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March 12, 2010
Volume 156, Number 45
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Hundreds surrender to God’s call on lives
 Students at Midwinter retreats interacted with small groups as part of the growth experience. Groups met several times throughout the weekend.
to join God’s movement in the world
By Rachel L. Toalson
Managing Editor
From standing in line, assembling health kits for the Haiti earthquake, to kneeling on the floor, moved by God’s Spirit in worship, participants in this year’s Midwinter retreats did not leave unchanged.
Themed “We Are a Movement,” this year’s Midwinters drew a record number of students and ended with hundreds surrendering their lives to Christ, committing to pursuing a deeper call to ministry and purposing to join God’s movement in the world.
The Rev. Rusty Freeman, youth ministries director for the Southwest Texas Conference, said the Midwinters accomplished exactly what he wanted—letting students know that they are “invited to join God in spreading the love, grace and mercy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”
“They are the hands and feet, not just the leaders or pastors,” Freeman said. “They are the royal priesthood called forth to proclaim the mystery and ministry of the Good News.”
“We wanted our students to continue their worship and God-chasing in real ways back in their homes, their schools, their communities and their churches,” said Becky Jackson, Southwest Texas Conference youth events coordinator. “So we gave them practical, hands-on tools that would help sustain them.”
During the three- and four-day retreats, students not only participated in worship, group discussions and free time, they were also given opportunities to attend breakout sessions, during which they were given information about putting together Bible studies in their schools, worshipping in a traditional church, sharing their testimonies and other discipleship suggestions.
The retreats also had a more “global mission” focus, Freeman said—with students putting together health kits for Haiti, visiting a mission theme room and having Penny Wars to help raise money for Imagine No Malaria.
“The emphasis was not just upon our neighbors locally but on helping those in other countries,” he said. “Those things helped make us globally aware that Jesus called us to love all people for his name.”
This year’s retreat saw about 1,300 participants, up from last year’s 1,100. Many churches sent students for the first time, Freeman said.
“The movement of God’s Holy Spirit is evident and alive among youth in the Southwest Texas Conference,” Freeman said. “Our participation, trust by churches and involvement by students is growing.”
“Midwinters are action-packed weekends filled with a lot of God-chasing, spiritual intimacy growth time and raw, unashamed worship,” Jackson said. “Word is that the Southwest Texas Conference has an unbelievable youth ministry and that we excel in our camp ministry as well as in our relational ministry with youth leaders and students.
 Students are given the opportunity during each Midwinter retreat to share what they’ve learned or how God has moved them during the weekend.
Dave Stewart, youth minister at Oak Hill UMC, Austin, said he attended Midwinter for the first time this year and he was impressed with what his students took away from the retreats.
“The beautiful thing to me was that the students at each weekend seemed to take away things that are/were unique to their situations,” he said.
At Midwinter 3, he said, several kids left believing they were called to be better leaders for the church’s youth ministry—something the church greatly needs, Stewart said.
Another student had an “ah-ha” moment “about how the love of God is real at all times, especially during difficult stretches in life,” Stewart said.
At Midwinter 4, two of the 12 students he brought accepted a call to full-time ministry, one of them being his daughter.
“I was incredibly blessed to take part in the Midwinter experience,” Stewart said. “The staff, speakers and worship teams are to be commended for an incredible job at providing a place for students to connect with God.”
Brandon Shook, youth director at Cedar Creek UMC, said this also was his first year to attend Midwinters, and he was, “impressed with the way the camps are designed and led.”
The ride home was his favorite part, he said, because of the conversations his students generated.
“My students had a great time and came away from both Midwinters challenged by the messages they heard,” he said.
Cortney Smith, a youth sponsor at First UMC, Pflugerville, said every year she packs her stuff and “prepares to be an adult” at Midwinter, thinking she’s going to help serve the kids so they can have an “amazing experience” and can “move closer in their relationship with God.”
 Midwinter retreats included breakout sessions designed to help students think about discipleship opportunities in their homes and schools in addition to informational displays, like this Imagine No Malaria one, to introduce them to ways they could help the world.
“Every year and every Midwinter, I come to the realization that God still has a lot of work to do on me,” Smith said, “and that by being there I get to hang out with some really cool kids, but I also get to hear a message that God has for me, too.”
Her favorite part of Midwinter, she said, is that kids “get away from their everyday distractions and problems and focus just on God.”
“The co-leader of one of my small groups this year said that when we come to Midwinter, we get to be the person that we want to be out in the real world,” Smith said. “He was right. We get to be focused on just God and His word and his plan for our life and (we get) a vision of what our life would be like if we remained focused just on him.
“We get to practice for who we want to be every single day in our real life if we could take off the masks that we put up for different friends and associates, and we get to just live in the glory of Christ.”
The Tuesday after his group returned, Shook said he got a text message from a boy who’d had a particularly powerful encounter with God during Midwinter. It said, “Pray for me. I am already going back to my old self, and I don’t want to be part of that anymore.”
Since then, Shook said they’ve had a couple of long discussions about what it means to be a man of God.
“He has anger issues and cusses a bunch, but he has been much calmer since coming home from Midwinter and has been striving to bring his experience home with him,” Shook said. “His mother came up to me this past Sunday and thanked me for his progress.
“I kindly told her it was because of her son’s choice to pursue God that he has changed.”
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Memories, lessons remain after Nicaragua mission
I am not sure what I will remember the most from my week-before-Christmas mission trip to Nicaragua. I went with my son’s school and must confess that it was a huge blessing.
Perhaps I will remember how I really didn’t want to leave just days before Christmas. I was caught up in the hustle and bustle of the commercial Christmas holidays. I was dreading leaving my daughter behind while my wife, a dentist, and my son, a high school freshman, were planning on attending. I was reluctant to leave for many reasons; I guess just being “comfortable” was one of them.
Perhaps I will remember the faces of the orphans at the Lion of Judah Orphanage near Mesatepe when we broke open the bags of toys and shoes they would get for Christmas. The faces of thankful children for a pair of used Nike’s to replace their very poor and worn out substitutes.
Perhaps I will remember the visit to the church in Cedro Galan and how we worshipped with a group of believers who lived among poverty. The joy they expressed, even though they had nothing compared to what we have in the United States, was immeasurable. For two days we invested in them, and they in us. They joined us in repainting their church, helping build a classroom and sharing wonderful fellowship together.
 Lane Freeman, wife of the Rev. Rusty Freeman, Southwest Texas Conference youth ministries director, poses with her new friend Evan, from Nicaragua. Lane Freeman did some dental work for Evan, who lives at the Land of Judah Orphanage.
But what I think I will remember the most is how the Lord reminded me of how deeply he loves these people. It’s so not about what we have that makes us acceptable to Jesus, it’s who we are. It’s our response of openness, love and grace. It’s a tender moment in which we say, “Lord, I love you too.” And I saw that in the faces of my new friends in Nicaragua.
As with most mission trips, we gained more than we gave. The images, the moments of connection, the hugs, the smiles, will all be things I remember as I return to my privileged life in the United States. But returning with the promise that I will not forget Nicaragua. Not forgetting to love and to laugh, to trust and to repent, to serve where God has placed me. To strive to be who Jesus has called me to be—a willing and able servant, offering Christ to a lost and dying world.
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Guaranteed appointments major issue in Church
A major issue that is sure to be considered at the next General Conference is the question of whether to continue “guaranteed appointments.” The Call to Action steering committee and the Ministry Study both are raising this issue as a problem standing in the way of removing “ineffective” elders from rotation among failing churches. The number of such elders is admittedly very small, according to those raising the issue, but consideration of such a change is of great significance to both clergy members and laity.
The United Methodist connection has included the guaranteed appointment since just after the merger of the Methodist Episcopal Church and the Evangelical United Brethren in 1968; the decision to create that covenant between the elders and the church increased the authority of the episcopacy but also protected clergy, including women and ethnic minorities, who had experienced difficulties in some conferences in being appointed through the regular process.
Over the years, however, many involved in the appointment process have complained that the guarantee has had the unexpected effect of keeping people who had, for numerous reasons, been repeatedly unsuccessful in their appointments, in rotation to other congregations. It is this group of leaders that is strongly arguing for some change in the system.
Because this system has been in place for nearly 40 years, more than two generations of clergy have come of age into it and consider the guaranteed appointment part of the promise the Church made to each of them when they chose to heed their calls through The United Methodist Church. That is no small consideration for all of us as we consider what changes might be necessary to strengthen our denomination; revoking that promise won’t affect just those few “ineffective” pastors, but ALL pastors in connection with us.
I represent Texas teachers in matters related to their employment. Teachers have a modified form of tenure that is related in concept to the employment our clergy have with the UMC. When the state considered changes to that system, ostensibly to make it easier to remove the few “bad” teachers, it was the many very good teachers who were frightened by the threat of removal of their job security.
Teachers (like preachers) are, in the large majority, vastly underpaid compared to people of similar educational levels. The state compensates in small part for that lack of pay by giving the teaching profession job security and immunity from liability for performing their jobs. Clergy members have been similarly protected for much the same reason. We should keep in mind that our very best people will be just as threatened by these changes as are anyone who recognizes that they may have been on someone’s “ineffective” list.
This is an issue we need to hear from each other about so that we can process our thoughts before General Conference. We hope to have another opportunity for civil discourse on this and other coming topics of reform at Annual Conference this year and next year. I hope you can be a part of that discussion.
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San Antonio District news The church is what’s left when pastor leaves
Leaving University Church in Austin was not something I anticipated to come so soon. She is a grand church with a powerful heritage and a dual future of ministry to the people associated with a large university and to her commitment to the urban ministry of tending the least, last and lost – hosting, feeding and clothing 450+ people every week.
Folks often refer to the significance of the pastor-in-charge for a congregation, yet no matter who the pastor might be, the church is larger than the role of one or a few individuals. I preached a one-sentence sermon on that last Sunday at University Church. Well, sorta. Actually, my wife, Barbara, who has been my most significant sermon critic for 30+ years, told me I needed to say more than one sentence, so in deference to her, I inserted 10 or so points of introduction before I got to my “one sentence sermon.” I repeated that “one sentence” twice and again later in the service.
The sermon was as follows: “The church is what is left when the pastor is gone and the building falls down.”
A colleague of mine once told me, “Every congregation will grow if the pastor is smart enough to simply not get in the way!” I think he over-stated it a bit, but his point is important to remember (BTW, he forgot his own advice!).
As a pastor (now a District Superintendent) it is easy to perceive that the most important person in a congregation is the pastor. After all, who else gets to proclaim the living Word of God, counsel the Body of Christ for spiritual transformation and edify the Church in countless ways? To think such is to adapt the Church to the power pyramid of the world – where the most important person is the one with the most power. This is contrary to the values of the Kingdom as offered by Jesus. It is the most powerful who are most in need of the spiritual discipline of service; it is those the world consider least and last that are first in the Kingdom; and it is those whom the world would discard that the Lord personally identifies most often. When asked about his Kingdom, Jesus did not deny that he was a king; but he did deny that his Kingdom looked anything like the kingdoms of this world.
It is the issues of faith that are easiest to overlook that need our most intentional attention. It is the General Ministry of each Baptized Christian to which we the ordained are charged – not to “do” the ministry, but to offer the opportunities of transformation that come to humanity whenever any one of us is about our Father’s business.
The appointment season is in full swing. I anticipate each of us Baptized Christians will remember and will remind others that “the Church is what is left when the pastor leaves and the building falls down.” There are some who would hold that the Bishop has the highest office in the UM Church. Some would contend that the pastor-in-charge is the highest office in the local congregation. I believe there is no higher office in the Church than to be a professing, faithful and fruitful member of the Body of Christ.
Dr. Garth Lloyd-Jones to speak at Alamo Heights
As part of their Centennial Celebration, Alamo Heights UMC is delighted to host Hebrew scholar Dr. Gareth Lloyd-Jones, Emeritus Professor at Bangor University, Bangor, Wales. Jones is an Anglican priest of the Church in Wales who was educated at the Universities of Wales, Cambridge, Dublin, Yale University Divinity School and Jerusalem. Ordained in 1965, Gareth worked for three years as a curate in his native diocese of Bangor, Wales. He was a member of the Old Testament panel responsible for translating the Bible into modern Welsh, which was published in March 1988 on the 400th anniversary of the first Welsh translation.
His teaching focuses on “The Church and the Jews” and “Judaism: Thought and Practice.” His research has been the use of Hebrew among Christians during the early modern period as well as at more recent Judaism and Jewish-Christian dialogue. Jones has written two books, The Bones of Joseph: from the ancient texts to the modern church: studies in the Scriptures and Daethineb Israel, which is in Welsh. He has written articles for the journals of seminaries where he has taught.
Jones will speak at two events. On March 19 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. there will be a special presentation for clergy members and interest laypersons on “Issues of Biblical Interpretation.” Reservations are required and a light lunch will be served.
On March 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. there will be three lectures titled “In the Shadow of the Empire: The Contribution of the Hebrew Scriptures.” The fact that Ancient Israel always existed in the shadow of one great empire or another will be used as a framework for the following presentations: The Commodity Culture: a legacy of imperialism; The Covenant Alternative: a morality of grace; and The Community in Exile: a strategy for survival. Reservations are also required as lunch is included. There is no charge for these events.
Call Leah Jayne at (210) 826-3215 or e-mail ljayne@ahumc.org to make a reservation by March 17. This event is part of the Centennial Celebration at Alamo Heights UMC.
Confirmation celebration to be April 17
“Through confirmation…we renew the covenant declared at our baptism, acknowledge what God is doing for us, and affirm our commitment to Christ’s holy church.” (Baptismal Covenant I, United Methodist Hymnal.)
Confirmation is one of the most memorable moments in the life of a Christian and in the life of the Christian community. It is that time when we “own” our faith – when we take on the responsibility of growing in God’s grace and intentionally seek God’s will in our life. It is a time of celebration! On April 17th, Bishop James Dorff will lead us in a “Celebration of Confirmation” that will include praise and worship, a yoking ceremony, and Holy Communion, as we share in the joy and commitment of all those who have or will soon be confirmed. As his gift of recognition and celebration, Bishop Dorff will yoke each Confirmand with a cross of olive wood brought from Israel. We will gather at Northwest Hills UMC, 7575 Tezel Road. The service will be from 10 a.m. to noon.
Come! Be a part of the greater Community of Faith as we celebrate the coming of age of another generation of believers! Please contact Terry McCandless at the District Office to advise how many Confirmands will be attending from your church to assure that there are enough crosses.
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Victoria District news Rip is living alone! Part two of three
Chapter 2: When we left Rip last, he had just awakened to find he had missed Elvis and Michael.
Rip was depressed because he missed THE SECOND ECONOMIC REVOLUTION. Rip was discouraged because the wonderful world of Adam Smith came and went and he was not in the work force. Rip was depressed because the INEXORABLE SYSTEM OF KARL MARX looked as though it were a reality, because people of all races and colors were working together for a new world, leaning and depending on one another because there was no other way to survive. Rip was discouraged because there were HERESIES in the church of each kind not relating to each kind. Rip was depressed because he had not learned TO TRUST AND OBEY and he was beginning to die. Rip was discouraged because he no longer was able to sing O BEAUTIFUL FOR SPACIOUS SKIES, FOR AMBER WAVES OF GRAIN; FOR PURPLE MOUNTAIN MAJESTIES ABOVE THE FRUITED PLAIN….
Rip was disappointed because of lost youth and affectedness in the culture. Rip was disappointed because he had slept through THE STORMS OF CHANGE and he felt his liberty threatened…his freedom lost, his youth dead and his voice silenced in a world that he did not know and did not recognize.
Rip thought that he was living in a modern hell. Now my brothers and my sisters, it would be easy for me to leave Rip in Hell. I have never liked Rip; mainly because Rip never liked me. But that is reactionary and reactive. Rip never believed in the evil that could come from government. Rip was a member of THE NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION. Rip was a young and then an old REPULICAN. Rip was fairly liberal, he believed in live and let live, but Rip was passive and would not have stood up for anyone except himself and his own. Rip was happy in his little rose garden. But because I am a Christian and am saved by THE BLOOD OF JESUS THE CHRIST I realize that:
We are not alone; we live in God’s world. We believe in God:
Who has created and is creating, Who has come in Jesus, the Word made flesh, to reconcile and make new, Who works in us and others by the Spirit. We trust God.
We are called to be the church: To celebrate God’s presence, to love and serve others, to seek justice and resist evil, to proclaim Jesus, crucified and risen, our judge and our hope. In life, in death, in life beyond death, God is with us. We are not alone. Thanks be to God. And despite the fact that Rip slept while the Jews were being gassed to death in Germany, despite the fact that Rip slept through the lynching of African Americans and Latinos and refused to vote for the suffrage causes of women, despite the fact that Rip slept during the time of the Wounded Knee massacre, despite the fact that Rip slept during the christening of his first grandchild and secretly he was probably an abusive spouse and an abusive parent, I am called to love God with all my heart and all my soul, and that includes Rip. I am no longer a person of the sixties or any cultural context. I am a person of God, and that transcends all of the ISMS (racism, sexism, elitism and /or other isms).
Victoria District happenings
First UMC, Yoakum, adopts Yoakum High School youth arts class
First UMC, Yoakum, is an elderly congregation, and it has been a while since we’ve had an active youth group. Unless we became like Abraham and Sarah and started having children, it didn’t look like we would ever have an active youth group again. A different approach was needed. If we could not grow our own youth group, we decided to adopt one instead. We invited the Yoakum High School Theater Arts Class to become our youth group. They responded enthusiastically. FUMC hosted the first gathering of our adopted youth group Feb. 3, with nearly 40 young people attending. Instant youth group – just add pizza. We ask for your prayers as we begin this ministry for the young people of our community.
Flatonia UMC confirms 7 youth in worship service Jan. 31
On Jan. 31, seven youth were confirmed at Flatonia UMC, following a Youth Confirmation Retreat. The weekend retreat was held at the farm of Youth Sponsors David and Loretta Ehler, and was a time of great faith, fun, fellowship, and food. Pastor Rob Clopton and the Ehlers led the sessions and discussions on faith development, and David Ehler led the guitar music and songs. Many from the church assisted in meals and prayer for the event. The weekend culminated with a Confirmation Covenant Service as part of Sunday Worship and included a musical presentation by the young confirmands.
Improve your Churches’ Worship Service
I was sitting in a worship service the other day and listened to the musician do the best he could. I listened to the choir do the best they could. I listened to the congregation sing the best they knew to do. No one was working together and no one was singing together.
As the service moved slowly, I wondered how I could leave gracefully without being seen. Perhaps I could set my phone to ring or just leave. But then I realized that I needed to engage in the service myself.
I needed to pray for my attitude in God’s House.
I needed to find the things in the worship service that sparked my attention and imagination.
I needed to look for Christ! Christ may have been looking for me!
Now if you are mean spirited and not seeking to improve your Church’s Worship Service You Can.
Pray before service that it ends quickly.
Sing loudly, and sing off key.
Talk about how another pastor did it during the service.
Read your mail from home during the service then leave during the message, while you grimace, glare, snarl and hiss at the pastor at the back of the church. But you will not be blessed!
Can You Improve Worship?
Come early before the service starts and pray for God’s presence.
Pray for the pastor, the message, and the pastor’s connection with the Holy Spirit.
Come seeking a “Word from Heaven” that can transform your life.
Count the number of things, ie, ideas you glean from the pastor’s spoken message; as you pray, seek the revelations God will give you.
Count the number of things that are meaningful to you during the service.
Join the choir and bring your friends, relatives, and neighbors to come and participate.
If you sing well, sing for the Glory of God!
If you sing poorly sing for the Glory of God!
Pray for the health of the church.
You will be blessed.
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Austin District news I’m dreaming of the perfect day
Intense planning. Creative infusion. Labor of love. Invitations issued. Family gathered. Friends assembled. Heartfelt commitment. Then, celebration, announcement, new life. Yes, yes, all this is true about the recent wedding of our daughter Beka and her man Scott. It is also true about the Next Big Party on my calendar and you are all invited. Bishop Dorff is hosting the launch of Imagine No Malaria to the rest of the denomination, and to the whole wide world, right here in Austin, Texas. Our district folks are working with event planners engaged by the INM team in Nashville – we are dreaming big name folks, outstanding musicians, live feeds from net distribution in Africa, opportunities for local churches to shine a light on the lives they have saved (and the lives they are changing right here in Central Texas).
April 25, 2-5, south steps and lawn of the Capitol. Among the celebrities will be our own Austin District confirmands, year of our Lord 2010. Our Bishop will call them up onto the steps and announce to the world that United Methodists are committed to eradicating malaria by the time these young people graduate from high school. I want to be there when that happens, don’t you? Friends, I am dreaming that this event will elicit a wave of Rethinking Church across the country, across the state, and right here in our own community. Several of our participating churches in the Imagine No Malaria pilot already had people become members because ‘they found a church that cared about something important.’ This Launch Event will be a coming out party for us, a public wedding of our deep core of love for God and neighbor and our deep commitment to offering new life to the children and families of sub Saharan Africa. I dream of seeing you there, presenting your church to the gathering. That would be just perfect.
Austin District happenings
Austin District to get the Imagine No Malaria party started
When Bishop Dorff chose the Austin District as the pilot for the Imagine No Malaria campaign, he trusted the people of this district to have a sense of compassion. Now, he’s trusting in our sense of fun! Bishop Dorff and the Austin District will host the national launch of the Imagine No Malaria campaign on the south lawn of the State Capitol on April 25, 2010—and we promise that is it going to be quite a party. The event, scheduled from 2-5 PM, will include food, live music, engaging speakers, and footage of net distributions. This is our opportunity to celebrate together the great work that this District and Conference have done on behalf of those suffering from malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa. But it is also our greatest opportunity to date to let the city of Austin know exactly what we Methodists are doing in this city and for our world. Come and help us spread the word about the lives that are being changed in Africa and in Austin.
Confirmands to lead at Imagine No Malaria celebration
The annual Confirmation Celebration has a new date and venue. Confirmands and their families, friends, mentors, and neighbors are invited to celebrate this step in their faith journey on the steps of the Capitol on April 25, 2010. There will be special recognition of our confirmands during the Imagion No Malaria Celebration to take place from 2-5 PM on the Capitol grounds. We are thrilled that Bishop Dorff will be able to address the confirmation class of 2010 while celebrating the amazing things God is doing through our United Methodist connection here in Austin and around the world.
Celebrate Servant Church’s first services Feb. 28
Wow! How grateful are we to have so many things to lift up in celebration in this edition of the Witness! We are seeing God working in us and through us not only across an ocean, but right here within the Austin city limits. Servant Church, the newest new church start in the Austin District, held its second worship service on Sunday, February 28. Servant Church currently meets at Asbury UMC and is pastured by Rev. Eric Vogt. While it is open to all, the congregation is intentionally seeking young adults, both with and without a previous relationship to a church. Participants have already had several social and mission events and will gather again to worship together on Easter Sunday. Leaders meet weekly to thoughtfully plan and pray for discernment as they work to birth a new congregation in urban Austin.
Mark your calendars for Marcia McFee Sept. 25
The Austin District will host Marcia McFee on Saturday, September 25, 2010 (Location TBA.) as we explore how to improve worship experiences in our congregations. Last year, worship attendance in our district improved…by seven. That means that on average, seven more individuals attended a church in the Austin District in 2009 than attended in 2008. We believe that the District can and must do better to reach our growing communities. As individuals, our relationship with the church—and with God—begins with worship. And so we are offering the opportunity to learn from McFee, a worship expert and architect of several worship experiences at General Conference 2008.
Buda UMC to host Basic Lay Speaker training April 24, May 1
On April 24th and May 1st, the Austin District Lay Speaking Committee is hosting a Basic Lay Speaking Course. This course is designed to fulfill one of the two-part requirements of the Book of Discipline for recognition of Lay Speakers as certified Lay Speakers. The two-day course that will run from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm. The fee is $40, which covers your meals and copy of the textbook, “Basic Lay Speaking Ministries” by Sandy Zeigler Jackson. To get a registration form, e-mail Tami Anderson at tamianderson2000@yahoo.com. For additional questions, call Bill Cain at (512) 345-4953.
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Conference gives money, health kits for Haiti
 Gene Hileman, Southwest Texas Conference disaster response coordinator, delivered 10,254 health kits to the UMCOR Sager Brown Depot in Baldwin, La., Feb. 12. All the health kits had been put together by churches in the Southwest Texas Conference and are slated for use in Haiti. In addition, the conference raised, as of the end of February, $474,820.04 for Haiti and $5,970.65 for Sager Brown depot for health kits. Hileman said UMCOR still needs monetary donations as well as layette and birthing kits. Visit http://new.gbgm-umc.org/umcor for more information.
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3 United Methodists receive annually awarded
senior fellowships to Austin Seminary  Stella Burkhalter, Lisa Straus, Paul DuBois, students at Austin Seminary, were among the five graduating students honored for receiving senior fellowships in early February. The five students received a combined $27,000 in grant monies for further study. Fellowships are awarded annually. DuBois, of Manchaca UMC who is also serving in an internship at University UMC, Austin, was presented with the Janie Maxwell Morris Fellowship; Burkhalter, a member of Oak Hill UMC who also served in a teaching church internship at The Rock UMC, Cedar Park, was given the Alsup-Frierson Fellowship for Excellence in Biblical Studies and Hermeneutics; Straus, a member of Westlake UMC, received the David L. Stitt Fellowship.
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San Antonio Area gathers for Epiphany lunch
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 Christian Educators from the Rio Grande and Southwest Texas Conferences gathered in January for an Epiphany Luncheon with Bishop Jim Dorff, sharing stories of how they are creating a culture of growth through Christian education in their respective congregations. Dorff encouraged and challenged them to grow and persevere.
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