The function of the Uniting Table is to coordinate mission and ministry in the Río Texas Conference through four Vision Teams aligned with the conference's four pillars: Uniting Peoples, Vitalizing Congregations, Developing Leaders, and Transforming Communities. Together, the Uniting Table and the Vision Teams keep the Mission Field at the center of their work—listening, discerning priorities, and connecting resources and partners to support ministry where it is most needed. During the October 2025 meeting, the Uniting Table imagining it is now 2035 in the Río Texas Conference, reflected on the question: What impact do you see the United Methodist Church has made in the conference mission field since 2025?
Across the responses, the most consistent picture of impact by 2035 is a Río Texas Conference in which the United Methodist Church is less defined by buildings and institutional maintenance and more recognized as a visible, trusted movement—present beyond church walls, interconnected with neighborhoods, investing in small communities, and forming diverse, flourishing communities (including Fresh Expressions). A repeated theme is that "roads are two ways": ministry is shaped with the community, not only for the community, and the church's voice is also welcomed at broader tables of influence. Several responses also lift up the borderlands context (U.S./Mexico) as a place where politics, science, and faith are engaged together, alongside a commitment to safety, belonging, and bridge-building in a polarized world.
Strategic Priorities, crafted in August through the discernment process of the Rio Texas Conference Bishop and Full Cabinet were presented to the Uniting Table for initial feedback. In response to the Uniting Table feedback, in December 2025, the Bishop and Cabinet composed the Strategic Priorities Task Group charged with refining the strategic priorities.
The Strategic Priorities Task Group members are:
- Uniting Table Representatives: Kevin Apel, Maribel Vazquez, Cindy Johnson
- At-Large Representatives: Ralph Thompson, Sarah Solis, Amber Gebert
- Cabinet Representatives: Tracey Beadle, Ray Altman, and Tanya Campen
In late January 2025, a development update for the Strategic Priorities were presented to the Uniting Table for additional feedback and sense of next steps. During the month of March 2025, listening sessions were conducted across the conference soliciting broader feedback. The Listening Sessions Summary Report was shared with the Uniting Table during the April meeting.
The proposed Strategic Priorities offered to the Rio Texas Conference to live into are:
- Creating a Culture of Trust
- Centering Discipleship
- Cultivating Relationships for Belonging and Voice
- Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges with Our Neighbors
The Strategic Priorities, affirmed by the Bishop, Full Cabinet, and the Uniting Table now comes to the Annual Conference as information and invitation for the conference vision teams, boards, and agencies to live out these priorities in their respective work and as the conference structures accompany and support the mission and ministry of the local church and the communities they serve.
During the April 2026 meeting, the Uniting Table affirmed the Finance Table passed and proposed 2027 Annual Conference budget of $5,634,499. The 2027 budget is $324,080 less from the 2026 current budget of $5,958,579.
The Uniting Table received and affirmed the following resolutions that come to the Annual Conference requesting action:
- Allegiance to Christ in Solidarity with Immigrants
- Supporting Gender Inclusivity, Equal Protection, and the Sacred Worth of Transgender and Non-Binary People