A Word from Amy Sell, Metro's Incoming Board President
I joined the Metro Ministries board in January 2020. I have been to exactly one in person board meeting, but that has not slowed down the ministry!
During the last two years, full of virtual meetings, I have chaired the fundraising committee and have enjoyed learning more each month about the depth and breadth of Metro's current and past reach. I love how during COVID-19 we have expanded our reach and thinking about ministry.
Prior to coming back to Indianapolis in 2015, I served at Henderson Settlement in the heart of Appalachia. During my time there, I worked with the community, work campers, and did fundraising and development. I have a heart for missions and kiddos. I have been so grateful to be able to meld my gifts to help Metro Ministries.
I look forward to 2022 for multiple reasons. It is my hope that we can have an in person Lenten Breakfast and Annual Celebration. I hope that we can meet more of you all in person. This past year we have used various social media platforms as well as YouTube to share what we are doing and about the ministries that we are able to help. We look forward to expanding that. We hope to be able to come and share Metro's story with your church, your Sunday school group, small group, UMW, UMM, or missions team (or any other group).
We are so grateful for your partnership with Metro Ministries and we look forward to deepening our relationships with all of you in the coming years!
I am pleased to introduce you to these three servant leaders. Debb Ebersole, Senior Pastor at Charlottesville UMC in Hancock County, Ed Santiago, member of Faith UMC in Indianapolis, and Kristen Hanson, Senior Pastor at Geneva UMC in Shelby County, have all agreed to serve Metro Ministries as new Board members in 2022! We appreciate their willingness to serve and share their talents and experiences with Metro Ministries. We are grateful for each of them.
To learn more about these folks, visit Metro's About page and scroll down to click on their individual images.
During this past weekend's worship services, we lit the pink Advent candle - the liturgical color of joy, while many of us listened to sermons based on the shepherds' joy upon receiving the good news of Christ's birth.
It can often be difficult to see joy, and we may find ourselves searching frantically for joy or even resigning ourselves to not experiencing joy. Having struggled to find joy in the chaos of life at times, I've realized that joy is not the same thing as happiness. Joy can always be found even where happiness or contentedness may not be. I just have to pause and take a breath from the crisis, from the anxiety, from the chaos to feel it and to see it.
Joy may be in a beautiful sunrise or sunset, joy in seeing a bright, beautiful bird on a cold and dreary day, joy in hearing someone's laughter, joy in connecting with a stranger, joy in a sweet memory that makes its way to the surface in a time of grief or sadness. There is the joy that is every present with God and from God, the joy that isn't based on our circumstances or our trials, and the joy that is the good news that no one can take away.
I pray that you can feel, see and experience the joy in the season of Christmas, regardless of your circumstance. I pray that joy sustains you through your circumstances, through the crises and the chaos.
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Dec. 15: JoySwing Christmas Classics Concert, St. Luke's UMC, 7:00pm
Dec. 17: 3 Wise Men and a Baby puppet show, Old Bethel UMC, 7pm
Dec. 19: Christmas Musical Celebration at University UMC, 4pm
Dec. 25: Christmas Dinner at Grace UMC
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Seeking Presenters and Booth Hosts!
Watch for details of breakout sessions as the schedule comes together over the next few weeks.
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INUMC Job Posting Board
Did you know the Indiana Conference website has a job posting board of open church staff positions and beyond?
Did you know that churches can post staff job opportunities on the INUMC Conference Job Board?
View current openings HERE, and scroll down to the "Post a Job" button to add your church's open positions.
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
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 automatically 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 very valuable tool now works in the donut counties as well as Marion County!
Listing of Central Indiana Food Pantries
We have updated the format of the food pantry list, making it easier to view when printed. You can download the updated listingHERE 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.