09 Jul On This Day in UB History: July 9 (Jacob Howe)

Jacob Howe at his desk in the missions office in Huntington, Ind.

Jacob Howe on board a ship en route to Sierra Leone in 1914

Jacob Howe passed away on July 9, 1941. He was secretary of missions for 31 years, 1905-1936. That’s a longer stretch than any other missions director in our history. Sure, Daniel Flickinger went 28 years starting in 1857, and then came back in 1897 for another eight years, for a total of 36 years. But 31 unbroken years is a record. Howe was followed by George Fleming–a person he recruited as a missionary–who served 25 years as secretary of missions.

Very little is recorded in our history books about Howe. He was a minister from Canada…but that’s about it. He was elected at the 1905 General Conference held at Gaines UB church in Caledonia, Mich. That year saw a massive change in leadership, partly a result of a years-long controversy involving our publishing house. Milton Wright, Halleck Floyd, and Horace Barnaby, all of whom had served as bishops since 1889, all left office. We got a new publishing agent, a new denominational editor, a new president of Huntington College. And with the departure of Daniel Flickinger, General Conference elected Jacob Howe to lead our missions program.

Although we don’t know much about Jacob Howe, we can clearly see what he accomplished as secretary of missions.

He advanced the work in Sierra Leone, and kept it going through World War I and the Depression.

He recruited some outstanding missionaries–George and Daisy Fleming, Clarence and Erma Carlson, Lloyd and Eula Eby, Dr. Leslie Huntley, Abbie Swales, Martha Anna Bard. Clarence Carlson and Lloyd Eby would each serve eight years as bishop.

He launched the Sierra Leone field into medical work.

Although our work in China was spearheaded by the Women’s Missionary Association, Howe no doubt was involved.

Jacob Howe may be a forgotten giant.

06 Jul On This Day in UB History: July 6 (The Wrights)

Alan and Marilyn Wright with daughters Carol and Joanne.

Alan Wright and Marilyn Saufley, missionaries in Sierra Leone, were married July 6, 1963. Jerry Datema, then a missionary in Sierra Leone, performed the wedding.

Alan was born in London, England, and graduated from Exeter University. He felt called to serve as a teacher in Sierra Leone. He would become a physics teacher at Centennial Secondary School in Mattru.

Marilyn, the daughter of former Sierra Leone missionaries Charles and Ruth Saufley (1928-1932), Marilyn became a nurse. She wrote, “Having been reared by faithful Christian parents, I cannot recall the time when I did not believe in the Lord. I considered mission work a way to come closer to the Lord. Perhaps this fact, and an early impression that I should serve as a nurse in the country where my parents served, led me to my present position.”

Marilyn served at Mattru Hospital 1960-1963. After their marriage, she and Alan served together at Mattru for two terms, from 1964-1971. They both became members of Salem UB church in Chambersburg, Pa.

Alan passed away September 18, 2013. At the time of Alan’s death, he and Marilyn were living in Abbotsford, British Columbia.

02 Jul On This Day In UB History: July 2 (Martha Anna Bard)

Martha Anna Bard with two African children.

Martha Anna Bard passed away on July 2, 1996. During her 35 years in Sierra Leone, 27 of them as a United Brethren missionary, she raised several African boys. Some of them were her pallbearers at the funeral.

Martha Anna Bard

Martha Anna Bard, born in 1907, grew up on a farm near Corunna, Ind., and as a teen joined the Corunna UB church. She obtained what was called a “Normal” degree from Huntington College, and then taught school for a year. Then she went back for her bachelor’s degree, graduating in 1931.

During a special service at College Park church, Martha was among a number of students who committed her life to fulltime missionary service. Five other students made similar commitments during that service and went on to serve as UB missionaries in Sierra Leone: Mary (Bergdall) Huntley and Leslie Huntley (later Sierra Leone’s first real doctor for the UB mission), Erma (Burton) Carlson, Emma Hyer, and Charles Saufley.

Martha sailed for Sierra Leone in October 1931. She served as a teacher, then matron, at the Minnie Mull School for Girls at Bonthe 1931-1934 and 1937-1940. She returned to Indiana in November 1940 with war approaching.

Knowing the need for healthcare in Sierra Leone, Martha entered Indiana University’s nursing school and graduated as a Registered Nurse in November 1944. Two months later, she became the college nurse an an instructor at Huntington College. That continued until 1947, when she returned to Sierra Leone, this time as a missionary nurse at the dispensary in Gbangbaia.

Dr. Dewitt Baker lived two years at Gbangbaia. He wrote, “Throughout that part of the country, her work at the dispensary was widely recognized.”

In July 1965, Martha concluded 27 years as a UB missionary. She remained in Sierra Leone, but spent the next seven years working for the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company, which in 1964 had ventured into rutile mining in Sierra Leone. Then she retired, returning to her roots in northeast Indiana.

01 Jul On This Day in UB History: July 1 (Lake View Church)

On July 1, 1984, the Pioneer and South Amboy UB churches officially merged. It was the start of today’s Lake View church in Camden, Mich.

Bruce Strine, a UB preacher’s kid and 1977 Huntington College graduate, was assigned in July 1983 to his first pastorate: a circuit which included Pioneer and South Amboy, located six miles apart—one in northern Ohio, one in southern Michigan. Each averaged about 30 people.

Strine favored merging the two churches. It made good sense. However, he wrote, “Most of my parishioners considered merging a closed subject. It had been tried before, and many felt it should never be tried again.”

In February 1984, Strine met jointly with the two administrative boards and presented their options. Basically, they could continue struggling along as separate congregations, or they could join forces and, hopefully, become a strong, growing church. Strine, of course, recommended that they merge. And he had drawn up a four-phase proposal to make it happen.

Strine gave them three weeks to consider the matter. On March 13, 1984, each administrative board agreed. In one church, it was a 7-6 vote. But in the days and weeks ahead, people who had voted nay began to support it.

The two churches merged on July 1, and on August 15, a nearby UB church named Grace Chapel joined the merger. Three men from Grace Chapel were added to the steering committee, making it a group of ten, and Strine and George Kreger, Grace Chapel’s pastor, shared the title “co-pastor.” Strine noted that having three churches made it harder to draw up sides.

On January 1, 1985, the three churches began meeting at a neutral site. This moved everyone out of their buildings and cut all ties. All properties were sold.

On Easter Sunday—April 7, 1985—they broke ground for the new Lake View UB church in Camden, Mich. They had selected a central location—two miles from one church, four from another, and about eight miles from Grace Chapel. Six months later, they held their first service in the new facility, which seated 250-300.

Lake View, once three struggling congregations, quickly became one of the largest United Brethren churches Michigan.