Listening session provides feedback on Episcopal Area reduction

From left: George and Brenda McDonald, St.Luke “Community” UMC, Dallas; Dr. Clara Reed, Sherman-McKinney District Superintendent; and Billy Ratcliff, former NTC Lay Leader, begin working on the questions assigned to the listening sessions small groups. BY DR. JOAN G. LABARR Editor More than 100 NTC invited leaders and other interested laity and clergy gathered at St. Andrew UMC, Plano, the afternoon of March 29 for a South Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops Discussion...

Bishop Hutchinson challenges new bishops NTC circuit

"No one who sets his hand to the plow and then keeps looking back is fit for the Kingdom of God." The words of Jesus, Luke 9:62, New English Translation. BY JOE DAN BOYD Special Correspondent New Bishops Wilbert Earl Bledsoe, Jr.; John Michael Lowry and James Edward Dorff are reminded that Jesus urges followers to focus on the here and now. A worship service of consecration July 19, in downtown Dallas’ historic First UMC, challenged the three newly elected bishops and...

Bishop W. Earl Bledsoe assigned to lead NTC; SC J ends on high note with Rev. Jim Dorff 's election

BY DR. JOAN LABARR Editor The 2008 South Central Jurisdictional Conference (SCJ) ended in celebration for the North Texas Conference NTC) SCJ ends on high note with Rev. Jim Dorff’s election with newly elected Bishops W. Earl Bledsoe assigned to the North Texas Annual Conference and the NTC’s own James (Jim) Dorff assigned to the Southwest Texas/Rio Grande Annual Conferences. The 297 SCJ delegates met July 16-19 (Wednesday through Saturday) at the Hilton Anatole Hotel in...

SCJ delegates support leasing SMU property for library

BY DR. JOAN LABARR Editor Delegates to the 2008 South Central Jurisdictional Conference (SCJ) adopted a version of a North Texas Conference petition on July 17 following intense debate regarding issues surrounding the President George W. Bush Presidential Library, Museum and Institute on the campus of Southern Methodist University. In adopting the petition by a vote of 158 to 118 and declining to adopt two petitions attempting to challenge the leasing of SMU land for the library complex,...

Episcopal address challenges delegates to adopt Wesley rules, heal divisions

BY JOE DAN BOYD Special Correspondent In the 2008 General Conference Episcopal Address, Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher, Illinois Area, challenged delegates to the United Methodist General Conference and members around the world, declaring, "It is our time to be the church of Jesus Christ." Claiming imagery from Bishop Rubin Job's "three simple rules for Christian life," based on John Wesley's General Rules for the Methodist Societies, Bishop Christopher declared: "We United Methodists, in...

Holy Conferencing prevails in most-conflicted issue

BY JOE DAN BOYDSpecial Correspondent It was not unexpected, and it was not unimpressive.It was, technically, a protest at Methodism's recent General Conference in Fort Worth. But, because of its gentle order and compassionate zeal, it quickly became a not-to-be-forgotten event of sacred meditation, even to those who disagreed with the cause of the protestors. Chanting "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord," they entered the conference hall with hands extended, while one of the leaders...

Members of the 2008 General Conference Delegation

Members of the 2008 General Conference Delegation to see which group could have 100 percent participation in making donations to the Advance and raise the most money for mission. The display introduced the new Advance mission projects and making donations as easy as "point and click." GBGM P D Mgather at the Advance for Christ display. The NTC delegation was part of a friendly inter-conference competition website, www.advancinghope.org, which makes locating NTC delegates gather for UM Advance ...

Bishop Jones addresses 'Witness Issue': Father-son exchange evokes special memories

BY JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent  As far as the North Texas Conference delegation to the 2008 General Conference was concerned, native son Bishop Scott Jones "done good" in his April 29 stint presiding over a late-evening session of The United Methodist Church's legislators. Bishop Jones, a North Texas Conference member for 20-some years, was elected a bishop in 2004 with the endorsement of others in his home conference's delegation. The South Central Jurisdictional Conference...

Rev. Eddie Fox, World Evangelist, speaks out on retaining language

BY JOE DAN BOYD Special Correspondent His softly modulated voice is steeped in Southern charm, slow as molasses at just the right moment, but faster than a speeding bullet when the occasion demands, reflecting the essential eloquence of an eighth-generation evangelical Methodist. Rev. Eddie Fox was an easy choice to be spokesperson for those who circled General Conference wagons in a successful defense of the minority report on human sexuality presented by the Conference Committee on Church...

UM Connectional Table: Mary Brooke Casad shares first-ever presentation

BY DR. JOAN LABARREditor As the 2008 General Conference launched its business on April 24, Mary Brooke Casad, chair of the NTC General UM Connectional Table Conference delegation and Executive Director of the United Methodist Connectional Table (CT), shared the Table's first-ever presentation to a General Conference with Connectional Table Chair, Bishop John Hopkins of the East Ohio Annual Conference. In her opening remarks, Casad said, "Our whole church has been longing for a place where...

GC budget

The NTC chief financial officer, Director of Administration/Treasurer, Rev. Marvin Guier, commended the 2008 General Conference for "outstanding leadership" in adopting the 2009-2012 General Conference budget. The 2008 annual conference pre-conference workbook being mailed to all delegates showed that the NTC's portion of the 2009 budget, the first year in the next four-year budgeting period, is $3,552,564. The church-wide total amount for the four years is $642 million. Dr. Guier said, "Many...

NTC delegates reflect on legislative committee work NTC circuit

BY JOHN A. LOVELACE Special Correspondent Each elected delegate to a United Methodist General Conference like the April 23-May 2, 2008, sessions in Fort Worth serves on not only the overall body of nearly 1,000 members but also on one of 13 legislative committees that do much of the "heavy lifting" before sending proposals to the full body for approval, amendment or rejection. In comments written for the North Texas UMR, three members of the North Texas Conference's 12-person delegation...

Mission momentum continues in Vietnam

Rev. Ut To and his wife, Rev. Karen To came to the summit from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. They also brought a local pastor, Linh Ma, from one of their churches. The Tos are Vietnamese but they received their education and seminary training in the US. They returned to Vietnam six years ago to help lead the growing UM church in their country. They now pastor 63 churches and their ministry includes two training programs---a course of study for local pastors and an advanced course of study for...

Grace Avenue Band at General Conference

From left, Grace Avenue UMC, Frisco, musicians: Laurie Hanson Roberts, Minister of Music; Pete Mill, bass player; and Bill Roberts, Associate Minister of Music, play during a lunch break at General Conference 2008. The Grace Avenue Band is featured every Sunday Morning at the 10:30 a.m. Celebration worship service. Almost all of the band members are professional musicians who play in a variety of bands around the DFW area. The band, which was asked to perform at the Lunch Break Concert at...

Liberian president stresses priorities in GC08 address

BY JOHN A. LOVELACE Under tight security befitting a head-of-state, Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf laid three priorities on her mother church as she addressed the UM General Conference Tuesday, April 29. Church and state must work together on these priorities, said the first woman democratically elected president in Africa: Reduce poverty, Reclaim the future for young people, Spread democracy. As one might expect from a woman holding a master's degree in public...

Grace Notes Choir entertains conference attendees

The Grace Notes Choir from First UMC, Plano, entertained delegates and guests during the May 1 lunch hour at Fort Worth's Convention Center....

NTC participants join festive worship as GC08 begins

BY JOHN A. LOVELACESpecial Correspondent The heavens roared and poured all across North Central Texas on Wednesday night, April 23, as the multi-national, multi-faceted United Methodist General Conference celebrated the 40th anniversary of the church's birth. The widespread thunderstorm appropriately blanketed both the site of the 1968 birth --the Dallas Convention Center --and the Fort Worth Convention Center, site of the church's entry into its fifth decade. Although all 11.4 million...

GC08 news on NTC website

The NTC website, www.ntcumc.org, will be an up-to-the-minute resource to track the activity at the April 23-May 2 General Conference (GC08) in Fort Worth. Web manager Becki Ozmun will be receiving the communications from Fort Worth and posting them as quickly as possible. The NTC website is also linked to the denominational General Conference website, which will carry live streaming of General Conference worship services and the plenary sessions. The NTC site also includes background...

Whaley UMC takes 'Nets' to new level

Whaley UMC, Gainesville, is a Nothing But Nets champion in every sense of the word. Whaley served as host church for the Sherman-McKinney District NBN Tournament in March, and the church's men's team ended up as conference champs. The team will represent the NTC at the General Conference NBN Tournament where the North Texas and Central Texas teams will vie for top honors in a playoff game set April 26, from 2:00-4:00 p.m., at the First UMC, Fort Worth, gymnasium Bishops from African...

GC08 Prayer Space to offer respite, reflection

Delegates and visitors to the United Methodist 2008 General Conference (GC08) in Fort Worth will have a special place of respite and reflection in A Space for Prayer, which will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall A. The prayer room will feature five chapel areas, and other special spaces, all including symbols of the Christian faith It will be a place where persons of all perspectives can gather as brothers and sisters in Christ. The chapels include: The Eucharistic...