July/August 2004

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Highlights from the July/August issue of Together

North Central United Methodists to elect three new bishops

By Kathy L. Gilbert

(UMNS) - Three new bishops will be elected when 325 delegates to the United Methodist North Central Jurisdictional Conference meet July 14-17 in Davenport, Iowa.

Hoosier United Methodist delegates, 24 from each of the North and South Indiana Conferences, will be part of the conference that will take place in the River Center under the theme, "Soundings of the Soul."

The conference will begin with an Episcopal Nominee Forum sponsored by Black Methodists for Church Renewal at 8:30 a.m., July 14. The first balloting will begin July 14 and continue at intervals through July 17 until all three bishops are elected.

During the final business session July 17, the assignment of bishops to episcopal areas including Indiana will be announced. The new bishops will be consecrated in a service at St. John's United Methodist Church that morning beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The newly elected bishops will take office on Sept. 1 and fill vacancies left by three retiring bishops in the jurisdiction.

The new Indiana Area Bishop is scheduled to be installed during a worship celebration at St. Luke's United Methodist Church in Indianapolis on Sunday, September 12 at 4 p.m., according to the Rev. Donald Griffith, interim executive assistant to Bishop White.

Continuing bishops

Continuing bishops, who also will be assigned to episcopal areas, are Bishop Michael J. Coyner, Dakotas area; Bishop Sharon A. Brown Christopher, Illinois area; Bishop Gregory V. Palmer, Iowa area; Bishop Linda Lee, Michigan area; Bishop John L. Hopkins, Minnesota area; Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton, Ohio East area; and Bishop Bruce R. Ough, Ohio West area.

Episcopal candidates

Any United Methodist Elder who is a full member of an annual conference is eligible to be elected as bishop. Nominations or endorsements are common but not necessary for election.

The North Indiana Conference last month endorsed the Rev. Mark Fenstermacher, senior pastor of Trinity United Methodist Church in Elkhart as an episcopal candidate. The South Indiana Conference last month endorsed the Rev. Gregory McGarvey, senior pastor of Carmel United Methodist Church. They will join 13 other candidates from 9 other episcopal areas.

The denomination's North Central Jurisdiction includes North and South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Ohio.

Four Indiana United Methodist pastors chosen for clergy renewal

INDIANAPOLIS - Four Indiana United Methodists pastors and their congregations join 28 other Hoosiers from other faith groups in a clergy renewal program underwritten by the Indianapolis based Lilly Endowment. Chosen congregations will receive up to $45,000 each to provide their pastor with specially formulated programs of personal and professional renewal. In this sixth year of the renewal program, the Lilly Endowment will award $1.3 million in a continuing effort to reenergize and rejuvenate congregations and their leaders.

United Methodist pastors participating in the renewal program include: the Rev. Christine Newman-Jacobs of Churubusco UMC, the Rev. Vicki L. Hobbs of Cicero UMC, the Rev. Norman Jack Wolfe of First UMC in Noblesville, and the Rev. David M. Byrum of First UMC in Valparaiso.

Besides this program, the Lilly Endowment offers a National Clergy Renewal Program for congregations and their pastors in the other 49 states. For more information, log on to the Lilly Endowment Web site at www.lillyendowment.org.

North Indiana Conference approves new streamlined structure

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - North Indiana United Methodists have streamlined their Conference Council on Ministry for more effective and efficient ministry.

The new organizational plan moves from a structure of more than 23 boards, committees, commissions and other groups, to four ministry teams coordinated together by a council with two teams specializing in prayer and communication.

"A year of prayer, discernment and decision has yielded a new organizational plan for the Council on Ministry and the program boards and agencies of the North Indiana Conference," said the Rev. Cynthia Reynolds, conference council on ministries director. The plan was approved in June at the North Indiana Annual Conference session at West Lafayette.

Reynolds said the 2003 North Annual Conference mandated that its Council on Ministry "streamline its structure to be more efficient and more effective (than its current structure) in its program focus and development." The new plan accomplishes that mandate by using the core values and priorities set by the North Indiana Conference as the guide.

"Each ministry team will find ways to challenge individuals and congregations to hear the call of God, coordinate resources to equip individuals and congregations in answering the call of God. Each team will connect individuals and congregations to places to be engaged in the ministry to which God is calling them and provide opportunities to celebrate what God is doing among us," Reynolds said. In this plan, there are four teams each with 15 to 25 members.

One ministry team will focus on leadership development.
A second team will focus on church development.
A third team will focus on mission and ministry outreach.
The fourth team will focus on Christian conferencing.

"All four teams will be accountable to the Council on Ministry. The Council on Ministry in turn will focus on coordination and cooperation among the ministry teams with attention given to assure diversity in the entire ministry," said Reynolds. A prayer team and a communication team will be responsible to serve each of the four ministry teams.

For more information about this new CCOM structure log on to www.nicumc.org or call the conference office at 800-783-5138.

Kokomo District moves

The Kokomo District Office has moved and changed the email addresses. This is effective immediately.

Kokomo District Office, 2735 S Albright Rd., Kokomo, IN 46902

The phone numbers have remained the same.

Frank Beard's email: kokomo.ds@sbcglobal.net

Shirley Dominick's email: kokomo.aa@sbcglobal.net

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary honors Blaising as Distinguished Alum

Seminary acknowledges Hoosier's effective service

By David Heetland

EVANSTON, Ill. - Annually, Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston presents a distinguished alum award to two alums that have rendered extraordinary service in their ministries. The 2004 Distinguished Alum Award for those who graduated more than 25 years ago was received by Dr. Marcus J. Blaising.

Originally of Goshen, Ind., Blaising met Nona Louise Cochran from Port Angeles, Wash., in the seminary's library. They were married within the year and this year celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary. In 1955, he received the B.D. degree from Garrett Biblical Institute.

From 1952 to 1986, Blaising served Indiana churches at Milford, Fort Wayne and Elkhart. Under his leadership, these congregations grew in membership, stewardship and missional support. From 1969-75, he served as superintendent of the New Castle District. He served as executive assistant to Bishops Leroy Hodapp and Woodie W. White from 1986 until his retirement in 1994.

Having retired from full-time ministry, Blaising and his wife live in Sarasota, Fla., and Indianapolis, where they both continue to serve meals at homeless shelters and to support the Oaks Academy, an inner city Christian school in Indianapolis.

Hauerwas to speak at South Bend about 21st century church

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Stanley Hauerwas, the Gilbert T. Rowe Professor of Theological Ethics at Duke Divinity School, author of numerous books on ethics and virtue, and a man proclaimed by TIME magazine as "America's Best Theologian," will be speaking Saturday, July 31 at Broadway Christian Parish of the United Methodist Church from 12:30 to 5 p.m.

Hauerwas will be joined by Marjorie Procter-Smith, professor of Christian worship at Perkins School of Theology in Dallas and Edward Phillips, associate professor of historical theology at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary in Evanston, Ill.

For more information, log on to www.gbgm-umc.org/broadwaycpin or call 574-289-0333. There is not charge, but pre-registration is requested by July 15.

Summer concert supports growing inner-city ministry

By Molly Hunteman

INDIANAPOLIS - When Pat Ladd was growing up, her mom would come home from the neighborhood community center and complain that all it offered was bingo. Years later, she was talked into giving the Brightwood Community Center on Indianapolis' near east side another chance, and then she realized, "they didn't play bingo. They give the community someplace where their children can get help, someplace they can get help."

Ladd, now grown and on Brightwood's board of directors, explained to concert goers the many facets of this outreach center during the first Campaign for Brightwood Benefit Concert held June 18 in the sanctuary of North United Methodist Church.

Opportunities for children in this poverty-stricken neighborhood abound with an after-school program, an eight-week-long Summer Fun and Frolic program, a children's choir and a Girl Scout troop. Ladd said, "It keeps kids off the streets and makes them want to achieve in school. " More than 80 children are enrolled in the summer program.

Adults also are welcome at the center with young adult survival skills classes, senior programming, a food pantry, computer classes and an emerging clothing store. Hundreds of adults take advantage of the food pantry and clothing store while class participation varies.

Between gospel and jazz segments, concert goers learned not only about the programs, but also about the influence these ministries have had on the lives of area residents. Ashley Roger, a sophomore at Ball State University, started volunteering at the center five years ago. "People say how much I've done for the kids, but they don't understand how much I need them," she said.

For more information write to Brightwood Community Center, 2410 N. Station St., Indianapolis, IN 46218, or call 317-546-8200, or by e-mail write to brightwood2410@aol.com.

Molly Hunteman serves as summer intern in the Indiana Area Communications office. She is a sophomore at Butler University and a member of the Mooresville UMC.

Creator of United Methodist Cross and Flame design dies

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (UMNS) - Edward J. Mikula, 88, the artist who designed the United Methodist Church's insignia - the Cross and Flame - died June 20 at Meadows Manor North in Terre Haute.

Mikula, who retired from United Methodist Communications in 1979, was assigned the task of creating an insignia for the church after the merger of the Evangelical United Brethren Church and the Methodist Church in 1968.

Mikula and Edwin H. Maynard, editorial director, worked for United Methodist Communication's predecessor agency, the Commission on Promotion and Cultivation. Historical information about the Cross and Flame states that early on the two men decided the design "should be simple, bold, instantly recognizable, obviously Christian and uniquely Wesleyan."

Mikula was quoted as saying, "You can't have elegance without simplicity."

Metro Ministries announces leadership series for congregations

INDIANAPOLIS - United Methodists' Metro Ministries announces a series of weekend seminars intended for laity and clergy to focus on ministries important to the 21st century, according to the series organizers.

"Ministry Focus for Millennial Force" will debut Saturday, July 24 at North United Methodist Church at Meridian and 38th Streets. The day long seminar, "Extending Our Focus: Stewardship, Tithing and Beyond," will feature the Rev. Bill Enright, senior fellow and executive director of the Lake Family Institute at Indiana University Center on Philanthropy. Enright is the former senior pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis.

This opening seminar also will feature: the Rev. Richard Hamilton, retired senior pastor of North UMC and John Wimmer, program director of religion for the Lilly Endowment based here in Indianapolis and former Director of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations of the Alban Institute.

Cost for this session is $15 and includes lunch. Reservations are required. For more information, contact Metro Ministries at 317-924-4140.

Using fair-trade coffee at fellowship hour helps small farmers

By United Methodist News Service

A typical United Methodist church brings people together on Sunday mornings for coffee hour; but how often do the consumers consider the impact that buying coffee has on the people who grow coffee beans.

Broadway United Methodist Church in Chicago decided last February to serve only fair-trade coffee purchased through the Coffee Project of the United Methodist on Relief (UMCOR). The project links congregations with small farmers and their families in Latin America, Africa and Asia through fair trade. This congregation-and many individuals and families in the church-buy only fair-trade coffee as acts of social justice.

Most of the world's small coffee farmers reside in isolated villages in the world's poorest countries and sell their coffee through middlemen, who offer the lowest price. At least 20 million people live near the equator, eking out a living on coffee. Because of fluctuating prices, the farmers never know what they are actually getting for their crops. "In their struggle just to make a simple living, the producers of a rich crop are often trapped in poverty," according to the project's Web site.

Churches and individuals that participate in the coffee project help small farmers earn a fairer share of income, obtain access to credit and technical support, and gain a trading partner they can trust, a fair-trade organization called Equal Exchange.

Through the project, congregations and individuals are linked with people in other countries because for each case of coffee, tea or cocoa purchased, Equal Exchange contributes to UMCOR's small farmer fund, further benefiting coffee farmers and their families. For every case of coffee ordered, Equal Exchange gives $1.50 for farmer economic development.

More information is available at the project Web site: gbgm-umc.org/umcor/hunger/coffee.cfm.

African churches welcome end to Sudan's civil war

By Fredrick Nzwili
Ecumenical News International

NAIROBI, Kenya - Songs, ululation and drums marked the signing of key agreements May 26 between the government of Sudan and the main rebel group, the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army, that pave the way for a comprehensive peace accord to end a 21-year-long civil war.

"This is superb. We have been waiting for the agreement for a long time. We are really tired of war," Sudanese Roman Catholic Bishop Joseph Abangite Gasi told Ecumenical News International after the signing ceremony in Naivasha, a town about 50 miles west of Nairobi. "But the church expects this comes as real peace. The people also expect true, just and long lasting peace."

Sudan's Islamic government and SPLA have been fighting for control of the mainly animist and Christian south since 1983. The war has killed an estimated 2 million people and displaced millions of others.

At the signing ceremony near the Kenyan capital, the Rev. Mvume Dandala, a Methodist pastor and chief executive of the All Africa Conference of Churches, described the agreement as a call for churches to mobilize quickly to help make peace a reality on the ground for the people of Sudan.

"It is going to be a big challenge," Dandala noted.

North Indiana's Impact 2818 launches extreme youth room makeover this summer

By Katie Holt

A room is a simple structure with four walls, a floor, a ceiling and anything else that you want to throw in there. If you picture the youth room in your church, you'll most likely picture a room full of thrown-together furniture with broken tables and random odds and ends thrown about. What if a youth room could do more?

This summer the simple offering of a brand new youth room or children's space is drawing kids closer to God. In the goal of serving the local church Impact 2818 has launched an Extreme Youth Room Makeover for the summer of 2004. Simply by bringing kids to camp this summer churches all over the North Indiana Conference are increasing their chance of receiving this brand new youth room. It's as simple as that.

If a church brings 25 campers to camp this summer, they are automatically entered into the drawing for a new youth room. If a church can bring 50 kids to camp this summer they automatically win a brand new couch for their youth room. If a church is able to bring 75 or more campers to camp in the summer of 2004, they automatically win the Youth Room Makeover. The best part is, this youth room will be used to further youth ministry inside their own congregation.

It's an amazing opportunity for churches to build the community of their youth group while at camp and build the environment of their youth group in their home church.

Orientation 2004 takes new college students on a journey

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS) - As Orientation 2004 embarks upon the subject of "journey" to help college students search for careers and a fulfilling life, the 26-year-old magazine approaches a new path of its own.

For the first time, high school and college students, campus ministers, counselors and other Orientation readers can buy the yearly magazine online, using major credit cards.

The annual magazine, designed to assist graduating high school seniors with the transition to college, offers practical tips about campus life, how to locate campus ministers or chaplains and how to ask for help. The board's Campus Ministry Section and Office of Interpretation jointly produce the magazine. The 2004 issue's theme, "Get a Life! Not Just a Job," offers information to help students figure out their call and what the future holds.

Customers can buy the magazine, using MasterCard or Visa, by going to the board's Web site, www.gbhem.org/orientation. Cost is $3 per single copy, plus shipping and handling; discounts are available for group orders. For more information, call 615-340-7404 or log on to www.gbhem.org/orientation.

32 percent of Protestant youth read Bible weekly

New study maps religious lives of American teenagers

By Tafadzwa Mudambanuki

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A new study, conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and funded by Lilly Endowment based in Indianapolis, sheds new light on American youth's spirituality.

According to the report, 32 percent of Protestant teenagers ages 13 to 18 personally read the Bible once a week or more. Forty percent of Protestant teenagers said that they have attended summer camps at least once that was run by a religious organizations. And 17 percent of American teenagers said that religious faith is essential for shaping their daily lives, but they also watch R-rated movies and videos.

Survey results suggest that a minority of the American teenagers get grounded in their faith traditions through teaching. Smith gleaned from their findings that American adults in Protestant mainline churches do not read the Bible regularly as mirrored by their children. "It could be that most Protestant adults are not very good role models for their teenagers when it comes to basic personal practices like reading the Bible," Smith observed.

Teenagers from conservative Protestant traditions and black Protestant parents tend to read the Bible more frequently than teenagers from mainline Protestant parents.

Another survey finding was the huge differences in religious summer camp attendance across religious faiths in the U.S. Mormon teenagers ranked highest with a 78 percent camp attendance, followed by conservative Protestant teenagers with 53 percent. Mainline Protestant teenagers ranked third with a 48 percent attendance and Catholic teenagers ranked fourth with a 24 percent attendance.

Tafadzwa Mudambanuki, a United Methodist, teaches journalism at Ball State University in Muncie.

Campbell receives D. Min. in Virginia

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - The Rev. Dr. Norman W. Campbell, pastor of Dearborn Hills UMC at Lawrenceburg in southeast Indiana, received a Doctor of Ministry degree from Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Alexandria on May 20. The title of his project thesis is "Anatomy of a transition: a United Methodist pastor prepares a congregation for his departure."

Sheridan church dedicates pipe organ

SHERIDAN, Ind. - The First UMC in Sheridan dedicated a newly installed pipe organ on Sunday, May 23. The organ was taken out of service in June of last year and restored to service the Sunday before Christmas. The congregation raised more than $100,000 needed for the renovation through major gifts and a Miracle Sunday in December.

Hoosier UMs graduate from Mennonite Seminary

ELKHART, Ind. - Four United Methodist Hoosiers graduated with 32 other students May 21 from the Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary in Elkhart. These graduates included: Jered Jennette, Catherine Koziatek, Julie Macy and Maureen K. Reiff-Mauzy.

Position Available - Conference Communications Assistant

The focus of this work will be the enhancement of information sharing and the development of media resources necessary for this conference ministry - 15 hours per week average, salaried position. Individual should be a United Methodist who is actively involved in their local church and has experience in creative writing, use of Internet, JAVA/HTML (can be learned), is a self-starter, disciplined and able to delegate. Resumes should be sent to Cindy Reynolds, PO Box 869, Marion, IN 46952 by July 16.

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

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