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May 11, 2012
Volume 158, Number 53
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Neighbors helping Neighbors ministry
 Pastor Linda Gwathmey Associate Pastor, Missions and Pastoral Care of Windcrest UMC, San Antonio prays with a client during Neighbors helping Neighbors program that take place on every Thursday at Windcrest UMC, San Antonio.
By Mike Blackwell
Special Contributor
Thursdays begin well before 9 a.m., with an anxious and appreciative line winding into the Community Hall of the Windcrest United Methodist Church in San Antonio. The day of the week clearly doesn’t matter to most of those who participate in - and benefit from - the weekly Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. Thursday is their day, and this is their church.
The Neighbors Helping Neighbors program is a ministry that tangibly helps the homeless, the poor, the needy, and the hopeful. But beyond simply a program of giving, the ministry has become a much more meaningful endeavor; Neighbors Helping Neighbors, upper case, has become neighbors helping neighbors, a literal ground-level outreach program that serves the community in ways that reach beyond a meal, a bottle of water or a pair of shoes.
What began as simply an opportunity for the needy to get an apple, a bottle of water and maybe a cookie has blossomed into a place of blessing for all: the volunteers eagerly admit the gifts they receive might very well be more rewarding than the food, clothing and fellowship enjoyed by those who arrive each Thursday morning searching for answered prayers.
Yes, those who benefit from the program can receive food, water, clothing - even bus tickets; but they have also come to realize that they will receive much more than “items” when they arrive each Thursday.
As the line forms outside the Community Hall, the leader of this outreach, WUMC Rev. Linda Gwathmey, is directing a team that is determined to make the many wishes - and needs - of those in line come true. The 20-25 volunteers are scurrying about, building sandwiches and preparing the serving line and organizing the clothing. Bag lunches and hygiene kits are prepared; even pet food is available.
 Each week an average of 60 to 90 people come to Neighbors helping Neighbors at Wincrest UMC’s Community Hall for worship, food, prayers, clothing, haircuts, and healthcare and much more.
Volunteers also break out and listen to individual needs, making referrals. There is individual prayer time - one volunteer with one man or woman in need. Neighbor praying with neighbor. Haircuts are given along with Bibles (in English and Spanish). Health screenings are given, too: blood pressure checks, health histories are logged, and medical referrals are developed.
To say the very least, Gwathney’s cup truly runs over with pride in the program that began modestly in August of 2010.
“You would be amazed if you would visit us in the Community Hall on a Thursday morning,” Gwathney says. “We are located in a part of San Antonio that is underserved by social service agencies and direct help ministries. All the churches nearby were overwhelmed by the requests for food and financial help. People came to us hungry, so we added a meal. We recognized their spiritual hunger as well, so we added an informal communion service.”
Indeed, the spiritual hunger aspect of the outreach is prominently mentioned by those who benefit from the service.
“My experience is that you’re always welcome and they help you a great deal,” says a woman who arrives regularly each Thursdays. “They’ve prayed over me, and I recently found a disabled living home, and I believe God helped provide that to me. I used to be a drug addict, and I think the prayers have helped me. And it’s a social time for me to be with people who aren’t using (drugs), and to be with people who believe in a higher power.”
That belief in higher power is also prevalent in the minds and hearts of the volunteers, who eagerly - and emotionally - sing the praises of the ministry.
 A client of receives a free haircut during Neighbors helping Neighbors.
Bottom: A client receives free healthcare screening from the Wesley Nurse during Neighbors helping Neighbors.
Behrens says that while providing day-to-day needs in order to live - like food, water and clothing - is rewarding, the spiritual aspect of the outreach is even more gratifying. Yes, food for the body is important and essential; but food for the soul is perhaps even more important to volunteers like Behrens, who can’t wait to serve on Thursdays.
“We tell them, ‘God doesn’t care what you wear to church,’” Behrens says. “They feel very comfortable here at Neighbors. I never call them ‘those people’ because they are our neighbors. But for the grace of God, this could be any one of us. This place gives me the biggest blessing that you could ever believe. I really feel like God is working through me to help them.
“You should see the look on their faces when we pray with them, when we talk to them. What’s the difference between them and me? Nothing. It means the world to me. We’re all the same in the eyes of God.”
Molly Moody is a volunteer who has been on both sides of the Neighbors Helping Neighbors program. When her daughter lived with her, she struggled to find a ride to visit her doctors, but was given $10 gas cards by Neighbors Helping Neighbors when necessary. Most importantly, she and her daughter were given groceries.
“We’ve received sack lunches, toiletries, a little bit of everything,” Moody says. “It kept us from going hungry a couple of times.”
Moody’s unique perspective gives her an uncommon empathy during her work on Thursdays. She is now financially independent, and is eager to help; the fact that volunteers at Neighbors Helping Neighbors are respectful of their clients played prominently in her decision to literally give back to her community.
 Rev. Linda Gwathney and Rev. Tamara Strehli serve communion during Neighbors helping Neighbors.
Another volunteer, Harriett Martell, is convinced that her work in the ministry was a true calling. Arriving to Texas from Maine, Martell was literally searching for her place - not a physical place, but a living “place” in her life. Searching, she asked, “What on earth have I come here for?”
Neighbors Helping Neighbors gave her the answer.
“When I thought about that question, all of a sudden I thought, ‘I’m not giving enough of myself,’” Martell says. “I love this. I have a microphone and I talk with them and laugh with them when they come in; I try to sing, but I can’t. And it’s so fulfilling. A lady who had been sleeping on the concrete came in today and said, ‘Guess what, I have a home.’ It’s my mission.”
Gwathmey is particularly proud of the spiritual aspect of the outreach. Being able to provide food, transportation and clothing allows the church to reach those who might very well be otherwise out of reach. Those who come on Thursday might shy away from coming on Sunday; Neighbors Helping Neighbors has provided many with a pathway to God. Some are now also arriving on Sunday.
“We are encouraging our congregation to move from being inwardly focused to being outwardly focused,” Gwathmey said. “Some of the Nieghbors who come to worship with us on Thursday mornings now come to worship on Sunday as well. Some have joined adult Bible study classes. Some have officially joined the church. Every expansion in our ministry has come at the initiative of one of our volunteers. We at Neighbors Helping Neighbors believe that a critical mass for sparking change is one disciple with a clear vision and the willingness to work to make it happen.”
By noon on Thursday, the list of needs is usually nearing completion. Activity in the Community Hall now consists of clean-up, storing clothes for next week, sorting out paperwork and loading carts to be stored away for seven more days. Each interview is logged, and forms are made available for use again the following Thursday. At the end of a normal Thursday, some 60-90 people have been served.
Inevitably, like Moody, Neighbors who receive become Neighbors who serve. They return with news of jobs they have received. Some will bring back clothes for others, or bus tickets, or money. Some bring prayer requests. Others volunteer.
Thus the circle closes.
“We are not sure what our next stage of Neighbors Helping Neighbors will be, but we know God is with us,” Gwathmey says. “We have felt the work of the Holy Spirit every step of the way.”
If you would like to start a mission at your church like this one, please contact Rev. Linda Gwathmey at l.gwathmey@windcrestumc.org or (210) 654-0404.
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General Conference as a Party?
I write this letter to you from my seat at the General Conference. The Conference adjourns tomorrow evening. Our time here has been interesting, important, at times painful, frustrating, energizing, spiritually renewing, and hope-filled. The Lord Jesus Christ is alive and well in our beloved United Methodist Church. I am grateful to be a part of it. Although we meet only every four years, we renew friendships and discern God’s will for the church. It is a prayer-filled gathering.
The elected delegates from the Rio Grande and Southwest Texas Conferences were very present and served in several significant places of leadership. They all represented our Area with faithfulness and distinction. I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve with the fine lay and clergy leaders among us.
During a recess in the proceedings I was in conversation with a friend from another conference. He joyfully shared with me that he encountered a visitor to the Conference and her 3 year old son. The visitor was leaving the convention center, but was receiving substantial objections from her little boy. He kept saying, “I don’t want to leave the party!” Everyone around found it, not only amusing, but also quite profound. When United Methodists get together it should be a party. Sometimes it doesn’t seem that way and sometimes our own interests get in the way of the work of the Spirit.
As we come together in our churches, conferences, and even our homes we should always join in a spirit of thanksgiving, gratitude and joy. We should join our Lord for a “party” of sorts. We celebrate the goodness of God in the midst of our humanness. We celebrate the Hope which binds the past to the future. What a joy!
I am looking forward to joining the members of our conferences when we gather in June for our parties. May we give thanks to God for bringing us together and gracing us with the presence of the Holy Spirit. What a gift. Be blessed. Be joyful. Celebrate!
P.S. Please be certain to read the United Methodist Reporter closely to be informed of the actions taken by the General Conference.
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General Conference 2012 - Triumph or Disapointment?
As I sit in my room in Tampa on May Day, 2012, and contemplate the immediate past and future of our Church, my dominant thoughts are optimistic. The three major groups proposing change in the General Church collided and beat on each other in turn in the legislative committee this past week; however, since then two of the three, the Connectional Table team I have been working with and the “Plan B” team, have worked out a new proposal that is satisfactory to both groups. It is positioned to be considered on the floor of General Conference on May 2 and will present the gathered representatives of the UMC with a new look for management of the program agencies of the Church. And I am hopeful.
General Conference is so many things to so many people. It is a reflection of our historical past, going back to the 1700’s. It is a melting pot of cultures and ideas, many of which find themselves in conflict as we work through opposing viewpoints. It is an unclear looking-glass into our future, with international delegates, youth, and young adults numbering nearly half of the 988 delegates in attendance. Every day we find new ways to avoid or accommodate change, but more and more the attitude expressed here is that we MUST change - only, in what way?
Our leadership has posed the challenge to us that we must focus on creating and maintaining vital congregations as the primary place for making disciples in the UMC. Why, some ask, are we spending so much time trying to remodel the general Church, if we are focussed on local church vitality? Good question. My take on that is that we need to gather our leadership around a direction for the denomination, through General Conference action. We have been so lethargic in our initiatives lately that we need to prove to ourselves that we can band together in a substantive way.
Our general Church structure has created a cyclic situation at General Conference, wherein the general agencies bring most of the legislation in order to better define their missions, then use the adopted mandates as a basis for budgeting for staff in the following quadrenniums. The planning of the budget begins two years before General Conference, which means the general staff must predict six years out how the last dollar raised will be spent. Does anyone reading this believe they could do an accurate budget for their family or business six years ahead of time? We are strangling the initiative of our agencies with this system, and they are many of our best and brightest people, by and large!
Which brings me back to the question: why start with restructure of the general agencies to make local churches more vital? Because we are a connectional Church, which leads through episcopal offices throughout the world, and those episcopal leaders operate largely through a system supported by our general agencies and staff. Why we still have an episcopal system of leadership is no longer clear to many United Methodists, despite the many advantages to such a system.
We have lost our sense of the core of the Anglican Church system we grew out of because we have developed such a strong, representational system of governance. That strong, representational system is what is at work this week in Tampa, FL. It is my sincere hope that when I see all of you in Corpus Christi in a month, I will have glad tidings about the future of Methodism, based on what happens after I write this. Peace be with you!
Editors Note: Restructuring “Plan UMC” passed at Genreal Conference right before this issue went to print. More info at UMC.org
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Huricane Season Starts June 1st, Are You Ready?
By Mike Blackwell
Special Contributor
It is a matter of when, not if. Hurricane season in Texas begins in June and ends at the close of November, a schedule as predictable as the sun moving east to west.
And as recent hurricane-related disasters have proven, Texans need to be as prepared as possible. Accordingly, Disaster Response Coordinator Gene Hileman is imploring people to donate the valuable flood clean-up buckets. Recent flooding in Texas has dropped the inventory of the buckets, according to Hileman, and replacement buckets are badly needed in anticipation of the hurricane season.
The five-gallon buckets should be filled with cleaning supplies, and are normally distributed to families to help them clean in a flood’s aftermath. Individuals and churches are being asked to assemble the flood buckets, which have historically been invaluable to flood survivors.
In 2008, over 1,000 flood buckets were assembled at the United Methodist Annual Conference and distributed after hurricanes Dolly and Ike.
“We’ve inventoried our buckets in anticipation of hurricane season,” Hileman says. “We need to really push on our efforts as soon as possible.”
The five-gallon bucket with a re-sealable lid should include scouring pads, sponges, a scrub brush, cleaning towels (reusable wipes), liquid laundry detergent (two 25 oz. or one 50 oz. bottle), one household cleaner (12-16 oz. bottle), disinfectant dish soap (16-28 oz. bottle), five dust masks, two pair of latex gloves, one pair of work gloves, a 24-bag roll of heavy-duty trash bags, 33-45 gallon (remove roll from box before placing in bucket), one insect repellant spray in a 6-14 oz. can (if aerosol, cans must have protective caps), and one air freshener in 8 or 9 oz. can (if aerosol, cans must have protective caps).
Hileman says it is important to make sure all buckets include new items, and should not include anything that is not on the official list of items. Donators are also encouraged to not include personal notes, money or any other additional materials.
Additionally, if a requested item is not available, donators are asked to provide the next available smaller size, and if something is not available, put masking tape on the outside of the bucket saying, “This bucket contains no _________.” Shipping requirements require that all cleaning agents be liquid in plastic bottles; no powders are allowed.
Donators can take their buckets to the warehouse located in Kerrville, or can bring the items to June’s United Methodist Annual Conference in Corpus Christi. Visit the web site at www.umcswtx.org for more details on deliveries of the buckets.
“These buckets should also be given with a minimum of $3 per bucket to cover delivery expenses,” Hileman says. “Every homeowner who experiences a flood needs a bucket. These provide a very important service to the survivors of these disasters.”
In addition to the bucket donations, disaster response volunteers are reminded that an early response training session is scheduled for May 12 in La Feria, and information on that session can be found at www.umcswtx.org. If you have further questions about the buckets or training, contact Hileman at aehileman@umcswtx.org.
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Investing in the Teenagers of Today: the Leaders of Tomorrow
“When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” Luke 12:48
My dear friends, I have a challenge to present to you. It’s not one I have offered before with such clarity or specifics. It is one, perhaps, that I have hinted at and even prayed for years -- to invest in the teenagers of today, the leaders of tomorrow.
For twelve years, I have been blessed to serve as the Director of Youth Ministries for the Southwest Texas Conference of the UMC, and I love it. I love it because I know I am at the front lines of helping grow the church of tomorrow. I love it because I see a dozen young adults on church staffs that 10 years ago were Jr. High students at summer camp.
I love it because I know many of you have fond memories of being at youth camps at Mt. Wesley, the HEB Foundation, Camp Thicket or Cathedral Oaks, and you want your children, grandchildren or young friends to be able to do the same.
I love it because when I walk into certain rooms in the United Methodist Center and at Mt. Wesley, I see youth camp photos from the 1940’s and 50’s filled with young people, many of whom are both lay and clergy leaders in our churches today.
I love the calling and I love the commission we have to raise up, build deep, and press in to our teenagers the message of the Gospel of grace found in Jesus Christ. And we are doing just that, but we have a need, and it requires your help.
We have more teenagers attending Conference youth camps since the hey-days of the 40’s and 50’s, but more of those teenagers and families struggle with paying for camp. As summer camps grow, so do resources, and so does the cost of doing a summer camp or a Midwinter. The truth is this. I need your financial support in providing scholarships for youth to go to camp.
Many of you already support youth in your local churches, and for those who do, I say, “Keep it going!” However, there are many others who have the means to give and to help a student attend a summer camp, where they will hear and have an opportunity to respond to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
Our conference has established an Advance Special #2030 which is our “Youth Camp Scholarship” fund. Will you consider giving towards this fund for the teenagers of today, so they might become the godly leaders of tomorrow?
With your help, your prayers, and your financial gifts, we can continue investing deeply in our youth for the glory of God and for the expansion of the Body of Christ in the United Methodist Church.
And my pledge to you is this - to not only continue offering Christ-centered, Spirit-filled camps for our youth, but to write the first check, so that a youth might attend camp and discover the love of God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
[To make a gift to the SWTX Youth Camp Scholarship Advance Special, make checks payable to the: SWTX Treasurer, c/o: Advance Special #2030, 16400 Huebner Rd, San Antonio TX 78248. Be sure to write the Advance code number and “Youth Camp Scholarship” on the check as well.]
For more information on how to attend a SWTX Youth Camp, visit us online at Reachingyouth.org, or email Rusty Freeman at rhf143@gmail.com.
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San Antonio District news
Well, that’s too long
Perhaps you remember Chill Wills endorsing Wolf Brand Chile. I can still hear his gravelly voice ask the concluding rhetorical question, “Neighbor, how long has it been since you had a big steaming bowl of Wolf Brand Chile?” Then, with a bit of a chuckle, he would drawl, “Well, that’s too long!”
Ruben Saenz, Annual Conference Director of New Church Development & Transformation, has brought the Healthy Church Initiative from Missouri to the Southwest Texas Annual Conference. (If you have a desire to see your congregation transform, be in touch with Ruben.) At a recent HCI Consultation Weekend, the consultant, Doug Anderson, noted that the average United Methodist invites someone to church “once every thirty-eight years!” Yikes! It begs the question, how long has it been since I invited someone to church (read that worship, Bible Study, mission activity or Sunday School)? 38 years? Well, that’s too long!
Faith Communities Today research on growing and declining churches found that the strongest positive relationship to growth among programs and ministries was “the extent to which a congregation is involved in evangelism or recruitment.” In other words, congregations that are growing have members who invite non-churched people to participate.
The UMC of the Resurrection near Kansas City grew from a new church start in 1990 to one of the largest mainline congregations in the United States. One of Resurrection’s goals for 2012 is that “each member of the church will be called to and equipped for a renewed practice of inviting our friends, neighbors and colleagues.” Pastor Adam Hamilton reminds members that “most people who come to faith in Christ do so because a trusted friend shared their faith or invited them to church. The impact of each of us sharing Christ with others is astounding.” So, how long has it been? Thirty-eight months? Well, that’s still too long!
What would it be like to commit to pray each day for 40 days, asking God to show just one person per day to whom I could offer an invitation to share my faith or the Body of Christ in which I live? I have no doubt God would cooperate and offer many answers to that prayer. I believe God dreams of saving the entire universe, but how long has it been since we invited someone to share in that dream? Thirty-eight weeks? That’s almost a year – and, well, that’s too long!
When Matthew records Jesus’ Great Commission, the operative verb Jesus uses is “go” – not “come.” Most United Methodists content themselves to welcome folks to our congregations when they show up on Sunday morning. Jesus knew they won’t “come” until we “go.” So, my friends, GO – into all your world – and invite people who know and trust you – to COME. How long has it been since we took our radical hospitality outside the church building and invited someone to come? Thirty-eight days? Well, that does beat the average, but it is still too long! Why not today?
In this and in all manners of discipleship, we are not alone. For today as always, we live with the assurance that the Lord who tells us to “GO” is the same Lord who promises to always be with us. Thanks be to God.
San Antonio District happenings
Church: A noun or a verb?
Terry McCandless
me played by folding your hands together like when you pray? “Here is the church; here is the steeple; open the doors and here are the people!” What is “church” to you? When my grandparents talked about church, it was always a place – their Sunday morning (and Wednesday evening!) destination. It’s where they went to serve God. Work in the church meant teaching Sunday school, leading Vacation Bible School, singing in the choir, serving as ushers, serving on any of the myriad committees. Church was, and by many still is, seen as a place where good Christians GO. Frankly, that’s how I grew up. It served me well in many respects. I learned the stories of God; I learned theology and a certain amount of doctrine; I learned that Jesus loves me. I learned compassion for others. I heard the “good news.” In short, I learned how to DO church.
A few months ago I went to a continuing education event and heard Reggie McNeal talk about a “Missional Renaissance.” He sees that there is a new ‘old’ way of thinking about church -not as a noun but as a verb. Not a place of destination but an act of obedience.
Have you ever taken a road trip? You make sure you have your itinerary planned, your maps all marked. Your first stop is the gas station to top off the tank as you head out. The gas station isn’t your destination. It’s where you go to make sure your car has everything it needs to make the trip. You will stop at several gas stations throughout your trip. Sometimes just to fill up and move on; sometimes to get out and stretch your legs, get a snack or “make a pit stop” yourself. You never STAY at the refueling station, rest area, snack bar! It is just a necessary part of the journey – to prepare you for the next leg of the trip.
This new image of church Reggie talked about is like that - not just going to church; not just doing church; but truly being the church. And, we need a refueling station for equipping us for the journey. We find strength and refreshment when we worship, study, and fellowship with other Christians. We find respite from the journey. BUT THE REFUELING STATION IS NOT THE DESTINATION!!
What might this new church look like? - THERE IS NO DOOR to isolate us from the world.
THERE IS NO STEEPLE to elevate us above the world; for WE ARE THE CHURCH, a commissioned people - Christ’s action in the world.
Victoria District news
Attitude and Evangelism in the UMC
Evangelism 101: Attitude
Help this lost soul! Please!
Help me folks! If I am really to take the mission of the United Methodist Church seriously which “is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” then I must deal with my attitude.
“A BAD ATTITUDE IS LIKE A FLAT TIRE. YOU CAN’T GO ANYWHERE UNTIL YOU CHANGE IT.” ANON
Many of us think that our Churches are friendly but I have a seat in the church that I attend regularly. I have a “select” pew. I don’t mind crying babies and teenagers texting in service but I like what I like!
But here are some things that the people at Chapel Hill, North Carolina say about “shifting attitudes” that I have picked up on. The book that I am paraphrasing from was entitled “Dealing with Differences.” And the passage that brought me low was the following:
1. Treat others with respect.
2. Use active listening skills.
3. Decrease defensiveness.
4. Don’t play your records.
5. Remember, listening does not mean agreement.
If the Southwest Texas and the Rio Grande Conferences are going to recruit people to Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world I must be intentional about my evangelism and my attitudes.
If I am serious about working in any of the four areas of ministry which are
1. Global Health Initiative
2. Ministry with the Poor
3. Leadership development
4. Church growth and development
Then it is my attitude that will determine my altitude. Anon@
The question is do I have any witnesses or am I in this court alone?
Victoria District happenings
Easter Sunday At the Genesis Center
Easter Sunday Genesis Center UMC, in unity with City Harvest Church, had its first service in the park. There was music,a puppet show, “resurrection power” sermon, Easter egg hunt and more music. Ethel Lee Tracy Park was filled with God’s message. It was exciting that so many of those who had come to the park decided to join us. The Bada Bing Puppeteers (Kaden Jones, Nicolas Partida & Toby Partida)) did such a great job that someone in the park came and asked them to do it again because they missed part of it. Our goal was to reach out to the community; the reaction was a positive one. The guests of the park that joined us, thanked us for welcoming and including them. God’s Love is meant to be shared with all. That is what Genesis plans to do. The next event will be in a different park in order to reach another area of town. God is doing great things.
The Spirituality of Bread-making
First UMC, Victoria
When Bob and Evelyn Opperude of Schulenburg were married one of the first things Bob asked her to do was to make home baked bread like his mother. Evelyn learned how to make bread; harboring the secret that she already knew how to make hot rolls. Her bread wasn’t quite like Bob’s mothers’ but he seemed to like it well enough. She has won many blue ribbons, made the bread for communion at Cathedral Oaks, where she and Bob were caretakers until their recent retirement.
Evelyn presented her Bread-Making program to the United Methodist Women at First UMC, Victoria. As she proceeds, Evelyn tells us the secrets of making bread. Every step is based on the Gospel.
“We think of bread as the ‘staff of Life’. Everyone eats bread and every country has their own form of bread.”
Evelyn starts with flavoring which are salt and sugar and tells us that “not only does the bread feed on the sugar but the salt helps in the growth of the dough. Salt and sugar are like people who flavor the atmosphere wherever they are”.
Evelyn adds oil which, “is the ingredient that holds the rest together while baking, making it smooth and soft. I know people who can always hold the group together, even when there is discord. I would like for you to think of the oil as Christian Fellowship, love and study.”
“Now I’ll add the moisture. Nothing can grow without being watered and cared for. In making bread I add warm water. As a member of this UMW group I will be a small part of tending this plant”.
“The starter or yeast is a living plant but it must have a place to grow. It is the Spirit of Christ. He has no body now but ours. The leavening or yeast won’t grow without warmth. That’s why we keep the spirit inside of us at all times.”
The substance of the bread, of course is flour. She uses both whole wheat and bleached. These can represent all peoples. Then she adds “maybe, I should be making 5 or 7 grained bread!”
“Our flour doesn’t come down from heaven; we get it from the grocery store. But, someone had to plant small seeds of wheat so they could die in the ground to be born again. Aren’t you reborn?” she asks.
“When I use whole wheat flour I need to beat it quite a while so that the gluten in the wheat will absorb the moisture and become more elastic and ready to be worked into the other ingredients with ease and become smooth. Like each of us there are times when we feel like we don’t quite fit in.”
After the white flour is added and well mixed in, the “Bread-Maker” must knead the dough together until it reaches an elastic smoothness that can rest and grow together. We watched Evelyn get in a rhythm and she told us this was the time she would pray as she worked the bread. “If I am angry or frustrated, I take my anger out on the bread, knowing the Holy Spirit will make the anger go away, and then I will pray for all who will partake of this bread, knowing it is the Body of Christ.”
Once double in size, Evelyn divides it and shapes it into loaves. “None of us get to stay in our comfort spot forever” she reminds us. They are set aside to grow again until they are double, then baked and are no longer separate ingredients.
“Many of us have come to the cross roads in our lives job, marriage, children and health; so we are facing being divided, moved on, sent somewhere else to start over, taking our Christian values, Christian Spirit, our love of God and His people. God did not promise us an easy trip. We all must go through life’s fires to mature and strengthen us.”
“We are not sugar, salt, oil or water; yeast or starter and flour. As a group of ladies we are one, The Body of Christ. Let us go feed the world, teaching Christ’s love to everyone we see.”
Evelyn, we are very grateful for your program and reminding us how to live in the present.
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Briefs
The Conference Advance is an official program of the Southwest Texas (SWTX) Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church for voluntary, designated, second-mile giving over and above apportionment giving. Through the SWTX Advance, districts, local churches, and organizations - and individuals and families - may choose to support specific, approved mission programs or mission personnel with their financial gifts. 100% of all SWTX Advance giving goes to the chosen mission project or ministry.
SWTX Advance projects are approved by the SWTX Conference Board of Global Ministries (CBGM). Approved projects must be within the geographical bounds of the SWTX annual conference. Each project is listed in the online “Five Star” Advance catalog.
Once every four years, every project that wishes to be listed as an Advance must fill out and submit and an application form. The form and instructions are found at http://www.umcswtx.org/page514633.html
July 1 is the deadline for completed, signed applications to be received by the Southwest Texas Conference office in San Antonio (Attn:Advance application). Applications received after July 1 will not be considered until after January 2013.
For more information, contact Sandy Wilder, SWTX Conference Secretary of Global Ministries (512.773.8078 or swilder@texas.net)
United Methodist Women of the
SWTC School of Christian Mission
San Antonio District
Carl Rohlfs
Superintendent
carlds@umcswtx.org
Kathy Kafora
Admin. Assistant
ksk@umcswtx.org
Terry McCandless
Program Director
tmccand@umcswtx.org
Address:
16400 Huebner Road
San Antonio, TX 78248
District Office
(210) 408-4520
Fax: (210) 408-4521
Program Office
(210) 408-4533
www.unitedmethodistsadistrict.com
District Calendar
May
19 District Confirmation Celebration, Northern Hills UMC, 10 a.m. - noon.
20 District Conference and Pre-Conference Caucus, St. Paul UMC, 3-5 p.m.
June
7 Vital Signs due to District Office.
7-10 Annual Conference, Corpus Christi.
Victoria District
Terrence Hayes
Superintendent
Linda Curl
Admin. Assistant
Judith Johnson
Program Director
judith@satx.rr.com
Lori Koonce
District Editor
lflemingkoonce2003k@yahoo.com
Address:
5606 N. Navarro, Ste. 217
Victoria, TX 77904
District Office
(361) 573-4233
Fax: (361) 573-4392
Program Office
(361) 573-4233
New District Web site
www.umcvictoriadistrict.com
District Calendar
May
7 Clergy Reports due into the District Office.
12 Pastors & Professionals, District Pre-Confrence Briefing, Yoakum UMC, 9 a.m. Lunch, noon. Unification Team, 12:30.
14-15 Cabinet.
28 Memorial Day, Office closed.
June
7 Clergy Reports due into the District Office.
7-10 Annual Conference, Corpus Christi.
16 Charles Purnell Retirement celebration, First UMC, Seguin.
26 District Trustees, Cathedral Oaks, 1 p.m.
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