Everyone is welcome to join Bridgeport United Methodist Friday night and Saturday night (June 2 & 3) for A Weekend of Hope. Come listen to music, worship, and camp out or any of the above. An evening meal will be available on Friday and Saturday evenings. Bring your lawn chairs and have a great time!
A Weekend of Hope will be held at Bridgeport United Methodist Church, 1305 Bridgeport Road, Indianapolis, IN 46231
Festivities Schedule: June 2, 2023 6:00 pm Hamburgers and Hotdogs. 7:30pm- 9:00pm Live Music and Worship featuring Bobby Hayden’s Cardboard Box Ministries with live music provided by Milk and Honey.
June 3, 2023 Fun and games all-day 6:00 pm Pork Roast 7:30 pm Live music with Milk and Honey
June 4, 2023 Worship will be with Bobby Hayden’s Cardboard Box Ministry at 10:00 am.
If you have any questions, contact Pastor Ken Loudenback at kloudenback@pumc.org. We look forward to seeing you all for a fun and inspirational weekend!
The Hospitality and Outreach committee would like to remind you to wear your church name tag on Sunday mornings, and anytime you are at a church function.
Name tags are stored in two cabinets located at doors 1 and 14. If you are new and need a name tag, or maybe yours has gone missing, contact Brent in the church office to request a new one. Requests can also be noted on your connection card. The standard name tag attaches to a magnet. If you prefer a tag without a magnet, please include this information with your request.
You can download the “Instant Church Directory” app from your mobile devices. Once here, you can sign in or send a request to create a profile. Profiles are required to view the directory. Once signed in, family information can be maintained, including adding or refreshing a photo. Any requests or updates are submitted to the directory administrator to complete.
On June 18, 2023, after each service, members of the Hospitality team will be in the lobby to help with profile creation and updates. They will happily take a new picture and submit it to the admin for processing.
“Change is the only constant in life.” -Ben Franklin
When I started in 2014, I was tasked with moving Plainfield United Methodist Church (PUMC) technologically forward. Some changes have been easy and barely noticeable; others were challenging, causing a lot of consternation. But all in all, you all were fantastic with the changes and providing feedback.
With that said, more changes are coming, mainly to the website and how end users interact with the Next Steps, groups, and service opportunities.
Next Steps
What are the Next Steps without a plan? Wandering. While not all who wander are lost, it is easier to get lost without a plan. When we introduced the concept of the Next Steps, there was no path for users to follow. We are creating the Next Step plan for new people to follow and become involved with life at PUMC.
Step One: Starting Point
“Meet PUMC” is a 30-minute introduction to PUMC. Attendees will meet others who are new and leave with a Next Step to help find their place at PUMC. “Meet PUMC” will occur at 11:15 a.m. roughly every other month in the Worship Annex. After that, starting on the third Sunday of September, we will offer “Meet PUMC” every other month on the third Sunday.
Step Two: Small Groups
You can connect with others at PUMC and grow your faith by joining a Small Group. The small group experience will help you see your faith story, understand how we live out our Christian faith at PUMC, and find ways to grow in your faith in this church community.
Step Three: Membership
Become a member of PUMC. You promise to faithfully support the congregation’s ministries with your prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness. In return, you will gain an entire community willing to walk beside you in Christian faith.
Next Steps live on pumc.org in the next few weeks.
Small Groups
Sitting on a back burner since 2019, the idea of getting small groups on the website is something that needed to be done sooner than later. As many of you may know, our groups are VERY active, and I could easily spend most of my week making changes to the listings. So how do we fix this bottleneck? With Planning Center Online. We created a listing of the groups in this church (28 at the writing of this article), and it is available at pumc.org/groups. While those groups have been created, after a brief training course, group leaders will take over and add events, manage membership & communications, take attendance, and more. The training classes will start May 15 at 6:00 p.m. and run until the leaders complete them. If you are a leader, you can register for the courses at pumc.org/registration.
Serve (Service Opportunities)
Much like groups, PUMC has a LOT of missions. When you include Internal, Local, and Global opportunities, we have 27 chances to serve at PUMC in the local and even global communities, and the list will keep growing! We will be working with these leaders (many are the same as the group leaders) to help use this page to benefit their members and those they help. Check out the ways you can serve at pumc.org/serve.
Bonus: QR Codes
Have you noticed them? They have become trendy among content providers to help connect people with important (sometimes unimportant) information. In the coming weeks, QR Codes will become a bit more pervasive at PUMC. You can access the worship folder on your phone using the QR Codes on the screens during the countdown. Soon, an insert will be placed in the seatbacks with QR Codes and instructions on how to use them to quickly access and fill out a connection card, view the Next Steps, securely give online and submit prayer requests.
Some exciting changes are afoot at PUMC! If you have any questions about these changes, don’t hesitate to contact me at eshriner@pumc.org.
Stephen Ministry is a lay caring ministry used by thousands of congregations to increase care and outreach to hurting people.
Through Stephen Ministry, congregations can equip and empower a team of laypeople—Stephen Ministers—who provide one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people experiencing grief, unemployment, hospitalization, divorce, financial stress, a terminal illness, or other life difficulties.
Visit www.stephenministries.org or contact Gloria Bowman at heraclesb1@aol.com to learn more about Stephen Ministry and watch online video stories about the difference Stephen Ministers make in people’s lives.
Our weekday programs are busy with exploration and play. People often ask me what they can do to help our weekday programs. There are a few items you might be throwing away or have that we can use.
Stickers
Calendars
Magazines
Baking soda
Clear hair gel
Crafting supplies Paper
I invite you to look into the classrooms and see what is happening during the week. It will bring a smile to your face.
The annual PUMC Youth Online Auction starts August 25, 2023 and your support is needed!
By supporting PUMC youth, you will make a difference in their spiritual growth and development. Your prayers and your donations will make a difference in the programs and outreach available to the youth.
You can help the vibrant youth ministry at PUMC thrive! Here’s a list of some things you can contribute to the Youth Online Auction:
Gift cards to restaurants, stores, gas cards, spas, etc.
Gift baskets – lots of ideas out there to be creative
Monetary gifts directly supporting the youth
You might have talents such as baking, carpentry, home repair, crafting, etc.
Tickets to future sporting, concert, and theatre events
New merchandise – think about what you might like bidding on!
For more information and to donate to the 2023 Youth Online Auctions, visit pumc.org/youth-auction.
Contact Diane Preusch or Brenda Barnett at auction@pumc.org if you have any questions or need more information on how to donate items for the 2023 Youth Auction.
Join us on the last Saturday of the month for a free lunch. Pass the word and bring a friend. Everyone is welcome! Door 14 will be open, and we will serve from 11:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
In recent years there has been a lot of activity and debate in the United Methodist Church as a denomination, especially around homosexuality. I work closely with Indiana Bishop Julius Trimble and our Superintendent, Rev. Dr. Fulbright, as I chair the Indiana Conference Committee on Episcopacy. Our church rules (the Book of Discipline) are reviewed and amended by the General Conference (GC) when they meet, which is generally every four years. GC delegates are elected from every Annual Conference (like Indiana). Representatives from all over the world are comprised of equal numbers of clergy and laity. This is the only body that speaks for the United Methodist Church. The next GC is scheduled to convene in 2024.
FAQ
Are churches required to vote on remaining United Methodist?
No. Churches are not required to vote to remain or discontinue (disaffiliate) to be United Methodist. The GC has never taken action that forces or invites churches to take such a vote. Our Book of Discipline (BOD) has always had provisions for congregations to disaffiliate. There always will be such provisions. The Special Called GC of 2019 established a temporary provision for disaffiliation that expires at the end of 2023. This temporarily grants permission for churches to disaffiliate and retain their buildings and grounds. There is still and always will be a financial cost for disaffiliation. Even if GC allows the 2019 provision to expire, churches may negotiate for disaffiliation while retaining their property. This practice was already occurring before 2019 in some circumstances.
Are some churches leaving the UMC? Why?
Yes. In Indiana, over twenty churches have acted to disaffiliate, and others are planning to do so. Many Indiana churches that are disaffiliating want to affirm traditional views regarding homosexuality. They anticipate the UMC eventually becoming progressive on this issue. In some parts of the country, churches are disaffiliating in protest to the current traditional rules regarding homosexuality in the BOD.
Will the General Conference act in 2024 to settle the issue of homosexuality once and for all?
Not likely. Nearly every GC since 1972 has handled motions and proposed legislation on homosexuality. No matter how GC may act in 2024, action on the issue may still come to future sessions of GC.
Where can I find United Methodist theology and doctrine?
Our core and central theology statements are in the BOD and protected by the UMC’s Constitution. Changes in these basics require more than GC action. Such changes are difficult and complex, requiring each Annual Conference worldwide to act. Visit this link on the UMC website to find “What We Believe” http://www.umc.org/en/who-we-are/what-we-believe.
Closing Remarks
We are United Methodists. That does not mean that we all must think alike. We do not. Never have. Never will. But, as John Wesley suggested, we certainly may all love alike. I would be open to discussing this further with you or a group of which you are a part at PUMC.
This year’s Vacation Bible School is just around the corner! The theme this year is STELLAR: SHINE JESUS’ LIGHT.
At Stellar, kids discover how to shine Jesus’ love and hope in everyday life! Kids participate in memorable Bible-learning activities, sing catchy songs, play teamwork-building games, make and devour yummy treats, experience one-of-a-kind Bible Adventures, collect Bible Memory Buddies to remind them of Jesus’ light, and test out Sciency-Fun Gizmos they’ll take home and play with all summer long.
STELLAR Vacation Bible School will occur June 20 – 23 from 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. on “Wesley Planet” (behind the church). All children, four years old – 5th grade, are welcome.
If you are a group leader, join us for an orientation to the new Groups page at pumc.org/groups. Sign up for a training session at pumc.org/registration. Sessions are one hour in length. See “Change” in the May 2023 Circuit Rider for more information.
Plainfield UMC Today 