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e-HUM is a free service of Indiana Area United Methodist Communications, www.inareaumc.org. Subscribers will receive late-breaking news, announcements and Church resources via e-mail. We welcome your comments and submissions, please direct to e-HUM editor at ehumeditor@inareaumc.org. |
Highlights from the May/June issue of TogetherRemembering the chaplains of the Second World War 60 years laterSixty years ago this month, the Second World War ended in Europe. A rich part of the war's history includes the role of more than 10,000 ordained ministers who voluntarily became chaplains in the armed forces. Of those thousands, 88 former Methodists and Evangelical United Brethren pastors answered their call to country and to God and served around the world. Today, three of those chaplains, now retired United Methodist ministers, live on. They include the Revs. Ralph Blodgett, George Dinwiddie and John Wolf. A fourth, the Rev. Charles Ball is assumed to be alive, but Together did not have adequate information to contact him. The oldest of the three, even when he enlisted, is Ralph Blodgett, age 102, lives in Noblesville, Ind. He left his Markle church at the age of 42. Even though he enlisted, before the end of the war to serve in the Army as a chaplain, he didn't leave Indiana until June 1945. He served 12 years in both Europe and the Pacific. George Dinwiddie, now age 93 and living in Spurgin, Mich., entered the Army Air Corps as a chaplain in April 1941 at the age of 35. He served through 1946. He spent the first year on an air base in Connecticut and served overseas in North Africa, Italy and Sicily with the 64th Troop Carrier Group. He returned to the United States in 1944 and continued his service until 1946 in eastern Illinois. John Wolf, youngest of the three now 86 and living in Valparaiso, Ind., entered the U.S. Navy right out of seminary. The Navy did not require three years of pastoral experience as the Army did. After training, Wolf was assigned as chaplain in 1943 to the USS Frederick Funston, an attack transport ship which carried troops in and out of battle. The ship spent the rest of 1943 transporting troops, engineers and rangers and was based at Salerno, Italy and sailed off the coasts of Italy and Sicily. In 1944, the ship was dispatched to the Pacific. During the battle of Iwo Jima, the Funston lay off the island throughout the assault and landed troops in February 1945. After the war, Wolf continued in the chaplaincy and taught at the chaplain's school at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Va. Current United Methodist chaplaincy facts and figuresCurrent number of UM chaplains
United Methodist chaplains deployed to Iraq or AfghanistanThis number fluctuates daily. To date there are 78 deployed; some have returned and some have gone. The agency is sending phone cards to 33 chaplains to help military personnel keep contact with their families back home. Current Indiana military chaplainsSouth Indiana Conference
North Indiana Conference
Sources: UMC Endorsing Agency Bishop's Special Christmas Offering funds distributed worldwideINDIANAPOLIS - More than $66,000 in funds received from the 2004 Bishop's Special Christmas Offering were distributed across Indiana, the United States and around the world during an April 19 meeting of the Indiana Area offering committee in Indianapolis. Of the projects approved by the committee, one-third of the funds will go to Indiana projects, one-third will go to Advanced Specials in United States and one-third will go to Advanced Specials beyond the United States. The funds were primarily from the annual Bishop's Special Christmas Offering received during December 2004 in United Methodist congregations across Indiana. A total of $43,815 was received from North Indiana Conference churches. Another $42,730 was received from South Indiana Conference. More than $5,000 was received from grants and other contributions for a total of $91,596. The committee approved that $10,000 received from the offering would be used at the discretion of Indiana Area Bishop Mike Coyner. The 2005 Bishop's Special Christmas Offering will be received in church's across Indiana this coming December. Promotional materials are scheduled to be mailed the beginning of November. New Beginnings theme will set the pace at South ConferenceUsing New Beginnings as a theme, three United Methodist bishops will preach or lead Bible studies at the upcoming South Indiana Conference Session June 9-11 at the Indiana University Auditorium in Bloomington. The three include: Bishops David Lawson, Lindsey Davis and Mike Coyner. Bishop Lawson is scheduled to preach during the Memorial Service on Thursday, June 9 at the opening of the session. He retired in 1996 after serving the church 40 years as an ordained minister. Bishop Davis is scheduled to preach on Thursday evening, June 9 during the church growth and evangelism event following an all-conference dinner. He also will preach during the Friday morning worship service when deacon and elder candidates will be introduced and retirees will be recognized. Davis, 57, has served as bishop of the North Georgia Area since 1996. Bishop Mike Coyner, who preached last year as Bishop of the Dakotas Area, will lead six Bible studies during the three-day conference session. Scripture he intends to touch on include: 1 Corinthians 12, Matthew 25, Acts 6:1-7, 2:44-47 and 2 Corinthians 9. Using those passages, he will talk about administration, missions, connectional ministries, institutions and discipleship. South Conference session promises to be more visual, more vitalBLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The South Indiana Conference session, to be held June 9-11 at Indiana University, promises to be more visual than ever, according to the Rev. William Keith Jr., Indianapolis East Direct superintendent and chair of the sessions planning committee. Different than previous years, the Committee on Annual Conference Session plans to ask the South Indiana Conference to suspend the rules so all reports will be presented directly to the plenary session. Keith says, "we will not have legislative sessions on Thursday afternoon as in the past." Instead, each reporting group will be allotted a certain amount of time in the agenda. Not all reports will be presented, except in written form. Keith said, "Our hope is that each group presentation will be one that is interesting, imaginative and inspiring." He told those asked to report, "We do not want reports read." He said, "The idea is to give members of the conference exciting information to take back to their churches that will highlight the ministry and mission of The United Methodist Church in Indiana. We want to communicate ministry, demonstrate activity and involvement, and motivate our members to tell the story of the combined work of Christ's Church. Our goal is to accentuate the positive and productive programs of the conference, rather than be inundated with organizational detail, although some of that will be necessary." Greenwaldt joins Bishop Coyner in North Conference Bible studiesWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Business will not be as usual during the North Indiana Annual Conference sessions June 2-4 at Purdue University in West Lafayette. Instead of the traditional preaching services, Indiana Bishop Michael J. Coyner will join with the Rev. Karen Greenwaldt in a series of five Bible studies of Exodus, Matthew, Mark, Acts and the Corinthians during three days of the conference. Greenwaldt currently serves as General Secretary of The General Board of Discipleship. Prior to assuming this position in 2001, she served as associate general secretary, administrator and team leader of the Discipleship Ministries Unit at The General Board of Discipleship in Nashville, Tenn. She is a clergy member of the Central Texas Conference. General Conference commission sets 2008 dates, chooses themeSCHILLER PARK, Ill. (UMNS) - The commission that plans the United Methodist Church's top legislative assembly has chosen a theme for the 2008 gathering and has set the dates, shortening General Conference by two days from previous years. When the 2008 General Conference meets in Fort Worth, Texas, delegates will gather for nine days instead of 11. With a theme of "A Future With Hope," the nearly 1,000 delegates from around the world will meet from April 23 to May 2 to set church policy and conduct other business. The 17-member Commission on General Conference also reduced the assembly's budget, in keeping with a mandate from the 2004 General Conference to study ways of increasing efficiency and decreasing costs. Meeting April 4-6 in Chicago, the commission reduced the General Conference's $6.66 million operating budget by $250,000. The budget for the 2004 assembly in Pittsburgh was $4.87 million. United Methodist supported legislation proved successful in 2005 session of Indiana General AssemblyINDIANAPOLIS - Hoosier United Methodists worked with other churches and groups in supporting three primary issues during the most recent session of the Indiana General Assembly. Those issues included support for "Putting Children First" legislation, support of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency in curbing smoking and support in preventing the expansion of legalized gambling in Indiana. Putting Children FirstThe Rev. Darren Cushman Wood, of Speedway, worked with the South Indiana Conference Bishop's Initiative for Children and Poverty, chaired by the Rev. Gwen Roberts of Indianapolis, in supporting "Putting Children First" legislation. Cushman Wood told Together he was pleased that the Indiana General Assembly passed Senate Bill 529, which will establish reforms in the child welfare system, and that the state budget provides increased funding for hiring additional caseworkers. The new law: This last provision will require that 880 new caseworkers be hired by the summer of 2008. No smokingThe General Assembly maintained the funding of the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation agency at $10.8 million dollars. No expansion of gamblingOne of the biggest surprises for United Methodists was that both houses of the legislature refused any expansion of legalized gambling. That pleased the Indiana Coalition Against Legalized Gambling. South Indiana School of Christian Mission billed a 'Cornerstone of Hope'The theme for the 2005 school is "Cornerstones of Hope," using the Scripture of Ephesians 2:19-20. The South Indiana Conference studies are Children in the Bible by Paula Mayberry as study leader, India/Pakistan with Sandy Ruby and Cherian Thomas as study leaders, and Public Education with Dora Largent and Rita Gaither-Gant as study leaders. The South Indiana Conference school will be held at the University of Indianapolis beginning with a weekend school of Friday, July 15 through Saturday, July 16. The weekday school begins on Sunday, July 17 through Wednesday, July 20, 2005. Children and youth classes are held during the weekday session. To register, contact Justine Handley, Registrar,317-861-9586, for registration forms. Connersville pastor writes book of parablesThe Rev. Diana McCracken of Grace United Methodist Church at Connersville in Rushville District has recently published a book titled The Gospel According to Grandpa. McCracken told Together, "This is a series of stories that her Grandfather, Charles Wesley Kelly, shared with me as a child. Each story is a modern day parable that taught how God is in everything in our lives." United Methodists, Roman Catholics finish sixth round of dialogueWASHINGTON (Catholic News Service) - Catholic and United Methodist scholars, meeting in Washington April 29-May 1, called for greater sharing and collaboration between their churches as they concluded a dialogue on the church and church structures. Their findings will be published in a joint study titled "Through Divine Love: The Church in Each Place and All Places." The 20,000-word document is expected to be made public before the end of May. It explores similarities and differences in the structural ways Catholics and United Methodists express and strengthen their communion with one another and with God. Various levels of conferences express the connectedness of United Methodists, said that denomination's co-chairman, recently retired Bishop Walter Klaiber of Frankfurt, Germany, in an interview with Catholic News Service. He said the conferences - at the local, regional and general levels - are not just a way of organizing and governing the church, but an expression of being together in the church of Jesus Christ. The three-day meeting at the Paulist College in Washington was the ninth session of the sixth round of the U.S. Catholic-Methodist Dialogue, which dates back to 1965. As part of the work of their final session, the participants in the sixth round drew up recommendations to present to their churches on possible topics for the next round of dialogue. Bishops approve interim pacts with Episcopalians, LutheransWASHINGTON (UMNS) - The top clergy leaders of The United Methodist Church have approved interim agreements for sharing the Eucharist with two other mainline denominations - the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The approval came May 5, during the United Methodist Council of Bishops' weeklong spring meeting in Arlington, Va. The agreements, if approved later this year by the Lutheran and Episcopalian lawmaking assemblies, would result in those churches and The United Methodist Church sharing worship, particularly communion, studying with one another and being involved in mission together. The United Methodist Church is entering into separate agreements with each of the denominations. "We will be entering those agreements within a year," said Bishop William B. Oden, ecumenical officer of the United Methodist council. "This is highly significant," he said. This would be the first time The United Methodist Church has had such a shared communion with any group outside the Methodist tradition of the African Methodist Episcopal, African Methodist Episcopal Zion and Christian Methodist Episcopal churches. The agreements are interim steps toward full communion, in which The United Methodist Church and each of the other denominations recognize the authenticity of each other's ministries and agree that their ministries are reconciled. United Methodist and Islamic communities in North Indiana sponsor joint medical relief effortsTo East Jerusalem from Northwest Indiana is the routing of the most recent container load of hospital supplies dispatched by the Children of Abraham, Inc. In its short history, this organization, sponsored by the United Methodist Calumet District, the First United Methodist Church of Hammond, Ind. and the Northwest Indiana Islamic Center, has sent millions of dollars of hospital equipment and medical supplies to countries around the world. The current shipment to the Makassed Hospital in Mount of Olives, East Jerusalem, was preceded by shipments to Afghanistan, Iraq and to Methodist facilities in Bolivia, Ghana, Iraq, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe. A container load is now ready for dispatch to Nigeria. Most of these shipments are made in 40-foot shipboard containers, with the value of each ranging from $250,000 to $500,000. Of these shipments, some are sent in cooperation with and at the request of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries as they aid hospitals in the revitalization stage of disasters. Others were sent with the support and cooperation of the Indiana United Methodist based Operation Doctor/Operation Classroom. The medical supplies and equipment are secured from the surpluses of Chicago and Northwest Indiana area hospitals, clinics and physician offices. Volunteers pick up these items, sort and painstakingly inventory them for storage in the 2,200-square-foot warehouse. UMCOR allocates $1 million to Sudan start-up workBy Linda Bloom STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - Responding to the humanitarian crisis in the Sudan, the United Methodist Committee on Relief has approved a $1 million-plus start-up budget for work in this African country. The budget will cover personnel, equipment and operations costs and program activities. UMCOR directors approved the funding request during the April 11-14 spring meeting of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, the agency's parent organization. Up to 2 million have been displaced because of fighting between Sudanese government forces and rebel groups. Amnesty International estimates that perhaps 50,000 people have died from violent attacks. Donations for the "Sudan Emergency," Advance No. 184385, can be dropped in church offering plates or mailed to UMCOR, P.O. Box 9068, GPO, New York, NY 10087-9068. Credit-card gifts can be made toll-free by calling 800-554-8583. United Methodists give $32.4 million for tsunami aidSTAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) - United Methodists have donated $32.4 million for South Asia tsunami relief. The new total, which includes gifts received from late December through the end of March, was announced by Roland Fernandes, treasurer of the General Board of Global Ministries, at the start of the board's April 11-14 spring meeting. The North Indiana Conference has given to date $352,491. The South Indiana Conference has given to date $433,343. Indiana Bishop Michael J. Coyner also has pledged that the Indiana Area will give $150,000 to rebuild the Methodist Church in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. To date the North Conference has given $50,235 and the South Conference has given $73,185 to this project. Indiana United Methodists have given more than $909,250 to date for South Asia Tsunami relief. European United Methodists elect new bishop in EuropeUnited Methodist News Service A new bishop has been elected to lead the United Methodist Church's Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe. The Rev. Patrick Streiff, 49, was consecrated during an April 17 service at Bern Cathedral in Switzerland. He will succeed Bishop Heinrich Bolleter, who will formally retire in May. |
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