordination service and laity awards banquet.
Martinez said he hoped the back-to-back sessions would be “a first step to other shared moments in our journey of ministry in Jesus Christ.”
The last time the two conferences met in the same place was in 1966 in Dallas, Martinez said. All the annual conferences in Texas gathered there that year. Participants took part in a joint service in Moody Coliseum at Southern Methodist University.

Freyburg church moves closer to getting marker
Freyburg UMC moved a step closer last week in Corpus Christi to becoming a UM Historic Site.
The Southwest Texas Annual Conference session approved a measure from the Commission on Archives and History June 3. It recommended that the 32-member congregation in the Victoria District receive the historic designation.
The application now goes to the General Commission on Archives and History for consideration. If approved there, the church, built by German-speaking settlers in 1879, would get a UM Historic Site marker.
Freyburg UMC is one of the oldest surviving buildings from the German Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church and is one of the oldest churches in Fayette County.

2005 budget approved without any discussion
Southwest Texas Conference leaders approved an $8.3 million budget for 2005 without discussion June 5.
“Approving a budget without discussion reflects well on you and the leadership of CFA” (Council on Finance and Administration), Bishop Joel N. Martinez told the Rev. Warren G. Hornung, chair of the fiscal agency. “They trust you.”
The budget reflects a 4.12 percent increase from the 2004 spending plan.

Task force to consider outreach to young adults
Southwest Texas leaders took action June 3 in Corpus Christi to develop a ministry strategy for reaching people ages 18 to 30.
Church leaders directed the Adult Council to name a task force to address specific needs of young adults and report to the 2005 annual conference session.
Michael Mumme, Colonial Hills UMC, San Antonio, proposed the action. He noted that UM churches don’t typically offer programs for people 18 to 30. Churches usually work with children, teens and young couples who have started families.

Mandatory training added to policy on sexual ethics
Southwest Texas Conference leaders added mandatory training requirements last week in Corpus Christi to the sexual ethics policy for church professionals.
The policy, updated June 4, mandates the Board of Ordained Ministry to provide four hours of sexual ethics training every four years. All clergy members and church professionals are required to attend.
Failure to participate would be reported to the staff-parish relations committee where the clergy member is appointed or the church professional is employed.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez said he would pay attention to who did and didn’t attend the required sexual ethics training. He noted that failure to attend could increase a church worker’s liability in a sexual misconduct case.