The Indiana e-Christian

“God Has Done Great Things” provides the theme for the 2008 Christmas Special Day Offering of Disciples Mission Fund. The theme, drawn from Mary’s song of praise in Luke 1, calls individuals and churches to recall the many blessings of God and to give as an act of rejoicing.

The Christmas Offering offers individuals and congregations the opportunity to express gratitude for the ministry of the Region in their life and work. All gifts to the Christmas Offering given by Hoosier Disciples remain in Indiana to support the many ways in which the Region equips and connects the ministries of its 185 congregations.

God has begun a great thing in the Region through the work of congregational transformation. Seven congregations participated in a pilot group that has just completed an 18-month process of discernment and training. Many of these congregations are beginning experiments to help them move toward more effective ministry. A second group of congregations is forming that will begin the process in January.

In addition, several Indiana congregations are experiencing transformation by engaging “Unbinding the Gospel.” Others have embarked on their own spiritual strategic journey. All these efforts are supported by the Region in its ongoing effort to equip congregations to proclaim the gospel and make disciples.

Camping programs continue to be one of the most visible ministries of the region. Each year over 800 youth and adults participate in the region’s summer camping program. In 2008, the camp program introduced “Created to Be Me,” a camp for eighth graders that helps them explore questions of faith and sexuality. The camp was enthusiastically welcomed.

A second group of middle school students are entering the LEAD program, sponsored by the Commission on Ministry. This program trains leaders for the church by identifying youth with leadership potential and working with them over six years to develop their leadership skills.

These ministries and many others are made possible by the support of faithful Disciples across Indiana. Please join in the great things that God is doing by giving generously to the Christmas offering.

Since 2001, Indiana has participated with the other regions of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) to provide demographic services to congregations. Through a partnership with Church Extension, regions were able to provide demographic data to congregations through Link2Lead, a service of Percept Group.

Using Link2Lead, congregations could access, at no charge, demographic summaries by ZIP code. Recent enhancements to the system allow congregations more flexibility in defining a target study area. Congregations could also receive detailed demographic studies from Percept at a reduced cost.

At first, response to Link2Lead was high; however, utilization has sharply declined over the past few years, making it difficult to justify the expense to the region of $5,000 per year.

In addition, many congregations have become less reliant on using demographic data for ministry planning. As congregations seek to transform, they are looking more to prayerful discernment of mission and are getting to know their community more through personal contact.

However, in some circumstances demographic data can be a valuable resource in understanding a ministry context. As a means of assisting congregations, the region will be providing instruction on how to utilize other sources of data, such as the Census Bureau, and how to interpret that data for awareness and understanding.

In an effort to provide more timely information and to streamline communication costs, the region will reduce the number of issues of The Indiana Christian published next year from six to four. The issues will be delivered in March, June, September and December.

Quarterly publication will reduce communication expenses by about $10,000. Further cost savings could be realized by delivering the paper electronically.  Although the savings are significant, reducing expenses was not the primary goal of changing to quarterly issues.

“The shift in publication schedule reflects our desire to use multiple means of communication so that individuals and congregations across the region are well informed about the ministry of the region and their partner churches,” says Dean Phelps, Minister of Church Multiplication and editor of The Indiana Christian. “The newspaper has been and will continue to be a valuable communication resource.”

While reducing the number of issues of the newspaper, the region will continue to make improvements to its web site and to develop the use of other electronic media.

Next summer Indianapolis will proudly host the 2009 General Assembly for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). This will be an exciting time for the entire church, as well as for the Christian Church in Indiana, but it will also require nearly 400 local volunteers to assure success of the event.

Logo and theme for the 2009 General Assembly in Indianapolis.

The theme for the General Assembly is, “For the Healing of the Nations,” based on Revelation 22:2.

Work is well underway to organize volunteers for this exciting challenge. Earlier this year, a group of Disciples clergy from greater Indianapolis selected Arlene Pimentel as chair of the Local Arrangements Committee. The committee consists of four Vice Chairpersons that are responsible for a vast variety of volunteer tasks.

Several opportunities exist for volunteers to extend Hoosier hospitality to General Assembly attendees. These range from providing specialized transportation to organizing the serving of communion at worship services, and everything in between. The Local Arrangements Committee also has a treasurer and recording secretary.

“We’re trying to emphasize involvement by everyone in the Indiana Region,” states Arlene Pimentel. Involvement includes registering early as a General Assembly attendee. A registration discount is available to anyone who registers from the Indiana Region.

Involvement also means volunteering for one of the many needs of the General Assembly. Contact the committee via email at genassembly09@mdssworld.com for a complete list of volunteer opportunities.

“What a wonderful way to praise God through our denomination by showing genuine Hoosier hospitality to our visitors from around the world. Volunteer today and be a part of this exciting event,” adds Pimentel.

As part of the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Christian Theological Seminary, soprano Sylvia McNair will appear in concert at 3:00 on Sunday, November 23, in the seminary’s Sweeney Chapel. In a rare treat for fans of great music, Sylvia McNair will fill Sweeney Chapel with songs both sacred and secular.

Sylvia McNair’s 25-year career as one of the world’s leading singers has brought her two Grammy Awards, over 70 recordings and worldwide accolades. In recent years, she has segued from opera and oratorio to the Great American Songbook, the music with which she feels most at home. Now, instead of singing “V’adoro pupille” as Cleopatra to Julius Caesar on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera, she’s singing “Embraceable You” to rave reviews.

Barrymore Lawrence Scherer in the Wall Street Journal wrote (March 2007): “In recent years, such first-rank classical artists as Renee Fleming and Sylvia McNair have proved adept at jazz vocals. The idiom is in their blood”.

Tickets are still available for $25 each.  Call (317) 931-2310 to order by phone or visit www.cts.edu/events.

November 21-22, 2008 will be the sixth annual production of A Christmas Carol at First Christian Church in Marion. The production schedule includes a dress rehearsal on November 20, with public performances on November 21 and 22.  Both public performances begin at 7:00 p.m.

Scrooge is visited by Marley's Ghost during First Christian's production of "A Christmas Carol".

The production started in 2003 when pastor Rodger Moore presented an idea for a sermon series entitled “Humbug to Halleluiah.” Several church members involved with the Marion Civic Theater agreed to perform small theater cameos during the sermon series. This effort spawned an idea to put on the full play at the church as a gift to the community. A small but creative group lined up members interested in all aspects of the production and recruited two well known directors at the Civic Theater.

Since 2003 members of the church have created the set pieces, acquired costumes and props, installed new lighting and sound components, adding new items to the production each year. After the first year the production became a self supported event by selling advertisements in our program book and have never charged for admission.

That first year most parts were filled by very capable church members, with some entire families participating in different ways. This is still true today. Each year the number of community members cast has increased, in large part due to the continued partnership with the Civic.

The 2008 production is a special one. In addition to the no admission charge performances at the church, the church has been invited to participate with Marion Civic Theater to perform A Christmas Carol as one of their season shows December 5-7 and 12-14.

For more information on the production, please visit http://www.rememberindiana.com/fcc/info.htm.