March is Women’s History Month
For Friday, March 5, 2010 – Sunday is the third Sunday in Lent (purple)
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference tithe. Thank you.
Edited by Dan Gangler, director of communication
Then Jesus told them this parable: “There was once a man who had a fig tree growing in his vineyard. He went looking for figs on it but found none. So he said to his gardener, “Look, for three years I have been coming here looking for figs on this fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it go on using up the soil?” But the gardener answered, ‘Leave it alone, sir, just one more year; I will dig around it and put in some fertilizer. Then if the tree bears figs next year, so much the better; if not, then you can have it cut down.”
– Luke 13:6-9
Good News Translation
www.americanbible.org
For the latest news about the Haiti Emergency, visit www.umc.org/haiti, www.umcor.org and www.churchworldservice.com.
Many changes have come with the creation of the new Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, including how we handle the receipts from our local churches to the district, annual conference and other mission giving. In December we told local church treasurers to send all such giving to a local P.O. Box with the U.S. Postal Service. From there, all receipts were forwarded to a centralized bank processing point. That system has proven to be very slow, unreliable and inefficient. Several treasurers have reported checks taking many weeks to clear or not clearing at all.
We have taken a second look at this process and now believe it would be best for local church treasurers to send these payments directly to the bank processing center in order to achieve maximum efficiency. We use this bank processing center because it is more secure and reduces staffing costs in the Indiana Conference Center. With the large volume of payments that are now coming in from across the state, using a professional processing center is better stewardship.
For all future giving payments from your local church to your district, the conference or other missions giving, local church treasurers are asked to please use the following address:
INUMC
Dept 6089
Carol Stream, IL 60122-6089
Checks can be made payable either to your district or to INUMC – either will work as long as treasurers mark their intentions clearly.
Thank you for your continued patience as we attempt to stay responsive and flexible in our operations. Most importantly thank you for your feedback on these processes over the past few weeks that have made us aware of the issues. Your continued vigilance will help us serve you better. – Jennifer Gallagher, Indiana Conference Treasurer
NEW YORK (UMNS) – A feeling of uncertainty lingers for survivors of Chile’s massive earthquake as the country struggles to recover. Continuing aftershocks and televised images of damage, desperation and violence has left everyone “in a state of unhealthy alert,” said the Rev. Shana Harrison, a United Methodist missionary based in Santiago. “Fear and anger seem to be growing bigger each day as people continue to wait to hear news from their loved ones,” she said in a March 1 e-mail. “Today, opinions and critiques of how things are being handled have begun to fly. Impatience and intolerance are on the rise.”
Harrison expects the situation to improve as people learn about how they can help their neighbors.
“Please continue to keep the Chilean people in your prayers,” wrote Harrison, executive director of the Foundation Crescendo, a workshop and group home for adults with intellectual disabilities. “There is a long, long road ahead.”
With an initial emergency grant of $10,000 from UMCOR, the Methodist Church of Chile is assessing needs and bringing food and water to what the Rev. Juan Salazar, president of the Methodist Social Ministry, calls an “extremely urgent” situation. Salazar also advised UMCOR that regional emergency teams would coordinate the distribution of supplies and make other needs assessments.
Methodist Bishop Mario Martinez noted damage to churches and parsonages in the earthquake-affected areas, including Santiago, Angol, Chillán and Concepción, as well as a lack of water, electricity, telephone service and other basic services.
The church and its relief arm, the Methodist Humanitarian Action Team, are coordinating efforts with ecumenical and non-governmental partners and in cooperation with the Chilean government’s emergency response agency. UMCOR led a three-day training session on disaster preparedness and emergency response training for about 20 members of the Chilean church in October.
Donations to the relief efforts of UMCOR and the Methodist Church of Chile can be made online to Chile Emergency Advance # 3021178. Donations also can be sent by check to UMCOR and dropped in church offering plates or mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, New York, NY 10087. Please indicate in the memo line of the check that it is for the Chile Emergency. For complete story, click here.
When the first tremors of the earthquake in Haiti rocked that island nation, UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) staff was already in the country, strategizing how United Methodists could help improve the lives of the people there. Their work is a direct result of the One Great Hour of Sharing Offering, which supports the operating expenses of those who bring healing and help in our name. It makes it possible, when we respond to an emergency like Haiti, to know that 100% of our gift goes directly to where the suffering is happening.
Every year, but this year more than ever, I hope you’ll give your people the opportunity to join with the faithful across the Church to support the One Great Hour of Sharing.
For more information, visit umcgiving.org/specialsundays.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UMNS) – The mega-church has come to the city, bringing new life to a historic downtown sanctuary. United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, a 12,000-member congregation based in nearby Leawood, Kan., established a third campus at the Grand Avenue Temple. The result is the older church, which in recent years has lacked a self-supporting congregation even as its Lazarus Table ministry reached out to the homeless, is undergoing a spiritual and physical renewal. The new congregation, Resurrection Downtown, averages 240 worshippers each week and is developing vital evangelism, music and small-group ministries. Read more.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – The United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry now provides a Web site designed for cell phone access and other mobile hand-held devices such as iPhones and BlackBerries. Further information is available at www.gbhem.org.
State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, plans to add exemptions and change the effective date of his proposed statewide smoking ban in order to get it through the reluctant Indiana Senate (Carden, Times of Northwest Indiana). The Democratic-controlled Indiana House last month approved a smoking ban that would prohibit smoking in all indoor locations except gaming facilities. A legislative committee on Tuesday ruled the smoking ban was not germane to Senate Bill 175 and had to come out. The bill makes changes to state health reporting requirements. In a House-Senate conference committee meeting Thursday morning Brown proposed adding the smoking ban to House Bill 1132. That measure includes several health and health care-related proposals. Brown said he also is willing to include other smoking ban exemptions previously recommended by state representatives, including private clubs such as Veterans of Foreign War halls, smoke shops and family-owned businesses with minimal public contact. – Howey Politics Indiana
Rethink Church is offering sermon starters for the Lenten season to help you reach seekers and connect in new ways with your community. A Journey to Hope, begins on Ash Wednesday with an invitation to travel with Jesus to the cross. As participants encounter real life issues along the way, we see that God's light is sometimes even brighter in the darkness and that hope can be found even in the most unlikely places.This Lenten season, take a journey to hope and share that hope with the world.
Help us build your Creation Care Network. How do you care for the environment?
Does your congregation have a “green team” or a creation care ministry? Creation care is an act of faith. Join the Indiana Conference Creation Care Group on Facebook and share your interests or stories, or e-mail Dennis Shock, your Indiana Conference Creation Care Network Coordinator at dennis.shock@gmail.com. – Sponsored by the Indiana Conference Social Advocacy, Justice and Ethnic Ministry Team
NEW YORK (UMNS) – The United Methodist Committee on Relief and Church World Service are part of a coalition of faith-based relief and development groups endorsing a Lenten resource addressing the global water and sanitation crisis. The WASH (WAter Sanitation & Hygiene) for Lent Initiative has been set up to encourage getting involved with organizations responding to the crisis as a focus of their Lenten journey. A Web site, WASH for Lent (http://washforlent.wordpress.com), includes links to many groups, statistics and information about WASH, and offers weekly devotionals.
The newly united Indiana Conference Media Center is up and running. Here is March’s Media Picks. Matthew 28:19 urges us to “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” Ask about our new Confirmation resources! Find out how we can help with new membership classes. We have resources for all ages – Go therefore and Grow Disciples in YOUR Church!
The Indiana Conference Media Center is open at the Sunnycrest UMC, 1921 W. Bradford Street in Marion, IN 46952, according to Media Center Director Angel Rea. The local phone number for the Media Center is 765-662-922 or call the Conference Center toll-free at 877-781-6706 and ask for your call to be transferred to the Media Center. Angel’s e-mail address is angel.rea@inumc.org. The Media Center hours are Mondays and Fridays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturdays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m.
What if…on one weekend all around the world, United Methodists came together to work with their local communities? What if…as we serve people locally, we unite globally to eliminate a preventable, treatable disease that kills one child every 30 seconds?
The Rev. Mike Slaughter, lead pastor at Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City, Ohio, has written a book called Change the World: Recovering the Mission and Message of Jesus, set to be released in February 2010. He emphasizes, “As the United Methodist Church, we have worried too much about getting numbers into our churches instead of getting the people in our churches out into the world in relative ways. Even our smallest churches can have incredible impact when they leave their four walls to serve the needs of their neighbors, alongside of their neighbors.” Be one who makes a change and together, we can change the world. To get involved go to rethinkchurch.org/changetheworld.
DOYLE E. “JACK” PAVY, retired Elder with 45 years service in the Indiana Conference and father of Kathryn P. Hart, part-time local pastor of Bloomington, Ind, died Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. Memorial Services will be held on Saturday, March 13 at 3 p.m. at Arlington United Methodist Church, 1820 West Arlington Road in Bloomington, Ind. and on Sunday, March 14 at 3 p.m. at Trinity United Methodist Church, 2715 E. Jackson Blvd. in Elkhart, Ind. Survivors include: his wife, Shirley, of 56 years; four children, Cheryl McLean, Stephen, Kathryn Hart and John; eight grandchildren; two sisters; and three brothers. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Riverview Adult Day Care Center, c/o Trinity United Methodist Church, 2715 E. Jackson Blvd. Elkhart, IN 46516-5053.
None this week.
Job Opening - Associate Director Youth, Date/Time: Effective March 1, 2010
St. Luke’s UMC in Indianapolis has an opening for an Associate Director for Junior High Youth ministries who will provide intentional ministry for grades 6-8. This Associate brings energy to the Jr. High youth, develops youth and adult leadership, works as a team with the Associate Director for Sr. High Youth and Director of Youth Ministries, connects well with teens, and creates ministry opportunities that promote youth involvement at St. Luke’s UMC.
This Associate brings energy to the Jr. High youth, develops youth and adult leadership, works as a team with the Associate Director for Sr. High Youth and Director of Youth Ministries, connects well with teens, and creates ministry opportunities that promote youth involvement at St. Luke’s UMC. Check out the position summary and if interested, contact Kevin Davis.