Briefs
Hospital system to give clergy members a break
Methodist Hospitals in San Antonio are giving professional courtesy discounts for members of the clergy and their immediate family members.
A discount equaling 20 percent of total charges, not to exceed $1,000, will be offered to any member with religious affiliation and/or their immediate family member using the services of Methodist Hospital, Methodist Specialty and Transplant, Metropolitan Methodist Hospital or Northeast Methodist Hospital.
Clergy members having financial difficulties may be offered payment arrangements or may be eligible under the charity policy.
Immediate family members include a husband, wife, birth or adoptive parent, child or sibling; stepparent, stepchild, stepbrother or stepsister; in-laws; and grandparent, grandchild or spouse of a grandparent or grandchild.
Old fashioned outdoor camp meeting features fun
Bulverde UMC is reaching out to the community with a (New) Old Fashioned outdoor camp meeting April 27. It is a free event that will feature “lots of wonderful music” and “powerful preaching” from 8:30 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.
The church is located at 28300 Hwy 281 North. Call (830) 980-7745 for more information.
Laura Berry to be guest speaker at April event
Laura Berry, executive director of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, is to be the guest speaker at the Socially Responsible Investment Coalition fundraising event April 29 at Oblate Grotto Ministries, 5712 Blanco Road, San Antonio, 78216. A light buffet is to begin at 5 p.m., with the presentation at 6:30 p.m.
Berry is to talk about “Moving Beyond Corporate Responsibility.” Cost for the event is $40 per person. For more information, contact Susan Mika, executive director for SRIC, at (210) 344-6778.
UM Women receive Hope Award for social service
Austin Area Interreligious Ministries honored the Austin District UM Women with the Hope Award, for years of distinguished social service.
The award was given during a ceremony April 10 at St. David’s Episcopal Church in Austin. The Rev. Sara Currie said the UM Women showed their commitment to social justice and equality through the Montopolis Friendship Community Center, founded more than 50 years ago.The center provides services to people in the Montopolis community.
Mayfest promises food, live music, fun for families
Driftwood UMC is to have a Mayfest May 3 from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. on the church grounds at 15090 Ranch Road 150 W, Driftwood, 78619. The festival is to feature live music, food, vendors and children’s activities.
For more information, call the church at (512) 858-0805.
First UMC, Devine, to host meal for 125th anniversary
First UMC, Devine, is to host a reception in the fellowship hall May 3 at 2 p.m. honoring all former pastors and pastors who grew up in the church. The celebration is to continue May 4 with activities beginning at 9 a.m. and a communion service at 10 a.m. featuring Kerrville District Superintendent Bob Allen.
A catered barbeque meal ($6 per plate) is to follow the service. Please RSVP to fumcdevine@sbcglobal.net.
Event honoring campus minister to be held May 9
The Boards of San Antonio UM Campus Ministry are hosting “A Legacy of Leadership” spring banquet and special farewell celebration for the Rev. David L. Semrad May 9 at 6 p.m. in the Loftin Student Center at San Antonio College, 1300 San Pedro Ave.
Semrad is to retire this summer, completing 31 years of campus ministry at San Antonio College and the University of Texas at San Antonio. Tickets for the event are $12 for adults and $6 for students. Reservations can be made with Brenda Meneses at (210) 733-1441 or brendamenesesmcm@sbcglobal.net.
Asbury Seminary banquet scheduled for June 4
The annual gathering of the alumni, students and friends of Asbury Theological Seminary is coming up during the 2008 annual conference session for Southwest Texas. The banquet is to be held June 4 at 5:30 p.m. in the Selena Lounge of the American Bank Center. This year’s speaker is to be the Rev. J.D. Walt, vice president of community life at the Asbury campus in Wilmore, Ky.
United Methodists reflect on the costs of Iraq war
As the Iraq war enters its sixth year, the costs extend far beyond the more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers and 600,000 Iraqis who have died in the violence. Thousands have been left wounded in their bodies, minds and souls––and face a lifetime of struggles related to the experience, says a UM chaplain who has seen those wounds up close.
The Associated Press reported that 29,320 soldiers had been wounded and 31,325 others treated for non-combat injuries and illness as of March 1. According to research by the U.S. Veterans Administration, 144 veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan committed suicide from 2001 to the end of 2005, and thousands face potential mental health problems and post-traumatic stress disorder.
UMW Middle East study provides mission context
NEW YORK—For more than 75 years, UM Women has sponsored “Schools of Christian Mission” as a means of informing and educating its members. But complaints have arisen about a geographic study on Israel-Palestine that was used in 2007 and will be used again this year. The complaints call into question the study’s depiction of the issues between Israelis and Palestinians. The purpose of the geographic study, according to Harriett Olson, chief executive of the Women’s Division, UM Board of Global Ministries, is to provide a context for the mission of the church. The division, which produces the studies, is UMW’s administrative arm.
Much of the 223-page mission study focuses on the political history of the region, accompanied by a “personal history” commentary by the author, the Rev. Stephen Goldstein, a Board of Global Ministries executive. Included is a study guide with personal stories of Israelis and Palestinians, study questions and worship materials, written by the Rev. Sandra Olewine, a board missionary.
Report urges stronger ties with Latin America church
NEW YORK––UMs should officially reconnect with their Methodist brothers and sisters in Latin America and the Caribbean. That’s the conclusion of a report for the General Conference, which meets April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth. A study commission will present its findings to the delegates April 26. The study panel was authorized by the 2004 General Conference to consider the relationship between The United Methodist Church and autonomous Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean. Three recommendations awaiting General Conference consideration come from a 2007 consultation in Panama City with delegations of bishops, presidents and other leaders from each of the Methodist churches of Latin America and the Caribbean.
Bishop Park to greet Pope Benedict in New York
NEW YORK—A UM bishop will be among those welcoming Pope Benedict XVI to New York on April 18. Bishop Jeremiah Park of the New York Area has been invited to greet the pope at a 6 p.m. ecumenical meeting at St. Joseph Church on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. The meeting’s theme is “Christ, Our Hope for Unity.” Two other UMs are also scheduled to attend the ecumenical meeting: Bishop Sudarshana Devadhar of the Greater New Jersey Area and the Rev. W. Douglas Mills, a staff executive of the UM Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns. The event is hosted by Cardinal Francis George, archbishop of Chicago and president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Edward Egan, archbishop of New York. Devadhar also was invited by President George W. and Laura Bush to serve as an ecumenical representative at an April 16 arrival ceremony honoring the pope at the White House.
Online game delivers virtual nets, saves lives
NASHVILLE, Tenn.––Throughout April, visitors to the Nothing But Nets Web site can play an interactive game to deliver virtual sleeping nets to Africa and, in the process, raise money to buy real insecticide-treated nets through the malaria prevention campaign. It’s all part of a renewed push for the UM-supported Nets campaign leading up to World Malaria Day on April 25. The “Deliver the Net” game challenges players to deliver as many virtual nets as possible before the sun goes down and malaria-carrying mosquitoes come out to bite. Each time someone plays and signs up at www.Nothing ButNets.net during April, an anonymous sponsor will donate $10 for a life-saving net. The people of The United Methodist Church are a founding partner in Nothing But Nets, a global, grassroots campaign that raised more than $18 million from 60,000 donors during its first year.
Douglas Cannon elected newest RCC president
CHANTILLY, Va.—A UM communicator will lead the Religion Communicators Council for the next year. Douglas F. Cannon of San Antonio was elected president during the international interfaith council’s 79th annual convention April 3-5. Reporters, political insiders, clergy and religion communicators shared the podium as 125 participants met near Washington, D.C. Cannon, former communications and public witness director for the Southwest Texas Conference, will serve a one-year term and is eligible for re-election. He succeeds Philip Poole, executive director of university communications of Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. Other UMs also were elected to leadership roles.
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