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
January 2008 issue of Together

VIM teams minister to citizens in Sierra Leone

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone - Two United Methodist Volunteers-In-Mission work teams from Indiana and Minnesota were in Sierra Leone in November 2007 as part of the Operation Classroom ministries' work in the West African country.

Trainee nurse Mary Kamara talks with a pregnant women and nursing mothers on hygiene, malaria prevention and treatment at the Manonkoh clinic. Health education is one effective way the Sierra Leone UMC Conference is dealing with malaria and HIV infections.

The Indiana team painted six classrooms at the United Methodist Preparatory School on the Kissy Hospital grounds in eastern Freetown making the classrooms a pleasant environment for students.

Rick Chandler, the team leader, also gave pastoral services by assisting the local pastors at the Mango Brown Memorial United Methodist Church.

"We also made a ten-year commitment to add a second floor to the pre-school building," said Patti Paynter, another pastor in the group.

Among the most frequently reported cases of illness during the visit were malaria, upper respiratory infections, diarrhea, malnutrition, worms and other parasitic-type infections. Pregnant women and nursing mothers ranked high on the daily attendance sheet.

Congregations at heart of Design Team proposal

INDIANAPOLIS - The Imagine Indiana Design Team members are in the process of writing a 50-page proposal to enact the uniting of both the North Indiana and South Indiana conferences later this spring.

Congregations are at the heart of the proposal with a commitment by the newly proposed conference to bring services and other resources closer to congregations in order to "make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world."

The team's two-day retreat led by Bishop Mike Coyner was Dec. 14-15 in Indianapolis. The team heard a summary report of his 18 District Day events, discussed for hours the structure of the new conference beginning at the local church, heard reports from several task forces and gave final approval to a proposed pension and health care benefits package. The team continued its work on Jan. 4 and will meet again on Jan. 15 to finish its first draft of a plan to unite the two conferences.

The proposal begins with the congregation and proceeds organizationally to clusters, districts and the conference.

According to the district days reports, the most popular and affirmed part of the proposal is the clustering of congregations to add both support and accountability to all congregations. Also under this proposal, all pastors will be required to be part of a covenant group which may or may not include the same churches that are in the congregation's cluster.

Conference structure will be proposed to place three service centers across the state instead of centralizing services in Indianapolis. A separate Indiana Conference Center will contain conference administration, communication and the bishop's office in greater Indianapolis.

Taking into consideration a marketing study done in partnership with the University of Indianapolis, the team will propose nine districts for the new Indiana Conference - three in northern Indiana, three in central Indiana and three in southern Indiana. District boundaries are still being considered. Each district will have a district superintendent that lives in the district and will be supported by a regional service center.

Fox, Reisman to lead LEAP Feb 29-March 1

To assist both United Methodist laity and clergy in sharing their faith stories with others, the lay leaders of both the Indiana North and Indiana South conferences are sponsoring an Indiana Area convocation to be held in Indianapolis.

Kayc Mykrantz, lay leader of the North Indiana Conference, and Ike Williams, lay leader of the South Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church, invite both laity and clergy to a unique LEAP Year Event - Let's Establish A Priority to Tell Our Story - the weekend of Feb. 29-March 1 at United Methodist-related University of Indianapolis.

They will be joined by Dr. Eddie Fox of The World Methodist Council and nationally known North Indiana Conference Evangelist, the Rev. Kimberly Reisman in a two-day event leading participants to become confident in sharing their faith through personal stories.

LEAP will run from opening workshop at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 29, through closing worship at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 1, at Ransburg Auditorium in Esch Hall. Registration will open at 5 p.m.

Indiana Bishop Mike Coyner will lead opening worship followed by a presentation by Fox.

The Christ United Methodist Church Choir of Franklin will provide special music for the evening.

Cost is $50 per person including materials and Saturday lunch. A brochure including a registration form is available online at www.inareaumc.org. Printed brochures will be mailed to lay leadership across the state in January. A registration form also is provided with this story.

Both 2008 Indiana Annual Conferences need artwork, song

The theme for both North Indiana and South Indiana Annual Conferences will be "Friends with Christ," with Scripture verse John 15:15 ("I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.")

You can help both Annual Conferences by submitting entries on or before March 1 for one of the following:

• Original artwork for the banner to Gloria J. Nelson 107 W Campbell St., Edinburgh, IN 46124 Church: 812-526-5840, Fax: 812-526-8617, e-mail: gnelson@sicumc.org or revgjnelson@aol.com
• Original song or new words to a non-copy-written melody to Lynn Renne Aldersgate UMC 5130 Lincoln Ave. Evansville, IN 47715, Church: 812-477-7816, Fax 812-477-8658, e-mail lrenne@aol.com

The artwork and original song selected will be used by both annual conference sessions this coming spring.

UINDY announces Lugar leadership center

New venture builds on principles of senator's symposium for Indiana teens

The University of Indianapolis and the office of U.S. Sen. Richard G. Lugar recently announced the formation of a center dedicated to inspiring and developing new generations of leaders for Indiana, the nation and the world.

The Richard G. Lugar Center for Tomorrow's Leaders will build on the principles of the annual Lugar Symposium for Tomorrow's Leaders, a one-day event that gathers Indiana's top high school juniors for expert-led discussions on public issues and world events. The university has hosted the symposium since it was founded in 1977.

The new center will be a permanent home for the annual symposium and will provide extended experiences for high school and college students that expose them to leadership opportunities, the value of leadership in service to others, issues of ethics and integrity in leadership and the qualities of strong leaders. Building on the university's core values, the center will reinforce the value of a liberal arts education in preparing young people to be tomorrow's leaders.

Eley named United Methodist 'Chaplain of the Year'

FRANKLIN, Ind. - The Rev. John S. Eley, senior chaplain of the Franklin United Methodist Community, has been named Chaplain of the Year for 2008 by the United Methodist Association.

The United Methodist Association, based in Vandalia, Ohio, recently announced the celebration of excellence recipients for the coming year, including Eley. These recipients were nominated by their facilities and selected by a committee of their peers.

Consisting of United Methodist organizations throughout the nation that offer healing and caring ministries to children, youth, older adults and families, the United Methodist Association will recognize Eley at its annual meeting in Orlando, Fla. on March 29.

New book helps congregations consider building challenges

Holy Places: Matching Sacred Space with Mission and Message, by Nancy DeMott, Tim Shapiro, and Brent Bill, is the kind of practical guide congregations need to help them with the challenges of renovation, remodeling, expansion, or building.

Authors Nancy DeMott, Tim Shapiro, and Brent Bill draw from the experience of the Indianapolis Center for Congregations' work during the past decade with more than 300 congregations on building issues. No matter how extensive the project, the authors encourage congregational leaders to keep mission and message at the forefront of any building project.

Holy Places offers a step-by-step process for any congregational building team. The process helps teams look at where they are now, where they want to be, and how to move to that next level.

Hoosiers begin work toward 2008 General, Jurisdictional conferences

PLAINFIELD, Ind. - The Rev. Frank Beard, superintendent of the Kokomo District (NIC), leads an orientation session for delegates elected from both North Indiana and South Indiana Annual Conferences of what to expect at the 2008 General Conference of The United Methodist Church meeting April 23-May 2 at Fort Worth Texas. The two General and Jurisdictional conference delegations met for the first time on Saturday morning, Dec. 8 at the United Methodist Church of Plainfield. Most of an opening joint session was spent in introducing delegates to each other, hearing a presentation by Bishop Mike Coyner on the "7 Vision Pathways" proposed by the Council of Bishops and the General Church's Connectional Table. The two delegations also met separately to consider possible episcopal candidates for the election of one bishop in the North Central Jurisdiction to fill the vacancy left by retiring Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher of the Illinois Area. The North Central Jurisdiction is scheduled to meet July 15-19 in Grand Rapids, Mich. The delegations are scheduled to meet again Jan. 12.

General Conference basics explored online

How are delegates elected to the United Methodist General Conference? How many votes are required for the assembly to approve a petition? What is the role of bishops in the once-every-four-years gathering? And why is it important to keep a copy of the Daily Christian Advocate handy throughout the proceedings?

These and many other questions are answered in "Exploring General Conference," a five-session online course offered by United Methodist Communications for anyone wanting to learn more about the denomination's top legislative body and how it works.

The course is free and being offered to give people a basic working knowledge of the church's legislative process in advance of the 2008 General Conference. About 1,000 delegates will gather next April 23-May 2 in Fort Worth, Texas, to set church policy, approve a budget and speak on behalf of the denomination regarding social and moral

To register, visit http://training.umcom.org. For more information, call 888-278-4862 or e-mail training@umcom.org.

South Bend Clay Church expands to new building

SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Clay Church, a "United Methodist Community of God's Love" in South Bend expanded its ministry in November and moved into a new second facility.

The church's original seven-acre south campus at 17646 Cleveland Road had no room to grow. The 1,300-member congregation expanded its facilities with a 20-acre north campus at 52866 North Ironwood located one-tenth of a mile north of its now south campus.

The new 35,000 square-foot north campus building doubled the church's space and is completely handicapped accessible. Clay built a raked floor sanctuary for better visibility and placed two projection screens on either side of the front. The choir loft is larger than the one at the older facility. The church also installed a theater lighting system, upgraded its sound system and installed pews to comfortably seat 600 participants.

Near the new building's front entrance, the church created a space for people to connect. It contains several small parlors with couches and a cafe that serves coffee, hot chocolate, juice and baked goods on Sunday mornings.

Clay's children's ministry has its own wing in the new building. The wing resembles the Main Street of a little town. Each room has a different storefront. Names of the stores include Gabriel's Daily News, Noah's Boat Rental and Jonah's Fish Market. The largest room is for the group worship and contains a stage.

UE professor recognized for excellence by Higher Education and Ministry

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (UE) - The University of Evansville is proud to announce Bob Dion, associate professor of political science, as the recipient of this year's Exemplary Teacher Award.

The Exemplary Teacher Award is presented each year by the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, as a way of recognizing excellence in teaching at United Methodist Church-related institutions of higher educations. Dion was honored with the award Dec. 19, during the UE Winter Commencement ceremony.

Dramatic arts, adventure camps best attended in South Indiana Conference Outdoor Ministries

These young campers participated in the South Indiana Conference's 3rd & 4th Grade Sports Camp held this past June. They represent the 1,475 campers that participated in SIC Outdoor Ministries in 2007.

During the 2007 summer camp season the South Indiana Conference Outdoor Ministries served approximately 1,475 guests, that includes 710 summer campers and 765 retreat guests. This represents a small increase in participation compared to the 2006 summer camping season.

According to Ian Hall, director of the conference's Outdoor Ministries, the dramatic arts camp and adventure programming were probably the best attended programs this past summer. "Dramatic arts camp provides participants with both on and off stage experience which they can then take back to their local congregation. On Monday morning campers choose a one act play to perform. During the week they are equipped with the skills to realize all aspects of the dramatic performance. Dramatic arts camp culminates with a Friday night performance attend by friends and family of campers," explained Hall.

The most unique camp experiences this summer was the Adult Backpacking camp. This past fall Outdoor Ministries returned to Northern Virginia to hike the Appalachian Trail.

Haitian women artisans find support in new for-profit business

North Indiana United Methodists can be proud they are supporting a new way of doing missions. HAPI, a brand new for-profit business was started in March 2007 with seed-money grants from the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and its Women's Division.

A group of women artisans with no other means of income have been trained and are being guided through the process of developing their business in the mountain village of Mizak, Haiti. They are marketing their hand-embroidered products through their own Web site, www.HaitianArtisans.com.

In order to assist them in a very tangible way, volunteer groups in Indiana are assembling the embroideries into greeting cards that are sent to customers across the United States. Several UM churches have made the once-a-month commitment to assemble, including in Fort Wayne, First Wayne UMC, Saint Joseph UMC, Covenant UMC and 1st UMC; in Warsaw, Warsaw UMC; in Marion, Herbst UMC, Mier Community and several others are coming on board.

Bring joy and make them smile

For the past four years, the members at First United Methodist Church in Noblesville, Ind., have helped the staff at Indiana United Methodist Children's Home in Lebanon make Christmas special for the children and youth living there. The home serves more than 165 children each year by providing them with food, shelter, clothing, counseling and education. As victims of neglect, abandonment and abuse the individual care and loving environment at the home is a beacon of hope for these often forgotten children.

Each year Noblesville First helps the home by providing Christmas presents for all of the children. After each child is asked, "what do you want for Christmas?" three gift tags per child are prepared, sent to the church and placed on a tree. Noblesville First members take the tags and make Christmas wishes come true.

Huntington District presents Cross and Flame Awards

HUNTINGTON, Ind. - The Huntington District honored ten United Methodist laity with the 2007 Cross and Flame Awards during a district worship service held at Evangelical UMC on Nov. 5. The district recognized them for their dedication as disciples of Jesus Christ and for their work in their congregation.

They included: Aimee Currie of Monroe UMC, Carol Day of Richvalley UMC, George DeWeese of Liberty Center UMC, Dean and Barbara Hart of Jefferson Center UMC, Mary Jane Nichols of New Corydon UMC, Arden Schilling of Evangelical UMC in Huntington, Mary Smith of Poneto UMC, Ann Spahr of Roanoke Seminary UMC and Doris Stout of Berne Trinity UMC.

Organist continues to play at age 100

Dorothy Miller, organist at the Nevada Mills UMC near Angola in the Fort Wayne District, at the age of 100, continues to play for her congregation on Sundays and special occasions. She has been a member of the Nevada Mills Church for 90 years, becoming a member when she was baptized with her two sisters into the Christian faith as a child. Her parents, Lynn and Mary Collins, were married at the same church in 1906 following the regular Sunday morning service. Dorothy is the oldest of five children raised in the church. Also living and attending Nevada Mills UMC, is her brother Morris, age 85. She will celebrate her 101st birthday in March.

Nothing But Nets distributes 133,000 nets to families in Mali

WASHINGTON - The people of The United Methodist Church and Nothing But Nets - a global, grassroots campaign to prevent malaria - announced in December that the Rev. Gary Henderson, executive director of the Global Health Initiative, traveled to Mali, Africa as part of a United Nations Foundation and Nothing But Nets delegation to observe the distribution of more than two million long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets to children and their families.

Nothing But Nets campaign supporters funded 133,000 of the bed nets that were distributed Dec. 13-19 as part of the largest integrated health campaign in Mali, where malaria is a leading cause of death for children under five years of age. By the end of the integrated health campaign, all children under five will be protected by an insecticide-treated net.

"e-HUM" copyright 2008 by Indiana Area United Methodist Communications.

TOP OF PAGE