Prayer Mailing List: From Bishop Schnase

[Kelly Holland (kelly.holland54]

[https://gallery.mailchimp.com/e1a82886aa16a92051dd545ef/images/c03aaffc-fc7b-47dd-b01a-9bed1e50622b.png]


February 28, 2019

Dear members, pastors, and friends of the Rio Texas Conference,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Many of you anxiously followed the proceedings from the Special Called Session 
of General Conference in St. Louis. These past few days have been emotionally 
difficult for every one of us. My heart broke watching fellow United Methodists 
fail to find a new path forward that breaks through the impasse that we’ve 
experienced in our church over the past 47 years over LGBTQ inclusion. We had 
many difficult and public conversations about issues that are tied to our 
identities as United Methodists, as Christians, and as children of God.

For those of you who have not followed the details, I offer a brief explanation 
of what happened over four days in St. Louis. After a full day of prayer, the 
864 delegates from across the global church received the report of the 
Commission on a Way Forward, including the One Church Plan (which was 
recommended by the Council of Bishops), the Connectional Conference Plan, and 
the Traditional Plan. The General Conference decided to give priority focus to 
the Traditional Plan and the One Church Plan. After two days of debate, the One 
Church Plan was defeated, and the Traditional Plan was supported by a vote of 
53% to 47%. The Traditional Plan keeps the current language regarding 
homosexuality in the Book of Discipline, and streamlines the processes to 
enforce penalties for violations related to marriage and ordination of LGBTQ 
persons. A number of elements of the Traditional Plan, however, were have been 
found unconstitutional by the Judicial Council and the whole plan will be 
reviewed again at the council's meeting in April. This means some or all of 
what was approved may not actually take effect. During the weeks to come, I’ll 
be meeting with various groups to process what the decisions mean for us.

So, what does all this mean for the mission of Christ through the churches and 
people of the Rio Texas Conference?

First, I continue to count it an honor to serve as a Bishop of the United 
Methodist Church, and especially of the Rio Texas Conference. My task is to 
help us order our life together as a conference and to focus our work on the 
mission of Christ.  No matter how you may feel about the decisions of the 
General Conference or whether you agree with or are hurt by the outcome, we are 
still in ministry together. All of us are valued parts of the body of Christ. 
Our lives and ministries are interwoven by the Holy Spirit, and not by 
decisions made at General Conference. As bishop, I offer all my prayers and 
efforts to include and foster the ministries of every person seeking to serve 
Christ. No matter how you are feeling about the conversations going on at the 
global level of our denomination, I want you to know that every one of us and 
everyone we serve are of infinite value and matchless worth in God’s eyes. No 
denominational legislation will ever change that fact.

Second, I ask us not to underestimate the pain that is felt by many of our 
brothers and sisters in this moment. Many people feel hurt, betrayed, and 
excluded by the decisions made at General Conference. Please pray for those 
most personally affected. Within every congregation in our Conference, there 
are people for whom this conversation is not an abstract debate, but rather a 
conversation that affects lives dear to us—sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, 
co-workers and neighbors. A great number of people from the LGBTQ community are 
committed, faithful United Methodists. This is a tender time in the life of our 
church, a time especially to bear with one another in love with all humility 
and gentleness. (Ephesians 4:2)

Third, we still have much important work to do together. While we were gathered 
in St. Louis, the need for a faithful United Methodist witness in Rio Texas has 
only grown greater. Across our annual conference, there are multitudes that 
need to hear and witness the love of God in their lives and communities. While 
we debated plans and passed motions, our members and churches have been 
continuing the good work of reaching out to new people in new ways. Our 
disaster response network continues to bring hope to those lives devastated by 
Hurricane Harvey and other natural disasters. Our churches and partners 
continue to respond to the humanitarian crisis at our border. Our congregations 
continue to seek fresh expressions of the Gospel, reaching out into our 
communities and experimenting with new ways to go where people are to connect 
them with the good news of Christ.

I realize that, for some, these words will ring hollow. Many of our LGBTQ 
brothers and sisters question whether there is truly a place for them in our 
church, and many of our traditionalist brothers and sisters feel anxious. But I 
want to invite everyone—whether or not you agree with the decisions of General 
Conference—to help us forge a way forward together in Christ as an annual 
conference.

“Let’s not get tired of doing good, because in time we’ll have a harvest if we 
don’t give up.”  Galatians 6:9

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have 
loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to 
the world that you are my disciples.” John 13: 34-35.

Join me in prayer that we might continue to bear witness to the love of Jesus 
Christ in our churches, communities, and throughout Rio Texas.

Yours in Christ,

Robert Schnase, Bishop
The Rio Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church



Copyright © 2019 Rio Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Church, All 
rights reserved.
You are receiving this email because you are a clergy member of The Rio Texas 
Annual Conference, a lay delegate to Annual Conference, a listed leader of a 
local church or have subscribed to this email.

Our mailing address is:
Rio Texas Annual Conference United Methodist Church
16400 Huebner Road<x-apple-data-detectors://7>
None<x-apple-data-detectors://7>
San Antonio, Tx 78248<x-apple-data-detectors://7>




Sent from my iPhone