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08 Apr

April 8, 2015 |
Matt and Jodi Coppess and children.

Matt and Jodi Coppess and children.

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

For the second year, Bishop Phil Whipple created an NCAA bracket on ESPN and invited UB ministers, missionaries, and national office staff to participate. A total of 73 persons filled out brackets. Of those, 44 picked Kentucky to win, 11 picked Wisconsin, and 7 picked Duke. Six persons got the Final Four right, but none of them picked a Wisconsin vs. Duke final, and none of them picked Duke to win it all.

Bishop emeritus Paul Hirschy was solidly in the lead going into the Final Four. However, both of his teams (Kentucky and Michigan State) lost on Saturday, so Paul dropped out of contention.

The winner was a new guy: Matt Coppess. In October 2014, Matt became Pastor of Family Ministries at Heart O the Lakes UB church in Brooklyn, Mich. He finished with 1400 points, 30 points above second-place finisher James Hippensteel, Pastor of Congregational Care at The Well in Huntington, Ind.

Congratulations, Matt! And welcome to the United Brethren family!

Matt is an interesting guy. He grew up in Lansing, Mich., and for a good part of his childhood attended the UB church in Sunfield, Mich. In Lansing, he was part of Youth for Christ groups directed by another UB, Trent Bushnell.

Matt always wanted to become an officer in the military, and to play football at one of the military academies. His good grades and gridiron skills provided two choices: West Point, or the Air Force Academy. He says he chose West Point because his hero, George Patton, wasn’t in the Air Force.

Matt played offensive tackle for three years at West Point. He spent one summer serving at Fort Benning, in Georgia, as a drill sergeant.

Then, in a wrestling class, Matt injured his shoulder. Badly. He returned to Lansing to spend a year on medical leave, trying to rehab the shoulder, and then went back to West Point. Matt knew his shoulder was still messed up, but he tried to fake it. However, doctors saw through it, and said his shoulder wasn’t good enough for military life.

So, back to Michigan. He finished his studies at Michigan State, and embarked on 20 years with Youth for Christ. He started with ten years in Lansing, where he developed student leader curriculum and supervised both paid staff and volunteers. In 1999, he married Jodi Traynor, a 1996 Huntington University graduate with a degree in youth ministry. She served on staff with Lansing YFC for ten years, 1995-2005.

In 2005, after the birth of their first child, Jake, the Coppess family moved to Saginaw, where Matt served as executive director for Great Lakes Bay YFC. Cristin and Zach joined the family in 2006 and 2009.

After nine years in Saginaw, Matt took a YFC position in Tuscaloosa, Ala. But Matt grew weary of fundraising. After a year, he learned about a staff position open at Heart O the Lakes. He was familiar with the pastor, Kevin Cherry, who had previously pastored the Sunfield church. He applied…and there they are.

28 Mar

March 28, 2013 |
Roxie Stahl

Roxie Stahl

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

Roxie Stahl, 88, passed away March 18, 2013, at a retirement community in North Manchester, Ind. She spent 26 years working for Huntington University, 1964-1990, serving as editor, publications director, and public relations director.

Like many former Huntington University students, not to mention the numerous faculty and staff who worked alongside her, I have very fond memories of Roxie.

First of all, Roxie was clearly a highly talented writer and graphic artist. She was a book illustrator and graphic artist before joining the college staff, and did chalk presentations for churches and organizations across the Midwest. At Huntington University, she juggled many responsibilities in what was basically, in those years, a one-person communications shop. She could wear all of the necessary hats, cranking out quality material in whatever genre was needed.

But I also remember, with gratitude, the interest she took in me as a student. Sure, it helped that I liked to write and that she knew my parents (Dad worked with her at the college for a couple of years). But she just enjoyed students, and thrived in the college environment. I always found her pleasant, personable…and Christ-like.

In my case, Roxie took a special interest in developing my writing ability. She found great pleasure in sending some of my campus writings to Huntington and Fort Wayne newspapers, and was absolutely thrilled–more thrilled than I was, I think–when something appeared with my byline. She, along with the amazing Edwina Patton, continually encouraged me and nudged me toward a career in writing.

After I graduated and began working in the United Brethren denominational office as editor, I worked with Roxie on a professional basis for ten years. She continually supplied me with quality articles to use in our publications, and with whatever else I needed to tell the story of the college. And the encouragement never let up. When I landed articles in other Christian publications, I would want to tell Roxie, because I knew she would be both interested and proud.

Roxie, as I think about it, was somewhat of a mentor to me, though I never thought of her that way until just now.

A memorial service will be held April 13 at 2pm at Grandstaff-Hentgen Funeral home in Wabash, Ind.

15 Jan

January 15, 2013 |
Bishop Phil Whipple teaching the "Leading a Governing Board" class. The screen in the back of the room shows persons attending remotely.

Bishop Phil Whipple teaching the “Leading a Governing Board” class. The screen in the back of the room shows persons attending remotely.

On January 15, 2013, 27 persons attended a glass on “Leading a Governing Board,” taught by Bishop Phil Whipple. The course was held at the Healthy Ministry Resources building in Huntington, Ind. Of the partipants, 17 attended in person and another 10 attended remotely, by video, from four different locations.

“Leading a Governing Board” is a requirement for ordination in the United Brethren church, though anyone is welcome to attend.

07 Dec

December 7, 2012 |

Steve Holtrop as Santa and Lori Garde, program assistant for the graduate counseling program, as Mrs. Claus.

Dr. G. Blair Dowden, president of Huntington University, makes a stop at the treats table in Shelly Francka’s office.

Kristi Welker, online admissions counselor, and Tanya Horvath, admissions counselor for professional programs, are among the elves.

Kristi Welker, online admissions counselor, and Tanya Horvath, admissions counselor for professional programs, are among the elves.

The Healthy Ministry Resources staff takes it turn at the sweets table. L-r: Bishop Phil Whipple, administrative assistant Cathy Reich, Finance Director Marci Hammel, and Global Ministries administrative assistant Peggy Sell.

The Healthy Ministry Resources staff takes it turn at the sweets table. L-r: Bishop Phil Whipple, administrative assistant Cathy Reich, Finance Director Marci Hammel, and Global Ministries administrative assistant Peggy Sell.

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

The Healthy Ministry Resources national office in Huntington, Ind., shares its building with the Huntington University Division of Graduate and Adult Studies. The graduate school moved to our building back in 2001, and a local nonprofit organization rented out offices in the back of the building. The HU EXCEL Adult Degree Programs moved into the latter offices about five years ago. With just a dozen employees on the United Brethren side, we have plenty of room to spare.

On one side of the building are the main offices for the Masters programs (Counseling, Education, and Youth Ministry), including the office of the guy in charge, Steve Holtrop (left), Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs. Then in the back of the building are the offices for the EXCEL Adult Degree Programs. They have four offices, into which they cram a lot more than four people. Shelly Francka (right), whose office is just around the corner from mine, is Director of Professional Programs (meaning, I guess, in charge of EXCEL).

It’s been a great relationship. The HU folks are fun and friendly, they laugh a lot, and they tolerate us when we UBs get far too noisy. And, most important of all, whenever they bring food, they invite us to partake.

During this Christmas season, the university ran a little office-decorating contest. Eight entities–the Registrar’s office, the library, the business office, the food service, the department of nursing, the Learning Center, the President’s Office, and the graduate/adult programs–participated.

Our friends in the UB Building really went to town. They decorated all of the doors, put up a bunch of Christmas trees (three of them just down the hall from me), adorned walls, and generally made the place very festive. To get in the spirit, we in Healthy Ministry Resources decorated our doors, too.

Then, today, people went around to the various offices. For the Division of Graduate and Adult Studies, the alotted time was 1-3 pm. Shelly Francka had way too much sweet stuff on a table in her office, with a punch bowl in the hall. On the other side of the building, people got their pictures taken with Santa Claus, aka Steve Holtrop. Most of the staffpersons were dressed as elves. I tell you, they went all out.

During our regular afternoon break, the Healthy Ministry Resources staff was invited to Shelly’s office, where a massive sugar rush awaited.

We don’t know how the voting will turn out yet. We certainly hope our friends in the building will win. They deserve it.

06 Nov

November 6, 2012 |

Steve with the Wright Brothers’ photos at the Air and Space Museum (but not quite in tune with the serious expressions required in photography back then).

(Sorry for the glare)

Steve Dennie, Communications Director

In October, Pam and I enjoyed a few days of vacation in Washington, DC. One of those days was spent mostly at the Air and Space Museum.

In the Wright Brothers exhibit, I was surprised, but delighted, to find the name “Church of the United Brethren in Christ” printed at least three times in connection with Wilbur and Orville and their father, Milton, who was a United Brethren bishop. I snapped some photos as proof. There was also a photo of the 1900 General Conference, with Bishop Wright standing front and center.

So, church and state–or at least our church–are not entirely separated at the Smithsonian.

04 Oct

October 4, 2012 |

Early October is always a time of denominational meetings at the national office in Huntington, Ind.

  • The Pastoral Ministry Leadership Team met this past Monday and Tuesday (October 1-2, 2012). Lee Rhodes, pastor of Countryside UB church (Breckenridge, Mich.) is the chairman.
  • The Global Ministries Leadership Team meets today and tomorrow (October 4-5). Kurt Uhen, a layperson from Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.) is the chairman. This group is a joint venture of the US and Canadian national conferences (2 of the 10 members are from Canada).
  • The Executive Leadership Team meets next Monday and Tuesday (October 8-9). Bishop Phil Whipple is the chairman. This is the highest governing body between sessions of the US National Conference. The ELT will be looking at a number of proposals for changing the Discipline, which the US National Conference will then consider in June 2013.
  • The Higher Education Leadership Team meets October 17. J. Michael Caley, pastor of Banner of Christ UB church (Byron Center, Mich.) is the chairperson. This team provides oversight of Huntington University.

18 Sep

September 18, 2012 |

At the national office in Huntington, Ind., we’ve had a small public bookstore for 30 years. Most business involves shipping Sunday school materials to UB churches throughout the country. But for local people, and for visitors from out of town, we had the walk-in bookstore.

However, the public bookstore is closing within a couple months. There will no longer be a room in which people can browse for materials.

We will continue carrying and shipping Sunday school literature, and will continue ordering Bible study books upon request. We will also have available:

  • A variety of United Brethren items (certificates, booklets, etc.)
  • GROW materials.
  • VBS materials.
  • Bulletin and envelope services
  • Communion supplies

Jane Seely will continue as manager of the marketing operation. To place an order, you can reach Jane in these ways:

E-mail, jane@ub.org,
Phone, 260-356-2312 ext. 314,
Fax 260-356-4730

Or, stop in the building and ask for Jane Seely.

On October 1, we begin an inventory reduction sale to get rid of the materials in the bookstore. We’ll have 25% off of books, gifts, and other non-UB items.

Thank you for all your support in the past. We hope to continue to service you in the areas listed above.

02 Apr

April 2, 2012 |

Frank with little Levi.

Peggy Sell (holding Levi) and Ginny.

Frank Y, associate director of Global Ministries, celebrated a birthday on Thursday, March 29. But he received a special surprise that afternoon, when his wife, Ginny, showed up with infant son Levi, who was born in October.

It was also a surprise for the rest of the office staff. We knew Ginny was coming, but none of us had yet seen Levi.

Plus, Ginny brought bagels from Panera Bread.

07 Feb

February 7, 2012 |

Lots of thread for Elizabeth

Elizabeth opening her parting gifts. (click to enlarge)

Food is required whenever someone joins or leaves the staff.

On February 2, Elizabeth Holtrop concluded 8 months of service on the Healthy Ministry Resources staff, working in the bookstore. During that time, she shipped hundreds of boxes of Sunday school literature and other items to churches across the country. But she decided to move to Indianapolis, sharing a house with her brother and sister and making her way in Indiana’s  Big City.

The staff said goodbye to her with a Pizza Hut meal brought to the office. Since she likes to sew, she was given several gifts of thread and other related items.

Elizabeth graduated from Huntington University in 2011 with a degree in History and Political Studies. Her father, Steve, is dean of the Huntington University Graduate School.

It was a joy to have Elizabeth with us, with her big smile and eternally sunny disposition. We wish her well.

11 Jan

January 11, 2012 |

Terrell Sanders is president of MainStreetOpen, a web development company that played a major role in creating UBCentral.org and UB.org. Last week he sent out a “Website Audit Checklist.” He recommends taking a good look at your church website a couple times a year, and there’s no better time than at the beginning of the year.

  • Verify that your contact information is still accurate. We’re talking church name, address, phone numbers, email addresses, etc.
  • Verify that the content is current. Go through all of your pages. Is there info that needs to be deleted or updated?
  • Verify that your staff information is current. Check names, phone extensions, emails, family descriptions, etc. Is it time for new staff photos?
  • Verify that all links work. This means links to pages in your own site (including all navigation links), and links to other sites.
  • Verify that all programming works. Test functions like contact forms, database lookups, and other bells and whistles.
  • Make a site backup. Store it on a CD or a different server than the one which hosts your website.
  • Check for security updates. If you use a content management system, the software may need some security updates.
  • Most important: Verify that your site still makes a good first impression. Many potential visitors will check out your website before coming for a visit.