FROM BISHOP DORFF
At our last Annual Conference
Sessions, the theme of my
Episcopal Address was “Now
is the Time.” Little did I know
how accurate that thought
would become. In mid-July,
the leadership of both the Rio
Grande and the Southwest
Texas Conferences agreed
to move forward with the
recommendations of the
consulting team we had
asked to assess and report
to us regarding their view of
our future. The most important
of those recommendations
was the creation of one new
conference in the current
San Antonio Episcopal
Area. Furthermore, they
also recommended that the
conference sessions of June
2012 decide whether or not to
commit ourselves to this task. It
appears that “Now is the Time.”
A Unification Steering Team
is hard at work. It has equal
representation from both
current conferences. While they
are seeking to assess some of
the practical realities involved
in such transition, they are also
seeking your input. Listening
Sessions are currently being
scheduled across both
conferences. We all hope you
will participate as you feel led.
Every effort will be made to
communicate the times and
locations of these sessions.
Please pass this information
along to your interested fellow
church members. These
sessions will guide the Team
in its work.
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Now is the time to pool resources and thrive
The Southwest Texas and Rio Grande conferences have made countless
contributions to the United Methodist Church. Each has produced great
leaders from among its clergy and its laity, and each has reached and
witnessed to countless people in the name of Christ.
Now it is clear that the unification of the sister conferences is the key
to reaping even more from the fertile San Antonio Episcopal Area.
Ecclesiastes has taught us that there is a time for every activity under
heaven, and an in-depth study of the San Antonio Episcopal Area has
shown us that now is the time for conference unity.
“United Methodists in the Rio Grande and Southwest Texas conferences
are connected by a common heritage, location, mission field and belief in
Jesus Christ,” said the Rev. Ruben Saenz, who co-chaired the Bishop’s
Commission on Area Cooperative Ministries. “And we have the power of
God to transform lives in the world.”
Numerous blessings through unity
Not only do the conferences have much in common, but a group of outside
consultants concluded they also complement each other, each holding the
other’s key to a future of spiritual and literal growth and prosperity. Separately,
according to the consultants, the conferences’ viability can only decrease.
“After a period of time, we will continue to diminish until we’re no longer
relevant,” Bishop Jim Dorff said. “That’s not what God wants for us.”
The study found that the Rio Grande Conference stands to gain from the
financial and operating strength and disciplined structure of the Southwest
Texas Conference. Meanwhile, the Southwest Texas Conference would benefit
infinitely from its sister’s financial pension strength and its engagement of the
quickly changing demographics throughout the San Antonio Episcopal Area.
Sharing our blessings with the growing Hispanic population
The United Methodist Church’s national membership is 92 percent Caucasian,
while Caucasians make up only 66 percent of the national population. As
the Hispanic population grows in the U.S., this disparity threatens the future
of the church — and nowhere is this more evident than in the Southwest
Texas Conference, whose leadership recognizes that its greatest challenge is
reaching the region’s ever-growing Hispanic population.
That’s why the Rio Grande Conference’s geography and constituency are
invaluable to the United Methodist Church on the whole, and specifically to
the Southwest Texas Conference. Building bridges between the conferences
would help to foster ministry and witness among the people of Texas.
Further examination
In response to the recommendation for unity, Bishop Dorff was asked
to create a Unification Steering Team, made up of members of both
conferences, to explore how to approach the mission.
If the conferences proceed, a brand new conference will be created through
a process that is both deliberate and thoughtful, through a process that
results in a stronger, more accessible, more diverse conference. A process
that results in a conference that truly celebrates God’s gifts to his children —
all of his children.
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