Southport UMC Newsletter

The Cruelest Month That’s an odd way to talk about April, don’t you think?   We always look forward to April; it means Spring is finally here for real.   I know, Spring really starts in March, but March is so hit and miss.   One moment it feels like or looks like spring, but then - boom – it snows on us!   No, most of us associate April with the true Spring, warmer weather, flowers begin to grow, the trees begin to green up, life seems to return to what was barren and dead looking.   Three cheers for April. So, who called it the “cruelest month”?   Well, it is a poem from that great American poet T.S. Eliot.   In his great work called “The Wasteland” Eliot writes: “APRIL is the cruelest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers.” What an odd thing, Eliot wrote, don’t you think?   Winter kept us warm?

Greetings from the SUMC Leadership Team!   Last month Peggy Boyll, the 2019 Chair of the team, gave a great overview of the structure of the team and   introduced herself.   This month I’d like to share a little more about the team as well as a little about me. My faith journey has taken many twists and turns through the years.   A little over three years ago, God led my husband Phil and I to SUMC.   I remember hearing about a “leadership team” shortly after we started attending worship here but had no idea who they were and what they did.   I’ve now learned that there is an “Accountability Leadership Structure” document that defines the Leadership Team, as well as what the foci (am I the only one who didn’t know this is the plural of “focus”?) of the team is supposed to be.   The first focus is connecting with Christ, and the second focus is connecting with people.   That’s YOU – each and every one of the family of Christ and SUMC.   So, tell us how we can best connect with you?

The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart.   That’s the point of our Bible study that starts Tuesday after Easter, April 23rd. As a disciple of Jesus, we should have an ongoing transformation of the heart.   That transformation occurs as the love of God that came among us in Jesus takes up residence in us.   As we grow stronger in God’s love, we are enabled to grow and become agents of God’s transforming love at work in the world. That is discipleship the John Wesley way.   The transformed heart redirects our passions, restores our relationships with God and others, and reshapes our lives into the likeness of Christ. Join Pastor Derek and Pastor Doug in this Bible study as we all journey together to move closer and closer to Christlikeness. We will meet each Tuesday for six weeks, starting Tuesday April 23rd.   We will meet at 2:30 pm and 7:00 pm.

Less than three months until our workcamp/retreat!! Located in beautiful Brown County, Camp Moneto is our largest church campgrounds in Indiana! Again, we are going to lend our hands to help get this camp into great shape! Saturday, June 1st through Friday, June 7th, we will be lending our hearts, minds, hands, and time to help build, fix, clean, paint, and make welcome this camp to hundreds of youth, families, church groups, and individuals, to grow closer to Christ and each other! It will be an exciting time to see how we can be home missionaries and see how God can use us! It will be a time to grow in our faith through actions, study and prayer. What do you need to qualify for this experience? A willing heart and desire to serve Christ! Do you need to have any special skills or experience? No, just a willingness to learn from our volunteers and campground staff who will show you, in a safe way, what and how to do it! If you have special skills or experience, yes, we need you a

Now that the secret is out (Thank you Brandon)! Did you know that Monday thru Friday we care for 53 children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 6 years, and an additional 40 children who attend preschool? Our children are families from our community as well as a few from our congregation. Needless to say our childcare rooms are full and some work off of a waiting list. Our church is a busy place!!!!! Our children grow, develop, discover the wonders of the environment, are encouraged to practice decision making, to be taught to respect and value one another and the world, and begin to develop Christian attitudes and responses that will lead to a meaningful relationship with God and God’s world. We believe that children are God’s people and are created in God’s image. We also believe that there is a need in our community to provide any child with a church-sponsored, Christian, early childhood experience and that no child should be excluded. Our program strives to provide the follow

The Men’s Walk to Emmaus for the Hoosier Hills Community will be held at Camp Indicoso near Bedford, Indiana, April 4-7. Bill Holwager is the Lay Director for the men’s walk. The women’s walk will be held one week later from April 11-14 and Becky Russell is the Lay Director. The Walk to Emmaus is a highly structured program of study, fellowship, praise and worship designed to offer pilgrims who attend a deeper commitment to the way of Christ and renewed energy for the mission of the church. If you are interested in sponsoring a pilgrim or joining the walk as a pilgrim yourself, please contact the church office or William J. Holwager, e-mail address wjh@hhelderlaw.com. Further information about the Hoosier Hills Walk to Emmaus can be found on their website by searching HOOSIERHILLS WALK TO EMMAUS .

The team met on Sunday, March 17th and discussed the following items: We are looking to partner with local UM churches in the area. We are going to meet on a regular basis.               Next meeting is April 8th at 7 p.m. in Room W104;  all are welcome.  We want to attend the monthly Northside Meeting of Green Churches on the third   Thursday. We have narrowed down trash and recycle containers in the Gathering Place. Hope this helps.  Also....did you know we have someone who helps us collect plastic lids from all containers? These lids are used to make benches.  Please collect your lids and bring them to the church and place them in the kitchen by the microwave. We will be looking for a better collection spot in the future.  Reminder that items for recycling and disposal can be taken to the TOX DROP on the 2nd Saturday from 9:00am – 12:00pm. This is located on Thompson Rd. off Madison Ave. behind the Fire Department and Perry Twp. Offices building. Follow the signs.

April Circle Meetings: Rebekah Circle is the second Tuesday, April 9th at 1:00pm at the church in the Gathering Place. Leah Circle is the third Monday, April 15th at 6:30pm in the church Kitchen.  We will be giving the kitchen a good cleaning. Bring some gloves, rags, and cleaning supplies.    Coming Events to put on your Calendar: April 27th:  Hearts in Service Program.  Time: 9:00am-4:00pm   Place: at Southport UMC    Lunch: provided    Cost: FREE    RSVP the church: 317-784-9508   Reservations are needed for Child care by April, 13. Church Women United (CWU) is a racially, culturally, theologically inclusive Christian women's movement celebrating unity in diversity and working for a world of peace and justice.   On Friday, May 3, 2019 we will be having our May Friendship Day Celebration at Southport United Methodist Church.  The time for the program is 11:00 am followed by a luncheon at 12:00 pm. Lunch cost is $7.00.    The overall theme for the 2019 celebratio

Thank you for your food donations last month.  This is the report on our contribution to Servant's Heart in Beech Grove, serving Perry Township and Beech Grove families and individuals. It was a pretty busy day (March 9) at Servant's Heart, but fortunately we had about 15 workers, some other volunteers and Roncalli students to staff the pantry and serve the 50 families we had that day. Those families represented 141 family members. In addition, we had five new workers to our team. 263 lbs. of food were donated by the members from Southport United Methodist Church.  If you are interested in serving at Servant's Heart please let the church know.  The donation work time for Southport is usually the 2nd Saturday of the month with April 13th our next work day. April's Food Collection is the 4th to 7th:        Laundry Soaps        Toilet Paper        Canned meats        Canned pastas     Again thanks for being the hands and feet of Jesus from Southport UMC

Serves children and their families during housing transition To host our IHN families takes a lot of volunteers.   Maggie and I were happy to have a few new servants this past rotation in February along with those who have served before.   We want to thank all of God’s wonderful servants for their time and compassion shared with the families during their stay at Southport UMC.   Without their willingness to serve, SUMC would not be able to host such a meaningful ministry. To all involved, we THANK YOU, and look forward to serving with you again in the fall.   God Bless! Paul and Maggie Lucas What are the needs we have when we are preparing to welcome and serve IHN families for a two week stay at Southport UMC? Families – in February we started the rotation by welcoming 2 families with 8 family members. Over the 2 week period we hosted 2 more families, with some moving in and out of the program, and ended serving a total of 4 families with 16 family members. Servants – w

It is always amazing how God presents additional opportunities for the disciples of Southport Church to serve using the gifts and passion with which He has blessed us. Recently we have had conversations with leaders who have a passion for their ministry and a love for their community. After much thought we have decided to take a leap of faith and invite our congregation to be involved and embrace these ministries which serve children and older adults. Both align with our mission of making disciples for the transformation of the world and sharing Jesus’ love. PROJECT TRANSFORMATION This United Methodist affiliated ministry has the vision of: improving CHILDREN’s literacy, social-emotional, and spiritual development through an out-of-school ministry led by college-age young adults COLLEGE STUDENTS invest in the lives of underserved children as they live in community, explore their calling, and develop as servant leaders CHURCHES reconnect and build relationships with thei

April 4 and 7 – Support Community Food Pantries April 4 to 7 – Kairos Men’s Team Serving at Plainfield Correctional Facility April 7 – Fellowship Meal April 11 to 14 – Kairos Women’s Team Serving at Indianapolis Women’s Prison April 13 and 27 – Children’s Playground being built, 9:00am to 3:00pm April 14 – Blood Drive, 9:00am to 1:00pm in the Gathering Place April 14 - Ronald McDonald House Team Serving Dinner at Riley Hospital April 14 and 28 – Madison Avenue Health Care Worship, 1:30pm April 18 – God’s Will Breakfast Team Serving at Fletcher Place Community Center April 20 – Ronald McDonald House Team Serving Dinner at the Limestone address on IUPUI Campus April 27 – Hearts in Service Ladies Retreat, 9:00am to 4:00pm FAITH PROMISE SUPPORTED MINISTRIES   Thanks to your faithful contributions the following ministries continue Blood Drive Sundays (contact the church office) April 14, August 11, November 17 Interfaith Hospitality Network Serving Homeless

Man, Pastor Derek is such a Hairy vetch!   No, this is not profanity; don’t get out your urban dictionary.   I am not slinging some new insult at Pastor Derek for deciding to follow his calling and accepting the positon as the Director of Preaching Ministries.   I am excited for what that means for him and the United Methodist Church.   Referring to Pastor Derek as a Hairy vetch is a reflection on how I view his impact at SUMC. Hairy vetch is a plant.   A plant of the Fabaceae family, more commonly known as a legume (I could have went with Pastor Derek is a pea, but Hairy vetch was more fun).   Plants in this family do something really neat.   They actually fix nitrogen into the soil.   That means they take nitrogen out of the air and put it back into the soil.   That’s neat because nitrogen is a vital nutrient that is necessary for all plants to grow, thrive, and ultimately bear fruit.   Most plants deplete the soil of nitrogen instead of putting more into it.   Harry vetch makes