June 2011
Owen earns Embassy kudos
LAREDO -- Clema Owen of the Northside church here was promoted on May 6 to general manager for Embassy Suites of Laredo. Said Minister Chuck Owen, her husband: "She will do well in that assignment, we pray. Clema and I were in New Orleans during the week of May 8 at the Embassy Conference, where she received an award for the Laredo Embassy, which is ranked in the top 10% of Embassy’s.”
Besides working with Chuck in the Northside church, Clema has 21 years in the Laredo hospitality industry, most recently, for a period of five years, as Embassy’s rooms consultant. She has been very active, as well, in the Laredo community, serving in 2004-2005 as chairman of the board, Laredo Chamber of Commerce.
Chuck and Clema moved to Laredo in 1990 to manage the La Quinta Inn.
March 2011
Church plant continues to produce
LAREDO – Chuck Owen, minister for the Northside church here, writes, "We rejoiced with the new obedience of Mike and Araceli Garza." The couple was baptized recently after studying with Mike and Hope Zuniga, both workers for the Laredo Church of Christ.
Continues Owen, "Garza is a Laredo City Councilman and an administrator in one of the school districts and Araceli is a school teacher. You may remember that Laredo Church of Christ was the church plant from Abilene’s
University Ave.church. "However, Abilene gave up support after seven years for this church and Mike and Hope Zuniga at the end of 2010." Of the mission field in that community, Owen says, there's a "huge amount of teaching and gaining of trust for folks who work it, perhaps exampled by that of Apollos and the Ephesians of the NT.
"Northside has been close with Laredo church since they came. Miguel and I have been particularly close, discussing our work usually on a weekly basis. We can appreciate the slow go sometimes and we rejoice greatly in the successes. In this event, we also compliment San Jose Church of Christ for providing the baptistery for the Garzas' baptism and their minister, Jorge Chavez and his family, for joining us for fellowship afterward."
Nov 2010
Laredo now on web
LAREDO -- Chuck Owen, minister for the Northside church here recently invited members to visit the its new page on the World Wide Weg. Member Roger put it up.
Said Owen, "Thanks to Roger Northside has a new website. We have been without a website since about the first of the year when Netscorp sold out.
"Roger set us up a basic website at Yahoo. He did it all, and it is great.
"Just what we needed. Having this we can now advertise it in many different ways so that people who search the Internet for the church in Laredo will have information."
The page is located at www.laredonorthsidechurch.com.
Oct 2010
Owen collects history in Laredo
LAREDO -- Chuck Owen, minister at the Northside Church of Christ in Laredo has put together a team of individuals to publish a historical account of the churches in Christ in Laredo. In a book titled, "The Church of Christ in Laredo, TX 1937-2010," Owen and his team puts together the pieces of history of the existing four congregations.
Owen serves as editor and commentator while Michael Craig, Pattilu Key, Bud Key, Carolyn Bates, Joyce Hughes, Cynthia Miller, Virginia Craig, Gary Thomas, Miguel Zuniga and Jerry Hill share their life experiences in churches of Christ in Laredo. Each contributor shares his or her personal connection with Laredo churches early in book.
Although the work attempts to include as much information as possible, Owens admits there are still people he was unable to reach. Of particular interest to Owen are the early years.
The book begins in Market Street in 1937 as the church first reveals evidence of her work in Laredo. However, little is known of those early years or even if and how the church existed before 1937 in Laredo.
Of special interest as well is the Spanish language work. The first native Texan to become a member of the church of Christ was Jose Maria Jesus Carbajal. This man actually lived in Alexander Campbell's home (1827-1830) in Bethany, VA (at the time) and brought back to Texas much of Campbell's writings.
The book is full of stories like this that show the effect of the restoration movement in South Texas.
Owen invites you to share your experiences with the church in Laredo and add to his collection perhaps necessitating a second edition. You can order a copy of the book by calling (956) 206-3651 or emailing Chuck Owen at chxowen@stx.rr.com.