Free Recycling of
BATTERIES, OIL, PAINT (LATEX)  and ANTI-FREEZE
Parking lot north of St. John’s UMC, 2140 Allandale (2222 @ Burnet)
Saturday, October 3, 2009, from 8 am to 11 am

The Southwest Texas Chapter of the Methodist Federation for Social Action (MFSA) is offering a free recycling collection on Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 for items which many find more difficult to recycle.  The collection is open to all non-commercial members of the community. Simply drive up, provide your zip code, and volunteers will help unload your items. The collection will accept ONLY the following:

• Batteries (household, auto)
• Oil in a closed container (motor oil, cooking oil)
• Paint in a closed container (latex only, wet or dry)
• Antifreeze in a closed container
• Handheld Electronics (phones, media players, games)
• CFL Bulbs (unbroken glass only)

The location is the parking lot north of St. John’s United Methodist Church, 2140 Allandale (2222 @ Burnet) that is shared with Lamar Middle School. After the collection volunteers will pack and transport these items to local recycling facilities.

The mission of MFSA is to educate, promote and act on Jesus’ teachings of God’s radical love and justice for all, which includes a continuing commitment to environmental issues. Donations for the work of MFSA will be accepted.

Contact Anne Mund if you have questions or want to help:  512 –343-0803 or ennadnum@hotmail.com.

The next Southwest Texas Conference MFSA (Methodist Federation for Social Action) Chapter meeting will be September 10 at 6:30 pm at Saint John’s UMC. After a great deal of discernment this summer, our chapter leadership has determined that our focus for 2009-2010 will be Embracing the Poor. Poverty remains at the root of many of society’s issues and presents a wide range of opportunities to have a tremendous impact.  We intend to work together to develop a program that will inspire and enable the Austin UMC community to take action to reduce poverty locally and globally, through education, service opportunities, and the ability to influence public policy.  Through programs and activities, our MFSA chapter will focus on acts of justice to address the root causes of poverty.  Our program will begin with a short video “When Did I See You Hungry”produced by the San Damiano Foundation.  We will follow the film with a presentation of the vision for this project.

Join us!

Monday Evenings  6:30 PM – 8:30 PM, begins September 14th
Sunday Mornings, 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM, begins September 20th

2140 Allandale Road, Austin, TX 78756
(512) 452-5737

This fall Saint Johns UMC is offering Eclipsing Empire from Living the Questions.  This 12-part DVD-based study features world-renown New Testament scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan as they follow in the footsteps of the Apostle Paul throughout Turkey, Greece, and Italy.   Along the journey, these scholars show how Paul and Jesus’ message peace through justice directly challenged Roman Imperial authority and its theology of peace through (violent) victory.

Classes will be offered on Monday nights from 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM beginning on September 14th.  The same lesson will repeated on the following Sunday morning from 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM beginning on September 20th.  If you are signed up for this class you can attend either the Monday night session, the Sunday morning session, or both.  Saint John’s has also set up a Facebook group so you can discuss the class online.

Everyone who signs up for the class will be e-mailed  a PDF file with the class reading materials (written by John Dominic Crossan).  Printed versions of the reading material will also be available from the church office for $10.  When registering, please indicate whether you will usually be attending the morning or evening session.  Both the morning and evening sessions for this class will be led by Russ Harper.

Our Southwest Texas Chapter has been busy this summer, looking at our mission and goals for the 2009-2010 program year.  Your leadership team had planning meetings on June 11, June 22, and July 23.  We came up with lists of things we want to continue doing, new things we want to start, and things we don’t want to continue.

After a great deal of discussion and discernment, we are recommending that our chapter undertake a year-long project to look at the many facets of poverty.   Eradicating Poverty is one of the four primary focus areas of the United Methodist Church for 2008-2012. (see http://www.umc-gbcs.org/4areas)

Will we continue our efforts on issues such as opposition to the death penalty, supporting human rights and GLBT inclusion?  Of course!   As resources permit, we will continue our major action events alongside our efforts to educate, promote understanding, and take action on poverty issues and conditions.

The Executive Committee will be meeting again this week, Thursday, August 20, 6 pm, at St. John’s UMC to continue our discussions on the direction of our program.  This meeting is open to any member who wishes to become involved!

Note: the date for this meeting has changed to September 10th!

The next Southwest Texas Conference MFSA Chapter meeting will be September 17 10 at 6:00 pm at St. John’s UMC.

Our program will begin with a short video “When Did I See You Hungry” produced by the San Damiano Foundation.  This is a moving film about poverty in our country and in the world.  We are hoping to use this meeting as a springboard to educate and motivate our membership and our church communities to take action on issues of poverty and human rights.

Poverty can be addressed through charity or through examining and attempting to correct the root causes.  We hope to use our meetings to educate, understand, and take action on these issues.  We envision the creation of a program curriculum through this project that can be taken to churches and other groups.

As part of our continuing commitment to environmental issues, our chapter is planning to sponsor a community recycling effort to be held on October 3 at Lamar Middle School, next to St. John’s UMC.  This is a big project, and thanks to Anne Mund for kicking this can (ha) down the road.  We will need advertising and volunteers in all of our churches and neighborhoods in order to make it successful.  Specifically, Anne is looking for the following:

• Help in planning and coordinating event
• Pickups and trailers on day of event
• Bags/boxes/plastic to make sure stuff doesn’t leak
• Staffing/manpower coordination
• Help on publicity – Churches?  Neighborhoods?

Contact Anne if you want to help:  ennadnum@hotmail.com
Look for more information coming in the future!

Make a Difference Through Social Justice
Five consecutive Sundays: September 27 – October 25,
4:00 PM – 5:30 PM
Bethany UMC, 10010 Anderson Mill Rd

What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God? – Micah 6:8

Micah provides a simple yet powerful framework for our lives. But how do we ‘do justice’? Join us in this fast-paced, interactive journey exploring justice and how acting justly can bring about positive social change; creating a culture of peace so all people may live to their full potential. Learn its Biblical basis, its Wesleyan heritage, and how the United Methodist Church is involved in issues of social justice. Discover a model for building a more just world and the transformative power of just one person. Come, be renewed with hope and empowered to make a difference!

Register at bethany-umc.org or email the class leader at: KerryLStevens@earthlink.net

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is sponsoring a fundraising event in downtown Austin Saturday morning, October 10.  It’s a 5K walk (3.2 miles) beginning at Auditorium Shores, registration begins at 8a and the Walk itself begins at 9a.  Because so many death row inmates have mental illness of one kind or another, TCADP and NAMI support each other in efforts like this, and Anne Mund is heading up the TCADP team of walkers.  Anyone is welcome to join the TCADP team, or to form another team, or to just walk as an individual.  Or if someone can’t walk, a monetary donation of any size is most welcome.  All donations will go to support NAMI’s programs (not TCADP’s).  Anne has lots more information and will be actively soliciting support between now and Oct 10.  Anne says it would be wonderful if a MFSA team or a St. John’s team could be organized, or if a few MFSA members would support the Walk financially.

Please Help Us Continue Our Programs

If you have not yet paid your membership gift for 2009, please make plans to do so as soon as possible.  There are now two easy ways to join MFSA.  You can log onto the national MFSA website, http://mfsaweb.org and follow the instructions there (you can safely use a credit card), or you can simply bring a check to the next meeting, made out to “MFSA” and we will see that it is registered in our account.  Either way, our local chapter gets a portion of the gift for our programs.  We continue to need funding for visibility within our communities and to advance our social action movement.

Suggested Membership Amounts (you may also select your own amount):

$60 Subscribing Membership Gift               $200 Spirited Membership Gift
$100 Sustaining Membership Gift               $500 Stellar Membership Gift

Benefits of membership:

• Receive the MFSA newsletter (Social Questions Bulletin)
• Receive the MFSA E-newsletter with action updates
• Receive discounts on events sponsored by MFSA
• Connect with other justice-seekers in your annual conference
• Join with others in speaking up for justice in the UMC and world

Membership in MFSA is not predicated on ability to pay.  Any amount of money you are able to give is gratefully accepted.  Membership gifts to MFSA are tax deductible as provided by law.

Join us!

Sara Hickman sings and plays guitar during the vigil for the 200th execution under Governor Perry.