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Hoosier United Methodist e-NEWS for January 29, 2009

HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST e-newsletter

For Friday, January 29, 2010 – Fourth Sunday after Epiphany (green)
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference tithe. Thank you.
Edited by Dan Gangler, director of communication

Deadline for submitting items is noon Wednesday.

THIS WEEK’S NEWS HEADLINES

Dakotas, Minnesota to Become New Episcopal Area in 2012
Bishop Names Mendenhall Senior Pastor of Muncie Church
Local Church Statistical Information Now Posted on Conference Web
Worship Goes on Beside Damaged Haitian Church
Collection Points Needed For Health, Layette Kits for Haiti Relief
Here’s An Avenue for Medical Volunteers into Haiti
National Database Set Up For Volunteers Going To Haiti
Pilot Carry People Out, Bring Supplies into Haiti
Haiti Quake Survivor Chand Recalls Hotel Rescue
Haitian Challenge: Remember History, Look Forward
Indiana Casino Bill Advances without Land Amendment
Rejuvenate Is For …
Bishop Mike Coyner is now on www.facebook.com

BIBLE PASSAGE

He (Jesus) said to them, I am sure that you will quote this proverb to me, “Doctor, heal yourself.” You will also tell me to do here in my hometown the same things you heard were done in Capernaum. I tell you this, Jesus added, prophets are never welcomed in their hometown.

– Luke 4:23-24
Today’s New International Version
www.americanbible.org

NEWS

For the latest news about the Haiti Emergency, visit www.umc.org/haiti, www.umcor.org and www.churchworldservice.com.

For a slide show about Haiti, visit www.flickr.com/photos/umcommunications/show/.

DAKOTAS, MINNESOTA TO BECOME NEW EPISCOPAL AREA IN 2012

CHICAGO – The United Methodist Church’s North Central Jurisdiction College of Bishops announced its decision Jan. 26 on how it will reduce the number of Episcopal Areas from ten to nine in 2012.

Effective Sept. 1, 2012, the Dakotas and Minnesota annual conferences will be served by one bishop instead of two, but maintain their current boundaries and structures. No other boundaries of annual conferences or episcopal areas will be affected by this decision in the jurisdiction.

The reorganization comes as a result of action at the 2008 General Conference of the UMC. Four of the five jurisdictions in the United States are each required to phase out one episcopal area by 2012.

BISHOP NAMES MENDENHALL SENIOR PASTOR OF MUNCIE CHURCH

Bishop Mike Coyner announced earlier this week the appointment of the Rev. Dale Mendenhall, superintendent of the East District based in Muncie, as senior pastor of High Street United Methodist Church in downtown Muncie effective July 1. The Rev. John W. (Jack) Hartman, current senior pastor of High Street now in his tenth year there, plans to retire during the annual conference session in June.

According to Coyner, Dale and his wife Cathy were very well received during a weekend meeting with the church’s Pastor Parish Relations Committee. – e-HUM

LOCAL CHURCH STATISTICAL INFORMATION NOW POSTED ON CONFERENCE WEB

The Indiana Conference Center has now posted and continues to build an Indiana congregational database with statistical information about each of the conference’s more than 1,200 congregations. It’s on the conference Web site at www.inumc.org.

Top find this information on the Web site, click on Find-a-Church on the top navigation bar. This will open up two choices. The top choice is “Find an Indiana church” and the second choice is “Find a church provided by UMC.org,” the denominations national directory of all United Methodist congregations across the country. By clicking on “Find an Indiana church,” Web users will go to the Indiana Conference WebShare documents. Individual congregations can be found either by ZIP code numbers or by location in a particular district of the ten new districts. Each file contains or will contain contact information about the congregation, the pastor/s, past pastors, a MapQuest linked map locating the church as well as several pages of statistical information for the past several years including membership, attendance, giving and financial information. The data base is still being built and eventually will have statistical information for all congregations. – e-HUM

WORSHIP GOES ON BESIDE DAMAGED HAITIAN CHURCH

Pieces of walls painted a bright green gave a hint of the joys that once took place inside St. Martin Methodist Church and school. After the Jan. 12 earthquake, the jagged concrete blocks are part of a massive pile of rocks.

Even an earthquake doesn’t stop worship, however. This past Sunday, Jan. 24, several men were busy trying to find ways to string tarps and sheets over the child-sized school benches and folding chairs wedged in between the ruins of the school and church. School notebooks and graded math papers not held down by rocks were flying in the wind.

Before the 9 a.m. worship began, the chairs and pews were full. Those who could not fit under the shade were standing in the back under any piece of shade they could find.

“All you are seeing now is through the power of our Lord,” said the Rev. Moncul Jean, one of the pastors in the Port-au-Prince circuit. For full story, pictures and video from the worship service, click here.

COLLECTION POINTS NEEDED FOR HEALTH, LAYETTE KITS FOR HAITI RELIEF

If your church is willing to be a collection point for health and layette kits for Haiti relief efforts, please contact the Rev. LeKisha Reed, Indiana Conference associate director of mission and advocacy, at LeKisha.Reed@inumc.org or call the conference center at 317-924-1321 ext. 1006. If your church would like to assembly health and layette kits for Haiti relief, lists of what is needed in these kits and how to assemble them are available in this newsletter. Thank you for your generous gifts to helping the people of Haiti.

HERE’S AN AVENUE FOR MEDICAL VOLUNTEERS INTO HAITI

Dr. Cherian Thomas, head of the UMCOR Health Unit, suggests that some volunteers, who have the qualifications and want to go into Haiti before UMCOR stations are up and ready, might want to consider this way of serving, through the U.S. Government.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is requesting physicians of specific specialties to deploy with the National Disaster Medical Assistance teams to Haiti. The need is for trauma surgeons, orthopedists, anesthesiologists, and others with experience in treating crush injuries. Volunteers must be able to serve for at least 2 weeks, and be willing to live and work in Spartan conditions.

Preference will be given to physicians who are Creole or French speakers and to those currently credentialed through the Medical Reserve Corps in their home state, or the ESAR-VHP program (Emergency Services Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Personnel).

For more information, click here. – NCJ UMVIM

NATIONAL DATABASE SET UP FOR VOLUNTEERS GOING TO HAITI

Mission Volunteers in conjunction with the Jurisdictional United Methodist Volunteers in Mission (UMVIM) Coordinators and General Board of Global Ministries staff have recommended and instituted a National Database for volunteers wishing to go to Haiti, when we are invited to enter Haiti. Names and e-mails responses from many people have been received. They need to click here and register their intent to volunteer in Haiti in the future, along with listing their skills and aptitudes for being a United Methodist Volunteer In Mission. Once a week, the database will be forwarded to your Jurisdictional Coordinator to keep everyone in the loop.

Please register even if you already have your name. This database includes more information.

For past announcement, visit archived e-mails. Thank you!

PILOT CARRY PEOPLE OUT, BRING SUPPLIES INTO HAITI

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) – Abraham McIntyre was at home in Eleuthera, Bahamas, when he learned that a major earthquake had occurred in Haiti. The concern that a tsunami might flood the Bahamas was among his first thoughts. McIntyre initially expected the quake to have little effect on the mission he directs, Bahamas Methodist Habitat. The organization usually flies volunteers to construction and medical mission sites throughout the islands. That changed within hours when he received a call from the organization's treasurer, Steve Merritt of Cary, N.C., asking, "'How fast can you get to Haiti?' I went from apathetic to full on, and haven't stopped since," he says. Since Jan. 15, McIntyre and his staff have coordinated flights evacuating missionaries and mission teams and helping relief workers and medical supplies reach Haiti. Read more.

HAITI QUAKE SURVIVOR CHAND RECALLS HOTEL RESCUE

NEW YORK (UMNS) – Sarla Chand spent hours in the dark, trying to poke her way out of the lobby of the Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, to find help for herself and colleagues, all trapped when the hotel collapsed during the Jan. 12 earthquake. Chand, 65, a United Methodist who works for IMA World Health, made it safely home to Teaneck, N.J. But as she reflects on her dramatic rescue, there also is a sense of distress – both for the people of Haiti and for two of the five colleagues trapped with her who died from their injuries. Read more.

HAITIAN CHALLENGE: REMEMBER HISTORY, LOOK FORWARD

NEW YORK (UMNS) – Haiti, long an outpost for United Methodist mission and relief workers, looks toward the denomination for guideposts toward rebirth. And it won't be easy. Now, in addition to continuing the long-standing mission of helping relieve the suffering spurred by historical poverty and official neglect, the denomination must help the country rise again once the bottom has been reached on this epochal human crisis. "We're talking about a country who will be starting from ground zero,'' says Harvey Dupiton, a member of the United Nations Association of Haiti. Read more.

INDIANA CASINO BILL ADVANCES WITHOUT LAND AMENDMENT

Gambling may already be a fixture in Indiana, but it’s only a few steps away from becoming a permanent fixture (Lynch, HPI/Franklin). The Indiana Senate Appropriations Committee passed Senate Bill 405, 10-2, after discussing six amendments that would be added to the bill. Sen. Earline Rogers, D-Gary, said is adamant on not giving up on the fight for inland casinos, even with casino associations wanting a delay on the bill. The bill would allow future casinos to be built inland or allow current casinos the choice of getting rid of their maritime requirements. It would also allow horse race tracks to get ownership of a second horse track, which they aren’t allowed to currently. The bill will now go on to the full Senate for consideration. – Howey Politics Indiana

REJUVENATE IS For …

Clergy who have a lot of educational debt
Clergy who have little educational debt
Clergy who have no educational debt

Through Rejuvenate’s educational program (see list on Web site www.inumc.org/rejuvenate) clergy and congregations will receive tools that will further equip you to be better financial managers and planners, individually and corporately.

Through Rejuvenate’s matching funds, eligible clergy who have education debt will be able to receive financial assistance to reduce or eliminate their debt.

For more information, visit www.inumc.org/rejuvenate.

Bishop Mike Coyner is now on www.facebook.com

For more United Methodist news and information, log on to www.umc.org and click on NEWS.

2010 INDIANA ANNUAL CONFERENCE AT BALL STATE IN MUNCIE, JUNE 10-13

ANNUAL CONFERENCE CHOIRS NOW BEING FORMED FOR JUNE SESSION

Worship leaders are seeking talented high school, younger adults and older persons to be a part of the Indiana Annual Conference session worship team. Open audition CDs, MP3s and audio cassette tapes are being received now through Feb. 22 for the 2010 Indiana Annual Conference Session being held at Ball State University in Muncie, June 10-13.

To be a part of the team, participants are committing to rehearsals in Indianapolis on Saturdays, March 13, April 10 and May 8 from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. plus Wednesday, June 9 from noon to 10 p.m. at Ball State University for conference June 10-13.

Send auditions to Chuck Scott, Saint Joseph United Methodist Church, 6004 Reed Road, Fort Wayne, IN 46835 or escott@stjoemin.com, phone 260-485-9681 ext. 32. If you have sent an audition recording in the past, you need only contact Chuck Scott and express your interest to serve as a conference choir member again. – Chuck Scott

WORSHIP RESOURCES

ASH WEDNESDAY, COMING FEB. 17

Here’s a contemporary Ash Wednesday service from the General Board of Discipleship by Taylor Burton-Edwards, a clergy member of the Indiana Conference.

HAITI REEARTHQUAKE RESPONSE WORSHIP RESOURCES

RETHINK CHURCH LENTEN SEASON SERMON STARTERS

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.

Social media suggestions are provided to engage community prior to the message, and to continue reflection afterwards. Props add another dimension to the series which are especially helpful to visual learners, while free-downloadable UMTV video stories illustrate how United Methodists are finding and sharing hope around the world. And that hope is extended beyond the walls through experiences shared through Facebook, Twitter, blogs, short videos and personal testimonies.

This Lenten season, take a journey to hope and share that hope with the world.

MINISTRY RESOURCES

CHURCHES TO RECEIVE OFFERING FOR CAMPUS MINISTRIES IN FEBRUARY

The 2009 Indiana Annual Conference session approved a state-wide special offering to support Indiana United Methodist-related Campus Ministries. Indiana's 1,200 congregations are invited and encouraged to receive the offering any Sunday in February and to promote campus ministries in their congregations. Envelopes and other resources will be arriving before the first Sunday in February. For more information and resources to promote campus ministries or to request a campus ministry speaker for your congregation, visit www.inumc.org/campusministry or contact the Rev. Brian Durand at brian.durand@inumc.org or by phone at 877-781-6706 or 317-924-1321.

CHANGE THE WORLD – STARTING WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

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.

INDIANA CONFERENCE MEDIA CENTER CLOSED JANAUARY FOR MOVE

The Indiana Conference Media Resource Center is making a transition to one center to serve all of Indiana. Due to the change in location from the two former offices, we are moving to a new location. Please be patient with us during this transition. There are literally hundreds of resources to move, restock and catalog. To allow for this adjustment the center will be closed through January. At the end of the month we will release new contact information. If there are emergency concerns with materials already in circulation, please contact Angel Rea through the Indiana Conference Center at 317-924-1321.

DEATHS

ROBERT BAKER, 99, retired full-time local pastor of the Indiana Conference, died Nov. 26, 2009. A memorial service was held Nov. 30 at Barnes UMC in Indianapolis. He served churches in Shelbyville, Rushville, Muncie, North Vernon, Terre Haute, and retired from the Riverside United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, where he made his home. Survivors include: his wife, Waneda Baker, two sons and four daughters, 27 grandchildren, 49 great-grandchildren and 16 great great-grandchildren.

MEREDITH ANN (MERRY) BEERY, 65, the wife of Jim Beery, a member of Oaktown UMC and lay pastor of Merom United Methodist Church in Sullivan County, died in a car accident in Vigo County on Sunday, Jan. 24, 2010. A memorial service was held at the North Knox High School on Thursday, Jan. 28 with burial in Morris Chapel Cemetery. Survivors include: her husband, Jim Beery; mother, Peg Hyneman of Hazleton; a son, Daniel Beery of Philadelphia; two daughters, Marsha Ann Jones of O’Fallon, Mo., and Meredith Miller of New Albany; and four grandchildren. Memorial contributions can be made to Higher Bound, 300 N. Fifth St., Vincennes, IN 47591 or Life After Meth, c/o the Rev. Peter Haskins, 2525 N. Sixth St., Vincennes, IN 47591. Condolences can be sent to Jim Berry, 13233 N. Risley Road, Oaktown, IN 47561.

SHELDON L. GRAME, 65, retired Elder of the Indiana Conference and past chaplain of Wesley Manor in Frankfort, Ind., died Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010. Visitation will be held from 4 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 28 at the Genda Funeral Home, 608 N. Main Street in Frankfort and one hour before the memorial service at the chapel. A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Jan. 29 in Amanda Reid Memorial Chapel at Wesley Manor, 1555 North Main Street in Frankfort. Survivors include: wife, Pamela of Indianapolis, father, Benjamin Grame, Sr. of San Diego, Calif.; sons, Aaron Turner of Lafayette, Stephen Grame of Hopkinsville, Ky. and Travis Turner of Indianapolis; daughters, Robin Ashley of San Pierre, Heidi Mullins of Clarksville, Tenn., Katrina Creitz of Lafayette and Hope Grame of Mishawaka; and three grandchildren. Memorial can be send to the Good Samaritan Fund at Wesley Manor, 1555 N. Main St., Frankfort, IN 46041 or Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis. Condolences can be sent to Pamela Grame, 1221 N. Wittfield Street, Indianapolis IN 46229. Online condolences also can be directed to www.gendafunderalhome.com.

WILLIAM FRED LAMAR, JR., 76, chaplain of United Methodist-related DePauw University for 23 years and clergy member of the Indiana Conference, died Jan. 13, 2009 in St. Petersburg, Fla. There will be a Celebration of Life at Pass-A-Grille Beach Community Church (UCC), 107 Sixteenth Avenue, St. Pete Beach, FL 33706 on Saturday, Jan. 30 at 10:30 am. Survivors include: wife Martha; son Jonathan Lamar and his wife, Julie; stepdaughter Barbara Martin and her husband, George, stepson Owen Parker Jr.; three granddaughters, one step-granddaughter; one step-great-granddaughter. Memorials can be sent to the American Foundation for Children with AIDS, Attn: St. Mary's Mission Hospital Desk, 6221 Blue Grass Ave., Harrisburg, PA 17112; to Sun Coast Hospice; or to Eckerd College, 4200 54th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33711, note: ASPEC Scholarship Fund.

WILLIAM H. MARTIN, 92, retired supply pastor of the Indiana Conference, died Saturday, Jan. 16, 2010 at Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Ind. A memorial service was held Monday, Jan. 18 at Christ UMC in Georgetown, Ind. Survivors include: son, Robert of 638 Georgetown Lanesville Road, Georgetown, IN 47122; brother, Freeman of Bethany, Ill.; and sister, Virginia Miller of New Albany.

IRENE K. SHOEMAKER, 86, of Logansport and surviving spouse of the late Rev. Robert Shoemaker of the Indiana Conference, died Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, at Logansport, Ind. There was no public memorial service and a private burial. Survivors include: son, Eric Shoemaker of Logansport; grandchildren, John Shoemaker and Scott Shoemaker, both of Logansport; great-grandchildren, Miranda Shoemaker, Matthew Shoemaker and Stormy Fiscel; and great-great-grandson, Christian Fiscel. Condolences and personal remembrances may be left online at www.kroegerfuneralhome.com.

MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS

Bishop Michael J. Coyner has announced the following changes within the Indiana Area. These appointments are based on Cabinet reports received by Indiana Area Communication the week of January 29, 2010.

None this week

NEW EMPLOYMENT LISTINGS

None this week

PREVIOUS EMPLOYMENT LISTINGS

FIELD REPRESENTATIVE HELP WANTED

The North Indiana United Methodist Foundation and the IN U. M. Loan & Savings Ministry is seeking three Field Representatives for portions of south, central and western Indiana. Time commitment is flexible – possibly 10-40 hours per month. This position is ideal for those who want part-time work and are highly self-motivated. Field Reps are compensated for their time on a per diem basis, plus expenses.

We need persons who would be proactive in making contacts with UM conference leaders, local churches, and individuals to promote our services.

Our Foundation: Provides professional investment services for churches, assists churches in developing and promoting their endowment programs, conducts educational seminars, assists individuals with planned gifts, and manages and administers many endowed funds.

Our Loan Fund: Provides stable investments for UM individuals, churches and agencies, and makes affordable capital improvement loans to UM churches and agencies.

You may visit our website at www.niumf.org, call 866-669-2327 and ask for Tamara, or e-mail thendricks@niumf.org for more information.

YOUTH DIRECTOR NEEDED AT MARION CHURCH

Marion First UMC is looking for a Youth Director to fill a 15 hour per week position. Our youth group is large and growing as a viable part of the inner city ministries of FUMC. A new building and site for the youth is now available with lots of bells and whistles to make youth meetings and youth worship great. We are looking for someone with a real commitment to the youth program and to promoting the doctrine and theology of the UMC. This position is part time now with hopes to grow it to a full time position. Interested parties should submit a resume to the SPRC, 624 S. Adams, Marion IN 46953. For a job description contact the Rev. Kaye Patton at 765-664-5177. Deadline for applications is January 30.