News Briefs

McAllen church joins list of welcoming congregations
Retired UM pastor to lead Tuesday retreat at Oblate
38 congregations remit ’05 apportionments in full
Judicial Council to hear Beth Stroud case Oct. 27
UM Women to hear plea from leaders for detainees
Churches continue efforts to recover from hurricane
Church supports family of teen missing in Aruba
Southwest Texas giving for Asia nears $600,000
Connectional giving runs $19,000 ahead of ’04 totals

McAllen church joins list of welcoming congregations
St. Mark UMC, McAllen, was recognized June 1 as a “Certified Welcoming Congregation” for 2005.
The 633-member congregation is the ninth certified in the Southwest Texas Conference and the seventh in the McAllen District.
Southwest Texas has more certified welcoming congregations than any other conference.
Granted by the General Commission on Communication, certification means St. Mark has systematically evaluated its hospitality and intentionally embraced a lifestyle of welcoming newcomers. Congregations are to renew their certification annually.
The certification program is part of the denominationwide Igniting Ministry hospitality and image campaign.

Retired UM pastor to lead Tuesday retreat at Oblate
A retired UM clergy member is helping lead a June 28 retreat at Oblate School of Theology, San Antonio.
The Rev. Homer Bain is one of three leaders for “Midweek Sabbath Rest: Day of Prayer, Reflection and Rest.” The program runs from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.
The schedule includes presentations on scripture and times to reflect on them in silence. Registration fee is $20 per person, which includes lunch.
Contact (210) 341-1366, or check www.ost.edu.

38 congregations remit ’05 apportionments in full
Thirty-eight of the 350 Southwest Texas congregations had paid their 2005 apportionments in full as of May 31.
Bruni UMC led the list. The 21-member congregation had paid 112 percent of its share of expenses for ministries across the state, nation and world.
The count of “100 percent” congregations by district was Austin, 10; Corpus Christi, 7; Kerrville, 5; McAllen, 1; San Angelo, 6; San Antonio, 3; Victoria, 6.

Judicial Council to hear Beth Stroud case Oct. 27
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The Judicial Council is to hear oral arguments in the case of Irene Elizabeth “Beth” Stroud Oct. 27 in Houston.
The hearing, open to the public, is to begin at 9 a.m. at the Stansbury Building on the Westchase Campus of First UMC, Houston. Representatives of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference and Stroud are to have 30 minutes each to present their arguments.
Stroud, former associate pastor of Germantown First UMC, Philadelphia, was found guilty in December of violating the denomination’s prohibition of “self-avowed practicing homosexuals” in the ordained ministry. She lost her clergy credentials but remained on staff as a layperson.
The Northeastern Jurisdiction Committee on Appeals overturned the trial court’s verdict and penalty April 29.
Bishop Marcus Matthews appealed to the Judicial Council, the UMC’s top court.

UM Women to hear plea from leaders for detainees
NEW YORK—UM Women at Schools of Christian Mission this summer are to hear a plea to be the voice of the voiceless.
The Women’s Division of the UM mission board is sending a letter to schools in each conference. The letter asks UM Women to take up the cause of South Asians, Muslims and Arabs who are detained or being deported from the United States without consideration of their basic human rights.
The letter is linked to a study on India and Pakistan, which focuses, in part, on how globalization, interfaith relations and the war on terror affect those countries.

Churches continue efforts to recover from hurricane
BOKEELIA, Fla.—Nine months after Hurricane Charley ripped across Pine Island, residents are finding more than their homes need repairs.
“We’re beginning to see, I think, some post-traumatic stress,” said the Rev. Scott Harris, pastor of Pine Island UMC, Bokeelia.
This year’s hurricane season began June 1. Some forecasters believe more powerful hurricanes threaten the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico areas.
The UM Committee on Relief is paying the salaries of half a dozen case supervisors to coordinate continuing relief efforts throughout Florida from last year’s storms.

Church supports family of teen missing in Aruba
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.—While the search for 18-year-old Natalee Holloway continues on Aruba, a church in Arkansas is supporting her grandmother with prayer.
Ann Reynolds, a lifelong member of Carr Memorial UMC in Pine Bluff, is Holloway’s maternal grandmother. The teen’s mother, Beth Reynolds Twitty, is also a member.
Holloway was baptized as a child at the Pine Bluff church.
Carr Memorial hosted a prayer service with Holy Communion June 5.
The missing teen from Mountain Brook, Ala., was on a high school graduation trip to Aruba with 124 classmates and seven parent chaperones. She was last seen leaving a local nightclub about 1:30 a.m. May 30.

Southwest Texas giving for Asia nears $600,000
Gifts from Southwest Texas UMs to South Asia tsunami relief reached $594,767 as of May 31.
Gifts continue to come in, Treasurer David A. Seilheimer reported.

Connectional giving runs $19,000 ahead of ’04 totals
Southwest Texas congregations gave $19,059 more to connectional causes through May than they did during the first five months of 2004.
Contributions to apportioned funds totaled $3.3 million as of May 31. That’s 35.3 percent of the $9.4 million asking for the year. The remittance rate is down 0.54 percent from May last year.
The San Angelo District had paid the highest percentage of apportionments through May—44.51. Other district percentages were Kerrville, 42.71; McAllen, 39.19; Victoria, 37.95; San Antonio, 33.80; Austin, 31.51; and Corpus Christi, 30.84.