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21 Nov

November 21, 2019 |

Rev. John Mark Rutledge, 78, passed away just before midnight on November 19, 2019, at Parkview Regional Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Viewing: 1-4 pm Sunday, November 24, 2019.
Memorial service: 4pm Sunday, November 24, 2019.
Location: Ketcham-Ripley Funeral Home in Rockford, Ohio.

Mark grew up in Van Wert, Ohio, and graduated from Huntington College and later St. Francis College in Fort Wayne, Ind., where he earned his Master’s degree. He is survived by his wife, Kathleen, and their two sons. He and Kathleen were married October 19, 1963.

Mark worked in public education for many years–as a high school guidance counselor, principal, and superintendent. He also held various pastoral positions at United Brethren churches, going back to 1962: the Willshire and Zion churches in Willshire, Ohio; Otterbein (now New Horizons) in Rockford, Ohio; and Mt. Victory in Decatur, Ind. His most recent UB position was associate pastor of Praise Point church in Willshire. He was most recently pastor of Rockford Belle Community Church in Rockford.

Memorials may be directed to The Rockford Belle Community Church. You can view his online obituary here.

20 Nov

November 20, 2019 |

Tomorrow, November 21, is Day of Giving for Huntington University. The goal is to raise $100,000 on this one day. The Forester Fund supports 93% of students with scholarship assistance.

Keep these matching gift challenges in mind when you make your gift to Huntington University.

Dollar for Dollar: The first $5,000 in total gifts will unlock a matching gift of equal amount. Double your gift by giving early in the day!

First 50: Start the day off right by being one of the first 50 gift-givers. The 50th gift of the day will unlock a $15,000 matching gift!

Foresters Across the Country: Turn your part of the United States green by being the first from your state to make a gift. Every time five states turn green, we’ll unlock $1,500 in matching gifts.

Brand New: New to the Forester Fund? This is the challenge for you! The first 20 first-time gifts on Day of Giving will unlock a $5,000 matching gift.

Set the Pace: Lead the way by making a gift of $1,000 or more. Your gift will set the pace for Day of Giving and grant you membership to the Pacesetter Society, complete with special perks throughout the year. Even better, the first 10 Pacesetter-level gifts will unlock a $10,000 matching gift.

Tomorrow, November 21, a giving form will be available on this page.

16 Nov

November 16, 2019 |

Rev. Chuck McKeown (right) praying for the persons being ordained during the 2019 US National Conference, including (on the left) his son Josh and his wife, Julie.

We need to mobilize prayer for Rev. Josh McKeown, pastor of Faith UB church in Port Orange, Fla.

Josh was diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia in 2010, and went through an experimental clinical trial at the M. D. Anderson cancer center in Houston. For the past nine years, he has been taking the same chemo drug, and the cancer has been held in remission. But in August, their insurance company said they would no longer cover the cost of that particular drug, and required that he switch to a cheaper alternative chemotherapy. The result, his wife Julie explains, is that he began experiencing certain symptoms and tests show that the number of cancer cells in his body increased for the first time in nine years.

Julie wrote, “His symptoms are horrible, and his oncologist has never seen an increase of this amount while still taking chemo, which may indicate that his cancer has mutated and grown resistant to the chemotherapy.” He did lab work this week to determine if he developed this mutation, and hope to have the results in a week or so. “If Josh hasn’t developed the mutation, then they will try to get him back on his old chemo. But then we have to figure out a way to pay for it. His chemo is $12-14,000 a month depending on the dose.”

Julie continues, “I can’t event put into words how much pain Josh is in. It breaks my heart.”

Please keep Josh and Julie in your prayers. Josh was among the four men ordained in July 2019 at the US National Conference. He has been doing good work at Faith UB church since being stationed there in August 2017.

Cards can be send to:
Josh McKeown
1650 Center Ave
Holly Hill, FL 32117-1514

05 Nov

November 5, 2019 |

L-r: Randy Magnus, Mark Wallace, Matthew Robertshaw, Brian Magnus, Neil Cudney, Jeff Bleijerveld.

Christian Horizons presented Excellence in Action Awards to the United Brethren of Canada and the United States. It recognizes their sponsorship of children in Haiti and participation in ministry to special needs children and adults. The awards were presented by Mark Wallace and Neil Cudney, both leaders of Christian Horizons and United Brethren ministers

05 Nov

November 5, 2019 |

The US Thanksgiving is just around the corner. By now, all UB churches should have received bulletin inserts and any additional materials requested in advance of this year’s missions offering.

The focus this year is on raising funds to help our international partners join us for General Conference. The meeting will be held March 14-18, 2020, in Jamaica. Each country does all it can to raise as much, if not all, of what’s needed to pay their way. Your gifts will serve to supplement what may be lacking.

This conference becomes increasingly strategic as more of our fellow United Brethren engage in mission ministry beyond their borders and in some cases beyond their continent.

Use this link to download a short video that describes the project. It can be used in the weeks prior to and including Thanksgiving Sunday.