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e-HUM --
Church News Now
March 15, 2002
e-HUM is a free
service of Indiana Area United Methodist Communications (www.inareaumc.org).
Bridging the gap between monthly issues of the "Hoosier United
Methodist News," subscribers will receive late-breaking news,
announcements and Church resources via e-mail. We welcome your comments,
please direct to "e-HUM" editor at ehumeditor@inareaumc.org.
INDIANA
NEWS IN BRIEF
RELIGIOUS LEADERS
PETITION
GOVERNOR TO VETO GAMBLING
With the mandatory March 14 adjournment of Indiana state legislators
looming, Bishop Woodie W. White joined a contingent of religious leaders
at the Statehouse on March 5 for a news conference to express their
objection to Senate Bill 333. The current version of the bill repeals
the cruising requirements of riverboats, allowing gamblers to come and
go freely, the installation of electronic pull-tab machines (similar to
slot machines) at horse tracks throughout the state and the addition of
a new riverboat in French Lick/West Baden.
State religious leaders joined White as he read a public statement
signed by representatives from the Indiana Baptist Convention, Episcopal
Diocese of Indianapolis, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis, the
Society of Friends, Disciples of Christ, United Church of Christ and the
Presbyterian Church, USA. White
explained that it is the judgment of the group that expansion of
gambling would be "unwise as public policy and morally indefensible in
its implication of state encouragement for citizens to divert personal
income in the hope of long-odds windfall gains."
"I plead to legislators to find other ways to solve the budgetary
issues," said White. "I ask the governor (a United Methodist) to
take a serious look and veto any bills that would expand gambling."
The bishop also called upon church members to make their voices heard by
contacting legislators.
Following the press conference, Bishop White led the delegation of
religious leaders to Governor Frank O'Bannon's office to hand
deliver the statement.
Visit www.inareaumc.org/release.htm
to read the Public Statement of Indiana Religious Leaders.
Update:
The 112th General Assembly ended at midnight on March 14
without a final vote on House Bill 1332 (formerly Senate Bill 333),
essentially killing the proposed expansion of gambling in Indiana. At
the time of publication, Gov. Frank O'Bannon is debating a decision to
call the legislature back for a special session.
Delay forces SIC to choose new
building site
The South
Indiana Conference Building Task Force recently announced that the Acuff
Road building site intended for the new conference headquarters had
fallen through. After an extended delay, the task force determined that
the land was "not going to be available in a reasonable amount of time
for our building needs."
The task force redirected their efforts in late 2001,
exploring potential alternative sites. As result of those efforts, a new
building site located in west Bloomington on Liberty Drive has been
chosen. This decision will allow construction of the SIC headquarters to
begin within the coming months. It has always been the desire of the
task force that the building be highly visible. The new site will be
visible and easily accessible from Highway 37.
The site of the new conference headquarters will be located in a
professionally developed technology park. This location provides
established utilities on the edge of the site and lower grading costs
than previously expected. Original designs of the building will be
modified to conform to the layout of the site in relationship to
existing roads and traffic patterns.
Approval
to build a new conference headquarters in Bloomington was given at the
2000 Annual Conference session.
INDIANAPOLIS EAST DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT NAMED
Bishop Woodie W. White has appointed the Rev. J.
William Keith Jr. to serve as the superintendent of the Indianapolis
East District, effective July 1. Keith will succeed the Rev. William
Schwein who has held the position since 2000. Schwein will return to the
local church.
Keith's first appointment was at
Hamlet UMC, a North Indiana Conference church. He has served the South
Indiana Conference for 26 years first at Petersville UMC, Corydon UMC,
New Albany DePauw Memorial UMC, Columbus Sandy Hook UMC and most
recently Bloomington's St. Mark's UMC where he has served since
2000.
The Indianapolis East District consists of 65 churches and a combined
membership of approximately 20,832. It covers Hamilton, Hancock, Johnson
and Marion Counties.
PASTORS UNITE FOR THE 'CHANGING FACE OF INDIANA'
Nearly 200 religious and lay
leaders throughout the state gathered at the Statehouse on Feb. 28 with
the intent of "doing justice" on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual
and transgendered (GLBT) people in Indiana. The Interfaith Coalition on
Nondiscrimination (ICON), a consortium of Indiana religious
organizations dedicated to ending religious and civil discrimination
against GLBT people, met for "Day of Doing Justice." As part of
this full day of events, ICON sponsored a service in the North Hall to
encourage legislators to pass legislation prohibiting discrimination
against GLBT people in employment, housing and public accommodations.
The Rev. Jeff Miner, ICON chair and pastor of Indianapolis' Jesus
Metropolitan Community Church opened the 45-minute service with a
statement of purpose. The most poignant moment of the service came when
the Rev. Judith Carson of Indianapolis' The Church Within, presented
the consortium's letter of support. Addressed to state legislators,
the letter was written in response to growing concern about the human
toll taken by discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender
identity. The names of the 150 Indiana clergy signatories were called
out as 150 crosses, doves and Stars of David were placed on a large map
of the state. Those clergy in attendance circled the state, holding
hands in prayer. According to Miner, "This symbolizes the changing
face of our state."
Of the 150 signatories, 36 were pastors from the
North and South Indiana Conferences. To learn more about ICON and how
you can participate call 317/894-5110.
Church
tax bill stripped of its soul
As reported last month, Senate
Bill 19 passed the Senate by a vote of 48-0. Since that time, Bill 19,
which would have allowed
for 150 acres of church-owned land, buildings and structures to be
exempt from property taxation was stripped of any language protecting
non-profits by the House of Representatives. On Feb. 25 the House
amended Bill 19 by a vote of 95-0, deleting the Senate language and
establishing a summer study committee to investigate the issue of
non-profit taxation.
SOUTH
INDIANA DIPS INTO RESERVE TO FULFILL COMMITMENT
The South Indiana Conference was
recently added to the list of 15 conferences that have paid 100 percent
of the seven general apportioned funds for 2001.
The combined final payment from both the South Indiana and Dakotas
Conferences totaled $278,165, raising the overall receipts to 90.3
percent of the 2001 apportioned amount for general church agencies such
as BGM, BOD, BOOM, etc.
According to Brent Wilson, treasurer of the SIC,
"Like many other conferences and as a reflection of the difficult
financial times, South Indiana is experiencing some decreased receipts
from our churches. As a result, in order to bring our general
apportionments up to date we needed to use some of our reserve. This
payment was approved by the Conference Council on Finance and
Administration at their meeting in late January.
The South Indiana Conference continues to affirm our commitment
to paying these apportionments 100 percent each year."
NATION/WORLD
MISSOURI
CONFERENCES TO VOTE ON MERGER
UMNS -- United Methodists in
Missouri will vote on whether to merge their two annual conferences into
one regional unit of the church when they gather this summer.
The Missouri East and West annual (regional) conferences will vote on
the merger on June 3. If approved, the union would take effect on Jan.
1, and the number of annual conferences in the United States would go to
64.
During their 1999 annual meetings, both
conferences voted to move toward union by 2004. Learn more about United
Methodism in Missouri, www.moumethodist.org.
UMC AND ELCA COMMUNION DIALOGUE
TEAM MEET FOR THIRD ROUND
Dialogue team members representing
the United Methodist Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) met for the third round of talks of working toward full
communion in Orlando, Fla. from Feb. 14-17. Led by United Methodist
Bishop Melvin Talbert of Nashville, Tenn., and ELCA Bishop Allan
Bjornberg of Denver, the team discussed baptism and the Lord's Supper.
The two sides plan to meet again in September and twice during 2003 to
discuss sanctification, justification and the free exchange of clergy.
The ELCA already has established full communion with the Episcopal
Church, Presbyterian Church (USA), United Church of Christ, Reformed
Church in America and the Moravian Church. Read more about this subject
at umns.umc.org/02/feb/060.htm.
Learn more about the ELCA at www.elca.org.
AFRICA UNIVERSITY PLANS
YEAR-LONG CELEBRATION
UMNS -- Africa University, the
only United Methodist-related institution of higher learning in
Zimbabwe, is celebrating its first 10 years. Events will be held
throughout 2002, culminating in a grand celebration Nov. 16. Special
events that are planned include a weekend of training for AU
ambassadors; alumni recruitment and promotion to the business community
in the capital. For details, contact Celinda J. Hughes in the
university's information office at auinfo@ecoweb.co.zw.
NEWS
TO USE
COKESBURY ENTERS E-BOOK
MARKETPLACE WITH 300 TITLES
UMNS -- Cokesbury, the retail and
customer services arm of the United Methodist Publishing House, is now
offering electronic books, or e-books, which can be downloaded and read
on computer. Its initial offering of more than 300 titles includes the
first downloadable edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the
Bible for the Microsoft eBook Reader and for Palm Powered handheld
computers. Cokesbury began offering e-books Feb. 6 at www.cokesbury.com.
CELEBRATE OUR DIVERSITY: NATIVE
AMERICAN AWARENESS SUNDAY
On April 14 United Methodist churches throughout the
connection will help support the ministries and scholarship programs of
UM Native Americans. One of six special church-wide Sundays, Native
American Awareness Sunday is not only a time to support this vital
ministry, but an opportunity for the denomination to celebrate its
diversity. Visit the Native American Communications Office at naco.umcom.org
to learn more.
INDIANA
HAPPENINGS
INDIANAPOLIS TO HOST BMCR MEETING
The 35th Annual Meeting of the
Black Methodists for Church Renewal (BMCR) will be held from April 10-13
at Indianapolis' downtown Hyatt Regency. The theme for this year's
meeting will be "Share the Heritage: Claim the Power -- Make a
Difference."
Bishop Woodie W. White will preside over the evening
Communion service, which will begin at 7 p.m. on the opening day. Topics
of discussion during the meeting will include: "From Drums to the
Digital Divide," "HIV/AIDS," "Equipping the Saints for the Next
Millennium" and "Bridging the Gap: Leading with a Spirit of
Power." A highlight of Friday's banquet dinner will be featured
speaker, the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery, co-founder and former president of
the Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a retired United
Methodist pastor.
For ticket information, contact Deloris Casey at 317/915-1396; e-mail Dhcasey@aol.com.
YOUTH (in)VADE INDIANAPOLIS
The invasion is coming to
Indianapolis April 19-20 at the RCA Dome. Events begin Friday evening
with (in)VADE, a live theatrical event that uses drama, comedy, music,
dancing, multimedia and the latest in technology to bring youth closer
to Christ. This is an opportunity to recharge a youth group and to bring
unchurched youth to an event where they will hear the message in a way
that relates to them personally. Scheduled to appear: Ron Luce,
co-founder of Teen Mania Ministries; Kurt Warner, quarterback of the St.
Louis Rams; Heather Mercer and Dayna Curry will share their experiences
while being held hostage in Afghanistan; and professional wrestlers Ted
Dibiase, Nikita Koloff and Sting.
ANNUAL LAITY RETREATS
FORTHCOMING
Hoosier lay leaders and lay members
to the North and South Indiana Annual Conferences are invited to attend
the annual Laity Retreats, under the direction of Bishop Woodie W.
White. A time for spiritual reflection, the NIC Laity Retreat will be
held April 19-20 at the Wabash Inn; SIC Laity Retreat April 22-23 at the
Holiday Inn Conference Center in Columbus, Indiana. To receive
registration and cost details, contact your respective conference
office: NIC, 800/783-5138; SIC, 800/919-8160.
CHILDREN'S HOME
AUXILARY MEETING SLATED FOR APRIL
The Annual Meeting of the Auxilary to
Indiana United Methodist Children's Home, Inc. is scheduled for April
27 at 10 a.m. in Gress Memorial Chapel. Come and take part in this
morning of fellowship and a program presented by the youth. Plan to stay
for lunch with the boys and girls following the meeting. Tours of the
campus will be available after lunch. To learn more about the meeting
contact the home at 765/482-5900 or visit www.iumch.org.
DISCIPLE BIBLE TRAINING
TO ROLL INTO TOWN
It
was recently announced that a Disciple Bible study training seminar is
scheduled Aug. 22-24 to be held at Indianapolis' St. Luke's UMC.
Since 1987, the Disciple Bible study program has helped to develop
strong Christian leaders in local churches through the in-depth study of
Scripture. Throughout the state of Indiana, 467 churches are enrolled in
Disciple Bible study.
All four phases of the Disciple Bible series will be offered at this
training seminar?"Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study," "Into
the Word, Into the World," "Remember Who You Are," and "Under
the Tree of Life."
For more information on Disciple or to register your church, call toll
free at 800/672-1789.
e-HUM copyright 2002 by
Indiana Area United Methodist Communications. |
