As you probably know, we’re evaluating the effectiveness of our church name and possible new names. Of course, the most important question about a church name is, “What message does it send the people we’re trying to reach?” So the Board organized four focus groups comprised of people outside our Church in our core target audience for potential new members. The groups were:
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As our Church prepares to adopt and launch our 25-Year Plan, one of our last remaining tasks is to conduct a thorough evaluation of our Church name. We are now in the midst of that evaluation, assessing the effectiveness of our current name as compared to other options. Our primary goal is to ensure that our church name is as effective as possible in encouraging newcomers to visit our congregation — realizing that our name is one of the factors that will influence a person’s decision whether to check us out.

In many churches, discussions as sensitive as church name can never occur because people are so afraid of possible change. But at Jesus MCC, we are blessed to have a congregation that is courageously committed to maximum effectiveness for God. According to the Alban Institute (the leading church consulting group in the United States), “[Churches that are effective in our era will have] the ability to interpret and lead change. . . . The most successful churches will be those that embrace rapid change as a way of life.” We are determined to do our best to keep up with God!

Right now, we are in the brainstorming phase, asking everyone to suggest naming options for our church. Please put your suggestions on the purple form sitting next to the suggestions box at the info kiosk. The deadline for brainstorming is Sunday, November 21.

Once the brainstorming phase ends, evaluation begins. The Board is organizing focus groups of people who are not yet associated with our church, but fall within our core target audience — LGBT people and affirming straight people. In those groups, we will test reaction to our current name and the naming options that have been suggested. Once the focus groups are completed, broader surveying will begin inside and outside our congregation. That’s when you’ll have a chance to register your opinion.

Let’s all be praying that the genius of God’s Spirit will guide this evaluation process! And remember, the deadline for brainstorming suggestions is November 21!

We’re pleased to announce the launch of the Clergy Training Program, an official Pilot Project of the Metropolitan Community Churches.

If you want to prepare to lead a church that is. . .

• Christ centered,
• Genuinely diverse,
• Scripturally grounded,
• Theologically open-minded,
• Intensely missional, and
• Focused on personal spiritual growth, and

If you’re looking for a training program that not only equips you academically, but also prepares you for the practical challenges of pastoral leadership, where ministries rise and fall, and

If you’re looking for a program that is interactive and relational, placing emphasis on intensive mentoring by experienced pastoral leaders in a highly successful local church, then

You’ve come to the right place!

Download the Clergy Training Program description . If you have questions, please email Rev. Jeff Miner or call (317) 722-0000 x 103.

We’re very pleased to announce that Richard Ramsey has been selected as our new accompanist! April 25 will be his first Sunday to accompany us during worship.

His responsibilities will include serving as piano accompanist during our morning worship services each Sunday, rehearsals with the Choirs and Instrumental Ensemble during the week, and occasionally performing special music. He will also fill in for Mark Brown as Worship Leader when Mark is not here.

Richard brings impeccable qualifications and loads of experience with him to this position. He has a B.A. in Piano Performance. He has held staff positions as both Accompanist and Music Minister at two large local churches, including one church with weekly attendance of 6,500. He served as an accompanist for Sandi Patty for two years. He currently works for Lawrence North High School as their Choral Department’s Accompanist and Instructional Assistant. Richard has experience with a broad range of musical genres.

He has a deep calling to use the arts to help people connect to God, and looks forward to growing with the Music Ministry and Jesus MCC. Be sure to make him feel welcome!

If you go to the blog called Never Enough Sundays, you will find a description of our March 21 11:00 am worship service through the eyes of a writer who is traveling to 52 different churches in one year and describing her experiences.

Look for the entry titled Proclaiming the Name of Jesus and Podcast #12: Worshipping with Generosity.

Beginning March 7, our Sunday evening service will move to a more intimate, less formal worship format. In recent years, attendance has migrated from the evening service to the morning services, leaving the evening service too small to sustain a full-scale traditional worship service.

So we’re going to use this as an opportunity to offer a different kind of worship experience. Sunday evening worship will begin at the same time (6:00 pm), meet in the same space (the sanctuary), and still be led by Jeff and Melody. However, we will get to know each other at a deeper level. The service will begin with sharing and prayer. Then we will watch a recording of the Sunday morning sermon together, after which Jeff or Melody will lead a lively discussion of the sermon, challenging us to wrestle with the key concepts.

Some will love this more interactive form of worship, while those who want a more traditional worship format will have the option of shifting to Sunday mornings. These changes will take effect on Sunday, March 7!

Jesus MCC is looking for a part-time Piano Accompanist who has excellent accompanist skills and is able to sight-read classical and contemporary music. The accompanist will work 10 to 12 hours per week, at our worship services and rehearsals. It’s important that this person be on a meaningful Christian journey and understand the responsibilities of a spiritual leader and role model. You can download the full job description.

Historically, Jesus MCC has had a part-time accompanist to supplement and support the work of our Worship Arts Minister. The position has been vacant for the past two years due to the deep economic recession and associated budget shortfalls. In recent months, however, giving has begun to return to pre-recession levels. So, at our January 31 Congregational Meeting, a budget was approved that restores funding for the accompanist position.

If you know someone who might be interested, please download the Position Posting. The deadline for application is March 14, 2010. Let’s pray that God will bring us the right person!

After reading our Church’s draft 25-Year Plan, she just knew she had to become more involved in what we’re doing here at Jesus MCC. So Lavonda Henry met with Pastor Jeff and offered to donate 20 hours per week to our Church! Lavonda and her spouse, Charlene, run the Indianapolis franchise of Tradebank International — helping organizations trade goods and services in barter arrangements. They decided Lavonda would continue working 20 hours per week, while donating the rest of her time to the Church.

Lavonda comes to us with a deep business background. Before connecting to Tradebank, she spent years managing in Kohl’s and Lazarus Department Stores. Initially, Lavonda’s work for the Church will include:

• Office management (including coordination of office volunteers).
• Management of building and grounds.
• Help with marketing strategies for Found Pearl Press.
• Database management.
• Payroll and HR.
• Purchasing agent.
• Budget compliance and trend tracking.
• Constituent service enhancement.

When you see Lavonda and Charlene, be sure to thank them for this incredible act of generosity! Lavonda has been on the job for 5 weeks now and is already making a huge positive difference!

We also want to thank all those office volunteers who give one to five hours per week doing critical clerical tasks. If you would like more information about being an office volunteer, just email Lavonda.

Have you met Rev. Keith Phillips? Professionally, he is a full-time hospice chaplain. But for several years, he has also been an active member of our Church serving in a variety of volunteer leadership capacities, including Discipleship Teacher, supervisor of our current clergy intern (David Zier), and Found Pearl Press Board member. Keith is also editor-in-chief of the second book our Church will publish — a daily devotional by gay, trans, and affirming Christians called Quench!. Quench! is at the printer now and will be available for distribution within a couple weeks!

So, though you personally may not yet know Keith, he is already doing so much to bless our Church community and, as a hospice chaplain, the broader central Indiana community.

Keith holds a Master of Divinity degree from Earlham School of Religion, and a Doctor of Ministry degree from McCormick Seminary. For all of his 30 year career in ministry, Keith has been ordained in the American Baptist Convention. But Keith wants to serve in a denomination that openly welcomes and celebrates LGBT people. So, over the past two years, he has gone through a process for transferring his ordination to our denomination, the Metropolitan Community Churches.

At regional conference in June, an ordination panel approved the transfer of Keith’s ordination credentials to MCC. In the November 1 worship service, we made that official with a Rite of Ordination. Please be sure to congratulate Keith!

At Jesus MCC, we’ve just launched a 25-year planning process. Our goal is to define more precisely what we feel God is calling us to do, as a congregation, over the next couple decades, then focus like a laser beam on those objectives.

The document below is a rough draft of a 25-Year Plan prepared by the Board and staff. We would welcome your comments — please email them to Pastor Jeff. Jeff will share your comments with the Board and staff. Several forums will also soon be scheduled.

25 Year Plan

Recently our Church’s financial reserves have been declining at an alarming rate. The prolonged economic downturn, coupled with rising unemployment, has taken a toll on giving. The Board of Directors met on October 13 and decided to make the following painful, but necessary cuts:

• Eliminate our part-time Administrative Assistant position. Mark Shoup has filled this position with great distinction. Mark has now taken a full-time position elsewhere, and wishes to transition out of his position here. Although we would dearly love to refill this position, we have decided to bite the bullet and leave it open until giving returns to normal. That means clerical and administrative tasks will fall back on pastoral staff, reducing the amount of time they can devote to core ministry.

• Reduce our support for MCC outreach. We normally invest about $650 per month in special MCC outreach projects in Africa and Latin America. These investments have been suspended.

• Reduce contributions to the MCC clergy pension plan.

• Renegotiate contracts with various service providers — phone, trash collection, payroll processing — to achieve small savings here and there.

Taken together, these cost cuts should save about $1,693 per month. The Board will review the situation again next month. If further cuts are necessary, remaining staff will be directly affected.

If you have a job, and if you’re not yet a regular giver, please consider becoming one. Your generosity will make a huge difference in this time of economic stress. Also, next Sunday we’ll begin a Spare Change Drive to help close the budget gap.

We also want to say a special thanks to new givers who have stepped up in recent weeks. Without you, the crunch would be much worse!

Together, we will get through this. If you have questions or suggestions, please email the church office, or call (317) 722-0000.

We’re going to make available (for free) a directory of the professionals who attend our church and wish to make known their areas of expertise. Basic listings are free; paid display advertisements are also available.

To be part of the professional directory, please download this form or pick up a copy from the info kiosk. For more info, email Sheryl Holko.

On Sunday, September 6, David Zier begins a nine-month internship here at Jesus MCC. Last year Vivian Wyatt served as our first clergy intern; this year David will serve in a similar role.

Like Vivian, David is a seminary student at Earlham School of Religion in Richmond, entering his final year of work on a Master of Divinity degree. After completing his degree, David plans to retire from his current line of work, seek ordination within MCC, and serve as a full-time professional volunteer here at Jesus MCC.

David was born and raised near Washington, DC. His father was Lutheran and his mother Jewish, but neither were active. David discovered a Southern Baptist Church while in high school. Soon thereafter he entered the University of Central Florida, came out, and became active at Joy MCC in Orlando. After graduating from college, David returned to Washington DC and served at Open Door MCC.

David and Pastor Jeff met there and married in 1991. This week they’ll celebrate their 19th anniversary! David moved with Jeff to Jesus MCC in 1997, and since has served in a variety of leadership roles, including Chair of our first Board of Building Trustees (back when we began planning and fund raising for our building) and current Chair of our Missions Board.

David holds a BS and two Masters degrees in electrical and medical engineering. He has worked at NASA, the Department of Defense, the Food & Drug Administration, and now Quintiles Consulting. Most of his career has been devoted to developing new medical devices.

Several years ago, David began feeling called to pastoral ministry. His current plan is to volunteer full-time at Jesus MCC once he completes his clergy degree. Over the next nine months, you will see David assisting with worship leadership and engaging in a broad range of projects. Be sure to welcome and encourage him during this important phase of his pastoral education!

Church is supposed to be a place of sanctuary—a place where we always feel safe. Here at Jesus MCC, we have been fortunate that in our 18 year history, we’ve never had a major incident. But recent national news has reminded us that sometimes churches face security challenges.

We have decided to take three proactive measures to upgrade security at Jesus MCC:

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Sunday, May 3 marks the end of Vivian Wyatt’s nine-month internship at Jesus MCC. Vivian is a seminary student at Earlham School of Religion, where she is about to enter her final year of work on a Master of Divinity degree. For the past nine months, Vivian has had the opportunity to develop her wonderful gifts of spiritual leadership, blessing us with awesome sermons, small group leadership, prayer, communion, wise counsel, and much more.

But this is not the last we’ll see of Vivian! She became a member of our church on April 19. She will be away for two months (June and July) for a chaplaincy internship at a hospital in Virginia, then be back among us for her final year of seminary. Upon her return, Vivian will continue providing spiritual leadership in our Church. She is considering seeking ordination within MCC.

Vivian says, “My experience at Jesus MCC has been life changing. The love this congregation has shown me epitomizes God’s love, and I am so glad that you have accepted and welcomed me into the fold. While away for [my internship], I will miss you and look forward to coming home!” Let’s all be sure to express our love and appreciation for Vivian!

The budget approved at last Sunday’s Congregational Meeting allows us to begin paying an Administrative Assistant for ten hours per week. This position was posted in December and interviews conducted. Mark Shoup has been selected to fill the position.

For the past two years, Mark has volunteered 20 hours per week in the office, in an incredible act of generosity. He has made a huge difference in our operations, and we are delighted that we can finally begin compensating him for at least some of his time. Mark’s responsibilities include attendance analysis reports, phone and email coordination, book order fulfillment, sermon duplication, payroll processing, and an unending stream of critical clerical tasks!

Mark grew up in Tipp City, Ohio, attending Brethren Churches with his family. He holds a degree from the Culinary Institute of America and has served as a professional chef at various restaurants, including Café Nora in Indianapolis. To make ends meet, Mark is also currently working part-time at Trader Joe’s Grocery. We are delighted that Mark is now officially part of our Staff Team. Please thank him for his incredible service!

At our Annual Congregational Meeting on February 8, we will review a draft 2009 budget proposed by the Board of Directors and elect four Board members.

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Historically, Jesus MCC has had a part-time Accompanist (organ/piano) to supplement and support the work of our Worship Arts Minister. Jason Saylor filled that position until his full-time job transferred him to Chicago in June. Now that our new Worship Arts Minister is in place, we’re ready to search for a new Accompanist. Although our new Worship Arts Minister plays the piano superbly, he does not play organ, nor can he accompany the choir while simultaneously conducting them. We anticipate that an Accompanist will also bring skills that allow us to further broaden the styles of music we incorporate into worship.

Initially, the accompanist will work 10 to 12 hours per week. We are looking for someone who: (a) has excellent accompanist skills on both organ and piano; and (b) is able to sight-read classical and contemporary composers. It is also important that this person be on a meaningful Christian journey and understand the responsibilities of a spiritual leader and role model.

If you or someone you know might be interested, please read and respond to the full Position Posting. The deadline for resumes is October 15.

Here are three ways you can make the earth a little cleaner and help some good causes here at church:

Pop Cans for Playgrounds
Bring your aluminum cans (crushed, if possible) to the collection bin in the social hall.  All proceeds from cans will be used for Playground Phase 2.

Ink and Toner Cartridges for the Office
Every inkjet or laser toner cartridge you bring in (HP, Lexmark, or Dell brand only, please) can be redeemed at Staples for $3 to use for office supply purchases.  The collection bin for cartridges is in the coat room.

Recycle Your Newspapers and Junk Mail
You’ve probably seen the green and yellow dumpster in the upper parking lot.  It’s for paper recycling, and the church receives payment for the paper.

If we recycle less than 4 tons per month, the recycling company pays us $5 per ton.  But if we cross that 4 ton threshold, we receive $15 per ton.  So continue to bring in your newspapers, magazines, office paper, and junk mail!  Please note that we can’t take cardboard, food wrappers, or any type of plastic.

Mark Brown has accepted our offer to serve as our new Worship Arts Minister! Mark currently serves as Music Minister for the mother church of our denomination, MCC Los Angeles. Before coming into MCC, Mark gained invaluable experience on the worship staff of two huge churches in the northwest United States.

His first Sunday here will be July 20!

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