to Don Zlaty, pastor at West Newton UMC, who will become an official American citizen on July 31 at 9:00 a.m. at a ceremony at the Courthouse on Ohio St, room 202.

Sympathies

none know at the time of publishing

SAVE the DATES!

Save the Dates!

Lion & Lamb Festival

Aug 8-10

Fort Wayne, IN

more information

revitup!

National Event for Young Clergy

Sept 15-17

Atlanta, GA

event information

Clergy Spouse Retreat

Sept 19-21

Holiday Inn North, Indianapolis

more information

NEW: Quarterly Clergy Meeting

October 6

10 am-noon at Avon UMC

Parish Nurse Health Seminar

Oct 10

Speedway UMC

click to request information

Fall Lay Servant Academy

Nov 1 at Southport UMC

Quarterly District Clergy Meeting

Dec 1, 10-12:30

includes lunch

Greenwood UMC

reservations requested

District Conference

Sunday, Dec 14, 3:00 pm

@ Southport UMC

Retirees Christmas Luncheon

December 15

11:30 a.m.

Franklin UM Community

reservations please

Our Life Together

Feb 23-24, 2015

St Luke's UMC

Clergy/Laity Event with Bob Farr

March 9-10, 2015

Indianapolis Christ UMC

Bishop's Youth Rally

March 14, 2015

Quick Links

Read the 3 Simple Rules for Social Media

Local Mission Opportunities

Conference website

General Board of Pensions and Health Benefits

United Methodist Foundation of Indiana

Central District email

Please share this with others you know would like to have information relating to the Central District as this e-newsletter is our primary form of communication.

............................................

Pastors, subscribe to Leading Ideas. from the Lewis Center for Church Leadership. Click here to sign up and view past issues.

I met today with Susan Fuquay, daughter of Bishop Richard Wilke who created Disciple Bible Study.

Since 1987, Disciple Bible Study has reached more than 2 million people worldwide, introducing the grand sweep of Scripture in a 34-week format. Now Disciple Fast Track maintains the integrity and principles of the original study, but its modifications can better meet the needs of a hectic world.

Here are the main features of Disciple Fast Track:

The class meets for a total of 24 weeks (12 in the Old Testament, 12 in the New Testament). Groups typically start the Old Testament in late August and finish before Thanksgiving; they then start the New Testament in January and finish before Easter.
Each group session lasts 75 minutes - half the time of traditional Disciple classes. A new, user-friendly Leader Guide skillfully directs Fast Track leaders through the biblical narrative in each of the 24 sessions.
24 new weekly illustrated video review component, touches on all lessons from previous weeks, becomes key to helping participants remember what they have learned.

Disciple Fast Track is the brainchild of Susan Wilke Fuquay, a United Methodist Christian educator who has been involved in Disciple development, teaching, and training for 25 years. After leading more than 30 traditional Disciple groups, she became convinced an abridged version would attract people who wouldn't otherwise sign up for a two-hour class for 34 weeks. Fuquay has spent four years writing, developing, and vigorously testing this new model, intent on meeting the high standards of the longer study.

What Fast Track Participants Say:

"I had heard about Disciple for a long time, but I just didn't have time to take it until the church offered Disciple Fast Track. I loved it!"

"The weekly video review portion helped me remember key stories and ideas and get them in chronological sequence. And, I loved the art."

"I've always felt the Bible was confusing and overwhelming to read. I particularly loved the review portion in the Fast Track. I finally have the basic story line of the Bible in my head."

Want to know more about Disciple Fast Track? Go to: www.disciplefasttrack.com or watch the embedded video. Or, call Susan at St. Luke's at 317-846-3404. (Did I mention that Susan is the wife of Rob Fuquay, senior pastor at St. Luke's?)

For the only cause that matters,

M. Bert Kite, Superintendent

Central District Conference to Be Held December 14, 2014

District Superintendent Bert Kite has announced that the Central District Conference will be held on Sunday, December 14 at 3 p.m. at Southport UMC, (1947 E Southport, Indianapolis, IN). At this meeting the 2015 District budget and District leadership will be reviewed/approved.

In order to involve leadership from many parts of the conference, the election of delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences shall begin in local congregations, continue in districts, and conclude at Annual Conference. Local congregations may submit names of potential lay delegates to either of our District Lay Leaders, Doris Clark or Anthony Swinger. Potential clergy delegates may submit their names to Bert Kite. There will be a Willingness to Serve form which will need to be submitted along with the name. That form is not yet available.

Africa University Campaign Speakers Available to Local Churches

Local churches who would like to have a speaker come to their church to inform their congregation about Africa University and the Indiana A.U. Campaign can contact Ruth Ellen Stone at ruthellen1@juno.com or 317-839-8873. For more information, please click here.

Churches will be asked to bring their pledges to charge conferences in November.

Charge Conference Schedule Announced

Charge Conference season is right around the corner. Because your committee work needs to be completed weeks before your reports are due, here are some steps to take now to be prepared.

Trustees and SPRC - Annual Parsonage Inspection is addressed in the Book of Discipline, �258.2.16.
You may complete the inspection and air quality test at any time of the year. Your charge conference reports require the date of your annual parsonage inspection and air quality test.
Send your Parsonage Condition Agreement form and air quality test results to the district resource center at the time of the inspection and test. Parsonage walk-through form is available here.

SPRC will want to begin the process of setting the 2015 pastoral compensation in time for the church/administrative council to approve the compensation several weeks prior to your charge conference report due date.

Committee on Nominations and Leadership Development identifies and invites spiritual leaders for positions to carry out the ministries that fulfill the mission of making disciples and transforming the community. Your local congregation's 2015 leadership with contact information is part of the charge conference report, and is one of the important votes taken at your charge conference.

Please begin planning for your charge conference by setting meetings now to have the proper information gathered when reports are available to complete online (mid-August).

Each church is encouraged to send no fewer than five people (one clergy and four laity) to represent the church at charge conference. In addition, if your work is not completed prior to your designated time frame before your charge conference convenes, you will be asked to attend a later charge conference. Thank you for your attention to these important items. If you have questions, please contact Heather or Robin at the Central District center (central.district@inumc.org or call 317-924-4140.

Click here for the conference schedule by

date/cluster.

Click here for the conference schedule by church name.

Pastors New to the District

Meet two more of our pastors new to Central District:

Randy McQueen and his wife Jacquelyn, both originally from Ft Wayne, came to Indianapolis Good Shepherd from Griffith First (Griffith, IN) and have served churches in Lapel, Ft. Wayne, and Auburn, IN. Randy is a United Theological Seminary grad and enjoys reading, fishing and travel with Jacquelyn. They have a daughter and 3 grandchildren.

William (Billy) Nickrand and his wife Lindsey came from LaPorte, IN originally but call Newburgh, IN their "stomping grounds" since they attend high school there, then attended Southern Indiana in Evansville for college. Billy went on to Lousiville Presbyterian Theological Seminary from there. Billy is excited to be at Castleton UMC as an associate pastor; prior to this appointment he served at Newburgh, Unity Chapel Hill and Door Village UMCs. Billy and Lindsey have five year old Aiden (who can ride a bike all by himself) and three year old Sydney, who is a smart, awesome kid! Billy is training for his first marathon on Nov 1. We once rang a Salvation Army bell for over 60 hours to raise funds.

Clergy Spouse Retreat Sept 19-21

Kirk Freeman is a leader who has inspired thousands of individuals across the country. He leads workshops and presents keynote speeches on a variety of topics that enable coaches, parents, teachers, and other leaders to discover the PERFECT process!

Dr. Freeman has experience being a military officer, classroom teacher, coach, school administrator, Church leader, and college professor. He has been in a leadership role for over twenty-five years. His experiences and expertise enable him to create an environment where "there is an 'I' in team"and where "everyone is someone." Kirk is the founder and president of Kirk Freeman Consulting. He resides in Brazil, Indiana with his wife, Geri, and children, Caleb, Jonah, and Jillian. His oldest son, Jared, is currently a Captain in the U.S. Air Force.

The retreat will include time for fun, food, discussion, and fellowship, and we will end the weekend with a final worship time together. We hope and pray that we have been able to create a weekend for you to be with your fellow spouses in fellowship and relaxation!

Churches: Please consider sponsoring your clergy spouse for this amazing event! If your clergy person does not have a spouse, or their spouse is unable to attend, please consider sending a donation to the Pamela Hixon Keith Memorial Scholarship Fund. This fund is used to pay the way of clergy spouses who are unable to pay for the event. Your donations - large or small - go a long way! If you would like to contribute to this fund, please send checks to Rhonda Alstott 1212 Lexington Drive, New Albany, IN 47150.

Click here for more information and registration!

This event is hosted by:

We are called to support spouses of INUMC clergy be encouraging personal discipleship and empowering them to foster authentic community through advocacy and fellowship

Resource to Help Churches Engage Local Schools

A number of conferences and districts are encouraging churches to engage their local schools as a way to reconnect with their communities. Last spring the Lewis Center for Church Leadership sponsored a conference on this topic and later developed a DVD/CD resource to guide congregations in considering questions that are critical to the success of a school-focused service initiative.

The response to this resource, Engaging Local Schools, has been positive, and many have asked about placing bulk orders as a way to help churches get started. In response to this interest, I am attaching information for those wishing to purchase multiple copies of the DVD/CD.

Engaging Local Schools provides models and best practices on subjects such as:

Why Schools Matter to the Church
Discerning a Vision for Supporting a Local School
Supplying Student Needs
Supporting and Affirming Teachers
Helping Students Succeed
Developing a Heart for the Needs of Children and Schools
Stories of Successful Partnerships

In addition to the bulk rate, you may purchase one or more of these resources using the promo code SCHOOLS2014 to save $15 through August 31. If you have any questions, contact Joe Arnold at jearnold@wesleyseminary.edu or 202-885-8560. If you prefer to pay by check, during the ordering process at step 3, "Choose Payment Method," select the first option "Print order form to pay by check."

Click to Learn more...

P.S. If you are not already receiving the Lewis Center's free online newsletter, Leading Ideas, I encourage you to subscribe at www.churchleadership.com.

Lovett H. Weems, Jr.

Professor of Church Leadership

Director, Lewis Center for Church Leadership

Wesley Theological Seminary

Lion & Lamb Festival

The Lion and Lamb Festival is a space to come together as the community of God to engage in conversation about faith and justice, to celebrate through music and art to learn, to grown, to find hope. We believe God is alive and active in our world, if only we keep our eyes open. Come, be inspired. We are thrilled to welcome speakers Alexia Salvatierra and Roger Wolsey and musical guests Rend Collective Experiment and Amy Cox. This year, we are working hard to make the festival affordable and accessible to all people. The event is August 8-10 at Praise Park, Ft. Wayne. Early bird tickets are only $15! Children 12 and under are free again this year. Registration is now open. For more information and to register click here.

New Pastor Orientation

New Pastor Orientation on September 6, 2014 from 9 am until 4 pm at Carmel St. Marks is for all pastors serving in their first appointment (supply, local pastor, Elder, Deacon) and all pastors new to the Indiana Conference. Pastors who should have attended in the past but were unable to attend should also register.

The registration deadline is September 1, 2014 at 11:59 pm. There is no cost to attend and lunch is included. Register online

Volunteers in Mission Training

Hagerstown church to host next VIM Training, Aug. 2

HAGERSTOWN, Ind. - The next Volunteers In Mission Training will be held at the Hagerstown United Methodist Church, 199 South Perry Street in Hagerstown. The VIM Training is intended for all those volunteers interested in learning more about the United Methodist connectional system, volunteer resources, team leader responsibilities, cultural awareness and project selection. Local, conference wide, U.S. and International mission opportunities will be discussed. The cost is $15 per participant with optional manual with $25 each additional cost. Registration deadline is Wednesday, July 23. Registration check-in begins at 9:30 a.m. EDT with the class from 10 a.m. through 3 p.m., including a working lunch. The training is open to all and will be presented by Beth Stickles-McDaniel, INUMC VIM Coordinator. If you have questions about this training or mission opportunities, contact Stickles-McDaniel at vim@inumc.org or 317-705-1870. Register here.

North Central Jurisdictional RoundUP

On August 8-10, there will be special Jurisdictional Mission Event at the Epworth Forest Camp and Retreat Center, North Webster. It will be a great event for local churches to send their mission teams to - or any folks that are interested in the outreach of the UMC!

Denise Honeycutt, Deputy General Secretary for UMCOR will be one of the speakers and highlights. Others are Una Jones, Assistant General Secrtary for Mission Volunteers, Chett Pritchard, Methodist Federation for Social Action and missionaries from Mexico, Dominican Republic, Panama, and Bolivia!

People can come for one day or one evening or the whole weekend! A flyer may be obtained by clicking here, schedule by clicking here, workshops by clicking here, or to register by clicking here.

Basic ERT Training at Indy St Luke's

St. Luke's UMC, 100 W. 86th Street in Indianapolis will host the Basic Early Response Team (ERT) from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23. The purpose of ERT Training is to prepare people to provide a caring Christian presence in the aftermath of disaster. ERTs are participants of Volunteers In Mission, who have been trained by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) trainers and are required to deploy as part of an ERT at least once during their three years, UMCOR-certified period to qualify for recertification. The trainer for this class will be the Rev. Jim Byerly, Indiana Conference Disaster Response Coordinator. Lunch is included in the registration fee of $32 and the registration deadline is Thursday, Aug. 14 or until participant limit is reached. Minimum class size is 14 participants for the training to be held. Registration is limited to 35 participants. All participants must download and complete a background check form, which must be turned in when you check-in for the class. To download the background check information and form click here. Click here to register.

UM Gathering to Tackle AIDS Crisis

Every Annual Conference is being urged to send a representative to Countdown to Zero with the goal of equipping leaders to help further educate about and advocate for AIDS elimination and ways United Methodists can make a difference. REGISTER TODAY.

Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey from Louisiana will provide a clarion call to action to those gathered at the 5th United Methodist Global AIDS Fund Conference "Countdown to Zero: Just Save One" Sept. 11-13 in Denver, Colo. She is the episcopal leader in a conference that believes the AIDS pandemic must be eradicated and has taken action to make that happen.

For information on scholarships, contact Linda Bales Todd, joylab47@yahoo.com. Deadline for accepting scholarship applications is July 25.

Deadline for registering for the conference is Aug. 15.

To register or for an event flyer, go to: www.umglobalaidsfund.com.

Retreat for Your Emerging Student Leaders in November

The Bishop's Student Leadership Academy is a weekend retreat for high school youth to explore what they are passionate about, what problems in the world get them fired up, what gifts and tools God has given them, and what amazing ideas they have now for sharing Christ's love through those gifts. Cost is $45 and the retreat will be at the University of Indianapolis, Nov. 21-23. For more information and to register, please click here.

New UM Handbook Available

The new United Methodist Handbook is now available in an easy-to-read and share digital format.

The Handbook is among the best resources for laity providing leadership, people new to The United Methodist Church and clergy who occasionally get stumped by a question. It includes:

* United Methodist teachings,
* church structure and organization,
* denominational initiatives,
* what it means to be a worldwide church,
* connectional giving information,
* a glossary of United Methodist terms ... and much more.

You can also download the Handbook for off-line reading, print pages for new member classes, leader training and other events and send it to others.

LOCAL CHURCH NEWS and EVENTS

There are lots of events, special activities, classes and studies happening around the Central District. Due to space constraints, they are listed in full on the District web site. For all local church news and events go to the District web page by clicking HERE.

(Please submit only items with broad appeal beyond your local congregation.)

Details of these events are on the District web page

Lawrence UMC - Fish Fry 7/31, 8/1, 2

Danville UMC - Overtones Gospel Quartet 8/31

Help Wanted - check out the new positions

Greenwood UMC - PT Office coordinator

North UMC - PT Finance Director

Franklin Grace - Director of Children's Ministry

Lawrence UMC - PT Preschool lead teacher (4-5 yr olds)

IN Conference - Communications director

Wesley UMC - certified teachers

Roberts Park - PT choir director

Movie Theater Church - PT Family Ministry Director

Asian Help Services is in need of a few volunteer English teachers who have teaching experience, or retired school teachers. We meet at Epworth UMC in the morning from 9:30 to 11:30 a m. Once a week or twice a week is enough. If interested or want more information, please contact Sungboon Baik (317) 924-4827.

Free:

Imagistics color copier, 35 ppm, with all colors of toner, drum units, transfer belt units. Needs service call (needs a stabilizer). Call the district center at 317-924-4140. Pick it up and it's yours!

Chuck Knows Church!

Seen Chuck Knows Church? Check out the latest online video series at: ChuckKnowsChurch.org.

Contact information for the Central District:

Office Hours: 8:30-4:30 Monday-Friday

3901 N Meridian St, Suite 210

Indianapolis, IN 46208

317-924-4140 or toll free: 877-781-6707

fax: 317-924-4007
District website

Confernce website: www.inumc.org general email: central.district@inumc.org

Remittance Address for District and Conference payments:
Conference tithe is 10% and District tithe is 1.5%
INUMC

PO Box 6089

Carol Stream, IL 60122-6089

Central District - The United Methodist Church

Bert Kite, Superintendent (please note correct email address, above)

Bob Coleman, Associate Superintendent (relates to DCOM and clusters)

Charlie Rownd, Associate Superintendent (relates to local churches for security and risk management)

Karen Devaisher, Associate Superintendent (relates to clergy and clusters)

Brad Miller, Associate Superintendent (relates to Clusters)

Joe Bottorff (relates to extension ministers), Jacquie Reed (relates to clergy spouses): Assistants to the Superintendent (volunteer)

Robin Brown, District Assistant

Heather Cress, Receptionist

Lisa Morris, Executive Director, Metro Ministries, Inc.

If you have a submission for the NEXUS NewsFlash, please send the article in Word format to Robin Brown at central.district@inumc.org by Monday of each week. PDF documents cannot be published. Not all articles will be published, and all articles are subject to editing and review.