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A reminder to UB ministers–your annual reports for the 2013 year are due to Bishop Phil Whipple by February 15. That includes:
All reports are available online at ub.org/reports. You can download copies to fill out, or you can submit the report using an online form.
A work team from Canada arrived in Haiti on Friday, January 31. This is the 12th team the United Brethren of Canada have sent to Haiti since our work there began in 2000.
Around 11:30, they boarded a bus in Port-au-Prince and left for Cayes, where they will be working. About halfway there, the bus broke down. However, another bus eventually came to pick them up, and they arrived in Cayes around 6:30.
Joan Sider, from the UB church in Toronto, is once again leading the trip. Unfortunately, her luggage ended up going in a different direction–to Phoenix. Joan wrote, “I’m at the mercy of the other women, who have generously shared some of the necessities. Since we have about 700 t-shirts, I shouldn’t have a problem with tops. One skirt–I can manage.”
Here are some other places the Canadian teams have served in Haiti in recent years:
The Living Stone church in Macau.
Frank Y (right), Associate Director of Global Ministries
There are two UB churches in Macau: Living Water and Living Stone. Living Water is a well-established church which goes back to the 1980s, when we began ministering in Macau. Living Stone, located on Taipa Island, traces back to 2001.
The ministry on Taipa began in 2001, when the missionary staff moved their offices to Taipa and launched a new English Language Program. The Living Stone church was founded in 2006. The Living Stone congregation consists of English and Chinese speakers, and they minister to a bilingual audience.
The Taipa ministry has used the same location since it began in 2001. Last year, the church was notified by its current landlord that the rent will be going up many times the current amount.
After exploring a few options, Living Stone decided to move. They have until June 2014 to find a new home.
A committee is evaluating a number of options. Given the size of Macau, it is not easy to find a place that is right in price, location, potential for ministry, and other factors. Please pray for the church – that the Lord will lead them to the right location, that the committee will be wise in discernment, and that this move will bring the church together amidst all the transitions and work.
In the coming years, Hong Kong Conference and Global Ministries will work in collaboration with the local churches and leaders to discern possible new ministry opportunities. The social, political, and economic landscape is changing in Macau, and we need to adapt with it. This process will require much more onsite research and meetings before setting a concrete vision. Pray for guidance, vision, and oneness of heart.
Bishop Phil Whipple and Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld are on their way to California. They’ll be at the UB church in Pixley, Calif., this Sunday (that’s the only UB church in California). Then they’ll travel to Mexico to visit the UB churches there, accompanied by Denis Casco, Bishop of Mexico Conference.
Les Smith with baptism candidates at Hillsdale UB.
Les Smith, senior pastor, Hillsdale UB Church (Hillsdale, Mich.)
Despite having to cancel the first service due to severe weather and road conditions, over 300 attended our second service as we celebrated the 110th anniversary of Hillsdale United Brethren Church (Hillsdale, Mich.). Only seven of the nine baptismal candidates were able to get out of their driveways for the service. I delivered my annual State-of-the-Church address.
Throughout the year, Huntington University offers “Visit Days” for prospective students. During the day, prospective students have the opportunity to tour the campus and talk with faculty and current students. Visit Days on February 6 and 7 will six different academic areas.
February 6
February 7
Other Days Coming Up
Arthur Wilson, campus pastor at Huntington University
Cindy Klepper, reporter for the Huntington County Tab. Used by permission.
Arthur Wilson is accustomed to dispensing advice.
He has four kids of his own. He’s worked with youth through Fort Wayne Area Youth for Christ. His counsel is sought by students at Huntington University, where he now serves as campus pastor.
But he knows–through personal experience–that advice, though sound, isn’t always followed.
He ignored advice from his big brother on what girl to date, what car to buy.
“And you know what?” Wilson says. “He loved me anyway.”
The big brother in question wasn’t even a blood relative. He was an adult mentor paired with Wilson through Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Indiana, a relationship that the now 34-year-old Wilson continues to cherish.
“Cliff treated me as if I was his own son,” Wilson says. “Cliff did fatherly things for me, and still does to this day.”
Wilson got involved in Big Brothers Big Sisters through Project Mentor, a BBBS program that focused on young African-American males in Fort Wayne. Wilson was a student at Memorial Park Middle School when his mom sighed him up.
“She understood the value of having a male role model around,” Wilson says. “I also believe my mother wanted better for me than what was our current state.”
Wilson says he was paired with a couple of other Big Brothers before making the connection with Cliff – a professional African-American man with multiple degrees and an influential position in the community. That pairing showed Wilson something more than the drugs and gangs that tempted him and his peers.
“Because of Big Brothers Big Sisters, I was spared,” Wilson said during an appreciation breakfast Jan. 16 for local big brothers and big sisters.
Later, sitting in his office at Huntington University, Wilson ticks off some of the things he learned from Cliff- how to be responsible, how to respect people, how to dress.
He remembers the time Cliff took him to a posh Fort Wayne restaurant.
“He said, ‘You know, Arthur, there’s a different world out there and it’s my goal to show it to you,'” Wilson says.
Most of the pair’s time together was spent in less exclusive locales – Cliff’s house for dinner or a basketball game on TV; visits to colleges, both public and historically black schools; helping Cliff mix tapes for the DJ business he ran in addition to his regular job; discussions with AIDS victims or victims of violence.
“We even took a prison visit,” Wilson says.
The two lived several miles apart when Wilson was growing up, so it wasn’t until Wilson turned 16 and bought a car – the car his big brother had advised him not to buy – that he started driving over and dropping in. Cliff established a rule.
“The car was a lemon,” says Wilson. “It had transmission problems and it leaked, so he said I couldn’t park it in the driveway.”
The car lasted “maybe a month” before giving up the ghost, Wilson says.
One area where Cliff didn’t try to sway Wilson was his choice of career.
“I was always set on ministry,” Wilson says. “Church was almost an escape for me.
“I decided a long time ago that was my course, and Cliff understood that – even though ministry is not the path to riches.”
Wilson says his home life, though, owes a lot to Cliff.
“I learned how to be a dad, watching Cliff’s love and his example he showed being a father,” Wilson says. “Cliff was a really good dad.”
With his responsibilities to Huntington University, his wife and his four children, Wilson says the time’s not yet right for him to step up as a big brother. But, eventually, it will be his turn.
“I am very much looking forward to the day I have the freedom to be involved in the program,” he says. “When I do make that commitment, like Cliff, it’s a commitment for life.”
On Tuesday, January 21, Michael Dean (right), a UB pastor in Virginia, was taken to his local hospital and diagnosed with a stroke. Presently, he is in the Critical Care Unit. His daughter, Briana, wrote on January 23, “He has lost his ability to fully communicate and has confusion. As you can imagine, this is pretty devastating.”
Mike is senior pastor of two churches: Living Water UB Church in Winchester, Va., and a church plant in Berryville called Emmaus Church.
Please keep Mike and his wife, Jeanne, in your prayers.
Dr. Sherilyn Emberton speaking at the banquet.
Bishop Phil Whipple speaking to the cluster leaders and guests on Monday night.
Each cluster leader was recognized on Monday night. Here, standing, is Steve Clulow, who pastors the UB church in Cochranton, Pa.
The current and former bishops led in the prayer time that concluded the Monday night banquet.
L-r: Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, Global Ministries director Jeff Bleijerveld, and Micheal Dean, pastor of the UB church in Sabetha, Kansas.
Dr. Mike Dittman was the keynote speaker for the Tuesday morning training.
On January 13-14 (Monday and Tuesday), 22 cluster leaders met in Huntington, Ind., for the annual Cluster Leader Training. Todd Fetters, Director of National Ministries, organized and led the event. Bishop Phil Whipple was also involved in leading the meetings.
The meeting began Monday evening with a banquet sponsored by Huntington University. Also attending were various denominational officials and spouses, plus all four of the former bishops–Ron Ramsey, Paul Hirschy, Ray Seilhamer, and C. Ray Miller. After the meal, the new president of HU, Dr. Sherilyn Emberton, spoke to the cluster leaders and guests about the work and mission of the college.
Then came a time of recognition for the cluster leaders.
Cluster leaders oversee a group of 6-10 senior pastors. Todd Fetters had asked cluster members to write a note of affirmation and appreciation for their cluster leader, and many did. The comments were then compiled and presented in a nice folder to the cluster leaders.
At the Monday night gathering, one by one each cluster leader stood and was handed a folder by administrative assistant Cathy Reich. Then Todd and Lisa Fetters alternated reading one comment for each cluster leader. There was applause, and then it was the next cluster leader’s turn.
The evening ended with a prayer time. Bishop Phil Whipple and the four bishops emeriti stood in the middle, with the cluster leaders circled around them, and other persons forming an outer ring. The five bishops then took turns praying for the cluster leaders, their ministers, and the work of the United Brethren church in general.
Tuesday morning was spent in training. Mike Dittman, who heads up a ministry called Haven for the Heart, was the keynote speaker. He addressed “How to Cultivate a Transformational Cluster.” It was an information-packed morning. After a noon meal together, the event concluded.
On the UB Facebook page you’ll find a gallery of 75 photos from the event.
When you submit a ministerial or local church report, you should automatically receive, by email, a copy of the report.
However, this function wasn’t working with the local church report. It’s fixed now. So if you previously submitted a local church report and want a copy, contact Cathy Reich, administrative assistant to Bishop Phil Whipple, and she’ll send you a copy of the one you submitted.
