A Salute to the 181 Churches Who Have Paid 100% of their Apportionment

The North Texas Conference offers a hearty congratulations to the following 181 congregations and their pastors for paying their 2011 apportionment in FULL!

How did they do it?

Rev. Pool of First UMC Rockwall offers these words of encouragement to pastors and congregations striving to pay 100 percent of their apportionments:

"Our church has a long-standing tradition of paying out every year. It is a priority, and we seek to meet that goal.

"I wish I could say that we had some unique plan. We simply pay as early as we can.

"My advice to others is rely on the traditions that you have."

All apportionments are due Jan. 11.

A Dallas Bethlehem Center toddler played in 2010. The Mavericks have been supporters of the center, including funding a computer lab.

The center, a national mission institution of the Women's Division, General Board of Global Ministries of The United Methodist Church, has provided care and programs to at-risk children in South Dallas for 65 years.

But the beloved institution is experiencing a serious cash-flow situation because of the economy and too few charitable dollars from the larger community, said board chairwoman Ruth Robinson. As a result, Bethlehem Center will discontinue operations Dec. 16, with plans to reorganize and reopen in the spring.

"The board is working on a new model of operation that will provide the financial stability that the center, the children and families it serves and its supporters deserve," Robinson said.

Bethlehem Center is in the heart of South Dallas/Fair Park, a poverty-stricken area where median household income is less than $16,000 and education levels are low, center figures show.

More than 60 percent of the children live in female-headed households.

The center strives to increase the children's chances of developing the social, emotional, language and academic skills to succeed in school and reach their full potential.

The parents of the Bethlehem Center children are working, seeking work or going to school themselves. They pay what they can, based on their income.

Robinson suggested several ways supporters and churches can help sustain the center's services:

Support closing operations by covering employee benefits, severance and taxes.

Make a pledge to support the center's reopening programs.

Include Bethlehem Center in your 2012-14 budgets.

Host a fundraiser benefiting Bethlehem Center.

For information on making a donation, call 214-428-5171 or visit the website.

WICHITA FALLS — The Core Leadership Team met at Floral Heights UMC and devoted most of its time discussing the impact of the judicial ruling on the North Texas Annual Conference. At the 2011 Annual Conference, a question of law was raised, and Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe rendered a decision of law regarding the restructuring of the Annual Conference. The Bishop's decision was challenged at the Judicial Council, which is the denomination's court of law. The Judicial Council's decision was handed down on Nov. 1, reversing the Bishop's decision and ruled that the North Texas Annual Conference would need to do more work on its structure to reflect the inclusion of mandated committees with size, membership, diversity and tenure. The decision will require modifying changes in the Conference Standing Rules and revising the newly created nominations process to reflect the changes needed. All changes will be voted upon at the 2012 Annual Conference.

Bishop Bledsoe led the group in moving ahead with a positive spirit. "Even when we do not agree, we stay at the table and work it out," he said. Other CLT members echoed his sentiment. Here are some of their comments:

Thalia Matherson, lay member, Warren UMC, Dallas

In the midst of change and transition, we sometimes have our eyes on the prize — the end product — and perceive that we are on track.

However, we now find ourselves concentrating on some details that are vital to our conference structure. It is my belief that our current structure will take our conference in a direction that will allow members of the conference to be active participants in bringing persons to Christ and transformation of persons to take place.

Jan Davis, Pastor, First UMC Rowlett

When I heard the news of the Judicial Council ruling, I was disappointed. I recalled the countless hours of work the Strategic Planning Team invested and the vision to move closer to our mission as a conference of making disciples. When the Core Leadership Team designed the work groups in August and nominated conveners for those work groups, I believed the disciplinary requirements were sufficiently satisfied. The plan also provided flexibility to reach our vision as a conference.

However, we are committed to make additional adjustments required by the Judicial Council. I hope the result will be an opportunity for the lay and clergy of our conference to have fresh excitement and multiple opportunities to engage in the vital ministry of global ministries, ethnic and local church concerns, Christian unity and inter-religious concerns and social justice issues.

Levy Laguardia, Pastor, Umphress Road UMC, Dallas

The Judicial Council Ruling has strengthened our resolve as an Annual Conference to find ways on how we can effectively "make disciples for Christ for the transformation of the world" and at the same time calls us to uphold our tradition and polity as a denomination. It does not deter us to continue our strategic plan but helps us to highlight what we believed essential in our witness.

Frank Alegria, District Superintendent, North Central District

When I was a young man I learned to sail; two lessons have guided my life.

First of all, if your sails aren't set right, they flutter in the wind; they are loose. They fail to harness the momentum of the wind. Adjust them just a little, and you can feel the difference!

You learn to do this through experience.

Second, you constantly have to "tack" to the left and right to move forward; it is not a straight line, but zigs and zags not randomly, but always focusing on moving forward — even when at any given moment it might not seem like you are.

Christmas is the gift of life and joy in Christ, the light of the world. Each Christmas light is a brilliant celebration of God's love: "To you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is the messiah, the Lord." (Luke 2:11 NRSV)

The festival of Christmas celebrates our traditions, the season and the day. When we gather at the holidays with family, or others we choose as family, we realize that the festival of Christmas will never be the same without our loved one.

Yet what our heart really seeks within the festival, especially when we grieve, is the deeper experience of Christmas. As the gift of God's love reaches into our hearts with its mystery and wonder, we are certain of life beyond death. The experience of Christmas assures us of God's comfort and abiding presence to us in Christ.

Christmas comes to us in small, private moments when our heart is strangely touched by joy. Even as we grieve during the holidays, the moment of Christmas can surprise us and take our breath away with its life-renewing peace. In Emmanuel, we know that God is with us at Christmas and always:

• To comfort us.
• To redeem us.
• To restore us.
• To give us peace.
• To hold us in the communion of saints with the one we have loved and lost.

The experience of Christmas may come to you any day, not just on Dec. 25. Expect it. Look for it. Be open to it. As you remember the life of your loved one, especially at the holiday season, pray that in your grief you will discover again the true meaning of Christmas — God's love for humankind. Christmas comes when someone reaches out to you in love. Christmas comes when you reach out to someone in love. Expect an unexpected blessing; be a blessing to others.

Receive the gift of Christmas when moments of light shine in your heart. Light shines in quiet meditation. Light shines in moments of prayer and thanksgiving for the life of your loved one, whose light shines on forever through you. Seek the light of God's love in Christ as you grieve at the holidays and celebrate new life.

Julie Yarbrough, a member of Highland Park UMC in Dallas, is author of Inside the Broken Heart: Grief Understanding for Widows and Widowers and the upcoming small group program "Beyond the Broken Heart" (Abingdon Press, April 2012).

North Texas laywoman Nyla Gross of Mount Vernon UMC didn't let anything stop her on the Lands of the Bible Cruise, led by Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe in November. And that included riding a camel near the pyramids of Egypt. The 85-year-old is recovering from mouth cancer and used a feeding tube to eat during the cruise: "I had to miss out on a lot of good food, but I made out OK." The trip was "incredible," she said. "I traveled with my daughter, the Rev. Sue Gross, pastor of Tinney Chapel UMC [in Winnsboro], and my son Leslie Gross of California. I don't see what all the fuss is about, but I guess it was a big deal for an 85-year-old to ride a camel."

LAKE JUNALUSKA, N.C.— Mary Brooke Casad of McKinney was named chair of the Foundation for Evangelism board of trustees at its annual meeting in October.

The Foundation for Evangelism, a United Methodist nonprofit agency, awards grants for the development and the training of leaders in The United Methodist Church. Casad is the first woman to hold the board chair position in the history of The Foundation for Evangelism.

Founded in 1949, the foundation provides grants for doctoral education, leadership development and leadership enrichment within the context of the Wesleyan tradition. It is an affiliate of the General Board of Discipleship.

Casad, a native of Louisiana, serves as executive secretary of The Connectional Table of The United Methodist Church.

She is a member of the South Central Jurisdiction Episcopacy Committee and the Texas Methodist Foundation.

Casad takes over from Lane Rees, who served as board chair for nine years. She will preside over the foundation's mid-year board meeting in May.

Chamber Ambassador Chair Pam Minatrea, left, presents the plaque for First UMC Rowlett to Pastor Jan Davis. (photo by Jana Cerra)

This award is normally presented to a business in Rowlett, but the church was honored because of its strong support and presence in the community.

"First United Methodist's love of Rowlett is not only displayed in their active role in the Rowlett Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Rowlett Association, Leadership Rowlett and Pray Rowlett, but they believe the community should be a better place because of the church and its people," the chamber said.

The Organization of the Month is chosen for its support of Rowlett's residents and businesses, progressive attitude, high ethical standards and exemplary service.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The North Texas Annual Conference Communications Team won three awards at the 2011 United Methodist Communicators Annual Meeting here.

The national organization of the denomination's journalists, videographers and photographers sponsored an awards competition in categories that included newspapers, websites and public relations. The North Texas UMR newspaper, New Vision, New Voice, was recognized with an Excellence Award. The North Texas video newscast, NTC News, won two certificates of merit for its Transformation newscast and the Super Bowl newscast.

Dr. Sheron C. Patterson, NTC communications officer, said, "We are excited about our awards. The competition was stiff, and there were lots of other conferences competing. Here in North Texas, we strive to keep our projects fresh with our eyes on the mission field. These three awards give us encouragement to keep growing and going."

In addition to Dr. Patterson, the North Texas Conference Communications Team includes communications consultant Wil Murphy, associate editor Linda Johnson, webmaster Patrick Steil and administrative assistant Rosalinda Luna.

There is still time to join the Christmas advertisement campaign.

This Advent season is our time to spread the good news about Jesus Christ. We are reaching out to the mission field this Christmas with an aggressive campaign in secular media, and we want to publicize your Christmas and Watch Night worship services.

Our advertisements will appear in newspapers and on radio broadcasts in cities throughout the Annual Conference.

A special page has been set up here that lists the worship services. Click here to send in information for your services.