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Laity Session:
Small groups and 'thinking big'
The Conference Laity Session brought more than 500 members in attendance. Worship, led by the Lafayette Christ UMC Praise Team, included readings and prayers from Marion, Michiana and Muncie Districts lay leaders.
As laity arrived, district lay leaders guided them to seats at assigned tables. The assignments were made to facilitate conversations among members who do not already know each other, according to Associate Conference Lay Leader James Ottjes of Daleville.
Jack Dwiggins, Conference Lay Leader, introduced the Rev. Cindy Reynolds. This is her first Annual Conference since she was appointed Council on Ministries Director.
Ed Fenstermacher, Associate Director, Church Development and Revitalization, spoke of the Conference's 2010 plan. He challenged the laity to "think big" about reaching new people for Christ. He cited a church of just 15 members that has started four new churches because they don't think of themselves as "too small."
The table groups were then given four questions to discuss centering around what North Indiana Conference churches are already doing and/or need to do to reach new population groups for Christ.
Dwiggins closed the session in prayer, especially remembering long-time Calumet District lay representative Willie Green from Delaney UMC in Gary, whose wife passed away this week after a long illness. Patti Splitgerber
Clergy Session:
'You represent Christ at all times': Bishop White
Twelve retirees -- representing 412 years of pastoral service -- were honored, and 20 new clergy members were voted into the North Indiana fold yesterday morning. Bishop Woodie W. White gaveled the 35th annual session of the conference to order at the clergy session in Loeb Playhouse.
The retirees were invited on stage to a resounding ovation as the bishop recalled their commitment to ministry. He described their pending retirement as another form of ministry and thanked them for the many lives their service to the Church touched.
The annual clergy session is a hybrid of official business and reunion. Questions prescribed by the Book of Discipline serve as the agenda. The bishop said he was especially appreciative of the retired clergy and those serving in appointments beyond Indiana who traveled a great distance to attend the session.
In light of recent events, the bishop expressed his gratitude to the clergy for bringing a "word from the Lord" after Sept. 11. He challenged those seeking ordination to remember the role they play in society," he said. Parishioners "trust you with their children, with their spouse, with their secrets and with their very souls ... remember that trust, never stain it or violate it. You represent Christ at all times," Bishop White said.
Five clergy were voted into probationary membership status, one as a full member deacon and 14 as elders in full connection. Also recognized were clergy serving as full-time and part-time local pastors. Some 100 pastors were noted in various stages of seminary and Course of Study training.
Since May 30 was the original Memorial Day, Rev. John Wolfe spoke about the 87 Indiana chaplains who served their country during World War II, six of whom are still living. A touching story of the late Rev. Roy Katayama, who faced racism as a Japanese-American, was shared. During a heart-felt prayer, the bishop thanked God for those who paid the ultimate price "so we might enjoy freedom and seek justice."
Pastors who died during the past conference year were recognized in a solemn moment of remembrance. Gary Lewis
Plenary 1:
'This is a new day!' --
We're making new plans
After singing the traditional annual conference anthem, "And Are We Yet Alive," the 35th session of Annual Conference was called to order.
"God is doing a new thing in us," announced Rev. Cindy Reynolds, Conference Council Director, during her report. The CCOM has three operating goals for the upcoming year: excellence in communication and collaboration, intentional leadership development, and holding each other accountable to the priorities of the Conference. "This is a new day!" said Reynolds.
Part of that new day for North Indiana is the extension and further development of the Core Values, which were presented by the Strategy Council. The new sections are "Transformed Leadership" and "Intentional Outreach." The goal is for members to lead from the Core Values and provide opportunities for leaders to be transformed by the power of God, to reach new population groups and to more effectively reach current groups with the transforming message of the Gospel.
Brent Williams, Conference treasurer, provided "exciting" news of the conference's numbers. For the third year in a row, worship and church school attendance increased; although baptisms were down this year. Also, a different way to look at apportionments based on income rather than expenses will be offered. Table 3 was approved by the conference for use in the upcoming year.
In other business:
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About 50 new lay members were welcomed.
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The initial Cabinet report included a new parsonage pet policy, as well as a Cabinet resolution in response to Annual Conference Petition 2 which calls for funding ministry in the 21st century; and support for the construction of a new Worship Center to be named in honor of Bishop Woodie W. White on the West side of Anderson. (Full resolution, page 37-6)
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The Council on Finance and Administration reported there would be no net increase in the proposed 2003 budget from the 2002 budget. Final budget numbers will be presented on Saturday.
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As part of the conference's new day, John Haney continually led the conference in the theme song, "I Sing a New Song." This song will be played throughout conference during breakout sessions, which are also a first. Video testimonies of how Jesus has impacted their lives will also be shown throughout the conference.
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Awards and recognitions: Kamari Odai, a Black College Fund recipient, returned and thanked members for their support of the Black College Fund. Odai attended Rust College, which was the site of an old slave auction and Gen. U.S. Grant's campground during the Civil War. The Rev. Bill Farmer of Kokomo Zion and Beth Helton of Union Chapel Ministries in Muncie received the Denman Evangelism Awards. Matthew Oates
Bearing One Another's Burdens
More than 1,000 teddy bears were brought to annual conference as of Thursday afternoon.
They are part of the "Bearing One Another's Burdens" program, sponsored by the Bishop's Initiative on Children and Poverty. Bears collected by various churches will go to Africa or to local hospitals, shelters and emergency workers.
"There's just so many stories," said the Rev. Heather Olson-Bunnell of Decatur St. Mark's UMC. "It's a very visual symbol of how easily we can be involved with mission projects."
The bears were presented to the conference during the opening worship service by children from the Greater Lafayette area.
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Bears can be dropped off in the Operation Classroom truck located on the west side of Elliott Hall of Music.
Preaching Hour:
Blessings -- and with bears
A parade of children, youth and parents carrying armloads of teddy bears ascend upon the stage during the first moments of 2002 Annual Conference opening worship.
Bishop White thanked the Conference for their generous donations, then blessed the bears to go out and share the love of Christ with children here and around the world.
Bishop Mike Coyner, Dakotas Conference, preached. He is a North Indiana Conference member and was serving as Bishop White's assistant when elected to the episcopacy in 1996.
Coyner told about floods which ravaged the Dakotas, saying that even two and a half years later, long after most recovery efforts had ceased, UMCOR and a other religious relief organizations were still on the scene. "Ministry is about staying connected so that we make a difference in people's lives," said Coyner. "Whether it's teddy bears or sandbags."
A cautious look at September 11
To say that Sept. 11 changed our lives is an understatement; we now look at our safety through more alert eyes.
Rev. Steve Cain, campus minister at the Wesley Foundation at Purdue, presented "Pursing Peace: overcoming the logic of war" as another way to look at the events of 9/11 at the Board of Church and Society luncheon.
The events deserve a cautious response. While searching for justice to be done, said Cain, it is important to not forget and forgo freedom rights for those in United States.
"So, what happened to you after 9/11?" asked Cain, who provided a chart comparing pre- and post-9/11 views on doves, owls and hawks. Most people changed their views, but Cain said, "This affirms everyone in seeking peace."
Also discussed was the call for citizens to call for the establishment of a Truth Commission to investigate what happened, as well as to explore other relationships the government has with other countries.
Linda Bales, program director for the Louise and Hugh Moore Population Project through the General Board of Church and Society, was in attendance at the luncheon and annual conference. Matthew Oates
Memorial Service:
'We have already won!'
During the hectic first day of annual conference, members took time to remember those who have died since last June.
Thirty-one candles were lit -- one for each the 16 pastors, five spouses and 10 surviving spouses. The Rev. Thomas Rough, the Calumet District superintendent who is retiring after 45 years in the ministry, delivered the sermon titled, "We have already won!"
In the sermon, he recalled of time with various friends and various situations throughout ministry that we all encounter. "What is the right word that you can say when you look out on a Sunday morning?" asked Rough, providing examples of how people of various backgrounds come together each Sunday facing a wide variety of situations. "What is the right word?"
During the sermon, his granddaughter, Livia, was brought on stage and spent time with her grandfather. "On the day Livia was baptized her cousin Nicola asked grandma and grandpa, 'Was I appatized?' And we told her, 'Yes, Nicola, you are appatized ... you are baptized ... it was the first course of your life. You are marked by God's love. You are the delight of his life!" exclaimed Rough.
"We have the incredible privilege of standing before people who see only the end of life and ask, 'What's ahead?' And the Good News is everything! We have already won!"
Afterwards, during the annual parade of umbrellas, Livia joined her grandfather on stage and in the parade. Matthew Oates