Blog

Job Opportunity:Part-time Custodian

Plainfield UMC is looking for a part-time custodian (20-29 hours/week). The custodian position is under the direct supervision of the Facility Manager and supports the needs and requests of the church staff and children’s ministries with the following duties & responsibilities.

Interior Duties

  • Vacuum all carpeted floors; clean tile floors
  • Check for proper operation of restroom facilities while keeping adequate supplies available.
  • Dust furniture, entryways, window sills, coat racks, doors, and baseboards as needed.
  • Wash windows as needed.
  • Mop kitchen floor as needed.
  • Empty wastebaskets and trash containers daily; empty recycle containers as needed.
  • Sweep staff offices once per week or as needed.
  • Keep entryways at all entrances/exits clean to prevent accidents or hazardous conditions, especially during inclement weather.
  • Mop south stairways as needed.
  • Spot clean carpets as needed.
  • Other duties as specified by the Board of Trustees/Facility Manager.

Exterior Duties

  • Sweep/clean/shovel sidewalks as needed.
  • Wash ‘door’ windows when needed.

Additional Duties

  • Report any unusual or safety-related issues that may require the attention of the Facilities Manager, Office Staff, or local authorities (Police, Fire Department) as the situation demands.
  • See that church-owned equipment used by the custodian/housekeeper is appropriately maintained.
  • Alert the facility manager to any needed repairs or maintenance concerns.

If you are interested in applying for this job (or know someone who would be a good fit), please fill out an application at pumc.link/job-application.

Resurrection Power

Pastor Charlie Wilfong – Lead Pastor, cwilfong@pumc.org

They are everywhere. Batteries make so many of our devices work. It’s portable power. They power our phones, music players, computers, and even some cars. You can replace some batteries. Others just receive a fresh charge of power and are ready to go again! Delivering the power that makes things happen.

Easter is about power.

Easter is a celebration of God’s power that brought the crucified Jesus back alive from the dead—from the grave. That’s some enormous, spectacular, supernatural power! The resurrection of Jesus was no simple resuscitation after a brief time of no heartbeat or breathing. It wasn’t a few minutes of CPR. Two Roman coroners signed Jesus’ death certificate. Their punishment for getting that wrong would have been their own crucifixion and the death of their families. The dead Jesus was laid in a tomb. Then, the third day after his death, he emerged fully alive. He spoke, ate, and received the touch of his followers. The resurrected Jesus appeared to hundreds of people. He kept on loving, teaching, and giving the Holy Spirit of peace to people.
When you conquer death, is there anything you can’t do? With power like that, you could change the world.

We have that power.

After coming alive from the dead, Jesus is still generous. He did it all for us. And we are blessed with his grace, peace, hope, love, and . . . power.
In Ephesians 1:19-20, the Apostle Paul writes, “I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.”
The power of the resurrection is at work in us. Me and you. It makes things happen. It changes the world. It brings God’s love to fruition in our lives. The work of Jesus Christ can be summarized like this, “Bethlehem was God with us; Calvary was God for us; Pentecost is God in us.”
Pentecost is about God’s power in us.
Sunday, June 5, is Pentecost Sunday when we celebrate God’s gift of the Holy Spirit in each of us. Resurrection power is at work in us. It’s the Birthday of the Church. The followers of Jesus continue his work of bringing God’s love to the world.
That Sunday morning, our Superintendent, The Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright, will bring the message to all adult worship services at PUMC. She has been a blessing to this congregation as we have faced some significant decisions in recent years. We look forward to her presence and message that day.

Receive God’s power.

The Gospel accounts take us there. The story explains what happened. The details testify to God’s grace and love at every turn. Acknowledge God’s presence in your life. Cherish God’s love for you through the cross of Christ. Receive God’s power in your life. It will keep you going. It will make you a bright beacon to the presence and love of God in Jesus Christ.

Go in peace. Go with God. And be well.

Shalom,

Charlie

It’s Gonna Be May!

Pastor Hannah Wiswasser – Associate Pastor, hwiswasser@pumc.org

It’s finally the month of May, and you know what that means! No more NSYNC/Justin Timberlake memes until next April and racecars! May is my favorite month of the year. While the Indianapolis Motor Speedway events have been condensed over the years, it’s still 2 full weeks of cars running around the Speedway. I admit my fingers are crossed for a more “normal” May. Certainly, some things won’t change. I don’t think vendors inside the track will ever go back to “cash only” again. Admittedly, I’m ok with this change. Carrying around my card is much easier than estimating how much cash I need for the day. But hopefully, we won’t have to wear facemasks this year, and things will be able to operate at full capacity.

I know we’ll never completely go back to “normal.” Our “normal” shifted in some fundamental ways. Some of those shifts were for the better. Jobs became more accessible for people who needed to work from home. People realized and appreciated the importance of childcare in new ways. Businesses and churches realized they could expand their audience and impact. But change was hard. Pivoting on a dime and occasionally still having to pivot on a dime is exhausting. Boundaries between work and family time are blurred. People across various fields are now burning out because they’ve been working nonstop for two years. So how do we process and accept our new normal?

The first step is to remember that people will choose to re-engage with society at different levels and at different times. People with complicating factors will re-engage slowly, and they may decide some activities aren’t worth the risk anymore. Others have been back to “normal” for months, maybe even a year. There will continue to be ebbs and flows.

For the church, we have to remember that we serve multiple audiences. We serve those people who show up, in person, on Sunday mornings. We also serve a population that will never set foot in our physical building. They will join us online and worship from wherever they are most comfortable. Liturgy shifts to make sure we include both people. Directions, communication, and guidance shift to make certain people joining us online have as much access as people who sit in the physical building. Livestreaming will not go away. For NewDay, we will probably continue to have pre-packaged elements available during communion no matter how far out from the pandemic we get. Our world has changed. Some things have returned to how they were before, but others will never be the same.

Through it all, God walks with us. God calls us to trust that change is ok, that it won’t destroy us. No doubt change is hard; I’ll be the first to admit that. My prayer is that we’ll continue to ask ourselves how we can make Sunday mornings, events, Bible studies, small groups, and other things in the church’s life more accessible. I pray that we’ll embrace some of the pandemic’s critical changes. I pray that we’ll listen to the Holy Spirit and God’s guidance as we seek to bring about positive change and share the love with our community and our world.

Regardless of your affinity for racecars, I hope you enjoy the month of May!

Blessings,

Hannah

Endowment Program

May is Endowment Awareness Month. To allow everyone to learn more about the Endowment program, Glenn Howell will be speaking to the Adult Sunday School classes on May 15. Glenn is the Director of Development of the United Methodist Foundation of Indiana, which is the arm of the United Methodist Church that PUMC’s Endowment program is a part of.
Please join us on the 15th at 10:00 to 11:00 to be enlightened about the Endowment program.

PUMC’s Homebound Ministry

To help show God’s BIG love, PUMC sends out a mailing each week to those of our congregation who are homebound and unable to join us in person for worship. Each mailing includes a copy of the worship folder from that week and a copy of HomeTouch® – a devotional and activity page signed by Pastor Charlie. Thanks to Rosemary Lamble for her dedication to preparing these mailings each week. Please notify the church office if you know of someone who would appreciate receiving these mailings from the church each week. Thank you!

With Our Deepest Gratitude

“Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

The homeless ministry at Plainfield United Methodist Church began in 2007. The ministry has a rich history of volunteers working to feed and clothe the homeless. Phil Heffelman is one of the volunteers who has served almost since its inception. Phil, Master Chef, as named by the other volunteers, has unselfishly worked in the kitchen preparing meals for the homeless in Indianapolis and the hungry and homeless in Plainfield. Phil hung up his laddle in early May. He helped prepare over 50,000 meals during his tenure of almost 14 years. We wish him well in his “retirement.”

You are invited to help us celebrate Phil’s dedication to this ministry and applaud the unselfish service that he has demonstrated in serving the less fortunate. We hope you will join us on May 15 from 11:30am to 1:00pm in Clayton Hall for cake and ice cream.

2022 Basic Ministry Budget: Children & Youth

This week, we highlight the Basic Ministry Budget.

The operating budget for Plainfield United Methodist Church is more than line items on a spreadsheet. It’s a story of love in action. PUMC uses gifts to the budget to show God’s BIG Love and help others grow in faith.

Out of every dollar you generously give to support the Basic Ministry Budget, 11 cents of it supports Children and Youth.

Children & Youth: $105,840

At PUMC, we want every child to know they are loved by Jesus. It’s so important that “serving the children of Plainfield” is our one big thing — where we want to serve the community with such impact that the love of God in Jesus Christ is revealed and noticed. We aim to show God’s love through programs for children of all ages, ranging from birth to kindergarten all the way through high school. Examples include preschool programming, before-and-after-school child care, an interactive Sunday School curriculum, seasonal events like Easter Eggstravaganza and Trunk or Treat, and a vibrant youth ministry engaged in mission throughout the United States and beyond.

Total 2022 Basic Ministry Budget: $959,782

For more information about the PUMC Basic Ministry Budget and the Narrative Budget, see the January or February Circuit Rider or check out pumc.link/2022-Narrative-Budget.

May is Endowment Awareness Month

Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree
a long time ago.

Warren Buffet

Are you aware some of the trees on the PUMC property were “planted a long time ago” as a memorial to someone special? The flagpole by the Office Door was a gift to the Church by a long-time member, and most recently, a bench has been given to PUMC in memory of another long-time member. These are examples of meaningful legacy gifts families felt would benefit those attending PUMC now and in the future.

May is Endowment Awareness month. You may not have been aware of the gifts mentioned above. Still, hopefully, you are aware of the Endowment program at PUMC. Rather than a gift that can be seen as a tree or bench, gifts to the Endowment program are monetary assets. They are invested, and the principal can never be used. Income generated from the principal can be used to support the ministries of PUMC.

Legacy gifts are meaningful to the families that give them, whether the gift is something tangible or monetary in value. As Warren Buffett said so well in the quote above, people in the future can enjoy the blessings given today. Would you consider “planting a tree” so that someone can “enjoy the shade” tomorrow?

Please direct your questions concerning the Endowment program to Ray Shannon (317.989.4848) and/or Zoe Wiltrout (317.839.3309).

Attention Moms, Dads, Grandmas and Grandpas! Kinderbells is coming!

Kinderbells is a musical opportunity for younger children. If your children or grandchildren are age 3 and over, they are eligible to participate in Kinderbells!
Kinderbells are bright-colored bells, each representing a note of music.
When the children see the color of the bell, they ring. It is that simple!
Mark your calendars:

  • April 27, 6:30 p.m. rehearsal in the Sanctuary of PUMC
  • May 4, 6:30 p.m. rehearsal in the Sanctuary of PUMC
  • May 8, 10:00 a.m. presentation (Mother’s Day) in both Classic Worship and NewDay Praise