Nov. 19 named special day in San Angelo

Council proclamation urges residents
of city to welcome UM visitors

Nov. 19 should be a special day in San Angelo for at least two reasons:
> Bishop Joel N. Martinez is to lead the 6th Annual Bishop’s Thanksgiving Gathering that day at First UMC, San Angelo. The service is to begin at 4 p.m.
> The San Angelo City Council has proclaimed Nov. 19 “Bishop’s Thanksgiving Gathering Day.” The council adopted the proclamation Nov. 7.
The council action, signed by Mayor Joseph W. Lown, encourages all San Angelo residents to welcome United Methodist visitors to the West Texas city and to celebrate the special day.
The public worship service is expected to draw visitors from the Southwest Texas Conference.
Martinez has called Thanksgiving gatherings each year since 2001. They are special times for United Methodists in the Southwest Texas and Rio Grande conferences to celebrate their many blessings.
Martinez has intentionally moved the annual gatherings around the San Antonio Episcopal Area since 2004. His goal is to give people from various Southwest Texas Conference districts an opportunity to attend.
KKSA radio (1260 AM), San Angelo, is broadcasting the service live and streaming it on the Worldwide Web from www.kksa-am.com. That means anyone with Internet access can listen to the service.
Adult singers from San Angelo District churches have formed a special choir to help lead the Nov. 19 service. Other musical groups—youth singers, a brass ensemble and a bell choir—are to perform as well.
Pastors from every San Angelo District congregation are to process through the First UMC sanctuary to start the worship service.
Martinez scheduled the first gathering at Alamo Heights UMC, San Antonio, in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington.
The first three gatherings were in San Antonio. The 2004 service was in McAllen. The 2005 event was in Corpus Christi.