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March 2010 Together

Cover Story

'Wesley' may be coming to a theater near you

3/10/2010

A Moravian preacher is bringing the film “Wesley” to a movie theater near you. The two-hour movie that is slowly building a platform in theaters across the United States not only brings to life John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, but also his mother, brother, Georgia girlfriend and an assorted group of uptight religious leaders and hired thugs.The Rev. John Jackman, 53, pastor of Trinity Moravian Church in Winston-Salem, N.C., says he got into the movie business as a way of... -- more --

From the Bishop

Making the connection

3/10/2010

I write in the afterglow of the March 6 Bishop’s Confirmation Rally held at First United Methodist Church in Noblesville, with nearly 600 confirmation youth and their adult leaders participating in this memorable event. It was a great day, and I was impressed with the energy, passion, spiritual devotion and inquiring intellect of those young people. Imagine a large room filled with all of those junior high youth, singing, praising God, responding to the various speakers, enjoying the... -- more --

Welcome

A time of preparation, reflection for the church in Indiana

3/10/2010

Lent has been noted as a time of preparation and reflection. The March issue of Together has many stories to reflect upon as we move through this time of preparation. For more than 590 confirmands and their leaders from across the state, the Connect Bishop’s Confirmation Rally was a meaningful time for youth to connect with Bishop Mike Coyner and the church beyond their own congregations. These young people will soon become the newest members of our United Methodist family across... -- more --

Indiana

Bishop announces hiring of three new staff members

3/10/2010

Player Burkhart Hayton INDIANAPOLIS – Indiana Bishop Mike Coyner announced in February the employment of three new Indiana Conference Center staff members in financial services. Heidi Player joined the conference center staff in February. She serves as acting controller until March 31. She continues her work in finances which began... -- more --

Bishop shares his favorites, discusses faith at confirmation rally

3/10/2010

NOBLESVILLE, Ind. – More than 590 youth and their sponsors from across Indiana heard Bishop Mike Coyner answer three dozen questions he selected from more than 113 questions submitted by the youth. Subjects ranged from what is your favorite color to do you believe everyone is going to heaven? The question-and-answer session was an hour-long segment of the larger six-hour “Connect” Confirmation Rally sponsored March 6 by the Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church... -- more --

Conference treasurer announces new place to send checks

3/10/2010

Many changes have come with the creation of the new Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, including how the conference treasurer handles the receipts from local churches to the district, annual conference and other mission giving. In December, Conference Treasurer Jennifer Gallagher asked local church treasurers to send all such giving to a local post office box with the U.S. Postal Service. From there, all receipts were forwarded to a centralized bank processing point. Gallagher... -- more --

Indiana Annual Conference Laity Manuscript Contest announced

3/10/2010

Each year the Indiana Conference Board of Laity offers the opportunity to all laity of the Indiana Conference to express thanks and praise God by submitting an original sermon manuscript for judging. The theme this year is “What Does It Take To Be A Fruitful United Methodist Congregation?” Due to the full agenda of the Laity Session, it is necessary that the sermon be no more than 15 minutes in length. Entries are judged based on creative and original development of the theme, but... -- more --

Indiana Conference giving to general church near bottom of list

3/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS – During the recent Leadership Table meeting at the Indiana Conference Center, leaders learned the Indiana Conference was near the bottom of the list of annual conferences in terms of paying their general church or denominational apportionments to The United Methodist Church. There was only one conference below the two former Indiana conferences. The General Council on Finance and Administration reported the former North and South Indiana conferences gave only 53.58 percent... -- more --

Indiana selected as pilot conference for new scouting ministry post

Nashville agency seeks adults who love

3/10/2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The United Methodist Office of Scouting Ministries is looking for scouting advocates to help Indiana churches establish and expand scouting ministry opportunities. The National Office of Scouting Ministries has selected Indiana as a pilot conference to test the effectiveness of “Scouting Ministry Specialists.” Volunteer specialists will provide neighboring churches with information about the Programs of Religious Activities with Youth (PRAY), training... -- more --

Leadership joins bishop in blessing Indiana Conference Center

3/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS – To the sound of bells and liturgy, the 35-member Indiana Conference Leadership Team joined Bishop Mike Coyner in blessing the new Indiana Conference Center on Carmel’s southside. Preceding lunch during the Feb. 27 Conference Leadership Team meeting, Coyner led members through the center stopping in each area. June Owen, Marsha Coyner and Debbie Bushfield rang bells and a team member read a blessing for that area of the center, followed by a response from the whole... -- more --

Memoirs of DePauw University's forgotten founder published

3/10/2010

GREENCASTLE, Ind. — DePauw’s Forgotten Founder: The Memoirs of Calvin Washington Ruter has been published by the Archives of DePauw University and Indiana United Methodism. Wesley W. Wilson, coordinator of archives and special collections at DePauw, is co-editor of the book. Ruter (1794-1859), a Methodist minister in Ohio and pioneer Indiana, was described by contemporaries as “... a vigorous man ... who possessed a strong, clear voice, well adapted to outdoor... -- more --

South Bend church blessed by building, walking labyrinth

3/10/2010

SOUTH BEND, Ind. – In exploring ways to nurture spiritual growth, the Spiritual Life Center team of Grace United Methodist Church in South Bend built a permanent outdoor labyrinth. Team members say the labyrinth represents a journey to a spiritual connection with God and then back out again into the world. Labyrinths have long been used as meditation and prayer tools. With the encouragement of Senior Pastor David Schrader, team members began by visiting and walking several labyrinths in... -- more --

Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program seeks nominations

3/10/2010

CRAWFORDSVILLE, Ind. (Wabash College) – The Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program seeks nominations for participants in its two-year program beginning in January 2011. Eighteen talented, younger pastors of Christian congregations in Indiana who have demonstrated during their first five to ten years of ministry a high potential for significant leadership will be named Wabash Pastoral Fellows. They will participate in a series of meetings and conversations with outstanding leaders, and two... -- more --

Global

Change the world -- starting with your community

The weekend of April 24-25

3/10/2010

What if on one weekend all around the world, United Methodists came together to work with their local communities? As we serve people locally, we unite globally to eliminate a preventable, treatable disease that kills one child every 30 seconds? “We all want to see change in the world and by serving our local communities. We get to see that change up close and personal, but we also can touch those we do not see and may never meet. By raising awareness and funds, we can save lives and... -- more --

Chilean Methodists pray for guidance

3/10/2010

Living in a country experienced with earthquakes, Methodists in Chile knew how to react when the big one came along. As she felt the tremors of the 8.8 magnitude earthquake early on Feb. 27, Gloria Millar realized that she was too close to the sea and evacuated her home in Penco, a coastal town just seven miles from Concepción, which was devastated by the quake. The Rev. J. Daniel Pacheco and his family left the parsonage in Lota, five blocks from the water, and spent the rest of the... -- more --

Connectional giving, Web ministry courses coming online

3/10/2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UM Communications) –United Methodist Communications will soon be offering two online courses. Both “Turning Connectional Giving into Connectional Living” and “What Is Web Ministry” are now open for pre-registration. Here are course descriptions: “Turning Connectional Living into Connectional Giving” (CG101) is a free, basic online course that explores how to turn our connectional living as United Methodists into connectional giving... -- more --

Dalai Lama to talk about wisdom, compassion

Sponsored by Interfaith Hunger Initiative

3/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS – The Dalai Lama will give a public talk at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday, May 14 at 9:30 a.m. The event will be hosted by the Interfaith Hunger Initiative (IHI) of Indianapolis, the Tibetan Mongolian Buddhist Cultural Center of Bloomington and the Indiana Buddhist Center. The title of his talk, “Facing Challenges with Compassion and Wisdom,” reflects the core mission of these groups as well as speaking directly to issues central to today’s... -- more --

OC coordinators discover crisis with English in West Africa

3/10/2010

Note: This story was edited from reports submitted by the Rev. Joe and Carolyn Wagner writing from Liberia and Sierra Leone as coordinators of Indiana-based United Methodist-related Operation Classroom. Operation Classroom coordinators, the Rev. Joe and Carolyn Wagner, have discovered one major problem this past month in the West Africa nations of Sierra Leone and Liberia – English. The discovery became apparent after visiting seven Operation Classroom-related schools in Liberia. Joe... -- more --

Tents desperately needed in Haiti for earthquake survivors

Rainy season coming

3/10/2010

HAMMOND, Ind. – Friends of the Orphans, a Chicago-based charity with Roman Catholic roots serving South America and the Caribbean, and Children of Abraham, an Indiana Conference Advance Special with offices at Hammond First UMC, have been resupplying the Saint Damien Children’s Hospital in Haiti. This 120-bed hospital currently has 700 people in serious or critical condition under its care. Children of Abraham have been supplying medical supplies and many additional beds, as well... -- more --

Viewpoints

Dining with Jesus

Body, Mind & Spirit

3/11/2010

Food has always been important in the church. Through food we encounter not only a deeper connection with each other, but also with God – the Giver of sustenance and life. I suppose this is why congregations still have pitch-in dinners (although these are not as commonplace as they once were), and why meals represent special social occasions in the church. Of course, The Lord’s Supper is a spiritual meal – simple as it is – but profound in its implications for... -- more --

John Wesley operated loan scheme for Methodists in London, England

3/10/2010

Here is an excerpt from The Rev. Jennifer Potter’s recent article in Window on Wesley’s, the newsletter of Wesley’s Chapel in London, England. She writes: If you walk down City Road from Wesley’s Chapel… you [might] find yourself in Lackington Street. That street name commemorates a remarkable man and behind the success of that remarkable man was the loan scheme that John Wesley operated from the Foundery. The Foundery was Wesley’s first London... -- more --

Letters to the Editor

3/10/2010

Mission projects Two of the practices of The United Methodist Church that I have really appreciated and liked are our connectionalism and our supporting programs and missions through apportionments. From one of the churches that I served in the past, a doctor became a United Methodist missionary and went into the African mission field and became very skilled in Christ-centered treatment of African diseases and illnesses. However, he admitted that when he came home and spoke at churches, he... -- more --

Many graduate students have something in common -- debt

Let’s talk

3/11/2010

What do many medical school graduates and many seminary graduates have in common? Education debt!* What do a financially uninformed medical doctor and a financially un-informed clergy person who do not address their education indebtedness have in common? Stress and growing indebtedness. What is the difference between a financially uninformed medical doctor and a financially uninformed pastor of the Indiana Conference? The pastor has the opportunity to receive assistance in reducing and/or... -- more --

Northeast District to begin open campaign

3/10/2010

The camping ministry of the Indiana Conference is the most effective and powerful tool of the church to bring children, youth and young adults to Christ. In 2009, more than 1,000 children and youth made a first-time commitment to Christ through the camping ministry of the Indiana Conference. Church camp is evangelism and discipleship. The campaign to raise $10 million for the construction of six new cabins at the Epworth Forest campus has reached the milestone of raising more than $2 million... -- more --

Chronicles

Conference, health network partner to provide health ministry workshop

3/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church and Community Health Network of Indianapolis are partnering to promote health ministry and parish nursing across Indiana. As a result of a recent United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) grant, they are pleased to offer a health ministry workshop for the West and Southwest Districts of the conference. This class is open to all parishioners and pastors who are interested in including health ministry as a part of their... -- more --

Indianapolis UM-related community center celebrates literacy mission

3/10/2010

The Brightwood Community Center Literacy Center Open House is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24. Brightwood is located at 2410 N. Station Street, one block west of Sherman Drive, in a brick church with a green steeple. Enter from the back of the building. Bishop Mike Coyner plans to participate in this celebration. The National Council on Educating Black Children’s Executive Director, Diana Daniels, also plans to be present. NCEBC sponsors the Literacy Center at Brightwood Community... -- more --

Lectures series to take up Christian approaches to interfaith relations

3/10/2010

The 2010 Showers Lectures at the United Methodist-related University of Indianapolis will take place on Tuesday, April 6. Father David Burrell, Emeritus Professor of Philosophy and Theology of the University of Notre Dame, will be giving this year’s lectures. The focus of the lectureship will be Christian approaches to interfaith relations. The first lecture will take place at 4 p.m. in McCleary Chapel in the Schwitzer Student Center. The title of that presentation is “What I (as a... -- more --

Professor's book offers new look at John Wesley as theologian

3/10/2010

A University of Indianapolis professor’s new book uses recent research on the concept of emotion to take a fresh look at the work of John Wesley, the influential 18th-century thinker and founder of the Methodist movement. Gregory S. Clapper is the author of The Renewal of the Heart is the Mission of the Church: Wesley’s Heart Religion in the Twenty-First Century, published by Cascade Books. In his fifth book, Clapper combines an analysis of Wesley’s writings – which... -- more --

Stewardship-philanthropy event coming to Indiana

3/10/2010

INDIANAPOLIS – The North American Conference on Christian Philanthropy will be held April 14-16 in Indianapolis at the Sheraton Hotel City Centre downtown. NACCP is designed for pastors, lay leaders, church finance administrators, as well as gift and financial planning professionals. The event will feature three plenary speakers including: Dr. Bill Enright, director of the Lake Family Institute, John Wimmer of the Lilly Endowment, Inc. and Dr. Una Osili, director of the Indiana... -- more --

Volunteer for Haiti earthquake relief

3/10/2010

Mission Volunteers in conjunction with the North Central Jurisdictional United Methodist Volunteers In Mission 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 in. I have received names and e-mails from many persons and would ask that you go to this Web site and register your intent to volunteer in Haiti in the future, along with your skills and aptitudes for being a... -- more --

Volunteer in Mission team leader training coming in March, April

3/10/2010

United Methodist Committee on Relief Trainer, Penny Krug of South Bend, will be holding special Volunteer in Mission local team leader training in Indiana, Saturdays, March 20 and April 10, to prepare Volunteers in Mission leaders, especially in light of the Haiti relief efforts following the earthquake in January. The events will be held Saturday, March 20 at First UMC at 219 East Fourth Street (downtown) in Bloomington, Ind. and Saturday, April 10 at New Life UMC at 3039 W 400 N (on US 30)... -- more --