There are a lot of people in central Indiana who are struggling to get by. Some lack basic clothing. On Sunday, September 12 we’re going to try to do what we can to make a difference.

Please bag any gently used clothes and shoes that you can spare and bring them to Church. We’ll place our donations in the coat room. Your donations will be distributed to two groups working hard to help people get back on their feet:

• Local Family Stores operated by the Adult Rehabilitation Center of the Salvation Army;
• The Indianapolis Re-Entry Education Facility, which provides assistance to adult male prisoners being released from jail.

We need clean, gently-used clothes and shoes in good condition — for both men and women, as well as children of all ages. Start cleaning out those closets and drawers!

Beginning Sunday September 12, the Bridge Middle School/Junior High group will return to the 11:00 am service as the newly revised Bridge 2.0.

The Bridge 2.0 will be led by Deacon Randy King, who brings his years of youth ministry expertise to the program. Randy has been actively working in church and youth ministry since 1972, including the establishment of three different youth programs. Randy’s experience has been primarily with junior high kids and he is excited to get back to the ministry he loves!

The group will meet every Sunday during the 11:00 am service following the praise and worship time. Parents, mark your calendars for September 12 when The Bridge 2.0 makes its debut! If you have questions, please email Melody Merida.

Join us on Sunday, August 8 as we welcome Indiana Black Pride for our annual Community Worship Celebration! Highlights of the day include:

• Special guest speaker Rev. Candy Holmes! She has been part of MCC since 1987 and is a gifted preacher, healer, and musical director. She is known for her justice and ecumenical work.
• Songs by the Gospel Choir!
• A soul food potluck after the 11:00 am service! Main dishes will be provided. If you plan to take part in the potluck, please bring a side dish or dessert to share.

Rev. Holmes was a guest in the Oval Office when President Obama signed an executive order granting Federal employees with same-sex partners extended benefits on June 17, 2009. Official White House Photographer Pete Souza.

Mark your calendar for Saturday, August 21 at noon! Our annual church picnic is always a time of great fun and wonderful fellowship.

This year the picnic will be part of our anniversary weekend celebration. The picnic will be held on the church grounds and will include loads of great activities: a bounce house for the kids, a tent to provide shade, exciting yard games, and of course some great hot dogs and hamburgers. And if that’s not enough, there will also be a dunk tank so that everyone can have a turn trying to dunk the church staff!

A few notes:

• The church will provide hot dogs and hamburgers, and we’ll each bring our favorite side dish or dessert to share.
• There will be some seating, but if you can, please bring lawn chairs.
• Lemonade and iced tea will be provided. If you’d like another beverage, please bring it with you.

Our next TGI Friday Night Praise Service will be July 30 at 7:00 pm! Our first “experiment” was a wonderful success, so we are going to continue this service each quarter.

If you like praise and worship and want more music, this service is for you! We’ll sing a wide range of old and new favorites.

Our worship theme for the evening is Faith Without Borders. We’ll be blessed with a homily from Michael Drain. You may remember him from the Black History Month service as “the Preacher.” He’ll share some insights about faith and how that impacts us as a church that draws from diverse traditions.

We will have some soloists from our church, and one from our local community, Anthony Rodriguez. Our prayer is that God will speak to you through the music and strengthen you on life’s journey!

When our Missions Team visited Sudan in January of 2009, the woman of the Toposa tribe asked for our help to construct a well for their tribe. The women have to walk miles daily through dangerous territory to retrieve water. Constructing a well in southern Sudan is very expensive — $13,000!

Donna Hays (who is on the Missions Board and helped to plan that trip) and her father (before he passed away) felt a special burden to respond to the request of the Toposa woman. Together, they raised $10,000. Our challenge, as a congregation, was to come up with the balance. We have now done so in the following ways:

• 20% of last Sunday’s offering was designated for the well, adding $1,986 to the total.
• Donations made by our children during Vacation Bible School added another $200.
• Tuesday the Board of Directors voted to take $814 from church reserves to complete the project.

Drilling will begin soon in the Toposa tribal area. Thank you for your wonderful generosity!

A group of folks from Jesus MCC attended our denomination’s triennial General Conference in Mexico the week of June 27–July 3. Our official delegation, sent by our church included Pastor Jeff and Lay Delegates Curt Pickard and Melissa Bruce. Three other folks funded their own trips: Carla Peck, and Julie and Brent Walsh.

Here’s a report on hightlights from the Conference.

• Restructuring. At the business meeting, delegates approved a reconfiguration of the governing structure of our denomination. The primary purpose was to consolidate various boards into a single Governing Board, to reduce expenses and create clarity in strategic decisionmaking.
• Progressive Evangelical Network. Pastor Jeff convened a meeting of 55 leaders from MCCs who share our church’s approach to ministry. The group decided to become an official network within MCC, and plans to meet and communicate regularly to share resources and to speak with a common voice on matters of denominational direction.
• Found Pearl Press. Our church’s publishing ministry, Found Pearl Press, was a featured sponsor of General Conference. From a booth in the Expo Hall, we offered a whole range of resources for other churches, including our newly-published Discipleship 101/102 workbooks. Our booth attracted strong interest and we sold about $1,600 of our resources to interested congregations. We want to express deepest thanks to those who volunteered countless hours at our booth: Curt, Melissa, Carla, Julie, and Brent. Pastor Jeff dialogued with renowned Christian singer and songwriter, Ray Boltz, about distributing his newest album via Found Pearl Press.
• Africa Meeting. Pastor Jeff convened a meeting of African leaders to discuss how to best share our church’s book on homosexuality and the Bible — The Children Are Free — in Africa, where the need for an affirming Gospel message is so critical. Leaders from Kenya and South Africa will be taking the lead in coordinating the printing and distribution of our book in Africa.
• Australia Meeting. Pastor Jeff met with the pastor of Crave MCC, Sydney, Australia, to discuss how we can support their growing ministry. Crave MCC is a congregation of about 60 young adults who minister in a style similar to our church and already use our Discipleship materials. Crave MCC is not only interested in broadening their use of our materials, but also contributing materials of their own to the work of Found Pearl Press.
• Partnership with The Fellowship. “The Fellowship” is a group of about 20 Christian churches that work together in coalition. Their congregations are predominantly African American and LGBT. MCC and The Fellowship are exploring forming an intentional partnership. Key leaders and many congregants from The Fellowship were present at Conference, so everyone could become better acquainted and explore what a partnership might look like. Discussions are going very well and will likely lead to some type of formal agreement in the near future.
• Award for our Church. Jesus MCC was given one of MCC’s two highest honors, the Excellence In Ministry Award, in recognition of our innovative work in creating Discipleship resources for MCC congregations.

MCC’s next General Conference will occur in Chicago in 2013.

You may recall the report from our last Sudan missions trip about the Toposa tribe and their defunct well. The women of the tribe walk several miles each way to retrieve their daily water supply, and are often attacked by wild animals. It has been our dream to fund a clean water supply in the heart of the tribe. With your help, on July 11, that goal can be met!

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you feeling the pressure of financial worry? If so, you’re not alone — over 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck.

Consider investing in Financial Peace University, a video class taught by financial expert Dave Ramsey. You’ll learn how to achieve financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving as never before. The class will begin in July. If you’d like to get an idea of what FPU can do for you, please join us June 6 or 13 in Room 2 after either Sunday service. There is no charge for the preview.

Brent Walsh, the class facilitator, will present a brief video and answer questions. If you need more info, email Brent via the church office.

The Gay Christian Network will offer their 1-day conference, Reclaiming Christianity, here at Jesus MCC on June 26, beginning at 9:00 am.

It’s for Christians who believe the church’s reputation as homophobic and bigoted needs to change. It’s an opportunity to meet like-minded Christians and learn how to make a difference. The conference is a cooperative effort with welcoming churches in our area.

Info and registration is at ChristiansWhoLove.com. Cost is $20 in advance; $30 at the door. Lunch is provided.

Questions? See the contact form at the conference website, or email David Squire at Jesus MCC.

Pride Season is fast approaching and we’re going to work together to make it better than ever! Here are some ways you can participate:

• We will march in the Indy Pride parade on June 12, and would like as many of us as possible to join in, wearing a Jesus MCC t-shirt. More shirts will be available in the church bookstore on May 30, in sizes from Youth Small to 6XL.
• We’re looking for a few folks to staff the church booth at the Festival. Shifts will be two to three hours, and two or three people will be assigned to each shift. There’s no “proselytizing” involved—booth staff will pass out brochures, answer questions, and mostly, just be friendly.
• New this year: LGBT Family Picnic at Eagle Creek Park, also on June 12. Jesus MCC is a sponsor of this event, and we’ll have a church booth there, same as at the Pride Festival.
• Our Choirs and Instrumentalists will perform a three-song set at the Indy Pride Festival. Look for them on the main stage at 11:45 pm!
• We’re exploring the possibility of having a float in the parade next year. We want to put our heads together and explore ideas.

If you want to be part of any of these activities, please email David Squire.

Jesus MCC's group in the 2009 Indy Pride Parade.

Jesus MCC's Band and Choirs perform at Indy Pride.

Galactic Blast VBS!
Every summer Jesus MCC hosts an exciting week of Vacation Bible School. This year our theme is Galactic Blast! We will explore the magnificence of the universe God has created! VBS will meet from June 28 to July 2, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm each evening at the church.

Your space cadets will take part in games, crafts, snacks, songs, and space experiments. You can register your children at church on Sunday, or email Melody Merida for more information.

Camp Forust!
Jesus MCC is going to camp! Summer camp has long been a church tradition and this year we are getting in on the act. Camp Forust will be held July 20-23 at a campground in Lafayette, IN, which features traditional camping activities like hiking, archery, swimming, campfires, zip lines, and a ropes course.

Camp is for kids ages 8 to 16. (See Melody Merida if your camper is younger than 8.) The cost for the camp is $170 per camper and this includes all meals and snacks and transportation to and from the campground and the church.

There is still time to register for this exciting opportunity. You can register your children at church on Sunday, or email Melody Merida for more information. See you at camp!

As a congregation on the move, we want to be as diverse in age as we are in ethnicity and gender. To help move us toward greater diversity, we would like to invite all who are 35 and under to a focus group on Sunday, June 13, following the 11:00 am service. A pizza lunch will be provided.

Join Jeff and Melody for lunch and give us your insights into the ways we can move forward together to provide stellar ministry. We need to hear directly from you so be sure to be there!

Please let us know you’re coming so we can plan accordingly. You can register with the form in Sunday’s Weekly News, or email Melody Merida.

Is it time for you to quit smoking? If so, then the Smoking Cessation Support Group may be the right fit for you.

We’ll begin this journey on Monday, June 7  at 7:00 pm, and together we will support each other as we seek to eliminate smoking from our lives. We’ll discover strategies, plans, and tips to help in the quitting process, share the challenges we face when we quit, and offer encouragement to stay the course together.

If you are interested in being a part of the support group, please contact Melody Merida. Together we can do this!

It’s new! TGIF: Friday Night Praise and Worship gathers for the first time Friday, April 30, at 7:00 pm.

All four praise teams will be there, with your favorite singers from the Music Ministry.

We will be singing some of your favorite songs: How Great Is Our God, Praise Adonai, Use Me, Shout Your Fame and Revelation Song, plus some new songs like You Are Welcome and Expectation. This will be a time to let yourself go in worship of our wonderful Savior and Lord! The service will include a brief homily, but the focus will be on praise and worship through music!

We’re very pleased to announce that Richard Ramsey has been selected as our new accompanist! April 25 will be his first Sunday to accompany us during worship.

His responsibilities will include serving as piano accompanist during our morning worship services each Sunday, rehearsals with the Choirs and Instrumental Ensemble during the week, and occasionally performing special music. He will also fill in for Mark Brown as Worship Leader when Mark is not here.

Richard brings impeccable qualifications and loads of experience with him to this position. He has a B.A. in Piano Performance. He has held staff positions as both Accompanist and Music Minister at two large local churches, including one church with weekly attendance of 6,500. He served as an accompanist for Sandi Patty for two years. He currently works for Lawrence North High School as their Choral Department’s Accompanist and Instructional Assistant. Richard has experience with a broad range of musical genres.

He has a deep calling to use the arts to help people connect to God, and looks forward to growing with the Music Ministry and Jesus MCC. Be sure to make him feel welcome!

After a brief post-Easter break, the music teams are back on schedule with some great new additions:

• *new* The Soprano and Alto Choir, known as Bella Vocé, will meet from 6:30 to 7:00 pm each Wednesday.
• The entire Sanctuary Choir will gather at 7:00 pm.
• *new* The Tenor and Bass Choir, or Sojourn, will rehearse from 8:30 to 9:00 pm each Wednesday.
• The Instrumental Ensemble resumes rehearsals on Thursday evening, April 22.
• *new* The Heart Menders, a Southern Gospel Choir, will meet next Sunday, April 25, at 4:00 pm in the sanctuary for an informational meeting. This group will perform occasionally, with a schedule to be determined. If you are a fan of Southern Gospel, this is the group for you!

If you’re interested in any type of music ministry, please contact Worship Arts Minister Mark Brown at (317) 722-0000 or mbrown@jesusmcc.org.

The Face-to-Face Online Oasis, led by Theresa Mull, is our first experiment in online Oasis!

What keeps you from participating in Oasis? Work? Distance? Time of day? If you answered yes to any of those questions, here’s your opportunity.

Each week we will have discussions based on Sunday’s sermon on Jesus MCC’s Facebook page. Become a “fan” at facebook.com/JesusMCC, and join us on the “Discussions” tab.

If you aren’t able to attend a Sunday service, you can still take part in these discussions by watching the webcast at JesusMCC.org/listen. The sermon is posted each Sunday afternoon, and the Face-to-Face Oasis discussions begin on Tuesday each week.

If you go to the blog called Never Enough Sundays, you will find a description of our March 21 11:00 am worship service through the eyes of a writer who is traveling to 52 different churches in one year and describing her experiences.

Look for the entry titled Proclaiming the Name of Jesus and Podcast #12: Worshipping with Generosity.

At our Sunday evening service on April 11, we will host a presentation of Man from Magdalena, with music by Mary Lou Prince and words by Patty Christiena Willis.

As West Side Story portrays the Puerto Rican experience in New York City in the 1950s, Man from Magdalena is a musical story of the migrant experience in Southern Arizona in the 21st century.

The courage of Manuel Jesús Córdova Soberanes from Magdalena, a city an hour south of the Arizona/Mexico border, inspired the creation of Man from Magdalena. On his way north, he saved an Anglo boy’s life and in so doing gave up his own dream. In his incredible act of kindness, he urges us to find our own ways to reach out our hands and heal. The music will sweep you away.

Tickets are not required; admission is free. A portion of the offering will be given to the Kiva microloan program, which empowers people who are in poverty to create their own business ventures.