News in brief

Connectional giving runs $343,000 ahead of ’06 total
UM agency gives 2 grants to Southwest Texas groups
Bishop to share thoughts about Holy Land Sept. 29
E-mail glitch causes loss of petitions to ’08 meeting
Comfort UM lunch shows appreciation for teachers
49 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
Methodist Healthcare adds public relations specialist
Daylong event in Mission to give college information
UM relief agency offers aid to Peru earthquake victims
Transsexual issue on docket for Judicial Council in fall
Commission posts report about ministry study on Web
‘Open Hearts’ effort moves into online advertising

Connectional giving runs $343,000 ahead of ’06 total
Southwest Texas congregations gave $343,258 more to connectional causes through July than they did during the first seven months of 2006.
Contributions to apportioned funds totaled $5.25 million. That’s 52 percent of the $10.1 million asking for the year. The remittance rate is up 1.6 percent from July 2006.
The San Angelo District had paid the highest percentage of apportionments through July—64.33.
Other district percentages were Kerrville, 60.61; Victoria, 56.05; San Antonio, 50.68; Corpus Christi, 49.45; McAllen, 48.56; and Austin, 47.95.

UM agency gives 2 grants to Southwest Texas groups
An Edinburg congregation and the Southwest Texas Conference have received Igniting Ministry matching grants for advertising in September.
First UMC, Edinburg, was awarded $12,805 from the General Commission on Communication. The money is to help pay for a $25,611 lighted sign at the church.
The conference Communications and Public Witness Office was given $2,280. That money is to help pay for $4,560 of radio advertising over two weeks on five stations in Corpus Christi. The ads support coordinated Open House Month activities during September by 10 UM congregations in Corpus Christi.

Bishop to share thoughts about Holy Land Sept. 29
Bishop Joel N. Martinez is to share his reflections on the Holy Land Sept. 29 during the Israel-Palestine Task Force meeting in San Antonio.
The meeting runs from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the UM Center.
Martinez, who led a tour to the Holy Land in January, is also to discuss the UM position on what’s happening in the Middle East.
The Board of Church and Society is sponsoring the meeting. For information contact Wanda Holcombe, peace with justice coordinator, at wholcomb@umcswtx.org.

E-mail glitch causes loss of petitions to ’08 meeting
If you submitted a petition to the 2008 General Conference via e-mail before July 27, you have to do it again.
Because of a technical glitch, legislative proposals sent to petitions@umpublishing. org before noon July 27 were lost.
“I have been assured that the e-mail address is now functioning properly, and I regret the inconvenience this situation has caused,” said the Rev. Fitzgerald Reist, secretary of the General Conference.
Deadline for submitting petitions for consideration by the 2008 General Conference in Fort Worth is Oct. 26. Instructions are at www.umcswtx.org.

Comfort UM lunch shows appreciation for teachers
Members of Gaddis Memorial UMC, Comfort, showed appreciation for public school teachers this week with a special lunch.
The Aug. 21 meal at the church was part of the in-service day schedule for faculty and staff members of the Comfort Independent School District. The church is next to Comfort High School.

49 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
Forty-nine of the 344 Southwest Texas congregations had paid their 2007 apportionments in full as of July 31.
Bruni UMC led the list. The 20-member congregation had paid 101 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, 7; McAllen, 4; San Angelo, 8; San Antonio, 4; and Victoria, 9.

Methodist Healthcare adds public relations specialist
Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas has hired its first public relations specialist.
Sonya C. Lane, a graduate of Angelo State University, joined the staff this month. She has more than 10 years of experience in public relations and fund-raising in both profit and nonprofit organizations.

Daylong event in Mission to give college information
UMs are sponsoring a daylong college information day Sept. 29 in Mission.
The program, “College: Getting There & Staying There—Hope for the Future,” is to run from 11:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m. at the IDP Family Center. The schedule includes sessions on how to apply for college admission, how to get money for college, how to select the right school and how to stay connected to church while in school.
UM school representatives from across the United States are to attend. Local bands are to play throughout the day.
For information call (615) 340-7431.

UM relief agency offers aid to Peru earthquake victims
NEW YORK—The UM Committee on Relief is responding to the Aug. 15 earthquake in Peru that killed more than 500 people.
The relief agency has offered aid to the Methodist Church of Peru and is providing a grant to Action by Churches Together, an international relief alliance that has sent a response team to Peru.
The committee is inviting UMs to contribute to its international disaster response fund (Advance No. 982450) to help the recovery efforts. Checks can be placed into church offering plates.

Transsexual issue on docket for Judicial Council in fall
SAN FRANCISCO—The UM “supreme court” is to consider at its fall meeting the case of a pastor who switched from female to male.
The Judicial Council is scheduled to meet Oct. 24-27 in San Francisco.
At this year’s Baltimore-Washington Conference in May, Bishop John R. Schol reappointed the Rev. Drew Phoenix pastor of St. John’s UMC, Baltimore. Phoenix, 48, had served St. John’s for five years as the Rev. Ann Gordon.
The Book of Discipline says nothing about transsexual clergy appointments.

Commission posts report about ministry study on Web
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—After more than two years of study, a commission has issued its final report on work to clarify the ordering of ministry within the UMC.
That report—available at www.gbhem. org—recommends four more years of study.
The Study of Ministry Commission report lays the groundwork for the church to reflect further on the theological, ecclesial and practical groundings of its system of lay, licensed and ordained ministry.
Created by the 2004 General Conference, the 28-member commission is to bring its recommendations to the General Conference next April in Fort Worth.

‘Open Hearts’ effort moves into online advertising
NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The UM “open hearts, open minds, open doors.” advertising campaign is now targeting people ages 22 to 44 on line.
Through mid-October, ads are to appear on Beliefnet, eHarmony, Yahoo, CitySearch, About.com and other Web sites. More than 21 million people are expected to see them.
“We’re seeking to reach people who feel like something is missing from their life and are looking for meaning or purpose,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive of the General Commission on Communication, which coordinates the campaign.
”Many of those people are searching on line. We’ve chosen sites where they may be looking for something to fill a void in their lives—whether it’s travel, relationships or something more spiritual.”