South/Central Indiana District NEWSLETTER 2012 District Conference is fast approaching! Gathering in Marion is our opportunity to come together and join our hearts and voices as we worship God. It is a time to share in fellowship and celebrate the ties that bind us together as sisters and brothers in faith. It is a chance to work together as we consider business items that require our attention. Mike Fry, a member of the Union Grove congregation, is our moderator and has chosen the theme Complete Joy! These words are taken from Philippians 2:2. Throughout the centuries translators have made an effort to recreate the meaning of the text in English. It is intriguing that a verse about a common thought has many variations! then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind (NIV) 2 I urge you, then, to make me completely happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and being one in soul and mind. (Good News) 2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. (KJV) if you have a heart, if you care then do me a favor: Agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. (The Message) 2 Fill up and complete my joy by living in harmony and being of the same mind and one in purpose, having the same love, being in full accord and of one harmonious mind and intention. (Amplified) Make my joy complete: be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. (NRSV) As we gather in Marion, please be in prayer for our time together that we might sense God s presence and know the joy of being God s people. Before we gather please take a picture of something that expresses your congregation s JOY. Send that picture to scindcob@gmail.com before September 13. We want to use the pictures in our worship time. Bring with you a note of prayer and support for the people of Ekklesiyar Yan'uwa a Nigeria (EYN). Nigeria is experiencing much conflict and violence and the church is suffering. This is an opportunity to express our support and our prayers for peace. I am looking forward to seeing you as we gather! Beth
The 42th Annual District Conference of the South/Central Indiana District of the Church of the Brethren September 22, 2012 Marion Church of the Brethren There is still time to register: http://www.scindcob.org/reservform.pdf Or call: 260-982-8805 Special Event for Pastors Friday, September 21, 2012 at Marion COB - 6:00pm! All ordained and licensed, active and retired individuals in our district, District Board members and Program and Arrangements Committee members along with their families, are invited to a special time together the evening before District Conference. Tim and Beth Sollenberger Morphew will provide dinner and you will provide the fellowship and good conversation. After we eat together we will celebrate the 20 th anniversary of Hymnal: A Worship Book with Nancy Faus and Jenny Williams. Plan to join us for a festive evening in gratitude for your leadership in our district! Childcare will be provided. We were well represented! On a statistical chart from the Annual Conference Office, S/C Indiana was fifth in the denomination with the percentage of congregations represented at Annual Conference with 60.9%! The average representation was only 52.1%. Way to show your support South/Central Indiana congregations!!! 2
Open Roof Award presented to Wabash COB! Three churches were chosen to receive the annual Open Roof Award, presented Saturday during the Mission and Ministry Board meeting at Annual Conference. The award recognizes Church of the Brethren congregations or districts that have made great strides in becoming more accessible to people with disabilities. This year I am pleased to present the 2012 Open Roof Award to not just one congregation but to three, said Congregational Life Ministries executive director Jonathan Shively. With such excellent nominations this year, we decided that it s more important to recognize the work being done in our congregations rather than single out one winner. Created in 2004, the Open Roof Award was inspired by scripture from Mark 2:3-4 in the NRSV: Then some people came, bringing to him a paralyzed man, carried by four of them. And when whey could not bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him; and after having dug through it, they let down the mat on which the paralytic lay. Pastor Kay Gaier of the Wabash COB A nomination from a member of Wabash (Ind.) Church of the Brethren was received just after the deadline for last year s awards ceremony. We knew it was a good one, so we held onto it for this year, Shively said. The best way to express what goes on at the Wabash Church is simply to share words directly from the nomination form. It reads, in part, The thing about the Wabash Church of the Brethren is that they are built on a model of simplicity--building relationships with people. They care about every person who walks into their church, and those individuals become part of their family. It is a small church with a tiny budget, but they perform many acts of generosity. Members of the church reach out to the disabled in the community. Not only do they encourage them to come to our church, they bring them there! They don t just have disabled people in the church, they care for them, they keep up with their needs, and when they are having difficulties, they help out as much as they can. Upon receiving the honor for her church, Wabash pastor Kay Gaier said, I can t imagine a more wonderful award than one for a place where everyone is welcome and able to worship. We are grateful for the many good things these and other churches are doing to reach out to people with disabilities, Shively said. We hope that these wonderful examples will inspire others to do likewise in their own congregations. DISTRICT PRAYER CALENDAR FOR SEPTEMBER Sept. 2 - Please pray with us for Liberty Mills COB. Sept. 9 - Please pray with us for Nettle Creek COB. Sept. 16 - Please pray with us for District Conference participants. Sept. 23 - Please pray with us for Marion COB. Sept. 30 - Please pray with us for Manchester COB. We are asking you to remember our sister churches and denominational agencies in prayer this year. Those listed are merely 3
Retirement Planning Retirement planning is all about money..or at least our culture seems to think so. Most retirement planning books focus on the financial issues while ignoring other important planning aspects. Retirement from the pastorate (and other types of ministry) has its own special planning challenges. How do we gracefully leave a meaningful path of service? Should we do ministry part time? How do we help a ministry get ready for our departure? Where should we live? What will make our retirement days fulfilling? The Ministry Excellence Project invites you to Primavera Pathway: Approaching Retirement on November 3, 2012 at Camp Alexander Mack in Milford, Ind. from 9am-1pm. This workshop will provide resources for career pastors and spiritual leaders as they plan their transition to the next season of their ministry (excludes financial considerations). Upon completion of the retreat, participants will have made progress towards: Developing a workable timeline for transition Preparing a congregation for leave taking Establishing personal goals for retirement The workshop leaders are Wesley and Sue Richard. They were co-pastors of an inner city church in Lima, Ohio for 26 years. Wesley also taught communication at Bluffton College for 20 years. They retired from ministry in 2011 and settled in Goshen, Ind. to begin a well planned retirement. The workshop is best suited for ministry leaders and spouses age 50 and older, although anyone is welcome. Attendance of both husband and wife is strongly encouraged. The workshop and meal is free for Church of the Brethren ministry leaders and spouses within the Northern Indiana and South/Central Indiana Districts. The workshop and meal is $10.00 per person for all others. The workshop carries.5 CEU continuing education credits. The workshop will be held in the John Kline Welcome Center at Camp Mack. A registration form can be found at: http://www.ministryexcellenceproject.com/8.html. Please contact Barry A. Belknap, Director of the Ministry Excellence Project, if you have additional questions, at barrybelknap@gmail.com or 260-750-3538. Pastor Appreciation Matching Grant The Ministry Excellence Board invites your congregation to join us in celebrating Ministry Excellence Sunday during October 2012. We recognize that our pastors quietly serve their congregations. They sacrifice time and energy to enable our churches to carry out their ministries in a powerful way. The Ministry Excellence Project invites your congregation to recognize the efforts of your pastor(s). The Lilly Endowment, which is the major funder of our Ministry Excellence Project, indicates that financial challenges can adversely affect the personal well-being of a pastor and divert their attention from effective pastoral ministry. We recognize that current economic challenges facing many Church of the Brethren congregations compound the problem of adequate compensation for our pastors. The Ministry Excellence Project is offering a matching grant to Church of the Brethren congregations in the Northern Indiana and South/Central Districts. It is our hope that you will use the matching grant and design an event for your congregation to thank your pastor(s) for their leadership. We invite you to partner with us in expressing appreciation to our pastors. Details about the matching grant were sent to all church board chairs in late July 2012. Details are also posted on our web site at: http:// www.ministryexcellenceproject.com/7.html. 4
Global Women's Project Updates Global Women's Project would like to thank all of you who stopped by our booth and came to our "Tea Time" at this year's Church of the Brethren Annual Conference in St. Louis. We always appreciate your interest and the opportunity to share about the important work of GWP. One activity we'd like to call your attention to as fall approaches is the Children's Giving Project developed by GWP Steering Committee member, Carrie Eikler. This is a 5-part learning series designed to teach children about our partner project in Uganda and to introduce them to the concept of sharing our wealth with others around the world. It is an excellent resource for a Sunday school class or for a children's time during worship. For more information about the Children's Giving Project and to download the resources to present it, visit globalwomensproject.org and click on "Children's Giving Project." The GWP Steering Committee will be holding its next semi-annual meeting in Morgantown, West Virginia, September 7-9, 2012. We are delighted to be having two new Steering Committee members join us at this meeting, Sharon Nearhoof May from Phoenix, Arizona, and Tina Rieman from San Francisco, CA. Welcome Sharon and Tina! We are also excited to have two of our Steering Committee members traveling throughout the world. Emily Matteson will be studying in Chile this fall, and Anna Lisa Gross has recently departed for a two-week trip to India. Please keep both Emily and Anna Lisa in your thoughts and prayers. Training Sessions Available Mediation Skills Training Institute for Church Leaders or Clergy Clinic in Family Emotional Process Multiple dates and locations For additional information, please contact: Lombard Mennonite Peace Center 101 W 22nd St, Ste 206 Lombard, IL 60148 630-627-0507 admin@lmpeacecenter.org www.lmpeacecenter.org POWERHOUSE: Coming this fall! Mark your calendars: This year s Powerhouse regional youth conference at Manchester University (North Manchester, Ind.) will be Nov. 10-11. The theme Hello, My Name Is : Getting to Know God will explore the names and nature of God, with keynote messages by Josh Brockway, director of spiritual formation for the Church of the Brethren. Registration will be $50 for youth, $40 for advisors. Registration materials and other details will come out in early September at www.manchester.edu/ powerhouse. ANSWERS CONFERENCE at Liberty Mills COB Oct. 20-21, 2012 For more information: www.answersoutreach.org/libertymillls12 5
Hymn Sing & Ice Cream! The Peace Scholarship Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social is Sunday, Sept. 23, at the Kokomo Church of the Brethren, starting at 5pm. Come to Olden Mitchell's Birthday Party to Celebrate 100 years of a Good Life! You are invited to the Timbercrest Auditorium on Saturday, September 15, 2012, to celebrate Olden's birthday! Join us for refreshments and visiting from 2-4 p.m. Timbercrest Retirement Community is located in N. Manchester off Highway 13 north of Manchester University. For more information, call Janet Mitchell, 260-627-7323. The 2012 Wabash County CROP walk will be on September 30 starting at Warvel Park in North Manchester. Churches do not have to be located in Wabash County to participate in this walk. The walk is designed to fund hunger relief both locally and globally, as well as raise awareness of hunger issues. Twenty-five percent of funds raised will assist local food banks and pantries. The walk is organized through Church World Service. Watch for further information or contact Kay Batdorf at 260-982-8789 or at WabashCtyCROP@yahoo.com. We are working to eliminate hunger one step at a time. Share your events with us! We d like to let others know of your special events so that we may share in them together. Can we fill a page each month with fun, friends and fellowship?? Send us information on these events and we will let the rest of the District know the details of Happenings in the District!! Congratulations! Pastor Aaron Gross of the Logansport COB graduated on August 11, 2012 from Wesley Seminary with a Master of Divinity degree and started as an adjunct faculty on August 18. He is teaching pastoral spiritual formation part time to incoming seminary students. Women in Ministry Thursday, Sept. 13, 2012 11:30am at the Pleasant Dale COB 4504 W 300 N, Decatur ~ Bring your own lunch, beverages and dessert will be provided ~ 6
Dear Friends, Our South/Central Indiana District has a new disaster response assignment! September 23-29 we are scheduled to be in Pulaski, Virginia again. Remember, about fifteen months ago they were hit with two tornadoes. It sounds as though this week will be near the end of that project, though it has been extended at least twice already because of additional homes to build. I know there is at least one more foundation to pour for a new home, another with trim, doors and flooring to finish and a third ready for windows and electrical. Housing is on bunks in an air conditioned fellowship hall of a local Christian Church, meals are taken there and we need to at least provide a cook's helper, and there is a shower trailer on site. Tools are at the project but volunteers may bring their special tools. A local long term team makes sure materials are at each site and the work is laid out. Bring your own bedding, toiletries and clothing. Volunteers should travel with flexibility and good spirits. Expect to have a special experience! Please announce this opportunity for a rebuilding ministry in your congregations and have volunteers be in touch with me by email or phone (260-982-2971) to get on that team. Send the signed registration forms to: kindy@cpt.org or Cliff Kindy, 4874 E 1400 N, North Manchester, IN 46962. Those forms are at brethrendisasterministries.org on the link for building new homes. We will probably have a limit of fifteen folks so contact me soon! Blessings of peace to you! Cliff Kindy, District Disaster Coordinator Denominational Deacon Ministry Workshop Saturday, September 23 East Chippewa COB, Orrville, OH For more information on these and other deacon ministry topics, contact Donna Kline, Director of Deacon Ministry, 800-323-8039 x306 or dkline@brethren.org and www.brethren.org/deacontraining NYC 2014 coordinators needed! Applications are now being accepted for NYC 2014 coordinators. Please share this application with young adults who might be interested in serving as NYC coordinators through Brethren Volunteer Service, from June 2013 August 2014. Applications are due back to Becky Ullom by November 1, 2012. Applications available by contacting: Becky Ullom Director of Youth/Young Adult Ministry 1451 Dundee Avenue, Elgin, IL 60120 bullom@brethren.org Phone: 847-429-4385 Fax: 847-429-4395 Congregation receives grant The Logansport Church of the Brethren has received a grant of $49,789.00 to enable its minister, Pastor Aaron Gross, to participate in the 2012 Clergy Renewal Program for Indiana Congregations, funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. It will allow Aaron and his family to travel to Hawaii, Rome, the Holy Lands and France. The Logansport Church of the Brethren will spend time discovering their ability to be the church. Dr. Bud Bence and Dr. Lenny Luchetti, professors at Wesley Seminary, will share messages with the congregation along with Pastor Mike Osborn and Pastor Tom Anders who are currently ministers in the congregation. Progressive Brethren Gathering Holy Work: Becoming a Beloved Community is the theme of 2012 Progressive Brethren Gathering on October 26-28, 2012 at the La Verne Church of the Brethren in La Verne, California. This marks the fifth year for the Gathering, which draws individuals from across the country. The theme reflects the Gathering s commitment to a more just and welcoming church and society. The Gathering is sponsored by Womaen s Caucus, Open Table Cooperative, and the Brethren Mennonite Council for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Interests. Registration for the event may be done on-line at http:// progressivebrethrengathering.eventbrite.com. Contact Carol Wise, cwise@bmclgbt.org, for additional information. 7
What s So Funny About Money? It s FREE! The Ministry Excellence Project (MEP) is sponsoring five free performances of the live Ted & Company TheaterWorks show What s So Funny About Money? We hope everyone will make an effort to see a show and maybe even talk about it with friends after the performance! Make plans now to see the show! Dates and Times Friday, Oct. 12-7pm Indian Springs Middle School, St Rd 9, Columbia City, IN Saturday, Oct. 13-7pm Anderson Church of the Brethren, 741 N Scatterfield Rd., Anderson, IN Sunday, Oct. 14-3pm Camp Mack, Milford, IN Saturday, Oct. 20-7pm Osceola Church of the Brethren, 58362 Beech Rd, Osceola, IN Sunday, Oct. 21-3pm Mexico Church of the Brethren, 4460 N Mexico Rd., Mexico, IN MEP is a partnership of the Northern Indiana and South/ Central Indiana Districts and funded by the Lilly Endowment Fund. Questions??? Please call the S/C Indiana District Office at 260-982-8805. Who: What: When: Why: DON T FORGET! Fifth Annual Gift Basket Silent Auction Each congregation of S/C Indiana District Church of the Brethren One themed gift basket for silent auction Conference goers will have an opportunity to bid on baskets at conference To raise funds for Ministry Training Endowment Fund Where: Exhibit Area at District Conference How: Bring one, themed gift basket per congregation to District Conference Please include a card with the following information: Congregation s Name List of Contents Worth of Basket Suggested Starting Bid 8
S/C Indiana District September 2012 *Sunday morning visits are tentative Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 30 Wabash Co. CROP Walk 2 3 LABOR DAY Office Closed 9 BETH at Portland 16 BETH speaking at Timbercrest chapel BETH at Nettle Creek 23 5pm, Hymn Sing and Ice Cream Social at Kokomo 10 6:30-pm, MEP at Timbercrest S/C Indiana District 4 5 7pm, South Section Pastors meeting at Upper Fall Creek 11 12 13 6 7pm, Central Section Pastors meeting at Pipe Creek 11:30am, WIM at Pleasant Dale OFFICE CLOSED 2012 7 Office Closed 14 Office Closed 17 18 19 20 21 Office Closed INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER FOR PEACE 6pm, Minister s Dinner 24 12:30, VISION mtg. at Gas City 25 26 27 7pm MIV meeting at Kokomo Beth out-of-town at On Earth Peace at Marion 1 8 15 28 29 22 DISTRICT CONFERENCE AT MARION
Church of the Brethren South/Central Indiana District Office Church of the Brethren 604 N Mill St. North Manchester, IN 46962-1835 Peacefully, Simply, Together Beth Sollenberger, District Executive Minister Office Hours bsollenberger@brethren.org Mon - Thurs 9am-12noon South/Central Indiana District Office Phone Church of the Brethren 260-982-8805 Leslie Pettit, District Admin. Asst. Office Hours scindcob@gmail.com Mon - Wed 8am - 12 noon Thurs 8am - 4:30pm Fri CLOSED District website: www.scindcob.org Denominational website: www.brethren.org South/Central Indiana District Office Please remember to recycle this newsletter.