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Highlights from the February issue of Together

Bishop names three district superintendents; Griffith to stay on

INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana Area Bishop Michael J. Coyner has named the Revs. Judi Purvis, Chip Gast, and Dale Mendenhall as three new district superintendents who will take their positions in June.

In mid-January, Coyner announced the Rev. Judi Purvis, 57, senior pastor of Linden United Methodist Church in the Indianapolis West District, to be the next Vincennes District Superintendent in the SIC.

In late-January, Coyner named the Rev. Charles (Chip) E. Gast Jr., 60, senior pastor of Cross-Wind United Methodist Church in Logansport in the Kokomo District, as the next superintendent of the Huntington District in the NIC.

At the same time, Coyner named the Rev. N. Dale Mendenhall, 53, senior pastor of First United Methodist Church in Griffith in the Calumet District since 1999, as the next superintendent of the Muncie District in the NIC.

In addition to these announcements, Coyner announced that the Rev. Don Griffith has agreed to continue as Interim Executive Assistant to the Bishop through 2005, in order to give him more time to make that appointment and to consider it in light of any restructuring decisions by either conference this summer.

Bishop asks Hoosiers to rebuild Banda Aceh Church

After hearing the Rev. Randy Day, general secretary of the General Board of Global Ministries, talk about the need to rebuild the Methodist Church of Banda Aceh, Bishop Coyner said his heart was touched, and he volunteered that the Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church could take on this project and raise the money needed for that church. How much will be needed? Coyner said, "We really don't know yet, because it will be difficult to get equipment into that area even to remove the debris and toxic materials washed in by the huge waves."

Coyner told Day that the Indiana Area will rebuild that Methodist church "no matter what it costs. I promised that because I know that United Methodists in Indiana Area are mission-minded, generous people." Estimates are the project may cost $150,000.

Bishop Coyner asks for help from Indiana's 1,200 United Methodist congregations to rebuild Banda Aceh Methodist Church in Indonesia. Special gifts and offerings can be sent to the North and South Indiana Conferences' treasurers marked "Rebuild the Methodist Church in Indonesia" and those funds will be forwarded to that specific project.

North Indiana United Methodists are asked to send their contributions for this project to: North Indiana Conference Treasurer, P.O. Box 869, Marion, IN 46952. South Indiana United Methodists are asked to send their contributions for this project to: South Indiana Conference Treasurer, 1520 South Liberty Dr., Bloomington, IN 47403-2307. If you have questions about giving, contact conference treasurers at Marion 800-783-5138, and at Bloomington 800-919-8160.

Health kits are a needed for South Asia Tsunami survivors

INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana-Kentucky Regional Office of Church World Service, has issued a public appeal for Gift of the Heart Health Kits to replenish its rapidly diminishing stock at its New Windsor, Maryland, warehouse. According to CWS Regional Director Judy Dunson, more than 40,000 health kits have been shipped to Sri Lanka and Aceh (Indonesia) for immediate response to the tsunami disasters. Many more will be needed in the weeks and months ahead.

A trailer, donated by Deerpath Truck of Remington, Ind., is scheduled to be available from Feb. 14 to Feb. 25, for fully assembled kits. It will be located on the parking lot of the Indiana Interchurch Center, 1100 W. 42nd St at Michigan Rd in Indianapolis. Kits will be received 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 19 and by special arrangement on Sunday, Feb. 20. Call 317-923-2938 or toll free 888-297-2767.

Each health kit needs to contain the following items. Please provide only these items and in the size/quantities requested.

One hand towel (no bath towels, please)
One wash cloth
One comb (any size)
One metal nail file (or nail clipper with nail file attached)
One bar of soap (bath size)
One adult toothbrush
One tube of toothpaste (4 to 7 oz. size)
Six Band-Aids

Please seal all items in a one-gallon plastic bag with zipper closure. Multiple kits should be packed in sturdy cardboard boxes with flaps securely taped. Each kit must be accompanied by one dollar to offset processing and shipping costs. Do not place the money in the kit. Make checks payable to Church World Service.

For those wishing to ship their kits directly to the Maryland warehouse, please call the CWS Regional Office numbers above for guidance.

Tobacco opponents to show their love on Valentine's

INDIANAPOLIS - "Show your Love" will be the theme of a Valentines Day luncheon and capital witness to curb the use of tobacco in Indiana. The complimentary interfaith luncheon is scheduled to be held Monday, Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Christ Church Cathedral on Monument Circle in downtown Indianapolis.

The luncheon, sponsored by Tobacco Free Kids, is limited to 120 participants and will feature speakers and testimonials from a variety of faith group and health care leaders including United Methodists and the United Methodist-related Clarian Health Partners.

Following the luncheon, participants will be encouraged to walk or ride in complimentary vans to the capitol and speak with their Indiana State Senators and Representatives, asking them to help restore more than $20 million cut from the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency budget.

Hoosier Faith and Health Coalition leaders will present more than 300 common resolutions signed by congregations from across Indiana, including signatures from more than 60 United Methodist congregations, the South Indiana Conference Health and Welfare Committee and the SIC Parish Nurses.

Pastors and United Methodist lay leaders are encouraged to participate in the "Show your Love" events on Feb. 14. For luncheon reservations, call Clarian Call Center at 800-265-3220 by Feb.7.

Community band ushers in Daniels' term as Indiana governor

INDIANAPOLIS - With baton in hand, governor Mitch Daniel's concluded his inauguration ceremony conducting the Newton-Jasper Community Band in a rendition of "The Washington Post March."

Band Director Joy Stowers, a United Methodist, handed over her baton to Daniels as the band began to play, bringing the story of Daniels' friendship with the band full circle.

The Jasper-Newton Community Band will begin performing again in April and continue with performances throughout the summer. Stowers also serves as a member of the Brushwood United Methodist Church where she plays the organ, according to her pastor, the Rev. Dennis L. Ticen. To learn more about the band, visit their Web site at www.liljasper.com/band/default.html.

Church clinic heals medical woes for low income county

CONNERSVILLE, Ind. - Hearing God's call and with her church's support, a Connersville physician answered her call by establishing a free clinic at church.

Dr. Joann Guttman of Connersville told Together, "Fayette County has one of the highest unemployment rates in Indiana and much underemployment - people working for minimum wage, barely able to make ends meet, who have no insurance. I saw this often in my office and felt badly when I had to charge these people for care, but then I had to pay my staff and my bills."

To help those with limited financial resources, Guttman established the Community Free Clinic at First United Methodist Church of Connersville. Free basic medical care is provided during a three-hour clinic held the second and fourth Thursdays of each month.

Since opening in September 2004, about 15 patients are being treated each clinic session. Six doctors, 15 nurses, and 20 office staff are volunteering their time and abilities on a rotating basis.

Patients can be seen for complete physical exams, blood pressure screenings, wellness counseling, routine blood tests, treatment of minor ailments, appropriate referrals for chronic disease, pregnancy testing, pap smears, skin biopsy, laceration repair, and psychological screening and referral.

Some lab work and x-rays are being provided through donations and an agreement with a local lab and medical center. The clinic also is able to pay for mammograms through a grant from the South Indiana United Methodist Conference under an agreement with a local x-ray group.

For more information, contact Connersville First UMC at 765-825-8506 or by e-mail at fumcsbra@si-net.com.

Youth lay speakers-servants retreat unites rising leaders

ZIONSVILLE - What began as an Indianapolis East and West District youth retreat evolved into a state-wide gathering Jan. 28-29, drawing interested high school students to Zionsville United Methodist Church.

The Youth Lay Speaking/Lay Servants School retreat gave 60 youth the opportunity to receive lay-speaking training and explore the possibility of a future in ordained ministry. The retreat combined worship events, seminars and fun activities to equip students for lay ministry.

According to many teens, "All the teachers were crazy cool."

Kevin Emmert, Indianapolis East District youth coordinator, told Together, "Some of the youth may have a call to ministry but they don't know how to make a first step." To help them take that first step, the retreat incorporated themes of leadership, teamwork, involvement and discerning the call of ministry.

Bishop Michael Coyner opened the retreat on Friday night with a devotional that helped set the tone for a weekend of challenging speakers.

"We strove to have diversity in our speakers," said Emmert. "We had a good mix of clergy and laity speaking."

University of Indianapolis extends campus to Galilee

INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Indianapolis presents itself as home to 218 international students from 63 nations as part of its ongoing life. Now the United Methodist-related school has formed a new partnership with a Mar Elias Campus in the village of Ibillin, Galilee, Israel.

Broadening the university's offerings in the Mediterranean, a campus in Israel is a natural extension, according to the school's publicity.

However, that extension becomes a unique venture with a unique school and individual. Abuna (meaning Father in Arabic) Elias Chacour (pronounced SHA-coor), a Melkite Greek Catholic priest, bishop of Jerusalem and president of Mar Elias Educational Institutions. Chacour, 65, a Palestinian Arab and Israeli citizen, heads the only school in Israel composed of Christian Arabs, Jews and Muslims.

Chacour told Together, the school he founded 21 years ago that 4,500 students ranging from kindergarten to post secondary education, can now boast of its university status. Students in Israel can receive a bachelor's degree from the University of Indianapolis in communications, computer science and environmental science with chemistry, areas offering the most promising opportunities for employment in Israel according to Chacour.

Chacour's mission is to "bring about peace through education, dialogue and reconciliation."

Chacour's vision will come to reality this year. He was on campus preparing to bring the first pilot group of 80 Mar Elias university students to the Indianapolis campus in 2005. These participating students have the potential of receiving a University of Indianapolis diploma. However, the $4,000 needed for each student may prevent some students from making the 8,000-mile trip. To help offset these expenses, the university is raising funds for student scholarships so no one is left behind.

For more information about the Mar Elias/University of Indianapolis program or about how to help underwrite students' costs, please call Dr. Lynn Youngblood at 1-800-232-8634 or 317-788-6095, or e-mail youngblood@uindy.edu.

New congregation vibrant in Evansville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. - "The HILL a Jesus Community," one of the latest United Methodist congregational starts in Indiana, continues to grow in vitality.

The Hill was launched on Saturday evening, Oct. 23, 2004 with 120 people present. Average attendance now runs at 45 worshippers. Out of those regular attendees, two families became members of this new faith community.

This month The Hill plans to begin a weekly gathering with St. James West on Thursday evenings (TGIT). The Hill plans to offer a meal, have a short worship gathering and then offer programs for youth, child care for young children and activities like Bible studies for adults. Two adult groups will use "Come Thirsty" by Max Lucado and "The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership" by John Maxwell.

The Hill received a New Church Development Grant from the South Indiana Conference in the amount of $125,000 over a three year period. This grant comes from conference apportionments paid by most of South Indiana Conference's more than 600 congregations.

For more information about this new congregation, write Annette@the-hill.net.

Emory Burton publishes biography of Texas minister

North Indiana Conference retired minister C. Emory Burton has published a biography of the life of the progressive Methodist preacher the Rev. Wallace E. Chappell.

With an introduction by Bishop William Oden, Preacher, Prophet, Poet: A Biography of Wallace E. Chappell tells the life story of Chappell and details his moderately liberal ideas on theology, the church, and contemporary events. Additionally, the biography contains two of Chappell's sermons and selections of his poetry. The book is available through AuthorHouse Publishers.

Case writes on lighter side in new book

Writing on the lighter side than his previous book on the history of the evangelical movement in Methodism, the Rev. Riley Case of Kokomo, Ind. turns his attention in a newly released book to soup suppers, Sunday school and the Ladies' Aid Society of a fictitious congregation.

According to Case, the book, How Hackleburg Became A 13-Pie Church from Bristol Books of Anderson, Ind., "consists of stories of a small town Methodist church, from 1878 to 2004, sort of Phil Gulley or Garrison Keillor style."

He told Together, "I have been doing these stories here and there for about 30 years, and I just pulled some of them together for this book."

For more information or to order the book, log on to www.bristolhouseltd.com.

Speedway pastor reflects on own blue collar experience in new book

Speedway Pastor Darren Cushman Wood has written a new book titled Blue Collar Jesus: How Christianity Supports Worker's Rights, a book pertinent to Indiana in the wake of Governor Daniels' dismissal of labor unions in state government last month.

Cushman Wood says the inspiration for this 175-page book was rooted in his father, a person he tried to distance himself because of"his redneck ways," but one who supported him all the way. The book is dedicated to his memory, too.

Both historical and biblical in its scope of the labor movement, this book would make for good discussion in an adult Sunday school class. The book ends with a call of commitment for readers to become involved.

Bishop Willimon to deliver Mendenhall Lecture March 8

GREENCASTLE, Ind. -William Willimon, bishop of the Birmingham Area of The United Methodist Church and one of the nation's top theologians, will deliver the spring Mendenhall Lecture at DePauw University on Tuesday, March 8. Willimon will discuss "DePauw: Being a University in Light of the Trinity" in a speech scheduled for 7:30 p.m. in Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church, next to the university campus. The event is free and open to all.

For more information, contact Ken Owen at 765-658-4634 or log on to www.depauw.edu.

One Great Hour OF Sharing offering 'essential' to aid relief

As soon as news of the tsunami disaster in the Indian Ocean hit the airwaves, the United Methodist Committee on Relief responded. "Being there" is UMCOR's priority. On behalf of the United Methodist Church, UMCOR provides relief wherever catastrophe strikes. Coordinating efforts with faith-based partners around the world, the agency rushes to disaster areas with aid such as food, clothing, shelter and medicine. After immediate needs have been met, UMCOR stays to help survivors rebuild.

Such 100 percent giving is possible because UMCOR's administrative costs come from other, undesignated sources, including the annual One Great Hour of Sharing offering received in local churches on March 6.

New alliances aim to redefine, broaden interfaith movement

The Rev. Donald Charles Lacy, a United Methodist clergyman of Muncie, Ind., has been known to Hoosiers over the years as an ecumenist in pursuit of a boarder interfaith unity.

An ordained minister for more than 40 years and devoted to Wesleyan heritage, Lacy has established a new interfaith networking organization know as the LIFE which is short for Lacy Institute For Ecumenism. LIFE is actually an outgrowth of Lacy and Associates that came into being in the late 1980s.

Lacy, 71, preaches on the subject of Christian unity and urges Protestants to try the "Hail Mary" Catholic prayer and spend time daily getting to know someone of another denomination or historic Abrahamic faith - Judaism, Christianity, Islam.

For more information about LIFE, write 3400 W. Riggin Rd. #3, Muncie, IN 4304, call 765-282-2219 or e-mail DLacy33@msn.com.

Africa University announces Tindal Scholarship Fund

GARY, Ind. - James H. Salley, Africa University's Associate Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement of Nashville, Tenn., recently announced the Walter and Lovetta Tindal Endowed Scholarship Fund.

Sunday, Dec. 5 was a day of surprises and excitement for the members of Fifth Avenue United Methodist Church of Gary. Walter, a retired high school athletic coach, and Lovetta, a case manager employed by the State of Indiana, have been members of Fifth Avenue for 34 years.

In celebration of the Tindals' 36th wedding anniversary and in honor and recognition of Lovetta's commitment to higher education, the Tindals' children, Walter James III and family of Gilbert, Arizona and Leslie Renee Annette of Indianapolis; and Lovetta's sister, the Rev. Michelle Ann Cobb, superintendent of the Lafayette District, North Indiana Conference, endowed a scholarship in the Tindals' honor at Africa University.

Cobb and Leslie Annette presented a check to Salley in the amount of $10,000 during the morning worship service. One scholarship shall be awarded annually to a female Sudanese student enrolled in the Faculty of Education.

Operation Classroom work team to Ganta set for summer

Mona Morgan has been selected to be the team leader of this mission trip, from Aug. 17 to Sept. 4. The projected cost is $2,500 per person. This includes, airfare, travel expenses, lodging, transportation, meals, tips and taxes.

Team members are needed who are skilled or unskilled but willing to do what is needed (medical, teachers, construction workers, etc). They should have a spirit of adventure, accept the fact that they may not get the project completed, have a strong desire to serve others through a practical hands-on experience. For more information, please contact Mona Morgan at 317/844-3759 or morggm@aol.com.

Operation Classroom seeks band instruments

A number of Operation Classroom schools in Liberia and Sierra Leone have request band instruments: walking band set (drum, cymbals, clarinets, trumpets and other instruments). If you have any such used instruments and would like to donate them, please contact: Joe Wagner, Operation Classroom, PO Box 246, Colfax, IN 46035 or email wagners@operationclassroom.org. Instruments need to be sent UPS to Operation Classroom, 806 Woodward Street, Lapel, IN 46051.

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

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