30 Sep 25 Students from Three Countries Attend Latest UB History Course

A record 25 people, including four men from Jamaica, attended the September 28-29 UB History course. The course, which is a requirement for ministerial licensing, was taught via Zoom. Bob Bruce, formerly a fulltime staffer at Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.), led the course. Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to the bishop, tended to the technical and administrative aspects of the event.

The Covid crisis has led to some unexpected discoveries. One is that face-to-face meetings are not always necessary. Various denominational groups, including the Executive Leadership Team and the UB Global board, have been holding meetings online. In the process, money is saved on travel, food and lodging, and members don’t spend many hours traveling back and forth.

The UB History Course is another example. The in-person course scheduled last spring was hastily converted to a Zoom course, and it went surprisingly well. So when another session was scheduled for September, it was designed from the start as a Zoom class.

Of the 25 students, all but two were taking the course for licensing. They included one person from Canada, four from Jamaica, and 20 from the United States. The latter included persons participating from Pennsylvania, Maryland, South Carolina, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois. There were 7 women and 18 men.

The format also allowed for guests to pop in and talk about an aspect of the denomination. They included Bishop Todd Fetters, Frank Y (acting director of UB Global), Jim Bolich (director of Ministerial Licensing), Steve Dennie (Communications director), Dr. Sherilyn Emberton (president of Huntington University), and Dr. Anthony Blair (president of Evangelical Seminary).