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!

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.

• 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.

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.

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!

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!

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.

Don Hays, father of Jesus MCC Missions Board member Donna Hays, asked his daughter near the end of his life if she would help raise the funds for a well somewhere where folks need clean water.

When Don passed away earlier this year, Donna began raising funds to make her dad’s dream a reality for the Toposa tribe. Each well in this area of Sudan costs a staggering $13,000. Donna and her family have raised $10,000 but need another $3,000 to reach the goal.

This is where we can help. On Sunday, July 11, 20% of whatever you put in the offering will go toward the Sudan Well Fund. Together we can give a gift of water to the people we met almost two years ago.

There is no need to designate your giving. We will automatically set aside 20% of every dollar donated that day. This method has worked well when we donated to other global needs. The 80/20 formula allows us to make a very sizable donation to relief efforts without falling too far short in funding the ongoing ministries of the church.

So, we encourage all who can to give a little extra next Sunday, as an expression of God’s love for Sudan. Many thanks!

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

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.