Mix of first-timers, veterans to represent Southwest Texas
The Southwest Texas Conference is sending a mix of first-time and veteran representatives to United Methodist policymaking meetings next year.
Thirteen of the 32 delegates elected in Corpus Christi June 7 and 8—seven laypeople and six clergy members—have never represented the Southwest Texas Conference at a denominational legislative assembly before. Those elections were part of the June 6-9 Southwest Texas Annual Conference session.
Three of the first-time delegates are going to the 2008 General Conference, the next meeting of the denom-ination’s top decision-making body April 23 to May 2 in Fort Worth. They are the Rev. Terrence K. Hayes, Victoria District superintendent; Mark Nerio from University UMC, San Antonio; and Tara Thronson from
St. John’s UMC, Austin.
The other first-time delegates—both clergy and laity—are to join Hayes, Nerio and Thronson at the 2008 South Central Jurisdictional Conference July 13-18 in Dallas.
The number of rookie delegates isn’t unusual. Fourteen of 32 delegates elected in 1999 were first-timers. Nine of 32 were rookies four years ago.
But the age profile of this year’s delegation does appear to be a bit younger than in the past.
Laity delegates include 28-year-old Thronson and 18-year-old Walt Len-gle from Northwest Hills, Austin. Lengle is the youngest laity delegate elected since at least 1995.
Seven of the laity delegates are 30 to 60. That’s down from 10 in 2003. Seven laity delegates are 61 or older. That’s up from five in 2003.
Average age for clergy delegates is 49 this year, down from 54 in 2003. The clergy contingent includes two women in their 30s. No clergy delegates were younger than 44 in 2003.
Conference Lay Leader Jay Brim, a delegate to the 2004 General and the 1996, 2000 and 2004 jurisdictional conferences, is heading the 2008 delegation. He earned that responsibility as the first laity delegate
elected this year.
The first-elected laity and clergy delegates alternate leadership roles every four years. The Rev. Kim Cape, Austin District superintendent, headed the delegation in 2004. She was the first-elected clergy delegate again this year and is assisting Brim with delegation leadership.
Brim has scheduled the first delegation meeting for Aug. 18 in San Antonio.
Laity representatives of the 344 congregations in Southwest Texas picked six General Conference delegates, six more jurisdictional conference delegates and four jurisdictional reserve delegates in 12 ballots
June 7 and 8.
Clergy members needed 17 ballots to fill a matching contingent. Voting concluded just after 11 p.m. June 8.
The order of election among laity and clergy delegates determines seniority within the delegation and can influence legislative committee assignments at the General Conference.
The General Conference, which meets every four years, is to bring 988 delegates—half clergy, half laity—from around the globe to Fort Worth next year to:
> Consider changes to the Book of Discipline, the denomination’s collection of doctrinal statements and operating policies, and Book of Resolutions, church statements on current social, economic, environmental and political issues.
> Hear reports from denominational agencies and study groups.
> Elect members of the Judicial Council, the denomination’s top court, and University Senate, the body that sets standards for United Methodist-related schools.
> Set the denominational budget for 2009-2012.
Only the General Conference can speak for The United Methodist Church as a whole.
The jurisdictional conference, which also meets every four years, draws about 340 delegates from 15 annual conferences in eight states. They:
> Honor retiring bishops. One of those will be Bishop Joel N. Martinez.
> Elect new bishops to replace those retiring.
> Assign bishops to one of 11 areas of supervision across the eight-state region for 2008-2012. One of those, the San Antonio Episcopal Area, will get a new bishop because of Martinez’s retirement.
> Hear reports on regional programs.
> Elect trustees for three jurisdictionally owned institutions: Southern Methodist University, Dallas; Lydia Patterson Institute, El Paso; and Mount Sequoyah Assembly, Fayette-ville, Ark.
n Select directors from the eight-state area to serve as 2008-2012 policymakers for denominational councils, board and commissions.
n Elect 2008-2012 jurisdictional officers and set the 2009-2012 jurisdictional budget.
Eight of the 12 delegates to the General Conference—four laity and four clergy—have represented Southwest Texas at that policymaking assembly before.
Among the laity Byrd Bonner, Travis Park UMC, San Antonio, and Carol Loeb, Asbury UMC, Corpus Christi, are the most experienced. They have both represented Southwest Texas at the General Conference twice before.
In the clergy contingent Cape; the Rev. J. Michael Lowry, executive director of new church development and transformation; and the Rev. Virgilio Vazquez-Garza, San Antonio District superintendent, are all making their third General Conference trips.
Overall seniority goes to Don Hand, Highland Terrace UMC, San Antonio. A reserve jurisdictional conference delegate this year, he has been part of every Southwest Texas Conference delegation since 1972. He was a General Conference delegate in 1972, 1976, 1984, 1988 and 1992.
The laity delegation comprises 11 men and five women. They come from five of the seven districts in the conference: Austin, 6; San Antonio, 5; McAllen, 2; San Angelo, 2; and Corpus Christi, 1. Three are Hispanic, and two are black.
The clergy delegation comprises nine men and seven women. They come from five districts: Austin, 6; San Antonio, 6; Corpus Christi, 1; McAllen, 1; and Victoria, 1. Two are Hispanic, and two are black.
