APRIL 2015 MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF CASTLETON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Our mission is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the world. Castleton UNITED METHODIST CHURCH We are called to be an outward facing circle of people; seeking, reaching and welcoming others to join us in serving Jesus Christ. WORSHIP Sunday Morning Services Castleton Worship Center (CWC) 71st & Shadeland Traditional - 8:30 and 9:40 am (ASL Interpreter at 9:40 am) Contemporary - 11 am Sunrise Worship Center (SWC) 75th & Oaklandon Blended - 10 am Adult Sunday School - 9 am CONTACT Castleton United Methodist Church 7160 Shadeland Station Indianapolis, IN 46256 317.849.2947 317.849.8595 fax www.castletonumc.org He Has Risen! “He has risen indeed!” I love the tradition of shouting these words out on Easter Sunday. What a great truth to live by. Over the past couple of months I have had the distinct pleasure of meeting with our fifteen confirmation students. During one of our sessions I stressed the importance of Jesus’ resurrection and posed this question: “If we do not have ‘Easter’ what do we have?” After a bit of hesitation one of our confirmands quietly responded as if they were just discovering a truth for the first time…“nothing.” I am not sure what I was expecting their answers to be but for some reason this answer not only struck a chord with me but with everyone in the room. Without the resurrection we have nothing. The Apostle Paul tells us what our confirmands discovered, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.” 1 Corinthians 15:17 Easter is a big deal in the life of the church and for a really good reason. Jesus the Son of God conquered death and by doing so gave life to all of us. Jesus talked about giving us life abundantly and that life extends, amazingly enough, past death. The Resurrection is incredibly important not only to our faith but to how we live our lives. Every Sunday is a “mini-Easter” celebration. We are called to live our lives in the shadow of the hope that we declare in the resurrection of our Lord and Savior. If we were to truly embrace the truths of the resurrection how different would our lives look? Would we be more loving and less critical? Would we be more focused and less distracted? Would we be more open to acts of kindness? Yes, the simple answer is yes. We would be more like Christ in every facet of our life if we truly embraced the resurrection. This must start (and end) at the empty tomb. Our God conquered death so that we might have life, and let us not dare waste a second of this gift. I do not know about you but I am thankful beyond measure for such a gift and I cannot help but yell, HE HAS RISEN! Let us go and share the Good news to all who will listen. Office Hours 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Mon - Thur 8:30 am - 3:30 pm Fri Prayer Chapel 6:00 am - 9:00 pm Daily Stephen Ministry Care Line [email protected] 317.284.0834 Childcare Needs 317.284.0814 Newsletter Announcements [email protected] Billy Nickrand, Associate Pastor Youth Sunday - May 3, 2015 Please join us in worship services on Sunday, May 3 as we celebrate God’s work in the lives of teenagers at Castleton United Methodist Church. Phao Student Ministries students will be leading all aspects of morning worship through music, testimony and worship. We will also be recognizing high school seniors throughout the morning in a special way in the narthex as well as during the 11am service. Special envelopes will be available on May 3 for you to include your yearly special gift to student ministries missions. The money collected from this offering will go to support our summer Phao GO week local mission trip, go towards our scholarship fund which allows students to participate in our mission trip who could not otherwise participate, and support our summer intern. This is our only student ministries fundraiser all year—thank you so much in advance for your tremendous prayer and financial support. We cannot wait to share with our church family on May 3. Frank Beard, Senior Pastor Matt Lipan, Associate Pastor and Pastor at Sunrise Billy Nickrand, Associate Pastor Jackie Chandler, Pastoral Counselor Wayne Derr, Director of Operations Stephanie Riebe, Director of Student Ministries Katie Gilbert, Director of Children’s Ministry Jeff Wright, Director of Music Ministry Jonathan Cruz, Director of Contemporary Worship APRIL 2015 MONTHLY PUBLICATION OF CASTLETON UNITED METHODIST CHURCH Spring GO Weekend Our Spring GO Weekend will take place April 25, 2015. This is a great chance to love on our community! We will be reaching our community in several ways. We are having a Mother’s Day Luncheon at the Womens Prison, Cleaning and chores at Ahepa, Drive Through Prayer, Skiles Test Clean-up, and Castleton Campus Cleanup on that day. Register online at castletonumc.org/springgo or in the narthex on Sunday Mornings. Stephen Ministry Workshop Want to learn to care for people who are grieving and reach out to others in a distinctively Christian way? On Saturday, April 25, 2015 we will host a Stephen Ministry Introductory Workshop from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall. Registration begins at 8:00 a.m., and refreshments will be served. 2 Great MAD Performances! Thank you to Brenda Morrow, Susan Reed, Cindy Dinwiddie, Libby Turner, Neva Price and ALL MAD Parents and children, for all the hard work they put into making two amazing Music, Art and Drama Perfomances! Your hard work was much appreciated by all in attendance! Culinary Collage Take a bite out of poverty by attending the Culinary Collage on Sunday, May 3, from 1-4pm at the University of Indianapolis (Schwitzer Student Center, 1400 E. Hanna Ave.) This is Fletcher Place Community Center’s annual (and only) fundraiser for 2015! Come hungry and enjoy samplings from Santorini Greek Kitchen, Pure Eatery, La Margarita, Kroger, Starbucks, City Barbeque, Ella’s Frozen Yogurt, Kim’s Bakery and others. Afternoon festivities include a live and silent auction, prize raffle, cooking demonstrations, live animal show by Silly Safaris, and more. Admission: Simply bring a $10 gift certificate from Kroger (to be used in the Fletcher Place Food Pantry) or pay $15 at the door. Children 12 and under free. Fun for the entire family! One reason we’re so excited about helping other congregations learn about Stephen Ministry is that it is making a significant difference in the life of our own congregation. Since we began Stephen Ministry 31 years ago, 129 laypeople from our congregation have gone through 50 hours of training in order to provide quality one-to-one Christian care to hurting people. In the course of that time they have served over 250 care receivers. If you think you might be interested in being a Stephen Minister or would like to learn more about this ministry in order to help us reach more people, attending the workshop is a great way to learn more. Members of Castleton UMC are invited to attend the workshop free of charge. However, it is still important to pre-register so that we will have plenty of materials on the day of the workshop. Please register online at castletonumc.org/stephenministryworkshop. Our Sympathy And Prayers Tony and Julie Miller and family on the passing of their nephew, Derek Miller, March 21. Services were held in Seymour, IN on March 24. Carol and Rick Thorne on the passing of son-in-law, Craig Schuetta, March 23. Services were in Tuscan, AZ on March 28. Rev. Karen and Dr. Steve Powell. Karen’s father Charles Karth passed away Wednesday, Feb. 25 in Springfield, OH. Karen’s brother, Marshall Karth passed away March 5 in Philadelphia, PA. A memorial service is planned for a later date. Mark Your Calendars Looking Ahead April 4 - 10am Easter Egg Hunt April 5 - Easter Services April 19 - Confirmation Sunday April 25 - Go Weekend May 3 - Youth Sunday May 28-30 - Indiana UMC Annual Conference (downtown) June 15-19 - VBS July 16-18 - Fish Fry find us online castletonumc.org
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