16 Jun New Website for Bethel UB
The Bethel UB church (Elmore, Ohio) has a new and very attractive website. Check it out at ExperienceBethel.org. Tim Sherman is the pastor of Bethel.
16 Jun 60 UBs Currently in Israel
Sixty people from three UB churches are currently in the Holy Land, June 13-23. The participants come from churches of the West Michigan cluster, which is led by Randy Carpenter, pastor of the UB church in Sunfield, Mich.
Half of the persons are from Homefront UB church in Grandville, Mich.; Josh Good, the senior pastor, is part of that group.
The remaining 30 are from:
- Banner of Christ UB church (Byron Center, Mich.). Pastor Mike Caley and his wife, Lynne, are among the group.
- Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.). Randy Carpenter and his wife, Crystal, are part of the group.
- Kilpatrick UB church (Woodland, Mich.). Pastor Darrel Bosworth and his wife, Barbara, are part of the group.
Tim Flickinger, pastor of a church plant in Lansing, Mich., is also participating.
The trip is led by Mike Caley (right). This is his third trip to Israel, and the second one he has led since 2010.
“Josh Good and I have headed this up, and it has grown out of the enthusiasm generated by dozens of folks at Banner and now HomeFront church who have attended our Grow in the Word courses,” says Caley. Grow in the Word is a discipleship curriculum written by Dennis Miller, pastor of Emmanuel UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind.
12 Jun Dr. C. Stanley Peters, 1923-2014
Dr. C. Stanley Peters, 91, passed away Monday morning, June 9, 2014, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. The funeral was held on Thursday morning, June 10, at College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind.
Stan, as everyone knew him, was a longtime member of College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. Beginning in September 1959, Dr. Peters served 22 years in the United Brethren national office overseeing our various publications. He concluded his service there in December 1981.
Stan is survived by his wife, Lola Lee. Just three days before his death, they celebrated 69 years of marriage. Also surviving are two daughters and a son, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Stan Peters grew up as a UB preacher’s kid. His father, J. Clair Peters, was managing a furniture plant in Hagerstown, Md., but resigned that position in 1926 to prepare for the ministry. He bundled up the family—wife and three children, Stan being the oldest—and moved to Indiana that year to attend Huntington College. Eighteen years later, Stan himself headed off to Huntington College, graduating in 1944 with majors in math and science. He then taught junior high and high school for two years.
In June 1945, Stan married Lola Lee Stites, whom he had met at college. Later that summer, Stan received his quarterly conference license to preach from the North Avenue UB church in Baltimore, Md. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Huntington College’s seminary in 1949, and was ordained in 1950 by Bishop A.M. Johnson. In 1974, Huntington College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree.
In 1948, while still a seminary student, Stan began three years as pastor of Third Street UB church in Fort Wayne, Ind. (now it’s called Anchor Community Church). The congregation, which had been meeting in a basement, erected its present sanctuary during that time. Next, he served the St. Paul-Winchester circuit of Monroe, Ind., 1951-53, and then spent a year on the Berne circuit of Monroe and Geneva.
In 1954, Stan and Lola Lee began an exciting five years starting a new church in Kettering, Ohio. A developer sold the conference a corner lot–just a corn field back then. Construction began on the parsonage and chapel. Stan, Lola Lee, and young daughter Renee lived with members of the Prescott Avenue UB church in Dayton for four months, using the upstairs and the basement, with their hosts in between. When the new pastor’s quarters were ready, the Peters’s furniture, which was in storage at the conference camp, was hauled to Kettering in a farm wagon.
Stan visited hundreds of homes in the area, forming a prospect list of over 200 names on whom he concentrated. The congregation grew steadily. In 1959, a Christian education unit was completed under Stan’s leadership.
After 10 years in the pastorate, Stan Peters accepted the editorship of the United Brethren publishing house in 1959. He followed Dr. George Weaver, who had decided to return to the pastorate (and would become bishop 10 years later).
Over the years, Stan had accumulated a variety of experience in many aspects of the printing business. While in high school, he worked for a local newspaper, gaining experience in nearly every aspect of the operation. He ran his own small printshop during his senior year of high school, using a small letterpress in the upper story of a bank back of their property to crank out letterhead, envelopes, calling cards, and other printing jobs. As a college student, he worked in the college printshop and later in the denominational printshop. He even worked as a pressman in Berne, Ind., while in the pastorate. So he had been around the business.
As editor, Peters wrote, edited, and designed the various publications, including the United Brethren magazine and the Sunday school materials for adults and youth. He also worked on special publications, such as the UB Discipline and the UB hymnal. He traveled throughout the US and Ontario promoting the magazine and Sunday school literature, and helped oversee construction of the new UB headquarters building in 1976.
Stan served the church with dedication and humility. He oversaw publication of 491 issues of the United Brethren magazine. He wrote the following as part of his final editorial in the December 1981 edition of the magazine.
“When God directed our path from the pastorate (the ministry of the spoken word) to editor (the ministry of the written word), I could not have surmised that God would have us serve in this capacity for nearly a quarter of a century…..Through the years I have been happy to serve the church in this capacity and sought to make the magazine an inspiring, informative, helpful, and unifying force in the denomination….”
12 Jun Update on Dave Stephens
Dave Stephens (right), an ordained UB minister who recently retired as director of Camp Cotubic (Bellefontaine, Ohio), posted an update on Facebook on June 11 about his ongoing struggle with cancer.
“Last week I had another CT scan to see how things were developing. Today the doctor told us that the area in the pancreas was smaller than before. He was encouraged with the entire scan. We are too. I’ve shared that I am pain and symptom free. I’m able to work at the camp every day. With the exception of chemotherapy days, I feel almost normal. I am so thankful for all your prayers and support.”
12 Jun Frank Strine Hospitalized
Retired minister Frank Strine was hospitalized yesterday, June 11. They will determine if he needs a pacemaker. Frank is the father of Devon Strine, pastor of Mount Pleasant UB church in Angola, Ind.
10 Jun Obit: Dr. C. Stanley Peters
Dr. C. Stanley Peters, 91, passed away Monday morning, June 9, 2014, at Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne, Ind. Stan, as everyone knew him, was a longtime member of College Park UB church in Huntington.
Beginning in September 1959, Dr. Peters served 22 years in the United Brethren national office overseeing our various publications–the United Brethren magazine, the UB Sunday school curriculum, and other materials. He concluded his service there in December 1981.
Funeral arrangements:
Visitation: 3-8 pm Wednesday, June 11.
Visitation location: Myers Funeral Home, 2901 Guilford Street, Huntington, IN 46750.
Funeral: 10 am Thursday, June 12.
Funeral location: College Park UB church, 1945 College Ave., Huntington, IN 46750.
10 Jun A Big Announcement from Scott Hardaway
Scott Hardaway and Noel Marquard.
Scott Hardaway has announced (on Facebook) his engagement to Noel Marquard. Noel teaches second grade at Chandler Christian Academy in Chandler, Ariz. Her teaching also experience includes four years in Senegal, West Africa.
Scott served 12 years as pastor of Pathway UB church in Jackson, Mich. His first wife, Tanya, died of cancer in October 2012, and the following year Scott stepped away from the pastorate in order to raise his two sons. He wrote at the time, “I’ve never met a pastor who was a single parent. Now I know why. I’m not saying it can’t be done, but I am saying I can’t do it.”
We rejoice with Scott, and Noel, as they begin this new chapter in their lives.
09 Jun Kyle McQuillen, Post-Cancer
Kyle McQuillen (right) and his wife, Marlouise, served as UB missionaries in Sierra Leone and later pastored the College Park UB church in Huntington, Ind. From 1993-2001, Kyle served as Director of Global Ministries. He and Marlouise then retired to a home in Edgewater, Fla., though Kyle has remained very active as a prison chaplain and on staff with Edgewater Alliance church.
In early 2012, Kyle was diagnosed with cancer, and thus began a long journey. On his Facebook page, Kyle gave a very positive update.
Kyle McQuillen
This week was marked by another milestone in my journey with cancer.
In January, 2012 I was diagnosed with lymphoma and began an exhaustive chemo treatment for the next several months until April 2012, when my cancer went into remission. However, by that time my immune system was totally compromised and I spent the next several months in and out of the hospital.
In August 2012, I began to recover but found it necessary to continue on “post cancer” treatment. For the past 22 months I have been receiving infusions each month of two treatments: IVIG, which is designed to build up the immune system; and RITUXIN, which is a cancer medication that interferes with the growth and spread of cancer cells in the body. These infusions have been administered through a port and generally take anywhere from 4-7 hours each.
This past Thursday, June 5th, was my final infusion. My immune system has fully recovered to pre-cancer days. For example, my platelet count had gone down to 17-25 at my low point. Now those platelets are at 230, which is where they ought to be! All my blood work is now normal, for which I praise God.
I am feeling great, working for the Florida Department of Corrections at Tomoka State Prison 55 hours a week and still on staff at my local church as visitation and member care pastor. Two months ago I started an exercise program of one full hour of swimming each day, and I love it! I’m 76 now and enjoying life as much as ever!
05 Jun UB Churches with Multiple Services
In April, a church that is considering adding a second service contacted the national office. They were wondering about the experience of other UB churches who were holding multiple services during the week. They were especially interested in how “traditional” services were faring in a multiple-service church.
The national office put up a survey, and a number of UB churches responded. Here is a compilation.
Findlay First (Findlay, Ohio)
Two identical services on Sunday morning:
- 8 am (35-50 people attend).
- 10 am (110-130 attend).
Comments:
“One issue that we have found that is very frustrating occurs when the first service needs to be cancelled for special services/holidays/etc. The first service people will not attend the second service. We have tried to address this, but there seems to be no response.
King Street Church (Chambersburg, Pa.)
Four services on Sunday morning:
- 8:15 am, sanctuary – traditional.
- 9:45 am, sanctuary– contemporary. Described on the website as “a modern worship experience.”
- 9:45 am, Baker Center – contemporary. Described on the website as “a rock-style worship service.”
- 11:00 am, sanctuary – blended.
The attendance at the traditional service has remained constant.
Fowlerville UB (Fowlerville, Mich.)
Three services on Sunday morning:
- 8 am – traditional (it’s not growing).
- 9:15 am – contemporary.
- 10:45 am – contemporary.
Comments:
“Adding another service is definitely more cost effective than building a bigger church. Other major advantages are greater opportunity to reach more people, less problems with overcrowding, more opportunities to tweak processes, and greater potential for growth.
“The disadvantages are providing volunteer staffing for all the extra programming, and a longer work day for paid staff. However, as long as the added service is healthily attended, the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.” (more…)
03 Jun 11 Persons Attending UB History Course
Bob Bruce, standing on the left, with the class members. Seated (l-r): Matthew Rhynehart, David Souers, Jeff Dice, Jeremiah Ketchum. On the screen (l-r): Mark Wallace, Jim Tice, James Gray, John Lightner, Jerald Jones, David and Kim Holt.
Bob Bruce is teaching the class.
The history class is being taught from the UB national office in Huntington, Ind.
Jeff Dice (seated) with the Sunfield group.
The United Brethren history course is being held June 2-3 at the UB national office in Huntington, Ind. This is a requirement for licensing as a United Brethren minister. Bob Bruce, associate pastor at Emmanuel Community Church (Fort Wayne, Ind.), is teaching the class.
Four persons are attending in person:
- David Souers, senior pastor of New Horizons UB church (Rockford, Ohio).
- Matthew Rhynehart, youth pastor at New Horizons (Rockford, Ohio).
- Jeremiah Ketchum, senior pastor of Brown Corners UB church (Clare, Mich.).
- Jeff Dice, associate pastor at Brown Corners (Clare, Mich.).
Five persons are attending remotely from the Sunfield UB church (Sunfield, Mich.).
- James Gray, a local church minister from Pathway UB church (Jackson, Mich.).
- John Lightner, a lay minister from Crossroads UB church (Charlotte, Mich.).
- Jerald Jones, a local church minister from Kilpatrick UB church (Woodland, Mich.).
- David Holt, senior pastor of East Ovid UB church (Coldwater, Mich.).
- Kim Holt, pastor’s wife at East Ovid (Coldwater, Mich.).
Another two persons are attending remotely from Parkwood Gardens UB church (Guelph, Ontario).
- Jim Tice, associate pastor of Parkwood Gardens (Guelph, Ontario).
- Mark Wallace, CEO of CH Global, member of Mill Crossing UB church (Cambridge, Ontario).