Seated, l-r: Derek Bostick, Dan Henley, Jim Bolich, and Cherie Finkey. Photo by Matthew Ciccocioppo of the Shippensburg Sentinel.

Four members of the Prince Street church staff (Shippensburg, Pa.) took a pie in the face on July 18. It was all a belated part of the church’s Vacation Bible School, which this year used the theme “Amazing Wonders of Aviation.”

This year’s charity was a local food pantry. As an incentive, this year they offered to throw a pizza party for the kids if they met the goal. By day 3 of the 5-day VBS, the goal was met. So, to motivate them further, they told the kids that for each $100 raised, they would get to put a pie in the face of a church staffer. In this order:

  • $200: Derek Bostick, vacation Bible school master of ceremonies.
  • $300: Dan Henley, pastor of youth and worship ministries.
  • $400: Jim Bolich, senior pastor.
  • $500: Cherie Finkey, director of children’s ministries.

By the end of VBS, the kid had raised $825. Which meant four pies in four faces.

Who, among the 100 children attending, would get to throw the pies? They decided it would be the kids who brought the most friends to VBS.

Although VBS was held June 10-14, these four staffers wouldn’t all be together until July 18. So that’s when the pie-throwing occurred. The staffers sat in chairs on the sidewalk behind the church. Pies were thrown, and with each one, the children roared with laughter.

James E. Reiber (right), 74, passed away Saturday, August 25, 2012, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Born in New Castle, Pa., he worked as a Fixed Wing and Helicopter Mechanic in the U.S. Army from 1958 to 1978. He married Karen Sue Cassidy in 1972, and she passed away in 2009.

Reiber was ordained as a United Brethren minister in 1997, when he was pastoring Mill Chapel UB church in Reedsville, W. Va. At the time of his death, he was a member of Union Chapel United Brethren church in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Surviving are five children, including son Gary, who is senior pastor of Union Chapel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Funeral Details

Visitation: 4-6 pm Monday, August 267, 2012.
Funeral service: 6 pm Monday, August 27.
Visitation and Funeral location: Union Chapel United Brethren Church, 12628 Coldwater Rd.

Rev. Wayne Goldsmith will officiate at the funeral. Burial will be in New Castle, Pa. Memorials may be made to the Union Chapel United Brethren in Christ Church.

Through the generous gifts of donors, Project Compassion is able provide children infected with HIV/AIDS with a clean place to live where they will be cared for, comforted, loved, encouraged, fed, and educated. 98% of these children have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS and many of the children themselves will not live beyond their teen years.

If you’d like to know more about this program, contact Global Ministries by email or call 1-888-622-3019.

(If you are receiving this post by email, you will need to go to the original post on UBCentral to view the video.)

Joe Abu, senior pastor, Zion United African Church, Philadelphia, Pa.

Bishop John Pessima (right) is the bishop of the United Brethren in Christ Church in Sierra Leone, West Africa. When he came to the United States in the fall of 2011, some United Brethren churches invited him to speak. That was a blessing to the ministries in Africa and to their partners here in the United States.

As the representative of the UB Church in Sierra Leone to our partners in the United States and Canada, I am excited to announce to you that Bishop Pessima is scheduled to be here again in late October through November, and will be delighted to be your 2012 Thank Offering. Of course, you can invite him to preach or speak about Sierra Leone, too. He will be all yours!

Since I will travel to Sierra Leone for a leadership conference in early September, I kindly suggest that you contact me as soon as possible if you are interested in inviting the bishop speak at your church or group. First come, first served. I need to have all of this set up before leaving. This is my contact information:

Joseph C. Abu
172 W. Shelley Dr.
Claymont, DE. 19703
Email: jabu107087@aol.com
Phone: 267-240-9942.

Doug and Ruth Weber, after many years as missionaries in Ecuador, recently relocated to the United States. Doug wrote on his blog about attending a re-entry program for missionaries returning to the USA after living overseas for many years, and how they go through five stages: Settled, Unsettled, Chaos, Resettling, and Settled. He explained hos this process related to their own experiences as a family. Read his August 18 post, called “Through the Chaos.”

Huntington University will offer an accelerated pre-pharmacy track starting in the fall of 2012 to give students a head start on earning a doctorate degree.

Students will take 2-3 years of pre-pharmacy study at Huntington and then directly enter a four-year pharmacy doctoral program at another institution. In all, students will earn their doctorate degrees in pharmacy up to two years faster, without first having to complete a bachelor’s degree. A Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree is required to practice pharmacy in the United States, and the accelerated route is becoming more common among students.

The university is also launching a new bachelor’s program in pre-athletic training this fall, and is developing a master’s and doctoral-level program in occupational therapy.

Tim Sherman (right) has been named senior pastor of Bethel UB church in Elmore, Ohio, effective September 17, 2012. He previously served 7 years on staff at Mt. Zion UB church in Wayne, Ohio (1993-2000), five years with a Reformed church in Michigan. Since 2005, he has served on staff at Mainstreet Church in Walbridge, Ohio.

Mike Soltis has resigned as senior pastor of Mt. Zion UB church (Wayne, Ohio) effective August 11, 2012.

India has a population of 1.15 billion and it’s estimated that 2.3 million are currently living with HIV/AIDS. These are staggering figures. A majority of these persons come from poor homes living from what they earn on a daily basis.

The Home-Based Care program was started to help a small group of very carefully selected families from among the poorest of the poor, ranging in age from 20 to 40. They are in need of comfort, counseling, and guidance in how to live with the situation they are facing.

Currently, 65 families come once a month to receive counseling and a medical checkup. Possible admission is given if needed. A meal is provided, giving them time to share their problems with persons facing the same situation and to speak to counselors.

Gifts and donations enable us to provide monthly provisions. In addition to providing hope, we give them rice, lentils, sugar, soap, toothpaste, and tea to bring a partial measure to hope to a small family. The cost is just $20 a month for the entire family. If you’d like to know more about this program, contact us by email at UBGlobal, or call 1-888-622-3019.

The Women’s Team is looking forward to hosting this year’s Women’s Conference in beautiful Shipshewana, Ind. Reservations are filling up quickly, but we want to give you some incentive to register more women from your church.

For a limited time, every registrant will have an opportunity to be entered into a drawing for a $100 Visa Card. This offer is good now until August 27, when our room block is lifted.

Check out all the details of this event–2 nights lodging, meals, speaker and worship music, as well as some “down time” to take in some shopping or other activities. And now a chance to win $100!

Don’t worry. If your group has already registered, they will also be entered into the drawing.

Act now! Spread the word to the women at your church!

Learn more about the Women’s Conference and register.

Jeff Bleijerveld (right), Director of Global Ministries

Three weeks ago, on Thursday, July 19, a sighting of the crescent moon marked the beginning of the ninth month in the Islamic lunar calendar: Ramadan (or Ramazan as some pronoun it). During Ramadan, observant Muslims worldwide abstain from food, drink, and sex every day from dawn to dusk. It’s also a time of great feasts, from each evening’s iftar, or fast-breaking meal, to the three days of celebration that conclude the month. This festival, known as Eid al-Fitr, is characterized by visits to friends and neighbors, toys and carnivals for children, and family meals in restaurants and cafés.

Ramadan ends on August 18, 2012. During the final week, they celebrate what is called the “Night of Power.” That’s when, according to the Quran, Heaven opens up for a period of time, and anyone who is praying at just the right moment may receive great blessings from God. On the Night of Power, hundreds of thousands of Muslims stay awake all night praying.

What a tremendous time to be praying that God would reveal himself to them and invite them to become followers of Jesus.

If you’d like to know more about Islam, read the article about Islam on the UBGlobal website.