The United Brethren Association’s Annual Ministry Leadership Resource Day is coming up. The deadline for registering is May 3.

There is no cost to attend the seminar. Fees associated with lunch and Sunday night lodging are on this downloadable PDF brochure.

Date: Saturday, May 11
Time: 9 am – 3 pm
Location: Rhodes Grove Camp & Conference Center.
Address: 7693 Browns Mill Road, Chambersburg, PA 17202

This year we are welcoming Brotherhood Mutual who will guide the presentation.

Morning Session Topics

  • Top Legal Trends Facing Churches Today
  • Safety & Security
  • Medical Preparation and Response
  • Human Resource Concerns

Afternoon Session Topics

  • Protecting Ministry Assets
  • Cyber Security
  • Public Relations
  • Government Scrutiny
  • Religious Liberty

Expect to receive lots of great information applicable to leaders in all areas of ministry. Anyone in any leadership position at your church is invited to attend. Please help us spread the word!

Register online here.

The Buchanan church, with walls going up around the existing church.

The walls going up at the Buchanan church.

Earlier this month, the Liberia Missions District conducted a seven-day pastoral leadership training event in which 35 pastors and lay leaders participated. Bishop Moses Somah was thrilled with the number of participants. The mission district, which is under the supervision of Sierra Leone National Conference, currently has nine churches.

Also in Liberia, reconstruction of the Buchanan United Brethren Church is underway. As you can see in the photos, the congregation continues meeting in the old building, while the walls for the new building are going up around it. Buchanan is the second-largest city inf Liberia.

Michael Mudge, pastor of Bethany House of the Lord, a United Brethren congregation in Cumberland, Md., wrote about the Buchanan project on March 27.

“The building was destroyed a year ago in a windstorm and replaced with a make-shift replacement. Last fall, during the U.B. Connected event at Rhodes Grove Camp, churches of the United Brethren in Christ were challenged to raise funds to build a new sanctuary.

“The last check from pledges made in November was received at UB Global last week. Total raised for this project from UB churches in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia exceeded $14,600! Total giving during the event exceeds $32,000!”

L-r: Connie Bonner, Luke Fetters, Jerry Davis, Kay Schwob.

Huntington University announced these personnel changes during the past few months.

Connie Bonner was promoted to Vice President for Finance and Treasurer, effective March 1. She was the Controller for the university 1991-1998, and in 2013 returned to HU as Controller and Director of Financial Services.

Dr. Luke Fetters was named Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs. He had served as interim dean since 2018. He is an HU alumn, an ordained UB minister, and a former UB missionary in Macau. He has filled a variety of roles at HU–teaching undergraduate classes in the ministry and missions department, teacher and curriculum writer for the EXCEL and professional programs, professor of graduate ministry courses, and founding director of HU’s Institute for TESOL Studies. More recently, he used his expertise in intercultural communication and ministry to develop HU’s Global Studies office.

Dr. Jerry Davis returned to the faculty as Director of Clinical Experience. He taught in the graduate counseling program 2007-2017, and has spent the past two years as clinical programs manager at Parkview Behavior Health in Fort Wayne, Ind. He is looking forward to sharing with students the new clinical insights and experiences he has gained.

Kay Schwob was named Director of Development. She has worked at Huntington University for 18 years, including the past two years in the Advancement Office as senior director of advancement operations, and most recently as interim director of advancement.

Dr. Robert Hale

Dr. Robert E. Hale, Professor Emeritus of Physics, died March 27, 2019, at age 90. Dr. Hale served Huntington University for 37 years beginning in 1961. Well loved by students and faculty, he was voted Professor of the Year twice.

Lamar and Karen Crumbley as missionaries in Honduras.

Karen Crumbley, 82, a former UB missionary in Honduras and Macau, died March 26, 2019. She and her husband, Lamar, were finishing a cruise to celebrate their 51st anniversary when Karen suffered a massive heart attack during the night.

Lamar and Karen Crumbley were missionaries in Honduras over a 15-year period beginning in the late 1970s, and also served a short-term stint in Macau in 2003.

A memorial service will be held at 3 p.m. Tuesday, April 9, at the Shoal Creek Baptist Church in Canton, Georgia.