News

As information and details continue to come to light from Sunday night’s (Oct. 1) mass shooting – already the worst mass shooting in modern U. S. history – there is still no known motive for why a gunman perched on the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel-casino unleashed a hail of bullets on an outdoor country music festival, killing at least 58 people and injuring more than 500. Even as Christians and people of faith across the country ask “Why?” the call for prayer is rising amidst the calamity ...

Bishop McKee joins Rev. Karen Greenwaldt (2014) and Dr. John McKellar (2016) as recent Perkins Distinguished Alums with longtime ties to the Central Texas Conference. Bishop Michael McKee, episcopal leader of  the North Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church, has been named as the 2017 Distinguished Alumnus of Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University. He will be honored during the annual awards banquet at 5 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, in the Great Hall of Elizabeth ...

The Commission on a Way Forward (COWF) has released a status report to the UMC Council of Bishops (COB) as well as the entire United Methodist Church (UMC), updating the church and the leaders on the faithful work of the Commission after four meetings. The update was released as a PDF and video slide show and is intended to be an update on the commissions processes and progress to date – this report has no official recommendations, final results or any direction to the COB and/or the called ...

As the final chords of another powerful and inspiring AC17 opening song still reverberated in the rafters of First Methodist Mansfield, Bishop Lowry rose and called on the body of the Central Texas Annual Conference and all United Methodists in the CTC to be in prayer for all those affected by Wednesday morning’s shootings at a GOP baseball practice in Alexandria, Virginia.   According to news reports, A gunman opened fire Wednesday morning on a baseball practice at a park in Alexandria ...

Erin Hawkins challenges CTC group to build bridges for the sake of the church and the world by Dr. Kevin Walters* Connecting with people across differences isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s essential as a follower of Christ, stressed Erin Hawkins, general secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race at a recent leadership event in the Central Texas Conference (CTC). Drawing from Matthew’s and John’s Gospels, Hawkins showed that Christ commands and expects his followers to embrace ...

While no official statement on the ruling has been put forth by the Central Texas Conference or Bishop Lowry, we urge you to refer to the letter sent by Bishop Lowry and Conference Lay Leader Mike Ford on Tuesday, April 25 for context on this issue. You can access that letter at ctcumc.org/reflections-JudicialCouncilApril2017. Bishop Lowry asks that everyone respects the adjudication of the judicial council , the full processes in place for issues like this and we continue to be in prayer with ...

The Council of Bishops (COB) has made it official and called a Special Session of the General Conference of The United Methodist Church (UMC). The dates for the called GC will be Feb. 23-26, 2019, in St. Louis.   In announcing the call, COB President Bishop Bruce R. Ough said the Special Session will be held in accordance with Division Two - Section II - Article II of The Constitution of The United Methodist Church as recorded in Paragraph 14 of The Book of Discipline (2016).   The purpose of ...

by Rev. Maidstone Mulenga, Director of Communications – Council of Bishops (mmulenga@umc-cob.org or 202-748-5172  Members of the Commission on a Way Forward have expressed optimism at reaching consensus on a plan or plans to guide the Council of Bishops in leading The United Methodist Church into the future. During the three-day meeting, April 6-8, at the United Methodist Building in Washington, D.C., the Commission members began discussing possible outcomes and timelines on accomplishing their ...

The Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) has announced the retirement of Dr. Eric McKinney from his eight-year tenure as senior area representative for the Central Texas Conference. Eric's retirement is effective July 1. An elder in the Central Texas Conference, Eric has served as pastor, district superintendent, interim Southwestern University chaplain and TMF clergy group facilitator before joining the TMF staff in 2009.   “Eric’s passion for connecting congregations and individuals more closely ...

Rev. Laraine Waughtal, who has served as the Central Texas Conference Coordinator of Disaster Response/UMVIM in a conference staff position since 2014, has decided to accept the position of Director of Missional Engagement with the Louisiana Conference effective July 1. Prior to 2014, Laraine served in a non-staff capacity as the CTC Disaster Response Coordinator while serving as a local church pastor.   Laraine’s passion for and calling to minister to those in need during times of disaster – ...

The Central Texas Conference’s own Rev. Dr. Eric Smith, vice president of Faith and Spirituality Integration, Texas Health Resources, has announced that he will retire effective March 31. Since bringing his ministry to the CTC in early 2009, Eric has been a vital part of the strong relationship between the conference and Texas Health Resources – first as the healthcare provider’s senior chaplain and then in an executive role created just to fit his skillset.   Of course, anyone who knows Eric ...

Central Texas Churches bake and deliver more than 100,000 Christmas cookies to U.S. Troops by J. Vance Morton*   As you’ll recall, toward the end of 2016, Bob Murchison, pastor of Winters First United Methodist Church, launched and spearheaded Cookies for the Troops 2016 – a mission project eagerly endorsed and supported by Bishop Lowry and the CTC Executive Leadership Team. This conference-wide effort was designed to provide a little taste of home to U. S. military women and men who couldn’t...

The Central Texas Conference Service Center (CTCSC) will be closed Dec. 23 – Jan. 2 for the Christmas and New Year’s holiday . The Service Center will resume normal business hours at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 3. If you have an emergency and need to reach a member of the Service Center when the CTCSC is closed, call 817-994-0139 or e-mail CTCSC@ctcumc.org.   2016 End-of-Year Giving Remittance Schedule. Refer to the timetable below as you plan your church’s year-end remittances to the Conference ...

The Texas Methodist Foundation (TMF) awarded the TMF Medallion of Merit to W. Hiram Smith of the Central Texas Conference. The Medallion of Merit is the organization’s highest honor and is bestowed on individuals who have made a significant contribution towards advancing the mission of TMF and/or The United Methodist Church (UMC).   Upon learning of the award, Bishop Lowry was most pleased, but certainly not surprised. “Hiram Smith is one of God’s true champions,” he exclaimed. “He’s provided ...

by Susan Craig*   The Central Texas Conference Lay Ministry Team has announced the appointment of Pam Phinney as the conference director of Lay Servant Ministries (LSM). Pam Phinney replaces Pam Dieckert, who has served in the role for four years.**   Both women have a legacy of lay leadership within their church, their district and the conference. Mrs. Dieckert, a member of First United Methodist Church of Belton, said that due to the need to focus on caring for her aging parent, it is time for...

Bishops David Yemba, Ken Carter and Sandra Steiner Ball (left to right in photo below)- the three bishops serving as moderators of the Commission on a Way Forward - met Nov. 17-18, 2016 to continue the planning process of the Commission's work and offered the following progress report. Our hope and prayer for The United Methodist Church is that we will be united and vital, missional and global. As we began, we discussed a number of practical matters, beginning with visas for our international ...

Lewis Center for Leadership Releases its Annual Report on Clergy Age Trends in the UMC Growth among young elders remains modest but relatively steady, according to the Clergy Age Trends in the United Methodist Church report released today by the Lewis Center for Church Leadership of Wesley Theological Seminary. The annual report is prepared with assistance from Wespath, formerly the General Board of Pension and Health Benefits of the United Methodist Church.   Highlights of 2016 report include: ...

The Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced its changes to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) “white collar” overtime exemption rules. The final rule strengthens protection for workers by increasing the standard salary level for qualification for overtime exemption from $455 per week ($23,660 per year) to $913 per week ($47,476 per year). Practical implications of these rules are: Churches and other employers should carefully review the employment classification of all staff to ...

by Hanna Newcomer - Tarleton State University, Class of 2019 “Love God. Serve Others. Live Righteously.” That is the mission statement of the Tarleton State University Wesley Foundation in Stephenville. If you do not know, Wesley Foundations are United Methodist student ministries for college students across the country. The Methodist denomination was founded by John Wesley, a man who once said to “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you ...

U.S. bishops begin new assignments on Sept. 1 The denomination’s five U.S. jurisdictional conferences announced the assignments for bishops in all 46 episcopal areas, effective Sept. 1, following the elections that took place at the five Jurisdictional Conferences last week. Fifteen bishops are retiring and another 22 were reassigned to their current episcopal areas for another quadrennium. All but one of the 15 United Methodist elders elected as new U.S. bishops last week will be packing their ...