Spotlight: Irvington UMC Community Kids Camp

Irvington UMC Preschool Director Lori Steur had a vision for a short summer program aimed at three and four year olds, who may not already have a connection to the preschool or the church. Lori envisioned a program curriculum focused on bringing Bible stories and scripture to life for young children, demonstrating real world application associations and giving them language to express their ideas.

As with IUMC'S preschool experience, this program would attract families regardless of their church experience. Prior to camp registration, a parent expressed to Lori their concern that the experience might be be "too religious". She reassured this parent that the camp was not about indoctrination, labeling children as sinners, nor about rote memorization of scripture. This parent signed up their child for one day, then  ended up returning for the majority of the camp. This parent and others expressed gratitude and joy for the enthusiasm their children showed in re-telling the stories they had heard at each camp session.

One of the best parts of the camp for the kids and their families was their journaling exercise. At the end of each session, each child was asked to draw a picture about that day's Bible story. A camp staff member then asked the child to tell the picture's story and captured the verbal descriptions. Here are snippets of some of the journal pages.

Lori plans to offer this program again next year with expanded marketing efforts to draw in more kids, and she wants to include programming for early elementary age children as well. Metro is proud to have provided funding for IUMC's Community Kids Camp pilot program. We can't wait to see what next year's camp looks like!

Metro's 99th Anniversary Celebration!

In just one month, we will be celebrating Metro's 99th Anniversary!

Join us on Saturday, November 12, 2022 at University United Methodist Church, as we celebrate the ways that Metro Ministries has been making connections and building bridges this year.

The celebration will begin at 3:30 pm with food, fellowship and music by Simply United. Then around 4:00, we will have opening remarks and words from some of our 2022 grant recipients. We are also planning a few opportunities to join in song. After a break for dessert, Rev. Dr. Aleze Fulbright will deliver the keynote message.

We encourage and welcome honor and memorial gifts to Metro Ministries, and we will name all those recognized. We will wrap up the evening by announcing the Missioner of the Year awards - from your nominations and votes - and will then close with prayer and song.

Online registration is open, with paper invitations in the mail! Feel free to register either online or via the mail. Just be sure to register by November 4!

Individual tickets are $40/person. We are also seeking event sponsors at $750, $500 and $250 levels. Sponsors will be recognized during the event.

We look forward to celebrating with you! Let us know if you have any questions.

Seeking Missioner of the Year Nominations for One More Week!

As we head into the last quarter of 2022 in a few days, we are beginning to reflect on the highlights of God's Work through individuals, groups, churches and organizations across the Central District. For many years, Metro Ministries has been recognizing individuals and groups who have demonstrated outstanding missional work, through our Missioner of the Year awards presented at the Annual Celebration. We are excited to seek this year's nominees!

We need your help in identifying individuals and churches/groups/organizations that are going above and beyond the missional call. We invite you to nominate an individual and/or a collective from within the Central District for this year's Missioner of the Year. We will be accepting nominations through October 18th and will then send out a ballot  with summary information about each nominee.

We invite you to complete the Online Nomination Form, or if you prefer, complete this PDF form and email to metrodirector1923@gmail.com, or mail to Metro Ministries, Inc., 2560 Villa Ave., Indianapolis, IN 46203. Nominations must be received by October 18 to be included on the ballot.

Nominations should be based on the following criteria:

• Goes beyond the church walls to join WITH people where they are
• Builds relationships based on love, empathy and respect.
• Steps outside one's comfort zone to walk alongside individuals and/or communities that may look, sound, live or believe differently.
• Engages in risk-taking mission and service, without consideration for whether or not individuals served will enter one's own church doors or any church doors.
• Continually bears the light of Christ, through words and actions.

Who do you know that exemplifies the above criteria? Please share the nomination form and link with others. Flood us with nominations!

Metro's Upcoming Grant Cycle:

Sign Up for the Workshop!

Have you signed up for one of these sessions? Workshop attendance is a pre-requisite to submit an application for the 2023 Spring Grant Cycle.

Two sessions are available: Thursday, October 27, 6:00 - 7:30 pm or Friday, October 28, 2:00 - 3:30 pm. The workshop is FREE but registration is required. Workshop registration is available HERE. The content will be the same at both sessions, so please register for one session only. Both sessions will be held at St. Andrew UMC at 2560 Villa Avenue, Indianapolis.

Note that draft submissions this year are due December 1, so NOW is the time to consider how a Metro Ministries grant can help your program or project in 2023.

Please review the Request for Proposal, which contains grant criteria and this cycle's timeline. We also ask that workshop attendees have a basic idea of the program or project to be funded prior to workshop attendance. Please reach out to Tina McAninch if you would like to brainstorm on project ideas prior to workshop attendance.

If you are interested in applying during this grant cycle but are unable to attend either workshop session, please contact Tina McAninch by October 19, 2022 so that a makeup session can be scheduled.

Peace with Justice Grant from INUMC'S Diversity, Mission and Justice Ministries

The Peace with Justice grant is designed to help a local United Methodist church, district, or other affiliated organization or ecumenical group support their peace and justice program or project that is relevant to changing systemic issues of injustice.

The Peace with Justice Grant is not intended for charity ministries, but for ministries that seek to change or address the root problems. Examples include advocacy projects, raising awareness about issues of injustice, prison/jail ministries, gambling concerns, etc.

Applications are due October 15. To apply, visit inumc.org/peacewithjustice.

Sock Collections for Sock-tober

Metro Ministries encourages churches to collect infant, children and youth socks during the month of October for Lambswear, Inc. We would love to see United Methodist Churches across the Central District help Lambswear reach their goal of 10,000 pairs of socks by the end of the month. Metro Ministries is glad to help out by collecting the socks from your church and delivering to Lambswear! We need to collect the socks from you by October 31.

Please contact Tina McAninch at metrodirector1923@gmail.com to arrange pick up of your church's sock collection. You can download a pdf of the above flyer to use in your church media. Let's help Lambswear, Inc. meet their goal of 10,000 pairs!

Employment Opportunities

Please see these employment opportunities that have been shared with Metro Ministries.

Outreach Coordinator at Grace United Methodist Church, Franklin

Grace United Methodist Church in Franklin is seeking a part-time Outreach Coordinator. The person selected will work with the staff and Outreach Team to organize and coordinate the many outreach ministries of the church as well as relate to the many community partners. Persons who are lay leaders or lay speakers who are looking for experience in a local church might find this position helpful. Hours are flexible during the week. For more information, please contact Pastor Andy Kinsey at andykinsey@franklingrace.org.

INUMC Job Board

The Indiana Conference of United Methodist Churches Job Board is available HERE.  

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

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Servants at Work (SAWs)

Multiple Dates 

Volunteering with SAWs is an opportunity to help change someone's life. SAWs is a faith-based nonprofit that builds outdoor ramps for persons living with permanent disabilities in low-income households.

SAWs has multiple ramp building opportunities available this summer. Most opportunities range from 4 to 6 hours and do not require specific skill sets. There are builds planned throughout Central Indiana and beyond. Visit the Volunteer Signup page to view currently available opportunities. You will need to create a username and password if you have not volunteered with SAWs before, or sign in with your previously created sign in information.

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Society of St. Andrew Indiana Gleaning Opportunities

All volunteers must sign a waiver. These are family-friendly events open to children of all ages. Those who are interested should sign up for email notifications by creating a profile HERE. Folks will then receive emails of upcoming gleaning opportunities.

Apple Gleaning in Sheridan!

Apple gleaning in nearby Sheridan on Friday mornings 9 - 11am, beginning September 23 through October. Pantry volunteers are highly encouraged to come out! Pantries that send volunteers are given top priority for distribution. Sign up HERE. 

Have Something to Share?

Do you have an event, volunteer need or job posting you would like included in Metro's weekly e-newsletter? Send us an email at metrodirector1923@gmail.com with the details. We will need to receive by Tuesday morning for inclusion in the current week's newsletter.