Indiana Trip -- Zionsville

Zionsville UMC -- Zionsville, IN -- June 27 - 28

I closed out my trip last night and this morning in Zionsvile.  Saturday evening was the "Casual Worship."  Then, on Sunday morning, we had the contemporary worship and traditional worship.  I was able to talk with some of the work team members (and other interested persons) between services.  Thank you to Doug Benge and Linda Johnson for their help during the worship services and to Pastors John Wantz and Scott Tyring for making the visit possible--and my parents who are always helpful when I'm in Zionsville.

Indiana Trip -- Frankfort, Mt. Olive (Marion), Stockwell

Three more stops along the way.

St. Matthew UMC -- Frankfort, IN -- Sunday, June 21

I had served Frankfort Trinity UMC from 1994-1997.  This was kind of like going home again.  I was at Wesley Manor retirement home for the night before and spoke to a nice group there.  Then, on Sunday morning, I preached at both the 8:45 AM and 11 AM services.  Thank you to Lowell Brown for setting this visit up and to Rev. Jake Fisher for posing for the wonderful photo below during worship.

Mt. Olive UMC -- Marion, IN -- Monday, June 22nd

Thank you to Ruth Stevens for setting up the visit and to Pastor Dexter for allowing me to speak with their mission committee.  I came out of Marion First UMC and it was nice hearing about the old community.  This is a church that is very involved in mission work around the world.

Stockwell UMC -- Stockwell, IN -- Wednesday, June 24th

Thank you to Rev. Mark Berg for organizing a visit to Stockwell.  This church has an interesting story and has a bunch of people who have skill in finish work that could prove helpful next year as we continue to complete our new construction.

Indiana Trip 2009 -- Brushwood, Leo, First Wayne Street, Monroe

Pastor Jim is in Indiana for a couple of weeks, to visit some of the churches that support Gidrwood Chapel and to attend the first Annual Conference of the Indiana Conference (combining North and South Indiana Conferences).  Here are some of the pictures from the first week.

BRUSHWOOD UMC IN RENSSALAER, INDIANA -- Tuesday, June 16

Thank you to the Mission Chair, Merrie Etta Stowers for setting up the VBS visit and to Jack and Cleota Warne for making our very tired pastor feel at home.

For what many would consider a "small country church,"  Brushwood is not very small and puts on a great VBS.  There were a lot of kids there that night and Pastor Jim gave 5 presentations to groups of kids and another one for the adults.

Here's a few pictures of that evening.

 

LEO UMC IN LEO, INDIANA -- Wednesday, June 17

Thank you to the Beattys for their hospitality and for Dave Beatty for setting up the evening presentation.  (I stayed at their home on a previous trip to Leo).

About 30 people gathered for the full presentation that evening and we had some great deserts as we gathered for fellowship time afterwards.  I even made an extra trip to the church later in the evening when we found out that my camera had been left there.

FIRST WAYNE STREET UMC, FORT WAYNE, IN -- Thursday, June 18

Thanks to Dan Daniels for setting up a wonderful breakfast on the nearby campus of Indiana Tech. Also, thank you to Pastor Greg Enstrom for guiding me to to the campus

Indiana Tech has a beautiful small campus with a wonderful new building.  It was a 7 AM breakfast and it was dynamite.  This is a church that is thinking of at trip to Girdwood in 2010.

I apologize for not having any pictures because, for some reason, I never took the camera out of the bag.  The people were great and I look forward to being in further dialogue with them.

MONROE UMC, MONROE, IN -- Thursday, June 18

Thank you to Alan and Pam Arnold for setting up the evening and planning ahead to a work team in 2010 (They've already started fundraising).  Also, thank you to Pastor Stoops for his company during dinner and his support of the various ministries of the church.

About 25 people gathered for the presentation that evening.  I've included some pictures of their facility because I thought their mutli-purpose room, with a half-court basketball court was a great model for a smaller church.  And I thought I'd highight their food pantry that services over 100 families a month.

After the presentation, Pastor Jim headed on the road to Zionsville to spend a couple of nights with his parents.

Pastor Jim's Birthday "Work & Wieners" -- 7 June 2009

This past Sunday we had about 25 folks working on the church from 12 noon until about 5 PM in recognition of Pastor Jim's 40th Birthday.  There was work for those with great skill and those with little skill--and much of it was in the bright sunshine of the day.  There are some pictures below.  But you can SEE MORE HERE.

Hootenanny Sunday Pics -- June 7th

Beautiful Day to worship outside on June 7th.  Had a great time.

Some pics below.  See more pics HERE.