________________________PRAYER CONCERNS__________________________

FROM Lufkin District
Prayers are requested for Rev. Judy Anderson, Lufkin District, who
will have a mastectomy on Thursday, December 22, at Methodist Hospital,
Houston. We have a Prayer Pager # for Judy. It is 1-888-243-9031. To send
a Pager Prayer: Dial the pager Prayer Number. After the beeps, press
"1", Then, just hang up. Your Pager Prayer is on its way!
Also, please continue to pray for Frank Quackenbush, who started
radiation treatments today, December 20, 2005. Frank is spouse of Vetta
Quackenbush, Lufkin District Admin. Assistant.
Please be in prayer for Leslie Bradley's father, Ed Dykes, who
suffered a stroke on Monday the 19th and is in Tyler at ETMC. Leslie is
spouse of Rev. Jim Bradley, Tenaha/Stockman UMC, Lufkin District.
Prayers are requested for Rev. Jackie Harmon's mom, Ethel Baas, who
has congestive heart failure and is under Hospice care. Jackie is
pastor at Keltys UMC, Lufkin District

FROM Mary Hearron
Please put Paula Wilhite, Randy Nobles, and Kim Matthews on your prayer
list. Paula was diagnosed with mulitple myeloma and will be receiving
treatment in Dallas. Kim Matthews and Randy Nobles are also undergoing
treatment in the battle against cancer.

_______________________________BIRTHS_______________________________

_________________________DEATHS/FUNERALS_________________________

_____________________CONFERENCE INFORMATION______________________

______________________NEW ANNOUNCEMENTS_________________________

FROM: Billy Watson, St. Peter's UMC, Katy -
Digital Storytellers Seminar, February 25, 2006
You and your media ministry team are invited to Midnight Oil
Production's Digital Storytellers Seminar on Saturday, February 25, 2006, 8 a.m.
- 4 p.m.
at St. Peter's UMC in Katy. Len Wilson and Jason Moore (both formerly
of Ginghamsburg UMC, and co-founders of Lumicon) established Midnight
Oil Productions in 2002 "to further the vision of worship for the digital
age through ideas, resources and seminars that work for local
churches." The cost for the event is $109 for individuals and $89 per person if
2 or more come from your church. This includes 4 sessions with Len and
Jason, a digital film festival, seminar related materials, a meal,
refreshments, and more. For more information about Midnight Oil or the
Digital Storytellers Seminar visit www.midnightoilproductions.com. For more
information about the event in Katy, contact Billy Watson at
bwatson@stpeterskaty.org or 281-492-8031, ext. 304.

FROM Michael Hunter
REMINDER:
Below are dates for Conference Safe Sanctuary Training: If you are in
the Palestine, Tyler, Lufkin, Longview, Bryan districts.
Where: Lakeview Conference Center
When: Thursday, January 5, 2006
Time: 6:00 PM-7:30 PM
Who needs to attend: Anyone that will be attending any Conference
sponsored event/camp/retreat where you will be working with children or
youth.
Example of camps: Winterfest, Mid-Winter, District Church Camp,
District retreats or outings.
For more information, contact Michael Hunter, email
mhunter@aciglobal.com
Call: Home--254-359-4356, Cell--903-388-1246


________________________THIS WEEK'S EVENTS_________________________

FROM Donna Adair, Director of Communications, St. Paul's UMC, Houston
St. Paul's UMC, Houston, will hold a Service of the Longest Night at 6
p.m. Wednesday, December 21, in the Chapel. This will be a quiet,
meditative worship service to remember and acknowledge those places in our
lives that are difficult this holiday season so we might better prepare
our hearts for the coming of Christ.

FROM Donna Adair, Director of Communications, St. Paul's UMC, Houston
St. Paul's UMC, Houston, will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the
congregation's initial worship service this Christmas Eve with four
worship services in the Sanctuary - at noon, 5, 7, and 9 p.m. Christmas
Day will be celebrated with one worship service in the Sanctuary at 10:30
a.m. All of the evening services will have congregational carol singing
and candle lighting. The individual services also will include:
" Noon. Service of Holy Communion.
" 5 p.m. Lessons and Carols with St. Paul's Chamber Choir.
" 7 p.m. Lessons and Carols with the full St. Paul's Choir.
" 9 p.m. Worship service with Holy Communion and the full St. Paul's
Choir.
St. Paul's United Methodist Church, Houston, is at 5501 Main Street, on
the corner of Main and Binz/Bissonnet, across from the Museum of Fine
Arts, Houston. It is within one block of both Museum District MetroRail
stops, and free parking is available in two lots across Fannin Street
from the church.

FROM Jill Krone, Director of Communications, First UMC Henderson, Texas
(Longview District) -
First United Methodist Church, located at 204 North Marshall,
Henderson, Texas 75652, invites you to experience hope, peace, joy, and love
this Christmas. Come, experience Jesus! Experience worship with First
United Methodist Church of Henderson, Texas.
Advent, 2005 *** Expect the Unexpected
The birth of Jesus Christ unexpectedly transformed the lives of
those who experienced it! Experience the wonder and awe of the season and
be transformed by the expectation of His coming!
Saturday, December 24, 5 pm - Christmas Eve Service - Experience
anew the wonder and miracle of God's presence as we share in the ever-new
story of Christ's birth.
Sunday, December 25, 10 am - Christmas Day Worship - Gather with
friends and family as we celebrate and give thanks for our most treasured
Christmas gift-Jesus Christ!
Blessing of the Gifts: Like a special gift, our Christmas day
worship service at 10 am holds the possibility of great joy and wonder. As a
part of this service, we invite every child to bring to church one
gift that they received, for a special time of blessing. We look forward
to sharing this worship service with you.

FROM Dr. Janice Gilbert-Williams, Senior Pastor
McKinney Memorial United Methodist Church will celebrate Christmas
morning worship @ 9:30 a.m. All are invited as we worship the birthday of
our Lord and Savior. We are located at 1607 Nashby Street in LaMarque
Texas.

_____________________MARK YOUR CALENDAR________________________

FROM Steve Goad, Executive Director, Houston Area Respite Center
Gethsemane UMC/HARC New Year's Parents Night Out!!
I just wanted to drop a note to the pastors of the Southwest
District to tell you about the Houston Area Respite Center’s New Year's Eve
Parents Night Out for children with special needs. Parents of children
with mental retardation and autism find it difficult to get away, even
for a few hours. For an event like a New Year's Eve party, if they can
find a sitter, for a special needs child, it is far to cost prohibitive.
HARC, in association with Houston’s Gethsemane UMC, will be conducting
a parents night out for children with special needs for New Years Eve.
The event will run from 7:00 p.m. until 2:00 a.m. This will not only
give the kids a chance to play games, sing songs, make crafts, and in
general, have fun, but also give the parents a chance to get away for a
few hours and celebrate the new year.We are limited to 50 children
(including siblings) so we need parents to make reservations early (either
by phone to the HARC offices - 713-271-6001 - or by sending me an e-mail
harcexdir@harc-hou.org .I have a flyer with full information. For a
copy, email me at: www.harc-hou.org. I hope that you will pass it along
to parents of children with special needs in your congregation.

FROM Terry T. Smith
What: Clergywomen’s Retreat
When: February 20-22, 2006
Where: At Lakeview
The retreat you have asked for is finally here! One night or two, it’s
up to you!
Rest - Revive - Rejuvenate - Rest
The retreat will begin at 6pm on Monday, Feb. 20, with dinner at a
restaurant in Palestine (to be named later). Following dinner, we will
return to Lakeview for hot chocolate and fireside conversation.
Tuesday morning: breakfast and salad bar lunch. You may sleep in,
walk around the lake, walk the prayer trail, or visit with friends.
Tuesday afternoon more free time and discussion groups with buffet at 6pm,
followed by a short business meeting and evening worship.
Wednesday morning we will have brunch, followed by the closing
worship service.
Email eaglerev@jas.net or phone 409-565-4083 for more information.

FROM Rev. Jimmie Reese
Local Pastors in need of Course of Study courses are urged to enroll
for the spring session located on the campus of Lon Morris College in
Jacksonville, Texas. This program is an extension campus for the regional
COS at Perkins School of Theology. Our spring dates are March 18, April
8 and May 13. This spring we will offer the following courses: COS
112-Theology in the Wesleyan Spirit taught by Dr. Bert Affleck, Perkins
School of Theology, COS 113-Pastoral Care for Spiritual Formation taught
by The Rev. Rita Sims, Pastor at Perritte Memorial UMC in Nacogdoches,
COS 211-Herbrew Bible 1 taught by Dr. Jack Albright, Retired, and
Professor at Lon Morris College, COS 214-Practice of Preaching taught by Dr.
Jim Killen, Retired and COS 413-Worship and the Sacraments taught by
Dr. Jimmie A. Reese, Director of the LMC campus COSS and Professor at Lon
Morris College.
Students may secure an application form from either their District
Office or by writing or e-mail Jimmie Reese at 1803 Turney Circle,
Jacksonville, Texas 75766 (903-586-4116) or jareese@aol.com.

From TAC Historian Bill B. Hedges [texmethhist@aol.com] -
FIRST NOTICE! Annual Meeting of the Texas United Methodist Historical
Society will be held at McMurry College, March 24-25 in Abilene, Texas.
NO registration cost but the Friday evening banquet will be $10/each.
Register with John Johnson, 6766 Silver Saddle , Ft. Worth, Tx 76126.
General Theme: "General Conference of 1956", the ordination of women
in the UMC. Other presentations on "Reflections on a Pioneer Woman
Preacher", by Bonnie Sandberg, and "Women in the UMC" by Pat Thompson,
President of the UM Historical Society.
Hotel reservations are being accepted by all major hotels in
Abilene.


______________________RESTORATIVE JUSTICE NOTICES_________________

_______________________JOB OPENINGS/JOBS WANTED__________________

Below are the most current openings and job information. Previous job
postings can be located on the conference website: www.txcumc.org.
Thank you

FROM Kay Johnson
First United Methodist Church of Fulshear is seeking a youth minister
for 30 hours a week with the possibility of extending the position to
full time. Please call Kay Johnson at 281.346.1416 or fax resume to
281.346.2082

FROM Beth Chenault
Strawbridge United Methodist Church in Kingwood Texas (outside Houston)
is seeking a full-time Director of Youth Ministries for a large youth
Ministry. Experience preferred. Please contact Rev. Beth Chenault at
281-360-4500, or email information and resume to youth@kingwoodcable.com

FROM Joel McMahon IV JMCMAHONIV@aol.com
First United Methodist Church of Hawkins, Texas is looking for someone
to serve as a part-time youth director. This is a paid position with
experience being a factor in determining the salary level.
All inquiries can be directed to Joel McMahon IV be e-mail at
JMCMAHONIV@aol.com, by phone at (903)760-2973, or by mail at 149
Paradise Lane, Hawkins, TX 75765.

______________________WANT ADS (Items Needed/Wanted)________________

FROM David Banks
For Sale: Hammond H-Series Organ
H-382 Italian Provincial in Walnut with built-in Auto-Rhythm. This
model has the extra reiteration, percussion touch control, harp sustain,
string bass, and vibrato/chorus controls, reverb controls etc. Great for
your church.
It was given to our church as an item to raise funds. Needs
professional cleaning. Will sell it for $1,700.00 For more information,
please contact Sherrie Reese at First United Methodist Church of Onalaska at
936/646-5859 or e-mail us at sreese@fumc-onalaska.org