ANNUAL CONFERENCE PRELIMINARY ANNOUNCEMENTS

Clergy Pictorial Directory

The Texas Annual Conference has contracted with Olan Mills for the 2008 Clergy Pictorial Directory.  Clergy may go anytime to have your picture made, it will only take a small amount of your time.  There will not be appointments, there will not be picture viewing and there will be no sales.  You will only need to have your picture made and you will be back on your way to the business at hand for Annual Conference.  You will receive your pictures by e-mail at Olan Mills “sale prices” for a directory picture session.  You can purchase at your convenience when you receive your e-mail.

Olan Mills will be located in The Woodlands UMC on the second floor next to the Cokesbury Bookstore.  Their hours of operation for pictures will be as follows:

                Sunday                  5:00 PM – 7:30 PM

                Monday                 7:00 AM – 7:30 PM

                Tuesday                                7:00 AM – 7:30 PM

                Wednesday          7:00 AM – 1:00 PM

We have made Olan Mills available in a wide range of hours so that you will not have to wait in line.  Please help us make our directory complete, by taking the time to go and have your picture made.

Accessibility for Handicapped Participants

The Texas Annual Conference hopes to assist persons with special needs during this Annual Conference. To request assistance, please contact the chair of our Committee on Disability Concerns, Greg Edwards, at (409) 866-1414 (work) or (409) 550-3056 (cell).

Child Care - You Must Pre-Register

Child care for infants through kindergarten will be in the Noah’s Nook area on the first floor, and for children in first grade through sixth grade activities will be in the Children’s Ministry area (Rooms: Clubhouse 21, Studio 34 and Planet 56) on the second floor.  We also have Special Needs childcare available.   There are separate sets of forms for each of these age groups and a specific information sheet for a special needs child to be included with the age appropriate group form. For forms, please see our conference website: www.txcumc.org or The Woodlands UMC website: www.twumc.org  or if you do not have computer access please call the conference office (713/521-9383) and ask the receptionist to mail those forms to you.  All children must be pre-registered before May 1^st, 2008.   PLEASE NOTE: There will be a $50.00 late fee collected at the door for those children not pre-registered.

Cokesbury

The Cokesbury Store will have merchandise available for sale upstairs on the second floor of TWUMC in the Children’s Activity Center.

Cross Connection

Cross Connection is the newspaper of the Texas Annual Conference.  The Cross Connection and the United Methodist Reporter are sources of local, national and international religious news.  For subscription information contact the Communication Department, 713-521-9383 or by e-mail: thelmaj@methodists.net

Ministries and Missions Fair

Many of our ministries will have displays available for you to enjoy in the Gym on the first floor of the church. Be sure to visit the displays for information about areas of ministry and mission within the United Methodist Church.  We will also have merchandise for sale for your enjoyment.

Missions Store

Mission teams from our conference have brought jewelry, clothing and special souvenirs to be sold at our Mission Store. Proceeds are returned to mission programs. The Mission Store will be in the Display Area of the Gym, 1^st floor.

Parking at The Woodlands UMC

The Woodlands United Methodist Church has easy access parking lots available for your use.  They also have “handicap accessible” parking spaces throughout the facility.  Parking is free.

Parking at the Marriott Waterway

Free parking is available to anyone at the Towne Center Garage on Six Pines, the garage is located behind the Convention Center and has a covered walkway on the fourth level of the garage over to the Marriott hotel.  Please park in the garage so that the front driveway of the hotel does not become congested and also so you do not have to pay parking in the hotel garage just to come in and register or attend the Laity Session. 

Shuttle Transportation

We will have two shuttle buses available that will run on regular intervals between the Marriott Waterway and the church.

Café & Snacks

The Woodlands United Methodist Church will have their café: “The Columns” open during Conference serving a variety of foods for you to choose from. They are located near the Children’s Ministry area and The Woodlands Bookstore. Hours will be 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. 

There also will be a Snack Bar serving drinks and limited snacks located near the Gym entrance.  They will be open from 9:00 am until 6:00 pm each day.

Morning Bible Study

We will begin each day with a simple “Morning Bible Study” that will be about 45 minutes in length.  We will end each day with a full Worship Service, which will begin at 7:30 pm each evening in the Sanctuary at The Woodlands UMC. 

Conference Office Telephone

The United Methodist Service Center offices will be closed during Annual Conference.  There will be a “UMSC Office” with staff on duty during Conference in the Lenox Parlor.  The phone number will be 281-466-8662. 

Emergency Message System

With almost everyone carrying a cell phone in this technical day and age, it is pretty easy to locate and leave messages for people.  If there is a message that is an “emergency,” we will do our best to locate that person as soon as the message arrives.  The Conference office telephone number is: 281-466-8662. 

Beepers, Cell Phones & Pagers…

Please be courteous and put your beepers, cell phones and pagers on vibrate only or turn them off while you are attending any and/or all events at the Texas Annual Conference 2008.    It is very disrupting to have a ringer go off during someone’s presentation or in a worship service.  Please take the time to help alleviate this from happening.  Thank you!