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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
| Hoosier United Methodist News |
October 2001 |
Zionsville UMC takes prayer on the road
Just before midnight on Aug. 31, a prayer was carried out of the old Zionsville UMC and it arrived at their new church building shortly after midnight on Sept. 1.
Symbolically, it was the last bit to be moved from the old facility to the new. And, more specifically, it wasn't "a prayer" that was carried, it was more than 70 silent prayers carried in the hearts of those who made the one-mile journey representing the entire congregation.
As the group left the sanctuary of the 40-year-old structure, the doors were locked behind them. Arriving at the newly constructed building, the doors were opened, and the prayer group moved into the new, yet-to-be-finished chapel. The congregation's traditional song of benediction was sung, and the silent prayers were continued. The spiritual heart of the church was now in its new home.
Brown baggin' it
Following the lead of the Bishop's Initiative on Children and Poverty, churches from the Muncie District rallied this summer to provide lunches for children in their communities. Muncie High Street UMC made a commitment to supply a daily lunch to Madison Street Community Center, while Gethsemane and College Ave. UMCs provided for the Buley Center. Sunday school classes, Disciple groups, youth and many more gathered each week to make sandwiches, wash fruit and fill brown paper bags. Between the three churches, they served lunch to almost 200 children each day.
Churches take step toward ending racism
As part of a larger, multi-denominational effort called Celebration of Hope, the Rev. Philip Dorrell of Southport UMC, Indianapolis West District, and Pastor Clarence Moore of Northside New Era conducted worship services at each other's churches in August and September.
Both pastors say they are interested in this effort because they want to "model the kingdom," fostering unity and understanding among all God's children -- red and yellow, black and white -- while those children are still on earth. "This is a great way for us to develop brotherhood," Moore said, adding that as a kingdom-building church, NNE is charged with spreading the Gospel to all people, regardless of race.
"I just felt it would be good for our growth and our discipleship, to grow in our willingness to be accepting and understanding of others," said Rev. Dorrell. Reprinted with permission from the NNE newsletter.
20,000 lbs. of generosity
Many Hoosier UM News readers may have read about Stan Parka and Carrollton UMC in a recent Indianapolis Star article. Stan and his wife started a garden ministry in Carrollton after Stan retired from Lilly as a research scientist. The couple began raising a vegetable garden and when the harvest became too much they started delivering what they didn't need to Gleaner's Food Bank. Stan planted and harvested while his wife drove the truck to the food bank, until this year, when Stan learned that he had prostate cancer.
Initially, Stan considered ending the garden ministry. That was until members of his church, Carrollton UMC, volunteered to help out. Stan supplies the seed, fertilizer, trucks, land and other necessary items. Members of Carrollton have faithfully volunteered to plant and harvest the crops. As of August, Stan and the members of Carrollton UMC had collected 20,000 lbs. of tomatoes, green beans, peppers, eggplant and squash. According to Carrollton's pastor, the Rev. Karen Powell, "This is a great example of a small church (74 members) making a big difference in feeding the hungry."
Retired greyhound finds joy
The greyhound once known as 'Ripe and Ready' when he raced at Daytona Dog Track didn't win a race, but he won the hearts of Bill and Liz Morken.
Bill and Liz, members of The Garden, Indianapolis West District, rescued Ripe and Ready after his racing days were over. Since they adopted the greyhound, the Morken's renamed him 'Torrence,' the dog's original kennel name.
Bill, Liz and Torrence were part of a recent service at The Garden devoted to the enrichment that pets bring into our lives. Following the service, the couple was on hand to greet persons interested in knowing more about adopting a greyhound.
The 'hottest' lunch in town
While some activities slow down in the summer, things heated up, literally, for some United Methodist Women at St. Luke's UMC, Indianapolis West District. Working through Fletcher Place Community Center, the group provided sack lunches on two occasions for more that 150 children and some adults at Stacy Park. Children lined up patiently on one of the hottest days of the summer to receive their lunches, packed in bags decorated with greetings and good wishes by children who attended St. Luke's Vacation Church School. Reprinted with permission from "The Communion".
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Does your church have a Brite Idea? If so, describe your "creative" ministry in 300 words or less. Include a sharp photo, noting who is in the picture and what's going on. Also, please note your name and daytime phone number. Send to: Brite Idea -- Hoosier UM News, 1100 W. 42nd St., Suite 210, Indianapolis, Ind. 46208, or e-mail: Editor. |
Lafayette churches 'fire up' with Igniting Ministry
By Matthew Oates
Hoosier UM News Correspondent
LAFAYETTE -- Nine United Methodist churches in the Greater Lafayette area are participating in several aspects of the Igniting Ministry campaign this fall.
The churches purchased about 150 television spots on the local cable service, as well as advertising signs rotated around the Greater Lafayette area's mass transit system.
The total -- about $2,000 -- included such labor for the signs and customization of the television commercials.
The blitz kicked off Sept. 1 with the ads running throughout September and the bus signs running through the end of October.
Churches participating include Brown Street UMC, Christ UMC, Congress Street UMC, West Lafayette First UMC, Grace UMC, Heritage UMC, West Lafayette St. Andrew UMC, Trinity UMC and New Road at the Civic Theatre. Brown St. and Heritage are a two-point charge and New Road is a ministry of Trinity.
The churches are utilizing several other aspects of the Igniting Ministry campaign, too. For example, Trinity in downtown Lafayette bought welcome mats, door hangers and postcards for direct mailing.
"By sharing the costs we have been able to do more and by doing more we have been able to lift the presence of United Methodist people into greater visibility," says the Rev. Phil Emerson, Trinity's senior pastor. "Doing these pieces together also provides a clear witness that our area congregations are connected and willing to work as a team for our greater purpose which is to make disciples."
While Emerson says he thinks the program is terrific, the most exciting part is seeing an alert congregation open its heart and mind and fellowship to each new person who comes to the church. "We want to reach the people of the Lafayette region with the good news of Jesus Christ and we particularly want to reach out to welcome those who are seeking for greater meaning in their lives," said Emerson.
Another part of the campaign Trinity used was the "Classifieds" theme. The church took out ads three days a week in the Lafayette Journal and Courier's classified section throughout September. The first day the "Employment" ad ran, about 15 people called the church inquiring about the ad. While most were looking for a job, the staff took the time to invite each of them to worship on Sunday.
Last updated on 01/14/2004