Rio Texas Bishop's Gathering
Robert Schnase, resident bishop of the Rio Texas Conference of The United Methodist Church, recently concluded seven gatherings across the conference. Over 2,000 laity and clergy from across the conference attended a regional meeting to hear updated denominational information from Bishop Schnase. Bishop also shared his heart and hopes regarding the future of The United Methodist Church.
All seven meetings followed the same format which consisted of a time of prayer, singing, a summary of the denominational history and personal reflection centered around grace, answering questions from attendees, and concluded with the celebration of the Lord’s supper.
The bishop explained how the future United Methodist Church will look by saying, “It will continue to be a diverse church where people work alongside each other despite their differences. We will offer Christ to our communities. Our doors and hearts will always be open to those who seek a relationship with Jesus Christ and seek refuge of His church. A church which Christ has opened to people of all ages, nations and races. We will welcome conservatives and progressives and traditionalists and liberals and centrists and whatever people want to call themselves. Every single person will be invited into a life-changing relationship with Jesus. But it’s time to stop the fighting.” The remaining time was spent answering questions from the participants in the room.
“I was positively overwhelmed at the attendance of these meetings,” said Bishop Schnase. “The large crowds tell me that our laity need updated and accurate information. While I answered many questions about the denomination, I was pleased to see how many laity care and are invested in The United Methodist Church moving forward.”
“I was positively overwhelmed at the attendance of these meetings. The large crowds tell me that our laity need updated and accurate information. While I answered many questions about the denomination, I was pleased to see how many laity care and are invested in The United Methodist Church moving forward.”
– Bishop Robert Schnase, Rio Texas Conference
In addition to these meetings, Kendall Waller, Rio Texas treasurer, district superintendents and cabinet members have made themselves available to offer guidance to churches who want to know more about the disaffiliation process.
Schnase continued, “The Rio Texas Conference is doing everything it can to help people understand the complexity of the decisions at the local church level. My desire is for all churches in our conference to remain United Methodist. You’ve heard me say before that I am and will be a United Methodist bishop and I am proud of the way our conference leadership continues to provide helpful information to our conference.”
Video archives of some of the meetings will be available in the coming weeks in addition to specific question/answer segments. A Frequently Asked Questions from the Bishop Gatherings document will also be published to help local congregations.