IYM Communicator

IYM

Communicator

July 29, 2020

A Note from DougShoemaker

Highlights from Yearly Meeting

The teaching from Michael Card on Thursday and Friday evenings was powerful and appreciated by all.

Many sessions were held in the outdoor pavilion allowing for a degree of social distancing. Our attendance was down 25%-40% from last year but was still strong considering the challenges of meeting onsite during a pandemic.

Nearly $93,000 was raised for the 2021 budget, over $12,000 above the $80,000 goal.

Assessments and Missions Goals will remain at the same level for 2021. Assessments have not been increased for ten years.

Phil Abram (Van Wert First Friends) and Rob Schwarze (Hemlock Friends) were recorded as ministers.

Dan Cammack of Evangelical Friends Mission introduced us to the work and vision of EFM at the mission luncheon attended by 122. He invited us to join in their goal to send ten new missionary households from North America to launch five new fields by 2025. An offering of $1,226 for EFM was received.

Several Friends greeted outgoing General Superintendent, Doug Shoemaker and Kris, at a Saturday afternoon reception in their honor. The Shoemakers were presented with a gift from IYM – a rocking chair with a plaque attached chronicling the years of service to IYM.

Bear Creek, Knightstown, and Hemlock Friends again went home with attendance banners awarded at the Feast of Faith.

Visit our Website at iym.org

Shane Brown has resigned as pastor of Westfield Friends. Shane and Adele will be moving to Kansas City to serve with the International House of Prayer.

Mooreland Friends will reopen August 2. They continue to broadcast their services through radio, 87.9, and sermons are on the church webpage.

The Advancement Committee is thrilled and humbled to report IYM has raised the following amounts for the 2021 Budget:

$ 87,308.50 Cash Already Received

5,620.00 Pledges still to be paid

$ 92,928.50

During our recent IYM sessions we kicked-off 2022 Budget fundraising. We are amazed at the willingness of IYM members to dig in and start working toward the needs for 2022. Here is the start of these efforts --

$ 3,678.00 Cash Already Received

9,700.00 Pledges still to be paid

$ 13,378.00

If you have any questions or suggestions or frustrations regarding this fundraising process please contact Damon Seacott at dseacott@gmail.com or call 517-204-5348. Let's keep on serving well in these wild days we're walking through.

Sunday School Curriculum: It’s time to order curriculum for the fall 2020 quarter. Please send or call your order into the IYM office by August 1 for delivery by August 15. Better yet – make yours a standing order that will be ready for you each quarter!

FUM (Friends United Meeting) has chosen Turkana as its summer mission focus. Follow this link to learn more about Turkana Friends and the summer mission focus:

https://www.friendsunitedmeeting.org/connect/summer-mission-focus

EFM (Evangelical Friends Mission) also has a summer mission focus. More information along with downloadable lessons and a poster can be found at http://friendsmission.com/children/

Message from White’s RFS: Did you know each of the students at White's is receiving his or her own leather Bible? This Bible will be embossed with the student's name and given personally by John Trimble, our Director of Spiritual Life and Staff Chaplain. These particular study Bibles have an appendix to guide and comfort readers using passages that address anger, trust, hope, suffering, etc. John arranged to purchase these Bibles through Tyndale and received a wonderful discount. Through this gift, we know Our Lord will continue to speak into the lives of the young men and women we serve. Please know your generosity helps to bring this about.

Those We Have Lost:

A memorial service for Kay Cain, former FUM field staff in Belize, will be held at Portland Friends in Portland, Indiana, on Saturday morning, August 1 at 11 am.

Lloyd King , 93, passed away on July 26. Lloyd and his wife, Naomi, served as Friends missionaries and pastored several churches including Georgetown Friends, Hemlock Friends, and Danville Friends.

Russ Goff , 90, former clerk of Indiana Yearly Meeting from 1978-1982, passed away on July 19. He is survived by his wife, Pat, and children, Susan, Brian and Janice and their families.

Mary Glenn Hadley , 80, died July 20. She was a recorded Friends minister and earned her RN in nursing, later serving as a missionary in Kenya under FUM and as an instructor at Friends Bible Institute in Kenya. Memorials may be directed to FUM for the Mary Glenn Hadley Endowment Fund.

Committee Days:

Tuesday, August 25, 6:30 pm at South Marion Friends

Saturday, December 12, 9:30 am (Location TBA)

Saturday, March 6, 9:30 am (Location TBA)

Tuesday, May 11, 6:30 pm at South Marion Friends

IYM Upcoming Calendar:

08/25 Committee Day, South Marion Friends, 6:30 pm

09/14 Executive Committee, IYM office, 6:30 pm

09/29 Trustees, IYM office, 6:30 pm

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Good Morning!

Did you hear about the TV antenna and the satellite dish who married?

The wedding was just “okay,” but the reception was great! [insert groan]

Kris and I are very appreciative of the great reception that was held in our honor at yearly meeting Saturday afternoon. We were blessed to have the opportunity

to visit with great friends we have made in IYM over the last several years as well as some old friends we continue to cherish. It was exceedingly kind of the yearly meeting to acknowledge our years of service and we will treasure the gift of the rocking chair that will remind us of great friends and God’s faithfulness.

Several have asked what the future holds. I’ll be continuing at General Superintendent of Indiana Yearly Meeting for the next five months through December 31, the Lord willing. There is much important work to be done here yet and I relish each moment remaining in this role. After “retirement” I’ll likely be serving as a Friends pastor and already have at least one part-time job lined up to supplement my ministry habit.

My ”great reception” in IYM began in February of 2005. I have been warmly received into churches, homes, and pulpits. Quakers sometimes have a bad reputation of stifling leaders, but from day one my leadership has been welcomed and honored. I’ve often said that the perceived leadership crisis in the church may actually be a “followership” crisis – leaders who suffer from a lack of cooperation. This has not been my experience in IYM! Thank you. I hope your pastor enjoys a great reception in your church.

-Doug Shoemaker

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