Turning remembrances into opportunities

September has become days of remembrance. This year we commemorate the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina's devastating effects on the Gulf Coast and mark the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, a benchmark date in United States history and the subsequent Iraq War, also known as the War on Terrorism.

Hoosier United Methodists also mark another date, November 6, 2005, when a deadly tornado claimed 25 lives and devastated homes and businesses along with Baker Chapel United Methodist Church in DeGonia Springs, Ind., a small rural community in the state's southwest.

As Christians and people of faith, we also have turned these remembrances into opportunities. In the past year, we have sent 17 truck loads of supplies to the Gulf Coast. Hundreds of Hoosier United Methodists have spent thousands of hours helping hurricane survivors rebuild their homes in Louisiana and Mississippi. Both conferences have teamed together to provide fellow United Methodists in the Seashore District of Mississippi with a volunteer center to assist others during the next ten years of Gulf Coast reconstruction.

Such volunteer in mission work for United Methodists is part of who we are. Doctrinal debates seem secondary to providing for those in need whether they are in Mississippi, Liberia, Haiti, Sri Lanka, Congo, Darfur, Lebanon or the West Bank, to mention a few places our dollars and our talents are used for humanitarian needs and the furtherance of God's reign in the world.

This month opportunities abound as

Baker Chapel receives the assistance of New York City firefighters to frame the walls of its new building Sept. 8-10.
Volunteers continue to head for the Gulf Coast to rebuild what Katrina destroyed.
Hundreds of United Methodists join one of several CROP WALKS across the state this month and next, to raise both awareness of world hunger and thousands of dollars for food and crop production across Indiana and around the world.
Hundreds plan to rally at the county courthouse in Fort Wayne the afternoon of Sept. 17 to protest the actions of the Sudanese government against its citizens in Darfur.
The Imagine Indiana Planning Team and its 14 Discernment Groups begin to listen to the comments of fellow United Methodists statewide in their hopes and dreams for the future of The United Methodist Church in Indiana.
The Indiana Coalition Against Legalized Gambling will strategize to halt the expansion of legalized gambling in Indiana during the upcoming General Assembly in January.
The Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition continues to assist communities across the state in approving smoke-free workplace ordinances to curb the use of tobacco.
Operation Classroom continues work trips and financial support to schools and hospitals in Liberia and Sierra Leone follow deadly civil wars.

Remembrance and opportunities - somewhat the ebb and flow of Christian mission and witness built upon a sure foundation of God's love through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Do this in remembrance of me means more than a Communion meal, but doing the work of the church in our communities, state, country and world.

Welcome to this September issue of Together, as we remember the anniversaries of tragedies which provided us unique opportunities to serve Christ and His church in meaningful ways.

- Daniel R. Gangler

Last updated on 25 Apr 2008

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