These are uncertain times and I don’t know about y’all, but this is completely uncharted territory for me. I’m so grateful for your gracious spirits, for strong leaders among our staff and laity and for the gift of the Holy Spirit working in our midst to help as we navigate this path.

On behalf of me and both our current and incoming Church Council chairs; Jim Burke and Ellen Balthazar, respectively. We want you to know that I and your church leadership continue to closely monitor the latest information related to the Coronavirus which, as you all know, is coming at us fast and furiously. The current wisdom points to proceeding with an abundance of caution in a collective effort to “flatten the curve” on the spread of the virus. The hope is that if we take appropriate precautions, including and especially limiting face to face interaction, the number of those infected at any one time will not outpace the limits of our hospitals and health professionals. I, for one, am resoundingly in favor of that. Your health and well-being are extremely important to me!...

Enter the Passion of Jesus

Watch services live on Sundays at 11:15 AM HERE

Each year, during Lent our focus on Jesus’ life and ministry and, ultimately, his journey to the cross intensifies during Holy Week. Unfortunately, many are not able to participate in Holy Week services which occur on days and at times other than Sunday morning, so they do not get to fully experience the dramatic story of the Passion of Jesus. It’s important to dwell on the stories of Jesus’ last week leading up to the cross to fully grasp how stunning is the salvation we celebrate on Easter morning. So, this year, during the 40 days leading up to Christ’s resurrection, we will sink deeply into the Passion of Jesus.

Our 6-week Lenten worship series, “Picture Yourself in the Story: Enter the Passion of Jesus” will begin Sunday, March 1st. Each week we will freeze-frame a story of the Passion of Jesus, zooming in to examine it more closely in its original context. As we pan out, we...

High School Seniors--its time to apply! Candidates must be WUMC church members who desire to further their education with the goal of becoming productive citizens, and who have applied to a college or an institute of higher education for any area of study. Primary factors for consideration are

1) church involvement,

2) financial need, and

3) a history of good scholarship practices.

The application will open around November 15th Scholarship recipient(s) will be announced on Graduate Sunday (May 3, 2020). Applications due March 15.

Temperatures are trending downward in South Texas, albeit slowly, so the first week in October seems like a great time to return to our favorite working grounds in South Texas. The need for building wheel chair ramps is growing, but our case managers will decide on our top priorities, and decide on the best use of our time.

I'll head down the morning of Sept 30th and we'll return the afternoon of Oct 4th. I'll have coolers with cold water and Gatoraid, and lunch fixn's for a couple of days. I must admit that the sausage gravy and biscuits with fried eggs for breakfast were pretty good, so you just might just see a reprise of that one morning.

As always, come when you can and leave when you must. Hopefully we'll have a good turnout, because as I stated in my last report, many volunteer groups have faded away, so the need for us has grown. The fact that we've been doing this for over 2 years is a testament to our dedication and commitment. I thank you all for that.

Let me know if what days you can make it so we can prepare accordingly.

Thank you...

UNDERSTANDING & LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS

Most of us know someone of another faith. Muslims, Jews, Hindus and Buddhists are our friends, neighbors and co-workers. Would you like to grow in your understanding of these faith traditions in order to better love our neighbors? Join us for a 4-part Sunday sermon series in February called Christianity and World Religions: Understanding and Loving Our Neighbors. Plus, join us for a World Religions Study from 10:10-11:05am each Sunday led by Eileen Flynn - the Picayune Editor & Journalism and Religion Lecturer at UT Austin.