July/August 2005
Transcription
July/August 2005
Hoosier United Methodists together www.inareaumc.org HOOSIER UNITED METHODISTS 1 July/August 2005 Volume 35 Number 6 open hearts, open minds, open doors. The people of The United Methodist Church Potter shows we are molded by grace By Matthew Oates and Daniel R. Gangler WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Potter Russ Harris and his wife, Karen Greenwaldt, were moving a table across the Elliott Hall auditorium for a Bible study presentation during the North Indiana Conference sessions June 2-4 at Purdue University. Both Harris and Greenwaldt teamed with Indiana Area Bishop Mike Coyner to present a series of six Bible studies dealing with various aspects of church leadership based on Scripture. Before one of the sessions, Together caught up with him onstate as he was setting up his tools and interacting with Bishop Mike Coyner, reviewing notes and talking to others about his creations that were scattered behind him on stage. Harris, who has been working with clay for ten years in his Nashville, Tenn. studio, got hooked on clay from selling antique art pottery for numerous years. “Karen suggested that I take a class. I took a class and went back to school.” His work is sold through wholesalers and galleries across the United States. His goal is to not only connect the potter with the clay, but also to connect the finished clay project and the potter with the one who purchases the item. “It enriches you and your life.” Harris and Greenwaldt, who serves as the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship’s general secretary, team teach Sunday school, but this was the first time they have done a Bible study together with clay. Harris gives clay presentations regularly for churches and other groups. “It’s been fun and a real challenge with the unique Scripture verses. It’s been a real good time working with Bishop Mike.” The three of them met in April to review numerous passages and plan the Bible studies. “We’re pretty unscripted, though,” says Harris. “This was just fun to do.” To say that Harris enjoys pottery is an understatement. “It’s being a part of the creative process,” he says. “For me, it’s like Christmas every time.” Sometimes the best pottery is by “happy accidents” when things go better than planned. “You’re always getting better at what you do,” he said. “Each pot leads you to the next pot. I’m working for that pot that really sings.” During annual conference During the annual conference, Harris threw pots as Coyner and Greenwaldt commented on a particular passage of Scripture dealing with church leadership. For instance, during a Friday Together photo Potter Russ Harris trims a pot during one of the six Bible studies duirng the North Indiana Annual Conference at West Lafayette. “Clay is the thing that civilized us, when clay hit fire.” -- Russ Harris evening session, Harris said, preparation has much to do with pottery. He said, “If I don’t center the clay (on the wheel), I can’t throw a pot. If it’s off center, it wobbles. That’s somewhat like life if we aren’t centered.” Coyner said, “Jesus knew how important it was to center. He would get away alone.” In Mark 6, Jesus gathers the disciples and says to them, ‘come to a deserted place and rest yourselves.’ Jesus teaches his disciples how to rest, said Coyner. Greenwaldt said, how do you learn from Jesus, if we want to be the person God wants us to be? Harris said at the beginning everyday at the study, I read about the saints (of the church). It reminds me of my heritage. Greenwaldt asked the audience, do you have a quiet place to go? So that when you go there you have entered a holy place. She said that two of her pastor friends have different places. One had a kneeling rail and spent an hour a day centering alone. His associate made fun of him for “praying in a closet.” Fast forward 30 years, now the associate is trying to find herself. “Jesus’ going away was a habit. He had crowds following him. Part of my rhythm is to close the door and be by myself. Whatever works for you. Everyone needs a place (to center),” said Greenwaldt. Coyner told the audience that his special place is Epworth Forest, one of the conference campgrounds. “If that had not been the place, would I have another special place? Everyone has to find a space and a place to keep the rhythm of Christian life. If is was necessary for Jesus, it is necessary for us,” Coyner said. Greenwalt then commented, worship on Sunday is probably not enough time for us to center because because we are a participant. I ask those who don’t (take time to be alone), what are you Together photo Russ Harris centers the clay on his potter’s wheel as wife Karen Greenwalt looks on and comments with him and Bishop Mike Coyner about passages of selected Scripture during Bible studies at the North Indiana Annual Conference session in West Lafayette June 2-4. afraid of; what are you hiding from? There was a rhythm that was important to Jesus.” Harris said, when I come back from vacation, I need to get back into a rhythm and I feel I am better. Timing is everything Commenting during another Bible study session on Matthew 28:16-20, Harris said, clay has a certain timing. You have to be there at the right time (to work with it). He said he left a thrown bowl out last night. “I can’t do anything more with it now, so I will reconstitute it,” he said. Coyner replied, “Making disciples has something to say about timing.” Greenwaldt said, “some doubted. How many of us think when we become a Christian we stop doubting. It’s not a part to be ignored.” She said that John Wesley, after his Aldersgate experience, had doubt. Then he discovered new ways of understanding the Gospel. The Gospel also says GO. Harris and Coyner asked and selected several “volunteers.” Clay is the thing that civilized www. inareaumc.org us, when clay hit fire, Harris said. “Next they had a vessel to cook in. They put a lid on it and had a storage container. This allowed people to stay in one place.” Harris taught the volunteers how to make pinch pots. Volunteers were taught and then headed for the audience to teach someone else. Greenwaldt said teaching is a topic dear to her heart. “When we invite people to faith, we baptize them and TEACH them. Pastors are both preachers and teachers. Coyner said, “Every pastor needs to be involved in a teaching ministry.” Greenwaldt quoted Wesley saying, “Will you instruct the children? Do you know our doctrine and polity?” Teaching and preaching are interwoven. She said pastors have a responsibility to teach, read and think theologically with their congregations. For the new class of Elders to be ordained, Harris made chalices and patens. “It’s something you will remember of your ordination every time you look at it and how the person who made it gave it to me,” he said. “It humanizes people to have things made by other people.” 2 Hoosier United Methodists together FROM BISHOP THE July/August 2005 Is your church an EPIC church? In Leonard Sweet’s book Postmodern Pilgrims: First Century Passion for the 21st Century Church, he describes how churches today must adapt to reach younger generations who live within a postmodern culture. His shorthand for what is needed is EPIC. Those letters stand for Experiential, Participatory, Imagedriven, and Connecting. Sweet explains that youth and younger adults are drawn to places and organizations that are Experiential, where they can experience truth directly and not just read about it. They also are drawn to Participatory events, where they can be directly involved and not just spectators. They communicate in Images, especially visually-stimulating images, rather than just listening to words. And these younger generations enjoy being Connected and networked with one another, and with the whole world. Sweet is asking the church to be an EPIC Listening to our youth My first two Annual Conferences here in Indiana are now concluded, and both seemed to go well. Everywhere I encountered great hospitality, enthusiastic expectation and encouraging words of hope as we look to the future. North Conference gathered around the theme “Molded By Grace … Making a Difference” and South Conference gathered around the theme of “New Beginnings.” Among the many, many good experiences at both conferences, I most valued the time in each Ordination Service to invite persons forward who are being called by God. The response in both conferences was heartening, and in South Conference so many came forward that we actually had to extend the singing and the service! I was most pleased that so many who came forward were bright, enthusiastic youth and young adults. Another valuable time for me in each conference was the opportunity I had to hear from the youth who were present. In the South Conference, the youth gave me a “Celebrate!” T-shirt and a bright-colored Hawaiian lei with a tag attached which quoted 1 Timothy 4:12, “Let no on look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity, show yourself an example to those who believe.” Indeed, the South Indiana group showed us how to celebrate our faith. The North Conference youth also gave me a T-shirt, with the words from 2 Corinthians 5:17 as translated by Eugene Peterson’s The Message. Those words say: “Now we look inside, and what we see is that anyone united with the Messiah gets a fresh start, is created new.” They also gave me a whole set of plastic eggs, each one containing little slips of paper on which each youth had written their hopes and dreams for the CCYM (Conference Council on Youth Ministry) and for the whole church. Several of those slips of paper also contained very nice comments and prayerful support for me. Many of those are private, but let me share some of the hopes and dreams of the youth for their CCYM and the church, so that you, too, can listen to our youth: “I pray that everyone will support the youth so that we can use our new beginning to further the ministry of Christ throughout the conference.” “As a youth I see the need for unity among members, something that a lot of adults in my church don’t recognize. It is a continual battle of ‘them’ and ‘us.’ I feel positive, and I put my faith in God that he will use you and us to the fullest. Thank you for answering your call.” “I am so thrilled that our new beginnings coincide, and it is my prayer that clergy, conference, and youth will work together in harmony.” “My hope for you bishop is that you will unite all the districts in Christ’s name so that we can support believers and bring others to Christ.” “I get your E-pistles and they always seem to brighten my day when I read a new one.” “We as youth have a passion to serve Christ to the fullest of our ability! We want the world to be able to share the joy, we want everyone to know!” “Bless be the tie that binds. May this be a reminder of the tie we share together.” “My vision is the youth in North Indiana will become leaders in their local churches, their districts, and their conference.” “My vision for CCYM is for us to communicate more so that we can accomplish much more as a group. I want to unite this conference’s youth to revive our peers and our churches.” “I just want to say that I will be regularly praying for you and the rest of the conference. I also want to say that over the next year I hope to see the CCYM become a tighter group and a greater leadership throughout the conference. I want to see the youth of the conference becoming a great group that can touch our schools, friends, and others around us. We can come together and unite our youth groups to do great works for God.” “My vision for CCYM is for us to work together. All throughout conference 2005 we have talked about being a ‘we.’ One person can accomplish so much in this world, just think how much we can accomplish if WE work as a team.” Oh yes, there was one more note which said simply, “You Da Bishop!” What a nice affirmation! The youth told me that those plastic eggs filled with notes, prayers, hopes and dreams could be used to make a “vision omelet.” More than that, those little pieces of paper, the T-shirts, their reports and their presence at the two Annual Conferences give me great hope for the future. Now it is important for us to listen to our youth. Because they have a lot to say to us. From Bishop Michael J. Coyner Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church “Making a Difference ... in Indiana and around the world” church. EPIC describes a church which invites and involves young adults rather than asking them to adapt to the ways we have always done church. There is much truth to Sweet’s analysis. As I visit our congregations in Indiana, I notice those churches that are reaching younger generations tend to utilize projected images, lively music, video clips, relevant messages and a variety of forms of involvement that include Disciple Bible Study, mission work trips, drama, adventure camping, service outreach, e-mail and Internet communication. Likewise, I notice that churches that don’t adapt to the youth and young adult culture tend not to reach those age groups. The Gospel truth never changes, but our methodology for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ must always be adapted to new generations and new contexts for ministry. How about your church? Is your church an EPIC church? From Bishop Michael J. Coyner “Making a Difference … in Indiana and around the world.” HOOSIER UNITED METHODISTS July/August 2005 Vol. 35 No.6 MISSION STATEMENT: To reflect the teachings of Christ through stories and pictures, thereby sharing key moments and concerns in the life of his Indiana church and its people. To share joy, to share personal faith, to share challenges, and to refresh the spirit. Indiana Area Bishop/Publisher: Michael J. Editor: Coyner Daniel R. Gangler Editorial Assistant: Erma Metzler HNE Printers, Columbus with soybased inks on recycled/recyclable paper Printed by: Editorial Offices: Hoosier United Methodists Together Indiana Area United Methodist Church 1100 W. 42nd St., Suite 210 Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 Phone: 317-924-1321 Fax: 317-924-4859 e-mail: [email protected] Hoosier United Methodists Together (ISSN1544-080x) is a monthly (except June, August and December) publication of Indiana Area United Methodist Communications, 1100 W. 42nd. St., Indianapolis, IN 46208, for clergy, laity and seekers. Periodicals postage paid at Indianapolis, IN. Printed in the U.S.A. copyright 2005 Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church. Postmaster: Send address changes to Hoosier United Methodists Together, 1100 W. 42nd St., Suite 210, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 Subscription Information: Call 317-924-1321. One-year subscription, $12, single copy $1.50 Change of Address: Send the mailing label with your new address to: Erma Metzler, Together, Indiana Area UMC, 1100 W. 42nd. St., Suite 210, Indianapolis, Indiana 46208 or e-mail [email protected] Commentaries and letters provided by Indiana Area United Methodist Communications do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of Bishop Michael Coyner, the Indiana Area or The United Methodist Church. Members of the Indiana Area Communications Commission and Editorial Advisory Group: Steve Bahrt, chairman Char Harris Allen Bishop Michael J. Coyner Ida Easley Mark Eutsler Donald Griffith Jack Howey David Maish Bruce Palmer Scott Pattison Cindy Reynolds Robert Sharp Paula Shrock Bert Talbott Permission is hereby granted to United Methodist Congregations to reprint stories not previously copyrighted in your local church publications. www.inareaumc.org Fast – Easy – Free Keeping YYou ou Connect ed Connected With vital information about Hoosier United Methodists Hoosier United Methodist News is electronic and available to you 24/7. Connect at www.inareaumc.org Add your e-mail address by sending a blank page to [email protected]. e-HUM is a ministry of Indiana Area Communications www.inareaumc.org WELCOME Hoosier United Methodists together 3 Emerging church may bring end to holy-war culture If The United Methodist Church continues in its conservative-liberal holy-war culture, the church will continue to decline, not because of its right or wrong theology, but because the younger generations will not tolerate a right-wrong at-odds view of Christianity. What is central to Wesleyan theology goes beyond creedal orthodoxy, beyond liberal relativism in the heartfelt proclamation that “God is love.” The times are changing and the church of the 21st century must learn to change, to be transformed, not just reformed, or continue to die in a post-denominational world. In the words and works of Brian McLaren, soon to be in our midst, we must be an emerging church with a generous orthodoxy. Preparing for McLaren’s visit to Hoosier United Methodists, I have read his Generous Orthodoxy: et al. and commend it to your reading before he discusses his theology and theories on September 17 in Indianapolis. (See Focus on the Emerging Church, p. 13.) Like others who have reviewed it on and off the Internet, I give a mixed review of this book. He creates clever copy and his book is an enjoyable and fast read. More than anything, the book is autobiographic and reflective of his 40-something life as an evangelical Christian. He identifies with every Christian movement from the Greek church fathers, to Roman Catholicism, monasticism, mysticism, the Reformation, Anglicanism, Methodism, right up to his own independent Christian church – now the dom- inant expression of Christianity in America. For a shorter read, catch the last two chapters – “Why I am emergent” and “Why I am unfinished.” McLaren is not a theologian and doesn’t pretend to be one. He is a pastor. Early in his book, he even confesses his lack of formal theology. He also skips and condenses Christian history for his own purposes. He writes what he feels he needs to write chapter after chapter. Near the end, he finally comes to a pivotal statement that brings the book and his thinking to the forefront. He writes, “To be a Christian in the generous, orthodox way is not to claim to have the truth captured, stuffed, and mounted on a wall. “It is, rather, to live and grow in a loving (ethical) community of people who are seeking the truth (doctrine) on the road of mission (witness as McClendon said), and who have been launched on the quest by Jesus, who, with us, guides us still. Do we have it? Have we taken hold of it? Not fully, not yet, of course not. But we keep seeking. We’re finding enough to keep us going. But we’re not finished. That, to me, is orthodoxy – a way of seeing and seeking, a way of living, a way of thinking and loving and learning that helps what we believe become more true over time, more resonant with the infinite glory of God (p. 293).” He writes like a process theologian. All is becoming and emerging. He believes the church is emerging as a new post-Protestant, post-modern, post-conservative, post- LETTERS Amazed by Indy Airport chaplain I work in Golden, Colorado but was recently in the Indy airport after visiting my parents in Illinois. The Rev. Yung Sheng Chun came and talked with me. I am to be commissioned next week and had just graduated from Iliff School of Theology here in Denver. I was so amazed and pleased by his presence that I went looking on the Web for his ministry and found your recent article (Together, May-June 2005). I have been in numerous airports throughout the world and have never had a chaplain approach me. It was wonderful. Denise Bender Golden, Colo. Another WWII chaplain Looking in the recent issue of Together at the list of WW II Chaplains (past and present) by John Wolf, I was stimulated to mention to you the name of the Rev. Robert Moss, deceased, of Ft. Wayne, Ind. Rev. Moss is undoubtedly a unique chaplain in that he earned the purple heart and the infantry badge for combat (including the Battle of the Bulge) before he was ordained in the Methodist Church. He retired at the rank of full Colonel in the U.S. Army as a chaplain. He was a leader in military activities in both Iowa and Indiana, as well in Methodist Church activities as pastor and fund raiser. I probably do not know enough of liberal church in this new century. For the past quarter century, The United Methodist Church, like other mainline Protestant denominations, has become entrenched in a liberalconservative cultural war to which in Indiana has added, but not the sole cause of, a 50 percent decline in membership since 1968. Another cause for that decline has been a rigid institutionalism that has resisted change in structure and procedures. Change is overdue and coming. Since the turn of this century, many have sensed either change or the need for change in all levels of The United Methodist Church – congregational, district, conference, jurisdiction and general. Up-anddown vote decision making has been replaced by discerning God’s will. It’s a process which takes longer, but also a process which brings more people into the process through discussion and prayer. New administrative structures incorporate the mission and being of the church replacing a hierarchical administrative format that served prior generations well. On the congregational level, change has been evident in worship with alternative forms that include praise songs, bands, projected images and pastoral talks or Bible lessons, rather than hymns, liturgies and sermons. Growing churches offer forms of worship and Christian education in tune TO THE his contributions and accomplishments as chaplain, pastor or combat soldier; and I do realize that he was not a chaplain during WW II because he returned to complete seminary on G.I. bill. However, it seems to me that his unusual status as a post WW II military chaplain of such unusual accomplishments might be a worthy and interesting notation within the reports of Methodist Chaplains with Indiana connections. Not a chaplain, but a strong Methodist lay person member of Terre Haute Maple Ave. United Methodist (returned to her second active duty in Afghanistan) is Cheryl Lanke, Lt. Col, USAF. I wonder if strong Indiana United Methodist members of special military honors and/or high military rank would sometime offer some interesting news. Loran Ralph Braught West Terre Haute, Ind. Reflections on ‘Tightening our belts’ The article “Tightening our belts, loosening our wallets,” by Bishop Coyner in the April 2005 issue states concerns that should be met by all members of The United Methodist Church. My wife and I have been members and loyal supporters of The United Methodist Church since 1959. During the last couple of decades however, we and many of our friends have become more and more disillusioned with the leadership of this mainline church whose priorities are moving in with the millennial generation’s need for visual rather than verbal communication. As a church, as United Methodism in Indiana, we are an emerging church. The signs are here. When it comes to truths such as the exclusivity of the Gospel as a means to salvation, the person and work of Christ, the authority of Scripture, the traditional roles of men and women and the issue of homosexuality, the emergent movement has no answers. McLaren attributes this position to humility. In his closing words, he confesses that he is “unfinished.” A generous orthodoxy means not just reaching correct conclusions about issues but requires “right processes to keep on reaching new and better conclusions” (p. 294), a process that never ends. He even ends the book with an unfinished fragment. With McLaren and Bishop Mike Coyner as leaders of the day, there will be plenty for both laity and clergy to discuss on Sept. 17. Hopefully, Focus on the Emerging Church (page 13) will begin that process during the summer. Pack A Generous Orthodoxy in your beach bag for lakeside reading. It’s even good reading for a backyard patio. McLaren may not have the answers we need, but I think he is a step in a promising direction. I have my questions for him and they begin with Welcome, Daniel R. Gangler EDITOR the wrong direction. Now we are encouraged to increase our support to a system that is failing in its’ original purpose. Let’s reconsider this plea of “Tightening our belts, loosening our wallets.” There was no mention in the article about dedicating ourselves to increasing membership, the decline of which is born out by the record. In fact there is consideration of merger of the conferences to reduce overhead. This in itself is an admission of inability to grow or maintain present programs. In most organizations dividing is the way to grow. In my community many new churches have emerged and are growing at a rapid pace while our own United Methodist church continues to decline in membership and as a result is barely able to meet the budget or pay apportionments, nor are we in a position to adequately provide education and learning opportunities for the few children and youth we have. The fact is Methodists in general are quietly voting against the policies by tightening or closing their wallets. In my opinion, we would have not financial problems if we sufficiently increased the membership of our churches. The key to our stewardship is the knowledge that our giving is directed toward vital needs and used effectively. As in industry and business, we are overloaded with “middle management.” We should consider that as church membership has declined staff levels of conference and districts remain relatively constant, thereby increasing their ratio to churches and membership. Now, we are asked to pay more to maintain this higher ratio. What are we receiving in return? – finer office buildings and homes for the upper echelon? How is there money available for new and finer buildings and homes in light of present financial difficulties? I suggest that the office of District Superintendent be abolished and those individuals returned to regular church pulpits. We should also sell all parsonages and give the clergy housing allowances and allow each to purchase or rent lodging as the rest of us must do according to his or her family need and financial capability. The strength of our church used to lie in the rotation of pastors every few years or so. This system is challenging and requires pastors to occasionally move out of their comfort zone while also distributing strengths and weaknesses of clergy over the entire conference. Now it seems that they remain in the same church longer and longer. Have salaries reached the level that we have no place to move persons since a move is supposed to be on the same level or a promotion? If we as a people are going to survive and thrive as United Methodist Christians, we must not continue to perpetuate a system that no longer functions in its original ordained purpose. Many of us will open our wallets to a real and vibrant result oriented ministry. When the clergy become a part of and directly involved in the lives and activities of their flocks, the present situation will change remarkably soon for the better. Lamar Peterson Bedford, Ind. 4 Hoosier United Methodists INDIANA together July/August 2005 Lilly grants renewal funds to nine Indiana UM churches INDIANAPOLIS – Their congregations call them passionate, amazing, dedicated, energetic, prayerful, sensitive, committed and exceptional. They are the pastors of the 36 Indiana churches, including nine United Methodist congregations, selected to receive grants in the 2005 Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations funded by the Indianapolisbased Lilly Endowment. The grants allow pastors to take an extended time away from the daily demands of church leadership to spend intentional time studying, reflecting, reconnecting with their families, traveling, writing – whatever “makes their hearts sing.” At the same time, each congregation experiences its own renewal program, often in concert with its pastor’s, so that both gain from the experience. Each congregation is eligible to receive up to $45,000, and up to $15,000 of that may be used to fund congregational renewal activities and for pastoral expenses while the pastor is away. The applying pastors, who are encouraged to consider plans that “will make their hearts sing,” routinely work with their congregations and come up with imaginative and thoughtful ways to spend a few months away from the pulpit. This year’s recipients represent 24 Indiana cities and towns in 21 Indiana counties. During their sabbaticals, their “range of motion” will extend far beyond Indiana’s borders – to the Middle East, Europe, Central and South America, Australia, Africa. They will explore the origins of their faith, attempt to fill in spaces on their family trees, keep journals, take pic- tures, spend time with their families, and pause for solitary retreats and thoughtful reflection. “Most of these pastors, 24 to be exact, represent congregations of fewer than 400 people, and most of those, 15, represent congregations of fewer than 200. Their work is intensely personal; they spend time with people at the highest and lowest points of their lives – and all points in between,” says Craig Dykstra, the Endowment’s vice president for religion. “The congregations – who design and plan these sabbaticals with their ministers – engage in renewal activities on the same theme as their pastor’s renewal program. For instance, if the pastor is involved in a foreign-language immersion program, the congregation might engage in a study of the same culture that the pastor is exploring. Or if the pastor is exploring different modes of worship, they too will plan correlating studies. The opportunities for mutual renewal are endless.” United Methodist congregations receiving clergy renewal grants with amount received and name of pastor include: ♦ Bethel UMC, Indianapolis, $45,000, Rev. Andrea Leininger ♦ Broadway UMC, Indianapolis, $45,000, Rev. Rachel Metheny ♦ Community UMC, Vincennes, $45,000, Rev. Andrew Kinsey ♦ First UMC, Anderson, $45,000, Rev. Derek Weber ♦ Grace UMC of South Bend, $39,203, Rev. Hosea Drake ♦ Methodist Temple UMC, Evansville, $42,350, Rev. Robert Coleman ♦ Mount Pleasant UMC, Terre Haute, $44,987, Rev. Aaron Wheaton ♦ The Promise: A UMC, Fishers, $43,990, Rev. Russell Allanson ♦ Ridge UMC, Munster, $45,000, Rev. Steven Conger Endowment officials anticipate that the Indiana program will continue, and an announcement is expected soon. Besides this program, the Endowment offers a National Clergy Renewal Program for congregations and their ministers in the other 49 states. The deadline for those applications was June 10, and the recipients will be announced in September. For more information about either program, see the Endowment’s Web site: www.lillyendowment.org. See sidebar story about how these pastors plan to use their grants. Pastors plan to use Lilly grants to research, relax, travel Here are responses from some of the United Methodist pastors (in alpha order) who received Lilly renewal grants this summer. Russell Allanson, pastor of The Promise UMC in Fishers, said his reaction to receiving the grant was “Elation! We’ve been working on this as a congregation, and it has given us yet one more sense of Allanson success and blessing!” “There are three foci of my leave. The first is study,” he told Together. “I will study cutting edge worship at churches that do that well. That will include reading, visits (to Ginghamsburg UMC, Granger Community Church, Willow Creek Community Church and others), conversation and experience. “The second is connecting deeper with the tradition. I will continue my study of John Wesley and the early Methodists (in England). “The third is really primary. It is reconnection with my family. All ministry done well is stressful, but it appears church planting is some of the most stressful… I understand this because it is a relentless, neverending schedule that can, and often does, consume everything. While I’ve experienced these stresses, the approach of my wife and I has been one of ministering from God’s strength and not from our strength… So, this third focus is to connect with my wife and children on an even deeper level. This will include an extended time of camping (to and from Banff and Jasper National Parks, in Canada) and even a cruise.” Allanson’s leave will begin in June 2006. Robert Coleman, pastor of Methodist Temple UMC in Evansville, told Together, “Since I had just received a stint in one artery that had a Coleman 95 percent blockage, the surprise did not cause a heart attack. My wife Joyce and I are very pleased and excited. The timing is a double blessing.” He said his grant will be used, “for relaxation and renewal through travel and photography. This will be coordinated with many opportunities to use photography and art expression of faith in the local church.” While he is on the road, he said his members in Evansville “will be given opportunities to display their photography, improve technical skills and better understand faith expression through the visual arts.” Coleman plans to begin his leave in summer 2006 focusing in the northwest Canada and Alaska, plus the British Isles. Andrea Leininger, pastor of Bethel UMC in Indianapolis, said she was shocked, thrilled and overjoyed at receiv- ing the renewal grant. Not able to sleep the night after the announcement, at 4 a.m. she said she lit a candle, put on music and did a sacred dance to God. She then woke her husband, the Rev. Harold Leininger Leininger a retired pastor, and they took a walk at sunrise. She told Together, “The grant will permit us to ‘Journey with God.’ We will travel to New Mexico, France, Italy and Ghana for multi-cultural experiences of God. At the same time I experience these worship experiences, Bethel will do the same. Pastors and choirs of diverse cultural and spiritual practice will lead our worship on four different Sundays. “While in Ghana working as a volunteer chaplain at the Ankaase Methodist Faith Healing Hospital, Harold and I will experience an African worship experience. On the same Sunday Bethel will have an African or African/American pastor with an African choir. In this way Bethel will be enabled to experience new and meaningful forms of worship as a way to understand, experience, appreciate and learn about other ways to enjoy God, and then create some new opportunities to Pike Township which is the most diverse township in the state of Indiana.” All this and more is scheduled to begin Aug. 1. Derek Weber, pastor of First UMC in Anderson, said he felt both joy and relief when he had received word of his grant. He told Together that he vacillated between confidence that he would Weber receive it and fear that he had set up a program that wouldn’t meet the requirements of the sponsors. He said, “The money will be used to fund some travel and living expenses for me and some for my family. My wife and I adopted two children from Korea and now we are taking them back to that country for a time of reconnection to those roots. The largest portion of the expense is this trip, which will take place at the beginning of the sabbatical. “The second most expensive part is a trip to Great Britain, where my wife and I lived for over five years while I served in the British Methodist Church and later while I completed my Ph.D. We made many friends and had many experiences that we would like to share with our children. I also have a couple of personal fact-finding trips scattered throughout the time.” The Webers will begin all this in July 2006 and return before the end of October. The time begins in Korea, and includes time in Indiana, Tennessee, Texas, Great Britain (England and Scotland), Kansas City and Ohio. UINDY professor’s book probes meaning of work Where does God’s grace meet the daily grind? That’s the question tackled by Indianapolis-based clergyman, educator and author Gregory S. Clapper in his new book, Living Your Heart’s Desire: God’s Call and Your Vocation. Clapper The book, his third for publisher Upper Room Books, blends ancient wisdom with pop culture to help people of all ages reconcile their faith and their work in meaningful ways. An ordained United Methodist minister, Clapper is a professor of religion and philosophy at the United Methodist-related University of Indianapolis and one of the founding directors of the university’s Lantz Center for Christian Vocations. Clapper’s two previous books for Upper Room are 1997’s As If the Heart Mattered: A Wesleyan Spirituality and 1999’s When the World Breaks Your Heart: Spiritual Ways of Living with Tragedy, informed by his experience as a National Guard chaplain at the scene of a 1989 airliner crash in Iowa. The new book, published as a 128-page paperback, explores traditional Christian teaching on the concepts of personal freedom, vocation and God’s calling, to help readers cut through the alienation and cynicism that can arise in today’s working world. Throughout the narrative, Clapper draws examples from contemporary films and other familiar elements of popular culture. “We must ask if the life we are living is a worthy expression of gratitude for what God has done for us,” Clapper writes. “Our most important response is the shape of our entire life. It is, in short, our vocation.” www.inareaumc.org SOUTH INDIANA CONFERENCE Hoosier United Methodists together 5 Music, testimonials tell story of church growth, evangelism “Come, now is the time to worship,” sang the praise band on the stage of Indiana University Auditorium June 9, as the church growth and evangelism event began during the South Indiana Annual Conference in Bloomington. “Come, just as you are before your God. Come,” sang and played the St. Paul Faithlink Praise Band of Bloomington as they led congregational singing. Scripture was read from Act 4:13-21, 5:12 about the signs of the early church in Jerusalem when the church was ordered by civil authorities not to speak in the name of Jesus. Peter and John said, they couldn’t keep from speaking about what they had seen and done. Strategic Planning helps pro- vide churches by obtaining loans. The Screening and Strategy committee information is available on the new SIC Web site at www.sicumc.org. Several congregations testified to ways they had grown. Bartlett Chapel was losing youth. The conference gave them a three-year $50,000 grant to hire a youth pastor. They are now in their fourth year and flying. Hanover Church chose the 12 Keys program with two priorities – children and youth. They have experienced a seven-percent growth. Barnes Church in Indianapolis wanted to change the image of its congregation. Members created a visual picture for African-Americans through a TV and door-to- door campaign. At Sandy Hook, they used connectional funds for block parties, VBS and an Easter egg hunt. Since 2000, worship has increased 28 percent. The Hispanic ministry report was given in Spanish. Presenters said the Hispanic population is growing rapidly. In Indianapolis, Vida Nueva has made us realize that our mission field is here at home. The church is located in the midst of an Hispanic population offers Hispanic culture awareness training. Old Bethel UMC is now offering Spanish Bible studies. Irvington UMC is offering ESL classes. In Bloomington St. Mark’s offers a Spanish ministry. Knox County has a food pantry available to Hispanics. The St. Paul Faithlink praise band leads the Thursday night plenary. New Communities of Faith being developed in the South Conference include: The Promise in Fishers (3 out of 4 adults were not churchgoers), Faithpoint in Floyds Knob, Faithlink alternative in Bloomington out of St. Paul UMC. A new missional church also was established in Congo known as the Kamina Project. Taylor Walters was sent to the Project from Indiana. Summary of the lay leader’s address to annual conference in Bloomington Truly a year of changes for Indiana’s United Methodist Ike Williams, South Indiana needed or they would not be on the Conference Lay Leader, said, car. “New Beginnings... this has been This is true for the church as truly a year of news bewell. We are the parts, ginning in many posiand we must work totions, including a new gether. bishop.” In Romans 12, we New Beginnings is read that Paul said we about change. And worship God through change is hard. our bodies which we give to God. Worship He showed members does not end when we a steering wheel from a leave church. God’s car. He said the steering Williams sanctuary is everywheel by itself is not where. very useful. A car withTo the clergy, I say you can’t out a steering wheel makes the car inoperable. All the parts of a car are do God’s work alone. Like laity, you are skilled in many ways. To the laity I say, you can’t do God’s work alone. Like the clergy, you are skilled in many ways. We must work together. In South Indiana, we have more than 600 clergy and more than 110,000 members. In the early days of Indiana, many clergy were circuit riders. Laity would not see their pastors for weeks, so the laity needed to run the churches. Clergy and laity must work together in equal partnership. We must all proclaim God’s word as well. As laity, we outnumber the clergy and can be in far more places than the clergy. Therefore, we can spread God’s word to more places. John Wesley asked us all to do all we can do, not as clergy or laity, but together. We must be willing to use our God given skills. Our gifts come from God, and we can all use our skills in bringing people to church. Many don’t see the relevance of the church today. Paul took the message to people who believed in gods and were not interested in Paul’s God, but he was persistent and didn’t give up. He was beaten and run out of town, but he never gave up. This might mean young people might not like our church. We may need to change and provide new services for today’s young person. They may not pay attention to apportionments, but they are willing to give to missions or volunteer for a mission trip. We must work together as partners. Laity, care for your clergy, even when they may not be the best of clergy. Clergy, care for your laity even when they aren’t the perfect congregation. We all work together to bring the Gospel to all people. South Indiana Annual Conference sessions at a glance “New Beginnings” was the theme of the South Indiana Conference June 9-11 at Indiana University in Bloomington. Bishop Michael J. Coyner was welcomed as the conference’s new bishop. In lieu of preaching services, Coyner held six Bible studies about administration, missions, connectional ministries, worship, institutions and discipleship. Each Bible study preceded a report session on one of these themes. The conference suspended its rules to operate without legislative sessions. During a memorial service sermon, retired Bishop David Lawson of Franklin, Ind., called the annual conference the congregation of the clergy. During a sermon, Bishop Lindsey Davis of North Georgia, reminded members they are called to prayer, to be an example, to let Scripture mold them and to love deeply. In another sermon, Davis reminded members that Christianity is a movement, not an institution. James Winkler, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, challenged lay members to become more involved in social justice by supporting universal primary education in developing countries plus basic healthcare and lunches for the less-fortunate students here in the United States. The conference has raised more that $75,000 to rebuild the Methodist church in Banda Aceh, Indonesia and has given more than $450,000 to South Asia Tsunami relief efforts. Indiana-based Operation Classroom asked each district to adopt a school in Liberia or Sierra Leone and celebrated the opening of a new surgical suite at Kissy U.M. Clinic in Freetown, Sierra Leone. The conference approved petitions to support global AIDS awareness, questioned the church’s membership in the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice, and supported counseling ministries for women and men experiencing emotional pain due to a past abortion. The conference discussed at length a $500,000 shortfall in the 2004 expense budget. As a result of diminished apportionment receipts, Bishop Coyner challenged pastors and lay members to promote tithing in their congregations. Next year the conference will consider a proposal to replace the traditional apportionment system with a local church tithing system to support the conference ministries. In other actions, the conference: ♦ Approved $12.2 million apportionment budget and $9.7 million expenditure budget for 2006, which is a $1.2 million decrease over the 2005 expenditure budget; ♦ Retired 13 ordained and lay pastors; ♦ Commissioned 7 probationary clergy members; ♦ Ordained 11 Elders; ♦ Recognized 10 course of study graduates; ♦ Promoted ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ and approved $50,000 for Igniting Ministry; Assigned an e-mail address to all active ministers; Encouraged members to recruit young adults to ordained ministry; Announced that 53 youth were approved as Lay Speakers; Approved all General Conference amendments and Recognized the United Meth- odist connectional ministries of Clarian Health Partners Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis; University of Evansville, University of Indianapolis; DePauw University; two children’s homes and four retirement centers. Membership in 2004 was 113,374 a decrease of (2,343) from 115,717 the previous year. The conference grew in professions of faith by six percent and 260 churches grew in average worship attendance. Worship attendance in 2004 was 64,898 a decrease of (422) from 65,320 the previous year. Complete reports of both South and North Indiana Annual Conferences sessions can be found by logging on to www.inareaumc.org. 6 Hoosier United Methodists together SOUTH INDIANA CONFERENCE July/August 2005 Lawson says annual conference is congregation of the clergy As the South Indiana Confer- are here. I can also say that you ence Memorial Service began in have become a highly respected Indiana University Auditorium on bishop among the Council of Thursday afternoon June 9, Bish- Bishops. Your presence here is op Coyner introduced Bishop very important.” David and Martha Lawson said in the Lawson and Bishop 1970s, the phrase “the Leroy Hodapp, both congregation of the retired bishops with clergy” was coined Indiana ties. here in Indiana. This Bishop Lawson congregation gathers preached the Memorias clergy, he said. al Service using Acts When clergy die in this 11 as the sermon text. conference, clergy atThe passage is about tend their funeral. “You the church scattering will not die alone. The Lawson after the stoning of clergy will be with Stephen. Part of the church went you.” These people (we rememto Antioch where many were add- ber) will not be alone, we will be ed to the faith. with them. He asked the congreLawson said he hadn’t been to gation to review the list of those a South Indiana Conference ses- remembered. “The other dimension I see here sion for 22 years. Facing Coyner, he said, “I am among a number is that these were remarkable peoof people that celebrate that you ple. I said thank you God.” Those listed include: CLERGY - Francis Applegate Sr., Marcus Blaising, Fred Carpenter, Robert DeLong, Edward David Frazier, Leion Guinn, Elva Hardy, Fred Kelley, Ross William Marrs and Julian Morgan; plus SPOUSES – Thelma Askren, Beth Bell, Marilyn Collins, Opal Cox, Mozelle DeLong, Anna Lee Hamilton, Clara Jaquess, Jean Marrs, Rebecca Meacham, Maxine Miller, Ann Belle Partain, Pauline Siders, Imogene Smith and Virginia Tousley. Lawson talked about his acquaintance with several clergy listed including Marcus Blaising, Fred Carpenter, Robert DeLong and Anna Lee Hamilton, names he knew well. Referring back to Scripture, he said, “Those who could, walked a long distance to Antioch (from Jerusalem). They shared their faith with their fellow Jews and some Bishop’s Executive Assistant Don Griffith, lights candles commemorating deceased clergy members and spouses during the memorial service. talked with the Hellenists and Greeks. The words of this reached the ears of the leaders in Jerusalem and they sent Barnabas, who went on to Tarsus and found Paul and brought him down to Antioch to share the faith. “And the church grew and grew and grew,” Lawson said. Then word came about a great famine. The church at Antioch gave money to Barnabas to take back to Jerusalem. Because they did this, they were blessed by God. ‘New Creation’ rocks annual conference RETIRING SOUTH INDIANA CLERGY include: front row (l to r): Jim and Marlene Gentry, Marcie and Gene Young, Beverly Smith, Thomas Ward. Second row: Sandra and Jim Witty, Melvin Mozingo, Aletha McVeigh. Back row: Pat and Phil Brenneman. The reason: the conference was celebrating the arrival of its inaugural theme song, “New Creation” by Greg Graham of Blue Grass UMC in Evansville. Graham, director of creative arts at Blue Grass, received a flier from his pastor regarding a theme song contest for the annual conference. “I wrote the song and submitted it. We’re excited to be here,” said Graham, backstage after the first playing of the song. “We’re just having a blast.” Graham is joined onstage with his fellow musicians John Wells, Ray Buttry and Erick Scales. The process of writing the song was easy for Greg. “I started in the Bible.” After some prayer and other thoughts about the passages he read, he sat down to write the song. “The chorus just came to me. I was blessed. I had it done the morning I started it.” ‘New Creation’ Words and music by Greg Graham; copyright by Greg Graham; used by permission Stanza 1 We had our start with God Then fell apart from God Separated by our sinful inclinations Then we were won by Christ To be one with Christ Brought back together to be his delegation From the pieces of a broken body He made all things new Chorus We stand before you a new cre- ation The old is gone, the new has come Oh Lord we lift your name as we together claim This new creation in You Stanza 2 We are compelled by love To go and tell his love To a world that needs to hear of his salvation And put back one by one What this sin had undone Back to the way it was when we were first created Share the story of his broken body And he’ll make all things new Bridge There are those who want like us to begin anew So we must tell them the story, tell what our Jesus can do. Clergy session welcomes new ministers SOUTH INDIANA CONFERENCE NEW ELDERS in full connection: left to right, front row: Bishop Coyner, Pamela Cook, Joseph Johnson, Raymond Wilkins, Deborah Reichenbach, John Mantle and Bishop Davis. Back row: Alvis Styron, Ronald Russell, Matthew Scholl, Jeffrey Landon, Ronald Willis and Timothy Johnson. SOUTH INDIANA CONFERENCE NEWLY COMMISSIONED probationary clergy include: left to right, front row: Cynthia Wood, Jamalyn Peigh-Williamson, Bishop Coyner, David Williamson and Gi-Chae Lee. Back row: Lisa Schubert, Mitchell Norwood, Bishop Davis and Thomas McGilliard. BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – “I appreciate you. You are a contribution,” Bishop Mike Coyner told more than 600 clergy members of the South Indiana Conference as they began their work in closed session June 9 at First UMC. “I want you to know that you are appreciated; you are a gift of God.” Instead of comments, Bishop Coyner showed a video titled “Radiating Possibilities.” The video included five steps in showing a positive attitude. The steps included: ♦ Get in the front row of life; ♦ When you make a mistake, say “how fantastic;” ♦ Don’t listen to the voice in the head; ♦ Connect with other people; and ♦ Affirm “I am a contribution.” The video is available for loan from the conference resource center and the bishop’s office. During the session, 11 probationary clergy members becoming Elders were presented and approved to be ordained June 10. They included: Pamela Carol Cook of Fishers, Joseph Thomas Johnson II of Indianapolis, Timothy Grant Johnson of Greensburg, Jeffrey A. Landon of Middletown, John Robert Mantle of New Albany, Deborah J. Reichenbach of Solsberry, Ronald R. Russell of New Albany, Matthew Lee Scholl of Moorsville, Alvis Holmes Styron Jr. of Indianapolis, Raymond Wilkins of Indianapolis and Ronald Alan Willis of Indianapolis. During the session, seven candidates to ordained ministry were approved to become probationary members. They were commissioned to service June 10 and included: Gi-Chae Lee of Bloomington; Thomas A. McGilliard of New Albany; Mitchell H. Norwood of Grandview; Lisa D. Schubert of Durham, N.C.; David Williamson of Terre Haute; Jamalyn Alece Peigh-Williamson of Terre Haute; Cynthia Diane Wood of Indianapolis. Also during the session, Elders and Local Lay Pastors seeking retirement were officially retired, effective the end of June. Each addressed their clergy colleagues. Most expressed their indebtedness and thanks to those gathered. Those retiring as Elders included: Philip Brennaman, Beverly Faulk, Nancy Lindley Flood, James Gentry, Holly Rudolf, Marvin C. Swanson, James Witty Jr. and Morris Gene Young. Those retiring as Local Pastors included: John Like, Melvin Mozingo, Beverly Smith, Robert Taylor and Thomas Ward. Those retiring represent more than 270 years of service. Beverly Faulk, the last to speak, told those assembled, “I have been a lesbian all my life. God bless you and may you see the life of Christ in all you do.” She then left the sanctuary and joined a small group assembled in front of the church holding hands, praying together and wearing rainbow colored stoles. NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE www.inareaumc.org Hoosier United Methodists together 7 North Indiana Annual Conference at a glance The theme “Molded by Grace… Making a Difference” was lived out on the stage of the North Indiana Annual Conference at Purdue University June 2-4 in West Lafayette by potter Russ Harris of Nashville, Tenn., who threw pots and engaged in conversation during six Bible study sessions. (See page 1.) Those studies, in lieu of preaching services, were led by Bishop Michael J. Coyner, a native of Indiana presiding over his first Indiana annual conference session, and the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt, general secretary of the General Board of Discipleship. The Bible studies spoke about leadership, church development, mission and outreach, Christian conferencing and stewardship. The clergy executive session was held during a first-time clergy appreciate banquet hosted by Coyner. During a memorial service sermon, retired Bishop Sheldon Duecker of Fort Wayne, Ind., said that we need to honor the past, look to Jesus and get on with the work of the church. The Rev. James Winkler, general secretary of the General Board of Church and Society, challenged members to continue their efforts to fight legalized gambling and celebrated no expansion of gambling in Indiana this year. Ken Vance, missionary and pilot serving Wings of the Morning in Congo and Zambia, said the church must become the infrastructure in Africa to provide money for agricultural development. The conference gave more than 7,500 health kits to UMCOR, celebrated giving $335,597 to UMCOR South Asia Tsunami relief. The conference also has raised more that $56,000 to rebuild the Methodist church in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Indiana-based Operation Classroom asked each district to adopt a school in Liberia or Sierra Leone. Concerning apportionments, the conference replaced traditional apportionments and for 2006 will ask local churches to give a tithe (10 percent) of their church’s income each month to the conference’s Shared Ministry. General church apportionments will be asked in addition to the conference tithe. The 2006 conference budget will be considered during an October special session Together Photo following June The Praise Band, a tradition at the North Indiana Annual Conference, was conducted by listening ses- Chuck Scott of Fort Wayne. The singers and musicians come from several congregations. sions. The Council on Ministries was gregations. The newly formed ders to ministry. restructured into four ministry Church Development Ministry The conference has 566 local groups: leadership development, Team will focus on strengthening churches with 519 appointments. church development, mission and and growing ministry with Afri- Membership stands at 99,349, a outreach, and peace and justice can-Americans and Hispanics in 1.9 percent or (1,978) decrease addition to church development. from 101,267. advocacy. The conference retired 26 clerThe conference has four new Average Sunday worship attencongregations and 11 local gy, commissioned ten probation- dance stands at 68,109, a (585) churches now have off-site con- ary members and ordained six el- decrease from 68,694. Bishop Coyner expresses appreciation to clergy during banquet WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Doing the clergy executive session differently at the North Indiana Annual Conference sessions June 1-4 included a banquet of appreciation for clergy and their spouses held June 1 at the University Inn on West Lafayette’s northwest side. More than 670 clergy and their spouses jammed into two ballrooms linked electronically. Several times during the banquet and hour-long clergy session, Bishop Mike Coyner expressed his appreciation to the clergy of the North Indiana Conference. While clergy and spouses were present together, Coyner viewed with them a short video titled “Radiating Possibilities.” (It can be loaned for the NIC resource center or the bishop’s office in Indianapolis.) In a whimsical way, the video emphasized steps to a more fulfilled life. They include the principals: sit in the front row, when making a mistake proclaim “how fantastic,” quiet the voice in your head, become part of the song and say to yourself “I am a contributor.” Coyner ended his banquet presentation by reiterating: “I am a contributor.” Then he added what he called the theological part – “I am a gift of God.” As the banquet tran- When making a mistake proclaim, “how fantastic !” sitioned into a closed session, Marsha led the spouses to a smaller ballroom for a spouses’ session. The closed clergy executive session was led by Jack Hartman, chair of the North Conference with Bishop Coyner joining in as clergy members worked through the traditional questions of the church. For the second year in a row, the paperless report was presented on a tenfoot screen in less than an hour. The approved report will be in the North Indiana Conference Journal. There were 25 clergy of the North Conference who retired this year. Together their service totals 750 years of ministry. Those retiring as Elders, Deacons and Local Pastors included: Emmett Ade, Gene Ansell, Beverly Biehr, Judith Brown, William Brown, James Butler, Edwin Retiring North Indiana Clergy include: front row (left to right): Gus and Joyce Kuhn, Harold and Lois North, James and Patty Patch; 2nd row: Gwen Hershberger, Beverly Biehr, William and Judith Brown, Pat Weeks, Sallie Maish, Ed Clark; 3rd row: Phil Hershberger, Kathie Clemenz, John Weeks, David Maish, Jane Hewson, James Butler; 4th row: Tyron and Fran Inbody, Lorin Clemenz, Diane Hogsett, Gerald Hewson, Lillian and Richard Fox; Back row: David Hogsett Clark, Lorin Clemenz, Ronald Covey, Thomas Ford, Richard Fox, Phil Hershberger, Gerald Hewson, David Hogsett, Tyron Inbdy, Dennis Keesey, Joyce Kuhn, David Maish, Harold North, James Patch, C. Jack Scott, Darin Suter, Larry Trueblood, John Weeks and Roger Wright. Retirees will be presented to the full conference on Friday morning. Ten candidates were approved by the clergy to be commissioned into probationary ordained ministry included: Jeffrey Clinger, Charlene Harris Allen, William Garver, Donna Kay Goings, Joseph Hornick, Catherine Koziatek, Mark Need, Diana Kay Siegel, Thomas Thews and Vickie Van Nevel. Six candidates were approved by the clergy in session to be ordained as Elders included: Charles Pelc, Lawrence Saunders, Jeffrey Smith, Alex Stone, Matthew Stultz and Jill Ann Wright. Candidates were commissioned or ordained on Saturday morning, June 4. North Indiana Conference new Elders: Front row: (l to r) Jill Wright, Lawrence Saunders, Matthew Stultz; Back row: Jeffrey Smith, Alex Stone, Charles Pelc. North Indiana Conference Probationary Members: Front row: (l to r) Catherine Koziatek, Charlene Harris Allen, Diana Siegel; Second row: Mark Need, William Garver, Jeffrey Clinger, Vickie Van Nevel; Back row: Thomas Thews, Donna Goings, Joseph Hornick. 8 Hoosier United Methodists NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE together July/August 2005 Bishop Duecker says church needs shot of adrenaline WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Say- to us today in these we remember. ing the church needs a good shot of Thank God for their lives and minadrenaline for the soul, set the pace istry in Northern Indiana. for retired Bishop Sheldon DueckDuecker said, the preacher tells er’s comments during the June 2 us that our energy comes from annual memorial and communion Jesus, too. Jesus never lost his service to honor the lives of 36 faith. We need to keep our eyes North Indiana Conference clergy on Jesus, the one who kept faith. members and spouses. Duecker asked his listeners to keep Using Hebrews 12:1their devotional life 3 as his text, Duecker, of present. He said our Fort Wayne, outlined faith in Christ is esthree points for the consential to our misference to remember. He sion. If we are to be said we need to: effective, we need to ♦ Honor the past, know who and what ♦ Look to Jesus and Christ did for us. ♦ Get on with the work. The central core of Faith is the example Duecker our faith is that God of those who have gone before us, Duecker said. They sur- was in Christ. Look at Jesus’ vived the worst and kept the faith. ministry item by item. What did A cord passes from Abel to Moses, Jesus do? He preached good David to Abraham; a cord passes news, healed the sick, called the through history to Jesus Christ. righteous and overturned the taThe preacher in Hebrews says we bles of injustice. are in a great stadium of saints. We serve a challenging, bibliThey are cheering us on today. cally illiterate world, said DueckThese we remember join that un- er. Our culture doesn’t know broken cloud of faith. The true Christianity. We live in an age that communion of faith bears witness believes in anything. Our Ameri- can culture used to support ministry. Today it is hostile toward the church. The days of triumphal Protestantism are gone. Consider the earliest Methodists in America, said Duecker. They came to reform the continent and spread scriptural holiness. They changed lives by speaking out against slavery, gambling and drinking. What is our missional purpose? – to make disciples for Jesus Christ. Why? I believe we are to make disciples to transform the world – to make a difference. It’s not enough just to stand or take a stand, but I think the theme for this generation is “Let’s roll,” the words of the victims that crashed in Pennsylvania on Sept. 11. Let’s lead a winning race. Hold that vision in front of you. We are part of that unbroken line, Duekcer said. Following the sermon, the names of clergy and spouses who died since June 2004 were read. As each name was read, a candle was lit in his or her memory. Remembered on Thursday, morning June 2 were PASTORS: Glenn Campton, Robert Cahoon Jr., James Price, Willis Syphers, Marcus Blaising, Wilson Parks, Jean McCan, Glen Howenstine, Burkett Smith, Paul Hill, Phillip Frew, Philip Hillsamer, James Byrd, Sylvan Nussbaum, Ruby Bushee; SPOUSES: Melba Henry, Lucille Hendrix, Clyde Kershaw, David Miller, Thelma Custer, Robin Goings, James Kruse, Grace Keller, Mary Stalions; SURVIVING SPOUSES: Veenice Together Photo White, Geraldine IN REMEMBRANCE of deceased clergy and their Baker, Thelma Jen- spouses, a candle is lit for each as their names nings, Evelyn are read aloud during the Memorial and CommunShake, Doris Lut- ion Service. trull Reynolds, Louise Myers, Mildred Hanawalt, Yunker, Ellen Frazure Plott. The service ended with the sacMarjorie Sayre, Edwinna Manley, Joy Kreig, Ruth Ellen Royster rament of Holy Communion. Laity appreciation luncheon dishes up dialogue To a resounding “Hello!” Bishop Mike Coyner kicked off the North Conference laity appreciation luncheon and laity session on Thursday afternoon, June 2. Over the clanking of silverware on salad plates and glasses hitting tables, Coyner told the laity that both laity and clergy are all members of the body of Christ. “I really believe that we are all in this together. It’s about ‘we’ and we are in ministry together.” Coyner also expressed one of his concerns with the church to- day – a smallness of vision. “I believe God wants us to enlarge our vision. When we work together as a church we can accomplish more. “There are so many wonderful things that are going on out there in our churches, conference and structure that we should celebrate,” he added. Sharing that one of the joys of his job as bishop is going around celebrating with churches, the bishop told of how he was visiting a new church start in the South Indiana Conference when a little girl tugged on his jacket, asking if he was the bishop. After he said “yes,” she thanked him for her new fun church. “That’s my hope and dreams that the people of Indiana will work together and share the joy in that and sense that this is a fun new church.” After his welcoming, the luncheon participants – grouped in districts at their tables – dialogued with one another regarding five questions: ♦ What significant UM ministries are occurring in our district? ♦ What are some needs in your local church that are not currently being met? ♦ Who are you aware of who could address these needs? ♦ What ministry, in partnership with other UM churches, do you see as necessary and viable? ♦ What is your church doing out in your community? Armand Deleurere, lay member from Hobart’s Michigan Av- enue UMC, is attending his first annual conference. “It’s a new thing for me,” said the recent retiree. With the dialogue and discovery of the numerous ministries of several churches in his district, Deleurere said, “It makes me proud to be a United Methodist.” Sharing of the ministries of a neighboring church, “That’s a small church, but they’re doing so much. We’re here for the same reason; we want to see the church grow.” 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 Bishop tells ordinands be human, let God’s power show WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Bishop Mike Coyner told the 1,200 worshippers during the Saturday, June 4 commissioning and ordination service at the North Indiana Annual Conference that he “was ordained a probationary deacon on this stage with this stole 30 years ago,” as he showed conference members the stole. He said the text says we have this treasure in clay pots, so that the extraordinary powers of God might be revealed. Coyner said he read on an Internet blog a piece from Pastor Scott Williams, who is quitting ministry. Williams said pastors live in the limelight and it’s hard not to disappoint people. Pastors feel pressured to put numbers on the role. Everything that goes wrong seems to be the pastor’s fault. Pastors vacillate between the drive to do everything and to do little. It’s hard to be who we (as pastors) are, he said. Being commissioned and ordained doesn’t make you’re less human but more human. “What I would like to say to Scott Williams is that all the reasons to leave ministry are the same ones as those to stay in ministry,” Coyner said. He said the more we stay the more the truth of the Gospel is revealed. Being commissioned and ordained doesn’t make you less human but more human. He said, “It’s an honor and privilege and how human we are. The Gospel humbles us. Being ordained and being commission makes us more humble. Do any of you feel worthy to be a minister of God? That’s why it is always a calling and not a choice. Who would choose it? It’s a humble calling.” Coyner said 30 years ago being ordained, he thought it would be easier to be a Christian. It isn’t. It’s an honor and privilege to serve God. He said we are checked out by everyone – committees, boards, physicians, counselors. The hoops don’t mean we are worthy of ministry. It’s a privilege (to serve as a ministry) for human folks like us. Knowing we are human helps us keep going. We are knocked down but we aren’t knocked out. The more human we are, the more God’s power shows through us, he said. The treasure is the Gospel. Our secret weapon is that this (what we do) is the power of God. “If we can’t accomplish all of this on our own will, how will anyone see through us the power of the Gospel?” The more we are human, the more the power (of God) works. He assured those to be commissioned and ordained that “ministry on our own will not work. When you do it on your own bag of tricks, it won’t work. But the more we are open to God, the more God will act. We are the vessels, the clay pots, the cracked pots. The power is the Gospel.” He closed by saying, “the more I focus on being the vessel and allow God being the power, the more my ministry is possible. Be real. Be human and look for the ways you can be a clay pot so the power of almighty God might be revealed through you.” Together Photo Bishop Coyner holds stole he received at his ordination 30 years ago. Hoosier United Methodists INDIANA www.inareaumc.org together 9 UINDY to welcome first students from Israel campus INDIANAPOLIS — After two years of planning, the University of Indianapolis is poised to welcome the first group of students from its Mar Elias Campus in Israel, most of them traveling abroad for the very first time. About 50 Christian and Muslim Arab students, accompanied by five faculty members and their families, have traveled from the Upper Galilee region of Israel to the university’s second summer session. Classes began July 5. This will be the first group of Mar Elias students to study in Indianapolis since the university began offering three degree programs in their tiny village of Ibillin in 2003. Ibillin is near Haifa, not far from the Lebanese border. (See February 2005 issue of Together.) The Arab students will have a full schedule of coursework, field trips, guest speakers and special activities during their seven-week stay. Many churches and organizations, including the Chicagobased arm of Pilgrims of Ibillin, have raised money to make the trip possible for these students of very modest means. The students will be living in a residence hall and taking classes each Monday through Thursday. They’ll have guest speakers and excursions around Indianapolis on Fridays, and spend a weekend in “We want to give these students a truly memorable experience both in and out of the classroom.” – Mary Moore Chicago hosted by Pilgrims of Ibillin. While in Indianapolis, the students will see museums, attend sporting events, go shopping and even visit the Indiana State Fair. “We want to give these students a truly memorable experience both in and out of the classroom,” said Mary Moore, vice president for research, planning and strategic partnerships. “Ultimately, we want them to develop a broader understanding of America and Americans than what they’ve seen in the media, and we would like our students, faculty and staff to come away with a better appreciation for a very complex region of the world.” Mar Elias Campus, the official name for the university’s affiliate in Israel, was conceived by the Rev. Dr. Elias Chacour as an apolitical institution that would bring baccalaureate programs to Ibillin while nurturing dialogue and un- Photo courtesy of University of Indianapolis Assistant Biology Professor P. Roger Sweets conducts an environmental science class on campus July 5 the first day of classes for Mar Elias students. It is a field course, so the students will have many trips around Indiana to study wildlife. Sweets co-teaches the course with Mar Elias professor Assad Sakhnini. derstanding among students and faculty of all faiths. Chacour, a Palestinian Arab and Melkite priest, is founder of Mar Elias Educational Institutions – elementary and secondary schools and posthigh school training programs that have been operating in Ibillin for nearly a quarter century. It was his longtime dream to create a college campus there as well. As a result of Chacour’s affiliation with the university, the Israeli government granted accreditation for Mar Elias in 2003, as a branch offering the university’s degree programs in communications, computer science and envi- ronmental science. For more information, log on to these related Web links: International Division: http:// i n t e r n a t i o n a l . u i n d y. e d u / overview.php Mar Elias Educational Institutions: www.meei.org Pilgrims of Ibillin: www.pilgrimsofibillin.org. United Methodist Men gathering at Purdue July 15-17 WEST LAFAYETTE – The 9th United Methodist Men’s Gathering sponsored by the General Commission of United Methodist Men is coming July 15-17 to Purdue University. Many people from the North Indiana Conference’s United Methodist Men are involved with this event and working on last minute details. The gathering, held every four years, is a chance for men to meet from all around the world. In addition to speakers and workshops, the attendees will have a couple of mission activities that the North Conference’s UMM support year-round: gleaning and helping to feed the less fortunate. David McCleary, NIC hunger relief advocate for the Society of St. Andrew and vice president of the Warsaw District’s A UMNS photo by Tim Tanton. Birch Coston picks peas for the hungry during a gleaning project held at a farm near Lafayette, Ind., before the 8th International UMMen Congress in West Lafayette began. The 9th National Gathering of United Methodist Men will be held at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., July 15-19. The event will again kick off with a gleaning, a potato drop, and a dried and canned food collection. Food will be distributed to relief agencies in the area. The gathering is held every four years. UMM, has been planning and working with Lafayette area farmers and food banks to coordinate the gleaning, potato drop and gathering of canned food items at the ministry fair in the Armory. “Every registered person is encouraged to bring five cans of veggies, fruits or soups,” says McCleary. In addition to the food projects, Gary Hostetler, president of the Kokomo District UMM, is responsible for setting up the ministry fair. But overall, the upcoming event is more than just walking through booths, moving a few potatoes and listening to speakers. “This event is important because it only occurs every four years and brings together Christian United Methodist men for fun, fellowship, personal growth in our spiritual life and renewed faith in God,” says McCleary. Ken Hudgins, North Indiana UMM president, encourages all men to register and take the opportunity to grow spiritually, especially since the mega-event is in North Indiana’s own backyard. “It’s important for every man to grow in his faith. If you also have a desire to do a men’s ministry, you should be here. It’s like going to a Super Wal-Mart: there’s everything.” Adding to the event, Hudgins added that the friendships that one makes are forever. “I met people from all over the world,” saying he still keeps in touch and prays with men from around the globe. To register or for more information, please visit the General Commission of United Methodist Men’s Web site at www.gcumm.org. Additional WWII chaplain noted Tsunami relief and Banda Aceh church funds Editor’s note: In addition to the 88 World War II chaplains listed in the May-June issue of Together, here is one more chaplain, however he was not a member of this denomination during WWII. That chaplain was the late Rev. Sander J. Kleis born Jan. 7, 1911, died Aug. 10, 1993, entered ministry 1950, retired 1976. Kleis was ordained as clergy in the Wesleyan Methodist Church and transferred to the South Indiana Conference in 1950. According to Bethel UMC in Indianapolis, Kleis was a Navy chaplain during WWII. He served the Edinburg church for two years beginning in 1950 before becoming a professor at Asbury College for three years. He also served the South Indiana Conference at Glenwood, Shelbyville West St. and Bethel in Indianapolis. Heeding his call to higher education, he served as a professor at Anderson College from 1961 to his retirement in 1976. Here are the latest figures on the South Asia Tsunami relief effort of both North and South Indiana Conferences. The Indiana Area is within $1,500 of its $150,000 goal to rebuild the Methodist Church in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. South Indiana Conference Total dollars received to date for tsunami relief for UMCOR – $442,846.70 Total dollars received to date for rebuilding the Banda Aceh Church - $ 96,619.86 SIC total – $539,466.56 North Indiana Conference Total dollars received to date for tsunami relief for UMCOR – $366,103.90 Total dollars received to date for rebuilding the Banda Aceh Church – $57,888.22 NIC total – $393,992.12 Overall totals for Indiana Area For tsunami relief – $ 808,950.60 For Banda Aceh Church – $ 148,508.08 Grand Total — $957,458.68 10 Hoosier United Methodists NATIONAL together July/August 2005 Disciple Bible study gets makeover, adds two 8-week classes By Kathy L. Gilbert A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. United Methodist Bishop Minerva Carcaño narrates a lesson in the Disciple Bible study program during taping at United Methodist Communications in Nashville, Tenn. This summer and fall, the United Methodist Publishing House is making changes to the resource, such as offering new eight-week sessions, plus new videos for Disciple I. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – In the past 20 years, more than a million people have graduated from a “Disciple” Bible study class. A million is not enough for the editors at the United Methodist Publishing House. They know from listening to their customers that more would have access to the Bible study if a few changes were made. “ ‘Disciple’ has become an integral part of the faith formation process in many congregations in this country and around the world,” said Harriett Jane Olson, senior vice president for publishing. “We hope that these changes will open that possibility to even more congregations.” Among the changes, new eight-week sessions will be offered, and new videos are being produced for “Disciple I.” Training seminars for facilitators are being shortened and will become optional for churches offering the Bible study. Ordering procedures are being simplified, and copies will be available in Cokesbury retail stores. Until now, “Disciple” required leaders to attend a three-day training session. Bob Shell, director of Cokesbury Seminars, said customers now understand the small-group process that is integral to “Disciple.” Beginning this year, training will be highly recommended but no longer required for a church to participate in Disciple I, II, III, IV, “Christian Believer” or “Jesus in the Gospels” programs. Training seminars also will be shortened. Two-day “Disciple I” training classes will still be offered, but participants will have the option of attending only the second day. Single-day training will be available for the other studies too, Shell said. Seminars are being made more affordable by waiving the requirement that participants stay in a hotel even if they live in the surrounding area. Training will be held in venues other than hotels. The option to use other venues – such as churches, retreat centers and university campuses – will help reach congregations and leaders in new locations, Shell said. A training DVD for “Disciple I” is available for churches, with more than 100 minutes from “Disciple I” training seminars. Buying “Disciple” resources will be- come easier. “Disciple” resources have been sold in kits for groups of 12 participants since the beginning of the series. Now planning kits will contain a set of videos (VHS or DVD available), a participant resource and a leader’s guide, packaged in a briefcase. Study manuals, leader’s guides, videos and all other components can also be bought separately. Though more than one million people have participated in the 34-week, indepth programs, many cannot commit to such long-term studies, Olson said. Two eight-week in-depth Bible studies will be available. Invitation to the New Testament will be available in July, and Invitation to the Old Testament will be available in August. For each study, participants will be expected to prepare daily, and each program includes weekly group meetings with video presentation and group discussion. For more information about “Disciple,” call 800-672-1789, go online to www.cokesbury.com or visit a Cokesbury store. Information for this story came from Around the House, a monthly staff newsletter of The United Methodist Publishing House. Church agencies to focus on health in body, mind, spirit By Linda Bloom A UMNS Report Recognizing the importance of health – in body, mind and spirit – will be a focus of several United Methodist agencies during the next few years. United Methodist Communications will help coordinate that focus by providing a communications strategy that will include the creation of a Web site and finding ways to link people with volunteer opportunities and Hollon models of health-related programs, according to the Rev. Larry Hollon, chief executive. Denominational representatives met in early May in Washington to start shaping this focus on health and wholeness. “One of the things we’re looking at is how agencies can collaborate around the whole issue of health and wholeness and deal with the full range of subject matter that it involves,” Hollon explained. In addition to taking care of one’s self and cultivating a discipline of body, mind and spirit, the focus will promote the recognition “that we’re all better when we’re in a healthy relationship with God and with other people,” he said. On a broader level, the church must be an advocate for quality health care, the delivery of that care “and how it is done in a way “The church must be an advocate for quality health care, the delivery of that care and how it is done in a way that makes it available to everyone.” – Larry Hollon that makes it available to everyone,” Hollon added. Health as wholeness The United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits adopted “health as wholeness in mission” when it realized that clergy were making a higher than usual number of health and disability-related insurance claims, according to Barbara Boigegrain, the agency’s chief executive. A key determination was that health “is a bigger issue than an absence of symptoms,” she noted. Both clergy and lay workers must be healthy to do God’s work, and the church needs to develop spiritual disciplines to assist them “as opposed to wearing them down,” she said. Boigegrain acknowledged that health is a highly personal issue, and she believes that improvements for the denomination will occur on a regional conferenceby-conference basis. “Our approach has been to raise awareness and provide information,” she said. The pension board has convened several different task forces to look at aspects of health and wholeness. The Interagency Working Group on Health and Wholeness, according to Boigegrain, “has been looking at models that are working,” and also will consider curriculum development and the sharing of information among church members. The pension board is starting to develop streams of research — working with United Methodistrelated Duke University and other organizations — that focus on which activities in ministry create higher stress levels. “The research will tell us a lot,” she predicted. The denomination’s Board of Discipleship also has agreed to do research on attitudes toward health and on how to discuss health in more compelling ways, according to Hollon. The interagency task force is “looking for ways to reframe the issue of health and wholeness that create some energy and make it more compelling than just having another health fair,” he explained. Advocacy efforts The Board of Church and Society has been involved in advocacy efforts related to health care and adopted a resolution at its spring meeting to make health care a priority, according to James Winkler, chief executive. During that meeting, Dr. Henry Simmons, executive director of the National Coalition for Health Care, addressed Church and Society directors about the health A UMNS photo by Ronny Perry A health fair was held recently at Methodist Hospital in Memphis. care crisis in the United States. The board is a member of the coalition. Winkler recently served as chairman for a “congressional hearing” at Riverside Church in New York, where Congressman John Conyers Jr. of Michigan and Congressmen Charles Rangel and Jerrold Nadler of New York, all Democrats, heard the testimony of 40 citizens, including health professionals. The hearing was organized by the Campaign for a National Health Plan Now!, which Church and Society supports as a member. “The health care crisis is huge for our local churches, annual conferences and general agencies,” Winkler said. “We have to help United Methodists lead healthy lives and confront a corrupt and broken health care system.” bal Ministries will take the lead in possible health initiatives, such as a campaign to prevent malaria. The Rev. R. Randy Day, the board’s chief executive, advocated such a campaign during his agency’s spring meeting. “Malaria is much on my mind as a preventable disease that is all too often fatal,” he told directors. The disease kills one African child every 30 seconds and a total of 2 million people a year, he noted. While insecticide-treated mosquito nets can reduce the incidence of malaria by 50 percent in areas of high transmission, fewer than 5 percent of African children sleep under a mosquito net, Day reported. By trying pilot programs involving mosquito nets in several locations, United Methodists could “save the lives of many children,” he said. Prevent malaria Linda Bloom serves as a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. On an international level, the United Methodist Board of Glo- Hoosier United Methodists INTERFAITH www.inareaumc.org together 11 South Asians, Muslims, Arabs detained without rights NEW YORK (GBGM) – United Methodists will have opportunities this summer to take up the cause of South Asians, Muslims, and Arabs who are detained or being deported from the USA without consideration of their basic human rights. A plea to become the voice of these voiceless persons is being made by the United Methodist Women’s Division of the General Board of Global Ministries to more 20,000 women, clergy and lay persons taking part in summer Schools of Christian Mission. It comes in a letter linked to a study on India and Pakistan. The India-Pakistan study focuses in part on how globalization, interfaith relations, and the war on terror affect these countries. A related concern is how Pakistanis and South Asians are being treated within the U.S. borders. Approach the media The Division’s letter asks United Methodists to approach the media on behalf of the detainee’s rights and their human dignity. The letter states: “Since September 11, the fear of terrorist attacks has been used to justify a series of laws and regulations that have restricted immigrant rights, legitimized racial profiling by law enforcement agents, and led to the detention of thousands of South Asian, Muslim and Arab boys and men in the US, and the deportation of hundreds. As United Methodist Women study India and Pakistan in schools of mission this year, we can also become aware of how fear and new legislation are affecting South Asian and other Muslim communities in the US, and take action.” According to a May 24 New York Times article, a program known as “Special Registration” during 2002 and 2003 required boys and men in the United States from more than 20 Muslim-majority countries to “voluntarily” A plea to become the voice of these voiceless persons is being made by the United Methodist Women. report for registration. They were fingerprinted, photographed and questioned, with the goal of hunting for terrorists. An estimated 83,000 men came forward though only a handful have been charged with terrorism-related offenses. However, 13,000 of those who voluntarily registered were placed into deportation proceedings because of irregularities in their immigration status that would have required simple legal corrections prior to Sept. 11. New immigration laws allow for the detention and criminal interrogation of immigrants for minor immigration violations, such as delay in registering a change in address, visa overstay, or other infractions. While Special Registration has ended, some registrants are still in detention under threat of deportation. Coney Island Project On May 24, The Coney Island Project, an advocacy group in Brooklyn, N.Y., reported that the United States government deported 57 Pakistanis from a Louisiana detention center, including three women and four children, without allowing them to notify family members still living in the U.S. On arrival in Pakistan they were handed over to Pakistani immigration authorities before being released. The Women’s Division letter states that Pakistani immigrants who are deported are often in a precarious position. It cites a Human Rights Watch report, where in one instance, “Pakistani authorities detained two US citizens of Pakistani origin and brutally tortured them for nine months while the US ‘turned a blind eye in the hopes of gaining information in the war on terror.” Since 2002, thousands have been sent back to Pakistan, many on minor immigration irregularities, with no accusation of a crime, according to a May Human Rights Watch report. New laws since September 11, 2001 increase government power to detain terrorist suspects without charge and broaden the powers of search, surveillance and indefinite detention for those awaiting a deportation decision. Racial profiling of Arab, Muslim and South Asian men has been legitimized through national registrations and local police practices, according to the Division’s letter. For more information on the action letter, or sample letters to the editor, go to http://gbgmumc.org/umw/ . Christian Churches Together postpones launch until fall By Linda Bloom The launch of a new ecumenical group, Christian Churches Together, has been postponed. The decision was made during the June 1-3 meeting of 67 Christian leaders at the Jesuit Conference Center in Palo Alto, Calif., which was to be the inauguration of the group. An inaugural worship service had been planned at Washington Cathedral in September. So far, 31 churches and national Christian organizations have formally decided to join Christian Churches Together and 20 additional church leaders from denominations considering membership attended the meeting as observers. The decision to delay was reached after participants addressed the fact that no African-American churches “are presently represented at the table as participants.” Participants include mainline Protestants, Orthodox, Catholics, Pentecostals and evangelicals. According to a statement from the meeting, “the decision was made to delay a formal launch this fall in order to continue the productive and positive conversation with churches and organizations actively considering joining.” “Participants enthusiastically reaffirmed their commitment to ‘grow closer together in Christ in order to strengthen our Christian witness in the world,’“ the statement said. The Rev. Larry Pickens, chief executive of the United Methodist General Commission on Christian Unity and Interreligious Concerns, said the decision to delay was reached after participants addressed the fact that no African-American churches “are presently represented at the table as participants” and questioned whether the new entity could be inaugurated without their presence. “This was in some ways a difficult and painful decision, but in my mind, it was the right decision,” Pickens told United Methodist News Service. He noted that the United Methodist Council of Bishops had voted in May for the denomination to enter Christian Churches Together as a provisional member, partly because of this concern, and that the Commission on Christian Unity had raised the issue as well. Although the commission supported provisional membership, it did lament, in an April statement, the historic divisions in the church over race and wanted to know how Christian Churches Together “will strive to be racially and ethnically inclusive.” Pickens said he thinks the organization is strong and has “a new level of legitimacy” because of the decision to delay an inauguration. The next meeting of Christian Churches Together will “continue common activities of prayer, biblical reflection, worship and relationship building as well as wrestle in depth with the issue of poverty in the United States,” the group’s statement said. Linda Bloom serves as a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. Jewish and Christian dialogue shows signs of maturity NEW YORK – A dialogue begun a year ago between staff and representatives of several Christian denominations and mainstream Jewish organizations is showing signs of maturity, says the National Council of Churches USA executive who coordinates the Christian partners in the dialogue. “The dialogue, which sometimes experienced intense negotiations and often felt tenuous, has held,” Shanta Premawardhana, NCC Associate General Secretary for Interfaith Relations, said in mid-May. “There was hardly a ‘tea and sympathy’ phase in this dialogue,” he said, citing a phrase attributed to Rabbi Leon Klenicki. “The stakes for peace in the Middle East were too high.” At its most recent meeting May 13, the table members agreed on plans for a Jewish-Christian trip to the Middle East September 1823, and reached a consensus on a set of principles about how the groups speak to one another and to the media. In planning for a scheduled Jewish-Christian trip to the Middle East, Premawardhana said, “each side agreed to put themselves in the others’ hands for two days so that each could hear and experience the other’s narrative, that is, their distinctive way of viewing the situation.” “This demonstrates a remarkable level of trust that has developed around the table,” said Jay Rock of the Presbyterian Church (USA). “Although we cannot predict what, if any, impact this trip will have towards peace in the Middle East,” said Brian Grieves of the Episcopal Church, USA, “we do know and fully expect that the trip will change those of us around the table. Even though some in the group make regular trips to the Middle East and have previously heard those whom we might meet, the difference this time is that we will hear those same stories in the presence of and through the ears of the other.” Participants in this continuing dialogue represent the following Christian communions and Jewish organizations: American Jewish Committee, Anti-Defamation League, Episcopal Church, USA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, Jewish Council for Public Affairs, National Council of Churches USA, Presbyterian Church (USA), Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism United Church of Christ/Disciples of Christ, United Methodist Church and United Synagogues of Conservative Judaism. Omega Baptist Church purchases UTS property DAYTON, Ohio – The Revs. Daryl Ward and Vanessa Ward, copastors of Omega Baptist Church, David Abney III, chairman of the Joint Board at Omega and Dr. G. Edwin Zeiders, President of United Theological Seminary signed documents on June 3 that closed Omega’s purchase of the former UTS property located at 1810 Harvard Blvd. in Dayton. The site includes more than 30 acres and six buildings, some of which were built in the 1920s. The campus was designed by the architectural firm that also designed Central Park in New York City. Omega plans to use the property to build a worship center and an educational facility that will continue the church’s outreach to the community. Omega and UTS have made agreements that will allow UTS to remain on the property until the renovations at the seminary’s new site at 4501 Denlinger Rd. in Trotwood, are completed. UTS will occupy the former Jewish Community Center, just three miles north of the former seminary campus. UTS officials hope to hold fall classes there in September. 12 Hoosier United Methodists together FOCUS ON THE EMERGING CHURCH July/August 2005 Indiana congregations adding silver screen to sanctuaries By Daniel R. Gangler BROWNSBURG, Ind. – To keep attuned in a visual culture, Calvary United Methodist Church, like a growing number of Indiana congregations, uses big screen projected images in its sanctuary to embellish worship in an attempt to appeal to a new generation of worshippers and to those unfamiliar with Christian worship. The growing 650-member congregation, 15 miles northwest of Indianapolis, decided to add visuals to worship four years ago with an added contemporary service. Leaders modeled its “seeker friendly” service after observing other congregations who appealed to people not used to traditional Christian worship. According to Mark Herris, Calvary’s music director, audio visuals were expanded to all three services by former Senior Pastor Harold Leininger, now retired, during the congregations 175th anniversary celebration a couple of years ago. “The worship committee made the decision to start projecting the “If you thought of art as a way to express the faith, visuals are a means of telling the story.” – Todd Outcalt words of the hymns during traditional worship,” said Herris, who takes care of the technology for visuals. Calvary offers both traditional and contemporary worship services. Current Senior Pastor Todd Outcalt told Together, “We live in a time and culture that is visually overloaded.” He said visuals can enhance worship but cannot be the totality of worship. Visuals can complement music. Projected words help people sing better than singing from hymn books because there is a greater feeling of participation. They are looking up and can see each other as they sing, rather than looking down into a hymnal. When it comes to worshipping with a theme, Outcalt said, “There is so much we can do with thematic images. Visuals compliment the liturgical seasons of the year.” This was evident during Holy Week, when on Maundy Thursday Associate Pastor Michelle Knight used an artistic theme in her communion meditation and, with the big screen, projected art prints to illustrate her points. Outcalt also delivers sermons using proTogether photos Projected images at Calvary UMC in Browns- jected PowerPoint preburg, originate in this laptop computer which sentations. “Stained glass visusits to the left of the sanctuary sounds board als told the stories of and video players. the faith before people could read. Moving images tell parts of the story today. If you thought of art as a way to express the faith, visuals are a means of telling the story,” he said. It’s in the details When he uses PowerPoint, Outcalt said it takes him from two to three hours to prepare the technical part of presentation. During the sermon, he uses an assistant to change images. He also illustrates the sermon on screen with bulleted points and includes the Scripture texts. During a recent sermon series on stewardship, he used videos from Willow Creek Community Church, one of a growing number of video producers for churches. (See sidebar story.) When producing videos for services, Arron Helman, director of youth ministries, said he spends one hour of editing for each minute of a finished video. In essence, a six minute video takes about six hours of editing. But he said it’s worth it. For youth Sunday this spring, Helman edited videos recorded since September. He said, “We used videos of the kids to show what they have been doing in their youth meetings. Kids have a good time of looking back and laughing at themselves.” Explaining why Calvary does videos, Helman said, “It’s some- Together photos Brownsburg Pastor Todd Outcalt uses projected images, on the screen behind him, to outline sermons, project words of songs and Scripture, and to show videos of church activities. thing you have to do to remain relevant. Younger generations want mystery, multi-sensory experience and music that sounds good. It’s expected by this generation. Everywhere you go in a shopping mall today, there are streaming videos. It’s part of our culture.” Setting it all up Helman, who also works with the video technology, said the Brownsburg church uses Windows PowerPoint and Windows Movie Maker software through a Dell laptop computer to project the images (both still and moving) with a video projector to the front of a ten-foot retractable screen that hangs high behind the pulpit. “The key to good video in the sanctuary is a video projector with enough lumens (light) to show a bright image during worship without turning out lights,” he said. Helman estimates that a congregation can fully equip itself to be involved in audio visuals in the sanctuary for around $5,000 which includes one digital video projector (about $2,500) plus a screen, laptop computer, software and wiring. Many projectors are suspended from the ceiling. Because they are small in size, they are not too noticeable. Top of the line digital video projectors will cost $5,000. Calvary plans to build a new building in the near future on a larger piece of land closer to Interstate 74. While they plan the sanctuary, Outcalt said the projected images will be better utilized in the new complex. Lafayette congregation uses Dallas firm for worship images LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The New Road congregation, an alternative worship experience at Trinity United Methodist Church in Lafayette, uses a Dallas worship images ministry to keep abreast of its weekly digest of imagery. Former Associate Pastor Kimberly Reisman, says, “In addition to the traditional worship service in the sanctuary, Trinity offers New Road, an ‘unconventional, modern’ approach to worship on Sunday mornings. Because Trinity has a limited budget, they aren’t able to hire staff to do computer graphic oriented work. While they have many volunteers whose help is integral to the worship service, they don’t currently have anyone with any computer graphics background or with the ability to create the kind of material that Lumicon offers.” Trinity uses Lumicon Digital Productions within UMR Communications based in Dallas, Texas. Lumicon provides weekly vid- eo support for churches using visuals in worship. According to the Web site at www.lumicon.org each weekly package cost $29.95. This digital service is downloadable. Visuals follow the ecumenical lectionary of Scripture readers for each week. For example the Gospel passage for July 17 is listed as Matthew 13 (parable of the sower). The video package for that day is titled “Return On Investment: Don’t worry about your earthly ROI.” In its description of the video, Lumicon writes, “The parable of the sower is a story about everyday life and struggles. Whether in Jesus’ day or the present, the parable of the sower addresses our fear of poor harvests (or bad ROI). Jesus assures us that in the Kingdom of God, our return on life investment will be exponential.” For topics of this passage and video, the Web site lists growth, joy and Kingdom of God. Associated topics include: witnessing, wealth, teaching, sowing, risk, proclaiming, preaching, Places in the Heart, investment, investing, band, Backdraft and atonement. Reisman, recently appointed North Indiana Conference Evangelist, told Together, “the Lumicon subscription has been a lifesaver for me. Lumicon not only provides graphics, but also movie clip suggestions, original video clips to support particular themes, music suggestions and even some references to standard commentaries to help in developing the theme. Their Web site is easy to use and offers lectionary links as well.” Lumicon also provides education for those using its products. According to its Web site, two new online courses are coming soon. On Aug. 15, “Graphics With Purpose” will begin, and on Oct. 3 Lumicon will launch “Living the Presence in the Eucharist,” a study on enriching the experience of Holy Communion through creative use of media. More informa- tion is available at www. lumicon.org. According to Reisman, Trinity does not use digital images in its traditional worship service. Whereas New Road depends heavily on them, Trinity tries to provide a relevant worship experience that connects particularly to un-churched people with little or no church background. “To that end, we’ve tried to focus on using secular resources, like music and movies when they support our theme. We shy away from ‘church language’ that tends to alienate those who don’t understand it or aren’t familiar with it,” she said. Discover new technologies at upcoming workshop Discover the emerging uses of electronic technology in the worshipping church. The North Indiana Conference offers a workshop on “Worship Technology in the Church” for both clergy and laity. The two-day event will be held Friday, Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. to Saturday, Sept. 10 at 11:30 a.m. This is an introductory workshop designed for pastors and laity who have not experienced computer based communication in the church and sanctuary. Learn about Internet services, domain names, setting up email lists, maintaining Web sites, church management software, multi-media, PowerPoint presentations, videography and writing content for electronic media. The cost is $50 for each registrant (NIC clergy and laity) and will include meals at St. Joseph Conference Center in Tipton, Ind. A single room will cost $15. To register or for more information call Diane Kelley at l-800783-5138 ext 13 or e-mail [email protected]. www.inareaumc.org FOCUS ON THE EMERGING CHURCH Whatever it is, the ‘emerging church’ is turning heads By Amy Green A UMC.org feature Ask anyone to define the “emerging church,” and they’ll likely hesitate. “Good luck,” jokes the Rev. Jay Voorhees of Antioch United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., who describes his congregation as an “emerging church.” A grassroots initiative that is not associated with any particular church denomination, the emerging church is a concept that’s hard to define and full of paradox. For example, it is rooted in evangelism but – in a rare crossing of today’s cultural divide – is steeped in social justice values often associated with liberal theology. It welcomes innovation in worship but also holds to traditional Christian beliefs. To a growing number of young Christians, this ambiguity is the allure to what some call a movement but others call a “conversation.” Either way, the emerging church has set out to transform churchgoing from the inside out by questioning some of its most basic traditions. Leaders say the emerging church – so named because it is still emerging and evolving – is the beginning of a transition to a new era of churchgoing. They say churches have not kept up with the evolution of art and culture from a modern era of empirical analysis to a postmodern era of questioning and searching. The reason? They blame, in part, the church’s reluctance to question the sacred. The emerging church, they say, welcomes questions. It seeks to make church more relevant in today’s culture and ultimately help Christians live and worship authentically. It’s grabbing attention Whatever the emerging church is, it’s grabbing attention. In only a few years, the dialogue has spread across the Web through online chat rooms and “blogs,” spawned a variety of books and resources and pushed congregations and denominations to rethink their traditions and curricula. The United Methodist Publishing House in March authorized spending $62,000 to research the emerging church as the publisher searches for new markets. An “emerging church” conference in May drew 650 religious leaders, pastors and Christians to Nashville for four days of discussion and worship. The emerging church is gaining ground because Christians have a deep desire for a stripped-down, more authentic time of worship, says Brian McLaren, leader of the loose network known as the Emergent Village. A theologian and author of the 2001 book A New Kind of Christian, McLaren was named in the Feb. 7 issue of TIME magazine as one of the nation’s 25 most influential evangelicals. McLaren will be speaking to Indiana lay and clergy leaders in a day-long “Coming Together” seminar at Saint Luke’s United Methodist Church in Indianapolis on Sept. 17. (See side bar.) “It feels like the church community in our society today is about a lot of things, but it feels like we’re too often far away from the essential message of Jesus, of compassion for yourself and your fellow neighbor,” McLaren said in an interview with UMC.org. The emerging church is led especially by young adults who relish its non-institutional nature and innovative worship but hold to traditional Christian beliefs. At the conference in Nashville, the dress was casual, worship services included harps and a masseuse worked the hallway with other vendors. The discussion included “Preaching Without Sounding Preachy” and “The Sacred Way: Ancient Spirituality for Life, Ministry and the Church.” Winning new followers These emerging church evangelists are serious about winning new followers by adapting church for a new era. Innovative worship such as praise services alone won’t do, they say. Christians are searching for real change, something deeper, something more contemplative. “I see it as ... a thirst for a genuine relationship with God,” says Lillian Smith of the United Methodist Division on Ministries with Young People. “Young people want to be in a community where they can ask questions, ... where they can wrestle with the angel themselves.” Is the emerging church merely a fad? McLaren describes it as a “conversation;” he says it’s too early to call it movement. But Voorhees sees something more. “I think those of us who are deeply involved in this conversation really understand this is how we are authentically following Christ ... and then really deconstructing how much of that really came out of Scripture and how much was really based on the assumptions of modern society,” he says. “We would understand the story of faith is an ongoing story.” Amy Green serves the church as a freelance journalist in Nashville, Tenn. Brian McLaren biography BRIAN D. MCLAREN, born in 1956, graduated from University of Maryland with degrees in English (BA, summa cum laude, 1978, and MA, in 1981). His academic interests included Medieval drama, Romantic poets, modern philosophical literature and the novels of Dr. Walker Percy. After several years teaching and consulting in higher education, he left academia in 1986 to become founding pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church, an innovative, nondenominational church in the Baltimore-Washington region. The church has grown to involve several hundred people, many of whom were previously un-churched. McLaren has been active in networking and mentoring church planters and pastors since the mid-1980s, and has assisted in the development of several new churches. He has become a popular speaker for campus groups and retreats and is a frequent guest lecturer at seminaries and conferences, nationally and internationally. His public speaking covers a broad range of topics including postmodernism, Biblical studies, evangelism, apologetics, leadership, global mission, church growth, church planting, art and music, pastoral survival and burnout, inter-religious dia- logue, ecology and social justice. His 2004 release, A Generous Orthodoxy (Emergent/YS/Zondervan), is a personal confession and has been called a “manifesto” of the emerging-church conversation. In March 2005, the conclusion to the A New Kind of Christian trilogy was scheduled for release, entitled The Last Word and the Word After That (Jossey-Bass, 2005). It will be followed by The Secret Message of Jesus (Word, 2006), an exploration of the Kingdom of God in the teachings of Jesus. He has written for or contributed interviews to many periodicals, including Leadership, Sojourners, Worship Leader, and Conversations. Many of his articles are available at www. anewkindofchristian.com. He is also a musician and songwriter. In its Feb. 7 issue, TIME magazine named McLaren as one of the 25 most influential contemporary evangelicals. Brian is married to Grace, and they have four young adult children. He has traveled extensively in Europe, Latin America and Africa, and his personal interests include ecology, fishing, hiking, kayaking, camping, songwriting, music, art and literature. Hoosier United Methodists together 13 ‘Coming Together’ event features Brian McLaren Bishop invites laity, clergy to meet with him September 17 INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Area Bishop Mike Coyner extends an invitation to both laity and clergy of Indiana to meet him in a day of “Connecting Together” at Saint Luke’s United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. (one block west of Meridian St.) in Indianapolis on Saturday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The day long event features Brian McLaren, author and pastor of Cedar Ridge Community Church (www.crcc.org) of Spencerville, Md., 28 miles north of Washington, D.C. See accompanying biography. Funding for this shared event of the North and South Indiana conferences is provided by the South Indiana Conference Board of Ministry and Board of Laity, the North Indiana Conference Leadership Development Ministry and the Ministerial Education Fund. The cost of the event is $25 per participant and includes lunch. To register, each participant is asked to send his or her name, name of church, phone number, e-mail address, home mailing address, city, ZIP and whether he or she lives in the North or South Indiana Conference. Make check payable to North Indiana Conference and mail to North Indiana Conference UMC, PO Box 869, Marion, IN 46952. Registration deadline is Monday, Sept. 12. Bishop Coyner invites participants to read McLaren’s book A Generous Orthodoxy (Zondervan 2004) available from Cokesbury online a www.cokesbury.com or by calling toll-free 1-800672-1789. The book lists for $15.99. Q&A with Bishop Coyner about Brian McLaren Together asked Indiana Area Bishop Mike Coyner questions about Brian McLaren and the “Coming Together” event in Indianapolis on Sept. 17. Here are his responses. Why would I want to come to hear McLaren? Brian McLaren is a provocative writer and presenter, who will attempt to engage us in dialogue about how to move beyond the old “liberal” and “conservative” categories and to look for the ways we, as Hoosier United Methodists, can be united theologically. What is your acquaintance with McLaren? Have you heard him before? No, I have not heard him personally. I have only read some of this book which I found to be very interesting and thought-provoking. Some of the pastors who encouraged and helped plan for this event have heard Brian personal- ly, and those pastors have told me that he is an engaging presenter. What’s the bottom line on this day-long event? What good things do you anticipate out of this event? The theme of the day is “Coming Together” and we will worship together, hear interesting presentations together, discuss those presentations together in small groups and work together on some of the deep theological issues that face the church today. This day with Brian McLaren will not resolve all of the issues that tend to divide us, but it will be a good start – a beginning of hopefully many more opportunities to talk honestly and openly with each other as United Methodists here in Indiana. I may be a little naïve, but I really believe that there are many more things that unite us, especially our common commitment to Christ, than there are things that divide us. 14 Hoosier United Methodists GLOBAL MISSION together July/August 2005 Tsunami relief work continues on Sri Lanka beaches By Linda Bloom NEW YORK (UMNS) — Before they could fish again, they had to clear the beach. That’s what the leaders of 28 fishing societies in Sri Lanka told representatives of the United Methodist Committee on Relief and the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka when asked about their needs following the Dec. 26 tsunami. The disaster devastated part of the country’s coastline and killed 40,000 Sri Lankans. For David Sadoo, the fishermen’s joint effort to regain their livelihood was a prime example of the resilience of the Sri Lankan people. Sadoo is an UMCOR staff member who lived temporarily in Sri Lanka from early February to the end of April to help coordinate the tsunami response. Assisting the fishing societies is just one aspect of UMCOR’s focus in Sri Lanka. In April, the agency’s directors voted to allocate $8 million for a future housing and community services project in five districts and granted an additional $500,000 to the Methodist Church for its emergency and rehabilitation work in the eastern region of the country. Overall, UMCOR has received $32.4 million for its work in countries affected by the tsunami. UMCOR’s partnership with the Methodist Church of Sri Lanka — whose 30,000-plus membership includes people from all ethnic groups — has helped facilitate relief efforts. Having a “legitimate local partner” gives the agency an advantage over some of the many other nongovernmental organizations doing relief work there, he said. The Sri Lankan Methodists, Sadoo explained, “excel at peacebuilding and reconciliation” and have excellent relationships with both the government and the Tamils. Still, like other minority Christians, they “have a very delicate place in Sri Lankan society” and must carefully maintain those relationships, he added. Together, the Methodist Church and UMCOR were able to coordinate with the 28 fishing societies, comprising mostly Tamils and Hindus, in Kieran for the beach clearance project. The societies presented lists of the heads of households who would do the manual labor and set up a work schedule. UMCOR paid what was considered a fair wage of 250 rupees (about $2.50) a day, provided additional tools and bought the food that the societies would cook together for lunch. The beach project took a week, with workers from two to eight societies cleaning together each day. Sadoo said he was impressed with their dedication to the task, even on a couple of cool rainy days. A UMNS photo courtesy of LWSI, ACT International. The crews of two new fishing boats haul their nets ashore after returning from their first trip to sea after the tsunami in December. Continuing issues for the fishing societies include the need for boats and nets. “Because so many fishermen lost boats, there is a huge demand,” he explained. Linda Bloom serves as a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. Woman tells story of receiving sight Once I was blind, but now I can see By Dr. Joseph Kerkula The Eye Project at United Methodist-related Ganta Hospital in Liberia has been supported by Christoffel Blindenmission (CBM) for almost a decade. CBM has sponsored the training of an ophthalmologist and two ophthalmic nurses. This has enabled Ganta Hospital provide quality eye care services to the people of northeastern Liberia. Many are blind by cataracts or other curable eye ailments. However, because of the impoverished conditions under which many northeastern Liberians live, they are unable to seek proper medical attention. Most are not even aware that their blindness is the result of cat- aracts or other curable illnesses. Words cannot express how it “feels” to be able to restore sight to people who felt they would never be able to see again! CBM offers assistance to those who cannot afford the surgery. CBM also provided a jeep for outreach to enable us identify patients in outlying villages and towns as well as transport the patients to and from the hospital. We are grateful to CBM and to all those who support the ministry of Ganta Hospital. THIS IS MY STORY As told by Dr. Kerkula “I was blind and hope was shattered, but now I can see and my hope is restored – to God be the glory.” My name is Madam Labala Korto. I am not educated and as such I do not know my age, but the eye doctor thinks I am about 75 years old. I live in a village called Gbapa, which is about 75km away from the Ganta United Methodist Hospital. I was blind in both eyes for more than a year. Our village is a very lively place where the children sing, dance and play. I admired this a whole lot, especially seeing my grandchildren play along with the other children. Unfortunately, this scene began to fade away when I could no longer see objects clearly. My vision started to become very cloudy until I could no longer see in both eyes. The children still sang and played, but only the memory of my childhood kept coming to me. Many days I sat under our hut in the village and wept. I was now living in complete darkness. I could no longer do anything for myself. I was now enslaved by blindness. My only prayer was Lord please help me to see again. This depression lasted for almost two years. One day I heard from the town crier that the eye team from Ganta Hospital was in the village to see blind people. What touched me was the phrase “some blindness could be cured by operation.” To God be the glory! This day was the turning point in my life. The eye team took me to the hospital and did my eye operation on April 25 and 27 the right and left eyes respectively. When the eye doctor of the Ganta Hospital opened my eye the first day after the operation, I thought I was in “heaven.” The things I couldn’t see for two good years, I could now see and recognize very clearly. I am very impressed by the miracle I received at the Ganta Hospital. This operation has changed my life around. The hope that was shattered two years ago has been restored by this gesture of LOVE. Now that I can see in both eyes I am going to help myself in many ways without asking people to do it for me. My life will now improve with this successful eye operation. I was blind, now I can see! Africa University conducts 11th graduation By Andra Stevens MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) – Tears flowed freely on the Africa University campus as an over-capacity crowd witnessed the university’s 11th graduation ceremony. The hundreds of people who turned out for the recent ceremony filled every inch of the openair venue. They came to celebrate the achievements of the largest graduating class in the institution’s history. The years of sacrifice, hope and hard work have paid off for Pipa Ferraz de Liberdade Nazare and she could hardly believe it. “I’m almost without words to describe how I feel,” she said. “Leaving this place is a big achievement in my life.” Nazare came from Angola in 1999 to study at Africa Universi- The years of sacrifice, hope and hard work have paid off. A UMNS photo by Andra Stevens The Africa University Choir performs at graduation ceremonies in May. ty. She didn’t see her family or return home during the five years it took to learn English and then complete her bachelor of divinity degree. She said it hasn’t been easy getting by with letters sent back and forth by hand and the occasional brief phone call just to hear her mother’s voice. The 30-year old Nazare is the fourth child of eight and the first in her family with a university education. Her parents, a road engineer and nurse, had no way of paying for her education so Africa University granted her a full scholarship. The funds that supported Nazare came from a scholarship endowed in perpetuity by United Methodist churches in the East Ohio Annual Conference and for her it was a life-changing gift. “This is a dream fulfilled, not only for me, but for my family and my church which have been supporting me very much,” said Nazare. “I came here barely speaking English, expecting to gain the skills to serve my church and community. I’ve had a wonderful experience that has been both challenging and rewarding. Now I have what I came for and a lot more confidence, too.” Nazare was among the 391 young people in the graduating class of 2005. There are students from 14 African countries represented – Angola, Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Ghana, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Andra Stevens is director of information and public affairs at Africa University. Hoosier United Methodists GLOBAL MISSION www.inareaumc.org together 15 Ecumenical delegation to visit troubled Philippines By United Methodist News Service An ecumenical delegation will visit the Philippines to collect facts about political repression and offer pastoral support to affected churches and families. United Methodist Bishop Solito Toquero of Manila and Sharon Rose Joy Ruiz-Duremdes, chief executive of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, urged the visit. “Now more than ever, we are seeing the church under siege only because she has decided to take up her cross and follow Jesus through his Via Dolorosa,” they wrote in a May 16 invitation. “Church people who have walked alongside our struggling people have joined the myriads of peace advocates and human rights defenders whose lives have been snuffed out.” Most recently, the Rev. Edison Lapuz, a pastor of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines, was brutally murdered. The delegation – which is being arranged through the World Council of Churches and the Christian Conference of Asia – is sched- uled to visit the Philippines July 15-21. The council hopes to set up meetings with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, military authorities in Central Luzon and Eastern Visayas and representatives of the Department of National Defense and the Senate Committee on Human Rights, as well as church leaders and members of nongovernmental organizations. Among the areas the delegation scheduled to visit is Samar, a province in Eastern Visayas where most of the recent killings have occurred, and Hacienda Luisita, a sugar cane plantation where strik- ing peasants and farm workers were massacred. The Rev. R. Randy Day, chief executive of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, said in a recent statement that the situation in the Philippines is “deeply disturbing to the Christian conscience.” Day has joined with Protestant leaders in the Philippines in calling for a full and fair investigation of the May 12 murder of Lapuz, who was shot while he slept. Alfredo Malinao, also a grassroots organizer, died after the late night attack on a house where a group had gathered following a funeral. Both were involved with a human rights organization, Promotion of the Church People’s Response, which has highlighted what it considers the unjust social, political and economic practices permitted by the administration of President Macapagal-Arroyo. Bishop Elmer M. Bolocon, United Church of Christ chief executive, had reported that 50 people, including six church members, have been ambushed or assassinated in 2005 on the islands of Leyte and Samar. Nias earthquake survivors intersect with Hoosiers By Bill Imler Young medical Dr. Aranifasa Laia huddled with his wife and their two small children close to him and looked over his shoulder through the midnight blackness just in time to see his small home and clinic crash flat to the ground. Hoosiers are helping him recover. Only minutes before, with help they had managed to crawl from their beds and out of the house. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake had just struck Nias in Indonesia’s Sumatran offshore group destroying 80 percent of the structures and killing some 300 residents of the island of nearly half a million. It was 11:20 p.m. on March 28, 2005. In contrast to most Indonesians, Nias people are largely Christians, with many Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic and at least 17 Methodist churches and other denominations. Laia, known affectionately as Fasa, was orphaned at age 8 when his elderly father, the chief of their village in the Gomo district of Nias died. His uncle helped him get to Medan, capital of North Sumatra, where he lived at subsistence level while completing Salvation Army high school. With an early interest in medicine, he worked his way through nursing school by sweeping the sprawling city market at night. When the market burned, Fasa was without a job and again forced to live on the streets. Just before Christmas 1989, young people from Wesley Methodist Church befriended Fasa and brought him to missionary Fred Ingold. They pleaded with the church to help him. When my wife, Dona Lou, and I arrived at Wesley Church in January 1990 as a Volunteer in Mission pastoral couple for the English-liturgy church, Fasa was living in a tiny room in a corner between the chancel and church office. We invited him to join us for our morning and evening meals, and our evening devotions. He taught us a bit of Bahasa Indonesian, the official language. Dona Lou taught him English. He was determined not only to get his local education but to improve his skills for work in the world. In return for his humble shelter, Fasa performed many chores. He also sang in the choir, took part in the large Methodist Youth Fellowship of 75 youth and became an enthusiastic Methodist. Interest in medicine A later VIM couple from New York, George and Grace Werner, discerned Fasa’s strong interest in medicine and were determined to see him through medical school. Because of their dedication, Fasa graduated from the Methodist University of Indonesia in Medan with a medical degree. For the past four years, Fasa has lived back in Nias, serving his people – the fulfillment of his continuing dream. Fasa married a young woman who was already to serve as a midwife. Together they have two children, Grace, 3, and George, 1 – named in honor of his beloved sponsors. From almost nothing, he built a simple home that included a few small rooms for a health clinic. He serves a population of 30,000 residents scattered through 30 villages in the rugged highlands of south central Nias. In early March 2004, we, with five other UMC visitors, In contrast to most Indonesians, Nias people are largely Christians, with many Lutheran, Baptist, Catholic and at least 17 Methodist churches and other denominations. stood in Fasa’s front yard, greeted by more than a hundred friendly villagers of all ages. We were welcomed with speeches, a traditional dance and singing by children’s choirs from the three preaching points that Fasa started. We were guests at a pork roast and participated in dedicating the site of the first Methodist church in the village. We marveled at the astonishing influence of this young man, who himself had been influenced by the people of the church in Medan. House, clinic gone Now, the house and clinic are gone. Nearly all his equipment is gone. His generator, refrigerator and motorcycle have survived. His defibrillator may still be usable, then again maybe not. He and his family now have a temporary squatter shelter in the front yard of his former home, exactly where we had stood a year ago. By hand he and his neighbors are breaking up the cement chunks from the walls of the old clinic-house. He hopes to begin rebuilding soon. The United Methodist Committee on Relief through its director, the Rev. Paul Dirdak, has recently indicated within the mission community that Tsunami relief funds will be made available to respond to Fasa’s proposal and estimate for rebuilding. Here in Indiana, the United Methodist churches in Angola and Greenwood Honey Creek have forwarded special offerings of $5,000 to help with the recovery of Fasa’s home, clinic, medicines and equipment. Help also has gone through Joyce Carlile of Bloomington, VIM widow of the late Rev. Keith Carlile. A physician in South Bend has given a motorcycle to Fasa that will be shared with his recently appointed local pastor. A year ago the Sisters of St. Joseph in South Bend sent a reconditioned defibrillator to Fasa. Churches and members from other conferences have responded in similar ways. Volunteers in Mission in Indiana who were part of Dr. Fasa’s life in Medan include: the Rev. Chuck and Sue Ellinwood, Keith and Joyce Carlile, and Dona Lou and Bill Imler. From Greenwood, a Central Illinois (Great Rivers Conference) volunteer widow, Mary Etta Catlin, and her daughter Cheryl Larson, a teacher of nursing at the University of Indianapolis, also have contributed to Dr. Fasa’s relief efforts. Pioneer missionaries Pioneer missionaries in North Sumatra were the Rev. and Mrs. Newton Gottshall, who served there from about Dr. Fasa (right) serves 30,000 residents among 30 rural villages of Nias, Indonesia. 1920 to 1937, and later held appointments in northwest Indiana. The Gottshalls founded numerous schools, including the Medan school that would become Methodist University. Their daughters, Joyce Carlile and Ruth Kunz were born or lived there as children. Ruth and Hal Kunz are active in missions through North UMC in Indianapolis. The late Rev. Gusta Robinett, of Columbia City, one of the first women ordained in the North Indiana Conference, served in China for 20 years and then in Sumatra. There she became the first woman district superintendent in Methodism and pioneered a coastal medical boat along the shores of that great island. Autonomous church The Methodist Church of Indonesia is an autonomous church, with representation but not vote in the United Methodist Church’s General Conference. Currently serving in Jakarta through the General Board of Global Ministries are the Rev. Don Turman and his wife, Ramona. He serves as pastor at Wesley Methodist Church and also teaches theology at Wesley Theological Seminary in Jakarta. They, along with Maimunah Natasha, outstanding Indonesian Methodist laywoman, are providing local oversight and interfacing for UMCOR and Dr. Fasa. Indeed the severe tremors of the March 28 quake reached all the way from Dr. Fasa to the hearts of Indiana United Methodists, bringing home in a very personal way the immensity of the impact of the entire Christmas tsunami and Easter earthquake upon the lives of thousands of people. We give thanks to God for the amazing ministry of the young doctor in Gomo! Following are the opening lines of his recent e-mail to us: “Dear all of you generous friends in Christ: First of all let me express our deep thanks and appreciation to you for your generosity to us. Thank you for your loving and caring. Thank you so much for your support to me and God bless you.” Bill Imler serves as a retired pastor of the North Indiana Conference living in Angola, Ind. 16 Hoosier United Methodists VIEWPOINTS together July/August 2005 A time to die By Steven S. Ivy Since most of those deaths occur under medical care, almost The passion and compassion all families face difficult choices. associated with the Terri Schiavo ♦ We missed the fact that thoustory compelled our nation’s attensands die each year in this tion during March and country due to inadearly April. My conequate access to health versations with Claricare. The dichotomy an Health Partners between the wonderful physicians, nurses and care that Schiavo reother staff in Indianapceived (principally beolis have convinced cause of money gained me that most of us from a medical malhave many questions practice lawsuit!) and and few answers as we the thousands who rereflect on our small ceive totally inadequate Ivy part in that national care should stir our conobsession. Why would every polscience. itician, media pundit, ethicist and ♦ We missed the fact that we citizen have such strong, clear, should celebrate the remarkcontrary and passionate opinions ably effective supportive care about the care of this tragically of Schiavo provided by the brain-damaged woman? hospice for so many years. My perspective is that too many Their care was not diminished conversations fixated on the fate by the public circus that surof this one woman. The more imrounded them nor the imminent portant, and difficult, questions death that she faced. concern us all. ♦ We missed a conversation ♦ We missed the opportunity to reabout the change in public attiflect on the fact that we all die. tudes around end-of-life care. A few years ago, ethics committees were typically called when families were ready to stop life-sustaining procedures but physicians were not. Today, ethics committees are much more likely to be called when physicians are prepared to stop such procedures, but families are not. What is that about? My perspective is that I can take specific steps to prepare for “my own time to die” should some tragic event befall me. I have had difficult conversations with my wife and parents about my own convictions regarding medical care both at the end of life and for irreversible brain injuries. When I visit next with my adult children, I will have these conversations with them as well. The conversation was difficult with my wife, because we had to face our own mortality, the fact that there will come a time to die. The conversation was difficult with my parents, because they see the possibilities differently than do I. And, in fact, they discovered Knowing when and how to let go is a human art that will challenge us all in the years ahead. they each would make different choices for themselves. I have reviewed my own Medical Advance Directive documents*. Long ago, I had signed a Living Will and a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. In contrast to the wise counsel I offer to others, I had not had the indepth follow-up conversations with the persons who would be affected by those legal documents. I have reflected on important questions. What really counts as good health care that all can access? Do we have the best institutions and the relationships that assist all of us in our times of sickness and dying? Is there a fundamental moral difference between a medically inserted feeding tube and other medical devices such as dialysis machines, respirators and antibiotic medica- tions, when one’s continued physical existence depends upon that intervention? From my perspective, there is a time to die. Knowing when and how to let go is a human art that will challenge us all in the years ahead. * Medical Advance Directives, Living Wills and Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care documents are not complicated, do not require a lawyer to complete and are available for little or no cost through many sources. Clarian chaplains are available to assist with the documents. Log on to www.clarian.org and search for Living Will. Steven S. Ivy serves as senior vice president for Values, Ethics, Social Responsibility and Pastoral Services at Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. A few minutes of your time … for Darfur By Beth Reilly More than 80 human rights and religious groups joined together on May 24 to ask President Bush to help the people in Darfur, Sudan. When the President’s senior aides said he had “more pressing matters,” Africa Action director, Salih Booker, asked, “What could be more important than stopping the genocide?” Every church needs to ask itself that same question. What church is too busy to utter a prayer for the children in Darfur who are traumatized, malnourished and dying? Is your church too busy Reilly to collect names on a petition to demand more protection for the Darfurian women who have lost fathers, husbands and sons due to government sponsored violence and who themselves are being raped and tortured? Are you too busy to sign a letter to Congress asking for our country to provide more help for “the least of these?” In Darfur, a government-backed Arab militia known as Janjaweed are engaged in campaigns to wipe out communities of African tribal farmers. Villages have been razed, women and girls are raped, men and boys murdered, and food and water supplies destroyed. Most civilians have fled their villages resulting in more than two million displaced individuals without enough food, water or medicine. The United Nation’s World Food Program has said that up to 3.5 million Darfurians may need food in the upcoming months. Since February 2003, an estimated 400,000 Darfurians have died and unless something is done to end the violence, the number of deaths could reach one million by the end of the “What could be more important than stopping the genocide?” year. Our government has called the situation “genocide.” The United Nations has described it as “crimes against humanity.” In either case, we have a Christian duty to help. As Jesus walked the earth, he demonstrated the importance of meeting needs through actions. He healed the sick, fed the hungry and socialized with the excluded. In fact, the actions of Jesus threatened the religious, political and economic structures of his day as he demonstrated his “radical commitment to make human life human wherever he saw it breaking or broken” (Thorwald Lorenzen, Resurrection and Discipleship). The modern day church must likewise challenge any barriers and hold to this commitment. Go, do likewise If the ways of Jesus were not clear enough, his words were. When asked to name the greatest commandment, he chose two – love God and love your neighbor. Then to clarify the word “neighbor” Jesus told the parable of “the good Samaritan,” a story in which a Jew becomes a victim terrorized by violence. Religious folk pass by the dying man and ignore the suffering. A man from Samaria, who is not expected to show sympathy for the Jews, offers aid. It is the Samaritan who is the neighbor as he takes the time to help a foreigner who is suffering, bleeding, dying and ignored. Jesus commanded, “Go and do likewise.” The Bible is clear. There are no excuses for the church to avoid getting involved in Darfur. There are four ways we can help, none of which will take much time or ef- fort. First – pray. Pray for the victims, the perpetrators and the international community. Second – give money. UMCOR is currently conducting relief work in Darfur. Your money will provide much needed food and supplies. Third – talk about Darfur and educate others. The media has not done this region justice in terms of media coverage. Finally, contact your U.S. Representative, U.S. Senators and President Bush. This is critical, because we cannot provide necessary protection and security to Darfur; we need our government to take action. Send a letter or sign a petition to let our elected officials know this needs to be a priority. Your letter can help Your letters can make a difference. In recent months, the United Nations has taken action and the United States has put money into the Supplemental Appropriations Bill designated to help Darfur. However, more needs to be done. The Darfur Accountability Act, proposed by Senator Jon Corzine (D-N.J.) and Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) would set up a no-fly zone (keeping the government forces from bombing the villages) and would implement more stringent sanctions. It passed unanimously in the Senate, but there has not been enough support to get similar legislation through the House. More letters, phone calls and signatures in support of Darfur are needed. You might respond individually, or you might lead your church to respond collectively. In either case, the Web site www.sudanchurchmaterials.com supplies all the materials you need. Included are a bulletin insert, a letter to Congress and a petition form. Allow me to conclude with an exercise in compassion. Imagine for a minute that you are the victim running from your burning home; your two year old son has been clubbed to death, and you face the additional loss of your infant girl due to malnutrition and disease. After traveling through the desert, you arrive at a refugee camp that tries to meet the needs of 100,000 other scared, hungry and suffering individuals. Upon arrival you are told that the Sudanese government is blocking the registration of newcomers and without registration no food is given. Now imagine your thoughts if you were told that Christians in the United States were concerned but had more pressing matters. This is not to minimize or belittle issues before the church which many consider important, but it is to place these matters alongside the current situation of suffering humanity in Darfur where millions of men, women and children are displaced, persecuted and neglected. My appeal would be for us to examine our priorities based on the acts and teachings of Jesus and the supreme commandments of love. I challenge every pastor and layperson to consider whether or not the men, women and children of Darfur deserve a few minutes of your time. As Senator Corzine recently said, “I’m not here to tell you to dedicate yourself to Africa, but I am here to say that when confronted with a Darfur, none of us can be silent.” Africa is no longer a world away. We are living in an era of globalization, and Darfur has become our neighbor. We need to treat the people of Darfur as our neighbor. Beth Reilly attends Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., and serves as an advocate to the people living in Darfur. Hoosier United Methodists VIEWPOINTS www.inareaumc.org together 17 Class meetings, a part of Methodist history, have relevance today By Linda Bloom NEW YORK (UMNS) – Anyone living in New York in the late 1700s with an interest in joining John Street Methodist Episcopal Church was required to attend a weekly class meeting. After six months of learning about Christian doctrine from class leaders, hearing the testimonies of regular members and making their own professions of faith, those who had been “admitted on trial” might be recommended for full membership or continued as probationary members. Even at its earliest stages, “it was apparent that the spiritual vitality and sect-like quality of New York City Methodism and, for that matter, the entire denomination, were bound up closely with the Wesleyan class meeting, which was referred to by some 19th century Methodist writers as ‘the soul of Methodism,’” writes the Rev. Philip F. Hardt, a member of the United Methodist New York Conference. To Hardt, this is not just an interesting aspect of church history. He believes that the re-introduction of the class meeting as an integral part of United Methodism could enhance unity among the denomination’s members, develop leadership and attract new members. His book, The Soul of Methodism: The Class Meeting in Early New York City Methodism, released in 2000 by University Press of America, helps make that case. A paperback version is to be published this fall. Wesleyan ideal of small group accountability and forced class leaders to rush through their meetings or allow the meetings to run late.” In short, as New York Methodism acquired more mainstream Protestant characteristics in the mid-1800s, many members simply stopped attending class meetings. Hart believes that the re-introduction of the class meeting as an integral part of United Methodism could enhance unity among the denomination’s members, develop leadership and attract new members. Hardt, who teaches theology courses at Union Theological Seminary and Fordham College in New York and the New Brunswick (N.J.) Theological Seminary, points out that many nondenominational mega-churches “are using small groups to strengthen their church programs.” While some United Methodist churches have latched on to that idea, he thinks the denomination can be more intentional about reviving a process that, “far from being a relic of the past, can enhance existing church efforts at initiation and assimilation into the body of Christ.” Idea for the book The idea for the book began as Hardt was working on his dissertation for a doctorate in theology, which he received from Fordham University in 1998. What started as a history of John Street Methodist Church in lower Manhattan expanded into research on class meetings as he found minutes of those meetings, individual diaries of class meetings and “lots of class lists” in the rare books room of the main research branch of the New York Public Library. Class meetings originated with John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, in England. The practice continued when Francis Asbury and other circuit-riding preachers brought Methodism to New York from 1766 to 1780. “The class system stabilized New York Methodism by developing local church leadership and by monitoring behavior,” the Soul of Methodism reports. “Methodists didn’t expect instantaneous conversion,” Hardt tells United Methodist News Service. People who came to class meetings included “seekers” as well as believers, he adds. Hearing the testimony of other class participants could help the seekers find clarity for their own faith journeys. Attendance at the weekly meetings, which usually lasted about an hour and a half, was mandatory. “If you missed three meetings, you could actually find yourself expelled,” Hardt says. The main difference between Methodist class meetings in New York and England was that the New York classes were segregated both by gender and by race. According to the class lists he re- Revial of meetings Today, Hardt believes the revival of class meetings – on the local, district or conference levels – could benefit current members hungering for more spirituality and prospective members wanting a better grounding A UMNS photo by John Goodwin in the Christian faith. Class meetings were a part of 18th-cenThe more intimate setting tury life at New York’s John Street Church. of the class meeting also provides an opportunity for viewed from 1800 to 1832, white closer relationships to form and men led the separate classes for allows members to “agree to diswomen and African Americans. agree.” By praying together and Classes did become more mixed talking about personal experiences, “you tend to bond with those by gender by the 1830s. As the 19th century wore on, people,” he says. “I think it would preachers had greater oversight of draw people together.” Hardt recommends that conindividual churches, and the focus shifted from class meetings to new gregations consider having study voluntary societies: Bible, tract, groups about the class meetings Sunday school and mission. “New before actually implementing the priorities on respectability and ed- system, “maybe easing it into the ucation also moved Methodism life of the congregation.” His book, The Soul of Methodfurther and further away from the weekly small sharing groups,” ism, can be ordered through Cokesbury (www.cokesbury.com) Hardt writes. In addition, the class meetings or University Press of America. It had ballooned to 30 to 70 members, also can be found at some semi“which completely distorted the nary bookstores. Comments about gambling recovery Chords that were broken will vibrate once again By Janet Jacobs “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.” Often when I speak at churches with folks about the Gambling Recovery Ministries based in Dillsboro, I tell the story of lives that have been caught up in the addiction of compulsive gambling – and about recovery. The good news of hope and real help for problem gamblers through treatment and working The Twelve Steps is shared as well as the wondrous moments, within GRM’s outreach, when human lives, so filled with shame and guilt, are connected to the Divine. I share about those people who are indirectly affected by problem gambling – the loved ones, friends, and associates of compulsive gamblers. They are, after all, in recovery too. Their lives have, likewise, been shattered; and they are in desperate need of healing and wholeness. About two years ago, after much searching on the Internet, a couple – we’ll call them “Mary” and “John” – at last, discovered the GA/Gam-Anon Meeting that had just started monthly meetings at Mt. Tabor United Methodist Church. They came to their first meeting filled with pain; their looks were pained; their talk spoke of pain; simply put, raw pain was all they felt. Meeting after meeting, they attended regularly; and a friendship grew. Special times of personal discussion followed the meetings with the sharing of faith experiences and affirmation. Last summer John and Mary felt they were strong enough to work toward organizing a GamAnon Meeting in Connersville. Grand Ave. UMC graciously offered space for the twice-monthly meetings, which then started in September. Each second and fourth Tuesday evening at seven o’clock, the Gam-Anon Meeting began. Since family members, friends and associates of compul- I tell the story of lives that have been caught up in the addiction of compulsive gambling – and about recovery. sive gamblers are also in need of recovery, it is a time to work on the Twelve Steps Program. Regardless of how many show up for the meetings, John and Mary faithfully work their steps. A few months ago, they were on their way to another GamAnon Meeting in Ohio when they noticed an odd noise in the car. They realized that what they were hearing was their own laughter. It had been a long time since they had heard themselves laugh. It was then Mary and John recognized that recovery was well under way. During the May Gam-Anon Meeting at Mt. Tabor, John shared that he thought he was ready to go on the road with us. As we make presentations with GRM’s outreach, John offered to give his testimony of experience and re- covery. He even practiced before us with a carefully written and very touching presentation. After the meeting, I invited Mary and John to see the sanctuary, which had been freshly outfitted by the women of the church with “Holy-Spirit red” for Memorial Day Sunday. It was then that our conversation turned to the workings of the Holy Spirit. We shared together how God, through the recent workings of the Holy Spirit, had uniquely ministered to John at the time of his mom’s death in April, to me during the last week of my father’s earthly life in December and to a dear friend of mine, whose mother had died last year. Within all three experiences, the Divine’s ministry was powerful and present. We lingered over the details – allowing our re-living of them to once more affirm the resurrection of the Risen Christ. It was a holy, holy moment in time. It is an amazing part of God’s work through Gambling Recovery Ministries. A favorite verse that I share when I am invited to preach and present at churches, describes well the lives touched through our outreach with GRM: “Down in the human heart, crushed by the tempter, feelings lie buried that grace can restore; touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, chords that were broken will vibrate once more.” May our Indiana Area live this chorus to desperate, hurting hearts in need of hope and help. The Gambling Recovery Ministries is a South Indiana Conference Advance Special. For further information on Gambling Recovery Ministries’ presentations, trainings and referrals, please contact the Rev. Janet Jacobs at 812-926-1052 (leave a message) or e-mail [email protected] or log on to www.grmumc.org. 18 Hoosier United Methodists YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS together July/August 2005 Christian T-shirts become hot front for evangelism, fashion By Ciona Rouse A UMC.org feature If it’s true that clothes send a message, imagine the fashion statements in wearing in-your-face T-shirts declaring “Get Stoned Like Paul” and “Satan, You’re Fired!” or labeling Jesus on the cross as a “Rebel with a Cause.” Clothes, hats and accessories with edgy Christian slogans or imagery are speaking to a growing market of teenagers and young adults who want to both carry Jesus in their hearts and wear him on their shirts. But these fashions tend to be bolder, wittier and carry more bite than the quietly introspective “What Would Jesus do?” style of fashion slogans popular in the 1990s. Retailers say many shoppers are attracted by a little shock value. “I think kids are ready for … slogans where other people give a double-take when they see the shirt,” says Jason Betten, owner of Be The Message Christian Apparel in Pomeroy, Iowa. “It’s all about modern pop culture stuff that kids and people relate to and how they incorporate that with Christ.” Softer messages Christian clothing with softer Together Photo Youth at the South Indiana Annual Conference sport T-shirts they designed for their presentation. messages are still popular too, as are those that parody well-known name brands. Many youths in an age of billboards and commercials view wearing the slogans as merely an extension of their faith. “I like them because they send a message about me,” says 16year-old Vanessa Trejo, a member of La Trinidad United Methodist Church in San Antonio. “Shirts that you wear should reflect who you are.” “They’re a billboard of our faith,” says Robert Starkey, also 16, of Ames United Methodist Church in Saginaw, Mich. But does reducing Jesus or Christianity to a T-shirt slogan water down the Gospel message? Does it reflect an attempt to copy superficial marketing techniques? Devin Mauney, 18, a United Methodist in Tucson, Ariz., never wears shirts that he calls the “semi-clever (ones) you see at Christian bookstores.” “I feel like they’re a really lame attempt at making being a Christian a cool thing, and I don’t think we have to do that,” says Mauney, a member of Christ United Methodist Church. He says his faith is already a cool thing, and he does not need a Tshirt to confirm that. “Anytime we try to use the same method of competition as clothing brand companies, it just sort of cheapens Christianity,” he says. But Mauney’s 14-year-old brother, Logan, enjoys wearing a bright red T-shirt that says “Alive!” on front and “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness. – Jesus” on the back. The shirt reminds him of a devotion he studied during a mission trip and allows him to share his faith when people inquire. Besides that, he likes the look. “They’re cool to wear. They look good, so might as well,” he says. Mixed feelings Gavin Richardson, youth minister at Hermitage United Methodist Church in Nashville, Tenn., has mixed feelings about Christian T-shirts but recognizes that U.S. youth live in a consumer-driven culture. “For me, it’s not so important I wear a shirt that says my faith. … It’s more about how I conduct myself that tells my faith,” Richardson says. A spokesman for Stuph Clothing says the 9-year-old Christian apparel company works hard to develop products to connect with the culture without trivializing Christianity. Most shirts include scriptural references. “It’s hard sometimes not to be cheesy, but we try not to cross that line of poking fun at Christianity or Jesus,” says Scott Mills, marketing director for the Nashvillebased company. Trejo says people ask her about a Christian shirt if it’s funny, and it “opens the door for conversation, witnessing or just a new friend.” Sometimes friends ask to borrow her “Jesus is My Homeboy” shirt. The “Jesus is my Homeboy” fashions, worn by entertainment celebrities such as Ashton Kutcher, Jessica Simpson and Ben Affleck, are the most popular style sold by Los Angeles-based Teenage Millionaire. The company did not contemplate Scripture in creating the slogan. “We just did it as kind of a happy accident,” says Teenage Millionaire spokesman Chris Brick. “We just tried it, and it worked. In that way, there’s a lot of higher power working in that.” Rouse is the former director of the Shared Mission Focus on Young People at the United Methodist Board of Discipleship. This resource was developed by UMC.org, an online ministry of The United Methodist Church Project gauges ‘pulse’ of youths interested in ministry NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The relatively low numbers of young people in mainline denominations has propelled The United Methodist Church to join in an interfaith effort to cultivate interest in pastoral ministry among young people and to help them explore God’s call. The denomination, through its Board of Higher Education and Ministry, has joined the Episcopal Church, the Presbyterian Church (USA) and the United Church of Christ in a “Pastoral Leadership Effort (PLSE),” an initiative of the Atlanta-based Fund for Theological Education, Inc. Pronounced “pulse,” the three-year project is designed to encourage congregations and campus ministries to invite young people to explore God’s call in their lives. Resource kits, designed to equip congregations to establish a revitalized culture of the call to pastoral ministry, are being readied for distribution in early fall. church leaders note that the pool of potential young leaders is the largest in this nation’s history, and increasing numbers of young adults are entering seminary. PLSE will tap into the renewed spiritual interest of today’s young, the leaders say. “The theme for PLSE, ‘for such a time as this,’ looks at the challenges and issues facing the church,” said the Rev. David Fuquay, a United Methodist working with the Fund for Theological Education, “particularly the issues of globalization and the rapidly changing world through technology.” College, high school and younger students have been brought up in a rapidly changing technological world and view it as the norm, he said, making it easier for them to know how to engage a global world. “The PLSE project is particularly focused on exceptional young people,” Fuquay said, “who typically are pushed toward being engineers or doctors or lawyers. Ministry is not necessarily seen as on par with those professions, and that’s a real problem.” Average age 57 Opportunities The average age of members of the United Methodist is 57 years, with only 4.7 percent of church members younger than age 18, and 80.1 percent older than 40. Fewer than 10 percent of clergy are younger than 39. In addition, the number of clergy with master of divinity degrees is declining and fewer young people see ordination as elder as a significant vocation. Under the banner, “for such a time as this,” PLSE will enable churches to identify and track “gifted” young people as they explore the call to ministry. Protestant The Fund for Theological Education represents an attempt to help congregations understand opportunities related to ordained leadership and encourages them to call forth gifted, young candidates for ministry. As congregations and campus ministries nominate young ministerial candidates, PLSE will add their names to a database. The organization will track aspiring church leaders through their educational preparation and help connect them with appropriate resources and support. Congregational mentors and access to internship opportu- By Pamela Crosby A UMNS Feature nities and ministry programs will also be available to PLSE young leaders. Along with the larger effort, each denomination will maintain contact with its own candidates for ministry, providing information and developing programs and resources that promote and encourage pastoral ministry. United Methodist candidates will be connected to conference boards of ordained ministry, United Methodist-related colleges, campus ministries, seminaries and special programs. PLSE is funded by a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment of Indianapolis. The United Methodist Church, through the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, is contributing $300,000 toward the project as part of its efforts to cultivate a new generation of faithful leaders for the denomination, to reconnect young people with the church and to rebuild the educational pipeline. “We are already seeing the positive re- sults of such efforts as EXPLORATION events, which encourage youth and young adults to consider the call to ordained ministry and Student Forum, which develops leadership skills among our college students,” said the Rev. Hal Hartley, the board’s director of student ministries, vocation and enlistment. Additional information about PLSE is available from the website, www.thePLSE.org, or from Fuquay by email at [email protected] or by calling 404-727-1416. The South Indiana Conference has a DVD about entering ordained ministry titled “Fire in The Bones” available through the South Indiana Conference office. Call 800-919-8160 for more information on obtaining a copy. Pamela Crosby is a staff member of the Office of Interpretation at the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry. South Bend church seeks part-time youth coordinator The Monson Chapel United Methodist Church seeks a part-time youth coordinator who has a deep abiding faith in Jesus Christ, a love for youth, a vision that supports the overall vision of MCUMC, and the skill to creatively and prayerfully serve and grow with us in Christ’s ministry. The youth Coordinator will have the primary responsibility of ministering to children 4th – 12th grade. This will include but is not limited to weekly meetings, work camps, fundraisers and special events. The Youth Coordinator will work closely with the Pastor and Adult Youth Ministry Leader Team to accomplish the Church’s mission in the area of youth ministry. A job description will be provided upon request. Monson Chapel United Methodist Church in South Bend, Ind. Contact: Staff/Parish Relations Committee MCUMC 24172 St Rd 2, South Bend, In 46619, phone: 574-2870201, e-mail: [email protected]. YOUTH & YOUNG ADULTS www.inareaumc.org Hoosier United Methodists together 19 Brightwood puts parables to music, play this summer By Stephanie Romine INDIANAPOLIS – Tapping toes and swinging arms, kept pace with music as inner-city Indianapolis youth learned about the parables of Jesus. Sisterhood Christian Drama Ministry, a non-denominational family ministry of four biological sisters, and Brightwood United Methodist Community Center Summer Youth Camp, on the city’s near northside, teamed together and sponsored a youth camp for children ages 12 to 18 years, enabling youth to express themselves creatively through acting and singing. Nearby Brookside United Methodist Church hosted the June 22-24 camp. Each day, youth performed skits based on stories from Scripture. For instance, in one skit about the parable of the prodigal It gives the kids a chance to be creative, have fun and build selfconfidence. son, students took turns playing different roles, such as the father, the younger son and the older son. This helped them develop their creativity, and gave them confidence by being in front of an audience. Nora Pritchett, one of the leaders in charge of the camp, told Together that drama “helps promote teamwork and community, and helps build self-esteem. It gives the kids a chance to be creative, have fun and build self-confidence.” It was very apparent that the youth also had fun doing it, with Young adult resources for your church’s ministry By Ed Fenstermacher Here is a list of resources your congregation might find helpful in its young adult ministries. United Methodist Resources Upper Room Web site: www.upperroom.org Companions in Christ, Upper Room Resources, www.upperroom.org/companions A 28-week small-group study that includes daily lessons. Exploring the Way, Upper Room Resources, a six-weeks smallgroup study exploring some foundational faith questions. Get Acquainted with Your Christian Faith, Upper Room Resources, Cokesbury, www.cokesbury.com An eight-session study that gives an overview of Christianity. 20/30 Bible Studies for Young Adults, Cokesbury, www.cokesbury.com. Five books, each with a series of lessons designed for small group or individual study and discussion. Faith Matters for Young Adults, Cokesbury, www.cokesbury.com Other resources Seasons of the Spirit, www.spiritseasons.com is exploring new options for interactive learning available through technology, such as CD-Rom and the Internet. A lectionary-based curriculum resource designed to be used as a simple Bible study, or it can be used to develop a whole worship service. From the North Indiana Conference Media Library catalogue number: 06947. Call 800-783-5138. Life Lessons, by Max Lucado. W Publishing Group. The Purpose-Driven Life, Rick Warren, Zondervan. www.purposedrivenlife.com “Doing Life Together” series from The Purpose-Driven Church (Daniel Helm/Lee Campbell) www.pastors.com/pcom/ groupstudies/small_groups.asp; available from CBD at www.christianbook.com ALPHA Course, www.alphana.org. Ed Fenstermacher serves as associate director for Church Development and Revitalization for the North Indiana Conference in Marion., Ind. different props and a variety of costumes available. The students performed a skit on the last day of camp for family and friends. The students also were able to learn a dance for the song “Let it Rise,” the title of the Together photo by Stephanie Romine camp. They Sandra Harlieb (front left) leads Brightwood Summer Camp participants in a dance that learned chore- puts parables into action at Brookside United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. ography for the song and performed it. In reaction Sisterhood Four about helping her future. Pritchett said that first of to the song, Pritchett said what with the camp. all, they would have to see what she hoped would happen did hapGrady told Together, “the kids kind of area, if any, is available to pen – the kids rose above what did really well for such a short them. This summer, they moved they were used to doing. They amount of time.” She said, “they the camp from Brightwood Comachieved something new. She also amazed themselves at how well munity Center, where it was origsaid that it was a fun Christian they did.” inally scheduled, to Brookside song the kids enjoyed. Sisterhood has done similar United Methodist Church where One of the goals for the camp programs for the Indiana Women’s they had more space. was for the participants to have Prison and Juvenile Correctional They also want to see type of fun and be happy to be there. Facility. They reach out regional- feedback they receive from those Pritchett said, “I really hoped af- ly to all at-risk kids. They hoped who participated. This was the ter the first day, all of the kids the camp had a positive impact on first year for a youth camp like would bring a friend, and ask if the kids by teaching them respect, this. It was an experiment. Hopethis person could come.” teamwork and being able to share fully, they will have available The three-day camp was fi- in success. They also hope that the funds to run such a program nanced through grants from the participants take home the lessons agains in the future. Lilly Endowment, the Indianapo- from Scripture they learned in For more information about lis Foundation and the Indiana camp, whether by treating siblings Sisterhood Christian Drama MinUnited Methodist Bishop’s Initia- nicer or becoming leaders in their istry, log on to www. tive for Children and Poverty. community. sisterhoodfour.org. The Rev. Deborah Grady, diDepending on the outcome of Stephanie Romine serves as a rector of Brightwood, came up this camp, the sisters might help Butler University intern. She is a with the idea and approached the with a similar youth camp in the member of Covington UMC. Scholarship money declines for United Methodist students By Linda Green NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – The decline in congregations giving to special Sunday offerings is wreaking havoc on the number of scholarships The United Methodist Church’s higher education agency can give to eligible applicants. Last year, the Office of Loans and Scholarships had to turn away 300 eligible applicants. “We continually have more eligible applicants than we have dollars available,” said Angella Current-Felder, executive director of the office, a unit of the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry. Current-Felder told United Methodist News Service that there is a decline in giving to the three special Sunday offerings that enable scholarships to United Methodist students. They are World Communion Sunday, which provides scholarships for ethnic minority students, United Methodist Student Day, which enables under- graduates to attend United Methodist-related schools, and Native American Ministries Sunday, which provides scholarships for Native Americans pursing master of divinity degrees. Each United Methodist-related college receives allocations from the United Methodist Student Day offering, and each annual conference receives 10 percent of its Student Day receipts to award to merit scholars, she said. The board administers 60 scholarship programs that provided nearly $4.8 million in awards to 3,540 students last year. The agency provided another $1.2 million in loans to 500 students. Giving to the three special Sundays has dropped or remained flat while the number of scholarship applications has increased. Last year, collections decreased 6.9 percent for World Communion Sunday and 4.4 percent for Native American Ministries Sunday, while barely increasing 0.7 percent for United Methodist Student Day, according to the denom- ination’s General Council on Finance and Administration. Student Day dollars all go to scholarships, but the offerings for the other two Sundays support ministries in addition to scholarships. “The decline of the congregational giving for the offerings has a negative impact on the amount of available funds for scholarships for students,” Current-Felder said. Against that backdrop, Current-Felder’s office has received 50 more applications this year than what was received in May 2004. To date, the office has received 2,108 applications for the 2005-06 academic year, up from 2,053 a year earlier. The average scholarship awarded ranges from $800 to $1,000, she said. Portions of the Student Day offering are returned to United Methodist-related schools to award scholarships themselves, but the lack of money has prevented an increase in allocations to the schools. Linda Green is a United Methodist News Service news writer. 20 Hoosier United Methodists CHRONICLES together July/August 2005 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES Harrison County group rehab motel to rehab ex-offenders After being released from prison, ex-inmates often find themselves overwhelmed with life “on the outside.” They often have no jobs, little to no family support, huge debts due to child support arrangements, no food or clothing, no place to stay and no money. Once released, prison inmates are given $75. Due to the stress of re-entering society, many exprisoners commit a crime or violate terms of their probation or parole. According to media reports, seven million prisoners are released each year in the United States; this is a big social problem. However, the group “Freed from Within,” from Harrison County, following Christ’s instructions in Matthew 25 to care “for the least of these,” attempts to solve this problem. This new ministry was given a run-down motel near the edge of Corydon, Ind.. This 50-year-old motel consists of six separate buildings on three acres of ground. The group plans to remodel this motel, which will serve as a resi- dence for people who have just been released from prison. It will have a chapel, woodworking shop, a kitchen and single-residency rooms for 25 former inmates. Grounded in the belief that the power of Christ can transform lives, “Freed from Within” believes this to be the opportunity to turn lives around. Many times, ex-prisoners do not have a church home, so a chapel has been included. It is hoped that all of the residents will find a church home of their own. The chapel will serve as a “safe” transition church for them, until they are fully integrated into society. “Freed from Within” is an interdenominational ministry, including two United Methodists. All members have been involved in previous jail and prison ministries. One such program was “Residents Encounter Christ,” which is a program that is based on the “Walk to Emmaus” program. During this program members need to became aware of the released prisoners, and how they needed to become involved. They believe that this old motel will give them an opportunity to turn lives around. “Freed from Within” has applied for a grant to help with the rehabilitation of the buildings. After the construction is completed, and the new home is running, blankets and clothes will be needed. For more information, contact Bob Reilly at r.reilly@ insightbb.com or the Rev. Gary Loy at [email protected]. Church secretaries learn, network in Albuquerque Members of the North Indiana and South Indiana Chapters of Professional Association of United Methodist Church Secretaries attended the organization’s 23rd Annual Conference April 14-16 in Albuquerque, N.M. More than 270 United Methodist office professionals from this international organization were in attendance. Those from Indiana included: Barbara Angotti, Nancy Caddick, Linda Fights, Jacquie Lung, Gloria Matthews, Lisa Morris, Michelle O’Hare, Pat Sanders, Pam Voss and Jenni Walker. To learn new information and skills, workshops were offered on such subjects as, “Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Native People … but Were Afraid to Ask,” “Home for Christmas Campaign for Your Church,” “Introduction to Events Management Systems” and “Surviving a Pastoral Change.” Nancy Caddick received recognition as a Certified Professional United Methodist Church Secretary, after having attended the PAUMCS Institute at the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. The PAUMCS Annual Conference provides continuing education and a supportive professional network. The organization, es- tablished in 1982 and under the General Council on Finance and Administration of The United Methodist Church, fosters individual growth, professional development and spiritual enrichment for its 527 members, 226 of which are Certified United Methodist Church Secretaries. G ENESIS Monson Chapel breaks ground ROANOKE, Ind. – Monson Chapel United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne District broke ground for a new worship facility on May 22. The new facility will be located at the corner of Lower Huntington Road and Zubrick Road in Southwest Allen County. Monson Chapel was founded in 1852 by a Methodist circuit rider and met in a school house for several years until the outbreak of the civil war. Monson Chapel is the only remaining original church still in existence and recently celebrated its 150th year of ministry in Lafayette Township, Allen County. Today Lafayette Township is experiencing tremendous growth, with the development of two new housing sub-divisions and plans for many more. Pastor Terry McDonald told Together, “All of this new growth has made the congregation aware that in order to reach out for Jesus and have enough room to provide for activities and programs, we need to build. This project has been under prayer and the direction of God for several years, and God has placed the right people with the right talents in order to make this project a success as we go forward and make disciples for Jesus.” ton, Ill.; sister, Kristi Archer of Washington, Ill.; numerous nieces and nephews.. Cards may be sent to Linda Mitchell, 743 Wagner Rd., Porter, IN 46304. Memorial gifts may be made to the Porter UMC, 100 E. Beam St., Porter, IN 46304. OWEN TOOLE, father of the Rev. James Owen Toole (NIC), died March 29, 2005. A memorial service was held April 1 at the Swartz Funeral Home in Flint, Mich. Cards may be sent to the Rev. James Toole, 405 S. Orchard St., Kendallville, IN 46755 or email to [email protected]. HANNAH ELIZABETH ‘BETTY’ ULREY, widow of Harold Ulrey (NIC), died June 1, 2005. A memorial service was held June 4 in the chapel at the United Methodist Memorial Home in Warren, Ind. with the Rev. Herbert Edwards officiating, with burial in the I.O.O.F. Cemetery at LaFontaine, Ind. Survivors include an adopted son, Ronnie Ulrey; a sister, Alice Baldwin of Anderson; and a broth- er, Marcus Enyeart of Marion. Preferred memorials are to the United Methodist Memorial Home, 801 Huntington Ave., Warren, IN 46792. LINDA WALBY, wife of the Rev. Roger Walby (SIC, other denomination) died June 1, 2005. A memorial service was held June 4 at Reed & Jewell Funeral Home in Columbus with burial in Garland Brooks Cemetery. Survivors include: husband, the Rev. Roger Walby, 2002 Sumpter Trail, Columbus, IN 47203. Dyer Church receives 4 tons of food Dyer United Methodist Church was one of the recipients of the US Postal Service Food Drive on Saturday, May 14. The Dyer UMC Food Pantry received more than four tons of food from the Dyer Post Office to stock its shelves. “We are very grateful to the people of Dyer for their overwhelming generosity,” said Senior Pastor Mark Wilkins. More than 30 church members and friends volunteered to sort the food, check dates and stock the food pantry shelves. The Dyer United Methodist Church food pantry is open on the first and third Mondays of each month from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and on the first and third Tuesday evenings of each month from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Needy residents are served from the immediate area (including Dyer, Griffith, Merrillville, Munster, Schererville, Crown Point, St. John, and Cedar Lake, Indiana and Sauk Village and Lynwood, Illinois). For more information, call 219-865-8947. DEATHS STEPHEN F. CORRINTON, son of the late Rev. John (NIC) and Gayle R. Corrington, died May 16, 2005. A memorial service was held May 20 with burial May 25 in Liberty, Ind. Survivors include his mother, Gayle, and brother, Andrew. Correspondence may be sent to Gayle Corrington, 3514 S. Webster St., Kokomo, IN 46902. WAYNE KIVETT, retired, part-time local pastor (SIC), died June 2, 2005. A memorial service was held June 6 at the Coatesville (Ind.) UMC. Survivors include: his wife, Christina Kivett, P.O. Box 122, Coatesville, IN 46121; a son, Larry Kivett; four grandchildren and 13 great-grandchildren. EDWARD L. MITCHELL, 50, pastor of the Porter United Methodist Church in the Calumet District (NIC), died June 27. A memorial service was held July 1 at the First UMC in Chesterton, Ind. with the Rev. David Schrader officiating. Survivors include: his wife, Linda; mother, Edie Mitchell of Washing- Hoosier United Methodists CHRONICLES www.inareaumc.org together 21 Indianapolis adopts smoke-free workplace ordinance By Jodi Willis Smokefree Indiana The Indianapolis City-County Council voted 18-9 on May 23 to adopt Proposal 45, a smoke-free workplace ordinance.This ban prohibits smoking in most restaurants, laundromats, public transportation facilities, shopping malls, restrooms and many other public places such as hotel lobbies and taxis. Exemptions include restaurants that only serve those 18 and older, outdoor sports facilities, restau- rant patios, bars, retail tobacco stores, some hotel rooms, bowling alleys and family owned businesses in which all employees are related and the public is not allowed in the business. The ordinance will take effect March 1, 2006. Any violation of the city’s new ordinance, whether individuals or businesses, will face up to a $100 fine per violation. A business that allows smoking must display a sign indicating that it is a smoking establishment. Any business that does not fall un- Wesley Seminary in DC offers new degrees in arts and pastoral care WASHINGTON (WTS) – Clergy who wish to be considered as candidates for upcoming Doctor of Ministry degree programs at Wesley Theological Seminary are invited to the campus on Thursday, Sept. 15 to learn about two new focused programs “Arts and Theology” and “Pastoral Theology, Care and Counseling.” To attend the Doctor of Ministry Exploration Day contact the office of admissions – [email protected]. These programs, each limited to 20 candidates, have a strong bibli- cal and theological core – but are designed to support different ministries. Details are at www.Wesleysem. edu. Questions can be directed to Dr. Lew Parks, Director of the Doctor of Ministry Program at [email protected] or 202885-6481. For details and application materials contact the Office of Admissions at Wesley Theological Seminary, 4500 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016-5690. Call toll-free 1-800 882-4997 or email admiss@ wesleysem.edu. der an exemption must have all ashtrays and other smoking paraphernalia removed from areas where smoking is prohibited by March 1, 2006. Members of Smoke Free Indy, a coalition of local and state public health organizations, community-based organizations, physi- cians, businesses, churches (including United Methodist churches) and Marion County residents, are satisfied with the first steps the City-County Council has made to ensure the health and safety of workers. Members feel this is a good first step in protecting the health of workers and patrons from secondhand smoke but realize there is still more to be done in the future. With some of the exemptions the health of all Marion county workers is not being taken into full consideration. The coalition will continue to push for the rights of all workers. Keeping food safe to eat at church fellowship suppers and picnics Congregations are known for their picnics and church suppers. However, there are precautions to take for safe food handling. Here are some guidelines from the United States Department of Environmental Health to use for your next church supper or picnic. ♦ ♦ Some food safety tips: ♦ Keep readily perishable foods, such as casseroles and potato salad cold, (41F or below). If you don’t have access to a refrigerator or there’s not enough room, use an insulated cooler. Pour ice on top, with food to be kept the coldest on the bottom. Two hours is the maximum time food should be left un-refrigerated. ♦ Don’t cross-contaminate food. Keep raw meat, poultry or fish well wrapped so that drippings don’t mix with other foods. Use ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ ♦ a clean plate. Don’t put cooked foods on the same plate that held raw meat. Don’t place foods directly on ice that’s not of drinking quality. Keep beverage ice separate from ice used for keeping other foods cold. Keep hot foods hot. Use a thermos or insulated dish for serving. Wash your hands before and after working with foods. Thoroughly cook all raw meat, poultry and fish. The center of hamburger patties should not be pink and juices should run clear. Use prepackaged condiments. Keep food and utensils covered until serving time. Flies and other insects, dust and humans can carry disease-causing bacteria. Don’t take leftovers home. Throw them away. The food has been handled by many people and probably is contaminated. New Indiana laws for church food handling The Indiana legislature recently approved exempting churches and nonprofit organizations from having to hire a certified food handler to work at potluck events, provided that packaged or unpackaged foods are not considered hazardous. There are some stipulations: ♦ Only members of the organization can prepare the food. ♦ The food events conducted by the organization must take place for not more than 30 days in the calendar year ♦ The name of each member who has prepared a food item is attached to the container in which the food item has been placed. Elkhart Bethel celebrates 100th anniversary ELKHART, Ind. – There were two services each Sunday when Patricia Simpson joined Bethel United Methodist Church 45 years ago. Now there’s one. Church membership isn’t what it used to be either: 450 at its height in the early 1960s, but a faithful 125 today. Members and friends celebrated the church’s 100th anniversary celebration the end of May. The north-side church traces its founding to Pentecost (seven weeks after Easter) Sunday, May 28, 1905. On that date, 29 charter members met in the former Willowdale School building at Michigan and Bris- tol streets. The congregation became known as Bethel Evangelical Church. Denominational mergers were reflected in Bethel’s name changes through the years. It became Bethel Evangelical United Brethren in 1946 and took its current name in 1968. The church has been in its North Michigan Street building for the past 75 years. A century after its humble start, the church formally marked its milestone anniversary on Pentecost. About 300 photos were shown during a Saturday picnic and Sunday dinner, both at the church. Also, church secretary Sara De Munda led a group of about a dozen Bethel women who made a quilt, which was raffled to support a youth camping program. Leadership from the church laity is one of Bethel’s strengths. Four members are certified lay speakers. The church in 2001 began offering the Disciples Bible Study program, which is comprised of four class levels lasting about eight months each. Sunday school is the strongest part of the church’s ministry. Nearly all of the 85 to 90 members who attend weekly church services stay for Sunday school. University adviser honored for interfaith efforts Hoosier ‘youTheologian’ travels to England Melissa Zimmerman of Greentown, Ind., pictured in Front of Wesley statue in London, was one of 29 youth from the Midwest who completed the YouTheology sponsored by Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. The “youTheologians” retraced the steps of the founders of Methodism in England traveling June 11-19 to Lincoln, Epworth, Oxford, Gloucester, Bristol, Bath, Salisbury and London. INDIANAPOLIS – A retiring staff member received the inaugural Jerry Israel Interfaith Service Award at the University of Indianapolis. Flora Valentine joined the university in 1982 as an English instructor and has since served as an academic adviser in the School of Nursing. The Greenwood-area resident, who comes from a Jewish tradition, has been a key participant in the United Methodistaffiliated university’s efforts to welcome people of all faiths. Valentine, who retired June 30, has served voluntarily on the university’s Ecumenical & Interfaith Council since that group’s creation in the 1999-2000 academic year. She has served the past few years as adviser to the campus’s Jewish Student Union and has been an informal advocate for students from evangelical Protestant traditions. Valentine also has served on the Steering Committee of The Crossings Project, the uni- versity’s Lilly Endowment-funded initiative that explores faithbased vocations. Valentine lives in White River Township of Johnson County with her husband, Brad Valentine, who retires this year as transportation director for the Center Grove Community School Corp. The newly established annual award is named for the university’s president of seven years, Jerry Israel, who also is retiring this month. 22 Hoosier United Methodists together BODY, MIND & SPIRIT Speaking of Jesus ward to help. We created a Web site: www.longestsermon.com. A few weeks ago Calvary Check it out! We put together United Methodist Church of pledge packets and informationBrownsburg voted unanimous- al packets. Many people asked ly to sell our current facility and me if I would get a health break move to 37 acres of in the mix. I told new property. Now them I didn’t know, we are engaged in a but hoped so. Some great undertaking of envisioned busloads faith and stewardof senior citizens ship that will see us coming in from to a new facility by places like Battle September 2006. Creek, Mich. or Naturally, a part of Sioux City, Iowa, this undertaking is just to get a glimpse financial – generatof me or listen to a Outcalt ing the funds to build couple of hours of a new facility. history in the making. A few Not long after Calvary thought we should sell tickets took the vote to move forward for this sermon on Ticketmaster with our faith, I had an evening or maybe hire a publicity agent. at home when I was trying to Yes, there were a few think of some creative ways to scoffers, but then I’m sure the raise funds. I was trying to Apostle Paul had his share of think “outside the box.” naysayers, too. A few of the At one point a light bulb birds might have even given went off in my head, and I found Saint Frances a dirty shoulder. myself visiting the Guiness So there you have it. LatBook of World Records. What is er this summer on Friday, Sept. the longest recorded sermon? I 9, in Brownsburg, Ind., I’m wondered. As it turns out, that going to preach the longest rerecord is held not by Saint Au- corded sermon in Methodism gustine, Martin Luther or even and the longest by a Hoosier. John Wesley, but by a man who Who knows, if I get up a head goes by the illustrious name of of steam, I might even attempt “Spiderman” Thomas. He to give “Spiderman” Thomas a preached for nearly four days run for his money. I’ll begin at back in 1978 in New York. noon and go until midnight (at Nevertheless, the idea of least). And my message? “The preaching a longest sermon in- Life and Times of Jesus of Naztrigued me. I told my wife, areth.” No notes. Just me and a Becky: “I’m going to preach the bunch of time. longest sermon in Methodism; Think it’s crazy? So do I. the longest by a Hoosier.” Her Think I’ll raise any money for response didn’t surprise me. the Kingdom? I hope so. “You’re crazy,” she said. This But it’s amazing, isn’t it, response led me to believe that what God calls us to do someI might be on the right track. times? When I shared the idea of Todd Outcalt serves as sepreaching a longest sermon with nior pastor of Calvary United the congregation, an amazing Methodist Church in Brownsnumber of people stepped for- burg, Ind. By Todd Outcalt CHRONICLES Family ministries begins 8th year Agape Family Ministries was born in 1998 as the Rev. Robert H. Miller began his retirement, following nearly 30 years as a minister in the South Indiana Conference. Miller decided to reach out to local churches by offering services of inspiration and Agape Family Ministries volunteers hope, marriage celebraeach year. tion weekends, prayer and healing In the past two years Agape conferences, plus workshops on Ministry has added an exciting evangelism and assisting churches music ministry to its offerings with with planning and visioning. eight to twelve singers and instruAgape Family can draw upon mentalists traveling to share their 25 volunteers with different gifts music and testimony with audito assist Miller and his wife Nori- ences. They recently recorded a etta with the various requests. The CD while performing in a service Millers and their Agape team have at Grace UMC in Franklin. ministered to more than 100 Another direction this ministry churches in the past seven years has taken is to be involved in work with an average of 20 to 25 events missions. During the last two sum- mers, team members spent a weekend helping with maintenance projects at the Cannelton Charge. This year Agape Family, in conjunction with several churches of Hancock County, had 45 volunteers travel in June to Anadarko, Okla. to work on a Native American church. What makes Agape Family so unique is its willingness to be a resource to any church but in particular the small-membership churches for services are without an expected fee. The entire group of volunteers come out for their love of Christ. For more information contact: the Rev. Robert Miller at 317-8614929 or by e-mail at agapefamil@ aol.com. Confessing Movement to hold September conference in Cincinnati The National Conference of The Confessing Movement within The United Methodist Church is scheduled to be held at the Hyatt Regency in Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 22-24. Featured speakers include: Dr. William Abraham, Bishop George Bashore, Dr. Maxie Dunnam, Bishop Scott Jones, Bishop Linda Lee and Bishop James Swanson. Fifteen workshops on Friday afternoon will include: “The Holy Spirit and Renewal,” “Launching a Pro-Marriage Movement,” “Turning Your Church On To Missions,” “Recovering Wesleyan Formation,” “A Bishop Looks At The Future of The Church,” “The Evangelistic Love of God and Neighbor” and “Women Impacting Their World for Christ.” The registration fee is $99, which covers all programs, and four meals. Participants will need to make their own hotel reserva- tion at the Hyatt Regency Cincinnati, 151 W. 5th St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 or call 513-579-1234. Participants will need to inform the hotel that they are attending the Confessing Movement National Conference to get the conference room rate of $89 per night with 1 to 4 occupants. For more information, log on to The National Conference of the Confessing Movement Web site at www.confessingumc.org. UE chaplain ordained in Birmingham BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – University of Evansville Chaplain Brian Erickson, was ordained as an Elder in Full Connection in the United Methodist Church Sunday, June 5, at the North Alabama United Methodist Conference at Birmingham-Southern Lassiat to work nationally with students NASHVILLE, Tenn. – General from this pivotal position, Lassiat Secretary Jerome King Del Pino will enable the board to be accountable for the severannounced this spring al systems that must the appointment of the ‘speak to each other’ if Rev. Meg Lassiat as the denomination is to director of Student address effectively and Ministries, Vocation efficiently its leadership and Enlistment for the challenges now and in General Board of the foreseeable future,” Higher Education and Del Pino said. Ministry. Lassiat is Lassiat will be rescheduled to join the Lassiat sponsible for working staff on July 11. with United Methodist Lassiat will assist the agency in fulfilling its mission students and young adults to ento prepare a new generation of hance student ministry programs, Christian leaders. Her cross-divi- vocational discernment and leadsional position serves both the Di- ership development opportunities visions of Higher Education and and enlistment for ministry. Ordained Ministry. For the past 18 years, Lassiat “I am strongly persuaded that, has worked with youth and college July/August 2005 students in recruitment, training and youth leadership development. She leaves her appointment in the South Indiana Conference as associate pastor of youth ministries at Meridian Street United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. She also served as chair of the Order of Deacons on the Conference Board of Ordained Ministry and led the Recruitment and Retention Task Force that produced a DVD recruitment video titled “Fire in the Bones.” (Free copies are available at the South Indiana Conference Center in Bloomington.) She received her Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, and her Bachelor of Arts from the University of North Florida. College. Erickson has been chaplain at UE since summer 2004. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Birmingham-Southern College and a Master of Divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. Prior to UE, Erickson was the chaplain at BirminghamSouthern, the youth pastor of Tucker United Methodist Church in Atlanta and served as staff director of the Appalachia Service Project in Johnson City, Tenn. N UMBERS 57 4.7 80.1 10 Average age of a United Methodist Percentage of United Methodists younger than 18 years Percentage of United Methodists older than 40 years Percentage of United Methodist clergy younger than 39 years Source: General Board of Higher Education and Ministry www.inareaumc.org CHRONICLES Hoosier United Methodists together 23 A PPOINTMENTS Bishop Michael J. Coyner has announced the following changes within the Indiana Area. All dates effective 2005 unless otherwise noted. These appointments are based on Cabinet reports received by Indiana Area Communication during the months of May and June 2005. North Indiana Conference Banning, David from Lake of the Four Seasons Associate, Calumet to Wheeler, Calumet, 6/16 Booster, Belinda from no appointment to Sugar Grove, Marion, 6/16 Cherry, Constance from no appointment to Grant, Marion, 6/16 Denney, Robert from Sugar Grove, Muncie to Fairview Jay County/Bellefountain, Muncie, 6/16 Elder, Ernie from no appointment to Mt. Zion (Tippecanoe County), Lafayette, 6/16 Fahnbulleh, H. Momo from Fairview/Bellefountain, Muncie to no appointment, 6/16 Foreman, Mark from Granger Good Shepherd, Michiana to South Bend Epworth, Michiana, 6/16 Frymier, Bret first appointment to Washington Center, Warsaw, 6/16 Hayward, Damon from Montpelier, Marion, to Sweetser, Marion, 6/16 Hayward, Phyllis from no appointment to Richland Chapel, Marion, 6/16 Heath, Michael from Frankton, Marion to Leesburg, Warsaw, 6/16 Hughes, David from New Salem, Michiana to no appointment, 6/16 Inskeep, David from Center/Athens, Warsaw to Reynolds/Yeoman, Lafayette, 6/16 Jones, Melvin from Gary Christ, Calumet to no appointment, 6/16 Kaehr, Stephen from Mt. Pleasant/Newville, Fort Wayne to leave of absence, 6/16 Kline, Duane first appointment to Pierceton, Warsaw, 6/16 Koziatek, Catherine from Frankfort Trinity, Lafayette to Granger New Salem, Michiana, 6/16 Lawson, Michael from no appointment to Montpelier, Marion, 6/16 Lindquist, Nancy Schoff from Hebron, Calumet to Incapacity Leave, 1/1/05 Lloyd, Barbara S. from Leesburg, Warsaw to Newville/Mt. Pleasant, Fort Wayne, 6/16 Lord, Kenton from no appointment to Bippus Calvary, Huntington, 6/16 Luchs, Janet from Pleasant Hill (Fulton County), Kokomo to Monroeville, Fort Wayne, 6/16 Marker, Terry from Leiters Ford/Monterey, Warsaw to Center/Athens, Warsaw, 6/16 Martin, Susan from Nine Mile, Fort Wayne to leave of absence, 6/16 Monical, Dwight from Mt. Zion (Tippecanoe), Lafayette to Buck Creek, Lafayette, 6/16 Myers, Randy from no appointment to Urbana Grace, Huntington, 10/1/04 Nelson, L. Robert from New Paris, Warsaw to New Paris/Millford, Warsaw, 6/16 Newton, Jeffrey from Lowell, Calumet to Kokomo Trinity, Kokomo, 6/16 Pereira, Sergio from South Bend Epworth, Michiana to leave of absence, 6/16 Ream, Thomas from Lafayette Trinity Associate, Lafayette to Brushwood, Calumet, 6/16 Reisman, Kimberly from Lafayette Trinity Associate, Lafayette to Conference Evangelist, 6/16 Rhoades-Welling, Karen from Caley/White Oak, Kokomo to Leiters Ford/Monterey, Warsaw, 6/16 Rockey, Charles from Kokomo Trinity, Kokomo to Burlington, Lafayette, 6/16 Siegel, Diane from Montpelier, Marion to Sweetser, Marion, 6/16 Sills, Kevin from Hebron, Calumet to Maple Grove (Laporte County), Calumet, 6/16 Stackhouse, Stacy from Dearborn Hills, Columbus, South Indiana Conference to Fort Wayne Good Shepherd Associate, 6/16 Summers, Sharon from South Conference to Farmland, Muncie, 7/1 Tatman, Michael from Forest, Lafayette to Kewanna/Pleasant Hill, Kokomo, 6/16 Thornton, Joyce from no appointment to Alexandria Epworth, Marion, 6/16 Ticen, Dennis from Brushwood, Calumet to Por- tage First, Calumet, 6/16 Ton, Bryan from Reynolds/Yeoman, Lafayette to Forest, Lafayette, 6/16 South Indiana Conference Abbott, Chad R. from Andover Charge, Skylands, Greater New Jersey Conference, to Lockerbie Square, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Akers-Du Bois, Janice Yvonne from Howe, Evansville to Paoli, Bloomington, 7/1 Beedle, Edward E. from Southport, Indianapolis West to Solsberry/Solsberry & Greene County Chapel, Bloomington, 7/1 Bowman, Robert J. from St. James, New Albany to no appointment, 6/30 Britt, Charles A. from Lizton, Indianapolis East to Otisco Charge, New Albany, 7/1 Brunton, Donald Max from Mt. Calvary, Terre Haute to Riley, Terre Haute, 7/1 Byerly, James E. additional church Scipio & Westport, Columbus, 7/1 Cain, Frederick G. from Washington Otterbein, Vincennes to Wayside, Terre Haute, 7/1 Chaffin, Jon R. from Taylorsville/Clifford, Columbus to no appointment, 6/30 Chanley, Melvin Keith from Ragelsville Charge: Frady Memorial/Cornettesville, Vincennes to Fillmore, Terre Haute, 7/1 Clayton, William Ray from Fillmore, Terre Haute to no appointment, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Coleson, Richard E. from Riley, Terre Haute to no appointment, 7/1 Compton, Wade S. from Epworth, Evansville to Nashville, Bloomington, 7/1 Coomer, Les from Willow Branch/Curry’s Chapel, Indianapolis East to no appointment, 6/30 Cronin, Deborah Kay from Extension Ministries, Bloomington to Disability leave, Bloomington, 7/1 Eckert, John R. from Shoals, Vincennes to retirement, 7/1 Ellis, Ronald G. from no appointment to St. James, New Albany, 7/1 Faulk, Beverly J. from Extension Ministries: Staff Chaplain Clarian Partners, Indianapolis West to retirement, 7/1 Fischer, Jr., John W. from no appointment to Prairie City, Terre Haute, 5/1 Gilbert, Daryl A. from Connersville New Life and Rushville Wesley (not a charge), Rushville to New Castle Wiley, Rushville, 7/1 Gude-Ndiaye, Bernice W. from North Vernon Second, Columbus to no appointment, 6/30 Hadler, Dennis E. from Delaware & Holton, Columbus to Holton, Columbus, 7/1 Harbeson, N. Jane from South Washington Circuit, New Albany to Pleasant Grove, New Albany, 7/1 Harzman, Eldon O. from Richmond Central, Rushville to no appointment, 6/30 Hendrey, Darin Calvin from Newberry/Mt. Nebo/ Prairie Chapel/Scotland, Bloomington to Extension Ministries, Bloomington, 6/3 Hendrix, Marshall from Carbon, Terre Haute to no appointment, 5/31/05 Hollingsworth, Russell K. from no appointment to Greenwood Charge, Rushville, 3/1 Isgrigg, Phil from Castleton, Indianapolis West to retirement, 7/31 Krebbs, Kenneth R. from no appointment to White’s Chapel/Freetown Parish, Bloomington, 5/15 Land, Robert A. from Milroy, Rushville to Centerville, Rushville, 7/1 Lapham, Thomas from Ogilville, Columbus to Newberry/Mt. Nebo/Prairie Chapel/Scotland, Bloomington, 7/1 Lassiat, Margaret B. from Meridian Street, Indianapolis West to Extension Ministries ¶344.1a2/ Gen. Board of Higher Education & Ministry, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Manifold, Cameron L. from Waldron, Rushville to Willow Branch/Curry’s Chapel, Indianapolis East, 7/1 Martin, Larry from Jeffersonville: Wesley, New Albany to Voluntary leave of absence, 5/22 Mayflower, Chester A. from retirement to Indianapolis Calvary, Indianapolis West, 7/1 McGilliard, Thomas A. from DePauw Memorial, New Albany to New Castle First, Rushville, 7/1 McIntosh, Larry A. from Elizabethtown & Pleasant View, Columbus to Pleasant View, Columbus, 7/1 Mead, Edward C. from Lincoln Hills, New Albany to Elizabethtown, Columbus, 7/1 Milgate, Ruth E. from Evansville Asbury, Evansville to retirement, 6/30 Newlin, Catherine L. Baum from leave of absence to Extension Ministries ¶334.1d: St. Joseph Hospital & Health Center, Indianapolis West, 6/1 Norwood, Mitchell H. from Grandview Charge, Evansville to Heidelberg, New Albany, 7/1 Olson, Jo A from Evansville Albright, Evansville to attend school, 7/1 Padgett, Samuel L. from Monroe City and Hamline Chapel, Vincennes to Oakland City Trinity, Vincennes, 7/1 Patrick, Marcy from no appointment to Lebanon: Centenary, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Payne, Adam from Oakland City Trinity, Vincennes to Lizton, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Payton, Daniel L. from no appointment to Lanesville, New Albany, 5/15 Pimlott, Gregory Robert from Shankill Road, Irish Methodist Conference to Dearborn Hills, Columbus, 8/1 Purvis, Judi B. from Linden, Indianapolis West to Vincennes District Superintendent, Vincennes, 7/1 Reichenbach, Deborah J. from Solsberry/Greene County Chapel Charge, Bloomington to Clay City/Mt. Calvary Charge, Terre Haute, 7/1 Rowe, John G. from Mauckport/Mt. Zion, New Albany to Mauckport, New Albany, 7/1 Rudolph, Holly from Extension Ministries to retirement, 6/30 Russell, Richard Wells from Paoli, Bloomington to Ogilville, Columbus, 7/1 Sanders, Douglas Lee from Centerville, Rushville to Worthington/Folsom Memorial and Allen Chapel, Bloomington, 7/1 Schubert, Lisa from no appointment to Indianapolis: North, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Seaney, Michael J. from Whiteland, Indianapolis East to Seymour Trinity, Columbus, 7/1 Smith, Beverly R. from Wayside, Terre Haute from retirement, 6/30 Smith, Callie J. from no appointment to Indianapolis: Broadway, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Smith, Rebecca L. from Pleasant Grove, New Albany to no appointment, 6/30 Sparks, Rose from Graysville, Vincennes to no appointment, 7/1 Stackhouse, Stacy E. from Dearborn Hills Associate, Columbus to Good Shepherd, Fort Wayne, North Conference, 6/16 Stephans, Scott K. from Noblesville Emmanuel, Indianapolis East to Dearborn Hills, Columbus, 7/1 Stewart, Warren R. from Louise-Silver City, West Jackson, Mississippi Conference to Crawfordsville: Mt. Zion, Indianapolis West, 7/1 Stoll, Delbert from no appointment to Shoals, Vincennes, 7/15 Summers, Sharon from Perry Co. Min: Cannelton Charge, Evansville to no appointment, 6/30 Swanson, Marvin C. from Extension Ministries: South Eastern Missouri State University, Terre Haute, to retirement, 6/30 Taylor, Robert L. from retirement, to Morris Chapel, Vincennes, 7/1 Watson, Patricia S. from no appointment to South Washington Circuit, New Albany, 7/1 Wells, Laura A. from Crawfordsville Mt. Zion, Indianapolis West to Raglesville Charge, Vincennes, 7/1 West, H.K. Skye from Quercus Grove, Columbus to no appointment, 6/30 Wilson, Jean V. from St. Luke’s Associate, Indianapolis West to Jeffersonville: Wesley, New Albany, 7/1 Witt, Souglas Alan from North Indiana Conference to South Indiana Conference, Bloomington/ Remaining at Linton First UMC”, 7/1 Witty, James W. from Extension Ministries, Indianapolis East to retirement, Indianapolis East, 6/30 Wood, Cynthia from no appointment to Extension Ministries: Methodist Hospital, Indianapolis East, 6/10 Sunnycrest celebrates 100 years of ministry to Marion The Sunnycrest United Methodist Church of Marion, Ind. celebrated its centennial during a Weekend of Remembrance, the last weekend in April. The event included a heritage walk that took participants past the original church building and three former parsonages, as well as the present parsonage. Sunday school groups Sunnycrest United Methodist Church was founded 100 years gathered for a cookout ago by Trinity United Methodist Church in Marion, Ind. and brunch to share their memories. Methodist Church. The new congregation On Saturday evening, more than 200 bought a chapel from the Presbyterian members and guests gathered in the fellow- Church at the corner of Spencer and Butship hall for food, musical entertainment, a ler. Six hours after the trustees were given picture gallery, messages from former min- the deed, a fire from the building next door isters and sharing from the Marion district. spread to the church, destroying it beyond District Superintendent Dan Moto spoke repair. on Sunday morning. The weekend’s activThe church was rebuilt in 1906 and gifts ities concluded with the planting of a me- received on the Dedication Sunday paid for morial tree in front of the church. the new church in full. The congregation The church began in 1905 with 19 char- stayed in that building until 1958, when a ter members of which 13 were women. Two lack of parking helped them decide to relowomen also served as ministers of the cate in Sunnycrest. A sanctuary and educachurch. Thelma Walker, the church’s old- tion wing were built in 1965. A large felest member at age 87, is a niece to Pearl lowship hall was added in 1996. Clow, one of the charter members, making The congregation looks forward to ana direct link for the entire 100 years. other 100 years, as their Mission Statement The church was formed because of over- clearly states, “Joyfully Bringing Christ to crowding at what is now the Trinity United the Community.” 24 Hoosier United Methodists together July/August 2005 Igniting Ministry is More than TV Ads! And it’s more than just being nice to guests who walk into your church (although that’s an important part.) Igniting Ministry helps the local church model the “Open Hearts” promise, and reach out in its community, sharing the witness of God’s love. UM Communications offers comprehensive resources (many free) to assist in strengthening welcoming skills in a planned program: Did You Know? = During 2001-2004, the UMC’s “Open Hearts” TV campaign reached two-thirds of U.S. households. = At test churches, first-time attendance grew 19 percent! Overall attendance at those churches grew by 9 percent. = September is UMC Open House month – coincides with national Back-to-School Ignitin Ministry TV commercials. If your church is intentional about outreach, it’s a must to spend some time at: www.IgnitingMinistry.org Resources Include ([email protected]) = New “Expression Packages” uniting ad themes and worship graphics – in DVD or VHS formats. = Planning, Training and Event ideas = Free media consultation services – just call 877281-6535 toll-free. = Custom printing for direct mail or bulletins We are all welcome guests in God’s house. Should we not prepare to so welcome all who come? North Indiana Conference = United Methodist Church = Post Office Box 869 = 1105 North Western Avenue Marion, Indiana 46952 = Web address: www.nicumc.org = Email address: [email protected] OPERATION CLASSROOM PROJECT 2005 Operation Classroom, a mission of Hoosier United Methodists to Liberia and Sierra Leone, has paried schools with Indiana’s 18 districts of the church to focus on the educational need of children and youth. Here is a list of schools, districts and tasks to complete. Albert Academy: Evansville/New Albany — Make the computer program functional UMC Girls’ School in Freetown: Bloomington — Renovate classrooms Jaiama: Indy West — Refurbish one staff house Baoma: Rushville/Muncie — Construct a staff house Fakunya: Columbus — Renovation and equipment for vocational classes in carpentry, agriculture and home economics Fergusson: Terre Haute/Vincennes — Complete staff house Koidu: Marion — Refurbish one classroom building., provide 100 desks and chairs Mokanji: Huntington — Renovate classrooms, provide 100 desks and chairs, jump-start vocational program Bo Centenary: Kokomo — Renovate main building, provide desks and chairs Ganta: Michiana — Renovate gym, Hartzler building, home economics building Tubman-Gray: Calumet/Terre Haute — Renovate library and classrooms Brumskine: Indy East — Renovate Jr. high bldg., wire new bldg., provide generator College of West Africa: Ft. Wayne — Refurbish science lab and jump-start vocational program St. Matthew: Warsaw — Complete present high school building The goal is to have every United Methodist church in Indiana participate in “Project 2005.” Remember a scholarship for the school year 2005-2006. 1400 $50 scholarships needed. You will receive a picture and a bio of the student. Joe and Carolyn Wagner are available to speak in your church. OC has PowerPoint presentations on your school, the medical program and the counseling program. Contact the OC office at PO Box 246, Colfax, IN 46035 phone 765.436.2805 *fax 765.436.2954, e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected] SUMMERTIME is the time to purchase school supplies! REVISED YES KIT Students need supplies as they start the school year. You are invited to help the youth in the UM schools in West Africa by providing YES (Youth Educational Supplies) KITS, or you may purchase the supplies without making the kit. A YES (Youth Essential Supplies) KIT contains: 4 pens 1 solar calculator 1 ruler or protractor 4 notebooks (8 1/2 x11) 1 NIV or RSV Bible (available from the OC office) Items may be placed in a YES KIT cloth tote bag. NEW ELEMENTARY YES KIT Four of our schools in Liberia include grades K-12 Elementary students need supplies too. An Elementary Kit contains: 4 pencils 1 eraser 1 hand-held pencil sharpener 1 box crayons (24 count) 3 notebooks 1 ruler 1 pair blunt scissors 12 sheets construction paper (varied colors) 1 Bible story coloring book 1 Good News New Testament (available from the OC office)