News Briefs

Kerrville congregation wins 2005 church history award
Former Southwest Texas pastor dies June 13 at 68
New Fountain UMC to start work with event Sunday, June 25
Medina UMC to celebrate 125th anniversary July 2
Junction church to mark 125 years of ministry July 16
Judicial Council to decide size of Cote d’Ivoire group
East, West Coast musicians to direct at ’08 conference
Women’s Division reduces staff to stay within budget
UM seminary plans satellite on Oklahoma City campus

Kerrville congregation wins 2005 church history award
First UMC, Kerrville, has won the Kate Warnick Local Church History Award for 2005.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez announced the award June 9 during the Southwest Texas Annual Conference session in Corpus Christi.
The 2,343-member congregation earned the honor in the large-church competition. Jim Webb edited the local church history book the Kerrville congregation submitted.
The Texas UM Historical Society presents the award annually for the best local church history published by a small-, medium- and large-membership congregation in Texas.


Former Southwest Texas pastor dies June 13 at 68
The funeral for a former Southwest Texas Conference pastor was June 20 in Houston.
The Rev. Robert Felder, a retired clergy member of the Texas Conference, died June 13. He was 68.
Felder began his ministry in 1959 in the Texas Conference. He transferred to the North Arkansas Conference in 1974 and to the Southwest Texas Conference in 1982.
In Southwest Texas he served Webster Chapel UMC, Victoria, from 1982 to 1985; Bethel UMC, San Antonio, from 1985 to 1987; and St. Paul UMC, San Antonio, from 1987 to 1996. He transferred to the Texas Conference in June 1996.


New Fountain UMC to start work with event Sunday, June 25
New Fountain UMC, Hondo, is to break ground June 25 for a new worship facility.
The ceremony is scheduled for 9:30 a.m.—between the 8:30 and 10:45 worship services.


Medina UMC to celebrate 125th anniversary July 2
Members of Medina UMC are celebrating 125 years of ministry July 2.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez is to attend a special 10 a.m. service of rededication.
The celebration schedule includes a PowerPoint presentation about the congregation’s history, burning of the mortgage note for the parsonage, celebration and recognition of former pastors, and sealing of a 25-year time capsule to be opened in 2031.


Junction church to mark 125 years of ministry July 16
Members of First UMC, Junction, plan to celebrate 125 years of ministry next month.
A special anniversary worship service is scheduled for 11 a.m. July 16. Lunch is to follow the service.


Judicial Council to decide size of Cote d’Ivoire group
TAMPA, Fla.— The Commission on the General Conference is asking the Judicial Council to determine the size of Cote d’Ivoire delegation for the 2008 General Conference.
Cote d’Ivoire was accepted as the newest conference at the 2004 General Conference in Pittsburgh.
Under legislation adopted by the 2004 General Conference, Cote d’Ivoire would have two voting delegates at the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth.
But under the formula for determining delegates in the 2004 Book of Discipline, Cote d’Ivoire could be entitled to up to 70 voting representatives. That would make the West African nation’s delegation the largest at the conference. Because the General Conference can have no more than 1,000 delegates, the size of other delegations would have to be reduced.


East, West Coast musicians to direct at ’08 conference
TAMPA, Fla.—Marcia McFee of Truckee, Calif., and Mark Miller of Plainfield, N.J., have been named co-music directors for the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth.
The Commission on the General Conference selected the two during its May 23-25 meeting in Tampa.
The music directors work with the Council of Bishops and staff from the General Board of Discipleship to plan worship services for the General Conference, lead hymn singing, coordinate additional music performances and venues, and audition and select vocal and instrumental musicians for the conference.
The denomination’s top legislative assembly is to meet April 23-May 2, 2008.


Women’s Division reduces staff to stay within budget
NEW YORK— Responding to needed budget cuts, the administrative arm of UM Women eliminated four executive staff positions and four support staff positions June 12.
Jan Love, chief executive of the General Board of Global Ministries Women’s Division, said one of the motivating factors for the staff cuts was “to ensure that our spending on an annual basis is in keeping with our annual income.”
Affected support staff members are being offered similar jobs within Global Ministries.


UM seminary plans satellite on Oklahoma City campus
OKLAHOMA CITY—UM-related Oklahoma City University and St. Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., have agreed in principle to establish the St. Paul Theological Seminary at Oklahoma City University.
That would be the only UM seminary in Oklahoma.
The agreement between the university and seminary was announced May 29 during the 2006 Oklahoma Annual Conference session. The satellite campus is expected to begin accepting theological students in fall 2007.