Spotlight on Sunil Kotian; Roberts Park Shalom Preschool Need; Volunteer Opportunities and More!
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WEDNESDAY WORDS

FROM METRO MINISTRIES, INC.

June 9, 2021

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Pastor Appointment Spotlight: Sunil Kotian

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Last week, Metro Ministries offered up prayers for our Central District clergy: those coming in, those leaving and those continuing to serve in our district. This week we want to kick off a spotlight series, introducing you to incoming clergy over the next several weeks.
 
Meet Sunil Kotian, Pastor of Mission and Outreach at North UMC in Indianapolis, effective June 1, 2021. Sunil came to Indianapolis in June 2018 to attend Christian Theological Seminary, and he graduated with his Master of Divinity on May 22nd.
 
Sunil left his home in Bengaluru in India to attend CTS, leaving behind his wife of seventeen years Lois and his teen children Elijah, Eliana and Elicia. He has been unable to return to see his family since December 2019, nor have his family members been able to come visit him. He is looking forward to his family being able to move here soon. While he knows it will be hard for them to leave friends and family behind, they are all looking forward to reuniting and building a life together in Indianapolis soon.
 
Sunil has been serving in various capacities with North UMC and East Tenth UMC for some time. He is beyond thrilled with this full-time pastor appointment and is looking forward to leading outreach and missions in his church community and beyond.  A lifelong United Methodist, Sunil is the first Asian appointed to North UMC and the first immigrant appointed there in many years.
 
Not only is Sunil an incredible asset to North UMC's staff, he also serves on Metro Ministries, Inc.'s Board of Directors. We are so blessed to have him and appreciate the communications and technology talents he brings to Metro.
 
Sunil, we are so excited and pleased to officially welcome you as a Central District clergy!
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Help Wanted: Shalom Preschool at Roberts Park UMC

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Childcare providers are critical frontline players in our communities and are so valuable in the lives of children and families, never more so than during these past 15 months.
 
Leaders of preschools and daycares throughout our communities faced decisions on a daily basis on whether or not to remain open, if and how to adjust capacity limitations, how to manage appropriate health safety measures to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection, how to respond when children or families became ill, and how to deal with ongoing staff shortages. Lisa Ankney, Manager of Shalom Daycare at Roberts Park UMC knows these struggles too well.
 
Throughout the entire pandemic, Shalom Daycare did not close. Further, the daycare did not experience a single COVID-19 infection. Lisa and the entire staff have been committed to the children in their care, even though staff levels have been below normal.  They have all foregone vacation time for well over a year now, and everyone is tired - very, very tired. Lisa faces having to tell accepted and enrolled families that Shalom does not currently have capacity to serve them. The daycare is in dire need of staff to serve all age groups, 0 - 5.
 
While they are seeking to fill three vacant full-time positions, they would greatly benefit from gaining part-time helpers. Pay is based on experience but is well above current minimum wage. All new hires are required, prior to starting, to have completed a drug test (paid for by Shalom) and a background check (fees currently waived in Indiana). Additionally, new staff must complete 10 hours of online training, which is paid after completion and can be done at home or at Shalom.
 
Shalom Daycare provides children with trained caregivers in an environment where every child experiences numerous positive learning opportunities and healthy play for their physical, social and cognitive growth. Shalom Daycare leadership and staff seek to instill self-confidence, kindness and creativity in every child that comes through their doors. If you or someone you know feels led to help meet this need, please check out Shalom's webpage for more information and the application. Interested individuals with questions are encouraged to reach out to Lisa Ankney at 317-635-3397 or shalom.daycare@robertsparkumc.org.
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HEAVENEARTH Church Volunteer Opportunities

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HEAVENEARTH Church is partnering with Sleep in Heavenly Peace to help ensure that every child has a bed to sleep in. The church is leading two volunteer opportunities in June:
  • Saturday, June 12, 9 am - 1:30 pm: load, deliver and assemble beds in Indianapolis
  • Saturday, June 26, 8:30 am - 1:30 pm: build beds in HeavenEarth parking lot in Whiteland

Click HERE to sign up for one or both volunteer opportunities.

All children deserve a safe, comfortable place to lay their heads at night. For many children though, this is not a reality. Many sleep on couches, blankets and even floors, negatively impacting their happiness and health. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a national organization that expands its reach through chapters in the United States and beyond.

HEAVENEARTH learned about this organization and whole-heartedly agreed to sponsor these two opportunities. There are still several slots available on both dates. 

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Mission u 2021

There's Far More Here

THAN MEETS THE EYE

Mission u will be virtual this year, held Saturdays July 10, 17, 24 and 31, beginning at 10:00 am each day. This year United Methodist Women of Indiana will gather and examine anxiety, the culture of violence that impacts girls in public schools, and how we as God's people can deepen our moral witness and respond faithfully.

Download and print this brochure for details and registration information. The cost is $50. Children uner 18 can register for free and receive a Mission u Activity Kit.

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Build Learn and Grow Scholarship Fund

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Indiana families with one or more persons employed in an essential worker field may be eligible for scholarships to assist with child care costs for children 0 - 12, including summer programming, camps and before/after school programs.
 
Scholarhip amounts are based on a family's gross monthly income. The scholarships are accepted by participating early care and education, summer learning and out-of-school time programs.
 
Indiana's Build, Learn and Grow program is sponsored by the Indiana Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning, in parttnership with Early Learning Indiana, the Indiana Afterschool Network and SPARK Learning Lab.
 
This state-wide program runs May 2021 - October 2021. For full details, including eligibility requirements, application information and participating programs, click HERE.
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Global Leadership Summit 2021
 
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This year's two-day Global Leadership Summit has two United Methodist host sites in the Central district, Franklin Grace UMC and St. Luke's UMC. Check out the summit speakers and details HERE.

Join hundreds of thousands of curious, growth-minded, and change-driven people like you who want to understand more about leadership in today's world: learn more about the Global Leadership Summit, hosted by Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin on August 5 & 6, and begin to register. Whether you attend in-person at a station like Grace or online, you will experience two days of rich, high-impact, inspiring sessions from folks who will share their wisdom and practical perspective to support you in your leadership program. 

The summit is August 5 - 6, 2021. You can reserve either in-person or online at either Grace UMC or St. Luke's UMC.

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Check out Metro's Resources Hub, where we have added some additional resource from last week's Community Resources workshop.
 
If you know of other resources we should share, please let us know by emailing Tina McAninch at metrodirector1923@gmail.com.
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FOOD RESOURCES 
 
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Community Compass

Community Compass is a tool created by Indy Hunger Network and has two key ways to connect individuals with food resources near them. The first is an app for smart phones that automically provides food resources based on where the individual is. The second is the ability to text for food resources if an individual does not have a smart phone. Check out details of Community Compass. This is a very valuable tool but does not currently include all food pantries beyond Marion County.

Listing of Central Indiana Food Pantries

We received a couple of updates to the listing we published last week. You can download the updated listing HERE or from Metro's website's Resources Hub.Please let us know if you have food resources to add or update. We will make updates to this list on a quarterly basis.
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Metro Ministries, Inc.   2560 Villa Avenue   Indianapolis, Indiana 46203
metrodirector1923@gmail.com    (317) 452-4786   www.indymetroumc.org
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