Thank You

A Huge thank your to each and everyone of you wonderful ladies and gentleman!!!

The Hilltop Neighborhood House Soup Event was a huge success in large part to each of you for making so many wonderful desserts!   They were beautiful and tasty!!! The masses kept coming back for more and more of the sweet treats!!!  Our church provided 65 desserts - pies, cakes, cookies, brownies, cupcakes, everything - all beautiful.

We surpassed last year in number of people and income for scholarships.

First United Methodist Church has wonderful caring people and I'm so glad to call them friends!!!

Sue Clemens

Photos from event

Up Coming events Please join us this Thursday at 9:00 in Fellowship Hall for breakfast and a view of John Wesley's England.  Karen Fritz and Kay Morris are presenting a program from their trip last year.  Wednesday, April 8th 7:00 pm " Listening for Grace" for more information on the program follow this link www.tedandcompany.com  "Faith and Fear" I have returned from Africa to the U.S. and found that while I was away the Indiana state legislature passed and the governor signed the so-called "Religious Freedom Restoration Act." As best I can tell this measure is founded upon FEAR and not religion and certainly not upon FAITH. People are afraid of change, and especially some persons who consider themselves to be religious are afraid that the changes in our society - most notably the legalization of same-gender marriages - may affect their freedom of religion. This fear is part of the over-all fear that government is interfering more and more in our private lives. This fear takes an especially dangerous turn when politicians scare people into thinking that somehow the government is going to force them to engage in practices that might offend their own personal beliefs and practices. The examples given in the political debate seem far-fetched (like a bakery chef having to create a "gay wedding cake"), and so I can only explain this law on the basis of FEAR. People are afraid, and when people are afraid they react (or over-react) in ways that might not be their typical attitudes. Likewise some of the reactions to the passage of the bill seem to be based upon FEAR - fear that we will somehow go back to the days of segregation and divisions where personal liberties are curtailed and discrimination is legalized. Certainly it would have helped if the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" would have included language to verify that discrimination is unlawful, and it seems that the governor may want such language passed or added now to "clarify" the law. But the fearful and angry response to the law seems to overlook that we have a Bill of Rights which takes precedence over any state law - which again tells me that people are full of FEAR. The truth is that FEAR is the opposite of FAITH. Many people think that doubt is the opposite of faith, but not really. Doubt is often the doorway to faith, if only we wrestle with our doubts (and perhaps even with God) in ways that are honest and open and seeking the truth. No, doubt is not the opposite of faith, FEAR is the opposite of FAITH. That is why so many times in the Bible the message of the angels and of Jesus himself is "Fear not," or "peace be with you." The Bible teaches us to overcome our fears with love and faith and trust. There are places in the world where Christians are indeed persecuted and where fear might be a legitimate response. Ironically in those places many, many Christians have learned to overcome fear with FAITH. The state of Indiana is certainly not a place for Christians live with a persecution complex, and those politicians who try to create such an atmosphere are likely doing so for their own political agenda. Back to the "Religious Freedom Act." I suspect that this whole thing will be much ado about nothing. I understand that there is already a similar federal law on the books (passed in 1993 and signed by President Clinton), but no court has ever upheld a claim using that law. Several other states have similar laws but they are not used. It will likely be the same here in Indiana. Businesses which want to limit their customer base will lose business. Businesses and individuals who are welcoming and hospitable to all persons will grow and prosper. I am not an attorney, but I can't imagine any successful lawsuits on the basis of this new law. People may sue, and some attorneys will surely take their money to file suit, but that is a far cry from a successful lawsuit. How would anyone prove "damages" or "loss" from their failure to serve a paying customer? Likewise, what customer is going to bother with a lawsuit against a business for refusing to serve them? They will just move on to another business which earns their respect. In the long run, people will learn that hospitality is a good business practice. Perhaps the only real loss to the state of Indiana will be our reputation. Perhaps some potential new residents will choose to locate elsewhere. Perhaps some businesses will go to other states which are more hospitable to all persons. Most likely those who have supported this new law will be disappointed to discover that it does not insulate them from a changing culture, and then they will move on to some other FEAR to worry about. As United Methodists our stance is clear as indicated in our Social Principles: We defend everyone's right to freedom of expression of their own religion or personal faith. We also believe all persons are of sacred worth, and so we oppose discrimination against anyone. We hope this law will not allow or encourage any forms of discrimination. Meanwhile I believe that persons of genuine faith will go about their lives, treating every person as child of God, feeling free to share their own faith in ways that are hospitable and loving, and living in the peace of God. Ultimately FAITH will triumph over FEAR. Forward this email             View in browser You are receiving this email from Bishop Mike Coyner because you have an existing relationship with us. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add ed.metzler@inumc.org to your address book or safe sender list. To unsubscribe or manage mailings, click here   We defend everyone's right to freedom of expression of their own religion or personal faith. We also believe all persons are of sacred worth, and so we oppose discrimination against

We defend everyone's right to freedom of expression of their own religion or personal faith. We also believe all persons are of sacred worth, and so we oppose discrimination against

Upcoming Indiana UMW events

The April 17-18 Spring Retreat in Fort Wayne is coming soon! You can still register---the deadline to register is April 5th!!   Full flyer (viewable below) is available click here or go to  http://www.inumc.org/files/file_share/umw/umw_spring2015_retreat_registration.pdf See below for flyer for this retreat AND the May's silent retreat in Evansville! The May 15-17 retreat is in Evansville---registration deadline is April 29th The  silent retreat flyer can be viewed here or at  http://www.inumc.org/files/file_share/umw/silentretreat2015.pdf

Lucille Raines Residence

Birthday List for April

April 16th              Vincent Rice        304

April 19th              Lawrence Roper   202

For More Information, Stories, Timeline visit this link:

www.unitedmethodistwomen.org

Up Coming Events

Maundy Thursday Breakfast

April 2nd

9:00 am  Fellowship Hall

Speakers:  Karen Fritz & Kay Morris

Let you Circle Chairs know if you are planning to attend.

April 8th 

7:00 pm  in the Sanctuary

" Listening for Grace"

We are honored to be part of their tour.

May 3

Mother Daughter Tea

1:30 - 3:30

Tickets $5.00

will go on sale April 12 between services

Habitat for Humanity

Starting May 2, the Valparaiso chapter of Habitat for Humanity will begin building a home.  A unique part of the build is the first week is designated as a Women Build,

meaning 75% of the work done the week of May 2nd to May 9th, must be done by women.

There will all types of roles involved with the Women Build week so if someone is not interested in doing physical labor,

but wants to join in, there will be a role for that person.  Work will be done daily May 2 - 9 so we could have a team working during the week or on the weekend.  There will be some competition for the weekend slots so if we have a group of women interested; we'd need to reserve one of those slots right away.

If anyone is interested in forming a team or want more information, they can contact Joyce McMurtrey

Dayspring Open Arms Women's Shelter

Open Arms provides overnight shelter for homeless women ­ from October 15 through April 15.  With Open Arms ending on April 15 for the summer/fall season, women and children are left with no overnight shelter, which forces women and children on the streets and sleeping in cars for a six month period.

Dayspring Summer Shelter

To address this situation, Dayspring Women's Center has partnered with Housing Opportunities to provide a two bedroom apartment for the summer/fall months beginning April 28 through October 15.  The Summer Shelter would be available to women and children seven evenings/week from 6:00 pm to 7:00 am.  Women would utilize Dayspring's services during the daytime hours from 7:00 am to 6:00 pm.

Summer Shelter Volunteers

We are presently seeking volunteers who are willing to provide overnight supervision at the Dayspring Summer Shelter. There will be 1 volunteer at each shift seven evenings a week with three shifts: 6:00-10:00 pm/10:00-2:00 am/2:00-7:00 am.

Please note that we are presently checking with the churches to extend the Open Arms Overnight Shelter at the churches an additional two weeks from April 15 to April 28 to bridge the gap until the Dayspring Summer Shelter begins.

If you are interested in being added to our list of volunteers for this summer or would like to be added to the email listing, enroll as a volunteer on Dayspring's website at: http://www.dayspringvalpo.org/volunteer-training.  

If you have questions, reply to this message or send a note to Mark Zimmerman, Volunteer Coordinator, at markzimmerman405@hotmail.com.

Thank you.  

This is from the March response

think

FROM THE EDITOR  March is Women's History month.  It just seems right that March also marks the anniversary of United Methodist Women!  It was March 23, 1869, when six women gathered at Tremont Methodist Episcopal Church in Boston, Massachusetts, and organized the Women's Foreign Missionary Society, a United Methodist Women predecessor.  The women raised money to send a doctor, Clara Swain, and a teacher, Isabella Thoburn, to India as missionaries to serve the women of that nation.

   This Women's History Month we celebrate the dedication and foresight of our foremothers in mission as we lead up to our 150th anniversary in 2019 with a special Day of Giving on March 23.  United Methodist Women members and friends who know the importance of United Methodist Women's mission outreach today can ensure that it continues in the future with a special anniversary gift of March 23.  Gifts can be given:

* Online at unitedmethodistwomen.org

* Via telephone at 212 870 3743

* Via checks sent to United Methodist Women, Treasurer's Office,

    475 Riverside Drive, New York, NY 10115.

This issue of response features stories of United Methodist Women members at work in local communities while Mission Giving funds help immigrant women in Mississippi and support mission partners in Nepal.  This issue of response shows why in 2015, as in 1869, women still need to organize for mission.  Let's make it happen

                     Yvette Moore  ymoore@unitedmethodistwomen.org

Copy of this month and past months can be found in the UMW book case in the Church parlor.

UMW Business meeting

March 4th 1:30 pm 

Opportunities for Volunteering

Sending birthday cards to residence of the 

Lucille Raines Residence in Indianapolis.

This cards may be the only ones they receive and we have been told by the residences that they really make their day when they receive our cards.

March Birthdays

3/ 10          Angela Smith                     408

3/13           Nate Carroll                        307

3/14           James Metzner                   310

3/19           Wilson Sherels                   210

3/28           Vanessa Harrison               Staff

Mailing address:

  

947 N. Pennsylvania St.

Indianapolis, IN 46204-1070

Day Spring Women Shelter

Mark Zimmerman is always looking for volunteers to work a shift on Mondays at Faith Memorial  Lutheran Church at 759 N. Calumet   north of town.and on Wednesday at Faith Church, 

1155 South Sturdy Rd.

shifts are 6 - 10    10 - 2   2- 7 

if you are interested in volunteering contact Mark Zimmermann at 

markzimmerman405@hotmail.com

The Shop

The Shop is always looking for volunteers for shifts or for donated items to stock the shelves and racks.  If interested in volunteering contact Kathi Thompson or Phyllis Gerber at 465 0207