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Hoosier United Methodist News Archives
HOOSIER UNITED METHODISTS e-newsletter
For Friday, November 2, 2007 – Sunday is the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost
This newsletter is paid for through your annual conference connectional ministries giving.
Edited by Daniel R. Gangler, director of communication dgangler@inareaumc.org
Bible Passage for Sunday
This Week’s News Headlines
News and Information
Worship Resources
Ministry Resources
Deaths
Ministerial Appointments
New Job Listings
BIBLE PASSAGE FOR SUNDAY
Later that day Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “I will give half of my property to the poor. And I will now pay back four times as much to everyone I have ever cheated.”
Jesus said to Zacchaeus, “Today you and your family have been saved, because you are a true son of Abraham. The Son of Man came to look for and to save people who are lost.”
– Luke 19:8-10
(Contemporary English Version)
www.bibles.com
THIS WEEK’S NEWS HEADLINES
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400 supporters celebrate 20 years of Operation Classroom
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Bishop White to return for consecration of Center in Anderson
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Illinois Great Rivers bishop announces retirement
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UE announces largest anniversary gift of any class
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Remember when nurses wore capes?
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Church court upholds transgender pastor’s appointment
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Consultation addresses chasm between rich and poor
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Evangelical conference addresses church’s critical issues
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Assistance available for homeowners facing foreclosure
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US House revised SCHIP Bill lacks votes to override Bush veto
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Church leaders cautiously optimistic about new malaria vaccine
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Justices stay execution, a signal to lower courts
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Ball State president announces plans to make campus smoke-free
NEWS AND INFORMATION
400 SUPPORTERS CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF OPERATION CLASSROOM
More than 400 supporters of a mission outreach to West African United Methodists packed a suburban Indianapolis banquet hall Sunday night to celebrate 20 years of educational and medical ministries in countries recently torn by civil wars.
The outreach mission, Operation Classroom, was designed originally as a partnership linking the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries, the Liberia and Sierra Leone annual (regional) conferences of the church with the two Indiana annual conferences to upgrade secondary education in these two West African countries. Today Indiana’s Operation Classroom works with 15 elementary and secondary schools, one college and two hospitals related to The United Methodist Church in those two countries. The medical component, called Operation Doctor, was established in 1994.
Operation Classroom partners with United Methodists in the North Indiana, South Indiana, Rocky Mountain, Minnesota and Holston (Tenn.) conferences plus congregations and individuals from a total of 25 states. Conferences beyond Indiana sponsor even more schools.
During the banquet, participants honored the Rev. Joseph and Carolyn Wagner of Colfax, Ind. as co-coordinators of Operation Classroom during its 20-year existence.
BISHOP WHITE TO RETURN FOR CONSECRATION OF CENTER IN ANDERSON
Former Indiana Bishop Woodie W. White, now retired, will return to Indiana for the consecration of the New Hope Family Center and a multi-purpose center, bearing White’s name, in Anderson on Sunday, Nov. 18. The event will begin at 9 a.m. in the old church at 1503 Louise Street. A motorcade and parade is expected to arrive at the new site at 10:30 a.m. A consecration service is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m. with White and the Rev. Reginald Lee followed by a dinner to be served from 1:15 to 3 p.m. A connectional-community celebration of the new Bishop Woodie W. White Multi-Purpose Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. featuring White with special presentations from the mayor, the Governor of Indiana and Indiana’s United States Senators. All are invited. Those planning to attend the dinner are asked to RSVP by Tuesday, Nov. 13 at newhpch@aol.com or call the church at 765-649-1892.
ILLINOIS GREAT RIVERS BISHOP ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT
Bishop Sharon Brown Christopher has announced she will retire when her third term as episcopal leader of the Illinois Area ends Sept. 1, 2008. Christopher notified the president of the Council of Bishops by letter that she will seek retired status, concluding a 20-year career as bishop in Minnesota and Illinois. “My decision is the result of a long, prayerful, intentional discernment that has led to the realization that it, simply put, is time to retire,” Christopher said. “In the ordinary time of Charles and my life and in the extraordinary movement of God, it is time.” Christopher could have served another four years as bishop in another episcopal area but chose voluntary retirement. Since the Illinois Great Rivers Conference is part of the North Central Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church, a new bishop will be elected during the jurisdictional conference this coming July in Grand Rapids, Mich. Up to this announcement, it appeared that no elections would be held. Now the two Indiana conferences delegations will be considering pastors to nominate to fill this episcopal vacancy. – UMNS
UE ANNOUNCES LARGEST ANNIVERSARY GIFT OF ANY CLASS
The University of Evansville will wrap up its Homecoming Weekend on Sunday, Nov. 4, with a special announcement from the Class of 1957. In honor of the 50th anniversary of their graduation, alumni from the Class of ‘57 embarked on a fund-raising campaign – a campaign that brought in the largest anniversary gift any class has given the United Methodist-related University of Evansville. Several members of the class will gather outside the entrance to the Bower-Suhrheinreich Library at 1:15 p.m. Sunday to formally present their gift to UE President Stephen Jennings.
The class’s pledge will go toward the new Ridgway University Center, currently under construction along Walnut Avenue. When construction is finished – currently scheduled for winter 2008 – a portion of the structure will be named for the Class of 1957. – UE
REMEMBER WHEN NURSES WORE CAPES?
At noon on Saturday, Nov. 3, as part of the University of Evansville’s Homecoming & Family Weekend, UE’s nursing students will model those 1950s uniform capes – as well as countless other bits of nursing fashion through the years – as part of their first-ever Nursing Fashion Show.
The event, in the small gym at the Carson Center, is part of a luncheon celebrating the 50th anniversary of UE’s baccalaureate degree in nursing. More than 150 graduates of the nursing school – which awarded its first BS degrees in 1957, as the Baptist Hospital-Evansville College School of Nursing – are scheduled to attend the luncheon, including the surviving members of that first graduating class in 1957. The Fashion Show launches the school’s “$50,000 for 50 Years” fund-raising campaign aimed at raising $1,000 from each graduating class, helping fund scholarships for future nursing students. – UE
CHURCH COURT UPHOLDS TRANSGENDER PASTOR’S APPOINTMENT
The United Methodist Church’s supreme court meeting in San Francisco has upheld a bishop’s decision that a pastor who changed gender from female to male remains eligible to serve the church.
In combining two separate docket items related to the Rev. Drew Phoenix, pastor at St. John’s United Methodist Church in Baltimore, the Judicial Council stated that it was not ruling on whether changing gender is a chargeable offense or violates minimum standards set by the church’s legislative body, the General Conference. Rather, the court said “a clergyperson’s standing cannot be terminated without administrative or juridical action having occurred and all fair process being accorded.”
“The adjective (in this case, ‘transgender’) placed in front of the noun ‘clergyperson’ does not matter,” the court states in Decision 1074. “What matters is that clergypersons, once ordained and admitted to membership in full connection, cannot have that standing changed without being accorded fair process.”
Because Phoenix is a clergy member in good standing, the ruling means Phoenix will continue to serve his church. But the subject of whether transgender clergy are eligible for appointment is likely to be among issues debated when the church’s General Conference convenes next April in Fort Worth, Texas. The United Methodist Church bars practicing homosexuals from being ordained but has nothing in its polity about transgender persons. – UMNS
CONSULTATION ADDRESSES CHASM BETWEEN RICH AND POOR
While the world is increasingly interconnected through advances in communication, transportation and financial systems, its poorest citizens are being left out of the benefits of globalization, say United Methodist leaders monitoring the trend.
“The haves are going to have more, and the have-nots are going to have less,” said Andrew Park, a faculty member at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He said the poor simply don’t have the resources to compete in a global economy.
Park was among representatives from Korean, African, Filipino, Brazilian and U.S. perspectives who met in Nashville Oct. 18-19 for a consultation on “The Poor in a Global Church: Implications for The United Methodist Church.”
The purpose was to explore the theological, institutional and practical implications of the widening global gap between the rich and the poor and to develop a United Methodist resource of theological perspectives on globalization.
The U.S.-centric denomination is continuing its own discussions about proposed structural changes toward a more global church. Consultation participants urged the UM Council of Bishops to make growing economic disparity a vital part of their conversation. – UMNS
EVANGELICAL CONFERENCE ADDRESSES CHURCH’S CRITICAL ISSUES
Six conservative evangelical United Methodist renewal organizations asked delegates elected to the 2008 churchwide and jurisdictional conferences to pray and plan for a “renewed and dynamic United Methodist Church.” The Renewal and Reform Coalition sponsored the conference Oct. 26-27 at Christ UMC in Memphis, Tenn. The coalition includes the Confessing Movement, Good News, RENEW, LifeWatch, Transforming Congregations and UMAction.
The meeting’s purpose was to address what the groups consider the six most critical issues coming before the church’s top lawmaking body: General Conference in the context of a global church; advocacy for women and children; the role of the Judicial Council; doctrine, accountability, leadership and the Council of Bishops; membership standards; and empowering the central conferences.
Ninety-eight delegates, including alternates, registered for the Memphis event, said Patricia L. Miller of Indianapolis, executive director of the Confessing Movement.
“You don’t have to have a sense of direction as bad as mine to know The United Methodist Church is going the wrong way,” said the Rev. Rob Renfroe in opening the first session, called “General Conference in the Context of a Global Church.”
“In terms of membership, we are going the wrong way; in terms of attendance, we are going the wrong way; in terms of being able to raise up young men and young women who want to give their hearts and their passion and their lives to the cause of Christ in ministry of The United Methodist Church, we are going the wrong way,” said Renfroe, a pastor at the Woodlands (Texas) UMC. – UMNS
ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR HOMEOWNERS FACING FORECLOSURE
The Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives is distributing information about counseling and assistance for homeowners facing foreclosures. Persons facing foreclosure can call 1-877-GET-HOPE to reach the Indiana Foreclosure Prevention Network. Their Web site is www.877gethope.org (available after Nov. 7). They also have pamphlets and posters available to churches and agencies.
During the past eight years Indiana and Ohio have led the nation in foreclosures. Due to a combination of the loss of manufacturing jobs, the low appreciation rate on homes, high homeownership, and high levels of sub-prime lending, Indiana has been hit hard by foreclosures. Currently, Indiana is number 2 in the nation. The majority of foreclosures are in the Indianapolis area and follow the I-69 corridor north then over to South Bend forming a number 7 pattern.
If you have a church member or member of the community facing a foreclosure have them contact 1-877-GET-HOPE.
U.S. HOUSE REVISED SCHIP BILL LACKS VOTES TO OVERRIDE BUSH VETO
The House on Oct. 25 voted 265-142 to approve a modified bill that would reauthorize and expand SCHIP, again falling short of the two-thirds necessary to override a veto, the New York Times reports (Pear, New York Times, 10/26). The revised legislation, which is similar to the bill vetoed by President Bush earlier last month, would expand SCHIP to cover 10 million children and increase spending on the program to $35 billion over five years, funded with a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax. The bill would limit coverage to children in families with annual incomes below 300% of the federal poverty level (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 10/25). – KaiserNetwork.org (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation), 10-26-07
CHURCH LEADERS CAUTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NEW MALARIA VACCINE
United Methodist leaders in the fight against malaria are cautiously optimistic about a newly released report on the safe use of a vaccine that reduces malaria infection among infants in Mozambique. Bishop Felton E. May, interim chief executive of the General Board of Global Ministries, and the Rev. Larry Hollon, who heads United Methodist Communications, issued a joint statement in response to news reports that the vaccine has passed another stage in the long process of testing. Both May and Hollon took part in the Oct. 16-18 Malaria Forum sponsored by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, at which worldwide health leaders shared the latest news in the fight against the disease. May also was in Indianapolis earlier this week for the 20th anniversary banquet of Operation Classroom. – UMNS
JUSTICES STAY EXECUTION, A SIGNAL TO LOWER COURTS
Moments before a Mississippi prisoner was scheduled to die by lethal injection, the U.S. Supreme Court granted him a stay of execution on Tuesday evening, Oct. 31, and thus gave a nearly indisputable indication that a majority intends to block all executions until the court decides a lethal injection case from Kentucky next spring.
There were two dissenters, Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel A. Alito Jr., but neither they nor the majority gave reasons for their positions. Because only five votes are required for a stay of execution, it is not clear whether all the remaining seven justices supported it.
The stay will remain in effect until the full court reviews an appeal filed Monday by lawyers for the inmate, Earl W. Berry, who is on death row for killing a woman 20 years ago.
While there is no schedule for that review, it will almost surely not take place until the court decides the Kentucky case, Baze v. Rees, which will be argued in January. The issue in that case is not the constitutionality of lethal injection as such, but rather a more procedural question: how judges should evaluate claims that the particular combination of drugs used to bring about death causes suffering that amounts to cruel and unusual punishment, in violation of the Eighth Amendment. – New York Times
BALL STATE PRESIDENT ANNOUNCES PLANS TO MAKE CAMPUS SMOKE-FREE
Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora has announced plans are under way to make the campus smoke-free by spring 2008. In a campus-wide e-mail sent Oct. 12 to faculty, staff and students with BSU Web accounts, Gora said discussions and opinions she’d received from groups on- and off-campus led her to believe “making Ball State a smoke-free campus is the right thing to do.” – Muncie Star Press, 2007-10-16
More stories are available
online at www.umc.org.
WORSHIP RESOURCES
HYMNS FOR THE REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY 2008
www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=482457
Dean McIntyre collects hymn and song and scripture references into a single resource. Worship planners of all denominations, particularly United Methodists, will rely upon this invaluable and inclusive reference book that links hymns and songs with the scripture readings from the Revised Common Lectionary. Hymns for the Revised Common Lectionary is published by Discipleship Resources.
McIntyre cross-references biblical text and hymn title in this workhorse text. Information is provided in a simple table format to make it easy to find hymns that support biblical texts for Sunday worship and special days in the Christian year which begin with the first Sunday in Advent.
Also helpful is a 12-month planning calendar that includes lectionary reading citations for every Sunday and major observance, feast days and celebrations, as well as holidays and other notable dates of the US civil calendar.
Don’t plan worship without this!
Hymns for the Revised Common Lectionary 2008
Paperback
$16 each. Ten or more: $13.60 each
ISBN# 978-0-88177-521-1 . Order# DR521
May be ordered online: www.upperroom.org/bookstore/description.asp?item_id=482457
Or use the toll-free telephone line: 800-972-0433
MINISTRY RESOURCES
PLAN NOW FOR UNITED METHODIST STUDENT DAY SUNDAY, NOV. 25
Being a ‘Gift of Hope’ scholar means that there is money available for university students within The United Methodist Church for people willing to award scholarship money.
Offering from United Methodist Student Day, observed the last Sunday in November (Nov. 25), helps support United Methodist scholarship and loan programs. In 2006, the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry awarded $3.5 million in scholarships to 2,800 UN students and loaned nearly $1 million to college and university students. Apply for loans and scholarships at www.gbhem.org or call 615-340-7342.
Order Special Sundays resources at www.umcgiving.org/ss or call toll-free 888-346-3862.
Read more Gift of Hope profiles at www.interpretermagazine.org.
FIVE PRACTICES WEB SITE LAUNCHED AT WWW.FIVEPRACTICES.ORG
A Web site designed to encourage resource sharing among congregations is now on the World Wide Web. FivePractices.org is organized around five core practices of congregational life as described in a book entitled Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations. The book, written by Robert Schnase, presiding bishop of the Missouri Area of the United Methodist Church, defines the practices as radical hospitality, passionate worship, intentional faith development, risk-taking mission and service, and extravagant generosity.
The Web site will act as a host for resources created by congregational leaders so that those who visit the site can discover new ideas as well as share their ideas with others. Sections devoted to sermons, books, study guides, evaluation tools, blogs and discussion forums make it easier for those with similar interests to contact and learn from each other. The site is sponsored by the Missouri Conference of the UMC, and can be found at www.FivePractices.org.
GENERATION Y AND DEEP CHANGE
The Baby Boomer generation (born 1946-64) dominates the church today. Generation Y (born 1982-99) – the Millennial Generation – is the focus of much discussion and attention in the UMC – where are they, why are they leaving, who are they, how do we keep and attract them. This short article takes a look at these and other questions. Log on to www.gbod.org/worship/default.asp?act=reader&item_id=45442
NORTH INDIANA CONFERENCE MEDIA CENTER PICKS FOR NOVEMBER
The North Indiana Conference Media Resource Center’s latest acquisitions can be found online at www.nicumc.org. Click on “Media Library” in the left column and explore all the available options. November “Picks” include:
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Iron Wall (2006) DVD 52 Minutes Adult
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God Rocks Series (2003) DVD/CD-ROM (each DVD/CD-ROM contains 5 sessions) Children-grades 1-6
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God Rocks-Because God gave me RULES, I am RESPONSIBLE!
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God Rocks-Because God helps me, I am CONFIDENT!
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God Rocks-Because God created me, I am SPECIAL!
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Outflow (Youth Leader Kit) (2007) {Group’s The 1 thing } 5 weekly sessions DVD/Leader’s Guide/Youth Journal Youth Jr/Sr High
Order by calling the Media Center toll-free at 800-783-5138. This service is provided through your connectional tithe.
For information on any of these and many more, go to our Web site, www.nicumc.org and click on Media Library or call Angel at 800-785-5138.
SOUTH INDIANA MEDIA RESOURCE CENTER PICKS FOR NOVEMBER
The South Indiana Conference Media Resource Center’s latest acquisitions can be found online at www.sicumc.org. Click on “Media Center” and explore all the available options, including “Newest Resources” and “Picks of the Month.” November “Picks” have been posted. Some of the newest additions include: Affectionately yours, Screwtape: Devil and C. S. Lewis; Christianity’s Family Tree: What Other Christians Believe and Why (Adam Hamilton); Igniting Worship: Communion; Junior’s Giants; Living the Questions 2.0; Veggie Tales: Wonderful Wizard of Ha’s; and We Should Talk Peace. By calling the Media Center toll-free at 800-919-8160, you can order these and other resources from a selection of more than 4,000 videos and DVDs. Return postage is your only cost. This service is provided through your connectional tithe. Mary Barnes, Media Director, can be reached at mbarnes@sicumc.org for more information/consultation or you can access the catalog directly at www.sicumc.org.
DEATHS
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None listed this week.
MINISTERIAL APPOINTMENTS
Bishop Michael J. Coyner has announced the following changes within the Indiana Area. All dates effective 2007 unless otherwise noted. These appointments are based on Cabinet reports received by Indiana Area Communication during the week of Nov. 2, 2007.
North Indiana Conference
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Austin, Stephen from Warsaw First, Warsaw to Pendleton First, Marion, 1/1/08
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Dolby, Linda from Mulberry, Lafayette to Lafayette Christ Associate, Lafayette, 10/16
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Gladfelter, Michael Eugene from Muncie Fountain Square, Muncie to no appointment, 8/31
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Grame, Sheldon from Wesley Manor, Lafayette to Incapacity Leave, 9/1
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Graves, Steven from no appointment to Muncie Fountain Square, Muncie, 10/8
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Hummel, David C. from Winchester, Muncie to Mulberry, Lafayette, 12/1
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Jennys, Susan E. from no appointment to Francesville/Medaryville, Lafayette, 9/1
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Mann, Ronald C. from Alexandria First, Marion to Wesley Manor, Lafayette, 9/1
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Mitchell, Michael D. from no appointment to Emmanual/PawPaw, Kokomo, 10/14
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Mongson, Christopher from Concord, Fort Wayne to no appointment, 6/16
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Patton, Richard A. from Bluffton First, Huntington to God’s Grace Ministry, Marion, 10/1
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Pickutt, Matthew from Monon, Lafayette to Plymouth First Associate, Warsaw, 11/16
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Ream, Thomas from Brushwood, Calumet to Warsaw First Associate, Warsaw, 1/1/08
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Ringenbach, Susan from Lafayette Congress Street, Lafayette to Transitional Leave, Lafayette, 10/1
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Roeder, Michael from no appointment to Fulton, Kokomo, 9/30
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Salveter, Barbara J. from Transitional Leave to Extension Ministry: Good Shepherd Ch, Calumet, 10/1
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Steffen, Thomas from Culver Academy, Warsaw to Leave of Absence, 7/1
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Steffen, Thomas from Leave of Absence to Magnolia UCC, Warsaw (¶345 Pacific Northwest Conference of UCC), 8/28
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Wise, Brian from Summitville, Marion to no appointment, 10/30
South Indiana Conference
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None this week
NEW JOB LISTINGS
FORT WAYNE CHURCH SEEKS CHILDREN’S MINISTRY DIRECTOR
Saint Joseph United Methodist Church in Fort Wayne is accepting applications for the staff position, Director of Weekday Children’s Ministry. This is a full-time position with primary supervision of and responsibility for all of the weekday children’s programming. Saint Joseph is accepting applications through November 5 with anticipated interviews the week of November 12. Job description and applications are available from Pastor Shannon Stringer. To express interest please call her at 260-485-9681 x 26.
Last updated on 04/01/2008Compiled as a service of Indiana Area United Methodist Communication in Indianapolis.