Southport UMC Newsletter

I know, I know.   I got it wrong.   Backward.   It’s “spring forward and fall back.”   That’s how you remember daylight savings time.   So, I’m just wrong.   Except I’m not talking about DST!   I’m talking about us.   About Southport UMC.   About the fact that we’ve got plans and hopes and dreams.   We’re moving forward.   Right now we are talking about our mission.   We are equipping ourselves to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.   I hope that you’re a part of our worshiping community as we recognize that the community is “more ready than we realize” or to use Jesus’s words “the fields are white for harvest.”   This isn’t a hard sell; it is satisfying souls.   This isn’t a scare tactic for eternity, this is community building, relationship cultivating, family supporting, joy sharing labor in the vineyards of the Lord.   Join us for worship this September and for furth...

If you are a parent of a student (6th grade through 12th grade) you know that we have put our weekly Youth Group on hold as we determine the best way to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” through these weekly gatherings. We are doing research as we talk to other churches and other organizations related to student ministries. In the meantime, we will continue to plan special periodic events and activities that will allow students and sometimes their families to get together for fun, fellowship and faith formation. Be watching monthly newsletters, weekly bulletins, and emails to families for those events that are coming up. One event we are planning is a joint event with the students and leaders from Rosedale Hills United Methodist Church.   Right now, that event is planned for Sunday September 23 in the evening.   SAVE THE DATE!   More information will be coming very soon as planning continues.

Thank you to all who donated items to the Lebanon Children's Home School Store.  The items will be picked up by September 21 and there is still time to help the students with their needs. Items being collected are.....  (i.e., Books, DVDs, hair bows and clips, fingernail polish, body soap, toothpaste and brushes, fingernail kits, journals, etc.)  The points that students earn for good behavior are spent at the school store. The tub for donations is located in the coat rack hallway, last cubby on the left.  It will be labeled United Methodist Women Collections. UNITED METHODIST WOMEN SMALL GROUPS MEETINGS Rebekah Circle meets September 11 and each month on the second Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. in the church Gathering Place      Leah Circle meets September 18 and each month on the third Tuesday at 6:30 p.m. in the church Gathering Place.  This month will again be a "Sit and Sew" activity to work on African pillowcase dr...

“It’s less about the task and more about the way that serving draws us closer to Christ.” INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK Serving homeless families September 23 - October 7 …..Provide a DINNER MEAL and eat with our guests, feeding their bodies and their spirits   …..DRIVE THE IHN VAN delivering families to the center downtown in the morning or returning them to church in the evening. …..Be a HOST for the evening or overnight, being present while our guests rest …..Additional options: SHOP for groceries, help SET UP September 23 or CLEAN UP on the 7, or LAUNDER linens for the next IHN rotation If this is a new ministry to you, don’t miss a great opportunity to be involved in outreach to children and adults who are struggling with life’s challenges. *IHN Leaders will be available in the Gathering Place September 9, 13, 16, 20 HOSPITALITY …..COFFEE FELLOWSHIP TEAM On Sunday morning we have an opportunity to enjoy refreshments which requires committed, f...

The Creation Care Team is grateful for the number of people who have shifted to re-usable cups rather than paper cups.   Thanks to all for your efforts to save our planet from all our trash. We have noticed some concern and confusion about the disposal of recyclable items and trash items.   Please be sure that you are placing your items in the correct containers.   We have labeled each container and hope this is helpful.   If you have questions, please ask one of the Team members.   We will be identified by our Creation Care Team buttons during the month of September.

We have recently joined Indianapolis Green Congregations (IGC), a group working towards and sharing information about the same environmental improvements for our planet.  IGC’s next meeting is open to all and we invite members of the Southport church family to attend. We will meet at church and carpool to the meeting. If you would like to join us, please contact the church office. The IGC will meet Thursday, September 6, at St. Thomas Aquinas Church (4600 N. Illinois).  At 7:00pm we will attend the ecumenical Prayer Service for the Care of Creation; immediately following the prayer service there is a discussion regarding the structure and leadership of IGC moving forward.  https://www.indygreencongregations.org  is the site to view the IGC Newsletter.  Take a look at what they are doing.

Benefitting Family Promise and Interfaith Hospitality Network Families SUMC COLLECTION Sunday, October 7, thru Sunday, October 14 Please collect gently used clothing for children and adults, all sizes Place them in white kitchen trash bags Bring the bags to church during the week of October 7-14 (No shoes or household items please) Monday, October 15, our donations will be delivered to the Family Promise/IHN Day Center Goodwill Industries will pick up the bags from the Day Center; based on the number of bags received, Goodwill donates clothing vouchers so that Family Promise/IHN families may shop for the clothing sizes their family needs Please bring your bagged clothing donations Starting the week of October 7 - 14 ONLY Place bags under coat racks leading to the East Wing THANK YOU!

LOOKING AHEAD in September and October September 6 and 9 – Support Community Food Pantries September 9 - Community Meal September 9, 13, 16, 20 – IHN Ministry Table in the Gathering Place September 23 to October 7 – Families from Interfaith Hospitality Network are guests at Southport October 7 to 14 – Clothing Drive to benefit Interfaith Hospitality Network Families October 11 to 14 – Men serving at Plainfield Correctional Facility October 18 to 21 – Women serving at Indianapolis Women’s Prison LOOKING AHEAD in 2018 Blood Drive Sundays November 18 *Interfaith Hospitality Network Families (IHN) September 23 to October 7 Jubilee Ministry Jubilee Christmas – December 8 Ronald McDonald House Second Saturday of the month at the Ronald McDonald House Third Sunday of the month at the RMH room in Riley Hospital God’s Will Breakfast Third Thursday of the month at Fletcher Place Community Center in the Fountain Square area Kairos Prison Ministr...

SUMC Work Day will be October 6.   We need lots of helping hands for all kinds of inside and outside help.   The more hands we have the faster we will finish.   We will have Next Step tables in the Gathering Place in the next few weeks for you to learn more about what we will be doing.   We have something for everyone to help with.   Lunch will be provided.   Please email or call the office if you have any questions.

That giant red ($271,787) looks kind of bad, doesn’t it?   Well, this is a case of things aren’t always as they appear.   You see we made a principal only payment to our mortgage of $300,000 in July thanks to a generous bequeath that was given to us early in the year.   That took away nearly a quarter of the churches debt.   Doing this took 9 years and 11 months off our mortgage and saved us $620,406.92 in interest over the course of the loan.   So, this gift that was given by one of our departed Saints will have an over $1 million impact for our church! We are also passing about 10% of this gift along to other organizations that are doing God’s work.   $10,000 each is going to UMCOR, Africa University, Kairos Indiana, and Upper Sand Mountain Parish. Isn’t it amazing how our gifts can grow?   Above is a large scale example, but it can be applied to every dollar that is put in the offering plate or online.   In most cases it is almost imp...

Ephesians 2:20-23: built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.   In Him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord.   And in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit. I’m not sure if you noticed but there is a large portrait of Jesus at the front of our building.   It has been placed at the corner of our Worship Center as a representation of the Cornerstone of our building. It is a way for us to proclaim to the world who we are and to whom we belong.   It is a way of saying everything we do must start with Jesus. Many of you placed rocks under it with drawings or writings of what you were thankful for at the church.   This serves as a reminder that no matter what you are thankful for it all starts with Jesus.   Jesus is at the center of all things we are thankful for: the Bible studies that were l...

It’s a rainy, gray day as I write this.   And yet there is sunshine on the horizon.   We are planning our summer vacation which will begin next week.   Like any of us who are lucky enough to be able to have some time off, we are looking forward to those days with growing enthusiasm.   We aren’t going far, we’re staying close to home for lots of reasons.   But we plan to be tourists in our home town, our new home town of Southport and Indianapolis and the surrounding area.   There’s plenty to do and see right here and we’re looking forward to jumping in to museums and galleries and the State Fair and restaurants and fun things (I’m hoping to be on the top tier of the new driving range on the north side – seems like your drive would go farther).   So, any recommendations would be welcome. But we may not do them all.   We also plan to spend some time just relaxing at home.   Reading, catching up on movies and shows, and just being quiet. ...

Children are back to school already.   You may or may not know that we “partner” with Homecroft Elementary school in many ways.   When I say “partner,” what I mean is that both Homecroft Elementary and Southport UMC want to transform our community.   We are part of the same community.   We do that in different ways, some separate efforts, but in some ways, we do it together. Here is how we minister to and with Homecroft Elementary. We support the Perry Township Religious Education Association program for 4th and 5th graders at Homecroft.   We supply the teacher and provide supplies, including a personal Bible for the students each year. We have several people who go into the school each week and work with students at the direction of the teacher.   If you would like to be a H.O.P.E. (Help Our Pupils Excel) Mentor, please contact Pastor Doug in the church office. If you would rather serve after school, Homecroft has an After School Achiever...

As a disciple of Jesus, we are called to “go on” in our discipleship, meaning continue to go on toward Christlikeness for all of our life.   And to accomplish what Jesus calls each one of us to do, we need to understand God’s story and how our story is part of God’s story.   We are offering a group starting Sunday, August 26, 2018, that will help us move along in our “journey” toward Christlikeness.   The Bible study is called “Seamless” and will meet for 14 weeks during the 10:00 a.m. hour each Sunday morning.   (Participants can attend either the 8:30 or 11:15 worship services.) Whether you’ve grown up hearing Bible stories or you’re exploring Scripture for the first time, the full story of the Bible can be overwhelming.   The 66 books may seem disconnected at first glance.   This study by Angie Smith shows us how the whole Bible – from Genesis to Revelation – connects as one beautiful, seamless thread.   (Resources for the study will be pr...

“It’s less about the task and more about the way that serving draws us closer to Christ.” INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK Serving homeless families September 23 - October 7 …..Provide a DINNER MEAL and eat with our guests, feeding their bodies and their spirits   ….. DRIVE THE IHN VAN delivering families to the center downtown in the morning or returning them to church in the evening. …..Be a HOST for the evening or overnight, being present while our guests rest …..Additional options: SHOP for groceries, help SET UP on the 23rd or CLEAN UP on the 7th, or LAUNDER linens for the next IHN rotation If this is a new ministry to you, don’t miss a great opportunity to be involved in outreach to children and adults who are struggling with life challenges. Talk with an IHN team member at the ministry table in September. HOSPITALITY Jesus calls everyone to be hospitable! You can be more involved by serving on Sunday mornings in the following ways: …..Greet prio...

The Creation Care Team continues to work on improving our collection of items appropriate for recycling.  Help our church “be green” by recycling items listed on the gathering place trash containers.  Instead of using non-recyclable paper cups, please use one of the donated china cups provided A team from the church attends meetings on the third Thursday of each month for "Green Church Communities."  Since we are new to recycling we are still learning how other churches have helped their church families be greener.  If you are interested in attending this meeting in August let the church office know and someone will contact you with information. The uniqueness of God's creation is something that we all need to help preserve.   Did you see the Ocean Farming program on TV recently?  There are some wonderful things happening that will guide us in taking care of God's wonderful work in creating this Earth we live on. Creation Care Ministry Team ...

From the staff at Hunger Inc. Food Pantry: “Thank you for the very generous donation of 321 pounds of food on July 1 and 22 pounds of fresh produce on July 2.   Your kindness helps us bring hope to those we serve.” Every month the need increases and we are blessed so that we can address this and feed hungry individuals and families. Again in August we will be collecting any food item to help fill the Hunger Inc. Pantry located on Epler Ave. just west of Madison Ave.  This includes: canned vegetables and fruits cereal canned pastas snacks for children beans of any kind home necessities - dish soap, toilet paper, laundry soap, etc. Collection dates are August 2 - August 5.  People are needed to work on distribution days: Tuesday 10-1, Thursday 4-7 and Saturday 10-2.  If you are interested in being a helping hand, please let the church office know and we will contact you. Food Drive Ministry Team

June 25, 2018 Dear Friends, We are so grateful to count you as a partner who has taken time to help build Christ’s kingdom by bringing His light of love, forgiveness, and new life inside one of the darkest places on earth. Indiana Women’s Prison #20 was held April 12-15, 2018. We had a team of 46 with 19 of those being “first timers” and we had 2 observers, one from Torch and the other from Kairos Outside. This weekend was from beginning to end truly filled with the Holy Spirit. We graduated 41 participants with some very powerful testimonies on Saturday open mic and on Sunday. This is how some of the inmates described their experience: How I came….   I came dead, aching for spiritual growth. I came with a broken heart and lost relationships. What I found…. Love and forgiveness. I found restoration. New life in Christ. Jesus Christ is my new family. I saw angels. We wanted you to know how much your gifts were appreciated by the Kairos team and especially by the inmate...

United Methodist Women attended our Mission U event in July at DePauw University and news from this event will be in the September Newsletter. We have one circle meeting in August, the Leah Circle and they meet August 21, at 6:30 p.m. in the Gathering Place at church.  We will have a "Sit and Sew" activity and make Pillowcase dresses for African women and girls.  Come join in the fun.  The UMW Executive Board meeting will be held September 5, at 6:30 p.m., in Rm 103 in the basement of the West Wing of the church.   We are collecting items for the Lebanon Children's Home for their School Store: School items, i.e. notebooks, pens, pencils, glue, scissors, tablets, etc. and personal items, i.e. shampoo, toothpaste, toothbrushes, brushes, hair ribbons, and clips, fingernail polish, fingernail clippers, body wash, deodorant, hairspray, books, DVDs, etc.  There is a tub located in the coat hallway on the left-hand side labeled UMW collections....

LOOKING AHEAD in August August 2 and 5 – Support Community Food Pantries August 3 – Community Festival and Movie Night at Homecroft, 7-9:00 pm August 5 – Blood Drive, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. August 5 - Community Meal LOOKING AHEAD in 2018 *Blood Drive Sundays August 5 , November 18 Interfaith Hospitality Network Families (IHN) September 23 to October 7 Jubilee Ministry Jubilee Christmas – December 8 Ronald McDonald House Second Saturday of the month at the Ronald McDonald House Third Sunday of the month at the RMH room in Riley Hospital God’s Will Breakfast Third Thursday of the month at Fletcher Place Community Center in the Fountain   Square area Kairos Prison Ministry Men’s and Women’s Teams serving in October and November Food Drive Ministry Monthly food collections (scheduled to coincide with Communion weekend) Creation Care Team Recycle…recycle…recycle and being good stewards of God’s creation!

Matthew 6:21 - For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. We try to be pretty frugal around here.  If you read last month’s finance article that shouldn’t surprise you.  We pay pretty close attention to all of our expenses & really think hard if purchases are necessary to our mission of creating disciples.  However, there is one expense category that we’ve spent substantially more on this year than last year.  For Jan-June 2017 we spent $24,850.04 in this category, but for the same time period in 2018 we spent $40,384.33!  It’s just getting out of control!!!  Well, not really.  The category is Conference & District Support, the churches tithe.  Last year at this point we had tithed 7.73% of our tithable income.  So far this year we have tithed 12.3%. Why send more money to the conference when our income is going down?  Well, we are called to.  We are called to pass on a portion of what you give...