March 12, 2007

Imagine Indiana Planning Team releases report, recommendation to 2007 annual conferences

The Imagine Indiana Planning Team released today a 12-page report and recommendation document that now goes to both 2007 Indiana North and Indiana South Annual Conferences for consideration and a vote whether or not to unite the two conferences into one Indiana Conference. The eight-member planning team met last week on March 8-9 in Indianapolis to form the document.

The “Imagine Indiana Planning Team Report and Recommendation to the 2007 Sessions of the North Indiana and the South Indiana Annual Conferences” is available as a PDF document on the Imagine Indiana page of the Indiana Area Web site and can be found by logging on to: www.inareaumc.org/Imagine-Indiana/imagine_indiana.htm and clicking onto the document title.

The report comes on the heels of a March 5 meeting of the 28-member Imagine Indiana Discernment Team when the 14 standing sub-teams gave their final reports in preparation for the writing of the planning team’s document. A story of this meeting appears in on page 7 of the current March issue of the Hoosier United Methodists Together newspaper, which is available online at www.inareaumc.org.

This final report will be discussed by several committees, boards and commissions of each of the two annual conferences and will be introduced to the 18-district pre-conference briefings across the state.

The Imagine Indiana process is being led by the Rev. Dr. Adolf Hansen, Ph.D., a retired seminary professor-administrator, and the Rev. Dr. Cindy Reynolds, D. Min., superintendent of the Warsaw District.

Comments about the final report and recommendations to the annual conferences can be posted to the Imagine Indiana Forum available on the Imagine Indiana pages of the area Web site at www.nicumc.org/iiforum/.  Comments also can be e-mailed to the Imagine Indiana Planning Team by:

• E-mail to:
  • David V.W. Owen;
  • Adolf Hansen,
  • and/or Cindy Reynolds;
• Fax to: The Rev. David V.W. Owen at 317-924-4859l or
• U.S. Mail to: The Rev. David V.W. Owen, Indiana Area of The United Methodist Church, 1100 W. 42nd Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208.

Two corrections from Friday’s announcements

1. The Rev. Katharine Lehman Walker is a native of Topeka, Ind. not Kan. We regret the error.
2. The date of the South Indiana Conference clergy, clergy spouses event with Bishop Coyner is Tuesday, April 17. The brief should read:

South Indiana Conference clergy, clergy spouses event with Bishop Coyner

Indiana Bishop Mike Coyner invites all South Indiana Conference clergy and clergy spouses to celebrate “Our Life Together” from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17 (EDST) at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, 100 North Highway 46 Bypass in Bloomington. The scheduled includes: a gathering from 9:30-10 a.m. followed by a worship service from 10-11:30 a.m. with the Rev. Greg Davis of Patoka UMC preaching.

Everyone is on his or her own for lunch from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. in local restaurants. Bishop Coyner will share with all back at St. Mark’s from 1:30-3 p.m.

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