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February 2009

Cover Story

Women's prison bed net project lowers malaria risk in Africa

2/4/2009

INDIANAPOLIS - The last week of 2008, groups of 30 mosquito bed nets were folded delicately into a large satchels made of upholstery fabric. Long straps were sown onto the bag to harness around a human shoulder to carry approximately 48 pounds. Days before, a dozen women swiftly sped the netting through professional sewing machines and sergers, constructing box-shaped canopies for the world's "poorest of the poor." The tender hands creating the life-saving mosquito bed nets are... -- more --

From the Bishop

The Fifth Gospel - land of the Bible

2/4/2009

I write as I prepare to leave for a Holy Land trip to Israel. This trip is for the newly-ordained clergy of Indiana, their families and friends, and many other pilgrims who are choosing to make this journey with me. I invite your prayers for a safe and meaningful trip. I am indebted to Bishop Woodie White for beginning this tradition of taking our new ordinands on a Holy Land trip to enhance their ministry by exposing them to what many call "The Fifth Gospel" - the land of the Bible.... -- more --

Welcome

'Hope' has become the operative word this winter

2/4/2009

The word "hope" has been occurring everywhere in print and electronic publications from newspapers to TV and radio newscasts, even to sermon series. A sharp downturn in world economics, which has resulted in a downturn in business with lay-offs and increasing unemployment here in Indiana, across the country and around the world may be directly responsible for us seeing the word "hope" more often these days. In his inaugural address, President Barack Obama called for an end... -- more --

Indiana

'NOW' campaign pushes urgency of prayer and actions

2/4/2009

Imagine nine regional churches coming together to speak the same language: the language of urgency for our congregations and community. Now. Not yesterday; not tomorrow; but Now. This message is being heard in Greene and Owen Counties through five United Methodist congregations [Bloomfield, Freedom, Greene County Chapel, Solsberry, and Folsom Memorial]; as well as other local congregations - Baptist, Disciples of Christ, Independent Christian and Full Gospel. The message is being carried out... -- more --

ACTS celebrates tenth summer work camp

2/4/2009

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Answering the Call To Serve (ACTS) celebrates its tenth anniversary this past summer. Blue Grass United Methodist Church, in the Evansville District, has sponsored this six-day work camp since June 2000. United Methodist campers have come from every corner of the state to participate in this youth-centered program. Each year more than 80 youth and adult campers converge at Camp Reveal in Evansville to begin their life-changing week. Blue Grass UMC facilities also are used... -- more --

Bishop names ten new districts and their superintendents

2/4/2009

Indiana Bishop Mike Coyner named the ten District Superintendents who will lead the new 10-district model of the Indiana Conference beginning in 2010. The final district lines will be tweaked by the Bishop and Cabinet after the upcoming Ministry Cluster Tip-Offs in February and March, a map from the approved Imagine Indiana Plan shows the current plans for those district lines is available online. District 1 will be called the North District and will be served by the Rev. Cindy... -- more --

Celebrating race relations among three congregations

2/4/2009

NEW HARMONY, Ind. - Fifty people of Stewartsville United Methodist Church, Cynthiana UMC, and Olive Branch Missionary Baptist Church of Princeton, Ind., came together Jan. 18 at Stewartsville UMC and shared dinner followed by a service commemorating the celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. This event was the result of the admiration, friendship and love shown between the Revs. Andres Paris, Sr. and Bill Ping, an acquaintance, that began while Ping was working part-time as a... -- more --

Fifty-three United Methodists to serve in U.S. Congress

2/4/2009

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - Fifty-three United Methodists will serve in the 111th United States Congress, a decline of eight from the last three Congresses, but the denomination still ranks third in total congressional membership. While there are seven newly elected United Methodists in the 111th Congress, compared to five in the 110th Congress, an unusual number of Methodist members retired, died in office or were defeated for re-election, resulting in the overall reduction. The new Congress convened... -- more --

Fire destroys cabin at Epworth Forest in North Webster

2/4/2009

NORTH WEBSTER, Ind. - Fire destroyed Redwing, one of the cabins at Epworth Forest Conference Center in North Webster, Ind. on Jan. 14. The building was not occupied by guests and no one was injured during the fire. Epworth Forest is one of four camp sites of the Indiana United Methodist Conference in North Indiana. Each summer, the grounds are home to week-long senior high ministry events, a special needs camp for more than one hundred unique adults, and a camp for at-risk children in... -- more --

Joy Moore to speak on new technologies at Our Life Together clergy retreat

2/4/2009

INDIANAPOLIS - The Rev. Dr. Joy Moore will be joining the ranks of other guest speakers at the upcoming Our Life Together retreat for Indiana's United Methodist clergy. The conference is to be held April 20-21 at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, 100 West 86th Street, one block west of North Meridian Street from 9 a.m. on April 20 to 3:15 p.m. on April 21. Moore will hold a workshop titled: "Holy Friendships in an iPod, YouTube, Wii Environment." She serves as... -- more --

Next steps to the new Indiana Conference

2/4/2009

Note: This E-pistle, which appeared online Jan. 30, continues reports about the next steps being taken as we move into the new Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church. You are welcome to share these reports. As we continue the transition into the new Indiana Conference, the next step is launching our Ministry Clusters. The Cabinets and I are hosting a series of Tip-Off Events in February and March. These events will be held within the bounds of the ten new districts, and... -- more --

NOMADS is UMC's best kept volunteer-in-mission secret

2/4/2009

For those unfamiliar with Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service (NOMADS), it is a volunteer mission outreach ministry of The United Methodist Church. The NOMADS' program is specific to individuals and couples with RV's who wish to be involved in Christian service. Participants furnish their own RV and all costs for traveling to the mission sites, prepare their own meals while at a project and work four days a week for three weeks, totaling about 24 to 28 hours per week. NOMADS works for... -- more --

Noted church music scholar to speak Feb. 17 at UIndy

2/4/2009

Saliers INDIANAPOLIS (UIndy) -A noted authority on the music of United Methodist worship will speak Feb. 17 at the University of Indianapolis. The Rev. Don E. Saliers, emeritus professor of theology and worship at Emory University's Candler School of Theology, is the featured speaker for the annual Showers Lectures in the Christian Religion. Two lectures, free and open to the public, are scheduled at 4 and 7... -- more --

Students clean up yards for Lafayette area senior citizens

2/4/2009

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - To fix the problem of those stubborn leaves that invariably fall, Wesley Foundation has spearheaded a service project called Winterization Planning Crew for the past seven years. The aim is to gather Christian students from all of Purdue's various religious groups wanting to spread God's love to the community's elderly and disabled residents as they help them prepare their homes for winter. The volunteer crew began working months before its service day on Nov. 15. The... -- more --

University of Indianapolis student crowned Miss America

2/4/2009

Katie Stam's involvement with UIndy campus TV, scholarship and focus on community service helped her achieve the 2009 Miss America pageant title. INDIANAPOLIS (UIndy) - University of Indianapolis senior Katie Stam was crowned Miss America 2009 on Jan.24 in Las Vegas. She is the first Hoosier to claim the title in the pageant's 88-year history. Stam, a Missouri Synod Lutheran, daughter of Keith and Tracy Stam of... -- more --

Volunteers build bunk beds for Pine Creek campers

2/4/2009

PINE VILLAGE, Ind. - North Indiana's Impact 2818 camping program is being blessed, and the campers will definitely notice. Pine Creek Camp, in Pine Village, Indiana, has been in great need of new bunk beds for each cabin. What started out as a 30-bed job quickly spread to over one hundred beds. Alan Riendeau and his group of volunteers stepped up for an exciting challenge full of construction. Riendeau began by building beds for the Habitat for Humanity, as well as, doing much mission work... -- more --

National

Faithful son leaves $2 million to small rural church

2/4/2009

Hopewell United Methodist Church in Blairsville, Pa., has inherited $2 million from a former church member who was carrying out his mother's wishes. John Ferguson, 71, died in 2007. He had lived in a trailer without running water but prospered in business. The church received the money after the will went through probate. Church members knew the family intended to leave the money but had no idea how much it would be. "We had our jaws in our laps for a couple of weeks," said the Rev.... -- more --

Social action agency sets federal legislative priorities

2/4/2009

WASHINGTON (UMNS) - The United Methodist General Board of Church and Society has set six legislative priorities for the 111th United States Congress. The priorities address issues as sweeping as overcoming global poverty and as specific as increasing spending for international family planning. Systemic reform, however, stands out as the linchpin holding all of the priorities together. The priorities support actions taken by the 2008 General Conference, the denomination's highest policy-making... -- more --

UMCOR's 100-Ton Challenge is over halfway mark

2/4/2009

Since the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) issued its 100-Ton Challenge for United Methodists to increase their purchases of fairly traded goods on World Fair Trade Day 2008, 56.5 tons have been purchased towards this goal. The goods, purchased through the UMCOR Coffee Project and its partner Equal Exchange, ensure that small-scale farmers receive a fair wage for their crops. The 100-Ton Challenge which ends on World Fair Trade Day, May 9, 2009, is just over the half-way mark.... -- more --

Global

Africa University students struggle to pay fees

2/4/2009

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - The economic climate of Zimbabwe is making it difficult for some Africa University students to pay their fees and continue their education without further scholarship and financial aid assistance. Although fees have not increased at the United Methodist-related university, that fact hardly seems to matter to families trying to survive an unprecedented economic decline. Currently, the inflation rate is around 230 million percent. More than 80 percent of workers are... -- more --

Pension board divests stock because of Sudan involvement

2/4/2009

EVANSTON, Ill. (UMNS) - The United Methodist Board of Pension and Health Benefits, based in Evanston, Ill., has divested its 67,350 shares in the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd. of Dehradun, India, because the company is engaged in Sudanese oil exploration and production through its foreign exploration arm, ONGC Videsh Ltd. The company also owns shares in several Sudanese oil-producing ventures and helped build a pipeline in that African country. The 2008 General Conference, the... -- more --

UMCOR responds to Gaza emergency relief needs

2/4/2009

NEW YORK (UMNS) - With a tentative cease-fire holding between Israel and Hamas, humanitarian organizations are stepping up their assistance to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Action by Churches Together (ACT), representing more than 130 church-based relief agencies, including the United Methodist Committee on Relief and Church World Service, has issued an appeal for $4 million to provide immediate relief there. UMCOR has requested that its $50,000 grant to ACT be implemented through... -- more --

Viewpoints

Discerning the right questions

2/4/2009

My daddy used to say discernment requires asking the right questions. I agree. Take an apple orchard for example. One can look at the tree and ask how many bushels of apples are on the tree. Take a bushel of apples and count how many pies can be made. Finally, cut open the apple, take out the seeds and wonder how many trees are in the apple. The questions of discernment for the orchard are: Has the tree faithfully produced? Was the harvest received in hope? Has the future been claimed as... -- more --

Taking life off-line from time to time

2/4/2009

I'm certain most United Methodist pastors in Indiana have, at one time or another, been asked to pray with a parishioner over the phone. Sometimes these phone calls find us in early morning or in the sudden shock of loneliness or fear that the aged may experience. Sometimes the call comes in before an unannounced surgery, when family members call us at the last minute to "pray up" a loved one before the anesthesia is applied. And then, there are always those calls that come on a cell... -- more --

United States has power to do good

2/4/2009

There we were, squeezing into a Metro train car in Silver Spring, Md. The train was so packed that no one had to grasp the handrail as we traveled to the Capitol. We were holding each other up. Pickens A spirit of hopefulness, pride and joy permeated the atmosphere at 4 a.m. on Jan. 20, even before the dawn. It was Inauguration Day, and 2 million people had gathered to see what is great about our... -- more --

Chronicles

Annual Conference worship team being formed

2/4/2009

The Indiana Annual Conference worship team director is now recruiting musicians for the June 25-28 session. Worship team members need to be self-motivated, college age and beyond, have the ability to learn music quickly, the ability to receive music and work on learning their part ahead of rehearsals. Team members must have the availability to attend all day rehearsals in Indianapolis Saturday April 25, Saturday, June 6, and in Muncie at Ball State University afternoon day and evening... -- more --

Bishop encourages Greenwood church members, confirmands

2/4/2009

GREENWOOD, Ind. - Bishop Mike Coyner came to Greenwood United Methodist Church on Sunday, Jan. 11, worshiped and celebrated Communion with these confirmands (pictured). He shared words of strength and encouragement in light of the tragedy the church has been through in the past few years with a theft and financial struggles. ... -- more --

Bishop names Cobb, Kite, Keith, Schaar to new posts

2/4/2009

Cobb INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Bishop Mike Coyner recently named current Superintendent of the Calumet District, the Rev. Michelle Cobb, to be the first Director of the Well-Lived Pastoral Life Project, funded by a Lilly Endowment grant received by the Indiana Area. THe project will work under the direction of the Rev. David V.W. Owen in Bishop Coyner's... -- more --

Church leaders to 'focus' on children

2/4/2009

Gordon NASHVILLE, Tenn. - In July 2009 the leaders of ministries with children are invited to attend a quadrennial event called Focus. The Focus 2009 event will be held July 21-24 in Indianapolis and is sponsored by the United Methodist General Board of Discipleship. Focus began 30 years ago in response to the International Year of the Child. "The important thing is that children are put in our... -- more --

Deaths for February 2009

2/4/2009

THOMAS W. ABBOTT, retired pastor (former SIC), died Jan. 11, 2009. A memorial service was held Jan. 25 in Indianapolis. Memorial contributions can be made to the South Indiana Conference Retired Ministers Fund, United Methodist Foundation of South Indiana, 3530 South Keystone Avenue, Suite 300, Indianapolis, IN 46227. INA PEARL BARNES, mother of Mary Barnes director of the South Indiana Media Center in Bloomington, died Jan. 11, 2009. A memorial service was held Jan. 16 in Linton. A second... -- more --

Hamilton UMC celebrates 170 years of ministry

2/4/2009

The Hamilton United Methodist Church in the Fort Wayne District, celebrated 170 years of ministry during special services on Oct. 19 led by current pastor, Jack Smith (pictured to the right). Special guests included District Superintendent David Michel and four former pastors, (pictured here left to right: Amos McGinnis, Herschel Murray, John Cowan and Ed Clark, plus former members and friends. The church honored Alice Houlton, a member since 1925. ... -- more --

S. Indiana Foundation in need of digital images

2/4/2009

INDIANAPOLIS - Help us celebrate what God is doing here in Indiana and include your church in the United Methodist Foundation of South Indiana's 2008 Annual Report. This year, the Foundation would like to have digital pictures of Confirmation classes and/or Confirmation services. The pictures don't have to have to be recent but if you have older photos, we ask that you scan them so they can be sent electronically. Digital images should be in jpg (preferably) or tif format. Please include the... -- more --

Santa Claus Camp announces summer 2009 dates, seeks cook

2/4/2009

The dates for the Evansville District Outdoor Ministries Camp dates for Summer 2009 at Santa Claus UM Church Camp are: June 15-20: D1A Elementary Camp, for campers entering grades 4-6. Director Jill Johnson; June 15-17: D1B First Timers Camp *NEW THIS SUMMER! For campers entering grades 3-4. Director Laurie Robinson; June 22-27: D2 Jr. High Camp, for campers entering grades 7-8. Directors Amy Steele & Jennifer Pusateri; June 29- July 3: D3 Sr. High Camp, for campers entering grades 10-12.... -- more --

Volunteer in Mission leader training coming March 14

2/4/2009

An Indiana Conference Volunteers in Mission Team Leader Training event will be held Saturday, March 14 at the New Life United Methodist Church on U.S. 31 in Mexico, Ind., from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Penny Krug will be the trainer for this day-long event. Who should attend? Leaders and or participants of local church or district work teams, and youth leaders who are involved or would like to be involved in youth volunteer in mission projects. The cost is $10 per person and includes lunch and... -- more --