The Indiana e-Christian

Indiana Disciples congregations are giving to Disciples Mission Fund at a pace 6.5% above the same period last year.  For the first quarter of 2009, Indiana’s Disciples gave $249,462 to DMF. Compared with the $234,259 given in the first quarter of 2008, that represents a 6.5% increase.

Under the current funding agreement, just over 40% of those offerings, or $100,156, come back to the region for its mission and ministry. 

The churchwide data, however, do not reflect as positive a picture.  Across the church, offerings to Disciples Mission Fund are down 5.5% compared to the first quarter of 2008.  The Northern California-Nevada region saw in increase of over $100,000 in the first quarter.  If that extraordinary increase is excluded, offerings are down 9%.

Northern California-Nevada and Indiana are two of nine regions that saw an increase of 5% or more.  Four regions’ offerings were relatively stable, neither decreasing nor increasing more than 5%.  The remaining 20 regions experienced decreases of more than 5%.  Eight of those regions saw decreases of more than 20%.

Due to current market conditions, distributions to Disciples Mission Fund from the Christian Church Foundation are down 23.6%.  However, these distributions represent only 1.5% of the total income to DMF.  More that 97% of the support for general units and regions from Disciples Mission Fund is received from congregations and Disciples Women.

More information about Disciples Mission Fund and the current funding system is available on the DMF web site.

The Barbee Site Committee has set Saturday, May 9, as the annual work day at Camp Barbee. Volunteers are needed that day to help prepare the camp for the summer camping season.

Work begins at 8:00 a.m., and lunch will be provided.

Volunteers are needed for the following jobs.

• Clean up cabins
• Electrical work (replace two fans)
• Plumbing work
• Clean up grounds
• Cut and stack firewood
• Seal tile on cabin floors

Volunteers should contact Terry and Jill Best, camp managers, and let them know the size of the group that will be coming. Volunteers can also call the camp at   (574) 834-4190 . Terry can provide information on tools and supplies that will be needed.

Donna Campbell, a student at Christian Theological Seminary and student associate at New Light Christian Church, is one of five Disciples semarians selected by the East Asia and Pacific office of Global Ministries to participate in the People to People Pilgrimage. The group will travel to China from May 29 through June 9.

Global Ministries ministers Julia Brown-Karimu and Dr. Xiaoling Zhu will travel with the group as they study Christianity in China and visit various historical sites. During the group’s 10 days in China, they will visit Shanghai, Nanjing, Chengdu, Xi’an, Zhoukou and Beijing. They will meet church leaders, attend worship services, and visit seminaries and projects.

City tours will include the Terracotta Warriors in Xi’an, the Great Wall and Forbidden City in Beijing.

The other seminarians chosen for the People to People Pilgrimage are: Rebekah Cypert, Brite Seminary; Ryan Charles Motter, Vanderbilt Divinity School; Tara Lyn Thompson, Phillips Theological Seminary; Jonathan David Wallace, The University of Chicago Divinity School.

The East Asia and Pacific office of Global Ministries encompasses a vast region from Mongolia to New Zealand, China to the Pacific Island nations. The region is home to nearly 1.6 billion people – one-quarter of the world’s population – and contains one-sixth of the world’s landmass.

Global Ministries currently has partners and projects in Mongolia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Micronesia, Fiji, and the Marshall Islands, including 16 missionaries in 7 different countries.

It’s time to get Bedford Christian Camp ready for the summer camping season. The spring work day at Bedford Camp is scheduled for Saturday, May 16, 2009, beginning at 8:00 a.m.

Many volunteers are needed for the various chores of spring cleaning in buildings and cleaning up debris on the grounds. Breakfast and lunch will be provided.

The most pressing needs are the spring cleaning of cabins, bathhouses, Craft Cabin and Overlook Lodge. The camp also needs people that day to remove fallen limbs from the mown areas.

There is always wood to be cut, split and stacked.

Contact Leila Dailey, associate pastor at First Christian Church in Bedford, for more information and to say you will be coming. The church needs an accurate count in order to prepare food and supplies. Please contact Leila at the church, (812) 275-4497 or by email to let her know the size of your group.

New Light Christian Church, Indianapolis, opened The Place 2 Hang, on Friday, April 17. The program is a community gathering place that features a weekly chaperoned social and recreational gathering for youth between the ages of 11 and 21. The Place 2 Hang also includes monthly programs for adults between the ages of 21-55.

The program is held every Friday from 7:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m., with registration beginning at 6:30 p.m.

The Place 2 Hang is an outreach of New Light’s M-Power Youth Mentoring Program. The Place 2 Hang program is designed to make a positive impact on youth and the wider community. It is a place for youth to have fun and be themselves.

The church believes that if they can provide a safehaven for youth to gather, it will be a positive outlet for them. The Place 2 Hang is one way that New Light attempts to meet the youth where they are. Activites include, but are not limited to, time on the computers, Playstation, Wii, Basketball, Volleyball, Double Dutch, Talent shows, greek step shows, poetry contests, ping pong, movies, and more.

Rev. Michael Scaife, pastor of New Light Christian Church, comments that The Place 2 Hang offers "community outreach by providing recreational activities, mentoring, education, and social services." He adds, "We've also found out that when youth and the community at large are offered structured, consistent night-time programs that include recreation programs as well as evening social activities, the impact on crime reduction is proven."

The program serves young adults and older individuals through programs such as HIV/AIDS testing, voter registration, Health screenings, AA and NA information weekly and monthly.

Light of the World Christian Church, located at 4646 North Michigan Road in Indianapolis, will serve as host to the 2009 Celebration Gospel Festival on Saturday, May 2, 2009. The Celebration Gospel Festival is an afternoon workshop in preparation for a concert at the church at 8:00 p.m.

Sponsored by the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir and under the direction of Dr. Eric Stark with special guest Tim Bratton, the Celebration Gospel Festival brings together singers from over 60 area choirs. Singers will participate in a workshop from 2-5:30pm and the concert will take place at 8:00pm.

The power of gospel music builds bridges and enliven souls, and this event is a one-of-a-kind musical celebration. The evening concert is free and is not ticketed. The afternoon workshop is free and does not require an audition. Anyone can participate in the workshop and performance.

Pre-registration for the afternoon workshop is recommended. For more information or to sign up, please visit the Indianapolis Symphonic Choir website.

First Christian Church of Bloomington has invited church members to spend Saturday, August 1, at General Assembly in Indianapolis. The church has reserved three 12-passenger vans to transport First Christian folks to the Indianapolis Convention Center to experience the richness of a Spirit-filled day with thousands of Disciples from all over the world.

To encourage attendance, First Christian will even cover the $50 one-day registration fee for church members. They will gladly accept donations to help cover this cost.

The theme for Saturday at the Assembly is: “We reclaim the blessing of the Holy Spirit, who empowers us to be a movement for wholeness in a fragmented world.”

The group will leave Bloomington at approximately 7:30 am, arriving in Indianapolis in time for a brief orientation before settling in to witness the church doing business through worshipful work. Box lunches will be provided, and following lunch participants will attend resource groups and workshops based on their own interests.

Travellers from First Christian will end the day with evening worship, which is always the highlight of the day: "great music and singing, great sermons, great visuals, great learning, great inspiration, and a great sense of belonging and fellowship,&quot according to the announcement in the church newsletter.

That evening, the group will hear a message from the Rev. Dr. Frank A. Thomas, pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., one of the largest Disciples congregations. Preaching in the African American tradition, his messages inspire, challenge, uplift, and call for faithful response.

President Obama has selected General Minister and President Sharon Watkins to serve as part of his faith-based advisory council, according to a report from DisciplesWorld.

Read more on this article at the DisciplesWorld site.

The Resurrected Life: Understanding the Meaning of Easter will be aired on WHMB-TV40 at 10:30 p.m. on Good Friday.  The program was originally produced in 1999 by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for the National Council of Churches.  It aired on VISION-TV and The Odyssey Network in 2000.

Ted Nottingham, pastor of Northwood Christian Church in Indianapolis, produced The Resurrected Life on behalf of the church. “I hope it will bless lives with renewed insight into what lies beyond the symbols and the story because it deals with the personal transformation we as Christians are called into,” Nottingham concludes.

The program is a film of artistic images drawn from the Holy Land, soul-stirring music, and the wisdom of prominent spiritual teachers representing various Christian traditions.

Several Disciples leaders, past and present, are among those included in the film.  Former General Minister and President Dick Hamm appears, as well as Rev. Judy Turner and Rev. Kay Bessler-Northcutt.  Dr. Ed Wheeler, now serving as President of Christian Theological Seminary, is also featured.

The film also includes original music by the late Curt Miller, former director of the Office of Communication for the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Broadcasting Christian programming since 1973, WHMB-TV40 in Indianapolis is the longest continuously-operated Christian television station in the nation.   WHMB’s over-the-air analog signal is channel 40, and the digital signal is located on RF channel 16.

Comcast subscibers will find WHMB on channel 9.  Brighthouse subscribers receive WHMB on channel 22. WHMB is located on DISH Network at channel 8457.  WHMB-TV 40 is not on DirecTV in Indianapolis.