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Mission News for August 30, 2010

HOOSIER UNITED METHODIST Mission Opportunities

For Monday, August 30, 2010
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference connectional ministries tithe.
Edited by Dan Gangler, director of communication

The Rev. LeKisha Reed, Associate Director of Mission and Advocacy, is available to you in the new Indiana Conference Center and would like to hear what your congregation is doing in mission and advocacy. Contact her at  lekisha.reed@inumc.org or call 317-924-1321. The Indiana Conference Mission and Advocacy area has created a Facebook Fan Page. Check it out here.

Mission Census Being Taken by Conference Will Continue Through the Summer 

Register to participate at www.inumc.org/missions. If you need a paper copy of this survey, call the Conference Center at 317-924-1321 or toll-free 877-781-6706. Thank you for your participation.

MISSION, OUTREACH NEWS

Indianapolis church member honored by Church World Service

INDIANAPOLIS (CWS) – United Methodist volunteer Phyllis Newton of Indianapolis was named to the CROP Honor Roll by the Indiana-Kentucky Church World Service Regional Advisory Board at a meeting earlier this year. She was one of three CROP Hunger Walk leaders elected from persons nominated by CROP Hunger event leaders and regional staff. Newton was honored during the Sunday, Aug. 29, worship service at Broadway UMC by the Rev. Judy Dunson, Regional Director of Church World Service in Indiana-Kentucky. CROP is an acronym for Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty. The CROP Hunger Walks are a public fund raising event sponsored by Church World Service.

Newton was nominated for the CROP Honor Roll by the members of the Greater Indianapolis CROP Walk Committee. She has served as an exceptional Walk Recruiter for Broadway UMC for more than ten years, and since 2003 has personally raised more than $10,000 for the CROP Hunger Walk. She involves her neighborhood in her own fund raising and was successful in setting up a healthy rivalry with another neighbor to raise the most money.

Barnes UMC satellite events successful on Saturday

INDIANAPOLIS (UM Metro-Ministries) – Two events on Saturday, August 28 captured the attention of each of their communities. On the east side of Indianapolis at The Empowerment Worship Center (former Grace UMC), 4110 E. New York Street, children walked with the parents or neighbors to see what was happening at the nearby church. They had been visited, they had received invitations to the community picnic with games, good and fellowship opportunities. On the west side of Indianapolis at 5701 W. 34th Street at Northwest UMC, there were teams set up with games, snacks, food and displays of healthy foods. Music and dancing was included in the day's festivities. These events are opportunities of reaching those who don’t attend church in these neighborhoods. Both sites will launch worship services on Sunday, Oct. 10.

Missionary Heaton travels back to Guatemala

PANAJACHEL, Guatemala -- Hoosier missionary Tom Heaton has returned to Guatemala. Many Facebook.com “friends” followed his departure from Indiana and arrival in Guatemala this weekend. Here’s his latest entry: “We are back home in rain-soaked Pana (Panajachel, Guatemala). A mudslide on CA-1 delayed us by about 6 hours. I am trying to remind myself that all I want to get done in one week will probably take 3 weeks (or more).” On the www.missionguatemala.com website he writes: “As we begin our work in San Andrés this fall, we are now accepting mission teams for 2011. There are many needs in the community, so please let us know the kind of work you would like to do and we will work with you to create a wonderful experience where you can ‘Do all the good you can.’ We have created an online inquiry form you can use to start the process. The form can be found by clicking MISSION TRIPS on our website menu.

Also, to help in planning for a mission trip, we have put together our Mission Trip Planning Guide, which you can download from our website under Team Resources.

Please help us spread the word that we are accepting teams and let us know if you have any questions.”

Pakistan: Millions in urgent need

NEW YORK (UMCOR) – Bashir Ahmed, 30, a day laborer from Sultan Kot Village, Pakistan, was poor before the floods started tearing through his country four weeks ago, but now his family has nothing. He is grateful he was able to bring his elderly parents, two younger brothers, wife and four children to safety. Bashir and his family received emergency food assistance through Church World Service and the National Capacity Building Program, in partnership with the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). The relief package met some of their immediate needs, but their crisis continues. At least 8 million Pakistanis are in dire need of emergency assistance including: food, clean water and shelter. More than 20 million have been affected. The United Nations says the disaster’s toll is comparable to the combined toll of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, 2004 Indonesia tsunami, and 2005 Kashmir earthquake.

Your help is urgently needed. Please give generously to International Disaster Response, Pakistan Flash Floods, UMCOR Advance #982450. Please remember to indicate Pakistan Floods on the memo line of your check. Give now.

Bread for the World, Sunday Oct. 17

WASHINGTON (UMNS) – Bread for the World, a Christian organization supported in part through the United Methodist Advance, has resources for churches interested in participating in Bread for the World Sunday on Oct. 17. The group organizes Christians to write U.S. decision-makers in support of efforts to eradicate hunger in the U.S. and overseas. Resources include a study of Luke 18:1-8, a special litany, bulletin inserts and offering envelopes. Spanish-language resources also are available. Information is available here.

Luke’s House offers healing and prayers

NEW ORLEANS (UMNS) – Five years after the storm, Hurricane Katrina is still causing havoc in the lives of people living near Mount Zion United Methodist Church. Most in this low-income neighborhood are living without any medical benefits and their health suffers, said Ruby Glenn a retired nurse. Glenn is one of the volunteers who have responded with Luke’s House, a free community health clinic held every Tuesday night in the church. See the video about Luke’s House. Read more.

UMTV: Clinic Heals After Katrina

NEW ORLEANS (UMTV) – Hurricane Katrina closed seven of New Orleans’ 11 hospitals – creating a shortage in a time of great need. Five years later, those who have returned to the Big Easy have a hard time finding affordable medical and mental health care. A free clinic was founded at Mount Zion United Methodist Church after Katrina. It is meeting the needs of New Orleans families who are still recovering in many ways. You can view UMTV’s “Clinic Heals After Katrina”. Find this and other UMTV stories on YouTube and Tangle by typing “UMTV” in the video keyword search. You can also find the latest UMTV videos on Facebook if you become a fan of the page for The United Methodist Church.

FOR THE LATEST IN DISASTER NEWS AND RECOVERY
VISIT www.disasternews.net and www.umcor.org.

HAITI AND CHILE RELIEF, RECOVERY

Haiti recovery still dominates the United Methodist Volunteers in Mission response and of course will for many years. Susan Meister at haitivolunteers@yahoo.com, Haiti team scheduler, reports that they are full with teams through Feb, though still trying to accommodate a couple of teams this fall.

She sends this reminder to team leaders: “In general, your team may consist of no fewer than five persons and no more than ten persons. All participants must arrive and depart on the same flights. As the time for your travel approaches, I will need your flight arrangements and the number of men/women on your team. Please be sure to read all the team information at www.umvimhaiti.org to help you plan your trip. About six weeks before your arrival, the Haiti Coordinator will be in touch with you regarding your specific project assignment and any special information. Your project funds will be due no later than four weeks before your arrival. You will send the project funds directly to me (Susan Meister, 521 Bandy Ave., Galesburg, IL 61401), in a check made to “Haiti Emergency.” I will process the checks and arrange for matching funds to be added and sent to the account in Haiti.”

Please follow these simple rules and make life a little less stressful for those that are trying very hard to accommodate your teams! – Lorna Jost, North Central Jurisdiction, UMVIM

Teams are forming to respond to the earthquake devastation in Haiti.

Wisconsin steps up to help with Chile earthquake response

Contact Don Herringa at donheeringa@yahoo.com or 920-854-5572 to sign up for any of the three teams he will be leading to Chile in response to the 2010 earthquake. The dates are: Nov.7-20, Jan. 9-23 and Feb. 6-20, 2011.

UMVIM Haiti Response website up

NEWLY LISTED MISSION OPPORTUNITIES

Children’s Disaster Services provides caring for children

Tom Hazelwood, Domestic UMCOR, has asked United Methodist disaster response volunteers to partner with the Church of Brethren as they teach us their curriculum called Children Disaster Services (CDS) on working with children who find themselves in a disaster situation. As part of the Disaster Response Academy at Widewater Camp, Oct. 3-6, the CDS workshop for equipping volunteers will be a three-day course taught on Monday through Wednesday, Oct. 4-6. This class includes a simulated shelter living situation or a guided imagery to volunteers think about what deployment living conditions could be like. Since 1980, CDS has been meeting the needs of children by setting up child care centers in shelters and disaster assistance centers across the nation. Specially trained to respond to traumatized children, volunteers provide a calm, safe and reassuring presence in the midst of the chaos created by tornados, floods, hurricanes, wildfires and natural or human caused disaster.

The workshop utilizes a variety of hands-on activities that the participants put into action when mobilized.

A registration fee of $45 for this class will be paid for by a grant from the Domestic UMCOR office and covers the cost of the training materials for this workshop alone. Participants completing the course will have the opportunity to become certified CDS volunteers. A requirement for certification is to have a background check done by Children's Disaster Services.

See more information about the Disaster Response Academy below. Please complete the class registration form found on the West Ohio Webpage. Mail the completed form and your check to the UMVIM-NCJ office (UMVIM-NCJ, 928 4th St #2, Brookings, SD 57006) or if you pay online, e-mail completed form to umvim-ncj@brookings.net.

PREVIOUSLY LISTED MISSION OPPORTUNITIES

Jurisdiction to hold Disaster Response Academy Oct. 3-6

The West Ohio United Methodist Conference has invited the rest of the North Central Jurisdiction, including Indiana, to join them at Widewater Camp in Liberty Center, Ohio, for a Jurisdiction-wide Disaster Response Academy to be held Sunday-Wednesday, Oct 3-6. Driving Directions

Participants can pick from 4 major training classes:

  • Track I (Basic Early Response Team (ERT) – two-day class
  • Track II (ERT, Train the Trainer) – two-day class
  • Track III (Connecting Neighbors Leadership) – two-day class
  • Track IV (Caring for Children) – three day class

For those opting for Tracks I - III above, choose another class on Wednesday:

  • UMCOR Basic Disaster Ministry,
  • On-Site Management & Volunteer Management,
  • Earth Stewardship and Disaster Response or
  • Conference Disaster Leadership Seminar.

Please click on the link below to make payment. Once participants have registered their intent to attend, please fill out the class registration form found on the West Ohio webpage.

Mail the completed form and your check to the UMVIM-NCJ office (UMVIM-NCJ, 928 4th St #2, Brookings, SD 57006) OR if you pay online, e-mail completed form to umvim-ncj@brookings.net.

Urgent help needed in flood relief in Colfax, Iowa

Pastor Cindy Finn of First UMC in Colfax, Iowa, says the town needs URGENT HELP to muck and gut homes. The fire station in Colfax is ready to accept volunteers. Please call Wendy at the EMS Office at 515-674-9113 if you are able to help. For more information, call Becky Wood, Director of Recovery and Volunteer Coordinator for the Iowa Conference of The United Methodist Church, 2200 Heritage Green Drive, Hiawatha, IA 52233 or phone 515-238-5346.

Iowa Disaster Response team needs ERT help

The severe flooding of the Skunk River in Iowa has caused havoc in the community of Ames and is progressing southward thru Colfax and parts of Des Moines. Trish Burkett, Disaster Response coordinator for the Iowa Conference UMC says they may be needing ERT teams within the next week or two. If you could mobilize your teams for this possibility it would be helpful. For more information, contact Trish Burkett, 808 King St., Bedford, IA 50833, call 712-427-9014 or e-mail Disaster.Response@iaumc.org.

FLOOD RECOVERY INFORMATION

United Methodists Continue in Flood Recovery Efforts Statewide
  • For information about flood recovery, click here.

ONGOING MISSION PROJECT REMINDERS

For more information about these opportunities, listings of ongoing projects and contact information, please visit http://inumc.org/volunteeropportunities/category/10.

Mission Guatemala now accepting teams for ministry in San Andrés
North Central Jurisdiction seeks educators to serve on teachUM committee
Disaster Recovery (UMVIM) teams are needed in Tennessee
  • Contact the Rev. Robert Craig at Dyersburg FUMC, phone 731-285-6454, to register a team.
Relief and Response Teams Are Being Accepted in Tennessee Following Floods
  • If you are trained as an early responder and have a group ready to serve, please contact Jason Brock at DisasterResponse@tnumc.com or 615-329-1177 (office) or 615-695-2765 (hotline).
  • Volunteers may register online.
  • Click on blog site for latest information for volunteers.
Indiana Conference Disability Concerns Team Forming, Needs Volunteer Leaders
  • For more information, click here.

MISSION OPPORTUNITIES REMINDERS

For more information about these opportunities, listings of ongoing projects and contact information, please visit http://inumc.org/volunteeropportunities.

Friendly Planet Missiology Plans September Bike Ride Across Indiana
  • The plan includes Bible studies and workshops.
  • Interested in riding? Participants can ride the whole month or pick a day or two.
  • Interested in hosting a visit? Or a Bible study? Or a workshop? Or a good old story telling evening?
  • Contact Heather Cress at Folsom Memorial United Methodist Church in Worthington at 812-875-2126.
Appalachian Immersion Internship with Good Works
  • Sept. 2010-April/May 2011
  • This 9-12 month opportunity is for anyone 18 or older
  • Athens, OH, West Ohio Conference
  • Website: www.good-works.net
  • Contact: Keith Wasserman at goodworks@good-works.net, 740-594-9000, Good Works, Inc. P.O. Box 4, Athens, OH 45701
Clarian Health offers Clinical Pastoral Education for experienced pastors
  • Sept. 6 through Dec. 17
  • For information, contact Frank Impicciche at fimpicci@clarian.org or call 317 944-7415.
Operation Classroom VIM Trips to Africa
  • Workteams to Liberia 2010
    • Sept. 7 to 27 – Construction project to be decided – Kay Zeigler and Bob Evans, team leaders.
Starting New Worship Services workshops being offered by Indiana Conference
  • Workshop 1
    • Saturday, Sept. 11, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. CT; 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET
    • Wanatah United Methodist Church, 15555 S. 900 W., Wanatah, IN 46390 (near Valparaiso)
    • Leader: Ed Fenstermacher with registration deadline on Sept. 4.
  • Workshop 2
    • Saturday, Sept. 25, 9:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. ET, 8:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. CT
    • St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 100 N SR 46 Bypass Bloomington 47408
    • Leader: Sharon Washington with registration deadline on Sept. 18
  • Register for either workshop by calling: 877 781-6706 or on-line at: www.inumc.org/registration.
Early Response Team Training in Versailles
  • Sept. 11 at the Tyson UMC in Versailles, Ind.
  • 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. EDT.
  • Cost is $35 person and includes lunch plus more.
  • For more information: Contact Jim Byerly at pastorbyerly@comcast.net or call 812-689-6976 or 812-689-5046.
  • Registration deadline is Friday, Sept. 3.
  • A registration form is available here.
Illinois Great Rivers to host Honduras mission summit
West Ohio Medical Mission Team to Nuevo Progreso, Mexico
Medical Teams to Nicaragua looking for members
  • Teresa Miller at millerflash@sbcglobal.net, phone 517-699-4116, is looking for members for two medical teams to Nicaragua.
  • Oct. 21-31 and Feb. 17-27, 2011.
Calling United Methodist Women to the Ubuntu Journey to Brazil
  • Nov. 9-21
  • Cost is $3,500 exclusive of USA domestic airfare.
  • For team member application forms and additional information, contact Jeanie Blankenbaker at jbumvimny@aol.com or call 843-342-7092. The UMVIM-NCJ office has applications also.
Wisconsin Team to Cuba
Mission Trips to West Africa
  • Jan. 9-Jan. 22
    • The team will concentrate on providing medical service, staff continuing education, administrative support and maintenance and project development at Kissy Hospital, Freetown.
  • Jan. 23-Feb. 8
    • This team will work both at Kissy and upcountry in the village of Taiama. Participants will work on medical, educational and electrical projects. They will explore the development of a Heifer project for the community.
  • For information, a brochure or application form, please contact Barbara Hale at 317-696-6747.
  • Inclusive cost $3,400.
Team to the Holy Land
IOP mission trip to Tanzania
Wesley UMC of Bloomington, Ill. – medical team to Nicaragua
  • Jan. 21-29, 2011
  • Leader: Donna Schaad at dschaad@mchsi.com, 309-846-8231, Illinois Great Rivers Conference.
Northern Illinois Medical/Construction Mission to the Philippines
  • Feb. 10-27, 2011
  • Contact Brian at brichar828@aol.com or Marites Richardson at 773-267-4660 or the Rev. Cerna Rand at 312-236-4548.
Volunteers needed for mission trips to Western Kenya
  • Feb. 11-25, 2011 and July 15-29, 2011
  • The cost is approximately $4,000 per person per trip.
  • For more information, contact Rev. Lynn Renne at lrenne@aol.com or call 812-457-9812.
Wisconsin Medical Team to Honduras looking for members
Medical Teams to Panama need recruits
  • March 2011 and May 2011.
  • For more information, contact Jane Dunn in the Northern Illinois Conference. 
East Ohio co-sponsors two teams to Bo, Sierra Leone
  • Tentative dates – April 25-May 18, 2011
  • East Ohio leader: Beth Ferrell at beth_ferrell2001@yahoo.com 520-203-2092.
  • VA Conference team leader is Dr. Cynthia Horner.

West Ohio Church Announce Mission Trip, Needs Volunteers

  • E-mail Grove City Missions at missions@gcumc.org  for more information
  • UGANDA:
    • Summer 2011
    • Cost is $3,200
    • Team Leaders: Jan Scharenberg and Dayna McFarland
Iowa Conference Seeks Volunteers UMVIM Trip to the Philippines
  • December 25, 2011-January 8, 2012 from Iowa Conference.
  • Four persons sharing leadership, two with UMVIM team leadership training.
  • Hosts: Nueva Vizcaya, Philippines
  • Responsibilities include: construction, leading worship services, and for pastors leading- spiritual renewal retreat for the Philippine pastors – a Continuing Education Unit event for them.
  • Approximate cost: $2000 for flight; working out rest of costs.
  • Leaders are: Annette Kruse, Chuck Norman, Lilian Seagren, Gideon Gallo.
  • Please contact: Annette Kruse at pastorannette@yahoo.com with questions.