IPC hosts an annual Alternative Christmas Market every November in Fellowship Hall. The Alternative Christmas Market is a different kind of shopping experience. Gifts are purchased in honor of family members and friends in a market setting. Instead of buying a department store gift for your friend or loved one, a shopper at this market can make a donation to any one of a number of organizations in honor of that person to provide food, clothing, educational materials, disaster relief etc. After making a donation, a shopper receives an attractive card they can present to the recipient telling him or her about the unique present given in his or her honor.

B.R.E.A.D

Building Responsibility, Equality and Dignity (B.R.E.A.D) is an organization of 46 religious congregations of various faith traditions: Baptist, Pentecostal, Jewish, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Unitarian, UCC, Disciples of Christ and others. The group formed in September of 1996 at the Covenant Assembly to put their faith and values into action and to work on issues of justice and equality in Columbus in the areas of housing and neighborhood reinvestment, health care, reading and education, crime, jobs, public transportation and leadership development.

Some of the accomplishments of B.R.E.A.D. include working with the City of Columbus and Franklin county to establish the Columbus/Franklin County Affordable Housing Trust Fund, as well as, winning a commitment from Dr. Rosa Smith to offer the proven, research based Direct Instruction reading program in the Columbus Public Schools. They also won a commitment from Mayor Greg Lashutka to implement Project Clean Sweep on the Near East Side of Columbus in 1999.

For more information about B.R.E.A.D. you can contact them via phone at 614-258-8748, via fax at 614-258-8759 or by mail at 1015 E. Main Street, Columbus, OH 43205.

B.R.E.A.D. MISSION

The mission of the B.R.E.A.D. organization is to draw together people of faith to act powerfully to address local community issues through processes of relationship building, direct action, and negotiation with decision-makers. The organization is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, non-partisan, does not provide any direct services nor does it accept government money for it's internal budget.

B.R.E.A.D. ISSUE ACCOMPLISHMENTS

B.R.E.A.D. and B.R.E.A.D. member congregations have taken successful action on several community issues in it's ten plus years of existence. Each of these issues has affected the quality of life in our community; several issues have affected permanent changes that have a long-lasting impact on Columbus. Listed below is a sample of some of the issue victories of the organization:

B.R.E.A.D. issue accomplishments

B.R.E.A.D. ACTIVITIES, ANNOUNCEMENTS, NEWSLETTEE

    • Nehemiah Action Meeting - Congregation Tifereth Israel, 1354 E. Broad Street — May, 2007

Children's Center

The Indianola Children's Center operates as a service to the community and church members. Working with the Interfaith Center for Peace, it seeks to create an atmosphere where children and adults from divers settings can grow socially, emotionally and cognitively while also learning and utilizing nonviolent means for dealing with conflict. The intention of the school is to:

• Foster peacemaking and conflict resolution skills that will help children develop respect, concern and reverence for the well-being of themselves, others, and the natural world;

• Provide families with young children quality educational experiences that will encourage children to reason, question, imagine and explore;

• Increase the accessibility of such experiences to low-income and single-wage earning families;

• Encourage and promote the family unit.

 For more information please call Stephanie Schultheis at 614.262.1090

OSU Men’s Conversational English

This group meets on Friday mornings from 9:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. during the academic year, here at Indianola.

The program is
•    To promote friendship and understanding between international men at OSU and
      the community.
•    To help develop ease of conversation.
•    To provide information about educational and cultural activities in the community.

The meetings are informal and are designed to provide a welcoming environment for men to become more proficient in spoken English.  There is NO Charge for this program.  For more information on this program please contact the church office or e-mail This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
International women meet at University Baptist Church, for more information on this program please call 294-6333.

Geneva Hills

Geneva Hills is set in the hills of southeastern Ohio, just an hour from Columbus, serving the people and churches of Scioto Valley Presbytery.

Committed to providing campers a wonderful opportunity to grow mentally and spiritually in a year-round camp and conference facility.  Ipc hosts annual outings to the facility for its families to provide a time of worship and fellowship.  To learn more about Geneva Hills and its facilities, visit its website at www.genevahills.com.

EcoTeam

IPC organized an "EcoTeam" in the fall of 2001, after interest was generated from the Religion and Environmental adult education series.  This group is part of a county-wide program sponsored by the Solid Waste Authority of Central Ohio and is based on a national program guided by an organization called Global Action Plan.  To learn more about the initiatives these groups take, visit www.globalactionplan.org on the web.

Interfaith Center for Peace

Indianola Presbyterian is a partner for The Interfaith Center for Peace which opened in 1982 as a community education program dealing with many issues of peacemaking.  Today, the Center is known throughout the United States for its work in conflict resolution and peacemaking education.  The Interfaith Center for Peace is an independent non-profit educational organization.  For more information on the center's mission and work, visit their website at www.peace-center.org

Medical Benevolence Foundation

IPC supports the Medical Benevolence Foundation (MBF).  It provides support for medical personnel, as well as equipment, supplies and financial aid to hospitals, medical outposts, and clinics outside the United States.  This support is generated for the medical mission work of the Presbyterian Church (USA).  For more information on the work of the MBF, visit the website at www.mbfoundation.org

 Neighborhood Services

IPC is a sponsor of Neighborhood Services, Inc. and helps provide the necessary donations that give assistance to those in need in the community. NSI exists to maintain a food pantry as first priority but also provides emergency and material assistance to the needy, an understanding presence for clients, and advocacy and linkage services for people who need help.

 Thailand Outreach

Indianola Presbyterian has established a "Sister Church" relationship with a congregation in Thailand. In 2007 a delegation from our congregation will visit Thailand and participate in services at the church.

College Students

Indianola Presbyterian Church has a century-old tradition of interaction with and within the Ohio State University community.  IPC's founder, William Oxley Thompson, was President of the Ohio State University at the time this church was established, and both the OSU Main Library and IPC's Thompson Lounge are named after him.  His initial efforts of creatively fostering and enhancing meaningful interrelationships among church, university, and community remain proactive and robust today.

University faculty and staff have worshipped at IPC over the years and continue to do so, along with alumni and current students.  IPC persists in seeking to serve the changing specific interests of students, faculty, and the university community.  In Spring 2001, IPC sponsored a two-day "Cartoon Theology Weekend" featuring the Reverend Robert L. Short, author of The Gospel According to Peanuts, and Professor Lucy Caswell of OSU's Wexner Center.  For examples of ongoing efforts related to the university community, IPC...

    * hosts a highly independent undergraduate student group;

    * experiments with mechanisms for developing programming targeted toward graduate students and young professionals;

    * in Spring 2002, initiated a quarterly series of "Up the Road from Jericho Road" late night (midnight - 3am) breakfasts for students (the May 2007 breakfast attendancewas 815)

    * owns and maintains three ministry houses in the immediate vicinity, where students who want to live in a safe, drug- and alcohol-free, Christian environment may do so

    * works with the university area churches in other university-related ministries

Of course, IPC also seeks to involve university students, faculty, and staff in all of its program opportunities.  There are opportunities to...

    * participate as students and leaders in Sunday School programs and other educational programs

    * participate in chancel choir and bell choir

    * serve actively on various committees, such as the University Relations and New Members Committee

The IPC congregation is a multi-generation fellowship where everyone can worship, work, and play together among people who care for each other.  Caring parent- and grandparent-age folk also help make church time a "Home-Away-From-Home" time, while fostering the independence needed for growing into the many facets of adulthood.