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            Indiana Partners for Christian

                Unity and Mission     

 IPCUM Hunger Workshop:

CONGREGATIONS FEEDING INDIANA: PEOPLE, PANTRIES, PARTICIPATION.

                                April 17, 2010

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                                          LOCATION

LETTER FROM IPCUM  

SERVANT BOARD PRESIDENT

Rev. L. Cameron Manifold

I have heard the church defined as a community of shared suffering.  In a sense that

phrase defines the Servant Board of IPCUM.  We long for a sense of unity and

cohesiveness within the Body of Christ and suffer together knowing how far we are

from the realization of that vision for the church and the world.  That does not mean that

we are without hope or progress.  Some things are happening that give us the courage

and wherewithal to keep at the task of partnering toward Christian unity. 

As of this writing we have nine leaders registered for our leader’s retreat.  This

says that leadership has a vision of the church as a whole, rather than discreet

denominational units with no reason to be in contact with one another.  In a hard

economy it is tempting and easy to go into a bunker mentality in which we see a need

to protect ourselves and our turf from the onslaught of ‘enemies’ of other denominations. 

Leader’s willingness to attend the retreat is an acknowledgement that our individual

denominations and agencies are a part of the larger Body of Christ and we can benefit

from working side by side on our mutual concerns. 

We have had several successful Ecu-Camps over the past few years.  The young

people in the camp know that ecumenism is not as hard as we tend to make it.  While

their youthful enthusiasm is unaware of some of the issues involved they continue to

give us hope for the future as they learn together what it means to be a member of a

denomination as well as the whole Body of Christ. 

The Servant Board has begun the process of planning a conference on hunger and the

people who are touched by it.  Single focus, practical events seem to be one of the ways

to draw folks of diverse theology and practice into a place in which we can both learn

and work together for the common good. 

This is a frustrating time and place in the ecumenical movement as the Body of Christ

seems to be spread farther and farther apart on nearly every spectrum.  At the same

time there is a growing awareness of other faith communities as folks search for alternative

paths to God.  How do we work together despite our differences within the Body? 

And, how do we work together with those outside the Body while retaining our Christian

integrity and honoring the faith of the others? 

We are plagued by questions of energy and effectiveness even as we are filled with hope

for and openness to the future of the Body of Christ in Indiana. 

On a personal note, I am deeply grateful to all the folks who have a heart for ecumenism;

those on the Servant Board, those in positions of leadership in the various agencies and

judicatories as well as those who ache and work for the whole Church in a variety of settings. 

Your efforts and energies make my job possible, necessary and that much easier. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

For More Information Contact:

Indiana Partners for Christian Unity and Mission
P.O. Box 88790, Indianapolis, IN 46208
Phone: 800 - 746 - 2310
Internet:  president@ipcum.org

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