July 13, 2006

"Two Special Sundays This Fall"

I have been asked by some of our conference committees to declare two different Sundays this fall as special Sundays in the life of United Methodism in Indiana. Both are worthy, so here is my declaration:

Sunday, September 24, 2006 is the day set aside to celebrate the Ordination of Women and to celebrate the ministry of clergywomen in our conferences. This year is the 50th anniversary of the granting of full clergy rights to women in the former Methodist Church, and so it is appropriate to set aside a Sunday to celebrate the contributions of female clergy to our church. If your church has been served by a female clergy, is currently served by a female clergy, or has sent women into ministry, this would be a wonderful day to honor those persons.

Sunday, October 8, 2006 is the day set aside to Teach about Tithing. I hope that every pastor in every church will preach a sermon that day about the Biblical concept of tithing, and thus we will encourage all of our people to tithe or to move toward tithing. Materials are available on Tithing from the CFA and from the General Board of Discipleship, as well as many other resources. Both of our Annual Conferences have voted to move into a Tithing model for supporting our connectional ministries, and that model begins with individual pastors and laity practicing the discipline of tithing, teaching about tithing, and modeling tithing for those who are new to the faith. Since most of our churches have finance and stewardship drives each fall, perhaps October 8th or some other nearby Sunday will be fit into that process with an emphasis upon tithing.

Please make these two Sundays this fall special occasions for celebrating these two important aspects of our life together.

Thank you.

from Bishop Michael J. Coyner

Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference ... in Indiana
and around the world"

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