September 2004

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Highlights from the September issue of Together

Coyners return to Indiana home

By Daniel R. Gangler

The Dakotas bishop won't need to dream about the moonlight on the Wabash nor long for his Indiana home when he and his wife move to Indianapolis as Hoosier United Methodists' first family.

The Rev. Michael J. Coyner, current United Methodist Bishop of North Dakota and South Dakota, will return to Indiana to begin his new episcopal assignment Sept. 1. He was assigned July 17 to the Indiana Area by the 328 delegates meeting in Davenport, Iowa for the North Central Jurisdictional Conference of The United Methodist Church.

Shortly after his assignment, Bishop Coyner, 54, a native of Anderson, Ind. said, "It's very special to come back to Indiana. We have so many family connections in Indiana. And The United Methodist Church is so strong in Indiana." He also said it's an honor for him to succeed Bishop Woodie W. White. Before becoming bishop in 1996, Coyner served a year as executive assistant to White, who retires Aug. 31.

Coyner was born Sept. 7, 1949. He is a 1971 graduate of Purdue University in West Lafayette with a bachelor of arts degree in history and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He earned his master of divinity degree in 1974 from Duke Divinity School in Durham, N.C. and a doctor of ministry degree in 1980 from Drew Theological Seminary in Madison, N.J.

He was ordained an Elder in the North Indiana Conference in 1975. He served Indiana congregations as pastor at Peoria and Peru (1974-1979), senior pastor of Evangel Heights UMC in South Bend (1979-1984) and senior pastor of Good Shepherd UMC in Fort Wayne (1984-1990), before serving as a district superintendent in Lafayette (1990-1995) and as executive assistant to White (1995-1996). He was elected to the episcopacy and consecrated a bishop in 1996.

Coyner has been married 34 years to his wife, Marsha Lynn (England). They have two grown children: Laura, an engineer with General Electric in Fort Wayne, and Steve, who is married and a pharmaceutical sales representative in Fishers. Ind.

Coyner has written several published articles and is the author of two books by Abingdon Press. Those books are Making a Good Move: Opening the Door to an Effective Pastorate (2000) and Prairie Wisdom: Reflections on Life in the Dakotas (2000).

Coyner will be welcomed as Bishop of the Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church during a special worship celebration on Sunday, Sept. 12 at 4 p.m. in the sanctuary of St. Luke's United Methodist Church, 100 W. 86th St. in Indianapolis. The celebration is open to the public.

In order for Hoosiers to become better acquainted with their new bishop, Together interviewed Coyner by e-mail and received these responses.

Social justice program for Hoosier families debuts in North Conference

By Matthew Oates

LAFAYETTE, Ind. - United Methodists across Indiana will have a chance to make a difference in the lives of their fellow Hoosiers with a new program introduced at this year's North Indiana Annual Conference session.

The program, called "The Campaign for Hoosier Families," a social justice program, is aimed at raising Hoosiers' awareness of issues effecting low-income families sponsored by Lafayette Urban Ministry.

By signing up for the campaign, participants will be alerted when legislation that affects low-income families appears in the General Assembly at Indianapolis. Such issues include funding for utility assistance, school meal programs, tax restructuring, predatory leading and more.

For more information on The Campaign for Hoosier Families or to schedule a program, please contact O'Callaghan at 765-423-2691, ext. 17 or e-mail pocallaghan@lafayetteurbanministry.org.

Matthew Oates serves as a Together correspondent covering the North Indiana Conference.

Manor men build desks for Operation Classroom

By Janis Thornton

FRANKFORT, Ind. - The woodworking shop in Wesley Manor's basement has been turned into a temporary center for mass-producing classroom desks.

Several of the manor's residents have combined their carpentry skills to prefabricate components for 16 desks destined for classrooms in Sierra Leone, North Africa.

The effort is a project of Operation Classroom, sponsored by the Indiana Area of The United Methodist and based in Lapel, Ind., to upgrade the educational system in Liberia and Sierra Leone.

Don Pershing realized that need for desks when he journeyed to the war-torn county in January 2003 as part of an OC missions outreach effort.

Obtaining a sample desk from OC's warehouse in Lapel and a set of plans a couple of months ago, Pershing was joined recently by three of them - the Rev. Bill Valentine, Howard "Buzz" Hoehn and Paul Black. Each contributed his own area of expertise.

Janis Thornton is a staff writer for Frankfort's The Times. Used by permission.

LaPorte member writes guide to books of the Bible

LaPORTE, Ind. - An avocation became a vocation when a member of the First United Methodist Church decided to write a book for laity about the books of the Bible.

That 331-page book, A Layman's Guide to Who Wrote the Books of the Bible? When? Why? by C. Jack Trickler was released this past year by Cork Hill Press of Indianapolis.

Trickler is a United Methodist layman with an interest in history, particularly in the history of Christianity.

This book deals with the books of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, including those of the Apocrypha. This is a study of the people who wrote the books of the Bible and of the historical, political and social settings in which they wrote and of the factors that caused the authors to write.

Hoosiers active participants in alleviating world hunger

By Molly Hunteman

INDIANAPOLIS - When Charles Lynn sells programs at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in May and at the Indiana State Fair in August, he does more than just distribute booklets. He reaches out for community involvement in a program that he full-heartedly supports. CROP WALK is the local fundraiser of United Methodist-related Church World Service, raising food and money for hunger needs both in local communities and around the world

Year after year Lynn has taken an active role in the Greater Indianapolis CROP WALK, never letting his cerebral palsy get in the way of his goals. In fact, he is one of the top three walkers for CROP in the country. Last year he raised $45,000 without asking for any sponsors from Southminster Presbyterian Church where he attends.

The Indianapolis walk is just one of the around 50 CROP WALKS that take place around the state each year. This interfaith fundraiser has been inspiring United Methodists and many others to not only raise money and canned goods for the hungry but also to become more educated on world hunger related concerns for the past 35 years.

Maurice Yoder, Olive Mennonite Church of Wakarusa, has also gained notable sponsorship for the Elkhart walk. He was fourth in the nation for pledges in 1997. Although he is no longer able to participate in the walk itself, he continues to be the top fundraiser in Elkhart every year.

October marks the 25th anniversary of the first Indianapolis CROP WALK. United Methodist Annabel Hartman will have walked in all 25. She also has consistently been one of the top fundraisers.

For more information about starting or joining a walk, contact Judy Dunson at 888-297-2767 or jdunson@churchworldservice.org. For the latest information on walk location and dates, visit www.cropwalk.org/regional-office.html, then click on our Indiana.

Brightwood Community Center in Indy announces endowment fund for stability of its ministries

INDIANAPOLIS - United Methodist-related Brightwood Community Center on Indianapolis' east side recently announced the establishment of an endowment to further the work of the center in one of the city's most economically depressed neighborhoods.

The announcement and celebration of the newly established Stanfield-Donaldson Memorial Endowment for the Brightwood Community Center was made July 26 at Barnes United Methodist Church in Indianapolis. The initial contribution to the endowment was $50,000.

Brightwood Community Center, at 2410 N. Station St., shares a building with St. Paul-Brightwood United Methodist Church and is a vital member of the Martindale-Brightwood and Forest Manor communities, according to the Rev. Debra J. Stanfield Grady, the center's executive director, pastor of St. Paul-Brightwood Church and niece of the one memorialized.

For more information or to give to this new endowment fund, contact 317-546-8200 or by e-mail at brightwood2410@aol.com.

Gleaning: a biblical practice that feeds hungry Hoosiers

By Matthew Oates

David McCleary serves a mission to make sure that Hoosiers statewide have food. The North Indiana Conference appointed him in three years ago as the conference's hunger relief advocate. He works with North Indiana's United Methodist Men and the Society of St. Andrew to increase awareness of the biblical concept of gleaning.

Since his first year, which showed 81,184 pounds of food distributed to 18 agencies across North Indiana, McCleary and volunteer district hunger relief advocates have increased the food distributed to 202,286 pounds and 77 agencies.

"We are making progress and we're helping to feed the hungry," says McCleary. "Each year we have done better than the previous year."

Gleaning comes in a variety of ways. Volunteers glean by digging up extra potatoes at a Frito-Lay test plot fields, picking extra fruit in an orchard, and by working with food distributors or manufacturers and sending their extra food and damaged cans to food agencies.

The Society of St. Andrew is an ecumenical agency started by United Methodist ministers who work with agencies to get extra produce in the hands of those who need food and is supported by United Methodist Men.

To raise awareness, the Society works with UMM to place in each conference a hunger relief advocate. As of January, 20 annual conferences in the United States have such an advocate including North Indiana.

McCleary, who has a farming and Christian education background, was approached by Brent Julian, former North Indiana UMM president, about being North's hunger relief advocate. After much prayer and thought, McCleary agreed as he felt moved to help the thousands of Hoosiers who needed food.

According to McCleary, there are more than the usual amount of Hoosiers who have fallen on economic hardships and are using more social service agencies, such as food banks and pantries. "I'm sure it hurts their pride," he told Together. "You have to ask for help; we're there to help."

Sometimes it is more economical for farmers to leave crops in fields than harvest them because crop prices are low. "As much waste as we have, why not go out and glean these fields as they did in biblical times and use this produce to help feed the hungry?" asks McCleary.

Gleaning is just one program the North Indiana Conference United Methodist Men are involved with. Another program is the General Commission of the UMM's "Meals for Millions" program, which is another way to provide funding for hunger relief programs through SOSA. According to McCleary, North Indiana is traditionally in the top 10 conferences who provide funding.

For more information, contact McCleary at 574-269-1143 or at hranin@endhunger.org.

Research points to success of Igniting Ministry campaign

By United Methodist Communications

The United Methodist Church is better known and is seen in a more favorable light since the beginning of the Igniting Ministry media campaign, according to the newest research released by The Barna Group. The report is perhaps the most significant news yet that the campaign is working.

The Barna Group stated in its annual report that "the messages being communicated are understood, and better still, are believable and important to the audience. These messages also appear to be effectively shifting people's attitudes about The United Methodist Church."

Awareness levels are now at 19 percent (up from 3 percent in 2000)
Willingness to attend is now at 49 percent (up from 35 percent in 2001)
First-time attendance in test churches is at 19 percent (up from 14 percent just a year ago)

The media impact research performed by Barna surveys both 1,200 unchurched individuals across the United States and more than 160 test churches that track first-time attendance.

Now is the time to prepare for September. Churches all over the country have embraced Open House Month as a time to especially reach out to their communities. Now's the time to make sure your church is ready. Check out the Open House section of the Igniting Ministry Web site (www.ignitingministry.org ) for great ideas your church can use. The national TV media campaign begins Sept. 6.

Women talk to Staples about paper and environment

By Kelly Martini

NEW YORK (UMNS) - United Methodist Women are continuing to remind corporations of their responsibilities regarding the environment.

A delegation from the million-member organization met July 21 with Staples company executives in Framingham, Mass., to talk about the deadly effects of dioxin on women and children's health and to remind the officials that prevention is possible.

United Methodist Women believes Staples can help achieve prevention by carrying and promoting processed chlorine-free or total chlorine-free paper in its stores. Chlorine, used in the paper-making industry to bleach paper, is known to create the dioxin linked to breast cancer and other forms of cancer.

The meeting with Staples came after UMW members visited more than 300 Staples stores across the country, including those in Indiana, to see if the stores carried chlorine-free paper.

As a result of the meeting, Staples agreed to work with UMW on educating store employees and communities around the nation on the dangers of chlorine, the dioxin it creates and the health effects of dioxins, according to the UMW delegation.

In return, United Methodist Women will recommend that universities, schools, hospitals and local churches hold forums on the issues, and they will invite representatives to be a part of the effort.

General Conference, the denomination's top legislative body, officially supports the drive for chlorine-free paper. And Lee credited the Rev. Vicki Woods, a clergywoman of the New England Annual Conference, for reinforcing the idea that the issue is a concern of the entire denomination.

Protestant churches losing majority, study suggests

By Chris Herlinger

NEW YORK (ENI) - A long-standing feature of U.S. religious life - a Protestant majority - may become a thing of the past, a new survey has concluded.

"Since colonial times the United States has been a Protestant nation. But perhaps as early as this year of 2004, the country will for the first time no longer have a Protestant majority," the survey by the National Opinion Research Center, based at the University of Chicago, found.

The number of those identifying themselves as Protestant, already declining in recent years, is expected to drop below 50 percent if present trends continue, the survey results were announced in July. A Protestant majority may have already vanished in the two years since the survey was conducted.

Church groups covered by the term Protestant include: Anglican, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterian and Quaker denominations.

The survey of more than 2,650 respondents in 2002 found the number of those identifying themselves as Protestant dropped from 63 percent to 52 percent between 1993 and 2002. At the same time, those saying they had no formal religious ties or identification increased from 9 percent to nearly 14 percent.

South Indiana Board of Church and Society urges advocacy for human rights in Sudan

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - As genocide becomes an ever-present threat in western Sudan, the South Indiana Conference Board of Church and Society is calling on all local churches to take action to prevent this tragedy. Meeting on July 22, the board approved a letter writing campaign to Secretary of State Colin Powell and to members of Congress urging them to support a United Nations Security Council resolution that would launch an arms embargo against the Sudanese government and government backed paramilitary groups that have been systematically raping and killing people in the Darfur region.

In early May 2004, Sen. Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), a United Methodist, and other senators passed a resolution which called on the Sudanese government to allow relief workers and human rights monitors in Darfur and calls on the United Nations to take strong action if the government of Sudan does not comply.

In May, General Conference passed a resolution concerning the crisis in Sudan. Over the past several months the General Board of Global Ministries and General Secretary Randy Day have been calling attention to the issue. Local churches are urged to contact Secretary of State Powell, their Senators and Representatives about this urgent matter.

Erickson named chaplain at University of Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The Rev. S. Brian Erickson, former chaplain of Birmingham-Southern College, has been named the University of Evansville's new chaplain. At UE, Erickson will have full responsibility for the direction and coordination of the protestant religious experiences of the academic community.

Erickson, 29, will administer the religious life program of the university and oversee the day to day operation of Neu Chapel. He also will plan and administer weekly worship services for the university community and organize service and mission opportunities for UE students and staff. In addition to these duties, Erickson will be responsible for guiding and supervising the university's religious organizations through their student leadership and faculty advisors. He will work directly with Kappa Chi, a Christian service organization, the Neu Chapel Deacons and Student Ministers.

North Conference adds new communicator to staff

MARION, Ind. - Tom LeFevre has joined the North Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church as a communications assistant part-time. A Purdue Krannert and University of Bridgeport MBA graduate, he lived in Connecticut 22 years. A former healthcare executive, he served 19 years as accountant and strategic planner at New Haven's teaching Hospital of St. Raphael.

For the past 25 years, music and especially worship music has been his other life. Since returning to native Elkhart he first served as Trinity UMC's contemporary music leader. Three years ago he heeded the call to serve as music director at Bristol UMC where he leads worship music. For five years he's also edited the ecumenical Christian Sound & Song music leader's quarterly to nearly seven percent of churches across the United States.

LeFevre lives in Elkhart with Sue, his wife of 32 years, son David and daughter Caroline.

As a communications assistant, LeFevre will spend Tuesdays in the Marion office. He can be reached at 800-783-5138, ext. 24, or by e-mail at tlefevre@nicumc.org. Other days he can be reached in Elkhart at 574-294-2893.

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

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