Live, from Brownsville, TX
Posted: December 7, 2012 Filed under: Bishop's Blog 2 CommentsThe last 24 hours I have been in Brownsville, Texas meeting with the Tennessee Conference and Memphis Conference PACTO Team meeting with Bishop Raul Garcia and Roberto Gomez Reyes. Our purpose was to renew our friendship and relationship regarding the Eastern Mexico Annual Conference. I learned that for the last 7 years the Nashville Area has had an ongoing relationship with our friends south of the border.
The vision of this ministry has always been to strengthen ministry across conference lines both in TN and Mexico. Amazing work has taken place over the last several years even though it has been more challenging in recent years to send mission teams in recent years due to the drug cartel. Yet there are tangible ways that continue to make possible the partnership.
1. Bless the Children: For $250.00 you can supply school uniforms for children who cannot attend without a uniform. We have raised over $70,000 to date for this need.
2. Needs: a passenger van salary support for pastors support for homeless feeding support for children’s ministries completed health kits support for Esperanza Viva Orphanage support for medical outreach through Volunteers in Mission support of Church construction and remodeling food assistance for those living near the city dump.
3. The future conversations include: a joint retreat with the District Superintendents of the Nashville Area and the Eastern Mexico Annual Conference bringing teams from Mexico to Tennessee for evangelistic outreach into the Hispanic communities in our area including children and youth in some of our area retreats at Lakeshore and/or Warmth In Winter/Summer Sizzler Assisting in new church planting in each of the Episcopal Areas.
The decision was made to create a Nashville Area Task Force for the PACTO Covenant which would shepherd our work across conference lines and bring alignment in this important work. Thanks to Jim Clardy, LeNoir Culbertson, Joe Geary and Enrique Hernandez for helping us have a most fruitful conversation with our PACTO sisters and brothers.
Advent Blessings,
Bishop Bill
Greater Things Are Yet To Be Done 
You are the man! Truly under your leadership there are
Greater Things Yet To Be Done! As I would say to my staff members,
“Pour it on!” (Spiritual food of the Good News for you and ready –
mix concrete for my staff.) Love, David
I am excited to hear this. As a child, I lived for 7 yrs in
Brownsville, TX (early 1960’s) and still have friends there. Our
UMW general meeting this month at St Luke’s UMC had a
representative from Latino Memphis as our guest speaker. We
discussed ways that we can help Latinos in Memphis by being
supportive in education, jobs and activities for children. What an
Awesome God we have to bring this about when the conferences are
meeting in Brownsville, TX to discuss some of these very same
issues.