News in brief

47 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
Signup date approaches for course on mysticism
Giving to Easter offering nearing $130,000 mark
Veribest UMC to celebrate 100th anniversary Aug. 19
Connectional giving runs $300,000 ahead of ’06 totals
UM relief committee needs donations for storm aid
Bishop Ben Oliphint dies July 7 in Houston at 83
Louisiana Conference plans to start 3 congregations
Surgeon general nominee testifies before Senate panel

47 UM congregations pay ’07 apportionments in full
Forty-seven of the 344 Southwest Texas congregations had paid their 2007 apportionments in full as of June 30.
Bruni UMC led the list. The 20-member congregation had paid 101 percent of its share of expenses for ministries across the state, nation and world.
The count of “100 percent” congregations by district was Austin, 10; Corpus Christi, 6; Kerrville, 6; McAllen, 4; San Angelo, 8; San Antonio, 4; and Victoria, 9.

Signup date approaches for course on mysticism
Registration deadline is Aug. 1 for a course in Christian mysticism at Colonial Hills UMC, San Antonio.
Classes begin Sept. 15 for “Christian Mysticism: Its History, Widsom and Insights.” They are to meet one Saturday per month from 9 a.m. to noon from September through May.
Oblate School of Theology, the Ecumenical Center for Religion and Health, and Contemplative Outreach of San Antonio are jointly sponsoring the class. Ed Alcott is coordinating the course. A different Protestant, Roman Catholic or Orthodox speaker is to address each session.
The total course lasts three years. Year I covers Old Testament foundations for mysticism and its New Testament roots. Year II covers medieval spiritual leaders and Reformation writers. Year III examines modern practices.
Fee for Year I is $250. Check www. christianmysticismsa.org, or call Sharon Mungo at (210) 465-9591 for information.

Giving to Easter offering nearing $130,000 mark
Total contributions to the Easter offering for a disaster-response center in Fair Oaks Ranch stood
at $129,115 as of June 30.
One-hundred-sixty of the 344 Southwest Texas congregations—or 46 percent—had sent in contributions through June.
Bishop Joel N. Martinez called for the special Easter offering to help pay for a Volunteers in Mission training center and disaster-response warehouse.

Veribest UMC to celebrate 100th anniversary Aug. 19
Members of Veribest UMC are to celebrate their congregation’s 100th birthday Aug. 19.
The centennial celebration is to begin at 9:30 a.m.

Connectional giving runs $300,000 ahead of ’06 totals
Southwest Texas congregations gave nearly $300,000 more to connectional causes through June than they did during the first six months of 2006.
Contributions to apportioned funds totaled $4.5 million. That’s 44.6 percent of the $10.1 million asking for the year. The remittance rate is up 1.4 percent from June last year.
The San Angelo District had paid the highest percentage of apportionments through June—54.52.
Other district percentages were Kerrville, 51.94; Victoria, 49.47; McAllen, 45.44; Austin, 42.17; Corpus Christi, 41.69; and San Antonio, 41.32.

UM relief committee needs donations for storm aid
NEW YORK—The UM Committee on Relief is asking for donations to replenish its U.S. disaster relief fund after record-breaking rains, fires and winds drained the account during the spring and summer.
Since September 2006, the Domestic Disaster Response Advance has been tapped for 28 U.S. emergencies in 24 different conferences—including Southwest Texas—and delivered more than $856,000 in aid.
“Although we are not reading or hearing about these disasters every day in the news, there are hundreds of people in dire need in Texas, Kansas, California and many other places in the U.S.,” said the Rev. Sam Dixon, interim chief
executive of the relief agency.
Contributions by check can be made through any local UM congregation and designated for Advance No. 901670 (Domestic Disaster Response).

Bishop Ben Oliphint dies July 7 in Houston at 83
HOUSTON—Some 1,000 worshipers remembered retired Bishop Benjamin R. Oliphint at St. Luke’s UMC, Houston, July 11.
Oliphint, 83, died July 7 at Methodist Hospital, Houston.
Elected a bishop in 1980 from the North Texas Conference, Oliphint led the denom-ination’s Houston, Kansas and Louisiana episcopal areas during the next 12 years. He helped start UM-related Africa University in Zimbabwe as president of the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry.
After retiring in 1992, he headed the Texas UM College Association for many years.

Louisiana Conference plans to start 3 congregations
BATON ROUGE, La.—The Louisiana Conference is starting three new congregations near New Orleans.
Bishop William W. Hutchinson announced the plans during his June 4 Episcopal Address. The three congregations are to serve areas west and northwest of New Orleans where the population shifted because of damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Surgeon general nominee testifies before Senate panel
WASHINGTON—The UM nominee for U.S. surgeon general says he wrote a 1991 paper on homosexuality for a UM committee.
Testifying July 12 in Washington before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, James W. Holsinger Jr. said the paper—which focused on physical and medical aspects of homosexual practice—”does not
represent where I am today.”
Holsinger, 68, a professor of preventative medicine at the University of Kentucky and a former leader of that state’s health care system, has been active at all levels of the UMC, including president of the Judicial Council.
Gay and lesbian groups and others have criticized the 1991 paper.