The Indiana e-Christian

Rev. Mmoja Ajabu, Minister for Social Concerns, was the subject of a feature article in Indianapolis Monthly.  The article covers Rev. Ajabu’s sojourn from son of an Indianapolis preacher to leader of the Indiana Black Panther Militia.  The story also describes his return to his Christian roots, his preparation for ministry and service as a staff minister at Light of the World Christian Church in Indianapolis.

The article abstract states: “As leader of the Indianapolis Black Panther Militia in the 1990s, Mmoja Ajabu bred hate and anger in the name of social justice. When his son was convicted in a horrific murder, he incurred the wrath of the entire city. Now, Ajabu has returned to prominence as a preacher like his father before him. But can he be redeemed?”

The article is available online at the Indianapolis Monthly web site.  Click here to read the article online.

The two Disciple congregations in Fort Wayne, First Christian Church and North Christian Church, both held services on Sunday, December 21, but with about half of the usual number of worshippers.  An ice storm has left much of the community without power for three days.

Approximately 40 households are affected at First Christian along with two households at North Christian Church.  Families without power have sought shelter at the homes of relatives, friends, their minister, and community shelters. As of December 22, major streets were clear, but side streets remain very icy. Another storm is expected this week.

Pastors James Cotton at First Christian and Peggy Edge at North seek the prayers of the Region as they respond to this challenge.

The community has had significant tree damage.  Volunteer assistance to remove down tree limbs could help the people of Fort Wayne recover once the power has been restored. 

Have a chain saw, chipper, or a pair of work gloves and able back to offer? If you and your church would like to offer assistance in community clean-up and recovery please contact James Cotton at PastorCotten@verizon.net or Peggy Edge revpedge@verizon.net.

Revs. Nathan Day Wilson, Jennifer Steele-Lantis and Amanda Wagoner have been selected as participants in the Wabash Pastoral Leadership Program.  The Program targets Indiana pastors with between five and ten years of experience following their graduate seminary studies and invites them to participate in a two-year program of leadership development and pastoral reflection. The program is based at Wabash College and is funded by Lilly Endowment.

Rev. Nathan Day Wilson

Rev. Wilson is the Senior Minister at the First Christian Church in Shelbyville, Indiana.  He received his undergraduate degree from Asbury College in Wilmore, Kentucky, and earned his Master of Divinity degree at the Lexington Theological Seminary, where he received the Riley B. Montgomery Award in Theology. He also received a graduate certificate in International Studies from the Ecumenical Institute of Bossey in Switzerland.

Rev. Jennifer Steele-Lantis

Rev. Steele-Lantis is an Associate Minister at the Southport Christian Church in Indianapolis, Indiana.  She earned her undergraduate degree from Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky, and her Master of Divinity degree from Christian Theological Seminary. She was the 2008 recipient of a Clergy Renewal Grant from Lilly Endowment.

Rev. Amanda Wagoner

Rev. Wagoner is the Associate Minister for Spiritual Formation at First Christian Church in Jeffersonville.  She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Kenyon College in Mount Vernon, Ohio.  She completed her Master of Divinity studies at the Lexington Theological Seminary.

“From a number of outstanding pastors who applied, we selected a representative group with very high potential for leadership from diverse churches throughout Indiana,” said Program Director Raymond Brady Williams. “They have rich academic backgrounds and life experiences, and we look forward to lively discussions of important issues and challenges that face communities and churches in Indiana.”

“Pastors play important roles in sustaining the vitality of local Indiana communities,” said Craig Dykstra, senior vice president for religion at the Endowment. “We are delighted that Wabash will create a leadership program that recognizes and honors their work, helps them understand more deeply challenges faced by Indiana, and prepares them to become increasingly effective leaders in congregations and communities.”

Pastors involved in the program will meet on the Wabash College campus 10 times over a two-year period to meet with civic, government, business, and religious leaders to discuss issues that affect local Indiana communities. The pastors will learn about a range of topics, such as statewide efforts to strengthen public education, Indiana economic initiatives, government responses to property tax and other issues, the impact of immigration on local communities, and advances in medical research and their impact on health care.

In addition, the pastors will participate in a study tour in North America during the first year and an international study tour in the second year of the program to learn about transnational contexts. One group of pastors will begin in January 2009 and the second in 2011.

Williams is the founding director of the program. He is the LaFollette Distinguished Professor in the Humanities emeritus, and he was the founding director of the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, also funded by Lilly Endowment.

“For many years the College ran the Wabash Executive Program that developed potential for leadership in executives in business and industry,” said Williams. “The College now runs the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning that develops leadership in faculty of colleges, universities, and seminaries. So it is exciting to be part of this new profession-specific leadership program for talented pastors in Indiana.”

The program will be housed in Trippet Hall on the Wabash College campus. Please contact Dr. Williams (williamr@wabash.edu or 765-361-6336) for additional information.

River of Life Christian Church in Logansport, Indiana, served its annual Thanksgiving dinner to 500 people this year.  That represents a ten-fold increase since the dinner ministry was launched forty years ago. 

In 1968, River of Life was the Ninth Street Christian Church, and that year the high school youth group (CYF) had been discussing what they should undertake as a service project for the year. They generated the idea for a Thanksgiving Dinner and presented the idea to Rev. Richard Berkey, who served as  pastor at Ninth Street from 1968 until 1973.

The other youth groups in the church were enlisted to help serve the dinner with additional help provided by their parents and other adults in the congregation. Fifty people were served dinners that year.

The congregation adopted the Thanksgiving Dinner project as an annual event, and it has grown over the years.  To serve more than 500 people this year, members of the congregation donated turkeys, deserts, salads and rolls. Local service organizations donated vegetables and potatoes.

Local businesses loaned refrigerators to the congregation, while local banks and businesses also provided financial contributions.  Members and community volunteers delivered over three hundred meals to those who could not come to the church and also served over two hundred who gathered at the church for the meal and fellowship.

Butler University has announced the search for candidates for the Edward W. Sawyer, Disciples of Christ Scholarship.  Butler University invites students who are members of the Christian Church to submit applications for this scholarship.  Applicants should also possess the following criteria:

• Ranked in the top 10 percent of their high school class;
• Earn an 1100 or higher composite of Math and Verbal SAT score or a score of 24 or higher on the ACT;
• Demonstrate school, community, and church leadership;
• Comply with all Butler University undergraduate admission requirements;
• Submit an application to the financial aid office at Butler University no later than February 1, 2009.

A copy of the scholarship application and guidelines is available on the Christian Church in Indiana web site.

Founded in 1855, Butler is a nationally recognized comprehensive university that blends the liberal arts with first-rate pre-professional programs. The Butler campus is located on the north side of Indianapolis, just five miles from downtown in a residential neighborhood. The 290-acre campus is hailed as one of the most attractive in the Midwest for its park-like setting.

Butler has programs leading Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and offers more than 60 academic majors.

Walk in the Light Christian Church, a congregation in formation of the Christian Church in Indiana, purchased the former Prince Masonic Lodge building at the corner of 40^th and Capitol in Indianapolis in August of this year. The building, once refurbished, will house space for worship and other ministries of the congregation. The church currently worships in the auditorium of Indianapolis Public School #43, across 40^th Street from the property.

The former Prince Masonic Lodge, located at 40th and Capitol in Indianapolis, will be the new home of Walk in the Light Christian Church.

Many can remember when the Prince Masonic Hall Temple occupied the building. During the 1960s and 70s, the building was the center of social gatherings that attracted many African Americans in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood and surrounding communities.

In the 1920s the building was constructed as a meeting place for the Capitol Avenue Christian Church, known later as University Place Christian Church. Prior to the Masonic Hall Temple, this building housed a non-instrumental Church of Christ. The congregation worshipped there sometime between the mid 1930s to the late 1950s.

The old building has been vacant for years, somewhat of an eyesore across the street from the new IPS School #43 building. It has been left empty, but not forgotten.

Since University Park and Faith United Christian Churches closed, Walk in the Light is the only congregation of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood. Ironically, the congregation is of the same denomination as was the earlier Capitol Avenue Christian Church that constructed the building. Now the building will come full circle with its history, housing once again a congregation of the Stone-Campbell tradition.

The congregation has a target date for initial occupancy in the spring of 2009.