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Important Articles!
Local Church Events
Safe Sanctuaries Abuse Protection Q&A Session
Mendenhall Lecture
Gathering of the Order of Elders
United Methodist Men National Gathering
UMCOM
 
Tips and Tactics for Vital Congregations
 
Social Media Collage
 
SHORT IS SWEET
When it comes to social media posts, shorter is better.  

Even though there's a 140 character limit on Twitter, keep tweets under 120 characters to allow followers to retweet.  On Facebook, research shows the most engaging posts are 80 characters or less. 

Find more information at:
West District Center
118 W. Seminary St.
Greencastle, IN 46135

Visit us on the web!

765-276-4797
1-877-781-6716

Office Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Parking is available in the lot located at Maple Street and Seminary Street.  Please call ahead if you will need to utilize the handicapped access ramp that is available.


West District Mission Opportunities 

 

 

Local Church Events  

 

 

 
 
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West District Staff
John Groves
Rev. John Groves
Superintendent
[email protected]

John Davis

Rev. John Davis
Associate Superintendent
[email protected]

Katie Purple

Katie Swisher
District Assistant
[email protected]
West District News
October 2, 2012
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The West District Center has a new page on Facebook!  Click the Facebook button above to "Like" our page, and stay connected to others in the District!
John Davis will be out of town September 15-October 3.  He will return any e-mails or voice mails when he gets back.  Thanks!
NEWS

CC 2012 graphic
 
Elders Gathering
SAVE THE DATE!Lay Servant Ministries
Lay Servant School
Saturday, October 27 
8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. 
Brazil First UMC

Basic Class

Led by Jon Overbey

 

Advanced Class
"Living Our Beliefs - The United Methodist Way"

Led by Mindy Huffman

 

CLICK HERE FOR THE REGISTRATION FORM!

EVENTS
Local Church Events Calendar 

In an effort to keep this newsletter as concise as possible, we are listing local church events only on the district web site.  To view these events, simply CLICK HERE, and you will be directed to it.  If your church has an event you would like featured on this calendar, please e-mail the details to Katie Swisher at [email protected].
Welcome Back Bishop Coyner
Bishop
WEST DISTRICT CELEBRATION
Bishop Coyner
With Bishop Michael Coyner 
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Mt. Pleasant UMC - North Campus
1075 North Fruitridge, Terre Haute
7:00 p.m.

Please come to this celebration to greet Bishop Coyner and welcome him back for another four years as Indiana's Bishop.  There will be light refreshments, fellowship, and a short presentation by Bishop Coyner.  We look forward to seeing you there! 

 

UPDATES!

We will have a very brief West District Conference at 6:40 prior to the Bishop's presentation.  Please be present at this conference to vote on the 2013 budget and leadership for our district!

 

______________________________________________

 

Leadership and Young Adult Ministry Roundtable - 5:00 p.m.

You are invited to join with pastors and young adult ministry leaders for networking and conversation around leadership development and young adult engagement in the local congregation.  Led by Associate Director of Leadership Development Rev. Brian Durand, we'll explore your questions and ideas, along with topics such as generational differences, current communication patterns, and trends and resources for leadership and ministry with young adults.  We'll finish in time to join the welcome back reception for Bishop Mike at 7pm.  Pastors, lay leaders, young adult ministry leaders, young adults - all are welcome for dinner and conversation!  Dinner will be provided for this event, so please let me know if you are coming.  RSVPs were due to Katie Swisher by Friday, September 28th.  We can no longer take any reservations for this meal. Thanks

  


Please e-mail Katie Swisher to RSVP for this event.

Operation Classroom Packing Day Operation Classroom  

Thursday, October 4 

Breden Memorial UMC
2228 S. 7th Street, Terre Haute
8:30 a.m.

 

The next Packing Day for Operation Classroom will be Thursday, October 4, 2012, at Breden UMC in Terre Haute.  Lunch will be served, and a free will donation will be collected.  Click here for a list of supplies that are needed.

 

It is also time to think about scholarships.  Scholarships are $100 per student and covers one year of tuition.  When you provide a scholarship you will receive a photo of the student and a letter of thanks and telling you a little about him.  You can send the check or money order to me or to Joe Wagner, Operation Classroom, P.O. Box 277, Colfax, IN  46051.  Please designate the check as scholarship for Fergusson.

 

Summer clothing is also needed.  No women's shorts or tank tops.  Tennis shoes, flip flops and baseball caps, first aid supplies, hand garden tools and Sunday School materials are also needed.  Paper boxes are great for packing. If you have some you would like to get rid of, please bring them.  

 

Bill Green

District Coordinator for Operation Classroom

7556 West CR 350 South

Greencastle, IN  46135

765-653-5430

Safe Sanctuaries banner

SAVE THE DATE! 

Safe Sanctuaries Abuse Protection Policy Implementation Q&A Session   

Saturday, October 6   10:00 a.m. - noon 

Brazil Union UMC  -  780 E 600 N, Brazil  

  

Do you need to create or update your church's Abuse Protection Policy before charge conference, and still have some questions you'd like to ask of the West District Abuse Protection Team?

 

 

Please register by Thursday, October 4 with:

Katie Swisher, 

District Assistant

 

[email protected]   

765-276-4797

 

Mendenhall Lecture
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Gobin Memorial UMC

Samuel Freedman will be the speaker for the 2012 Mendenhall Lecture.  It will be held on Tuesday evening, October 23, 2012, at Gobin Memorial United Methodist Church on DePauw's campus. 

The title for his lecture is "Dirty Knees on the Campaign Trail; Religion in the 2012 Presidential Election."

A columnist for The New York Times ("On Religion") and a professor at Columbia University, he is the author of six acclaimed books.  Jew vs. Jew won the National Jewish Book Award for Non-fiction in 2001 and made the Publishers Weekly Religion Best Sellers list.  Small Victories was a finalist for the 1990 National Book Award, and The Inheritance was a finalist for the 1997 Pulitzer Prize.  Upon This Rock won the 1993 Helen Bernstein Award for Excellence in Journalism.

In addition to writing for The Times he has contributed to numerous other publications and websites, including USA Today, New York, Rolling Stone, Salon, and BeliefNet.  In broadcast journalism, Freedman has served as a correspondent to "Religion and Ethics Newsweekly" on PBS. 

As always, the public is invited to attend.

There will be a Mendenhall dinner at 5:30pm that same evening.  Reservations are limited and must be made in advance by emailing [email protected]

Elders

Gathering of the Order of Elders of the Indiana Conference

Thursday, November 15, 2012  10:30 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

St. Luke's UMC in Indianapolis

 

A Gathering of the Order of Elders of the Indiana Conference has been called. The purpose of this gathering is to come together for fellowship, worship, lunch (provided), and for a discussion of the changes being made to appointment security for Elders.  By November 15th we will know if the changes voted by the 2012 General Conference have been affirmed, modified, or rejected by the Judicial Council.  No matter what their decision, there is a great deal of anxiety and confusion among the Elders (Deacons and Local Pastors are not directly affected)  around this issue of what some have called "guaranteed appointments." 

 

This Gathering is for all active Elders, and your attendance is expected.  Retired Elders are welcome but not expected to attend.  Elders serving in Extension Ministry appointments may be excused if your employment or geography prevents your attending, and of course Elders who are on Incapacity Leave or other kinds of Leave.  Provisional elders are also welcome to attend, even though they are not officially members of the Order of Elders, because these appointment issues will impact their ministry for many years to come.

 

Because we need to have a count for lunch and nametags prepared for you, please register online at this address before November 9, 2012:   www.inumc.org/elders2012.  These details will also be online at that address.  For anyone who cannot register online, you may call the Conference Center (877-781-6706) and register over the phone.

United Methodist Men National Gathering
UMM

July 12-14, 2013
Belmont University - Nashville, TN 

 

Speakers for the event, held once every four years, include: Don Davis, former NFL football player now serving as regional director of the NFL Players Association; David Delk, president of Orlando, Fla.-based Man in the Mirror Ministries; Bishop Swanson, elected to the episcopacy in 2004 and appointed to the Holston Area prior to his recent move to the Mississippi Area; and the Rev. Shane Bishop, pastor of Christ United Methodist Church in Fairview Heights, Ill., a church that increased the number of members from 200 in 2009 to 1,000 in 2012.

There will be 18 workshops for the national gathering.

 

Participants will also engage in bagging 40,000 pounds of produce for Nashville area food banks, building hand carts for people in African nations who have lost the use of their legs; and preparing ingredients for dehydrated food packages for emergency situations.

 

The theme of the event will be "From the Inside Out," words from a song performed on a CD "Into the Light" by Phil Stacey, one of the five finalists on season six of the American Idol television show. The Nashville public will be invited to his concert on Saturday evening.

 

Price for the registration and meals at the three-day event was set at $239 for people who register before March 1 and $299 after that date. Housing costs vary. More details on this event can be found by clicking here.