St. Paul UMC wins Preservation Award

Preservation Dallas has named St.Paul UMC, located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, a winner in its 12th annual Preservation Achievement Awards. St. Paul did an extensive restoration project in collaboration with Highland Park UMC. The Preservation Achievement Awards recognize outstanding projects involving the preservation, rehabilitation and enhancement of Dallas’ historic buildings and neighborhoods. An independent jury of preservation professionals selects the award winners...

Esquivel honored with humanitarian award

Ruben Esquivel, a lay member of First UMC DeSoto, recently received the 2011 Bill Melton Humanitarian Award from the Oak Cliff Lions Club. Esquivel is chairman of the State Fair of Texas and the Baylor Oral Health Foundation. He has been chairman of the Dallas County Hospital Board, the Dallas Opera board, the YMCA of Metropolitan Dallas board and the Dallas Foundation board. In 1995, he was named vice president for community and corporate relations of the University of Texas Southwestern...

NTC to host School of Congregational Development

The School of Congregational Development will meet July 27-31 at the North Texas Conference. The national conference will offer numerous sessions on topics such as New Church Development, Racial Ethnic Ministries and Transforming Existing Churches.   The school is hosted by the NTC and St. Luke “Community” UMC of Dallas and is sponsored by GBOD, PATH1 and the General Board of Global Ministries. For registration information and more details on classes, go to...

Kessler Park reaches out to Dallas neighborhood with social media

By CATHERINE DODGE Special Contributor  Kessler Park United Methodist Church is reaching out to Generations X and Y in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas through social media. The church has launched a new website, www.kpumc.org, and two Facebook pages, Kessler Park United Methodist Church and Kessler Park UMC Youth. The church has also brought a tech-savvy youth pastor, Charles Harrison, on board. These efforts are helping Kessler Park reach out to the younger generations in Oak...

Keep the Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors philosophy strong by embracing diversity, SMU student says

By MICHAEL GRAVES Special Contributor  Church diversity intrigues us, whether we are affiliated or not with a particular religion, sect or denomination.  Today, many churches are exploring the idea of adding diversity to their congregations by inviting different cultures into their church families.  Many congregations in the United Methodist Church, a denomination that 6.2 percent of America's population identify themselves with, are at the forefront of this movement. Their...

Churches, make sure Safe Sanctuaries is in place for summertime

By ALEZE FULBRIGHT Center for Leadership Development  With vacation Bible schools, missions and other ministry opportunities for youth around the corner, congregations should ensure these events are safer by reviewing and updating their Safe Sanctuaries policies and procedures.  The North Texas Conference has been implementing Safe Sanctuaries over the past three years. The 2008 Annual Conference adopted the three-year plan for all local churches to fully activate training and...

The Eiland Collins Foundation Provides Scholarships To Hamilton Park Pacesetters Elementary School

The Eiland Collins Foundation contributed $1,500 to the Hamilton Park Pacesetters Elementary School as a part of its commitment to provide scholarships to students the Hamilton Park Community in science, technology and mathematics. Wayland Walker, community liaison for the Hamilton Park Pacesetters School, acknowledged the gift by saying, “We are eternally grateful to you, Pastor Booker, Hamilton Park United Methodist Church and the Eiland Collins Foundation for your untiring support of...

BeautY IN The EAST at Birthright UMC

Birthright UMC pianist Peggy Gibby (left) gets a corsage pinned on her by Worship Committee member Charlene Stewart before services Easter morning at the Sulphur Springs church....

SMU chaplain urges school to stay close to roots

By Sheron C. Patterson Editor Dr. Stephen Rankin, Chaplain of Southern Methodist University and a United Methodist clergyman, made headlines recently when he urged the university to embrace its United Methodist roots. “We need to own who we are and let people know who we are.” “We need to own who we are and let people know who we are,” he said. “SMU has great potential to model what church-affiliated higher education looks like. Faith has an important role to...

Get out your hammers for WillieBuild

By LINDA S. JOHNSON Associate Editor The fifth annual WillieBuild, honoring the memory of Willie Tichenor, an irrepressible personality who died five years ago of cancer at age 19, runs May 7-21. Since 2006, Highland Park UMC Carpenters for Christ has led volunteer teams in the Habitat for Humanity projects in West Dallas, home to the Wesley-Rankin Community Center that is close to his family’s heart through volunteer work. Although he had been diagnosed with a rare form of bone...

Stories of Willie Tichenor give a measure of the man

The website www.williebuild.com is filled with tales of Willie Tichenor’s strong spirit and his legacy. Here are excerpts of two stories: Getting it right Willie went on the HPUMC mission trip to North Carolina as a junior counselor in summer 2001. Willie’s group was putting the finishing touches on a hurricane-damaged home that an elderly woman would move back into as soon as our group completed its work. The weather was hot and the work was hard. On the final day, just as the...

Survivors of suicide console each other in support group

By JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent They are survivors of suicide, the ones left behind after a loved one takes her or his own life. On the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, the survivors convene quietly in a classroom at Highland Park UMC. From 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. they share stories like these: An aunt, attending her first session, sobs softly as she describes a niece in college who hanged herself last fall. A young man tells of his lifelong best buddy who got up early one...

Texas Minister-Layman golf tournament is May 3

The 33rd Annual Texas Minister-Layman Tournament will be held Tuesday, May 3, at Brookhaven Country Club, 3333 Golfing Green Dr. in Dallas. There is room for 140 participants for 27 holes of golf. Morning competition includes: 9 Hole, Two-Man Shamble (minister and layman) and a putt-off for ministry and layman putting champions. At lunch, author and golf pro Scott Lehman will give his testimony. There will be a surprise guest handing out prizes in drawings including an HD TV. After lunch,...

Sunnyvale church plans family carnival

New Covenant UMC, 3032 N. Beltline Road, Sunnyvale, TX 75182, will host a family carnival to celebrate Easter from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, April 23. Activities include a bounce house, games, food and an Easter egg hunt. The Easter Bunny will be available for photos with children.There is no charge for the carnival events. Call the church at 972-226-1092 with any questions.  ...

First Burkburnett strengthens youth ministry with Perkins program

By ANNE STROME Special Contributor Three young adults from First UMC Burkburnett recently attended courses at Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Youth Ministry, an ongoing annual program for those called to youth ministry. Participation leads to certification after completion of four annual sessions. Attendees were Wade Beason, youth ministry intern; Casey Keksi, youth ministry volunteer; and Tanner Hodges, music ministry volunteer. Their training included group and...

East District churches band together for Imagine No Malaria

By SHERON C. PATTERSON Editor Seven East District churches – Aley, Becker, College Mound, Kaufman, Kemp, Poetry and Mabank, all in Kaufman County – raised more than $10,000 for the Imagine No Malaria campaign through a March concert of the Connections Band. “We challenged each of our churches to bring $1,000 to the concert, rather than simple relying on passing the plate that night,” the Rev. Eston Williams of Aley UMC said. “We are very excited to have raised...

UMCOR helps get relief to Japan

Agency details its efforts to help in the disaster By THE REV. CYNTHIA FIERRO HARVEY Deputy General Secretary, UMCOR      United Methodists are lifting up Japan in prayer as its people deal with the disasters of earthquake, tsunami and radiation from damaged nuclear plants. We grieve with them for the thousands of dead, injured and missing. Once again, I am struck by the extravagant generosity of United Methodists who are supporting UMCOR’s efforts to bring healing...

Highland Park UMC girl leads drive for Filipino orphans

Grace Noble, barely 11, has been educating her fellow Hockaday School students about orphans in the Philippines. Along the way, she is learning lessons about caring, sharing and leading as she raises funds and awareness of the plight of 45 orphans in the Philippines. The children of Christian Praise Children’s Home have been supported for several years by Grace’s church, Highland Park UMC in Dallas, through grants overseen by its director of global missions, Rachael Faubion. The...

Kathy Stutesman honored for dedication to Wesley-Rankin

By JOAN G. LABARR Special Contributor       Her first heart flutters for Wesley-Rankin Community Center came 21 years ago this Easter when Kathy Stutesman saw a parade of preschoolers wearing white paper plates with pink bunny ears made of construction paper, with big pink bows tied under their chins.      “I don’t know if it was the endearing picture these children presented as they marched down the street, or just the touch of God...

Like Lent, grief is a time of introspection

By JULIE YARBROUGH Special Contributor Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. John 16:22       Lent is the period of spiritual reflection observed before the annual commemoration of the death of Jesus, culminating in the celebration of his resurrection on Easter. The self-examination of Lent resonates with the spiritual introspection of grief. When we grieve, we determine through soulful...