News Briefs

Hymnal editor to lead study Sunday in San Antonio
David W. Williams dies Aug. 5 in Schertz at 69
Choir from Massachusetts to perform in San Antonio
Austin church plays host to mission consultation
Registration date nears for local pastors’ retreat
Connectional giving runs $345,000 ahead of ’05 totals
Bishop to lead 10-day tour of Holy Land in January
Dallas bishop dies Aug. 19 after surgery complications
NCAA restricts UM school from using Indian mascot
Clergywomen celebrate advances, reflect on call
UMs support lieutenant who opposes war in Iraq

Hymnal editor to lead study Sunday in San Antonio
The editor of the UM Hymnal is to conduct a special hymn study during worship Sunday at Laurel Heights UMC, San Antonio.
The Rev. Carlton R. Young is to lead hymn singing and direct the Laurel Heights choir in two anthems during the 11 a.m. service. Young arranged the anthems especially for the event.
Young edited both the 1988 UM Hymnal and the 1964 Methodist Hymnal.


David W. Williams dies Aug. 5 in Schertz at 69
The funeral for the Rev. David W. Williams was Aug. 9 at Schertz UMC. Burial followed at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
A retired Southwest Texas Conference clergy member, Williams, 69, died Aug. 5 in Schertz.
Williams began his ministry in 1959 in the Baltimore Conference. He transferred to the Southwest Texas Conference in 1989 after 24 years as a U.S. Army chaplain.
In Southwest Texas he served La Vernia UMC and Christ UMC, Stockdale. In 1990 he went on disability leave after a heart attack and several strokes. He officially retired from active ministry in 2002.


Choir from Massachusetts to perform in San Antonio
An internationally acclaimed choir from Massachusetts is to sing Sept. 12 at Alamo Heights UMC, San Antonio.
Gloriae Dei Cantores (Singers to the Glory of God) is to perform at 7:30 p.m. in the sanctuary. A 6:30 p.m. lecture in the Christian Life Center precedes the concert.
The choir sings weekly during worship at the Church of the Transfiguration, Orleans, Mass., and presents concerts of great choral masterworks. The New York Times has praised the group’s “expert renditions of Gregorian chant.”
For information contact the Rev. Donna Strieb at (210) 826-3215.


Austin church plays host to mission consultation
Tarrytown UMC, Austin, is playing host to the fourth annual Honduras mission consultation Oct. 19-21.
The event is expected to draw participants from across the country, representatives of the UM mission board and a delegation from the 12 UM mission congregations in Honduras.
Registration fee is $80 per person. Registration deadline is Oct. 5. For information check http://www.gbgm-umc.org/hondurasini/Consultation/consultation%20brochure.pdf.


Registration date nears for local pastors’ retreat
Sept. 1 is the registration deadline for next month’s Fellowship of Local Pastors and Associate Members retreat in Kerrville.
The Rev. Justo Gonzales, a noted Latino theologian, is to lead the Sept. 25-27 program at Mount Wesley Conference Center. Theme is “God’s Sabbath and Ours.”
The program is open to all clergy and laity in the Southwest Texas Conference.
Gonzales, featured speaker for the 2005 Southwest Texas Annual Conference session in Corpus Christi, has written more than 80 books on theology and spirituality. The former seminary professor is a retired Rio Grande Conference pastor.
The $100 per person registration fee includes two nights at Mount Wesley and six meals. For more information call Don Snyder at (830) 988-2535.


Connectional giving runs $345,000 ahead of ’05 totals
Southwest Texas congregations gave $345,000 more to connectional causes through July than they did during the first seven months of 2005.
Contributions to apportioned funds totaled $4.9 million. That’s 50.4 percent of the $9.7 million asking for the year. The remittance rate is up 2 percent from July last year.
The Kerrville District had paid the highest percentage of apportionments through July—63.3.
Other district percentages were San Angelo, 61.3; Victoria, 56; McAllen, 51.2; San Antonio, 48.3; Corpus Christi, 46.7; and Austin, 44.4.


Bishop to lead 10-day tour of Holy Land in January
Southwest Texas UMs can tour the Holy Land with Bishop Joel N. Martinez in January.
Travelers are to depart Jan. 15 from Corpus Christi, El Paso, Harlingen, Houston and San Antonio. They are to visit Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Nazareth and other sites in Israel.
Additional seven-day tours are available to Cairo and Luxor in Egypt.
“We will experience the sites, sounds and aromas of the amazing land,” Martinez said. “Just as the desert sands will cling to our clothes and be carried home in the folds of our garments, so too will an excitement for and understanding of the life and times of Jesus.”
Rates range from $1,998 to $2,098, depending on departure city. For information check www.eo. travelwithus.com.


Dallas bishop dies Aug. 19 after surgery complications
DALLAS—Bishop Rhymes Moncure Jr., 61, of Dallas died Aug. 19 in Dallas following complications from an Aug. 7 operation.
The operation removed a tumor from the base of his brain. He tolerated the surgery well, physicians said, but later experienced “substantial bleeding” near the surgery area. An additional operation was performed to correct the problem. He never regained consciousness.
Moncure began his ministry in 1974 in the Kansas East Conference and was elected a bishop in 2000. He sereved the Nebraska Episcopal Area for four years and moved to Dallas in 2004.


NCAA restricts UM school from using Indian mascot
ABILENE—Despite an appeal by UM-related McMurry University, the NCAA announced Aug. 3 that it is keeping the school on a list of those subject to restrictions because it calls its sports teams “Indians.”
These restrictions prohibit McMurry from using the Native American references if it participates in any National Collegiate Athletic Association championships.
In a statement on McMurry’s Web site, the university said it remains “committed to our respectful recognition of the Native American culture and the environment ... that recognizes and embraces diversity.”


Clergywomen celebrate advances, reflect on call
CHICAGO—More than 1,500 UM pastors from around the globe met Aug. 13-17 for the 2006 International Clergywomen’s Consultation, with the theme, “The Spirit of God Is Upon Us: Celebrating Our Courageous Past—Claiming Our Bold Future.”
The women engaged in theological reflection, discussed challenges and opportunities and marked the 50th anniversary of full clergy rights for women in the denomination.
Bishop Hope Morgan Ward of Jackson, Miss., invited the women to look within themselves “to see, to renew that call again, to hear that voice of God speaking to us again.”


UMs support lieutenant who opposes war in Iraq
TACOMA, Wash.—Some UMs are supporting a U.S. Army lieutenant who has refused deployment to Iraq because he feels the war is “morally wrong” and “a breach of American law.”
Ehren Watada, 28, faces charges of missing troop movement, conduct unbecoming an officer and contempt towards officials. A native of Hawaii, Watada is currently at Fort Lewis nearTacoma, Wash.
A vigil and rally were planned for Aug. 16 at the gates of Fort Lewis. Members of Peace House, a UM congregation, and Epworth UMC, both in Portland, Ore., have expressed support.
Three bishops—Robert Hoshibata, Roy Sano and Mary Ann Swenson—have written letters supporting Watada.