Would you like to lose weight and live healthier? Would you like some support for this journey? On November 13, after each worship service, there will be an interest meeting about such a support group.
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We now have 32 billboards sponsored, enough to allow us to stagger the start dates of our billboards to stretch the campaign from four weeks to eight. Here is some key info:

• Theme: Who Stole Jesus? Each billboard will proclaim that question and invite people to our web site for fuller discussion.
• Timing: September 19 – November 14. Half the billboards will go up the week of September 19. Each week thereafter we’ll add four more, until all are up. Each billboard will run for four weeks. The last billboards will come down around November 14.
• Yard signs. Yard signs, magnetic bumper stickers, and t-shirts will be available starting Sunday September 25, just a few days after the first billboards go up.
• Sermon Series. September 25 will also mark the beginning of an eight-week sermon series highlighting the gap between the Jesus of the Gospels and how he’s often presented by institutional Christianity.

If you want to sponsor a billboard, but haven’t yet, fill out this form. Meanwhile, let’s all be praying that this outreach campaign will give hope to many who have felt excluded from Christ — while causing many others to re-think how they present Jesus to the world.

On Sunday, August 21, our Church turns 20 years old. We’ll celebrate this milestone at worship.

Also as a part of that celebration we will hold our Annual Church Picnic on Saturday, August 20 from noon to 5:00 pm right here at the church. The church will provide hamburgers and hot dogs, and we can all bring a dish and a soft drink to share. There will be a bounce house for the kids and games for all ages. Bring your lawn chair to sit outside and enjoy the fellowship of our church family!

In June, David Zier appeared before an MCC panel in Chicago and was formally approved for ordination and licensure as an MCC Pastor. David’s ordination ceremony will take place at LifeJourney Church on Sunday evening July 17 at 6:00 pm. All are invited!

Several years ago, David felt called to step away from his career as a biomedical engineer to go to seminary. In May of 2010, David graduated with an M.Div. from Earlham School of Religion, where he was recognized as a Tom Mullen Merit Scholar. After seminary, David turned his attention to completing several additional requirements for MCC ordination, including an internship at another Church (West Richmond Friends, Richmond, Indiana), and a chaplaincy internship at an Indianapolis hospital. Those requirements were completed in May of this year.

In June, David began serving full-time at LifeJourney Church as our Minister of Outreach and Development. Since David is married to Pastor Jeff, he serves without pay, and his work is reviewed and evaluated by the Personnel Subcommittee of the Board of Directors. Having a full-time professional volunteer pastor is an extraordinary opportunity for our Church, and we are extremely grateful for David’s generosity!

Along with Jeff, Melody, and Vivian, David now carries the full responsibilities of a pastoral staff member, including worship leadership, pastoral care, spiritual counsel, teaching, and occasional preaching. David’s responsibilities include oversight of our SoulShift Program, chairing our Missions Board, staff liaison to our Outreach Ministry Teams, developing healthy living programs for our congregation, overseeing a new house church program for people who live far from our Church, and providing spiritual direction for clergy trainees. David is developing an expertise in spiritual direction in a two year training program offered by the Indianapolis Benedictine Monastery.

David will preach at our morning services on Sunday, July 17. The Rite of Ordination will take place that evening at 6:00 pm. The ordination ceremony will include remarks from two of David’s professors, video presentations, special music, and refreshments.

We are excited to celebrate the beginning of David’s tenure as pastoral staff at LifeJourney Church!

This week our Board of Directors voted unanimously to present an employment offer to Vivian Wyatt, and Vivian accepted! She begins Sunday, June 19!

In February, we set an ambitious goal to bring Vivian on staff to increase the loving care provided to our congregation and expand our ministries and outreach. We launched the Great Pioneer III Campaign to increase weekly giving to make this possible. Thanks to the incredible generosity of many, our goal has been met!

This is a monumental achievement. Way to go Church! The Directors want to say a special thanks to all who are participating in Great Pioneer III!

Most of us came to know and love Vivian when she served as a clergy intern at our Church for nine months during the 2009-2010 school year. Last month Vivian graduated from seminary with a Master of Divinity degree. She also holds a Master’s degree in spiritual counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University. Before that, Vivian had a successful career as an accountant.

Vivian’s new title is Minister of Care and Business Administration. As the title suggests, she will have two primary areas of responsibility. She will oversee our pastoral care work, including Deacons, pastoral care team, member tracking, grief support, weddings, funerals, and more. Drawing on her business background, Vivian will also oversee various business operations of the Church, including office volunteers and building operations.

For a complete list of Vivian’s duties and the duties of other staff, see this document. This staffing analysis highlights all the new and expanded activities that will be made possible by the addition of Vivian, together with the recent addition of David Zier’s volunteer position. To be part of Great Pioneer III, download this form.

We are unveiling our brand new pastoral training program, which has been developed in partnership with our denomination, the Metropolitan Community Churches. This new program is a key objective in our 25-Year Strategic Plan. The 25-Year Plan calls for us to become a center for training clergy who want to lead churches like ours — i.e., Emerging Churches that attempt to blend the best of both Progressive and Evangelical Christianity.

Our program is meant to supplement, not replace, traditional academic preparation for pastors. Those accepted into our program will spend two years with us, learning patterns for successful ministry in an intensive hands-on apprenticeship. Admission will be limited to a few select students who can demonstrate exceptional potential and strong leadership skills. Upon completion of our program, students will be eligible for ordination in MCC and receive job placement support from our Church.

We have already begun active recruiting throughout MCC and at schools like Anderson University, Wheaton College, and Earlham School of Religion, and will soon begin efforts at other schools. Our goal is to admit our first students and launch training by the end of 2011.

You can help by spreading word about the program. If you know someone who might be interested, please direct them to the LifeJourney Pastoral Training section of our website: LifeJourneyChurch.cc/pastoraltraining.

If giving holds steady, we are now less than 15 days from hiring Vivian Wyatt as a staff minister!

Since we launched the Great Pioneer III Campaign, average weekly giving over the past 3 months has increased to $9,641, slightly exceeding our goal of $9,500. Even post-Easter giving has remained at that level. This is a major accomplishment! So far, no summer slump! But June will be a major test. Last year it was our lowest-giving month.

Remember, electronic giving is the best way to ensure that your giving is steady, even when you’re away on travel. Almost half our offering every Sunday now comes electronically, and that is making a HUGE difference for our Church’s financial stability. If you’re a regular giver, please consider making the switch to electronic giving. It’s easy to start and can always be adjusted by you at a moment’s notice. Just go to LifeJourneyChurch.cc/donate.

Around fifty people from Jesus MCC filled the Indiana Senate chamber gallery today to protest the passage of HJR6, legislation that would amend Indiana’s Constitution to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

They disrupted the proceedings with chants of “Stop hating, stop dividing, stop pandering!” and “Wrong side of history!” Pastor Jeff Miner was escorted out of the Senate chamber shortly after the protests began, and not long after the entire group was ordered to leave and escorted out. They held a brief prayer gathering in the Capitol Rotunda.

The protest was covered by Fox59 and the Indianapolis Star, so look for a report on tonight’s news, in tomorrow’s Star, or on their websites.

Posted on Monday afternoon
Fox59.com: Church organizes protest against gay marriage amendment ban.
IndyStar.com: Ind. Senate gallery closes after gay-wed outbursts

For more information contact

Rev. Jeff Miner
Jesus Metropolitan Community Church
2950 East 55th Place
Indianapolis, IN 46220
www.JesusMCC.org
(317) 260-9620

Released Monday morning, March 28, 2011.

When the Indiana Senate convenes today, a large group will be present to vigorously protest Senate action on H.J.R. 6 — legislation that would amend Indiana’s Constitution to discriminate against gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.

The protest is being organized by Jesus Metropolitan Community Church, Indianapolis. Many congregants will take time off work to travel to the Statehouse to “bear spiritual witness” against the legislation.

Rev. Jeff Miner, Senior Pastor, says, “At a time when our State faces so many challenges, I can’t believe the Republican Party of Indiana is insisting on legislation that promotes hate and division. What they’re doing is evil. It’s pandering to the religious right. Using the Constitution to target a group of people for discrimination is un-American and un-Christian. In our country, all people should be treated equally under the law.”

Protestors will carry signs asking: “Would Jesus discriminate?”

Their protest chants will include: “Stop hating, stop dividing, stop pandering!”; “Wrong side of history!”; and “Jobs, not hate!”

Melody Merida, Minister of Congregational Care, says, “In the past, every time legislators have voted to discriminate, history has judged them harshly. We want to remind our legislators that both God and history will hold them accountable for their vote. Sometimes the legislature tries to do something so wrong, so awful, God’s people have to cry out against it.”

Jesus Metropolitan Community Church is a congregation of 400 located on the northeast side of Indianapolis. We are a church that is passionate about Jesus and serious about the Bible. Because of that, we celebrate the full diversity of God’s creation. We believe Christians should be leading the charge for equality, not resisting it.

With our new name comes a new URL:

www.LifeJourneyChurch.cc

All of our email addresses change, too: info@jesusmcc.org has become info@lifejourneychurch.cc, and so on.

Both old and new URLs point you to the church website, and email sent to old addresses will be forwarded. We plan to keep “jesusmcc.org” in place as a redirect for a very long time.

With a change like this, there are bound to be a few bumps in the road. If you see something on the site that appears to be malfunctioning, please contact David Squire.

…and what’s with the “.cc”?
No, it’s not a typo, nor does it stand for cubic centimeters. It’s a country code, and it’s officially the domain of the Cocos Islands, which are in the Indian Ocean. Informally, though, it is often used to stand for Christian Church.

But we’re not changing direction. We are the same radically-inclusive, Christ-centered church we’ve always been. Our mission is the same, as are our key leaders.

So why are we changing our name?

Our name sounds stodgy and fundamentalist.

We conducted focus groups to learn what others thought of our name, and we heard the same things over and over: institutional, old and dated, fundamentalist. Although we’re passionate about following Jesus, we’re definitely not fundamentalist! We are a multi-generational, multi-ethnic church that welcomes women, and gay and transgender people, as full partners in ministry. We celebrate diversity and encourage independent thought.

We want to welcome you wherever you are on life’s journey.

We realize that we’re all on a journey with many twists and turns. We want to be a church that meets without judgment — as Jesus did. We want to be a church that provides practical teachings that help on life’s journey – as Jesus did.

We want to synchronize our church name with our ministries.

Found Pearl Press (our publishing ministry) will soon become LifeJourney Press.

So if you’re looking for a church that encourages you on your life journey, check out the web site and be our guest at worship some Sunday morning at either 9:30 or 11:00 am.

• More info about the church.
• Directions and map.
• Contact us.

At last Sunday’s Congregational Meeting, our voting members made several monumental decisions that will affect the direction of our Church for years to come:

• Name Change Approved. By a vote of 96 to 3, we decided to change our name to LifeJourney Church! The change will become effective in a few weeks, once appropriate legal filings are completed. We’ll keep you posted and announce a special ‘Name Change Sunday’!
• 25-Year Plan Approved. By a vote of 95-1, we approved our 25-Year Strategic Plan. If you haven’t had a chance to read the plan, pick up a copy at the info kiosk.
• Directors Elected. Three Board of Directors positions were up for election. Jennifer Barnes and Nancy Duncan were re-elected. The third position had been occupied by Dan Allis, but after 12 years of faithful service, Dan did not stand for reelection. Ernest Disney-Britton was elected to fill that seat.
• Budget Approved. By a vote of 95-0, the budget was approved. We have one key budget goal this year: Increase giving by $1700 per week so we can meet our base budget, maintain our existing level of activity, and add Vivian Wyatt to staff!

Imagine how exciting it would be if we could hire Vivian Wyatt to serve on our staff! That’s our goal!

Right now our staff is stretched to the breaking point, well beyond the recommended ratio of 1 minister for each 100 congregants. Hiring Vivian would allow us to provide better care for our congregation and better support for our volunteers, while creating the capacity to support additional growth.

Vivian served as our clergy intern in 2009. In May, she will graduate seminary, with an M.Div. with an emphasis in pastoral care. She already has a Masters Degree in Spiritual Counseling. For a detailed sketch of how our staffing model would expand, see the Staff Structure document.

To hire Vivian, our average offerings need to increase by $1,700 per week. Pledges are already up to almost half our goal! If you feel called to help us get the rest of the way there, just download and fill out the pledge form. Remember, every little bit helps!

Download the pledge form.

Read more details. »

Are you going to be part of Great Pioneer III? A summary:

• For the past four years, our growth has remained flat. A recent MCC review concluded that we lack sufficient staff and sufficient financial giving.
• Last Sunday we kicked off a bold drive to meet both of these challenges: Great Pioneer III.
• We’re seeking to increase average weekly giving by $1,700.
• When that happens, we’ll hire Vivian Wyatt, our former clergy intern who is about to complete her M.Div.
• Response so far has been very positive. Download the pledge form if you’d like to participate.

Details follow: (more…)

At our upcoming Congregational Meeting (March 6), members will consider a church name change proposal. During January, we held three internal focus groups for members to share information and seek guidance. Over 90% of all members who participated supported a name change.

For those who were not able to attend the January gatherings, we have scheduled another focus group for next Sunday, February 20, at 1:00 pm. A pizza lunch will be served.

The agenda for our Congregational Meeting will be very full, so we’re trying to do everything possible to hear opinions, share information, and take questions in advance. If you plan to participate in the Congregational Meeting, and if you have any questions or concerns about the name change process, please attend next Sunday’s forum. It’s important that all members come to the Congregational Meeting with full information. If you are unable to attend next Sunday’s focus group, you are welcome to schedule a one-on-one session with a Board member. Simply email Pastor Jeff, and he will arrange a time for you to meet.

The date for our Annual Congregational Meeting has been moved to March 6, 12:45 pm in the sanctuary.

The Board is moving the meeting back a couple weeks to ensure ample time to complete its review of the corporate and regulatory steps that would be involved in any name change. The Board wants to be sure its final report to the congregation is accurate and complete. The report should be ready by mid-February.

One of the objectives of our 25-year plan is to intensify efforts to share our message of hope far and near, and to increase the level of spiritual support we offer people in remote places who have no affirming, Christ-centered option in their own area.

We envision being able to offer a full range of spiritual support options to people in distant places. One key resource is a vital, engaging webcast that includes not just the sermon, but also worship music and perhaps other parts of the service.

Several months ago, a Technology Team was formed to do a technology assessment of the church and to make recommendations for upgrading our webcast. Technology has changed a lot in the time since we’ve begun webcasting!

The Team (which includes Melody Merida, Mark Brown, Andrea Platt, Jennifer Barnes, Teresa Mull, Hiroki Chalfant, and is led by our Communications Director, David Squire) applied for a matching grant from the Indianapolis Center for Congregations, through their Technology and Ministry Grants Initiative, which is funded by the Lilly Endowment. We were one of only 30 central Indiana churches accepted into the program, and we recently learned that we were granted $29,910.03 to use for technology projects, primarily an upgrade of the webcast. This project will take most of 2011 to implement.

Many thanks to the Technology Team for their hard work in securing this grant! Soon, we will have a vastly improved webcast that will allow people all over the world to share in the worship we’re blessed with each week.

Last week we completed a series of three congregational forums. In each, the Board shared information from the four outside Focus Groups conducted in December, and sought the wisdom and advice of the congregation. Ninety congregrants participated, including 61 voting members. Under our bylaws, any decision about a name change is made by voting members.

Among voting members 92% favor a name change, 5% are undecided, and 3% leaning against. The percentages were similar among non-members who attended the forums. We also asked participants to evaluate leading name options. Among voting members, 82% rated LifeJourney Church as their favorite, while 13% leaned toward Path of Grace Church. No other option gained more than 2% support. Again, the percentages were similar among non-members.

The Board met Tuesday to evaluate your input and will meet again in two weeks. Between now and then, the Board is doing some last minute cross checking. Unless something unexpected arises, the Board is likely to recommend that we vote to change our name to LifeJourney Church at our February 20 Annual Congregational Meeting.

Now that the naming options have been narrowed, the Board is also carefully evaluating mottoes. We need your input regarding a motto! Of course, mottoes need to be flexible. We need to retain the ability to evolve and adapt our motto based on actual experience and events. Consider how organizations (e.g., Coca-Cola) alter their mottoes from time to time. So, unlike a church name, our motto is not something that will be embedded in our bylaws or the subject of an official congregation vote.

Nevertheless, the Board does want to seek consensus about the initial motto to be used in conjunction with any name change. So please take a moment to fill out the survey form! The Board will carefully consider your input at its meeting in two weeks.

All members and friends of Jesus MCC are invited to attend one of three Focus Groups at the church this week. The Focus Groups will evaluate information gathered by the Board about our church name. In preparation for the meeting, please read Church Name Evaluation: Focus Group Results.

This document includes

• a brief summary you can read in less than two minutes,
• complete details of our findings from external focus groups, and
• the top five possible name options that were submitted by the congregation.

We really need your input! Christmas cookies and soft drinks will be served. Here’s the schedule:

• Monday January 3, 7:00 pm, Room 1 at the church
• Wednesday January 5, 7:00 pm, Room 2 at the church
• Sunday January 9, 1:00 pm, in the Sanctuary

Later in January, Pastor Jeff will attend an MCC Church Growth Summit in Atlanta. Churches that participate in the summit will get the benefit of expert consulting advice. In conjunction with the summit, MCC Elders will conduct a careful review of how our church functions, then provide their best advice for how we might keep moving forward.

This will give us a great chance to get some “outside eyes” on how we’re operating right before we finalize and vote on our church’s 25-Year Plan. It will be a great cross check.

For the Elder’s analysis to be as informed as possible, we need everyone to take 10 minutes today or tomorrow to fill out an online survey. The survey asks your opinion about our worship services and various other aspects of church operations. Just go to the following link and answer the questions there:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/TW79DKP

The survey is simple, free, and anonymous. Will you do this today?