Stacy Cook, a healthcare attorney who has lost 10 dress sizes and has kept it off for several years, will be facilitating this group. Stacy’s journey began when she learned a poor diet as a youngster, and gained weight as an adult for all the usual reasons.

This group will be for anyone who is seeking to lose weight and be healthier, and who wants to support each other spiritually on our weight loss journey. It does not matter if you are trying to lose a lot or a little, we will be here to support each other.

Join us at church on November 13 after either worship service. If you can’t attend one of these meetings but are interested in the group, please email the church office.

• 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.

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!

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!

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.