February 2004

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Highlights from the February issue of Together

Conjoined twins die after four-day life

Their lives were 'a witness to God's goodness and love'

INDIANAPOLIS (UMNS) -- Conjoined twins Stephanie Nicole and Rebecca Marie McCray lived only four days, but they spent their lives surrounded by the love and care of family members and the prayers of United Methodists across Indiana.

The twins died at 8:09 p.m. Jan. 24. The cause of death was listed as abnormalities from birth, a hospital spokesperson said. The girls were born Jan. 20 to April and Rocky McCray of Fort Wayne.

The Rev. John and Marsha Boyanowski were maternal grandparents of the babies. Boyanowski is the pastor of Pleasant Lake United Methodist Church, the church the couple attends.

"They appreciated every moment they had with the girls," says the Rev. Larry Ray, superintendent for the Fort Wayne District in which Boyanowski serves. The babies stayed in the hospital room with the family from their birth, he said.

"They have been able to use this time as a witness to God's goodness and love, no matter what was happening," Ray said.

The twins' funeral was Jan. 28 at Huntertown United Methodist Church. The family belonged to Huntertown for many years before Boyanowski became pastor at Pleasant Lake. Burial was at Highland Park Cemetery in Fort Wayne.

The Fort Wayne District will receive contributions from churches, families and individuals in memory of the twins. The funds will go toward expenses incurred by the family and for any need they have in providing the funeral service. Rays said, "they were covered by medical insurance, however there were many other costs of travel, lodging and meals during the past several days."

Contributions may be sent to the Fort Wayne United Methodist District Office, 9430 Lima Road, Suite B, Fort Wayne, IN 46818.

Pleasant Lake and Huntertown churches are planning benefit dinners and fundraisers to help with expenses for the twins.

Daniel R. Gangler, Matthew Oates and United Methodist News Service writer Kathy L. Gilbert contributed to this story.

Indiana churches take financial dip in 2003

Brighter days expected in 2004

The dismal economy across Indiana in 2003 was reflected financially in both the Indiana North and Indiana South Annual Conferences of The United Methodist Church. Both annual conference treasurers expect a better 2004.

Last year, the North Conference received 83.9 percent of the funds expected through conference apportionments, the amount assigned to congregations by the conference. The South Conference received only 80.5 percent.

The United Methodist Church Treasurer Sandy Lackore reported a similar decline in income nationally. The 2003 year-end figures of what was received were not available at press time, but Lackore reported that year end giving would be about 85 percent of apportionments asked.

Indiana need not feel alone; the story is similar across the country. More than 90 percent of annual conferences have experienced a similar downturn in giving. North Conference Treasurer Brent Williams told Together most annual conference treasurers with whom he has contact experienced a downturn from one to seven percent of receipts compared to 2002.

Williams said, "North Indiana churches really rallied in the last three months of the year (2003) to get us close to last year's (2002) level (of 84.4 percent)."

There were many reasons for the shortfall all related to a sagging economy. Williams said in Indiana high unemployment, several pastors reporting church members loosing jobs, business closings, low return on church and personal investments, and a dim view of the economic future contributed to a sharp decline in giving.

Williams anticipates church income to improve this year. He said he already saw improvements in the last half of 2003. "Interest rates are returning and spending and donations should follow," he said. "We do not anticipate at this time a repeat of 2003 this year. However, (the North Indiana Conference) CF&A will keep a watchful eye on church giving and make prudent decisions in a timely manner if necessary."

Brent Wilson, treasurer of the South Indiana Conference said the 2003 receipts of 80.65 percent was a decrease from 84.02 percent received in 2002. In January 2003, the South Conference implemented a reduced spending plan based upon 2002 receipts. Wilson anticipated a year-end budgetary deficit.

SIC moves to new building

In addition to regular conference expenses, the South Indiana Conference is completing a new conference center building in Bloomington. Wilson said the conference office anticipates moving the weekend of Feb. 21-22. A service of dedication is scheduled for Friday, March 19 at 3 p.m.

The new headquarters facility is located in the Bloomington Technology Park on the west side of the city on Liberty Drive. Construction began on the $2.8 million, 21,000-sq.-foot building in December 2002. The new center includes more than 4,000 sq. feet of meeting space and will include the Bloomington District office.

More good news - Wilson also reports that the current building, constructed in 1963, on Second Street has been sold for $662,500 with a anticipated closing on March 10.

St. Luke's consecrates youth ministry lodge

INDIANAPOLIS - An Indianapolis youth minister began with a vision for a youth ministry facility and a class in church architecture and ended with a custom-built $1-million lodge for youth. That's a miracle.

This youth ministry miracle began two years ago when Brian Durand, director of youth ministry at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis, took a course in church architecture at Christian Theological Seminary and in a project was required to visualize architecture that reflected the ministry.

"I visualized a place that was both open and welcoming to youth and their parents," Durand told more than 150 members of friends crowded into the worship space of Luke's Lodge for the building's dedication on Jan. 11.

The two-story 35,000 sq. ft. youth ministry facility was constructed in the far northeast corner of St. Luke's complex on West 86th Street. Luke's Lodge looks very much like a lodge or retreat center with large windows, open two-story atrium with elevator, mission-style furniture, even a fire place for those cold winter nights.

The lodge testifies to the congregation's energy. Funds for the building were raised in one month last spring during the 8,000-member congregation's 25th anniversary.

Luke's Lodge contains two large second-floor rooms - one for senior high youth and one for junior high, restrooms with shower facilities for accommodating overnight guests, classrooms, lounge, worship area with all the electronics and an office suite for the four youth staff members whose offices are housed here.

Senior Pastor Kent Millard concluded the consecration with communion and prayer.

South Indiana volunteers assist Latvian United Methodists to grow

By Robert Epps

The Methodist Movement in Latvia began with a mission from the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and the Evangelical Association in the late 19th century. These missions were suppressed by the Russians under the Tsar in 1905.

It revived and in the 1930s, when Nazi German and Russian communists fought for the territory, property deeds were taken to Geneva, Switzerland, and on to New York City.

When the Russian Communists took control in 1941, all Methodist ministers were either deported or executed. The Methodist church stayed dormant until Latvia gained independence in 1991. At that time, a few elderly Methodists began to re-create the church and appealed to the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries for help.

Volunteers and Latvians recovered and refurbished two church buildings in Riga and Lieapaja. Ten pastors lead 12 congregations.

Global Ministries sent three missionaries in 1998 for short-term leadership. Two of them, Kevin and Carol Seckel, have been re-appointed to a full term and are located in Cecis, an area of the country new to United Methodism. The youth group they started has outgrown their apartment. A building is being purchased and work teams will be invited to come and create a worship-study-fellowship center.

Meanwhile, the two mission priorities of Latvian United Methodists are youth ministry for 12 to 30 year olds and Alcohol Abuse Response. Both programs lost Global Ministries funding because of the drop in the general board's investment earnings. Both are now Advance Specials.

At some point in the future, a ten-day work project on the church building at Cecis could be organized. From this location, participants also can learn some interesting things about the recent history of Latvia, as well as having the opportunity to see Riga, the capital. For more information, contact the Bloomington District Office at 800-919-8161.

United Methodists help soldiers phone home

(UMNS) Mikita and James Green are newlyweds who have spent most of their married life thousands of miles apart. It has become a familiar story. A young couple planning a big wedding is suddenly forced to go to a courthouse for a quick civil ceremony before one of them is deployed to Iraq.

James Green, a National Guard reservist, was called into active duty, so instead of a May wedding he went to war. For them, and countless others, phone calls home have become a lifeline.

Generous United Methodists have opened their hearts and pocketbooks and given many U.S. soldiers one of most precious gifts of all - time to talk to their loved ones.

On Veterans Day, Nov. 11, the United Methodist Endorsing Agency, Board of Higher Education and Ministry - the agency that oversees military chaplains endorsed by the church - sent out a message asking church members to consider sending long-distance phone cards to soldiers.

To date, the agency has received letters containing 1,326 cards with 133,375 minutes from 24 states. Those have been distributed through 42 United Methodist chaplains to soldiers around the world.

Indiana House passes pull tab gambling bill now in Senate

Your help needed to defeat it

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana House of Representative passed the pull tab gambling bill (HB 1188) on Feb. 4 by a vote of 53-39. The Senate version (SB 0364) may be debated in the Senate the week of Feb. 8.

HB1188 authorizes the two existing horse tracks (in Anderson and Shelby County) to add up to 1000 "pari-mutuel pull tab" machines each (look and feel like slot machines, but operate a little differently) and the two existing OTB parlors (in Indianapolis and Fort Wayne) to add up to 1,500 machines each.

The bill permits a referendum by the people of Fort Wayne over whether this expansion of legalized gambling should occur. The other municipalities and counties where expansion is projected are not permitted any further say, nor may they pass any regulations which would have the effect of restricting or forbidding the addition of pari-mutuel pull tab devices to existing pari-mutuel betting sites.

A similar pull tab bill will be considered by the Senate. Legislation of this sort has passed the House in the past, only to be defeated in the Senate. This year SB 0364, authored by Senator Timothy Lanane (D-Anderson), is a corresponding bill on a smaller scale. SB 0364 would permit "only" 700 gambling machines per location. In other regards, it is very similar to HB 1188.

The focus is now on the Senate. Senators Jackman, Weatherwax and Breax have already signed on as co-sponsors of the House version of the bill and further discussion of the Senate proposal is likely to begin next week. If the Senate passes SB 0364, both bills will be brought to a House/Senate Conference Committee to draft a final version requiring passage by both houses and the signature from Gov. Kernan.

You can help now by contacting your State Senator urging that SB 0364 on pull tabs be defeated. You will find contact information for your State Senator on the Access Indiana Web site at www.ai.org or at www.in.gov. Legislation can be tracked on line at www.in.gov. Click on Bill Watch.

Information for this article was supplied by Taylor Burton-Edwards, Director of Community Impact, United Way of Madison County.

Salvation Army receives gift of $1.5 billion

The Salvation Army, a charity best known for using bells and kettles to collect spare change at Christmastime, said recently that Joan B. Kroc, the wife of the builder of the McDonald's restaurant chain, had left it roughly $1.5 billion in her will when she died last fall.

The gift is the largest single donation that anyone in the worlds of philanthropy and fund-raising could recall - and more than the Salvation Army received from all sources in 2002.

The Salvation Army offers a wide array of programs and services through more than 9,000 centers and with the help of more than three million volunteers. Founded in 1865 in England as an offshoot of The Methodist Church, it came to the United States in 1880. It is run by ordained ministers and has a quiet but strong evangelizing component to its activities, which has often placed it at the center of controversies about public financing.

Former governor's widow shares her Christian faith

Judy O'Bannon, wife of the late Governor Frank O'Bannon and an active United Methodist, shares her faith and how she came to that faith. Her interview is currently being Web cast on the United Methodist Web site program "My Spiritual Journey Profiles" online at www.umc.org.

Africa University breaks ground for peace institute

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) - Zimbabwe's economic problems have not eroded the confidence that United Methodist and U.S. officials have in Africa University's ability to move the continent toward peace.

The university recently broke ground for a $1.8 million building to house its Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance. The institute, at the school's campus in Mutare, Zimbabwe, will focus on helping African nations build a sustainable culture of peace, improved management systems, security and socio-economic development.

Construction funds for the three-story building were donated by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a longtime supporter of the university. Since the university was formally established in 1992, the agency's Schools and Hospitals Abroad Program has contributed $8.3 million for development and expansion at the university. This has included building and equipping the library, the faculty of agriculture and natural resources, and the faculty of health sciences.

The Institute of Peace, Leadership and Governance building will have academic and administration sections, an auditorium, 10 seminar/lecture rooms, a library, offices and cafeteria. The United Methodist Church's Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference provided seed money of $15,000 to assist the university in its peace effort.

Church assembly will be more multinational, bishop says

PITTSBURGH (UMNS) - The face of the United Methodist Church is becoming increasingly multinational - a change that will affect the denomination's top assembly this spring, according to Bishop Ruediger Minor.

"The number of delegates from other countries will be larger than ever before, which leads to a reduction of U.S. delegates," said Minor, who oversees the church's Eurasia Area out of Moscow and is president of the Council of Bishops.

Minor spoke Jan. 30 to about 280 church communicators, first-elected delegates and denomination leaders at the Pre-General Conference News Briefing, sponsored by United Methodist Communications.

The General Conference, held every four years, will meet April 27-May 7 in Pittsburgh.

Of the 998 delegates who will be attending, 178 will be from "central conferences"-regional units of the church in Africa, Asia and Europe. That's up from 138 at the 1996 General Conference, according to the church's InfoServ unit.

Operation Doctor to build hospital in Sierra Leone

Indiana based Operation Classroom and Operation Doctor plans to build a new hospital in Sierra Leone as it completes a surgical suite.

Operation Doctor, the medical program of United Methodist-related Operation Classroom, plans to send a work team to United Methodist-run Kissy Maternity and Health Center in Freetown, Sierra Leone from July 25 to Aug. 14, according to the Rev. Joe Wagner, co-general director of Operation Classroom.

Operation Classroom has selected the Rev. David Byrum, pastor of First United Methodist Church in Valparaiso, Ind. to be the team leader with Doug Ahlfeld, a contractor from Churubusco, the project coordinator.

The Team will be constructing a 30-bed hospital using Nudura foam design technology. Nudura is a new type foam block that is easy and quick to lie. Cement is poured into the blocks after the wall is assembled.

For individuals interested in learning more about becoming team members, please contact Operation Classroom.

Operation Classroom hopes the hospital will be in full operation before Dec. 1, 2004. Funds are needed to complete the project. Churches or individuals who provide a bed space, at a cost of $3,000, will be listed on a plaque to be placed in the hospital office. The operating rooms were built with funds from the Women's Division of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and a foundation in Indiana. They are expected to be completed March 1, fulfilling a great need among the poor who need surgery.

The Kissy Maternity and Health Center's HIV/AIDS program has been rated tops in the country. A World Bank HIV/AIDS assessment team will soon visit the program.

Operation Doctor also has provided the funds to restore the water system at the United Methodist-related Ganta Mission in Ganta, Liberia.

The system suffered damage during the recent civil war. Other plans to assist in the reopening of Ganta are being developed.

For more information about Operation Classroom and Operation Doctor, log on to www.operationclassroom.org or write to Joseph and Carolyn Wagner, general directors, P.O. Box 277, Colfax, IN 46035. Call 765-324-2556 or fax to 765-324-2686.

'Help for Today, Hope for Tomorrow'

GOSHEN, Ind. - Bashor Children's Home began as a dream more than 80 years ago, when John and Emaline Bashor donated 160 acres of farmland just west of Goshen in hopes that orphaned children would find a safe haven from the challenges of the world.

Today, the dream flourishes as Bashor Children's Home, where "help for today and hope for tomorrow' is more than a mission statement. It is a promise made to more than a hundred abused, neglected and troubled children throughout North Indiana each year.

Bashor's residential treatment programs provide basic care for the each child on campus - food, clothing and shelter. And there is so much more! An on-grounds school ensures their educational needs will be met. Recreation facilities include a high elements ropes course to build teamwork and challenge our residents. Spiritual programs help each child understand there is a better plan for their lives.

Deaths

Virgil V. Bjork, a retired pastor and district superintendent of the NIC pastor died Jan. 29.
Maxine Clark, widow of the late Rev. Glenn Clark (SIC), died Jan. 17.
William L. Isle, son-in-law to Bishop Sheldon Duecker, died Jan. 26.
Ossie Lee, the mother of the Rev. Dr. Reginald Lee, senior pastor of New Hope UMC in Anderson (NIC), died Jan. 11.
Richard Lyndon, senior pastor of Goshen First United Methodist Church (NIC), died Jan. 30.
Cecil Thomas, the father of the Rev. Jerry Thomas of First UMC, Alexandria (NIC), died Jan. 8.
James Yater, pastor of the Francesville and Medaryville United Methodist Churches (NIC), died Jan. 23.

for more details and additional events, visit our Happenings page.

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