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IYM Sunday 2023 will be on April 30th. This is a time where IYM asks the churches and meetings to highlight the work God is doing with us, together, in IYM and celebrate that work. And, some churches use this as an opportunity to take up a special offering to put towards the IYM
fundraising efforts. If that date does not work for your church, feel free to choose another Sunday (please let the IYM office know about these changes). If your church would like to invite a special IYM speaker for IYM Sunday, please let us know this as well. A virtual packet of
information, including a new video, for IYM Sunday will be available soon.
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Pastor Gatherings - Dates and Locations: March 16 at Farmland Friends, April 20 at Portland Friends, and May 16 at Kennard Friends. Times for each will be 10am to 11:30am. The topic for the March 16th gathering will be "prayer." All pastors are welcome! | |
The American Friends Service Committee has set up a relief fund to deliver emergency kits to help meet immediate needs of the victims of the earthquake in Syria and Turkey. Click HERE to learn more and/or to donate. | |
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Please add the following information about an upcoming Youth Mission Trip to Kenya into your Sunday bulletin:
Eric Dale (IYM Missions Director) and John Muhanji (Africa Ministries Director of FUM) will be leading a team of Indiana and Kenyan youth on a unique and powerful missions experience in Kenya this summer. Expected trip dates are July 28-August 8. The trip is open to youth ages 14-22, as well as adult chaperones. Visit the IYM missions page at https://www.iym.org/page/missions to learn more and complete an application! Application deadline is April 16.
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Luke 10 Team to India: Please continue to pray for this team as they travel throughout India. Reports coming back from the team include some wonderful times of worship, some divine connec-
tions with pastors and leaders, and God moving in mighty ways.
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Charleen (Charley) Crouch, pastor at Peaceful Valley Friends for over 25 years, fell and broke her hip. She reports she is recovering well and out of inpatient rehab. She would appreciate prayer for a full recovery.
Mooreland Friends Church is sponsoring the Jenna Mosier Memorial 3on3 Basketball Tournament. It will be hosted at Blue River High School on March 18th,10am. This is an all-ages tournament, in support of the Jenna Mosier Scholarship. The scholarship is in memory of a Henry County student who lost her life seven years ago. All proceeds go to a scholarship benefiting Henry County graduates.
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Manantial de Vida will celebrate their first anniversary of the Marion area Spanish-speaking church this coming Sunday at Maple Run Friends beginning at 2pm with a meal to follow. All are invited!
Wabash Friends' Phil and Shelly Boone are holding a fundraiser chili cook-off in an effort to raise support for those going to Joni & Friends Family Retreat this June. The lunch will be after the 2nd service on Sunday, March 12th, in the Wabash Friends gym.
Dewart Lake Friends is hosting Mike Haemmerle for a special boat-in service on July 2nd this year!
Fairmount Friends Membership Class recently concluded. Ten membership applications have been received.
*If you want to see news and highlights for your church in the Communicator, send your information to iymcommunicator@gmail.com
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Do you know who this is? If so (or even if you don't for that matter), would you offer a prayer for him and his family today?
Email iyminfo@iym.org with your answer. We will feature another well-known member of IYM next month and reveal who he is.
This is one way we can continue to connect with one another, lift one another in prayer and be the Body of Christ together!
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The next Young Adult Retreat, also known as DIY Camp, is coming March 24-26. All high school graduates under 25 are welcome for a weekend of Christ, friends, and fellowship, as well as a bit of learning how to be successful in an adult life! | | |
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Friends Summit is a conference that is all about young adults and those who walk along side them having conversations that can change your life. It will take place December 28, 2023 through January 1, 2024 in Houston, TX. It is a gathering of young adults in the Friends movement that is designed to show young adults aged 16-25 how the reality of God's Kingdom is calling the Friends church in mission and engaging them with passion.
This mission is accomplished through worship, general sessions, workshops, and plenty of time and space for conversation. One favorite element of the conference is the Mentor/Advocate that comes to Summit with each young adult and is there to walk alongside that young adult. These Mentor/Advocates should be people that are spiritual leaders in the home meeting, folks who want to have mutually positive relationships with young adults. Most importantly, these mentors need to be people who want to advocate for young adults in their local meeting. If this is something that interests you, please reach out to young adults in your church and be ready to journey alongside them by attending Friends Summit with them.
If you have any questions feel free to contact:
Andrew Tuttle (765-613-2497)
Frankie Baldridge (765-625-1041)
Katy Moran (317-450-4712)
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Committee Day is this Saturday, March 4, at Marion First Friends, beginning at 9:30am. We will open our time with devotions and announcements in the sanctuary, and disperse from there to the various committees. Please remember this is the budget meeting, so committees are asked to work on their budget sheets early on in their meetings and get those to Stewardship and Finance as soon as possible.
Pastors' Gathering, March 16th, Farmland Friends, 10 am.
The last IYM/FUM Discussion meeting will be held at Lynn Friends on March 23rd, 6:30 pm.
YGB Camp (You're Getting Better not Older) hosted by Western Yearly Meeting (a +55 retreat) will be held Monday, May 22 - Thursday, May 25, at Quaker Haven, $250 per person. All the activities (except for meals) will be in Friendship Lodge so we can’t guarantee that all couples will have a room together, we may have to have dormitory-style rooming. The speaker will be Jane Howard, who is a former Quaker, and now attends the largest Nazarene Church in North America. She will lead us in devotions and also encourage us in our personal bible study and personal devotion techniques. There will also be worship every morning and every evening and a whole afternoon of free time! Mark Tope will be worship leader. For more information or to sign up, please contact Mark Tope at 336-226-9586 or at k9chester@gmail.com.
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From the Advancement Committee:
We are moving quickly through these winter months. Hoping you are living life well, friends. Here are the totals for our IYM 2024 budget fundraising efforts: We have received $78,416.68 in cash and $8,950 in pledges for a total of $87,366.68 -- tremendous! Thank you for your incredible generosity in supporting our ministries, services, and programs. If you have any questions and/or suggestions, just let us know -- dseacott@gmail.com or call 517-204-5348
From the Christian Service Committee:
We continue to consider what is happening in our IYM communities. The following is a ministry in Westfield serving women in need -- The O'Connor House, https://www.theoconnorhouse.org/
The O'Connor House Mission is to provide a Christian home to help single, pregnant, and homeless women to improve life for themselves and their children.
Please share with us what's going on in your church and in your community. Send information to Damon at dseacott@gmail.com
Keep changing the world with the love of Jesus Christ.
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March 4
Committee Day
Marion First Friends
9:30 am - 12:00 pm
March 6
Executive Committee
IYM Office
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
March 16
Pastor Gathering
Farmland Friends
10:00 am - 11:30 am
March 23
FUM Discussion Session #3
Lynn Friends
6:30 pm - 8:00 pm
April 20
Pastor Gathering
Portland Friends
10:00 am - 11:30 am
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A Message from our Superintendent | | |
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Good Morning,
As I was on my way into the Muncie office this morning, I was playing a worship music playlist,
and the song ‘Simple Gospel’ by United Pursuit came on. One refrain later in the song repeats this line: “I will rejoice in the simple gospel, I will rejoice in You, Lord.”
This got me thinking…what is the simple gospel? If we were to break it down to its most simple form, what would it include?
In Matthew 11, we read of John the Baptist, perhaps, having some doubts about who Jesus is.
From prison, John sent his followers to Jesus to ask this question, “Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?” (Matthew 11:3, NIV)
Jesus’ response is this: “Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor.” (Matthew 11:4-6, NIV)
Maybe this is as simple as it gets!
I would also not want to miss the opportunity to spend some time on these words…’what you hear and see’. It is almost as if Jesus is saying…’Take a look around. Can you not see and hear what God is doing through this ministry?’
So, as we consider the simple gospel in these words from Jesus, let us also consider what we are seeing and hearing of the work Christ is doing in and around us now!
-Pat Byers
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