TIME-2009-04

APRIL—JUNE 2009

Life of BrianRev. Durand Makes a Whale of a Change

The Sands of T.I.M.E.Buddhist Monks Share Their Sacred Tradition

Fiddling with TraditionSt. Luke’s Partners with Beth-El for Fiddler on the Roof

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ST. LUKE’S CLERGY STAFF:Kent Millard, Linda McCoy,

Brian Durand, Marsha Hutchinson,Marion Miller, Stan Abell,

Adolf Hansen

ST. LUKE’S STAFF:Kathy Alexander, Administrative Team Assistant;

Jason Barnes, Director of AV/Media;Dawn Bick, Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry,

Elementary;Betty Brandt, Director of Spiritual Life Center;

Brad Cherry, Facilities;Terri Coe, Director of Adult Ministries;

Marsha Coyner, Director of Joyful Rhythms;Lori Crantford,

Director of Communications, Marketing & Development;Brian Durand, Director of Youth & College Ministries;

Jan Emmons, Finance;Sylvia Forbes, Membership & Care;Brenda Freije, Student Pastor;Bertie Gilster, Front Office;

Mary Hach, Assistant Director of Children’s Ministry,Early Childhood;

Adolf Hansen, Theologian in Residence;Kathleen Headington,

Associate Director of Youth Ministries;Martha Heinrich, IT Manager;

Carol Helmus, Special Event/Wedding Coordinator;Sharon Holyoak, Oasis Bookstore Manager;Julia Johnson, Executive Director of Ministries;Mike Keller, Director of Wesleyan Ringers;

Faina Kleyner, Finance;Beth Lammers, Building Scheduler;

Erica Lampe, Benefits/Development Assistant;Tujuianna Lockhart, Facilities;

Bobbi Main-Jackson, Director of Weekday Ministries;Charles Manning,

Assistant Director of Music Ministries;Linda McGlothlin, Adult Ministries;

Bonnie McMenamin, Music Ministries Assistant;Janet Miller, Children’s Ministries;

Alex Moon, Facilities;DeAnna Moran, Adult Ministries Registrar;Tim Moore, Taizé Prayer Service Leader;

Rickie Murphy, Facilities;Debra Nethercott, Director of Children’s Music;

Sarah Nevin, Publications Design;Jan Nichols, Coordinator of World Missions Projects;Julie O’Connor, Administration & Celebration Team;Matt Peyton, Associate Director of Youth Ministries;

Jessica Pollock, Young Singles Coordinator;Rich Potterf, Building & Grounds Ministry;

Mary Katherine Schnitz, Director of Care Ministries;Cara Scott, Receptionist;Kelly Scott, Facilities;

Winnie Sibotshiwe, Facilities;Mark Squire, Director of Music Ministries;

Tara-Lynne Sinicki, Director of Children’s Ministries;Alison Strawmyer, Assistant Director & Registrar,

Weekday Preschool & Parent’s Day Out Program;William Taylor, Facilities;Jayne Moynahan Thorne,Director of Outreach Ministries;

Chris Thornsberry,Associate Director of Adult Ministries;Cheryl West, Director of New Song;

Adra Wheeler, Director of Hospitality & Volunteers;Rich Wisman, Facilities.

THE GARDEN CLERGY STAFF:

Linda McCoy, Stan Abell

THE GARDEN STAFF:Troye Kinnett, Director, The Good Earth Band;Steve Whipkey, Director, Oak Hill Band;Judy Tolley, Administrative Team Leader;Beth Fried, Communications & Worship;

Larry Fletcher, Director of Marketing & Operations

st. luke’s identityWe are an open community of Christians gathering toseek, celebrate, live and share the love of God for all creation.

st. luke’s visionWe envision being transformed by God

and transforming the world into a compassionate, just, inclusive,

Christ-like community.

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in this issue | mission | staff together in ministry everyday

100 W. 86th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46260TELEPHONE: 317-846-3404 • FAX: 317-844-1034 • WEB: www.stlukesumc.com

EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION STAFF: Editorial: Lori Crantford; Design: Sarah NevinCONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Betty Brandt, Brian Durand, Max Hill, Kathleen Headington, Sharon Holyoak,Lynn Jackson, Minnietta Millard, Jan Nichols, Matt Peyton, Rich Potterf, Scott Semester,Tara-Lynne Sinicki, Kay Walla.CIRCULATION MANAGER: Sylvia Forbes.

NEXT T.I.M.E. DEADLINE: June 1 for July—September 2009ON THE COVER: Photo of a Healing Mandala

IN THIS ISSUE:4 From the Editor5 Interfaith Connections7 Fiddler on the Roof8 World Mission / Social Justice10 SLC / Volunteer Spotlight12 Children’s & Community Ministries16 Youth17 Staff Changes19 Chickens for Hunger18 Music Ministries20 Endowment21 2008 Annual Report22 Facilities Oasis23 Concerns & Celebrations /

New Members24 Easter

10 Volunteer Spotlight 12 Community Partnerships

14 Youth


Friends:

We live in a world in which many people follow many different faith traditions. Here is the num-ber of people in the world and in the United States in some of the largest faith traditions:

Worldwide United States

Christianity 2 billion 225 million

Islam 1.5 billion 6 million

Hinduism 1 billion 2 million

Buddhism 350 million 4 million

Sikhism 30 million 2 million

Judaism 15 million 6 million

Baha’i 5 million 150,000

There are many other smaller faith traditions throughout the world as well, such as Taoism, Jain-ism, Zoroastrianism, American Indian, and African spiritual groups.

During the next three months our Together In Ministry Everyday focus will be to learn about ourneighbor's faith through a variety of events. One of the best ways to understand more about ourChristian faith is to study other faith traditions to discover the similarities and differences amongus in our faith journeys.

I have always found it fascinating and educational to visit Buddhist temples in Japan, Islamicmosques in Turkey, Jewish synagogues in Israel, Hindu and Sikh temples in India, the Vaticanin Rome, and Protestant churches all over Europe and the United States. When I learn aboutother faith traditions and other Christian denominations I always grow spiritually and am deep-ened in my own faith.

The week of April 27-May 1 we have invited a group of Buddhist monks to create a prayer man-dala out of sand which will be built in the Sanctuary at St. Luke's, and to teach us about howthis experience helps them to become closer to God.

On May 9-10 St. Luke's will partner with Congregation Beth-El Zedeck to produce the Broadwaymusical “Fiddler on the Roof” at St. Luke's. This famous musical deals with prejudice and dis-crimination against Jews in Russia, but also the role of our traditions and the effects on our lives.

During the period after Easter, I will be preaching on various faith traditions and differentdenominations within the Christian faith with the intent that as we learn about our neighbor'sfaith we will develop more understanding and compassion, as well as deepen our own commit-ment for our faith tradition.

We will continue to work with the Indianapolis Interfaith Hunger Initiative where Christians,Jews, Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists and others are working together to feed the hungry here in Indi-anapolis and in one county in Kenya.

I am excited about how God can use our learning about other faith traditions and workingtogether with people of other faith traditions to lead us to a deeper commitment in becomingfaithful followers of Jesus Christ.

Grace and Peace,

Kent Millard

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APRIL—JUNE from the desk

WHEN I LEARN

about other

faith traditions

and other

Christian

denominations

I always grow

spiritually &

AM DEEPENED IN

MY OWN FAITH.


I learned one of the most valuable lessons of my life when I was a younggirl. The teacher was my father, and the lesson was the importance oftiming. The subject of the lesson? Belching.

One evening as dinner was ending, my father let out this belch. Notsome little “oh, excuse me!” thing under his breath. This expulsioncould have been measured on the Richter scale.

And then, to my complete bewilderment, my mother began to laugh.

That was all I could take. I turned to my mom and said, “OK, how comewhenever I belch, I get yelled at, but when he belches, you laugh?”

The perfect moment of silence passed before my father looked atme and said, in complete seriousness: “Timing, honey. Everything istiming.”

That lesson hit home in this office when we belched out the newT.I.M.E. Together In Ministry Everyday Magazine in January. It hap-pened to debut the very Sunday we discussed the financial crisis thechurch was facing, and to many, it seemed that this new, large, glossy,four-color publication was not exactly the poster child of financialcrisis. The timing couldn’t have been worse than if I had tried to belchthe alphabet at my mother’s tea party.

Because of concerns raised by several voices within the congregationover this new publication, we thought we should share some facts toallay those concerns.

1. We kinda made a silk purse out of a sow’s ear. Because we (a)decreased the number of issues to four per year versus six, and (b)because of the larger format there are fewer pages involved, we didnot increase our budget amount for this item at all. The costremained the same from the previous format in 2008 to the newformat in 2009.

2. Stamping out postage costs. It does not cost any more per piece tomail this size than it did the previous smaller size, so we actuallyreduced postage costs by skipping two mailings a year.

3. Stamping out postage costs, part two. Beginning with this issue, weare cleaning up our mailing list. If you or someone you know is nolonger receiving this publication in the mail but would like to,please contact the church office and ask to be placed on theT.I.M.E. magazine mailing list. On the other hand, if you ARE re-ceiving this in the mail and no longer wish to, follow the above in-structions, only in reverse. Keep in mind that this publication isavailable in its entirety on our web site (www.stlukesumc.com), andextra copies are available at church until, well, until they’re not.

4. We really did think about this before we did it. There has been acommunications plan in the works for a couple of years now,involving some of what you have already seen: the morphing of theOfferings catalog and Sunday bulletin into the CommunionMonthly, followed by the new quarterly magazine, to be

followed by a new and improved website. The people of St. Luke’shave been doing exciting, innovative things, and we have beentrying to keep pace with all the ways in which people are beingeveryday ministers—and keep everyone informed—while alwaysalways always keeping the financial bottomline in sight.

5. Unfortunately, the timing was off. Because publications take time tocreate and roll out, we were already rather entrenched in movingforward when the bottom started to drop out of the economy. Wecan understand why the new magazine seemed at odds with theother messages coming from church leadership. The timing wasoff, and we didn’t do a great job of explaining up front what we areexplaining right here.

6. But there’s good news! We have had positive reactions as well, andwe feel strongly that this new format is a move in the rightdirection of sharing with each other and our larger community theways that God is working through the people of St. Luke’s UnitedMethodist Church. We hope when you finish reading this publica-tion that you will share it with friends, neighbors, colleagues. Thereis good stuff happening here. Inspiring stuff that the world needsto hear. The world needs good news, especially now.

You know those church bulletin blooper jokes that have been circulat-ing through the internet for years now, and probably before that? Oneof my favorites seems especially appropriate now: “Bertha Belch, amissionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist.Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa!” We hope that thispublication does something akin to hearing Bertha Belch all the wayfrom Africa—that it tells the stories of the amazing things being donehere loud and clear, in order to glorify God and the ways God is with usTogether In Ministry Everyday. �

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letter from the editor together in ministry everyday

The Timing of T.I.M.E.by Lori Crantford


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I whispered to my husband Bill, “Could we buy this and take it home soeveryone could see its beauty?”We were visiting the JokhangMonastery inTibet and looking at a six-foot round “mat” vibrantly colored with geo-metric designs and sacred symbols. What Ididn’t realize at first was that it was madeentirely of tiny grains of colored sand. Iquickly learned that it was a mandala, thesacred art of Tibetan Lamas.

Mandalas come in a variety of sizes, designsand intentions. Unlike the western mind thatcreates sacred masterpieces like the ceiling ofthe Sistine Chapel to treasure the object andsometimes even hoard it, the Tibetan Bud-dhists believe the sacredness of the mandalacomes in the intention and the work of creat-ing of the object. Their creation is a metaphorfor the impermanence of life because after themandala is finished, it is blessed and then de-stroyed. Monks then walk to a body of water carrying the urn of sand. Thegrains are scattered to bless and purify the water as it moves from streamto river to ocean, carrying the intention throughout the world.

St Luke’s has the great good fortune to welcome five Tibetan Buddhistmonks on Sunday, April during the : service. All week we will beable to watch and pray with the monks as they create a mandala in ourSanctuary. Then on April we can watch as the mandala is destroyed,

receive some of the holy sands to keep and join the procession led by themonks to pour the sand intoWilliam’s Creek. The following evening, Fri-day, May at in Fellowship Hall, the monks will bring us a cultural

presentation with instruments and songs as away to celebrate our week together.

When the five Tibetan monks begin theirwork here at St. Luke's they will draw theintricate design of a Healing Mandala (likethe one shown on the cover of this magazine)on a platform at the front of the Sanctuary.The second day they will begin to cover thedesignwith colored sand.Wearing their orangeand saffron homemade robes, kneeling for atleast eight hours a day, they will work withtiny funnels containing the varying colors ofsand. They will use a metal stick to tap lightlyon the funnel, dropping the sand sparinglywithin the tiny lines of the design.

Bill and I have gotten to know some of the monks who have traveledthrough Indiana in the last few years bringing their message of peace, loveand healing. I have to admit that initially I was totally intimidated withthese mystical holy figures. Most of them do not speak English, makingthem seem even more mysterious. In recent years we have met severalmonks whose English is quite good, so we now know how light-heartedand humorous they are. They don’t complain, are sometimes shy, always

Our recurring faith traditions are often the most outwardexpression of our beliefs.We experience our connection toGod and to each other through annual remembrances likeLent andAdvent, Easter and Christmas, as well as through-out the year with baptisms and confirmation, evenweddings and funerals. The way we celebrate our faith atSt. Luke’s is, of course, quite different from the way ourJewish, Muslim and Buddhist neighbors celebrate theirs,but we also share a lot in common.

From early April to mid-May, our church-wide TogetherInMinistry Everyday (T.I.M.E.) focus will be Tradition!—a look at the many different expressions of faith and ourshared spiritual heritage. This six-week timeframe—fromPalm Sunday (April ) to Confirmation Sunday (May )—will include classes, book studies, and social experiencesdesigned to allow us to get to know individuals and fami-lies of different religious backgrounds by experiencing andunderstanding their faith traditions. And if you’ve everwondered about our own United Methodist practices,you’ll have an opportunity to explore them, too!

Some highlights already on the calendar:

Watch the April and May Communion Monthly for addi-tional information about this exciting opportunity tocontinue learning and growing in spiritual awareness andunderstanding. �

APRIL—JUNE t.i.m.e. | interfaith connections

T.I.M.E.: Tradition!by Scott Semester

St. Luke’s Welcomes Tibetan Buddhist Monksby Lynn Jackson

THURSDAY, APRIL 9Participate in a traditional Passover Seder Meal.

FRIDAY, APRIL 10—SUNDAY, APRIL 12Celebrate Good Friday and Easter services at St. Luke’s.

SUNDAY, APRIL 26—THURSDAY, APRIL 30Buddhist monks will create a prayer mandala in the Sanctuary.

SUNDAY, MAY 10The classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof” will be performed—a joint production of St. Luke’s and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck.

SUNDAY, MAY 17Join in St. Luke’s traditional celebration of Confirmation.

Monks performing ritual music.

®


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together in ministry everyday

“Tibetan Buddhists believe the sacredness of the mandala comes in the intentionand the work of creating of the object. Their creation is a metaphor for theimpermanence of life because after the mandala is finished, it is blessed

and then destroyed. Monks then walk to a body of water carrying the urn of sand.The grains are scattered to bless and purify the water as it moves

from stream to river to ocean carrying the intention throughout the world.”

tireless and diligent in spite of aches and pains. They smile constantly,especially at children, and love to interact and tease. They are pleased whenlunch is pizza or hamburgers. They love basketball and movies starringLaurel and Hardy or Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The monks coming to St. Luke’s live in the Drepung Gomang Monastery(the Harvard of the Buddhist tradition). It sits on a very small piece ofproperty given in by India to Tibetan Buddhists monks who wereamong themonks who escaped the Chinese massacre in Tibet in the .

They crossed the mountains on foot into India and wanted to rebuild themonastery they had lost in their homeland. Today there are close to

monks on only a few acres where they study, pray, have little to eat and lit-tle medical care. Historically, Tibetan monks have lived by donations offood and money in return for their wisdom and teaching. So the Friendsof the Drepung Gomang sponsor them to bring their message of peace,love and healing to us. This is the same message His Holiness the DalaiLama spreads throughout the world on his travels. Some of the donationscollected during their stay with us will be sent to Southern India for thecare of those in the monastery.

The Friends of the Drepung Gomang are hosted in Indianapolis by theInternational Tibet Independence Movement with its headquarters here.Larry Gerstein is president and joint founder of this organization with HisHoliness' brother, Thubten Jigme Norbu, who taught at IU and diedrecently. The organization draws attention to the human rights’ violationsby China in Tibet, and works toward the freeing of Tibet. Larry is a cele-brated author, professor of psychology, director of doctoral training incounseling psychology, and the Director of the Center for Peace andConflict Studies at Ball State. �

For more information on the monks’ visit to St. Luke’s, contact BettyBrandt at [email protected] or 317-846-3404 x339.

BELOW: Sand mandala representing compassion


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APRIL—JUNE interfaith connections

On Mother’s Day weekend, May 9 (7:30PM) & May 10 (4PM), St.Luke’s UMC and Congregation Beth-El Zedeck will present a fullystaged production of the classic tale of Tevye and his five daughters,“Fiddler on the Roof,” in the Sanctuary at St. Luke’s.

“Fiddler on the Roof” was originally entitled “Tevye.” It is based onTevye and His Daughters (or Tevye the Milkman) and other tales bySholem Aleichem which he wrote in Yiddish and published in 1894.The story centers on Tevye, thefather of five daughters, and hisattempts to maintain his family andreligious traditions while outsideinfluences encroach upon their lives.He must cope with both thestrong-willed actions of his threeolder daughters —each daughter'schoice of husband moves progres-sively further away from establishedcustoms—and with the edict of theTsar that evicts the Jews from theirvillage.

The musical's title stems from apainting by Marc Chagall, one ofmany surreal paintings he created ofEastern European Jewish life, oftenincluding a fiddler. The Fiddler isa metaphor for survival, through tra-dition and joyfulness, in a life ofuncertainty and imbalance. [source:wikipedia.com]

Bob Zehr, former part-owner andco-founder of Beef and BoardsDinner Theater, the director of theupcoming St. Luke’s production,talks about the impact of Fiddler. “Idirected my first production of‘Fiddler on the Roof’ in 1974, tenyears after its Broadway debut.Since that time, I have been involvedwith nearly ten different productionsof this show, each time being reminded of the human conditions thateach of us share . . . our love of family and of our God . . . our desireto have the best for our families and our constant questioning of theways of the world and how we relate to our neighbors and our friends.

“It was through many of the Broadway musical experiences that wehave learned about intolerance and the hope of tolerance, aboutunconditional love and the challenges that the world places on ourdesire to see that love be fulfilled. Whether it is in shows like “WestSide Story,” “Cabaret,” “Les Misérables,” “Ragtime” or “Fiddler,” weare reminded, through sharing a theatrical experience, that life isprecious and that we must work towards honoring those who have laidthe foundation for our common humanity.”

[As we gathered recently at Starbucks for a planning meeting about“Fiddler,” Bob Zehr noticed the thought for the day that was printed on

the cup he had randomly received that morning: “What I look for inmusicians is generosity. There is so much to learn from each other andabout each other’s culture. Great creativity begins with tolerance.”—Yo Yo Ma. Apparently the coffee at Starbucks is so pricey becausethey are sending God’s messages through their cups.]

Whether it is seeking love through a matchmaker, or learning to lovethose who are not like us, or understanding what love means through

the passage of time, love is a centraltheme of “Fiddler.” “One of the mostmemorable and haunting songs in“Fiddler on the Roof” is “Do YouLove Me?” says Dr. Kent Millard, St.Luke’s lead pastor. “Tevye asks thatquestion over and over to his wife,Golde, and it is one of the basicquestions of life. Everyone wants toknow if they are loved by God and byothers. Love is our most basic needas human beings and is the most im-portant gift God gives us that we cangive to others.”

It was St. Luke’s director of musicministries, Mark Squire, who firstsuggested reaching out to Congrega-tion Beth-El Zedeck for this project.“I was thrilled when Rabbi SandySasso immediately said they wouldlove to participate,” says Bob Zehr.Rabbi Dennis Sasso (the marriedSassos are both rabbis at Beth-El)remarked, “Fiddler on the Roof” hascaptured the hearts of America inuntold ways. It is a story of bigotryand love, persecution and faith, lossand renewal. These are themes com-mon to all of our religious traditions.Congregation Beth-El Zedeck isproud to partner with St. Luke’sUnited Methodist in bringing a tasteof “Tradition” to our community.”

Yente the matchmaker couldn’t have made a better partnership her-self. Bob sums up the experience by noting that “Fiddler is a story ofsacrifice and commitment that we all share. It provides a window ofunderstanding of the Jewish historical traditions, both religious andsecular. Through working together on these kinds of efforts, we canbetter understand how our values and traditions lead us to a commonbond.” Kent adds, “I hope many people throughout our community willjoin us for this exciting, interfaith musical production of a Broadwayclassic which deals with many of the basic questions of our lives.”

To life! L’chaim! �

FOOTNOTE: Auditions had just concluded as we were going to press.Bob Schneider, a member of Beth-El, was cast as Tevye. And formerSt. Luke’s Associate Pastor Carolyn Scanlan will play Golde.

Matchmaker, Matchmaker... We Made a Matchby Lori Crantford


Making a difference has become a common phrase in recent years, but St.Luke’s has been doing it for a long time. In the mid ‘ the first missionwork team participated in a District Conference church build in south-west Texas. Since that time we have helped to open many doors ofopportunity. Sometimes we open doors ofhouses we help build. Sometimes we opendoors of schools we help finance or serve.Sometimes we open doors of clinics andprovide medical help. Often we open doorsof caring by providing food for the hungryor shoes for the shoeless. And sometimes wereally make a difference by opening doorsfor a single person who will change the qual-ity of life for an entire country. Such is thestory of Shadrach Gonqueh.

In , my husband, Gary, and I volun-teered on a work project to the Rio Grandeconference build in San Antonio, Texas,helping to build a parsonage. Workingbeside me was a young African Americanman who was singing an old Baptist hymn,one I remembered well frommy childhood.His name was Shadrach Gonqueh. He was astudent at UIndy, living with a doctor fromZionsville. He told me he was a native ofLiberia on theWest African coast. His story,as it unfolded, has become familiar in recentyears as we hear repeatedlyof rebel armies attacking inthat part of the world, butto me, then, it was new. Hewas a victim of a rebel war.Not only did his story edu-cate me about Liberia andits recent history, but it alsointroduced me to Opera-tion Classroom, a UnitedMethodist school missionin Liberia and Sierra Leone.

While Shadrach grew up asa child at the Firestoneplantation, he was accus-tomed to seeing signs ofabject poverty all aroundhim; it affected him deeply.Despite his family’s lowly status, relatively speaking, his was consideredone of the lucky few. One of the memories he has carried with him sincechildhood is how commonplace it is for people to die of minor diseasesthat are curable with proper and timely medical attention. He tells manystories of hospitals without qualified doctors and children bleeding todeath before a doctor can get there. His father, a self-taught “doctor” inorder to take care of his big family, encouraged Shad to go to schooland be a real doctor. His father did not want Shad to do what he had to dowithout education.

Shad tells a heart-wrenching story of an accident involving his mother andnew baby brother on the way home from the hospital. The baby survived

a delicate five-hour surgery as his mother prayed for his life and promisedGod anything to save her baby. She became a devout Christian, leadingher children to follow God. Shadrach was born the year his four-year-old brother died. After hearing this story, he promised his mother that

one day he would be among the few Liberi-ans professionally trained to care for theirown people in at least one of the branchesof medicine.

Shadrach was separated from his parents inwhen a rebel army destroyed his village,including the school he was attending. Hefled for his life to the Ivory Coast wherehe was taken into a United Methodist Op-eration Classroom School. To this day hecredits his high school education to thatorganization. He preaches and teaches oth-ers about their gift to him,which is the onlyway he would have obtained his high schooleducation.

Shadrach and I crossed paths again in Haiti.He was on a medical mission with theTimmy Foundation and his mentor, Dr.Suzanne Montgomery, who had discoveredhim at the Operation Classroom School.She helped him get a visa to come to theUnited States to go to college.While study-

ing as an undergraduatestudent at UIndy, he wasreaching out to help othersthrough mission work athis church. He spoke atmany local churches wit-nessing to his faith.

Shadrach did well in hisundergraduate work and,following his family’sdream, applied for medicalschool. Unfortunately, thiswas the year of / andgraduate school applica-tions by foreign nationalswere rarely accepted.Shadrach made a visithome to Liberia, dejected

about the rejection.While he was home, his sister suffered terribly from atooth abscess. There were no dentists to be found. The only hope was towait for a visiting doctor to administer pain relief. A message from Godseemed to come to Shadrach, suggesting that maybe he could become adentist and return to Liberia to help his people with dental services!

Shadrachmarried his Liberian sweetheart, and they returned to his secondhome, Indiana, his church and a community of Liberian friends inZionsville. He applied to the IUPUI Dental School and was accepted in theclass in July . He was off to capture his goal of becoming a dentist andreturning to Liberia to help his people. Times were difficult. Money wasscarce. Once again, God answered his prayers, as United Methodists came

Opening Doors of Opportunity through Outreach:A St. Luke’s Storyby Kay Walla


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Pedal for Peace!by Minnietta Millard

How often is there a fun family event that can make asignificant difference in the world? Here is one! PutSeptember 12, 2009, noon to midnight, on your familycalendar to ride your bikes (and tricycles and stationarybikes) as a part of a relay team to raise money for peace-ful solutions in the world.

St. Luke’s Social Justice Commission is planning thisyear’s relay to raise funds for the Mar Elias College inIbilin, Israel, which has just received certification fromthe Israeli Government. It is a world-class university pro-moting peace in the Middle East by educating Muslims,Jews, Christians and Druze together in an environmentthat builds understanding and mutual respect.

This event will bring together a diversity of faiths,ages, and cultures that are committed topeace on earth. Our first organizationalmeeting is April 15 at 7PM at St. Luke’s.

Please join us and start now creatingyour relay team by breaking the day intomanageable segments.

Contact [email protected] information.

APRIL—JUNE world missions | social justice

to his aid. Zionsville UMC, Christ UMC of Westfield and St.Luke’s worked together to help him financially.

I love the slogan, “Open hearts, open minds and open doors.”This is one wonderful example. Each year of Shadrach’s school-ing, UMC congregations in the Indianapolis area opened theirhearts and minds, thus keeping the door of opportunity openfor Shadrach. They helped to pay for tuition, books, dentalequipment and living costs. One St. Luke’s member gave him acar. Shadrach says that St. Luke’s friends were there on occa-sions when his educational progress was in jeopardy and therewas no place else he could go.

While on a Christmas holiday he went to Liberia and worked at the GantaHospital. Upon his return he told of the horror of spending two weekspulling the teeth of little children for whom there was no anesthetic! St.Luke’s World Missions then sponsored a fundraiser which netted ,

for a nitrous oxide machine for him to take when he goes home to Liberia.A member of the congregation who works for a dentist also obtained anx-ray machine for him.A retiring dentist promises a dental chair when heis ready.

Shadrach’s wife, Ruby, a nursing student, delivered a beautiful baby girl,Abby, his second year of dental school, and the expenses mounted. Withsupport from a number of churches he managed to persevere and stay inschool. During his last two years he was able to receive loans to allow himto finish. In May we watched Shadrach receive his diploma, themorning after his new baby boy,Nathan, was born.As he walked across thestage, he thanked the people of St. Luke’s, Zionsville, and other UnitedMethodist Churches for their role in his education.

People often ask if Shadrach is really going back to Liberia.You bet he is.Heis currently working in Ft. Wayne to help Ruby finish nursing school andto pay off his loans. He began paying back his loans one month after grad-uation and will return to Liberia as soon as these two pieces of business aretaken care of. He enjoys this job, he says, because he sees patients at the

Aspen Clinic who are not too different from the ones in Liberia. They havehad little preventative dental care, have little money, and have a lot of pain.He enjoys helping to relieve their pain with the aid of anesthetics! He saidrecently that God always gets things right. While he had hoped to godirectly to Liberia, instead he is benefiting greatly from his current jobexperience and thinks he will be a much better dentist because of it.

Opportunities provided by Operation Classroom, an Indiana doctor, andIndianapolis Methodist Churches, including St. Luke's, gave Shadrach anopen door of opportunity. World Missions mentored with open heartsand minds and pocketbooks. Shadrach’s perseverance and faith in Godkept him going for eight years. He is now a productive member of anIndiana community while gaining valuable experience. He is anxiouslyawaiting his opportunity to return to help his beloved Liberia as soon aspossible.We will never know the far reaches of his influence in a countrythat so desperately needs his help. But I have a hunch that God will know.Thanks again, St. Luke’s for your open minds and hearts, and for openingdoors. �

TOP LEFT: Shadrach with his dentistry diploma.BOTTOM LEFT: Dr. Shadrach, family and St. Luke’s friends.ABOVE: Shadrach at his practice.

“To promote peace and connectionthroughout the world by raising funds for

organizations which are transforming their towns,cities and nations into communities of peace.”


spiritual life center together in ministry everyday

So, here’s the deal. You know those interviews that have the inter-viewer’s question written in bold and then the subject’s answerwritten below it? The ones where the interviewer asks clever questionsto get answers from his or her subject that are clever, informative, andinteresting all at the same time? Well, I was supposed to do that.

And as you can see, I didn’t.

The thing is, it’s not my fault. John Brooks is just too interesting. AndI’m not just saying that to get myself out of trouble here. He’s onestory after another that defies a simple question-answer format.

For one thing, did you know he played in the band ZZ Top? Ok, wellnot the actual band ZZ Top, but he played in a band with a group ofguys in high school and when it came time to graduate, he droppedout of the band to attend college (seeing as how being in a band is nota viable livelihood, right?) But the thing is, instead of going to college,the rest of the guys in his band moved to Austin, TX. And they took anew band name. And that name? ZZ Top. Yes, the actual band.

I have no idea how we got on the topic of this story, but it happenedwhile John was going around taking pictures of all the staff membersfor our new church website. I told him that I also dabble in photog-raphy, and he informed me that he used to be a photography teacher.So I’m thinking to myself that I have a pretty good picture of this guy.He’s an ex-rock star teacher. Cool.

So then a few days later I run into John at a church function and hesays, “So, we’re supposed to get together sometime, right?” (Remem-ber: I’m supposed to do that clever, informative, interesting interview.)I tell him that yes, indeed, we are and he hands me his card. And onhis card it says he builds homes, so immediately I paint a differentpicture in my head. An ex-rocker, ex-teacher who builds homes. Alittle more complicated, but I tell myself it’s great stuff for a clever,informative, interesting interview.

A few days later John and I meet for lunch. He suggests this Chinesebuffet over off of Allisonville Road. He tells me, “I’m not saying it’sthe best Chinese buffet in town, but it’s the best one I’ve been to andI’ve been to them all.” So now I have to add Chinese-buffet aficionadoto his running title in my head. But that’s fine, that still fits. Kind of.

John Brooks: One Clever, Infby Matt Peyton

orm

Let’sHave aVolunteer Day!by Betty Brandt

SUNDAY: Lynn Jackson emails me a story about the visit of theTibetan Monks “It is my pleasure to share my experience with thecongregation.”

MONDAY: Kathy Serge comes to answer phones in the Main Officeand brings cookies for the staff. “I’m so grateful to be able to helpout here.”

TUESDAY: Carol Dennis wants to know if I want her to play for theLabyrinth Walk. “You know I how much I love to play at St. Luke’s.”

WEDNESDAY: Adele Hoskin picks up all the batteries left at theRecycling Center. “I am going to the library anyway.”

THURSDAY: Carol Ernst offers to take on the planning for a majorevent. “You don’t have to do that; I can take over.”

FRIDAY: Roger Frick tells me he can make posters any time I needthem. “Just let me know what you want.”

SATURDAY: Jean Allen, herself a volunteer, organizes more volunteersto take care of the Mug Ministry on Sunday mornings. “People are sograteful we are offering mugs.”

I am only one person on this staff and this is just one week out of 52.These volunteers and many others surround me every day, every week.They work hard. They always smile. Sometimes they make well-deserved jokes about my messy office. I have no idea what I woulddo without them. Each one of them enriches my life more than any ofthem can imagine.

I used to be one of them until I became a staff member, so I know thatit is possible to burn out on volunteering. It’s possible to be called ontoo many times and not thanked often enough. It is possible to be askedto do busy work like collating Lenten Devotionals or dirty work likecleaning N103/104. It’s possible to be taken for granted. What a hor-rible feeling!

We have Administrative Assistants’ Day and Take Your Daughter to WorkDay along with our favorite Mother’s and Father’s Days. Let’s have aVOLUNTEERS’ DAY—a day to celebrate together, relax and say thankyou over and over again. So here’s to all our St. Luke’s volunteers—ahug, a pat on the back and THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! �

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APRIL—JUNE volunteer spotlight

OPPOSITE:John Brooks volunteering histime and talent.

THIS PAGE:Mary Katherine Schnitzgets ready for her close-up.We told her John was fromSports Illustrated.

Inf ormative and Interesting Interview Subject

We talk for awhile while eating at the best Chinese buffet intown (the man’s right, this place is clearly second to none.)We’re just kind of shooting the breeze and talking abouthis life a little bit (remember: I’m writing a clever, inform-ative, interesting interview.) I ask him about the whole ZZTop story thing, and he tells me the story again, this timeadding that he studied theatre in college. Theatre?!? Mymind is starting to be blown. I am sitting across the tablefrom an ex-rock star, photographer/green home buildertheatre major who I have decided is the single authority onChinese buffets in Indianapolis and the surrounding area.Then, seemingly out of nowhere, he asks me who I votedfor.And I tell him.And we start talking politics. And soon,he’s casually referencing how he knows George H. Bushfrom his Texas days.

So now I’m trying to re-calculate John’s title in my headwhen he starts telling me this story about a dinner party.He’s at this guy’s house in Texas and he sees these bindersup on the shelf and he goes to pull one down to look at itand the guy comes in and says,“Sorry John, I really can’t letyou look at that.”Who’s the guy? Leon Jaworski. Yes. ThatLeon Jaworski. You may remember him from theWatergate trials? Special prosecutor? Smoking gun? Kindareally makes you want to know what’s in those binders,doesn’t it?

And suddenly I have this flashback to the movie ForestGump. You know how they take Tom Hank’s face anddigitally add it to all those historical moments in recenthistory? Well, I’m staring at the best Honey Chicken I’veever had trying to figure out if the movie is in some wayinspired by John. If not, they could have saved a ton ofmoney on special effects by just casting John for the role.So three hours later, it’s time to leave. And I have an emptynotebook.No brilliant questions that got answers that wereclever, informative and interesting. Instead, what I do haveis a head full of stories, some great advice and the feelingthat I’ve just barely scratched the surface of John Brooks.I guess what I’m trying to say is if you ever get the chanceto grab some Chinese food with John, drop whateveryou’re doing, clear off the rest of your day’s meetings andgo. In fact, don’t just go. Go hungry. �

[Editor’s note: Matt was so smitten with John’s stories thathe forgot to add that John Brooks has been amember of St.Luke’s for three years, having been a member at anotherMethodist church for years prior. During his shorttenure at St. Luke’s, John has hooked himself up as an usherat the service, and he also photographs the newmem-ber classes. We got to know John up close and personal ashe spent about hours over four days taking photographsof the St. Luke’s staff for our new website. He completelyvolunteered his time and considerable talent for that proj-ect, dragging lights and big batteries and tripods and anumbrella all over the building—and then he actuallythanked us for the opportunity.He also heads up St. Luke’sHabitat for Humanity efforts, which is a natural fit for Johnas a home builder (www.johnbrooks.com), and hopes toget involved in mission trips here.We LOVE our St. Luke’svolunteers!! Thanks, John, for letting those other guys gomake world-famous rock albums so we could have yourtalents right here. Say, you wouldn’t knowwhere Al Caponeis, would you?]

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Boost your career options—be a volunteer!• 73% of employers would recruit a candidate with volunteering experience over one without• 94% of employers believe that volunteering can add to skills• 94% of employees who volunteered to learn new skills had benefited either by getting their first job,improving their salary, or being promoted

Also, if you are thinking of a career change then volunteering is a perfect way to explore new fields. If you have a passion forthe arts but have career in computing then why not volunteer at your local theatre? Or if your ambitions are to be a doctor whynot find out about volunteer opportunities at your local hospital—the ideal way to expand your work portfolio in your field andto gain a real insight into your chosen path. —www.worldvolunteerweb.org


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children’s ministry | community ministries together in ministry everyday

Kimberly, Matt, Lauren, Olivia, Caroline and Ryan Roop. This family of six will inspire us allto jump into church opportunities head first. I was able to interview Kimberly to discuss themany areas she and her family plug into here at church.

What brought your family to St. Luke's UMC?“It was the Preschool. We were formerly worshipping in a Catholic setting until our experi-ence at the preschool introduced us to St. Luke’s. Also, Matt’s cousins, John and KathleenRoop, attend here.”

Tell us about your family.“I am a physician, and Matt is in sales for a small, family-owned business. The girls attendOrchard Park Elementary in Carmel; Lauren is a third grader, Olivia is in first grade, andCaroline is in kindergarten. Ryan is four and attends St. Luke’s Community Preschool.”

How are you involved at St. Luke’s?“Matt and I are in the New Beginnings Sunday School class, where we have made our clos-est friends—we even vacation with other couples! We were also a host couple for theMarriage Enrichment Retreat in 2008. In Family Fellowship Ministries, we are involved withLive Nativity, where I coordinated the “Dancing Angels.” We have also helped with Bingo, theEaster Egg Hunt, and we will be chairing Family Camping Weekend next fall. When we becamemembers about four years ago, we volunteered in child care. Now, as our children are get-ting older, we teach Sunday school—Matt teaches kindergarten, and I teach first grade.”

Tell about Matt’s involvement in Men’s Ministry.“Matt is on the executive committee of the Men’s Ministry at St. Luke’s. He coordinates theschedule for Java Joe’s, and also coordinates the Monthly Men’s Fellowship, which occurs thethird Wednesday of every month at Smee’s Place. The Men’s Ministry also sponsors a break-fast the first Saturday of the month in Fellowship Hall. Matt is also helping coordinate theFinancial Peace University, a 13-week video series lead by Dave Ramsey that begins April 15.

Meet the Roops!by Tara-Lynne Sinicki

The Brookside Community Youth Program (“BCYP”) boardof directors has ceased operations of its after-schoolprogram. The program has struggled over the past few years toachieve its objectives. According to a BCYP press release,“Theboard recognizes this as a unique opportunity to bringtogether a participatory network of suburban and inner-citychurches to meet the needs of the Brookside neighborhoodusing a program designed to improve the lives, education andopportunities of the area youth. The board will be conductinga needs assessment of the near-eastside and look to form acoalition of community partners to set new programminggoals.”

In a letter to the BCYP board, BCYP board president (and St.Luke’s Governing Board member) Charlie Russell wrote, “Atthis point we are seriously considering a new concept for lead-ership training and development based on local issues/concerns identified by the child. We feel that community

change must come fromwithin with help from ‘without.’ Thisnew program would not be bound to bricks and mortar butwould be free to implement within existing programswherever there would be sufficient resources to support it. Thisapproach is intended to not only equip children with theleadership skills that would serve them a lifetime but it wouldalso connect their education to a real-life purpose.”

St. Luke's has had many dedicated volunteers who havesupported Brookside Community Youth Program over theyears with their talent, treasure, time and prayers. We thankeveryone who has been a part of this ministry and pray thatthe board of directors will find a new way to continue itsmission of providing leadership training for the youth in theBrookside neighborhood. �

Brookside Community Youth Program Ceases Operationsby Jayne Thorne

ABOVE: The Roop Family at Family CampingWeekend at Camp Tecumseh.

RIGHT: Participants in the children's churchdrama groups: from L to R, Lauren Roop,

Bryn Walker, Caroline Sinicki,and Jack Roy.


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APRIL—JUNE community partnerships

A Story of Outreach & Serviceby Max Hill

The Beginning...Our story really begins in the summer of 2005 when Super-intendent Eugene White requested area churches consideradopting an IPS school. During the Back-to-School services inAugust, Dr. Millard asked our congregation to accept the chal-lenge of entering into a school partnership.

Interest was high, but there were many questions. What does“partnering” mean? What types of support should/can we pro-vide? Which school?

Then-associate pastor Rev. Brent Wright led a team which spenttwo busy months of serious consideration developing a proposal.Finally, a decision was reached to suggest establishing a part-nership with IPS 20. Why this particular school? First, the groupwas greatly impressed by the strong leadership of principal, Lynn Henderson, and herdedicated faculty. Moreover, the school faced resource wants and needs our churchmight fill. And it was located near Fletcher Place Community Center, which St. Luke’shas been supporting for many years. In January 2006 our clergy met with schooladministration, and the partnership was born!

During the spring and summer, volunteer teams were recruited, action plans took formand in August St. Luke’s support for IPS 20 officially began.

School 20 field trip lunch

Also, when Ryan’s preschool class was doing a construction unit, Matt broughta backhoe to school for the children to see firsthand—big hit! He has alsoplayed a role in Live Nativity as a shepard and will play Jesus in this year’sEarly Childhood Palm Sunday reenactment.”

(Matt added his own plug for UMM: Marriage Enrichment Weekend, bookstudies such asWild at Heart and Raising a Modern Day Knight, and FinancialPeace University may be supported by UMM each year. In addition, they areplanning a St. Luke’s Fish Fry for members and the community on October5, 2009.)

What about your children? Are they following in their parents’ active footsteps?“Lauren and Olivia are both members of Elementary Music and love working with Miss Deb. The girls recentlycaroled for Rev. Albert Nunery during the holiday season and at Marquette Manor for Valentine’s Day. Lauren was acharacter for the Drama Group at 9:30 Children’s Church and bowled with the Second and Third Graders during theirfellowship time.”

Wow! The Roop family is really involved here at St. Luke’s. We thank them for their time, leadership and energy. Ifyou get a chance to meet Kimberly or Matt in the halls of St. Luke’s ask them, “What’s next?” �


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APRIL—JUNE community partnerships

OPPOSITE:1. Superintendent Dr. White with student.2. Volunteers at work.3. Students with the conductor at the IndianaTransportation Museum.

4. Dad’s Day is the First Day.5. In a train car at the Indiana Transportation Museum.6. Full house for Senator Lugar’s visit.7. Li-Yen Johnson, IPS Assistant Superintendent, SenatorLugar; principal Lynn Henderson; Dr. Kent Millard.

8. Special guest, the Cat in the Hat.9. Students in the classrom.

Three Busy and Successful Years . . .During the past three years we, as a congregation, have been participating in anamazing variety of service activities:

WE TUTORED, giving students invaluable mentoring, love and academic support.

WE PAINTED the Parent Center and provided paint for common areas in school.

WE DESCRIBED career opportunities on Career Day.

WE RAN GAMES and sold concessions at the Spring Carnival.

WE AIDED school families in need who were victims of fire or other struggles.

WE (Vacation Church School children, Choir, Youth and Singles) COLLABORATEDto donate pencil boxes, food to families at Christmas, and packed backpacks.

WE DIRECTED AND PRODUCED “Cinderella” -- an outstanding evening of musicpresented by sixth graders.

WE ACCOMPANIED students on field trips.

WE FURNISHED lunches to the staff on orientation days.

WE SUPPLIED money to support the “Reaching for Tomorrow” Scouting programfor all School 20 children.

WE UNPACKED AND DELIVERED books to class rooms prior to school starting.

WE SUPPORTED the “Jump Ropes for Heart” event.

WE ADDED mulch to the playground.

WE PROVIDED AND SERVED lots of cookies, cake and punch at many programsand events.

WE SPONSORED visits to the Indiana Transportation Museum foronce-in-a-lifetime train riding experiences.

WE SCOOPED super ice cream sundaes as rewards for learning math facts.

WE STAFFED many events (Haunted House, Christmas Party, Music andHonors programs.)

WE DEMONSTRATED creative pumpkin carvings at Halloween.

WE HELPED prepare and send “Welcome Back to School” letters to parents.

WE PURCHASED and dedicated a Peace Pole.

WE SERVED as greeters on the first day of school.

WE PAID tuition for children to attend a Dyslexia Institute summer day camp.

WE SURPRISED kids with a special visitor from the North Pole.

WE JUDGED spelling bees.

WE ORGANIZED a school supply drive at the beginning of each year.

WE ASSISTED in the Read Across America Week Celebration.

WE DONATED clothing for emergency supply at school.

It is important to remember that our support was not injust one direction. School 20 also gave back to St.Luke’s. Their choir partnered with our choir for the 2006Christmas program. They planned activities raising$1,000 to donate to the “Nothing But Nets” campaign,and ran a food drive supplying over 500 cans to theFletcher Place pantry. But their greatest gifts to us -- thelove, smiles and hugs from the kids!

A Sad Decision...Last fall, the IPS Board decided to close School 20effective May 28, 2009—a sad and unfortunate decisionnecessitated by declining attendance and budget cuts.

However, this story should not end on a down note. Weare blessed for this opportunity to connect with somevery special children, their staff and teachers. We, asthe St. Lukes’s community, should feel proud of our sup-port, and should also credit the enthusiasm of School20 including Lynn Henderson for helping make this part-nership a great success! �

[Editor’s note: St. Luke’s will take what it has learnedfrom the invaluable experiences at School 20 to anew school partnership with Fox Hill Elementary inWashington Township. More information on that newpartnership in the next issue of T.I.M.E.]

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Every Sunday morning, a couple thousand people fromaround the greater Indianapolis area wake up, get dressed,andmake the drive to the large, okay let’s be honest,HUGEbrick building on west 86th St. They come toworship with the choir, be inspired by the message, andlearn more about the opportunities available to be a partof a strong, Christian community. For many of thesepeople, thanks to the services and practices that take placeinside, the Sanctuary at St. Luke’s United MethodistChurch is a place where they truly connect with God.

At the same 9:30AM hour, just a few blocks down the road,God is being experienced in a completely different way.The choir has been replaced with jazz pieces floatingthrough speakers. The pews consist of couches and arm-chairs. And even though the coffee business continuesthrough the middle of a thoughtful message, God is pres-ent… and youth from around the city are noticing.

“Wake Up at Starbucks,” also known by the abbreviationWUAS, began in the Fall of in order to meet youthout in the community and to help them learn more aboutliving out their faith in today’s society. The Sunday morn-ing offering provides an opportunity to learn about Godby focusing on the topics and issues today’s youth are cur-rently facing.

When asked to describe the ministry to others, CarmelHigh School junior Natalie Harris replied, “This is aministry that combines the calming atmosphere of aStarbucks café with a comfortable discussion of God’spresence in our lives.” At the same time, Shelby Helton, asenior at North Central High School, shows up each weekbecause, “it is a place where people are always open to talkif there is a problem, give advice, and learn about God atthe same time.”

As they enter, youth are met with warm greetings fromfriends and leaders who are excited to be together again.Chairs are gathered from around the café and hotchocolate or caramel apple cider drinks are clutched in thehands of many around the circle. Stories from recent week-end activities are shared and updates given on families,grades and friendships. But there’s more to this laid-backministry than may seem apparent to the casual observer.

From dealing with the pressure and stress of being in highschool, through studying chapters of How to Stay Chris-tian in High School by Steve Gerali, to Love This! by AndyBraner, leaders encourage and direct scripture-based con-versations. Love This! focuses on the parable of the GoodSamaritan from Luke :-, while exploring what ittakes to show God’s love to everyone from the elderly tothe addicted.

Circling up with of group of - chatty, senior high youthcan attract quite a bit of attention. Stefanie Wettersten, ajunior at Carmel, remembers one Sunday when “…a mancame over to tell us how cool it was that we worshippedthere (at Starbucks).” She then went on to share how, “onmore than one occasion, I have seen other Starbuckspatrons bow their heads and close their eyes when we pray.It is such a ‘God’ moment.”

WUAS helps senior high youth learn what it means to takeresponsibility for their faith. Whether they spent all daycompeting in an athletic or show choir event, or were upjust up late on Saturday night playing Guitar Hero withtheir friends, the often sleepy-eyed youth have chosen tomake this ministry a priority in their own faith journeysand Sunday morning agendas. As Sarah Zinn, a freshmanat Carmel, commented, “Getting up early is worth it ifyou’re talking about your faith.”

Whether it’s the importance of starting the day with Godat the center of their lives, or choosing to be in a placewhere warm welcomes are handed out among a support-ive community, youth frequently invite friends to pull upa chair and join the conversation each Sunday.

As a leader, and avid Starbucks patron myself, I’d have toagree with Madallyn Warner, a senior at North Central,who put it this way: “Coffee just tastes better when you talkabout God.” �

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youth ministries together in ministry everyday

Wake Up at Starbucks:Inside the Sunday Morning Ministry for Senior High Youthby Kathleen Headington

...a senior at North Central High School, shows up each week because,“it is a place where people are always open to talk if there is a problem,

give advice, and learn about God at the same time.”


APRIL—JUNE staff

I love the Biblical story of Jonah. In part, I love Jonah be-cause when you teach teenagers that the Bible literallysays “vomited,” they sit up and pay attention—as in “thewhale vomited Jonah up on the shore” (Jonah : in theNIV).More importantly, I love Jonah because he is a fol-lower of God, and God asks him to go on an importantquest to speak God’s word, and what do you think Jonahdoes? He runs the other way.

Knowing this is somehow comforting, particularly whenyou realize that his story still makes it into the Bible.Wedon’t have to be perfect for our story to matter. And thestory gets better. Even while Jonah is running the otherway, God uses him to witness to God’s power and grace(check out Jonah chapter ). And then comes the partthat I like the best. Jonah follows God’s direction for hislife, which just shows that being swallowed and vomitedup by a whale has a way of convincing someone. Thennotice what Jonah does: he turns from going in the di-rection of what is comfortable and known and followsGod’s leading into an area that is uncomfortable and un-known. Following God, he shares the gift he has beengiven, and he speaks God’s word, and people listen, andpeople are transformed.While it took him a while, the re-sults of Jonah following God’s direction for his life make areal difference in the lives of others.

I want to follow God’s direction for my life. As most ofyou reading this article will know by now, I am movinginto a new appointment as the Associate Director ofYouth,YoungAdult, and CampusMinistry Services for thenew Indiana Conference of The UnitedMethodist Churchbeginning July . As hard as it is to say goodbye after nineyears of ministry at St. Luke’s, I am departing because Ibelieve deep in my soul that God is leading me to a newand amazing opportunity for ministry. (If you hear a newsstory after July about a UMC conference staff memberswallowed by a whale, you’ll know I was wrong.)

“So how do I know where God is leading?” some haveasked. The answer is throughmy story.A little over elevenyears ago I joined St. Luke’s. While in the membershipclass, I was asked to volunteer in youth ministry by Rev.Dennis Flaugher. (Well, that’s how Dennis tells the story. Ithink it was more like an order that I would be volunteer-ing with youth. I must give Dennis credit, however, as hethen introduced me to my future wife, Cheryl.) A coupleof years later, when the position of Director of YouthMin-istries was open at St. Luke’s, I was on my way to seminaryat Duke Divinity School.At that time, in conversation withDr.Millard about the youth program, he asked me to stay,or at least to pray about it. I prayed. And I stayed.

I agreed to serve while I was in seminary at Christian The-ological Seminary, never envisioning more than three orfour years in youth ministry. Yet in the first three years Idiscovered a passion and vision for changing how we lookat youth ministry in our churches. I came to believe that ifwe want life and vibrancy in our local churches, we need to

be engaging our young people not as future leaders, but asleaders and contributors in worship and mission and allaspects of church life today. I came to realize that we alsoneed new models of networking in youth ministry thatequip youth workers not with just the latest and best ideasfor youth events but real skills for ministering in the midstof the varied contexts of our churches and surroundingneighborhoods and communities.

At the same time, due to the blessing of the parents andyouth and staff and lay leadership of St. Luke’s, our youthministry grew as we added staff, built Luke’s Lodge (ouryouth building), and engaged more and more youth inleadership. Three expected years in youth ministry turnedinto five, and five into eight, and eight into nine (my in-

Following Where God is Leadingby Rev. Brian Durand

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ABOVE: 2008 Family Spring Break Workcamp crew in Mississippi.BELOW LEFT: Brian and Charlotte Lammers sharing gifts with childrenin Eldoret, Kenya.

BELOW RIGHT: Brian leading worship on safari at Lake Nakuru.


ability to transition out as we searched for a new youth director in the last year hasbeen a bit of a joke to the current youth leadership, as they knew better than Ithat I couldn’t bring myself to leave without clarity of God’s direction for me.)And then in the past year I began to have a vision for how our new Indiana Con-ference of the UnitedMethodist Churchmight provide an opportunity to engageyoung people and youth workers in new ways for ministry in local churches, andI began to see how my gifts might be used in that ministry.

Which takes me back to Jonah. Cheryl, Ella, Noah and I would be so comfortableremaining at St. Luke’s in a congregation where we have been so richly blessed.YetGod is leading me, like Jonah, to step out of what I know—an amazing, caring,vibrant, and Spirit-filled community—and into new fields and opportunities forsharing God’s word. Like Jonah, God is showing me howmy gifts may be used in

other places, where it is my greatest hope and desire that my ministry may continue to openup opportunities for young people to be transformed by the love of God in Christ, andempowered to share that love with others.

Unlike great Disney stories, Jonah doesn’t have a happy ending. He sits in the sun feelingsorry for himself, even though his work has been effective, lamenting that the world isn’t fair.Jonah misses two important facts in his own story (he didn’t have the luxury of reading it aswe do). First, he missed the blessings God gave him. I want all of St. Luke’s to know what ablessing everyone has been to me and to our family. In the challenges and in the celebrations,I have experienced such support and love. I am so thankful that words cannot capture the

emotion I feel when I think of all of my ex-periences at St. Luke’s. Second, Jonah turnedin on himself and didn’t acknowledge Godin control at the end of his story. I preparenow to leave St. Luke’s at the end of Junewith confidence in the ongoing ministry ofSt. Luke’s, because God is at work and has somuch to do through the extravagant gen-erosity and extraordinary gifts of thiscommunity. This congregation is anchored

in the joy and love of God offered to all people, and God is and will continue towork through the amazing lay leadership, youth, staff and members of St. Luke’s.

Somay we write a happy ending, and while I’ll miss being a daily part of St. Luke’s,we will continue to testify together to the gracious love of God and look forwardto the new opportunities and adventures that lay before us. �

[Brian’s last Sunday at St. Luke’s will be Sunday, June . He will be preaching atall three morning worship services that day. Brian will also be ordained onSunday morning, June , in a service of worship and celebration at the UMCAnnual Conference in the auditorium at Ball State University inMuncie. The newappointment begins July , and he and Cheryl and family will remain inNoblesville as the conference office moves to the Indianapolis area.]

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staff together in ministry everyday

TOP: Brian and Matt Howe leading a day hike in the mountains forinner-city Denver youth.

MIDDLE: Brian and his son, Noah.BOTTOM: Brian and Cheryl on safari at Lake Nakuru in Kenya, Africa.

“I came to believe that if we want life and vibrancy in ourlocal churches, we need to be engaging our young people

not as future leaders, but as leaders and contributors in worshipand mission and all aspects of church life today.”


For many people, chickens provide a living savings account, foodand long-term economic security. Chickens also help the envi-ronment in many ways.

During March, Children’s Ministry and World Missions focused onthe importance and impact chickens have in poverty areas ofAmerica and Haiti. Chickens can be purchased, immunized andfed for 42 days for around $2. There are four basic kinds ofchickens: backyard chickens, meat chickens, chickens thatproduce unfertilized eggs and chickens that produce fertilized eggsfor more chickens. Chicken eggs and chicken meat provide a goodsource of protein in areas lacking basic nutrition. The money raisedby selling the eggs and chickens allow people to purchase rice,vegetables and other needed items for survival. The money alsoallows the family to pay for education, healthcare, clothing, housingand emergencies.

Chickens produce waste with a lot of nutrients. Composting the wastemakes good fertilizer which can be used for planting crops and trees.Crops can then be harvested and sold at market for money. Whenchickens are fenced in areas containing plants such as corn orbamboo, they help cultivate the dirt with scratching and pecking asthey look for bugs and worms. Their waste is also the fertilizer whichhelps the plants grow and have high yields. Trees provide oxygenfor the environment.

Each $2 gift to purchase a chicken may be the answer to a family’sprayer and a unique way to give a gift of hope to families who areworking very hard to survive. If you have questions about this project orwould like to help, contact Jan Nichols, Director of World Missions [email protected]. �

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APRIL—JUNE world missions + children’s ministries

fun chicken facts!

There are actually more chickens on earth than there

are people.

Americans consume eight billion chickens a year.

[And yet, they still outnumber us. Hmmm. —Editor]

The chicken is the closest living relative to the T-Rex.

Some breeds of chickens can lay colored eggs. The

Ameraucana and Araucana can lay eggs of green or blue.

The most eggs laid by a chicken in one day is seven.

On average, a hen lays 300 eggs per year.

A mother hen turns her egg approximately 50 times in a

day. This is so the yolk does not stick to the shell.

To produce a dozen eggs, a hen has to eat about four

pounds of feed.

A chicken with red earlobes will produce brown eggs, and

a chicken with white earlobes will produce white eggs.

It takes a hen 24-26 hours to lay an egg.

A chicken takes 21 days to hatch.

A hen lives an average of 5-7 years, but can live up to 20

years. She'll lay eggs her entire life, with production

decreasing every year from year one.

If you make the chickens think it's daylight, even at night,

they'll lay eggs that are bigger with harder shells.

The largest recorded size of a chicken egg was 12 oz. and

measured 12-1/4" in diameter.

The greatest number of recorded yolks in one egg was nine.

A chicken’s heart beats 280-315 times a minute.

A chicken can travel nine miles an hour. This is usually

a combined effort of running, jumping and flying.

Chickens have over 200 distinct noises they can make

for communicating.

The chicken pox weren't named after chickens or

anything to do with chickens. The name came from

an old English expression "gican pox," meaning

"itching pox."

The waste produced by just one chicken can supply

enough electricity to run a hundred-watt lightbulb for

about five hours.

Chickens Provide Nutrition, Income & Sustainabilityby Jan Nichols


There are great opportunities to learn about the St. Luke’s Endowment this spring.Discover how you can leave a long-lasting legacy of faith that will have impact onseveral areas of ministry for years to come.

Endowment Coffee BreaksMembers of the Endowment Committee will be available to answer questionsabout St. Luke’s Endowment and the many church programs it supports. Stop bythe Parlor on Sundays April 19 and 26 between worship services to learn more.

——

endowment together in ministry everyday

ANNUALIncome StatementPledge Income ,,

Identified Plate ,

Loose Plate ,

Christmas/Easter ,

Special Gifts ,

Gain/Loss on Securities

Prior Year Pledges ,

Facility Rental ,

Church School

TOTAL Income ,,

Board of Trustees ,

Staff Parish Relations ,,

Church Apportionments ,

Program Budgets ,

TOTAL Expenses ,,

Net ,

Confessions of Faith Confirmation Class Transfer from UMC Other Denominations TOTAL New Members

Removal of MembersWithdrawn Transfer to Other UMC To Other Denominations Deaths TOTALWithdrawn

Net Membership Gain Membership Baptisms Preparatory/Children under 18 Constitutents

Average Worship AttendanceSt. Luke’s Worship The Garden

TOTAL

Endowment LuncheonCome celebrate the 20th Anniversary Celebration of St. Luke’s Endowment on Sunday,May 3 at 12:30PM in Fellowship Hall. Our special guest speaker will be Rev. WilliamG. Enright, Ph.D. Dr. Enright, is Executive Director of the Lake Institute on Faith &Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, and former Senior Pastorof the Second Presbyterian Church, Indianapolis.

Dr. Enright is currently a director of the Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Wishard HospitalFoundation Board and a trustee of Hanover College. His most recent appointment wasas “Advisor for the National Cathedral Association” of the National Cathedral in Wash-ington D.C. His civic involvement in Indianapolis has included serving as a memberof Envisioning Indianapolis, the Police Advisory Board, the Board of Directors of theCentral Indiana Council on Aging, and the St. Vincent Hospital Advisory Board. Inaddition, he served as co-chair of The Mayor’s Taskforce on Racism. He is co-founderof the Celebration of Hope, a program for racial reconciliation, which was recognizedby President Clinton as one of ten national programs to be honored at the White House.

Dr. Enright will be discussing “Religious Giving During Uncertain Times” at the Endow-ment Luncheon. We will be also be announcing this year's Christian Life Scholarshiprecipients, as well as honoring founding members of the Endowment. �

Everyone is welcometo attend the luncheon on

May 3 at 12:30PM.

Please RSVP by April 27 toErica Lampe at

[email protected],or 846-3404 x470.

WelcomingNewMembersDuring we welcomed newmembers at St. Luke’sand lost members by death, transfers or withdrawalfor a net gain of members. The total membership of St.Luke’s is , at the end of .


——

APRIL—JUNE annual financial report

by the NumbersDuring , the St. Luke’s congregation continued to generouslysupport the ministries of the church with their financial gifts.

Gifts received for Powerful Possibilities Campaign ,Other Capital Campaign/Building Fund Gifts ,TOTAL Capital Gifts ,

Gifts toward Annual Operating Fund ,,Gifts received for Support of The Garden ,Funds Received for Missions/Designated Funds/Programs** ,Gifts Received for St. Luke’s Endowment ,TOTAL Gifts Received for Operations/Outreach ,,

TOTALGiftsReceived from the St.Luke’s Family in $ ,,

••• Total gifts and contributions made to world and community

groups from UMW,The Garden, Singles, Children’s and other ministries

were over ,.

••• St. Luke’s also contributed , through apportionments to the

work of the UnitedMethodist Church throughout the world.

** Sampling of Outreach Ministries receivingassistance in

Appalachian Project, Hazard, KY; BrooksideCommunity Youth Program; Caring ChurchesNetwork; Changing Footprints; ConstructionMinistries (SAWS); Cuba; D’IbervilleVolunteer Center; Earthquake and FloodRelief; Epes Center, Chile; Fletcher PlaceCommunity Center; Fresh Start; Global AIDSInitiative; Habitat for Humanity (Indianapolis;Collier County, Naples, FL; John’s Island, SC;Ft. Myers, FL); Haitian Academy training ofmedical students and agriculture; HeiferProject; Honduras Medical Mission; HurricaneRelief; Indiana United Methodist Children’sHome; Interfaith Hunger Initiative; IPS School20 Partnership; IU/Kenya AIDS/Power of One;Inter-Faith Alliance; Jamaica; JohnWesleySchool, Jeremie, Haiti; Liberia, Africa; LucilleRaines Residence; Manna from Heaven; MarElias; Midwest Mission Distribution Center;Neema Orphanage Operation Classroom inSierra Leone and Liberia; Outreach, Inc.;Sierra Leone, Africa; Tree of Life, SouthDakota; UMCOR; United ChristmasService; United Methodist Children’s Homein Kentucky; World Missions supportof work trips

—excerpted from the Annual Report, full report available at www.stlukesumc.com

Finances—The economy has had a significant impact onmany in our congregation, andconsequently on the economic health of the church. About people who pledged in had to decrease their commitment, and another were not able to make acommitment at all. This results in about , less committed for than for .

We have significantly "pruned" our budgets, received , in special gifts, used ournet income from , reduced some positions, used some undesignated gifts in thedesignated fund, and used income from the Endowment to be able to present a bal-anced budget. Our total operating budget for is about million.When weadd in the gifts to the Endowment, special fundraising projects from the UMW,Youth,Special Mission offerings, etc., our finance office handles about million annually.

OurVision—In spite of the decrease in income and the pastoral challenges of helpingpeople who have lost jobs, homes and businesses, the vision of St. Luke's remains thatwe will be transformed by God so God can use us to transform the world into a com-passionate, just, inclusive and Christ-like community.

In some ways, this “pruning”will be good. It has caused us to evaluate everything we doand determine what is really most important to achieve God's vision. It will require usto enroll more volunteers to lead where paid staff has led in the past, and that will begood for us in the long run.

Pledges

: The congregation continues to respondto St. Luke’smission with their Prayers,Presence, Service andGifts.

# OF FAMILIESPLEDGING TOTAL PLEDGES AVERAGE PLEDGE

,, ,

,, ,

,, ,

,, ,

,, ,


——

facilities | supporting ministries together in ministry everyday

The Best Kept Secret in Townby Sharon Holyoak

What we hear over and over from new and current customers alike is that Oasis is "TheBest Kept Secret in Town." This season we'd like you to help spread our little secret. Weare so fortunate at St. Luke's to have this beautiful relaxed environment in which tobrowse, read a book or look for the perfect gift.

Each year our community loses more of our smaller, independent shops and we areblessed to have one right under our own roof. We carry unique collectibles and representvarious artists throughout the country, along with much needed books, bibles, inspira-tional items, and great card lines.

So please help support it, get the word out about our affordable prices, wonderful selec-tion and the abundance that flows through this shop back into the missions you care about,in our community and in the world. Come in and find out what you've been missing. �

Watt? Yes, We’re Operating More Efficientlyby Rich Potterf

Finally! Construction of the new boiler system was completed inNovember and the system has been operating well. There are severalitems that will be added to the system in the near future to help theoffice spaces to be controlled more efficiently. A huge thank you to ananonymous donor for the gift of the labor and material for the fenceon the west side of the building which encloses the new chillers!

Being great stewards requires education, awareness and innovation.The facility team and Trustees have initiated several cost-saving andefficiency programs that will help the congregation and staff use ourenergy and monetary resources wisely. The new heating/air condition-ing system is very energy efficient. The boilers are advertised to be97-99% efficient. That means that 99% of the gas consumed is usedto make heat. Facilities now controls times and temperatures bycomputer for larger spaces such as Great Hall, Robertson Chapel, Fel-lowship Hall and the Parlor. They no longer need to be heated or cooledwhen not in use.

The facility team is also turning off unused lights in halls, classroomsand offices when the spaces are vacant during the day. Timers and

motions sensors for lights also help keep the utility usage to a mini-mum. Also, new energy-efficient lighting is being installed graduallyas old equipment is broken and/or replaced.

Late last summer, many volunteers helped revitalize the modular build-ing by removing old shrubs and brush, and replacing the underpinningwith landscape bricking. Steve Lankton, Bill Brown, and Bill Williams,three of our Trustees, led a team of volunteers which included theyouth, missions and facilities to accomplish this work one Saturday.Jim Keller worked to replace several countertops in our restrooms andkindergarten rooms and give those spaces a new look and function.Paul McNarny from the Mower Shop supplied the ZTR mower for thefacility team to use on St. Luke’s lawns. Thanks to all of the volunteerswho have helped keep the building and grounds of St. Luke’s attractiveand safe.

Have a great and energy-efficient summer! �

Inspirational Gifts,Jewelry & BooksConveniently locatedinside St. Luke’s UMCGift Registry Available

OASIS HOURS:TUESDAY & WEDNESDAY

10AM - 4PMSUNDAY 9AM - 1PM


——

CONDOLENCES TO:

Marcia Clark, Ben Roe,Suzanne Jannetta andCarmen Siegel on thedeath of mother and sisterLouann Roe

Rosy Brownell and PeggyThompson on the death offather Francis Preston

Jason & Amy Roetgermanon the death of his fatherRobert Roetgerman

Bruce Amrhien on thedeath of his sister-in-lawLinda Amrhien

Mary McLaughlin on thedeath of her sisterPatricia Wooldridge

Linda Young on the deathof her fatherClarke Whitaker

Kim Amrhien on thedeath of her fatherJim Stultz

Patrick Burley on thedeath of his motherEleanor Burley

Buck Retmier on thedeath of his motherMuff Retmier

Fred Ficklin on thedeath of his brotherClaude Ficklin

Tom Godby on the deathof his father Jim Godby

Anne Luther-Sandler onthe death of her fatherStephen Luther

Charles Yeo on the deathof his mother Cynthia Yeo

Tom Furman on thedeath of his fatherEdward Furman

Carole Lichtenauer onthe death of her husbandDavid Lichtenauer

Friends and family ofBarbara Wilson

Ann Seefeldt on thedeath of her motherMarjorie Smith

Jeanine DeRoy on thedeath of Gil Kett

Kendra Antle on thedeath of her fatherRichard Antle

Friends and family ofGary Marler

RichardWert on the deathof his mother Betty Wert

Jeanne Hill on the deathof her sister Sue Bagwell

Margaret Mathews onthe death of her sisterLyndaWebster

Sue Cox on the death ofher mother Betty Peck

Alice Milborn on thedeath of her husbandPaul Milborn

Bill Hardy on the death ofhis wife Flo Hardy

Ed Schmidlin on thedeath of his brotherRev. Donald Schmidlin

Scott Severns on thedeath of his motherBetty Severns

Ann, Brent andBrooke Wright on thedeath of mother-in-lawand grandmotherMary Wright

Anne Clark andJohn Cofield on thedeath of their motherHelen Cofield

Bernice Kennell, RuthAnn Gantz, Susan Kennelland Sally Gantz Ball onthe death of Rev.Woodrow “Tom” Kennell

Bill Branic, Mike Branicand Matthew Branicon the death ofMary Alice Branic

Friends and family ofLester Hargan

Kay Bennett on thedeath of her motherJanet Collisson

Harry Curnow andKristin Darkow on thedeath of mother andgrandmotherGladys Curnow

Friends and family ofDonna Mejia

Gavin Roberts on thedeath of his motherRita Roberts

CONGRATULATIONS TO:

Scott & Jess Richmondand Brenda Richmond

on the birth of daughterand granddaughter

Madelyn Jean

Chip & Katie Maxwelland Howard & Suzie

Maxwell on the birth ofdaughter and grand-

daughter Parker Allison

Hon Liu-Seifert & JeffSeifert on the birth ofdaughter Sophie Ling

Derrick & Bis Feldmannand Bob & Nancy

Whitacre on the birth ofdaughter and

granddaughter Paige Lee

Nathan & Kristen Wilsonon the birth of their

daughter Emma Kathryn

Brian & Cheryl Durandon the birth of theirdaughter Ella Jean

James & Beth Semesteron the birth of their son

Owen Russell

Wes & Jessica Porter andJoe & Karen Porter

on the birth of daughterand granddaughter

Elena Frances

Jamie & Beth Goffon the birth of their son

Max Alexander

Nichole Hondorp& EricFrank on their wedding of

January

Christine Clauss &NathanOlvera on their wedding of

February

Traci Boyn&Gordon Kritzon their wedding of

March

Erika Boyn&Andrew Bridge on their

wedding of March

KerryMcMenamin&Joseph Bieschke on their

wedding of March

WELCOME!new membersThe following persons completed the February membership classes.

February 2009Sharon Fischer, Ethel Hunter, Tina Lane, Chris Rohn, Jenny Rohn,Christine Sheehan, Marci Wright, Jon Zimmerman, Sarah Zimmerman

The next opportunities to join St. Luke’s areApril 18, May 16, June 13.

Contact Sylvia Forbes at 846-3404 [email protected] to register.

APRIL—JUNE concerns & celebrations | new members


NON-PROFITU.S. POSTAGE PAIDINDIANAPOLIS, INPERMIT NO. 1569

HOLY THURSDAY SERVICE GOOD FRIDAY Service of DarknessApril 9, 7PM, Robertson Chapel April 10, Noon and 7PM, Sanctuary

EASTER Sunday, April 12

Celebration Services 8:00, 9:30 and 11:15AM (please note time changes)Shuttle service available from Springmill Elementary School

Later@St. Luke’s, 6PM

Easter at The Garden• GOOD FRIDAY, Noon at Beef & Boards• EASTER SUNDAY, 8:15, 9:15 and 10:15AM at Beef & Boards10:15AM at Oak Hill Mansion

APRIL—JUNE 2009

St. Luke’s United Methodist Church • West Street • Indianapolis, Indiana

Address Service Requested

Easter at St. Luke’s


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