May the grace and peace of a risen Savior be upon you! What does that mean for us? A Discipleship Pathway: A Way Forward

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1 A New H.O.P.E. The Mission of Hebron UMC is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. May the grace and peace of a risen Savior be upon you! I pray this finds you well and blessed. Please forgive the blatant Star Wars reference at the beginning. We have much to be hopeful for now, here and today! For the first half of the year, we have been getting to know each other. It has been a blessing for me and I look forward to getting to know each of you better! As you may be aware, the General Conference of the United Methodist Church just met in Portland, OR. During the conference, both the mission of the church and the four areas of focus for the church were reaffirmed. Our mission continues to be making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. The four focus areas of the United Methodist Church continue to be engaging in ministry with the poor; improving health globally; developing principled Christian leaders; and creating new places for new people. What does that mean for us? The Staff/Pastor Relations Committee has recently given their support to a ministry plan which you will learn about soon. I have included a portion of the ministry plan below: A Discipleship Pathway: A Way Forward The mission of the United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. This is the mission of all United Methodist churches. The 2012 Discipline of the United Methodist Church outlines a process for making disciples. According to paragraph 122 of the 2012 Discipline, we are charged to make disciples by: --proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ; --lead persons to commit their lives to God through baptism by water and the Spirit and profession of faith in Jesus Christ --nurture persons in Christian living through worship, the sacraments, spiritual disciplines, and other means of grace, such as John Wesley s form of Christian Conferencing (a way of living together in Christ) --send persons into the world to live lovingly and justly as servants of Christ by healing the sick, feeding the hungry, caring for the stranger, freeing the oppressed, being and becoming a compassionate, caring presence, and working to develop social structures that are consistent with the gospel. (continued on page 2) Office Hours: 9:00-3:00 weekdays Phone: (219) hebumc@netnitco.net Web site: Page 1 June 2016

2 Pastor s Message (continued from page 1) It is the responsibility of every member of the United Methodist Church to be active advocates of the gospel of Jesus Christ. The 2012 Discipline states further, every lay person is called to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20); every lay person is called to be missional. The witness of the laity; their Christ-like examples of everyday living as well as the sharing of their own faith experiences of the gospel, is the primary evangelistic ministry through which all people will come to know Christ and the United Methodist Church will fulfill its mission. Each step in the disciple making process (proclaim, lead, nurture, and send) has a result (make a disciple of Jesus Christ who has a mission). While it is not suggested that for each action a resulting reaction will occur; The United Methodist Church has established a series of vital measures that have been commonly found in healthy and growing faith communities. These vital measures are used to track activity and establish trends. Each congregation within the United Methodist Church can access this information. It is an expectation of the Bishop and District Superintendents of the Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church that each congregation participate in the weekly recording of the measures of vitality. These measures of vitality include: --Worship Attendance --Professions of faith --Number of Small Groups --Small Group Participation --Mission Outreach (number of persons involved with mission) --Benevolent/Charitable Support (amount of money donated) --Offering received (amount given as part of Sunday morning worship) --Offering per attendee Our rich theological tradition informs our method of carrying out how we make disciples of Jesus Christ. As members of the United Methodist Church we are to support the church through our prayers, our presence; our gifts; our service and our witness. We live in community with each other by first doing no harm; second by doing good and third by observing the ordinances of God. These are expressed through our sharing of radical hospitality; our celebrating of passionate worship; our commitment to intentional faith development; our dedication to risk-taking mission and service; and our self-sacrificial living to be extravagantly generous. This is how United Methodist Churches have lived out the Great Commission. Disciple making is critical to being a United Methodist Church. During the laity address of the 2016 General Conference, the lay leaders presented the goals for all congregations to strive toward in the coming four years. As it was expressed, all United Methodist Churches should be known by four traits as they making disciples of Jesus Christ. These four traits are Hospitality, Offering Christ, Purpose, and Engagement. At present, Hebron United Methodist Church does not have a discipleship pathway. I would propose that we adopt a process of making disciples around the four traits established by the General Conference Laity Address. An outline of the first approved phase of the discipleship pathway has been included on the next page. Page 2 June 2016

3 Pastor s Message (continued from page 2) H.O.P.E. Hospitality Hospitality is a means for people to explore a relationship with Jesus. Through hospitality, one encounters and responds to the call of God and finds a sense of belonging among the church body when disciples proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ. Discipleship Path: Individual I offer the love of God to those around me and live in such a way that I am a faithful witness to Christ. --New Members Class (for current members) --United Methodism Intro to Wesleyan Theology --The Uniqueness of the United Methodist Church --Welcoming the Stranger --How to live as a Disciple of Jesus Christ Congregation We create systems that connect, welcome, and disciple newcomers/guests/others --Connect: Internal Communication Evaluation: Electronic/Non-Electronic External Communication Evaluation: Electronic/Non-Electronic Joining God s Mission --Welcome Become a Certified Welcoming Congregation Welcoming Ministry 101 Visiting Other Settings The outline is incomplete and only offers bullet points for discussion. More information regarding each bullet point will be made available very soon. If you are interested in getting a head start on any of these, please let me know. It is a great blessing to see the people of God responding to God s call. This ministry plan relies upon the active participation of the members of the congregation who are excited about moving forward. By exploring this path, we will reach out to people who live around us and beyond our immediate community. We will be forming working groups to look into the ways to connect and develop budgets so that we can accomplish what we set out to accomplish. One of the most exciting aspects is to reach new people for Jesus Christ. One manner in which we can do this is through Hospitality. The United Methodist Church has a certification process for being a Welcoming Congregation. Very few who attempt this certification is successful. I believe that we can be among the few faith communities in all of United Methodism to achieve this distinction. If you are interested in this or if you are curious to find out more, please let me know as soon as possible. Page 3 June 2016

4 Pastor s Message (continued from page 3) More than just lip service We are already on the move! One of our members, Diana Margis, has heard God s call on her life and is now a Local Lay Servant through the United Methodist Church. She is going to be part of a visitation ministry within the congregation. Her role will be to provide prayer and presence to our members who are routinely visited. Diana will not to take my place as the pastor but will enhance the visitation ministry that already exists. Together, we will be able to see more people more often! Thank you Diana and God Bless You! Applying the Gospel The four focus areas of the United Methodist Church will also be part of the potential, new and existing ministries of our local faith community by helping us to focus our prayers, energies and resources. Here are a few current and new ministry ideas sorted by focus area: 1. Engaging in Ministry with the Poor a. Food Pantry b. Clothing/School Supplies c. Feeding Ministry d. Transportation Ministry e. Emergency Care Kits f. Benevolence Funds g. 2. Improving Global Health a. Malaria Campaign b. Special Sunday Offerings c. Operation Classroom d. Health Kits e. 3. Developing Principled Christian Leaders a. H.O.P.E Discipleship Pathway b. Certified Lay Servant ministry c. Stephen s Ministry d. 4. Creating New Places for New People a. Planting a new bible study in every public place in Hebron b. Creating an Outreach to our surrounding area c. Transportation Ministry d. Plant a Truck Stop/Hotel Ministry e. Plant a Skype Ministry f. Reach out to others around the World g. You will notice that there are some letters which have nothing after them. Those spaces are for you to fill in. If any of these ideas or current ministries is of interest to you, please talk to me. Let us pray together and seek God s guidance. I am looking forward to our hope filled future. Let us go together!!!! Peace! Pastor Ed Page 4 June 2016

5 From the Pastor/Parish Committee Your pastor/parish committee have had a lot of discussions concerning what direction to go regarding the ministry at the Hebron United Methodist Church. Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World is what the Methodist Church wants each of their congregations to accomplish, but how? Presently, HUMC does not have a discipleship pathway. During the laity address of the 2016 General Conference, it was expressed that all United Methodist Churches should be known by four traits. These traits are: Hospitality, Offering Christ, Purpose, and Engagement. We are encouraging our congregation to adopt a process of making disciples around these four traits. It is important that everyone is on the same page in order to accomplish this. The first step is Hospitality, which is a means for people to explore a relationship with Jesus. One will encounter and respond to the call of God and find a sense of belonging among the church body when disciples proclaim the gospel, seek, welcome and gather persons into the body of Christ. As an individual, I offer the love of God to those around me and live in such a way that I am a faithful witness to Christ. Several class opportunities will be offered to get us up to speed, so to speak. Being offered will be as follows: New Members Class (for current members) Do you remember what was taught in the membership class you attended before you joined church? There is much I m certain I don t remember. United Methodism 101 This can be found online and completed at home or possibly as a group setting.. Intro to Wesleyan Theology The uniqueness of the United Methodist Church Welcoming the Stranger How to live as a Disciple of Jesus Christ As a congregation, we will create systems that connect, welcome, and disciple newcomers/ guests/others. We will connect internally via communication and externally via communication such advertising our services, or more basically, by word of mouth. As a congregation, we will strive to become a certified welcoming congregation. (Presently there are none in Indiana). There is also a Welcoming Ministry 101 for us to participate. And we can visit other settings (Churches) to evaluate our progress. This is the first trait of the four traits I listed and we are promoting this step of the process. Pastor Ed will be assisting and leading us. We ask you, the congregation, to pray for this process and be open to the possibilities. I see a lot of individual growth, which is why we come to church. Then, looking at the overall picture, I see church growth for the right reasons Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World. Dennis Steinhilber, Pastor/Parish Committee Chair Page 5 June 2016

6 Our UMW General Meeting was held Tuesday, May 17th with 16 members present. The Spring Rummage Sale was a big success, and we thank everyone that helped us! Plans were made for our June 21st outing. We will be going to Caring Designs in Valparaiso, and then to Campbell Street Café for lunch. Our President, Ruth Babiak, gave a beautiful memorial service for Elaine Douglas, Marguerite Daley, Virginia Holok, and Marilyn Tysen s daughter, Cindy. Our May Hostesses were Marilyn Tysen, Jill Bell, and Vicki Mathis. It was Italian Day. The food was delicious and the tables were beautiful. Music is needed for our Summer worship services. Musicians are needed from June 12 - Sept 4 Please sign up at Fellowship Pointe. Thank you for your support. The mission trip to Henderson is fast approaching. We are excited to have 9 members of our church planning to serve on this trip. Last year, we offered the opportunity to the congregation to be a part of this mission by donating money to purchase personal items for the Henderson Food Pantry (toothpaste deodorant, shaving cream, shampoo, conditioner, razors, soap, and some cleaning supplies). We waited until we were in the area to purchase the supplies because it is difficult to transport extra things. The Henderson Pantry was very grateful for the much needed items. The mission team would like to again help in this way. In the back of the church is a container labeled Henderson Food Pantry. If you would like to make a monetary donation to this project, it will be much appreciated. 100% of your donation will be used to purchase these supplies. Page 6 June 2016

7 Abagail Marek Mother: Stephanie Marek Other Family: Katherine (sister) School attended: Indiana Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Humanities School activities: Academic honors diploma, President of Latin Club, Science Olympiad State Qualifier, Helping Hands Community Service Club, International Science and Engineering Fair, State Science Fair, 4-H, COFS Youth Group, Crysalis, Choir, and Cheerleading. Future plans: Attend Clemson University in South Carolina Plans to major in: Engineering Corey Duck Parents: Ted & Patty Urbanski, Vicky McKeny, Garðar Ottesen Other Family: Tony (brother), Sadie (sister) & Hannah Ottesen School activities: Bowling, Class President, Track, Student Council, Thespian Works at: McDonald s (manager training) Future plans: Attend Ivy Tech Community College Plans to major in: Mechanical Engineering Tony Urbanski Parents: Ted & Patty Urbanski College attended: Purdue University Lafayette Other Family: Sadie (sister), Corey Duck (brother) Vicky McKeny (aunt) Degree: B.S. in Chemical Engineering, B.S. in Chemistry School Activities: Organizer of Chem-E Kids in Lafayette, President of OEC Honor Society of Chemical Engineers at Purdue Lafayette Future Plans: Currently looking for full-time employment Page 7 June 2016

8 Food Pantry Monday June 6 9:00-10:00 am Monday June 20 9:00-10:00 am Tuesday June 21 6:00-7:00 pm We are in always need of volunteers. Call Joyce Steinhilber at Food Pantry Wish List Laundry soap Toilet paper Cereal Canned fruit Tuna Canned meats Spaghetti sauce Shampoo Toothpaste Cleaning products Saturday, June 11 8:00 am at The Country Kitchen Our Military Members Jake Burns Currently deployed aboard USS Chicago jake.burns.9026@facebook.com Kevin Centifanto Currently deployed in Korea District Information North District north.district@inumc.org. District Superintendent Larry Whitehead larry.whitehead@inumc.org The United Methodist Church web site is Thank you Pastor Ed and the HUMC congregation for the Wesley Study Bible presented to me on May 8, I was so overwhelmed with surprise. I will put the Wesley Bible to great use, to journey on in my Lay Servant Ministry and make disciples for Christ. May Worship Scriptures June 5 Psalm 100 God Bless, June 12 Luke 7:36-8:3 June 19 Galatians 3:23-29 June 26 Galatians 5:1, Page 8 June 2016

9 BIRTHDAYS 5 Angelique McKeny 8 Ashley Spurr 10 Chuck Sweney 13 Dave Marshall 15 Gabby Reynolds 15 Jacie Nikolich 15 Graham Kitkowski 20 Cole Darman 22 Gene Rust 27 Delores Miller 30 Wanda Thurner ANNIVERSARIES Ushers 5 Kelly & Dana Darman 12 LeAnn Hetrick & Denny Steinhilber 19 Gene Rust & Jim Max 26 Ken & Delores Miller Children s Message 5 Janet Jones 12 Joyce Steinhilber 19 Ruth Babiak 26 Jennifer Finley Muggers 5 Denny & Joyce Steinhilber 12 Jim & Sue Spurr 19 John & Joy Slegers 26 Jacie Nikolich 6 Ken & Delores Miller 6 Doug & Rhonda Walker 9 Mike & Jennifer Brawner 12 Dave & Liz Veit 15 John & Kathy Bryant 17 Bob & Pam Thurner 18 Gregg & Sheri Doffin 19 Pastor Ed & Patty Fisher 20 Jim & Sue Spurr 20 Harold & Joyce Walter 25 Frank & Ruth Babiak 25 Steve & Debbie Bennett Liturgists 5 Lynn Fisel 12 David Thurner 19 Dennis Steinhilber 26 LeAnn Hetrick Nursery 5 12 Sheri Doffin 19 Pat Marshall 26 Greeters 5 Gene & Barb Rust 12 Kelly & Dana Darman 19 Mary Max & Vicki Mathis 26 Marshall Family Tellers 5 Maxine Pass 12 Rose Fieser 19 Ken Miller 26 Diana Margis Page 9 June 2016

10 Attendance Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God that he has given you. Deuteronomy 16:17 Worship Sunday School May May May May May Total Average Weekly Offering (general budget) Missions May 1 $2, May 8 $3, May 15 $2, May 22 $1, May 29 $2, Navajo Missionary Call-A Good Country Ministries Support Ride Samaritan Pantry May May May May May Totals Pastor Secretary Custodian Organist Ed Fisher Lynn Iler Ruth Babiak Robin Hruska Page 10 June 2016

11 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Choir Practice 7:00 pm Bible Study at Misty Glen 1:00 pm Praise Team Practice 6:15 pm Sunday School 8:45 am Music Sunday Worship Service 9:45 am Country Pantry 9:00-10:00 am UMW Work Day 9:30 am Bible Study at Misty Glen 1:00 pm Praise Team Practice 6:15 pm Men s Breakfast 8:00 am (at The Country Kitchen) Sunday School 8:45 am Worship Service 9:45 am UMW Work Day 9:30 am Bible Study at Misty Glen 1:00 pm Praise Team Practice 6:15 pm 19 Sunday School 8:45 am Graduate Sunday Worship Service 9:45 am (Noisy Offering) 26 Sunday School 8:45 am Worship Service 9:45 am 20 Country Pantry 9:00-10:00 am Ad Council Meeting 7:00 pm UMW Lunch Outing Country Pantry 6:00-7:00 pm Endowment Meeting 7:00 pm UMW Work Day 9:30 am 22 Missions Committee 6:00 pm Staff-Parish Meeting 7:00 pm Page 11 June Bible Study at Misty Glen 1:00 pm Praise Team Practice 6:15 pm Bible Study at Misty Glen 1:00 pm Praise Team Practice 6:15 pm 24 25