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WEST DISTRICT CENTER
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NEW MAILING ADDRESS:
704 S. State Road 135
Suite D379
Greenwood, IN 46143
1-877-781-6716
Preferred Telephone Hours:
Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
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| West District Staff |  | |
Rev. John Groves
Superintendent
765-51-UMC-DS
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West District News
June 4, 2013
The West District Center has been having difficulties with our telephone system for a few days. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. Cincinnati Bell is working on resolving the issue. Please try to use e-mail or mobile phone to connect with the West District Staff until we can get this problem resolved. Thanks! Katie
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Virtual Office Update
Plans are being made for final pick up of purchased items and moving dates are being set. The district office will be in transition with telephones being transferred shortly after annual conference.
Soon you will be getting information on where John Groves and John Davis will be in the district. It is planned to put our schedule on the website, Facebook and in the district news a couple of weeks in advance.
Katie will be working from home unless there is a district event and she may attend. Katie, John and I will meet periodically to confirm information, calendars, upcoming events, etc...
Pray for us in this endeavor. We are the first district in the Indiana Conference to model this new format of leadership and functionality.
Blessings and prayers,
John Groves
West District Superintendent
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Charge Conference Schedule Published
 The 2013 West District charge conference schedule is now published on the West District Center website. Please click here to view the schedule. Make sure to mark your church and personal calendars for your particular charge conference date!
Information about the charge conference forms will be released in the coming months. Please begin planning for your charge conference by setting meetings now to have the proper information gathered at that time. There are many changes coming to the charge conference forms this year. One way your church needs to begin preparing for these changes is to have ALL PASTORS begin using the INUMC.ORG e-mail account provided by the Conference. Access to the new charge conference forms will be granted using this e-mail account, so it is vital that these accounts are set up now. If you have questions about setting up your INUMC.ORG account, please contact the Indiana Conference Center at 317-924-1321.
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Annual Conference 2013
The Fifth Indiana Annual Conference Session will take place June 6-8, 2013 at the Indianapolis Convention Center.
A conference pictorial directory will be published again this year, so please be sure to have your photo taken at Annual Conference!
Churches invited to provide activities at Family Fun Night on Monument Circle June 7
INDIANAPOLIS - The Indiana Conference Session planning team is seeking the assistance of Indiana United Methodist churches to host kids games, crafts, entertainment and/or provide food for our Second Annual Family Fun Night on Monument Circle. Set up for the event will be Friday, June 7 beginning at 3:30 p.m. The Family Fun Night at Monument Circle will run from 5 to 7 p.m. For more information, answers to your questions or to explore an idea, contact Helene Foust, Associate Director of Student Ministries, at the Indiana Conference Center at 317-564-3253 or by e-mail at helene.foust@inumc.org.
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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 west.district@inumc.org.
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United Methodist Men National Gathering
 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 $199 for people who register before June 1 and $299 after that date. Housing costs vary. More details on this event can be found by clicking here. |
 An exciting new ministry event, and you are invited! The Lion and Lamb Festival is a community of hope gathering to share gifts, inspire authentic conversation, and passionately follow God in the world. It will gather August 31-September 1, 2013, at Praise Park, a property of Saint Joseph UMC in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Through art, music, and word, the festival will encourage attendees to reflect on issues of spirituality, faith, and justice in their everyday lives. 2013 festival keynote speakers include Rachel Held Evans and Bruce Reyes-Chow, and currently booked musicians include Andrew Peterson, Heatherlyn, John Tibbs, Amy Cox, and Elle/the Remnant. A joint effort of the INUMC Young Adult Ministry Team, the Social Advocacy Team, and Saint Joseph UMC, the festival is open to everyone of all ages. More information at www.lionandlambfestival.org. |
West District Operation Classroom News
The next Operation Classroom Packing Day is scheduled for Thursday, October 3rd at 8:30 AM at Breden Memorial UMC in Terre Haute. There will be no Operation Classroom Packing Day this spring.
Operation Classroom gets no financial support for the General Board of Global Ministries - we get no financial support from any other mission agency. Every nickel that we receive has to be raised from local churches and individuals.
In the past, the shipping operation has often operated "in the red" - that is, people who provided materials to be shipped to West Africa DID NOT provide the funds to ship it there. We simply aren't in a position to do that any longer. Please see the policies listed below related to shipping (copied from off of our web-site.) If our churches and individuals in Indiana (and elsewhere) aren't willing to provide the funding, then sooner rather than later the shipping program will cease to be a part of OCI. It costs us about $10,000.00 each time we ship a container to West Africa - and that doesn't include the warehousing and receiving costs here in Indiana.
Shipping Costs
Listed below is the schedule of MANDATORY contributions for shipping. We're sorry, but if material shows up at the warehouse or at in-gatherings without arrangements having been made to cover these costs, IT WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED for shipment.
� Box 12x12x12= $10
� Box up to 12x12x18 -$15
� Box over 12x12x18 up to 18x18x18 =$ 20
� Over 18x18x18 to a computer sized box = $ 30
� Computer sized box = $ 40
The donation for the shipping costs is the responsibility of the local church or individual who donates or secures the items, unless you or your district has made other arrangements. These charges cover:
� The leasing and of the container
� Clearing customs
� Freight forwarding (Truck and Ocean-going vessel)
� Customs clearing in-country
Make checks payable to OPERATION CLASSROOM. Shipping costs are tax deductible.
If shipping costs are sent through the conference to GBGM in New York, use the advance number: Africa Operation Classroom: 12922Y
If you have questions, contact John Barker (765.346.0979) or Bob Coolman at
219-464-8055 (O) 219-464-2702 (H) 219-405-5821 (C). |
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