St. Luke's United Methodist Church

The ‘Charge Conference’ Section

A potential merger between St. Luke’s and Oak Park United Methodist Church will be the highlight of business to be discussed during St. Luke’s annual Charge Conference on Oct. 20.

Corpus Christi District Superintendent Eradio Valverde will be presiding the meeting in the church sanctuary beginning at 7 p.m.

“All who are interested in this historic meeting are certainly welcome,” St. Luke’s Pastor Pamela Dykehouse told the congregation during worship services on Oct. 16.

Both congregations have formally indicated that they are interested in working together on a merger in recent weeks, and the Oct. 20 meeting will be an opportunity for St. Luke’s members to give their official consent to begin working out the details of what several have called a “marriage” between the two churches.

After the St. Luke’s Charge Conference agrees to the merger, a committee of six people (three from each church) would then be appointed by clergy and lay leaders from both churches. That group would then begin the month’s long process of ironing out a myriad of details involved with merger.

This merger has been brewing since March of 2011 when Oak Park’s sanctuary was destroyed by a fire. Oak Park members have since been worshiping each Sunday in the St. Luke’s chapel, and the Oak Park congregation voted in its own Charge Conference in August not to rebuild its sanctuary.

The 2011  St. Luke’s Charge Conference is set for Oct. 20 at 7 p.m. in the sanctuary.

This is the annual meeting of the basic administrative unit of the local church in the United Methodist system. It is called by and presided over by our Corpus Christi District Superintendent Rev. Eradio Valverde. The voting membership of the Charge Conference is comprised of the members of the Church Council and all clergy affiliated with the local church. The Charge Conference is the official connecting link between the local church and the general Church.

It is the responsibility of the Charge Conference to review and evaluate the total mission and ministry of the church, receive reports from the pastor, staff and church leaders, and adopt objectives and goals recommended by the Church Council that are in keeping with the objectives of The United Methodist Church (2008 Book of Discipline, paragraphs 246-246).

All are welcome to attend meet our Superintendent, celebrate our church’s ministry, and hear plans for our continuing mission.