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15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |
Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the banquet.

Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the banquet.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders and guests on Monday night.

Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders and guests on Monday night.

Each cluster leader was recognized on Monday night. Here, standing, is Steve Clulow, who pastors the UB church in Cochranton, Pa.

Each cluster leader was recognized on Monday night. Here, standing, is Steve Clulow, who pastors the UB church in Cochranton, Pa.

The current and former bishops led in the prayer time that concluded the Monday night banquet.

The current and former bishops led in the prayer time that concluded the Monday night banquet.

L-r: Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, and Micheal Dean, pastor of the UB church in Sabetha, Kansas.

L-r: Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, and Micheal Dean, pastor of the UB church in Sabetha, Kansas.

Dr. Mike Dittman was the keynote speaker for the Tuesday morning training.

Dr. Mike Dittman was the keynote speaker for the Tuesday morning training.

On January 13-14 (Monday and Tuesday), 22 cluster leaders met in Huntington, Ind., for the annual Cluster Leader Training. Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries, organized and led the event. Bishop Phil Whipple was also involved in leading the meetings.

The meeting began Monday evening with a banquet sponsored by Huntington University. Also attending were various denominational officials and spouses, plus all four of the former bishops–Ron Ramsey, Paul Hirschy, Ray Seilhamer, and C. Ray Miller. After the meal, the new president of HU, Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, spoke to the cluster leaders and guests about the work and mission of the college.

Then came a time of recognition for the cluster leaders.

Cluster leaders oversee a group of 6-10 senior pastors. Todd Fetters had asked cluster members to write a note of affirmation and appreciation for their cluster leader, and many did. The comments were then compiled and presented in a nice folder to the cluster leaders.

At the Monday night gathering, one by one each cluster leader stood and was handed a folder by administrative assistant Cathy Reich. Then Todd and Lisa Fetters alternated reading one comment for each cluster leader. There was applause, and then it was the next cluster leader’s turn.

The evening ended with a prayer time. Bishop Phil Whipple and the four bishops emeriti stood in the middle, with the cluster leaders circled around them, and other persons forming an outer ring. The five bishops then took turns praying for the cluster leaders, their ministers, and the work of the United Brethren church in general.

Tuesday morning was spent in training. Mike Dittman, who heads up a ministry called Haven for the Heart, was the keynote speaker. He addressed “How to Cultivate a Transformational Cluster.” It was an information-packed morning. After a noon meal together, the event concluded.

On the UB Facebook page you’ll find a gallery of 75 photos from the event.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

The four-day Honduras Annual Conference started with 102 hours of continual prayer. Numerous people filled each hour from Saturday until the beginning of the conference on Wednesday, January 15.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

A 13-person construction team flew into Sierra Leone on January 9, and arrived at Mattru on Sunday, January 12.

The team includes several persons who are returning to Sierra Leone:

  • James and Michelle (Becker) Berg, along with a son and daughter. Michelle was a nurse at Mattru during the mid-1980s, and met James when he came to Mattru with a construction crew from Canada.
  • Nathaniel Burkholder. His parents, Dennis and Becky Burkholder, served at Mattru during the 1980s.
  • Jimmie Cole. His parents were missionaries in Sierra Leone 1967-1969.

They will begin renovations on Harmonie House, which housed missionary nurses until the rebel war began in the early 1990s. Among other things, the team will replace the roof.

Since roofs on other Mattru Hospital buildings also need to be replaced, Global Ministries bought welding equipment to make steel truss roofs. Thanks to termites, wood trusses last just 8-10 years. The welding equipment, which this team took with them, will also be used to develop a steel fabrication shop in Mattru to provide employment for some local UB people.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries, has arrived in Honduras to attend the annual Honduras National Conference meeting. He says they anticipate 200 pastors and delegates coming to La Ceiba for the four-day meeting, which starts Wednesday night, January 15.

15 Jan

January 15, 2014 |

When you submit a ministerial or local church report, you should automatically receive, by email, a copy of the report.

However, this function wasn’t working with the local church report. It’s fixed now. So if you previously submitted a local church report and want a copy, contact Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, and she’ll send you a copy of the one you submitted.

14 Jan

January 14, 2014 |

Jeff Bleijerveld, Director of Global Ministries

On December 15, 2013, violence erupted in the capital of South Sudan. The violence quickly spread, dividing the nation along ethnic and political lines. The conflict has resulted in well over 1000 deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees.

Christian Horizons Global (CHG), the organization with which we partner in Haiti, has worked in South Sudan for seven years and is in a strategic position to help. CHG operates out of five centers in South Sudan, three of them near the capital of Juba. Mark Wallace, a United Brethren minister and member of the Global Ministries Leadership Team, leads CHG.

Neil Cudney, pastor of the Mill Crossing UB church in Cambridge, Ontario, serves on staff with CHG. He writes:

“We’ve had 1,5000 people show up at our centres seeking refuge. The personal stories I’ve been getting out of South Sudan are utterly heart breaking. One of our pastors saw children shot right in front of him because they were from the ‘other’ tribe. After the soldiers left, their school friends carried the bodies away. I can’t fit this in my head! My heart is broken…such great gains were being made in our disability work there.”

CH Global has worked in South Sudan for seven years. Since the nation became independent in 2011 (separated from Sudan), CHG have worked with church, community, and government leaders in various programs. It is heartbreaking how quickly things have changed in the past month. CHG’s local staff and partners face immense challenges as they try to serve where there is a severe shortage of basic life essentials.

At CHG’s two-acre training facility in the rural region of Kejo-Keji, 3000 people have come under the CH Global banner looking for support. Children are baking under the hot sun with no shade or water.

Though the need is overwhelming, CHG is in a unique position to respond. Their local South Sudanese staff and volunteers are in strategic locations to provide such basic life-sustaining needs as food, water, and latrines. CHG’s main priority is to areas where there is no United Nations or non-government-organization (NGO) support.

Global Ministries wants to help. A gift of $29.50 can provide for one individual for the next month. Less than $30 can sustain a life.

Any gifts sent to Global Ministries will be passed on directly to CH Global without any administrative fees being levied, just as we always do with relief projects. Be sure to indicate that your gift is for “South Sudan Relief.”

10 Jan

January 10, 2014 |

India_inside

During the three-week January term, 11 Huntington University students are returning to India for the third year in a row to serve at the Home of Love orphanage in Chennai.

The trip, led by Dr. David Alexander (right) and his wife, Gen, has been one of the most successful service trips in HU history.

Home of Love is an orphanage for Indian girls at risk of living on the streets or getting involved in prostitution. Students have raised thousands of dollars for the orphanage in past years in addition to leading Bible studies and performing on-site construction.

10 Jan

January 10, 2014 |

Bishop Phil Whipple sent a note of appreciation to Darwin Dunten, senior pastor of First Church in Findlay, Ohio. Every year, local UB churches must submit a report to the bishop’s office. First Church was, well, the first church to submit their report for the 2013 year.

Licensed United Brethren ministers are also required to submit reports about their own ministry during the year. A number of ministers have already submitted their reports.

All annual reports can be found on the UB website. All of them can be filled out online, or downloaded to be filled out on a computer and then returned by email or FAX. Reports are due by February 15.

10 Jan

January 10, 2014 |

Victor Mojica (left) has been named senior pastor of Clearview UB church (Goshen, Ind.), effective January 1, 2014. He takes the place of Hubert Schmucker, who retired after 36 years of service in the United Brethren denomination.

Milt Herrold (right) has been appointed senior pastor of Macedonia UB church (Greencastle, Pa.), following the retirement of Gayle Ruble, Sr. Herrold previously pastored the UB church in Orrstown, Pa., 2004-2011. He then left to take a position in Vermont with Child Evangelism Fellowship.

10 Jan

January 10, 2014 |

Norma Newbraugh, Living Water UB church (Winchester, Va.)

Living Water UB church (Winchester, Va.), a congregation of about 25 people, again prepared shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and contributed to a local organization that provides food and gifts for Christmas for the needy in our community, as we customarily do.

This Christmas we also “bought” gifts from the Samaritan’s Purse catalog. For each item purchased, a photo or drawing of the item was hung on the sanctuary tree in addition to the usual ornaments. We were blessed to be able to provide:

  • Baby chicks for 3 families to start raising eggs.
  • Seeds and tools for a poor farmer.
  • A dairy animal for two families.
  • A work animal.
  • Food for a child for a week.
  • Blanket for a refugee.
  • Hot meals for a week for one person.