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An early morning fire destroyed the home of Danny and Dorothy Bailey and their two children. All escaped without harm, though son Steve, 18, was treated for smoke inhalation after trying to save some possessions.
The Baileys are members of Fountain United Brethren Church in Keyser, W. Va. The church is collecting food and clothing for the family.
In light of the process every church is going through currently in signing the National Conference Covenant, some questions are being asked for clarification. The National Conference Covenant consists of eight statements which churches must agree to; the senior pastor and board chairperson sign it for the congregation, and the bishop signs it on behalf of the denomination. We thought it would be good to give answers to the most frequently asked questions about the covenant.
1. Do we have to sign it to remain a United Brethren Church?
Yes. In 2005, we chose to move toward being a proactive church that is held together by a common commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission and our common adherence to the Confession of Faith. We also moved from being purely hierarchical to more of an association of churches. The covenant is our way of making a mutual, on-going commitment to each other.
2. What is the 3.5% fee?
A part of the covenant is the agreement to contribute 3.5% of all non-missions, non-building fund monies as a partnership fee. This fee enables us to provide help to each local church through support services, coaching, resourcing, and leadership training. It is a small investment in each other.
3. What does it mean to partner with like-minded churches (point 5)?
The concept of partnering with like-minded churches involves working with other churches that share our passions. They may be UB or non-UB. The idea is that you work in cooperation with others to accomplish the greater good. Some churches may be passionate about the work in Sierra Leone or Honduras. It may be that two churches, though not located geographically close to each other, may partner to build a church or housing unit, or to support starting some new ministry in one of those countries. There could be many variations to the theme of partnering together. A cluster may decide to jointly plant a church and the constituent churches contribute prayer, people, or money to see it happen.
4. What does it mean to support the ministries of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA (point 8)?
This is considered by some to be more of a programmatic issue than a covenant issue. Support may be as little as praying for those ministries, or as much as funding them at a high level. That is up to the goals and desires of the local church and its mission. There is nothing mandatory in this provision.
5. What happens if our church doesn’t sign the covenant?
By choosing not to sign the covenant, your church is choosing to withdraw from the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA. If you don’t return the covenant at least 90 days prior to the National Conference, a process outlined in the Discipline, paragraph 602.2, kicks in. It starts with the cluster leader (or other elder appointed by the Bishop) arranging a congregational meeting (at least 60 days prior to the National Conference) to determine if it is, indeed, the desire of your church to withdraw. If a majority of the church’s members at that meeting determine not to sign the covenant, the church shall be considered to have withdrawn from the Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA.
6. What are the ramifications of withdrawing?
Here are some of the key ramifications.
7. Is it possible that the bishop would choose not to sign our covenant?
Yes, that is possible, but it would likely happen rarely.
If you have any other questions, please give the Bishop a call.
Huntington University has appointed Margaret Winter as the director for the new Department of Nursing. Winter will begin her position in the fall of 2007.
“The excitement of Huntington University and the community for a nursing program was obvious and contagious during my interviews,” Winter said. “There is a good deal of support for beginning this program, and I am looking forward to the challenges and the achievements that will be a part of this developing opportunity.”
For six years, Winter has taught in the Olivet Nazarene University Department of Nursing. Her specialty area is obstetrics, though she also teaches transcultural nursing and supervises pediatric clinicals. Prior to coming to Olivet, she taught nursing at Indiana Wesleyan University as adjunct faculty and at Scott Community College in Iowa. In addition to teaching at Olivet, Winter works at Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Ind., on the obstetrical unit and in the Day Surgery Department.
Winter holds a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Illinois and a Master of Science degree in nursing from Northern Illinois University. She is a doctoral candidate at Nova Southeastern University in Florida.
“Margaret brings both clinical and educational experience to our program,” said Dr. Norris Friesen, vice president and dean of the university. “I am not only impressed with her experience but also her commitment and passion to teach nursing. Margaret has a heart for missions and views nursing as a vital way to communicate the good news of the gospel.”
Winter is a pastor’s wife and works with her husband at the Church of the Nazarene in Peru. She is an advocate against child abuse and gives lectures on Shaken Baby Syndrome.
“Margaret comes to us with a wealth of experience in teaching, missions and service,” said Dr. Pat Pierce, interim director of HU’s nursing program. “She understands the Christian ministry of the university as well as the discipline of nursing and is an outstanding role model.”
Four social work students at Huntington University completed January Term in Phoenix, Ariz., working in a community neighborhood ministries program and in a local agency called Southwest Leadership Foundations.
Emily Risser, senior social work major, gave 10 days of volunteer service at the Neighborhood Ministries program where she worked with children in the surrounding community who attend a daily boys and girls club.
Mack Miller, Nicole Callaway, and Jenna Rumple, all junior social work majors, were assigned to Southwest Leadership. Miller and Callaway provided service to the organization’s community center called the KEYS. Callaway worked in a preschool for children ages two to five, and Miller worked in an afterschool program for kindergarten through third graders as well as in the youth development program for at-risk and adjudicated youth. Rumple worked in the recovery from homelessness program call The Bridge, which is a “hands-on” assistance program for at risk families to recover from homelessness for up to two years.
This meets the requirement for completion of their junior social work practicum. The area of Phoenix was chosen to provide a diverse culture experience for students to assist them with gaining a perspective of the Hispanic culture. The trip was coordinated through Food for the Hungry, which is headquartered in Phoenix. Jamie Fiedler, a UB endorsed missionary serving with Food for the Hungry in Phoenix, provided staff support for the trip.
Dick and Donelle Raab were honored on their last official Sunday as pastor of Richfield Road United Brethren Church on Sunday, January 28, 2007. After a carry-in dinner, a program in which people from four of the five churches they served spoke concerning memories of their associations with them. They have retired after 42 and a half years of pastoral ministry and will be living at 1914 Jack Pine Ct. in Dorr, Michigan.
The account in our church history of Otterbein attending a “Great Meeting” at Isaac Long’s barn and meeting Martin Boehm has remained a favorite story ever since I first read it while a student in UB Church History. Early this morning I was awakened, and not being able to get back to sleep, for some reason this story came to my mind. I came to the office early, pulled down a copy of Drury’s Life of Otterbein, and read again of the encounter of the two founders of our denomination.
For those not familiar with United Brethren history, the event occurred on Pentecost Sunday, 1767. On that day Otterbein attended this “Great Meeting” and for the first time heard Boehm preach. Drury records it this way:
Mr. Otterbein listened as Boehm unfolded the truths of the gospel; as he uttered with exulting freedom and resistless force truths that his own mind and soul, through deep pangs and struggles, had apprehended. As Boehm concluded his sermon, and before he could sit down, Mr. Otterbein, moved by an overpowering conviction of newfound fellowship in the truth, clasped Boehm in his arms and exclaimed, “We are brethren!” (pp 116-117).
Dick Thorp has been named senior pastor of Calvary UB church in Bridgeport, Mich.
King Street Church in Chambersburg, Pa., held seven services on Christmas Eve Sunday. The total attendance was 3,034.
In January, Jonathan Ford became Pastor of Worship Arts at King Street. A graduate of Nyack College, Ford has been serving as Associate Pastor of Worship and Family Life at First Baptist Church, Clayton, N. J., since 1995. Ford will shepherd the entire worship ministry, providing direct leadership at two of the four worship services.
Our good friend and mentor Bruce Dreisbach has a new book out entitled Out of the Belly of the Whale. You can get a copy of it along with his other resources at LifestyleWitnessing.com. Bruce’s premise is this: “The greatest underlying reason for the lack of evangelistic fruitfulness on the part of the American church is a fundamental misunderstanding about how God reaches lost people.” I can’t agree more.
In one chapter, Bruce speaks about “God’s job and our job.” It is a clear and simple understanding of what the Holy Spirit does in our lives and what we are responsible to do. For example, we have need of money. God’s job is to provide what we need. Our job is to be a good steward of what He provides for us, do our work as unto the Lord, and share with others who are in need and come across our path. Our job is to hunger and thirst after righteousness, and study to show ourselves approved. His job is to fill us by guiding us into all truth. To do our ministry we need healthy bodies. Our job is to eat right, exercise, and be good stewards of the bodies He has given us. His job is to be with us and care for us when those health challenges come.
There are so many other examples. I suggest you get Bruce’s book to explore how we can get back on track to truly be following God’s plan for reaching lost people. It is interesting that the issue today is not that God is failing to do His job. As James MacDonald observed on a recent podcast (Walk in the Word), we fail to do our part and then when things don’t seem to work, we blame God.
So, how’s it going? How well are we doing our part? We are committed to doing all we can to help us all answer this question.
Mark Story, Executive Director of Rhodes Grove Camp (Chambersburg, Pa.), has announced The Ecclesiastes Institute, a new program designed to help UB ministers (and others) fulfill their continuing education requirements. The first course will be March 27.
“The Ecclesiastes Institute is a new branch of ministry at Rhodes Grove. Our desire is to facilitate your need for continuing education by offering CEU courses at Rhodes Grove in partnership with Lancaster Bible College. The Ecclesiastes Institute was created to give our educational initiatives an official introduction to the Cumberland Valley.
“The first Ecclesiastes Institute course is being offered on Tuesday March 27, 2007, at Rhodes Grove from 10 am – 3 pm, with a buffet style lunch included. Rev. Earl ‘Buck’ Summers, M.S., will teach ‘Introduction to People Helping: A Course in Christian Counseling.’ Participants in the course will receive .5 CEU and a Certificate of Participation from Lancaster Bible College.
You may also visit www.rhodesgrove.com (click on Ecclesiastes Institute) to download a flyer or learn more about this exciting new program. At a minimum, we hope to offer two CEUs per year to satisfy your continuing education needs.”
