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16 Nov

November 16, 2022 |

Courtney Waterman joined the UB Global team as an associate director on November 1, 2022. She and her husband are members of Emmanuel Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind.

Courtney grew up mostly around Buffalo, New York. She attended her first Bills game at age five and rejoices at the team’s current success.

Courtney attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind., where she earned an Economics degree. There, she met her husband, John, a fellow Economics student. After seven years in Chicago, they moved to John’s hometown of Fort Wayne, where he took a position in his father’s company.

After doing tech consulting for a number of years, Courtney went to cooking school and then ran her own catering business for a few years. Then she returned to consulting, and during the past 12 years worked for Salesforce.com.

John and Courtney began attending Emmanuel Community Church about 13 years ago. There, she became deeply interested in missions, going on short-term trips, joining the missions team, and serving in volunteer and board leadership at various nonprofits.

For about five years, Courtney had been praying, “God, I love my job and enjoy the people, but you know my interests and skills. If you have something else for me, make it happen.” So when Frank Yang contacted her about joining the UB Global team, she was ready. The position matched her skills with her passion for missions.

Frank said, “I’m excited about Courtney joining the UB Global team. Her decades of non-profit leadership, involvement in many short-term mission trips, leadership on the church missions board, and her management and leadership experience as a director of Salesforce will be a great asset to our team.”

03 Nov

November 3, 2022 |

Bishop Todd Fetters and Samantha Essig

Sam Essig (right) with her predecessor as administrative assistant to the bishop, Cathy Reich, at the farewell luncheon.

In August 2021, Samantha “Sam” Essig came to the United Brethren National Office as administrative assistant to Bishop Todd Fetters (that’s the two of them in the first photo above). She took the place of Cathy Reich, who had held that position since 2007 and was moving into semi-retirement with a new role as Events Coordinator.

Sam has been a perfect fit for this office–talented, personable, fun, energetic, a self-starter, and brimming with ideas to make us more effective. She’s a Huntington University graduate with deep roots in the United Brethren church. So we’re really, really sad to see her go.

Sam has accepted a job as Care Coordinator with Pathway Community Church in Fort Wayne, Ind., a very large Missionary Church congregation. She starts Monday. Sam and her husband, Jake, live in Fort Wayne and attend Pathway, so it’s a good fit. It’ll certainly be a much shorter commute. We know it’s a good opportunity for Sam, and we’re glad for her. But good help can be hard to find, and Sam has been far better than good. She’s been great.

Last week, the UB National Office staff held a farewell luncheon for Sam, with gifts. It was a good time. Her predecessor, Cathy Reich, came to help say goodbye. Friday, November 4, is Sam’s last day at the UBNO.

We are grateful to Sam for her time with us, and for the many ways she has sharpened us and contributed to the ministry of the United Brethren Church. We wish Sam the best, and know God has good things in store for her.

02 Nov

November 2, 2022 |

Dr. Paul R. Fetters

Dr. Paul R. Fetters, 88, of Fort Wayne, Ind., passed away early Monday morning October 31, 2022, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Paul lived out Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain” in his leadership roles in the Church, ministerial education, and family, which he loved deeply.

Visitation: 4-8pm Friday, November 4, 2022.
Visitation location: Myers Funeral Home Huntington Chapel, 2901 Guilford Street, Huntington, IN 46750.
Funeral: 10:30 am Saturday, November 5, 2022. Viewing one hour beforehand.
Funeral location: College Park United Brethren Church, 1945 College Ave., Huntington, IN 46750.

Dr. Fetters was an ordained minister in the Church of the United Brethren in Christ and served churches in Indiana, Pennsylvania, and Ohio. In 1972, he founded the Graduate School of Christian Ministries at Huntington University and taught theology and Bible for over 45 years.

He is survived by his wife Barbara, whom he married in August 1956, three sons, eight grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren.

Dr. Fetters was born in 1933 in Celina, Ohio. He graduated from Huntington University in 1955, and from the HU Theological Seminary in 1959; he was ordained that year as a United Brethren minister. He went on to earn a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary in 1980.

His pastoral ministry began in 1954 as pastor of Calvary UB church in Rockford, Ohio, followed by a year at Hopewell UB (Auburn, Ind.), and then 1957-1962 at Third Street UB in Fort Wayne, Ind. (now Anchor Community Church). He pastored a United Methodist congregation in Pennsylvania for two years while working on his MDiv at Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He then returned to pastoring UB churches for eight years: 1964-1966 at Park UB (Bluffton, Ind.), and 1966-1972 at Kettering UB (Dayton, Ohio).

In 1972, Dr. Fetters moved to Huntington to found the Graduate School of Christian Ministries, a new paradigm for training UB ministers. He served as dean of the GSCM for the next 25 years. He then stepped down as dean, but continued teaching fulltime at Huntington University at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

Over the years he served as general editor for several books related to the United Brethren church, including Trials and Triumphs (UB history), Theological Perspectives, and two volumes about UB bishops since 1889. He also wrote various other UB materials for the denomination–curriculum, booklets, pamphlets, and articles.

Paul and Barbara’s three sons are ordained United Brethren ministers and currently live in Huntington. Brooks is a former UB pastor, church planter, and two-term mayor of Huntington. Luke, a former UB church planter and missionary in Macau, is now Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Faculty at Huntington University. Todd, a former UB pastor in Michigan and Pennsylvania, has been bishop of the Church of the United Brethren in Christ USA since 2015.

Interment will be at the Mt. Hope Cemetery in Huntington.

Memorial donations can be made out to Paul Richard Fetters Scholarship at Huntington University in care of Myers Funeral Home, 2901 Guilford Street, Huntington, IN 46750.

Other funeral information can be found on the Myers Funeral Home website.